Chapter 2: I Became the Royal Family's Sandbag (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 2: I Became the Royal Family's Sandbag (2)
The Defeat Sword.
True to its name, it was a swordsmanship style designed for losing.
However, contrary to what the name suggested, the techniques contained within were so exquisite that even the most renowned styles on the continent would have to take a backseat.
It was only natural.
After all, it was a style created by the most brilliant swordsmen of the Leon Kingdom—a nation famous for its knights—who had put their heads together to devise it.
They had to contend with the swordsmanship of a martial-focused royal family, where the kingdom’s strongest swordsman was often born from the royalty itself, and where the motto was to become a knight before claiming to be a prince!
Because of this, learning the Defeat Sword was several times more difficult than learning any prestigious family’s secret techniques.
“As expected of a talent seen once in a millennium!”
But in the end, the Defeat Sword was still the Defeat Sword.
It was incredibly flashy and powerful, but it always ended in defeat.
Therefore, the talent required for the Defeat Sword was something else entirely.
“You have already surpassed me.”
These were the words of the Commander—one of the top swordsmen in the Leon Kingdom, the closest friend of the current King, a Sword Master recognized across the continent, and the head of the royal instructors.
As a swordsman, there could be no higher praise, but unfortunately, this wasn't a compliment regarding my martial prowess.
“To think your acting is so good that even I can’t tell if it’s real or fake…”
That’s right.
The completion of the Defeat Sword lay not in swordsmanship, but in acting.
Swordsmanship is relative anyway.
It only needed to be at a level that would satisfy the 5th Prince, whom I was to serve.
Thus, I had to learn how to act.
Building up a process that led to a truly regrettable defeat, exchanging a "strike of the soul," and then conveying to the royalty a sense of bitter frustration mixed with the will to win next time—that was the true completion of the Defeat Sword!
And I had achieved it.
Perfectly enough to be recognized by a Sword Master, the pinnacle of the blade!
“The other instructors should see this and learn from you.”
The number of royal instructors in the knight order is equal to the number of members of the royal family.
Occasionally, an instructor might lose their position if they can't keep up with the royal's growth, but even then, a prepared reserve member would take their place.
As such, several instructors had already been dispatched to the royals above the 5th Prince.
In other words, since there were four princes and three princesses above him, there were at least seven seniors above me.
“Aren't the seniors also performing their duties admirably?”
“I thought so too, but because of you, the evaluation standards keep rising.”
The Commander laughed boisterously and ruffled my hair roughly before his expression suddenly stiffened.
“That brings me to this.”
The Commander often acted clumsy and unbefitting of his status, but he was one of the representative swordsmen of the Kingdom of Knights and the head of the instructors responsible for royal education.
When handling official business, he often wore that specific expression.
And so, I could roughly guess what was about to come out of his mouth.
“Is it time to start the operation?”
“Hmm? Operation?”
“You know, the one where I ‘coincidentally’ and ‘fatedly’ come into contact with the 5th Prince?”
“Ho-ho.”
The Commander nodded in satisfaction at my phrasing.
“Yes, it’s about time to start the operation.”
A few weeks later, I was told that the preparations for the operation were complete.
“The scenario is simple.”
“Indeed.”
As a nation bearing the title of the Kingdom of Knights, Leon held its knights in high regard.
Even compared to the Empire, known as the center of the continent, the quality of Leon's knights was by no means inferior. Consequently, despite being geographically distant from the Dale Kingdom—the kingdom of mages—the two were always at each other's throats for no particular reason.
Because the country had such characteristics, contacting the 5th Prince was very easy.
“You’ll just be swinging your sword, and an instructor planted there in advance will arrange a duel between you and His Highness. It’s a perfect scenario!”
True to its nickname, the Leon Kingdom actively promoted the cultivation of knights at a national level.
Therefore, children who seemed talented were often brought to the palace to be taught the sword.
I was to be one of those people, ordinary and just swinging my sword, until I crossed blades with a royal who came to inspect the training grounds!
“Wait…?”
But something felt off.
“Take your stance at once.”
Red hair, the symbol of the Leon royalty, fluttered in the wind.
As I stared blankly at it, black eyes—also a symbol of our kingdom’s royalty—glared back at me.
Approaching by dueling a royal. The situation fit the objective perfectly.
The problem was that this person was not the 5th Prince.
“Referee!”
“The duel between Princess Hestia and Adam Smith will now begin.”
At the Princess’s command, the knight acting as the referee approved the duel with a bewildered expression.
I could only grit my teeth and glare at the Commander.
I thought you said it was a perfect scenario!
*
To rewind a little…
The Leon Kingdom took great pride in its title as the Kingdom of Knights.
Naturally, learning the sword was considered a given for the royal family.
To give you an idea, it was a unique royal tradition to give a wooden sword as a fifth birthday present and a real sword at age ten, to both boys and girls alike.
Thus, it wasn't strange for the kingdom’s strongest swordsman to come from the royal bloodline. It happened often enough that the vassals’ hearts would frequently chill at the thought that the King himself would be at the very front lines if a war ever broke out.
Being such a country, the royalty maintained close relationships with exceptional swordsmen through the generations.
Conversely, this meant that if one's skills were lacking, they might face discrimination even with a prestigious background.
“Sigh.”
“P-Princess.”
And unfortunately, the 2nd Princess of the Leon Kingdom, Hestia, was an extreme case.
“To think you couldn't even last ten exchanges.”
Hestia’s black eyes sank deep like an abyss.
True to the royal bloodline that lived and died by the sword, her talent was peerless among her peers.
And her primal instinct to crave the sword was even more intense than that talent.
She regularly sparred with the talents called the "future of the kingdom," but she was never once satisfied.
It was a pity, but also unavoidable.
Hestia was born with a talent recognized even within the royal family, and fitting her status, she had received all sorts of Elixirs and Mana Circuit procedures since she was very young.
Was that all? Usually, if one has talent and background, they should at least lack effort.
Unfortunately, being a natural-born swordsman, she preferred swinging a sword over playing with other children. She would rather skip a meal than skip training.
Innate talent, background, and the effort to develop them further.
It was no exaggeration to say Hestia was born for the sword.
Expecting other peers to match that level was an impossible task.
“Whew.”
Even after knocking down a prospective knight three years older than her—someone whose talent was recognized by the state—Hestia was not satisfied.
The gap in skill is too wide.
This was the level of someone brought in as a knight trainee.
On the other hand, she felt she was still lacking to fight a real knight.
If it were a newly appointed knight, she might be able to have a fight where she gave her all, but unfortunately, the title of 2nd Princess preceded Hestia’s name.
I’d rather just fight trainees.
Asking those who had just become knights to fight a princess was too heavy a burden.
Winning was a problem, losing was a problem, and if they accidentally left a scratch on the Princess’s body, there was no telling what might happen.
Of course, neither Hestia nor the royal family would raise an issue over such a thing.
"One must become a knight before becoming a royal."
In a royal family where such words were passed down, would they really persecute a knight for a wound sustained during a duel?
However, contrary to the intentions of those high above…
Those below had their own problems to worry about.
Even if the King and Princess said, “Oh, a few scratches are bound to happen when you’re swinging blades,” among the knights, the one who made a royal bleed could be branded a traitor.
Consequently, most new knights tried to lose in an embarrassingly obvious way.
Such a farce was good for neither herself nor her opponent.
She felt it would be better to just strike a scarecrow alone.
Despite thinking that, Hestia couldn't resist rushing over whenever new recruits arrived, hoping to find an equal.
“Sigh, I should have just waited for Lucia.”
Thinking of her frail friend who could at least fight her on somewhat equal terms, Hestia let out a small sigh.
Everything was fine, but Lucia was naturally sickly and frequently went down to her hometown to recover.
Hestia decided she should prepare some restorative medicine for her.
It was for her own sake, but also for the kingdom’s.
It would be a national loss for such a swordsman to give up the blade due to a weak constitution!
Unaware that Lucia—who was supposedly resting in her hometown—was actually in the royal instructors' quarters crying while her boss tore up her resignation letter for the umpteenth time, Hestia prepared to leave after finishing off her third victim.
“N-Noona!”
However, she couldn't help but stop in her tracks at the sight of her younger brother arriving with a group of people.
Has that time already come?
One of the traditional royal events.
If you receive a wooden sword at five and a real sword at ten, you receive a "person" at twelve.
One of the talents who arrived at the palace would be placed directly under a royal's command.
An eternal friend, a rival, a right-hand man, and the most trusted subordinate.
This was an old tradition of the Leon royalty, and one's life could change depending on who they gained here.
Hadn't Hestia herself gained Lucia the year before last?
Unaware that her "eternal friend, rival, right-hand man, and subordinate" was currently writing her fourteenth resignation letter while wiping away tears after her boss tore up the twelfth, Hestia resolved to find someone as excellent as Lucia for her cute brother.
“Princess Hestia?”
Unfortunately, that resolve was nothing short of a disaster for those who had set everything up and were trying to proceed with the plan.
“What did you just say?”
“I said I’ll test him instead!”
Her confident declaration was cute for her age, but the content was anything but.
In fact, to the Commander and the other officials, it was pure horror.
“No, according to royal regulations…”
“There is no such regulation, is there?”
“……”
They tried to brush it off with plausible-sounding words, but they failed.
It was because such a regulation truly did not exist.
How does she know that?
Even the officials who carried out the procedures didn't know every single detail.
Usually, if a superior mentioned a regulation that sounded like it might exist, people just accepted it.
“Traditionally, the royal themselves faces the candidate to choose a suitable partner, but that’s just tradition. Historically, hasn't it happened before where another royal tested them instead?”
Was she just taking a shot in the dark? As the Commander thought this, a precise explanation followed in his ear, leaving him with no choice but to remain silent.
“So, it’s fine, right?”
Thus, he had no choice but to nod at Hestia’s words.
I wonder how good he is.
The reason Hestia was stepping forward so recklessly wasn't solely out of affection for her brother.
Kariks, the Commander of the Royal Knights and the instructors, was a figure as close as an uncle to Hestia, having served as the King’s instructor.
Not only that, he was a renowned swordsman recognized across the continent.
Such a man had praised this talent until his mouth was dry.
So much so that the boy had already been designated as her brother’s partner.
Even Lucia didn't get this kind of evaluation.
Unaware that Lucia was currently wiping away flowing tears while drafting her fourteenth resignation letter, Hestia wanted to verify the skills of this person who was said to be even more talented than her friend.
For her brother, for her friend.
And.
“Draw your sword.”
For her own selfish desires!