Chapter 4
Chapter 4
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: Duel with the Guard Captain
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Enri took the training longsword handed to him and casually checked its condition. The blade wasn't sharpened, but it was clearly a fine piece of work. Excellent craftsmanship. He could see the telltale touch of the dwarves from the Alpenheim Mountains.
Unfortunately, that also meant it would be tough to end the sparring match by snapping the sword in half. Unless there was a massive skill gap, breaking it was impossible. And the knight standing before him clearly wasn't on the losing end of any such gap.
'This is going to drag on longer than it should...'
In a real fight where killing the opponent was allowed, he'd have more options. But in a spar, those were even more limited. Feeling annoyed by that fact, Enri still stepped forward toward Sir Theodor.
The man who had requested this match burned with anticipation for the fight ahead, his eyes blazing hot.
"As Captain of the Guard, I can't remove my armor in His Majesty's presence. I hope you understand."
"That's fine."
"If you'd like, I can give you time to don armor yourself."
"No need. It's just stifling and slows you down."
"Oh ho—"
Sir Theodor raised his sword and assumed a stance. It was a training longsword like Enri's, with no edge, but the air before it felt like it could cleave steel all the same.
"In that case—no handicaps needed."
"Do as you like."
Declaring he'd use the advantage of his armor as is, Sir Theodor charged in swiftly. True to his word, he wielded the armor like a shield.
Slicing through armor with a sword was no easy feat under normal circumstances—let alone in a spar where you had to subdue without harming. That charge seemed invincible at first glance.
"Hup—!"
Sir Theodor was upon him in an instant, thrusting out his shoulder. An armored charge. Impossible to block outright, and dodging would leave him open to a sword strike. It was a tactic only possible because every part of him except his face was clad in steel.
Enri dropped low, slipping into his blind spot while hooking his leg with his sword at the same time. By vanishing in a flash and targeting the fulcrum, Sir Theodor's balance crumbled, and his body pitched forward.
Crash!
"Hahaha! Sir Theodor, are you trying to make Us laugh?"
As the king burst into laughter at the comical fall, Sir Theodor rolled smoothly to his feet as if nothing had happened, ignoring the king's mirth and resuming his stance.
"...I suppose I need new armor."
"That might be for the best."
Offering the excuse that his armor's blind spot had unavoidable obstructed his view, Sir Theodor approached with extreme caution—very extreme caution. He'd realized his armor offered no advantage here.
So he moved as if unarmored, as if this were a naked duel where even a graze meant defeat.
Slowly, inching forward on tiptoe, the distance closed without the opponent noticing. The perfect range—his sword could reach, but not his foe's. Reaching it, Sir Theodor whipped his blade out sharply.
Whoosh!
'Got him.'
He was certain of it in that moment. But Sir Theodor froze upon seeing Enri standing calmly within his sword's reach. He was sure he'd slashed, yet not a single hair had stirred. Flustered, Sir Theodor pressed on with his ingrained swordsmanship.
Swordsmanship lauded as the art of the blade. Yet the man before him evaded every strike by the barest margin, like a ghost. Just a slight shift in his grip, and he'd be sliced clean through—how could anyone move like this?
In fact, midway through, he'd even tried a feint, shifting his grip a mere centimeter or so. Any evasion like before would mean getting cut. Astonishingly, Enri dodged that one by a paper-thin margin too.
As if he could read every move and thought.
The moment that realization dawned, the emotion blooming in Sir Theodor's chest was joy.
'This is fun.'
Having such an opponent—and crossing swords with him—was pure delight. He almost wanted to drag him to the palace, lock him up, and spar every day.
His opponent, however, showed no such sentiment. In truth, Enri's face was starting to betray boredom.
'Time to wrap this up...'
Suppressing a near-yawn, Enri faced the incoming slash from Sir Theodor and swung his own sword in response. A stark change from his previous dodges.
He'd only thought it unwise to show overwhelming dominance before the king. Having demonstrated a fair match for a while, he figured it was time to end it.
Blades clashed and repelled each other, then used the rebound to close in again. Each clash brought them incrementally closer.
Sir Theodor knew countless ways to subdue an opponent at this range. Every one fell flat.
Until they were so close their sword hilts nearly touched. Enri's blade halted precisely beside Sir Theodor's temple. Checkmate, in chess terms. But Sir Theodor's sword didn't stop.
'This guy's reaction speed is slow...'
Only after some delay did Sir Theodor's blade reach Enri's nape. Grinning with confidence in his victory, he belatedly noticed the blade at his temple and his eyes went wide.
He'd thought he'd won—only to find himself defeated in an instant. Despair and thrill mingled on his face...
"—A draw! Impressive!"
Before the emotions could fully crest, the king declared.
A draw.
The elderly king, with a body close to that of a commoner, hadn't properly seen the exchange between them.
Sir Theodor, knowing the true outcome, wanted to object but his position as the king's knight held him back.
The young green-haired knight serving the Duke's Lady had no such hesitation.
"I won."
"...!!"
"—!!"
Gasps of shock erupted from all around. Enri's master, the Lady Claudia, even glared at him fiercely, eyes bulging.
At this blatant disregard for the king's word, the king fell silent for a moment before offering a cautious smile.
"Haha! A young knight's competitive spirit is something, eh? We'd love to see more, but time's short now."
De facto absolution.
The nobles, terrified by the rudeness, sighed in relief at the king's forgiveness.
Eve felt the same.
"...My knight has sullied His Majesty's eyes and ears. My deepest apologies."
"No need. It was entertaining."
After receiving the order to withdraw, Eve dragged Enri out of the audience chamber. The moment they were alone, she drove a clean liver blow into his side and flew into a rage.
"I told you not to cause trouble...!"
"Ow—! Lady, w-wait, that's the vitals... you hit the vitals..."
"Quiet! You need a few more to come to your senses—"
Before returning to Claudia territory.
Enri was summoned for a private word with Theodor.
He half-expected another challenge, but no.
"Sorry about that, Sir Enri."
"Out of nowhere?"
Caught off-guard by the sudden apology, Enri listened as Theodor spoke of the duel just concluded.
"I know full well it was my defeat. But as His Majesty's servant, I couldn't contradict him. That's what I apologize for."
Apparently, challenging him before the king wasn't something he regretted much. Enri, clicking his tongue at that, accepted the apology with a hint of weariness.
"It's fine. Winning or losing isn't what matters."
"Winning or losing doesn't matter...? Then why the bold claim before His Majesty...?"
"Oh, just a reflex."
Wasn't it human nature to correct a wrong on sight? No matter who was involved, that instinct kicked in. This time, it just happened before the king.
Not knowing this, Theodor stared in disbelief before chuckling lightly and letting it go.
"Eighteen this year, was it? That level of skill at your age..."
"It's nothing special."
"So I lost to 'nothing special'?"
"That's why you should've trained harder."
"...Ah, right."
Flustered by the cheek, Theodor cleared his throat a few times before shifting to trivial chatter.
"I have a son your age at the academy. I'd love for you two to meet."
"The academy? Too bad. Our Lady said she's not going."
"Oh... The Duke's Lady said that? Well, nothing for it."
"Nothing for it?"
"If you can't go, we send them to you, right?"
Enri took it as mere small talk then. You know, the usual empty promise—like Koreans saying 'let's grab a meal sometime'.
However.
"...Tch."
"What's wrong, Lady?"
"No, nothing."
A week later.
Back in the territory, Eve Claudia read the letter that had flown in from the palace and grumbled.
"The academy's coming here for field studies."
Astonishingly.
Sir Theodor hadn't been joking.