Knight Alex (2)
Knight Alex (2)
"I am Robard de Ramon. I serve as an officer in the Eastern Kingdom Army."
Hearing my introduction, the middle-aged knight returned the greeting.
He was supposedly the Vice-Commander of the Royal Knights, yet he wasn't a general—just an officer?
Could there be some kind of military territoriality here, just like in my past life?
Questions like these arose, but the knight continued speaking after returning my greeting.
"I've heard stories about the Princess's highly skilled escort knight. But I never imagined you would be so young..."
Although I hadn't fully grown yet, my body was already larger than most adults'.
But my face was still that of a teenage boy, so unless I wore a helmet that covered it, I had no choice but to hear remarks like that.
"For all her grand entrance, it seems the Princess has no useful knights. To send her own escort knight to a place of death."
He shook his head as he looked at me.
"Don't think for a moment that I'll spare you out of regret after seeing your skills. This is a civil war, and unlike in a duel, there is no mercy in war."
Does that mean I don't have to go easy on him, either? Good to hear.
Since I had no reputation, I couldn't help being misunderstood like this every time.
But that misunderstanding would end today.
"Are you finished talking?"
I lowered the sword I'd held upright to show respect.
It seemed that hiding my mana as usual had been a mistake.
I unleashed the mana I had kept bound.
Hum.
Mana spread in every direction.
Crackle!
The mana clashed with the knight's in the middle, creating sparks.
The sparks gradually moved toward the knight.
The middle-aged knight's expression stiffened.
"This—this is absurd!"
This was something I had heard many times before, too.
I looked around.
The fortress, the enemies, and our allies were all far away.
The nobles might be able to see to some extent, but at this distance, I could plausibly claim it was a different ability.
"Shall we begin, then?"
There was still some distance between us, but I swung my sword with all my might through the empty air.
The knight looked puzzled at first, but he soon raised his sword, his expression shocked.
Clang!
Sparks flew from his raised sword with an explosive sound.
I grimaced.
I'd launched a surprise attack from relatively close range, yet he'd blocked it so easily.
Even though it was visible, it was still mana flying faster than an arrow.
I'd thought a skilled knight might be able to block it, but seeing it happen firsthand didn't feel great.
As expected, it seemed best not to use this 'Mana Emission' where skilled knights or nobles could see it.
While I was disappointed with the result, the other side seemed immensely shocked.
"My goodness, is this Mana Sword Aura?"
The name was a little different, but he seemed to have more or less recognized it.
"I heard for certain that this ability hadn't been inherited for a very long time."
Ah, now that I thought about it, I'd obtained this ability from the 'Knight's Sword,' the Kingdom's treasure.
But was this a lost ability?
"How do you have this ability? Was such an ability passed down in the Gracia Dukedom?"
The middle-aged knight widened his eyes and stared at me.
Since he didn't attack right away, the reappearance of 'Mana Emission' seemed to be a significant matter to him.
But that had nothing to do with me.
As he'd said, this was a civil war; there was no reason to be considerate of my opponent's circumstances.
Thud!
I kicked off the ground with all my might.
The knight's startled eyes rapidly drew closer.
As I closed in, the knight retreated and spoke.
"Possessing such an ability, yet you plan to engage in close combat! A novice who doesn't even know his own advantageous distance...?"
Clang!
I swung my sword with all my might, cutting off his useless advice.
A novice who didn't know his distance? Where had he gotten such nonsense?
Deflecting his sword with sheer strength, I took another step forward and bashed him on the head with my other fist.
Bang!
The knight staggered from the impact, and I once again swung my sword down with all my might.
Boom!
Dirt exploded outward, and the ground was gouged deeply.
Unfortunately, the impact wasn't great, and the knight seemed to have dodged the attack.
I waved my mana-infused hand to settle the scattering dust.
As the dust settled, the knight, who had retreated, came into view.
With his helmet dented and a dazed expression, he stared down at me and the deeply gouged ground in bewilderment.
"Even now, it seems this is my advantageous distance."
"Could it be... you possess two inherited abilities?"
"I heard it wasn't entirely unheard of."
Before coming to the capital, I'd thought there were none, too, but after meeting the Princess and the others, it seemed they weren't entirely nonexistent.
"But that was only passed down in legends..."
The knight seemed utterly unable to comprehend it.
Indeed, most nobles who became knights possessed physical enhancement abilities—specifically, the 'Mana Circuit Construction Method,' colloquially known as the 'Mana Cultivation Technique.'
And many of the noble knights in our Carlos Kingdom had become knights by obtaining one of the King's Mana Cultivation Techniques.
The knight standing before me was also a noble who had become a knight in the same way.
Perhaps, if we traced our ancestry back a few generations, we might even share the same blood.
He had risen all the way to Vice-Commander of the Royal Knights with just that single ability, so when someone like me suddenly appeared, it was only natural that he found it hard to believe.
"I made a mistake."
His expression hardened as he took off his dented helmet and threw it away.
"In any case, I've met a knight as strong as me, or perhaps even stronger, yet I acted foolishly just because I'm older."
He raised his sword once more.
"I'll do my best. I shall show you my true skill."
At those words, I grinned.
And once again, I swung my sword.
Miguel looked down the hill with a blank expression.
Below, a duel between knights was in full swing.
It was a one-on-one duel between the former Vice-Commander of the Royal Knights and a boy who had yet to graduate from the Academy.
It was clearly a match whose winner was easy to predict.
The only question was how long the boy could hold out.
There was no one else to step forward, and since the Princess had even given her permission, they couldn't stop the Young Lord from stepping up—but Miguel had never imagined he'd witness a sight like this.
Knight Hugo, watching beside him, muttered in a daze.
"Could it be... that the Young Lord is winning...?"
Miguel shook his head.
"It isn't just a matter of winning."
That scene couldn't be described as simply winning.
Though dust often made it hard to see, Young Lord Alex was clearly dominating the duel.
"I knew he was incredible for his age, but I never imagined he'd be this strong."
Knight Hugo shook his head as he watched Alex swing his sword.
As a child, Alex had been renowned as a genius, and after awakening, he'd paid no heed to people's worries and grown stronger than a knight at a young age.
Now, he was seizing victory in a duel against one of the Kingdom's preeminent knights.
It was an astonishing sight, and for Hugo, who had watched him from the sidelines all this time, it was deeply moving and joyful.
And Miguel, who had personally trained Alex, could only feel an even greater sense of astonishment and emotion.
Even amid his astonishment, though, Miguel felt a sense of doubt as he watched the scene before him.
"But it looks like he's dodging even though the sword hasn't even touched him."
"No way. It must only look that way because of the distance."
Knight Hugo shook his head, but Miguel tilted his head in puzzlement.
His wonder was short-lived, however.
The battle grew fierce once more, and he was drawn back into Young Lord Alex's marvelous swordsmanship.
As our swords clashed, time seemed to slow bit by bit.
The sparks flying from the blades seemed to linger in the air, and the sweat droplets flung from my hair seemed to freeze before my eyes.
Clang!
The sound of our clashing swords also stretched out much longer than before.
My greatsword collided with my opponent's sword and came to a halt.
Rough breathing could be heard from beyond the blades.
As expected, the former Vice-Commander of the Royal Knights couldn't possibly be weak.
Since I was facing him with only my Mana Cultivation Technique and swordsmanship, without deploying multiple abilities, he was able to match me.
Like other knights, he had his own technique, forged by training in a single method and swordsmanship over a long period.
The knight's swordsmanship continually blocked and withstood my diverse swordsmanship and methods.
Thanks to how well he blocked, the fight became enjoyable.
Although I hadn't forgotten where I was or what I was doing, I could delve deeper into my swordsmanship and methods.
More sharply, more instinctively, as I connected different swordsmanship styles and methods,
I traced the swordsmanship pursued by the first king, the Carlos Hero.
In that way, through the sword, I felt the power contained in my opponent's blade, received it, and released it outward.
My sword grew lighter.
I bound my opponent's light sword to my greatsword and flung it outward with force.
Clatter.
Ah. The sound of the sword flying away shattered my concentration.
I sighed in disappointment as my opponent stared at me with a pale, exhausted face.
There was no sword in his hand.
It seemed the sound I'd just heard was his sword being sent flying from his grasp.
I snapped out of it and pointed my sword at my disarmed opponent.
It was a pity, but I had to bring things to a polite conclusion.
"It was a good duel."
"Ha, this is absurd..."
He didn't accept my polite greeting.
Could it be that he still couldn't accept his defeat?
But what he couldn't accept wasn't his own defeat.
"Just how many abilities do you possess? How can this be? That's impossible!"
It seemed I'd revealed more of my abilities than expected because I'd gotten carried away in the fight.
Still, this was within my expectations. I smirked at his words.
"Why do you think it's impossible?"
"Of course it is! Since the first Heroes, even nobles with two abilities have only ever been spoken of in rumors; they've never actually appeared! But you used three, no, even more abilities. And those abilities are..."
He stared at my hand, his face now stricken with terror.
Without my realizing it, my hand was glowing faintly.
Oh dear, it seemed I'd gone further than I thought. I'd fought to the point of revealing 'Mana Resonance.'
I sighed inwardly and withdrew the mana I'd unleashed.
The light emanating from my hand subsided.
"You just mentioned them. People who used two or more abilities."
"What do you mean... Could it be..."
He seemed to have caught on to what I was about to say, so I kindly spelled it out for him.
He was someone who wouldn't be able to tell anyone else anyway. It seemed best to let him go with all his questions answered.
"The Heroes were all Multi-Ability Users. It was only the nobles who came after them who were half-baked."
"Could it be... are you saying you're the reincarnation of the Hero?!"