Chapter 32
Translator: penny
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: Duel (2)
"…Grrr."
The Forest Lord, who had been exhaling cold breath, glanced back and shot a side-eye at Kairen, who was sitting dejectedly behind it.
"You're back after all!"
"…Grng?"
"But where did you even pop out from…."
Meanwhile, Kairen was staring at his own familiar—which had gone from being the Forest Lord to Fluffy—with wide, sparkling eyes. Then, he suddenly looked down at his shadow and his mouth fell open.
"Gasp."
His shadow, cast by the sun shining down from behind, was wavering as it merged halfway with the Forest Lord's.
"It seems you didn't propose this duel without any plan in mind."
Right then, a low voice came from ahead.
"Don't tell me you've tamed that beast."
The Knight Captain of the 1st Knight Order, holding only the hilt of her sword after its blade had shattered, narrowed one eye as she looked at Kairen.
"Fluffy's my friend!"
Kairen brushed the dirt off quietly and stood up. He crossed his arms confidently and declared this to the Knight Captain.
"…Grk."
For a moment, a sigh-like growl leaked from Fluffy standing beside him, but no one noticed.
"Well, if it's not you I'm facing…."
At that exact moment, sword aura began swirling around the Knight Captain's empty hilt.
"There's no need to hold back."
Once the sword aura took on the sharp form of a blade in place of the missing one, the watching knights all widened their eyes.
"…Is that the Formless Sword?"
"That technique actually exists…."
"So the rumors about the Captain being half-East Continent are true?"
The right hand of the Monster Duke. The Continent's Greatest Sword. One of the Four Great Swordmasters representing the four continents.
These were among the many titles borne by the Captain of the 1st Knight Order. But her most famous moniker was Belverk's Phantom Swordswoman.
- Pzzt…!
Even though the blade was gone, as the Knight Captain smoothly swung her sword forward, the space ahead warped.
"Grk!?"
"Whoa!"
The moment Fluffy sensed danger through its top-tier monster instincts and lightly bit Kairen's nape to leap back—
- Crack…!
The arena floor they'd been standing on split open without any warning.
"Taming a top-tier monster at your age is impressive."
"……."
"But thinking that would let you beat me? That's arrogance."
The Knight Captain's cold voice reached Kairen as he stared blankly at the cracked floor.
"Do you know how many monsters I've slain?"
Of course, even she didn't know the exact number.
Just as ordinary people don't count every meal or piece of bread they eat, she hadn't bothered to tally the countless monsters she'd cut down.
However, among those, the Forest Lord was one of the stronger ones.
And with Kairen possessing healing abilities, the duel’s outcome was still uncertain.
"If Young Master uses his abilities, it could turn into a prolonged battle, but even that has limits."
"…He's up against the Continent's Greatest Sword, after all."
"It's not impossible to win, but the odds are too low…."
Even so, the maids' cold analysis leaned toward Kairen's defeat.
Without Kairen, the duel might have been even fiercer.
But protecting Kairen, who had no way to defend his main body, while facing such a formidable opponent meant the Forest Lord couldn't go all out.
"What will you do now?"
"……."
"Surrender now, and I'll sheath my sword."
Seemingly aware of this, the Knight Captain pointed her flaming formless sword forward and issued her final ultimatum.
"Or are you stalling for time for some reason?"
"…I'm not planning to stall."
But Kairen clenched his fists and shot back.
"I'll end this duel with one attack."
A chilling silence descended around the arena.
‘…So, you do have some hidden trick up your sleeve?’
The Knight Captain gripped her sword hilt tightly with a cold expression, inwardly pondering as she gazed at Kairen.
‘But I can't back down here.’
Honestly, she hadn't wanted to go this far against the small, cute youngest son of Belverk.
However, as Captain of the 1st Knight Order, duty to the greater cause outweighed personal feelings.
‘Belverk is caught in a whirlwind of turmoil right now. I can't let the 1st Knight Order get swept up in it.’
If rumors spread that the elite 1st Knight Order was cozying up to Kairen—one of Belverk's internal factions—the political landscape would grow far more complicated.
Thus, she had no choice but to step up, even under scrutinizing eyes.
‘No more factional infighting. Count me out.’
She had long been Astridje's closest confidante, crossing the line between life and death alongside the absent Head Maid.
Having seen and lost so much, she wanted no part of that hell again.
‘…Unless you prove yourself worthy of bending my will.’
That said, it was only for now. Knights always yearned for a lord who recognized their worth.
‘Like Duchess Astridje that day.’
Gazing at Kairen stirred memories of her first meeting with Astridje.
A presence that made you want to stake your life on her, despite having nothing.
Though their personalities were polar opposites, the aura they exuded was strikingly similar.
"Fluffy, bite!"
Lost in those wistful thoughts, the Knight Captain snapped back at the sudden shout from ahead.
"…Groooo!!!"
Before she knew it, Kairen had mounted Fluffy, and they were charging straight at her.
‘Mounted for a quick decisive strike?’
It was a crude but decent strategy.
With the limited arena space, charging head-on beat fancy maneuvers.
And in direct contact atop Fluffy, Kairen could heal wounds instantly.
In short, it was the best choice available to him.
‘But still, it's hopeless.’
Shaking her head inwardly, the Knight Captain steadied her formless sword.
To survive in Belverk, making the optimal choice wasn't enough.
You needed gambits or divine moves to overturn impossible odds—at the crucial moment.
‘Impressive in her own way, but she doesn't have her mother's talent….’
Having witnessed Astridje's legendary comebacks up close, disappointment was inevitable for the Knight Captain.
"Ugh!?"
But as she prepared a final strike with minimal respect, her body suddenly tilted sideways.
"What? What is it?"
"The Captain… she's off-balance."
"…What just happened?"
The knights watching breathlessly widened their eyes at the impossible sight.
"What the hell? Why's that woman acting up all of a sudden?"
Likewise, Lilien—who'd been biting her lip while watching—muttered with round eyes.
"…To think she'd actually use that method."
"H-Hey, don't keep it to yourself—explain!"
Hearing Astridje murmur softly beside her, Lilien urgently demanded an explanation.
"Lilien. What do you think happens if you suddenly open eyes sealed for over ten years?"
"Well, uh… your eyes would hurt a ton at first, and then…."
"…You'd struggle to maintain balance adapting to the sudden change in vision."
Forcing her sluggish brain to process it, Lilien pieced together Astridje's words—then gasped as realization dawned.
"No way…?"
"The Crimson Eyes live up to their name."
"…Did that kid just heal her blinded eyes?"
As if confirming it, the Knight Captain's body was now enveloped in the red aura that appeared whenever Kairen activated his ability.
"His ability's range seems a bit longer now, too…."
Astridje, having finished explaining and observing quietly, tilted her head and murmured.
"…Did he practice in secret?"
Her gaze shifted to Fluffy's cleanly healed wounds, her brow furrowing slightly—right then.
"Not… yet."
The Knight Captain quickly regained composure, closed her healed eyes, and staggered to her feet.
"Something like this…."
She'd panicked from the sudden stimulus, but the counter was simple: close her eyes.
The issue was Kairen and his familiar closing in—but she still had time for a counterstrike without taking a hit….
"…Khek?"
But before she could react, a impact struck her back.
"Kyeng!"
"Kyung!"
"Grrr!"
Fluffy's three cubs—now the children of the Forest Lord—had leaped onto the Knight Captain's back for a headbutt.
"Oof."
Unable to maintain balance from the surprise attack, the Knight Captain fell to the arena floor. Kairen leaped from Fluffy's back and landed astride her.
"I told you, didn't I?"
Before she could grab her fallen hilt, Kairen—with Crimson Eyes active—gently gripped her throat.
"…I'd end it in one go."
That decided the duel. Even frail Kairen could snap a neck effortlessly with his eyes active.
"…I surrender."
Looking up at Kairen with a slightly shocked expression, the Knight Captain turned her head darkly and declared defeat.
"Wooooah!"
"Hooray for Young Master~!"
"Victory for Young Master Kairen!!!"
A thunderous cheer erupted in the once-silent arena.
For the record, it all came from the gathered maids.
The distant knights sighed, the retainers who'd shirked duties to peek from above gasped in admiration, and anxious Lilien muttered curses mixed with praise.
"Kairen, finish it."
"…Pardon?"
"In Belverk duels, the victor decides the loser's fate."
Astridje's declaration instantly hushed the rowdy arena.
"The loser has no say."
"Mm…."
"…Handle it yourself."
Kairen looked down to see the Knight Captain—now pinned by her wrists instead of her throat—muttering with a humiliated expression.
"…Sorry, but could you get on with it?"
At the same time, Kairen's eyes flickered uncertainly.
"Ah, hold on."
For some reason, he looked up at the air, then broke into a cold sweat and muttered to himself.
"Um, Big Sis System. That's a bit…."
"……?"
"…You really want me to do it? Right now?"
The maids' faces darkened at the sight, while others looked baffled—
"Ugh…."
Finally resolute, Kairen turned to his mother.
"For the penalty… I'll take free training from the 1st Knight Order instead."
"……."
"Is that okay?"
Astridje's expression held a hint of absurdity at the tame end to a life-or-death duel, but she nodded quietly.
"…Permitted."
The maids, who'd been gauging the mood, smiled and murmured again.
"Oh my, Young Master is so kind…."
"He's too pure for his own good."
"Yeah, he should've just snapped her neck to avoid trouble."
The Knight Captain, naturally, couldn't view this positively.
- Grind….
She'd been willing to test if Kairen was worth devoting her life to, but now, as a knight, she felt deep shame.
Excuses like Astridje's secret muscle relaxant order the day before, not using her prized sword, or avoiding mana-heavy techniques had long vanished from her mind.
Having never dropped her sword in battle, she was gripped by her first true defeat, opening her mouth with a venomous expression.
"What do you think you're doing?"
"……."
"Think this makes my knights and me grateful?"
But Kairen merely stared at her briefly before releasing her arms and toddling off somewhere.
"Sisters."
He stopped before the 1st Knight Order, their faces as dark as their Captain's.
"I'm disappointed."
Turning so others couldn't see, his face turned icy.
"I thought you were strong, but losing to a ten-year-old kid? Pathetic."
"……."
"If I'd known you were this lame, I'd have trained with the maid sisters instead."
With hands behind his back, he leaned forward with a smirk, delivered his parting shot, and bolted to the maids.
"Losers~!"
The knights' rationality snapped at that moment.