Chapter 73
Chapter 73
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 73
Chapter Title: Sword Maniac (5)
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The Harvest Festival was finally drawing to a close. The people shed tears of gratitude for their lord's wise and merciful rule, basking in the peace it brought.
No one had ever dreamed such a miracle could come to pass.
Yet by gritting their teeth and enduring, they had at last ushered in this era of tranquility under the reign of their great lord.
"Attention, everyone! To cap off the Harvest Festival, we have a special bout: Sir Scardi von Leonhart versus our esteemed lord, Sir Blackguard, crossing swords!"
"Crossing swords? Does that mean those two are going to duel?"
"What's a master?"
"I don't know exactly, but it means some ridiculously amazing knight, right?"
At the end of a Harvest Festival where everyone could stuff themselves equally with food and drink, now even their eyes were treated to a spectacle.
Who in their right mind would refuse such grace from their lord? In fact, most of the people were betting on Cain's victory.
But as hope is always followed by despair, the outcome ended far too anticlimactically—and far too swiftly.
Kwajik! Kwang!!
The moment Scardi drew her sword, Cain's blade flew through the air. In just a single strike... a single strike decided the winner.
In the stunned silence that no one could have foreseen, Cain let out a deep sigh.
'I wish they'd all just drop dead.'
The empire, the kingdom, the alliance... He sincerely hoped a meteor would crash from the sky and wipe them all out.
Why was he suddenly cursing the world? Because of the monster standing right before his eyes.
From Cain's perspective, it was utterly infuriating. The emperor had shown up out of nowhere, but he'd managed to handle it somehow.
Thanks to the princess, he'd brushed off the central nobles' nitpicking with ease. In other words, it had been a success by any measure.
But then, at the very last moment, a mountain appeared out of thin air. As the old saying went: over one mountain lies another.
'Not a word of it wrong... Damn it all.'
Cain glared at the woman with the eyepatch radiating ferocious aura right before him.
Golden hair cascading to her waist, an eyepatch over one eye. But she was anything but ordinary.
A beast? No, not even a beast could compare. If he had to liken it... yeah, it felt like staring at a ghost.
"You look dumbfounded. Did you really not expect me to go all out from the start?"
"......"
Cain, pierced right to the heart, couldn't muster a word. And how could he?
Masters generally harbored immense pride in their own skills.
Which meant... they tended not to exert full effort against weaker opponents.
Because for masters, their skill was everything they had built themselves.
But Scardi von Leonhart was different. She had unleashed her full power without a moment's hesitation from the outset.
A master at peak condition going all out? Naturally, the result was Cain's overwhelming defeat.
"Cain Blackguard... the unparalleled commander who single-handedly slaughtered thousands of imperial troops and conquered two of the four great powers in a single year."
"......"
"It's poor manners to underestimate such an opponent. Of course......"
Kwajik!
Cain's sword, flung skyward by Scardi, finally plummeted back to earth, embedding itself in the ground.
But Scardi had already turned away, as if she had lost even the slightest interest.
"Disappointment is unavoidable."
'I know that, you damn bitch.'
Cain reacted sharply. He couldn't help it. Imagine hearing the same thing for the tenth time already.
And these weren't idle words—she was openly hurling her disappointment at him.
Those barbs stabbed into his chest like arrows. Cain couldn't fathom why she had built up expectations on her own and dashed them just as arbitrarily.
'Whether that monster is disappointed or whatever, it's none of my business... The problem is I can't escape unless I block her.'
Cain closed his eyes, lost in thought. Honestly, he couldn't even grasp what technique she was using. A speed he couldn't hope to match.
Cain opened his eyes again. The arena, hushed by his hollow defeat, now erupted once more in cheers.
Scardi, who had turned away in self-indulgent disappointment, now stood before him again, exuding that ferocious aura.
'......Calm down and regulate my breathing. I knew it wouldn't end in just ten exchanges anyway. I'll block her somehow.'
How many walls had he hit so far? Despair from overwhelming talent gaps only lasted once or twice.
Cain gripped his sword once more. Of course, he didn't think he could win.
But when had that ever stopped him before? Valentis, the imperial army, the Water King, Chris... All the same.
Yet he couldn't give up.
He simply advanced one step at a time.
Someday... he believed he would surely reach the light.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The Harvest Festival offered ample food and drink for all, along with entertaining spectacles to behold.
The most popular by far was the pure duels between knights.
Of course, the previous tournament had been swiftly concluded by Chris, but for some reason, he sat this one out.
Puzzled, Anna turned to Chris, seated right beside her, and spoke up.
"Why isn't Sir Leonhart stepping in this time?"
"Anyone else, maybe, but I don't want to fight my big sister."
"Pardon?"
"???"
The utterly unexpected reply left not only Anna speechless but even Morgana at a loss for words.
It was none other than the Sword Light herself. She had tried sneaking into the alliance because of its skilled swordsmen.
And that sword-crazed maniac... no, Leonhart was dodging a match? Seriously?
"......That's quite the unexpected reaction."
"Of course. It's you, the Sword Light, after all."
"This time, even Her Highness the Princess can't deny it."
"Exactly because of that."
Chris sighed and shook his head. If Chris purely loved the sword, her obsession bordered on madness.
And that near-maniacal fixation had warped her innate talent, propelling her into an entirely different realm.
In a word... yeah, she had forged her own unique domain.
"Every swordsman who's properly crossed blades with her feels terror. Like being devoured alive."
"That kind of feeling?"
"Hard for most to grasp. Even against a superior swordsman, you just feel a wall... but she's different."
Chris shook his head emphatically, as if utterly fed up. It might seem like an overreaction...
But Chris was dead serious. Especially back in her prime— she was a ghost no one could stop.
Of course, she'd started holding back at some point, but Chris didn't believe her madness had vanished.
'That aside, it's strange. Big sis hates showing up in places like this.'
The Leonhart ducal house loved and revered swordsmanship above all else.
Thus, becoming a spectacle for the masses wasn't exactly welcome.
Of course, the last tournament had ended abruptly due to Chris von Leonhart's intrusion,
but that was an anomaly; normally, they didn't care for it.
Yet Scardi von Leonhart had agreed to duel so readily. Simple: a sliver of expectation.
'That pathetic Chris still has a long way to go... but beating him in sparring means he's got real skill.'
His fame played a part too. Though she hadn't expected much.
Great expectations led to great disappointments. Scardi had known that since first picking up a sword.
Her obsession with the blade had led her to a realm unreachable by any other.
At the cost of one thing alone... ennui. Victory? Sure, it was fun. But only once or twice.
[Why are you sheathing your sword when it's just starting?]
[What? You think you'll lose, so you surrender? All of you?]
[......Boring.]
Ironically, it was the very talent fueling her madness that snapped her back to sanity.
That's why she'd endured the humiliation of performing for the crowd and joined personally.
A faint, unavoidable hope that maybe, just maybe, it would be different this time...
That tiny spark of expectation moved her body. Her sword flashed out like lightning, targeting Cain's blade like a beast's fang.
Kwaang.
It was in that instant. A deafening roar echoed, accompanied by a numbing jolt in her hand.
Unlike her expectation that it would end in one strike as always, Cain still gripped his sword.
And that meant... her sword had been blocked.
Thanks to that, Scardi could clearly see it. Unlike the others, eyes burning fiercely.
"What's the rush from the start? Let's take it slow, nice and easy."
Ah...
This won't do.
For the first time in ages, a smile tugs at my lips.