The Duel of Real Strength
Riel Ignis sat alone in her room, her mind swirling like storm clouds from the words Alan Ludwig had spoken to her yesterday.
If, just like Phyllis, Kyou Ventus left her side as well…
Riel could not bear the thought. She would not allow it.
Somehow, she had to tell her father, Duke Ignis, the truth.
She would go straight to him herself.
Unlike the days when she only knew how to write letters, she could at least try to deliver the words in person.
But that plan had to be set aside.
Duke Ignis had been far too busy lately to make personal visits.
Even once a year, at most twice.
Her mother was no better off, always helping the next duke—her elder brother Andrew—attend to her father.
Then there was her sister.
Eve Ignis, her eldest sister, was already buried in work at the Royal Magic Division.
Right now, because of the chaos caused by the rampaging monsters, the entire division had been dispatched far away on a mission.
It would be impossible to reach her sister even with her own strength.
Directly seeking her out was hopeless.
A letter… a letter would be useless.
It would simply be ignored in the middle.
Many people in the ducal house were already inclined to like Alan, especially the maids.
Riel had once overheard the maids secretly gossiping that she was jealous of Alan and spreading malicious rumors.
Even Ilia Anies, the exclusive maid waiting outside, seemed to be on Alan’s side.
…Riel remembered seeing the maid secretly steal the very first letter she had ever written to her father after mastering the script.
What if her father, Duke Ignis, came here himself?
That seemed unlikely too.
Even if the rumors were exaggerated, the man would not come all the way here just because his daughter was being threatened by someone.
Her mind felt completely tangled.
What was she supposed to do?
She had tried countless times to escape this situation.
Every attempt to meet her family or tell them the truth had been blocked.
It was as if some force was deliberately interfering with her.
She had endured it so many times that she almost gave up resisting.
But today, right now, she had to find a way out.
…She wanted to think alone for a while.
Riel turned her gaze toward the maid waiting silently behind her.
When their eyes met, Ilia immediately understood.
Riel pointed toward the door.
“Leave.”
Ilia nodded without a word and slipped out.
“Haa…”
A heavy sigh escaped her.
She hated being powerless and robbed of everything.
She hated her own weakness.
Was there really no way?
Was there truly no solution…?
Just as Riel’s thoughts grew heavier, a quiet knock sounded from the window.
She turned her gaze toward it.
“Who…?”
She held her breath and slowly approached the window.
Because the grounds of the academy were well-protected, outsiders were unlikely to appear.
But in this female dormitory, could there really be an insider who would come looking for her?
It was not a boast, but besides Kyou, she had no one she could call a friend.
The moment she opened the window slightly, a familiar voice reached her ears.
The day of the duel, two days after the formal challenge.
After a simple breakfast in the dormitory dining hall, she stepped out of the dorm.
And there stood Kyou Ventus, waiting for her.
“Kyou.”
“Good morning, Riel.”
“Yes. But Kyou, your clothes are all crooked.”
“Ah…”
She was right.
His clothes, his tie—everything was askew.
Even before coming to this world, he had always struggled to dress neatly.
“Haha… dressing myself is a rare treat these days.”
“Stand still. I’ll fix it for you.”
With those words, Riel began straightening his clothes.
…Um.
How should she describe this?
A beautiful girl fixing her partner’s clothes.
It felt strangely embarrassing.
“There! All done!”
She beamed with a bright smile.
For a moment their eyes met.
Riel’s cheeks flushed slightly, and she quickly lowered her gaze.
“T-Then… let’s go!”
“O-Okay…”
Feeling just as shy, Kyou walked beside Riel toward the academy.
“Kyou.”
“Hm?”
“Don’t give up.”
“I won’t.”
Today, in the academy, I will duel the original protagonist who defeated me in the original story—Alan Ludwig.
The academy classroom.
Alan was nowhere to be seen.
Not only him, but his entire group and Liliana were also absent.
The day before, we had submitted our duel schedule to the supervising professor.
The match would begin during the morning practical session.
Once the homeroom teacher arrived, the morning lecture would start.
Yet Alan and his followers had still not entered the classroom.
“I’m sorry I’m late!”
Just as Kyou thought that, the door opened and Alan strode in.
His followers followed right behind him, all of them drenched in sweat.
“I wonder what you were doing to arrive so late. Don’t be late next time.”
“Yes, sir!”
Kyou and Alan’s eyes met as he rushed into the classroom.
In his gaze burned pure hostility.
Kyou lightly ignored it.
After the first class ended, it was finally time for practical training.
The outdoor training grounds used for field activities.
The supervising professor handed each of them a wooden practice sword.
“According to your applications, each of you will use a sword, correct?”
“Yes.”
The weapons for the practice had been pre-submitted.
The supervising professor would then personally prepare them and hand them out on the day of the duel.
Kyou gripped the practice sword and swung it a few times.
It was lighter than his usual blade, but still heavy enough to feel solid.
One wrong hit would certainly leave a deep wound.
“The rules are one-on-one. Magic is allowed, but any spells with high lethal power are forbidden.”
“Understood!”
“Fight with pride. If you use cowardly tactics during the duel, you will be automatically disqualified.”
The students of the same class formed a circle around the training area.
As Kyou scanned the crowd, his eyes met Riel’s.
She gave him a small smile and waved.
Kyou waved back.
At that moment, a sharp sound rang out as a wooden sword was swung.
Alan was glaring straight at him.
“I will definitely end your evil deeds, Kyou Ventus.”
“Ha…”
Really.
Really, his head must be filled with nothing but flower fields.
Would the Alan from the original story have been the same?
…And how would the Riel from the original story have reacted?
“Keep struggling with all your might in your own delusions, Alan Ludwig!”
“You brat…!!”
Kaa!
The supervising professor’s signal to start the duel rang out.
Alan immediately raised his sword and charged forward.
Shoo!
A swift vertical slash.
Simple and with a narrow range, just like Alan’s style.
Kyou sidestepped to the side, then struck downward at Alan’s head.
Of course, Alan was no fool who would let himself be hit.
As soon as he realized Kyou’s attack was coming, he recovered his sword and blocked.
The wooden swords collided and were pulled back apart.
Alan moved again.
“Hah!”
This time, a diagonal slash from the upper right.
The range was wider than the vertical cut, but that was all.
Clang!
Slanting upward to intercept, Kyou’s sword deflected the blow and created a brief opening.
Thud!
“Ugh!”
The time to pull back and counter was too short, so he kicked Alan’s side instead.
Alan staggered back from the force of the kick.
“All you know how to do is charge like a beast?”
“Using your legs… you cowardly brat…!”
“Cowardly? There are dozens of foot-based martial arts in the kingdom’s many battle manuals alone.”
Kyou once again deflected the charge and kicked Alan’s leg.
“All you think of as cowardly is everything you don’t know, huh? How impressive.”
“Hah…!”
Alan kept attacking, dodging, and countering, repeating the cycle over and over.
Alan truly showed no sign of tiring.
Yes, that was exactly the case.
Alan was the Child of Yggdrasil.
His stamina was practically endless.
Just like the line from a hero movie— he could fight all day.
“You pathetic little monster…”
Even after dozens of exchanges, the boy showed zero fatigue.
Meanwhile, Kyou desperately tried to calm his own rising breath and maintain his stance.
He dodged, deflected, and countered Alan’s lightning-fast attacks without landing a clean hit.
Still, he felt his body growing heavier and heavier.
Alan’s strikes were extremely fast, and to keep up he had to move faster than normal, so he was simply growing tired.
By canceling out the magic Alan used, Kyou’s mana reserves were also rapidly draining.
Yet there was still no guaranteed victory.
Despite taking hits here and there, Alan’s movements had clearly grown sluggish.
So one well-placed blow was all he needed.
A single strike that would bring down the monster-like stamina of the original Alan.
But if he landed that blow before Kyou himself tired out, it would be his own defeat.
That was exactly what happened in the original story.
Using this method, Alan Ludwig was defeated for the very first time and finally abandoned his reliance on stamina.
But right now, the Alan standing before him was one who only knew how to fight with endless stamina.
“Hah… ha…”
How had the original Alan done it…?
In the original story, Kyou Ventus had tried every possible underhanded tactic to beat Alan.
On the morning of the duel, he had hired local delinquents to ambush Alan on his way to school, or manipulated Liliana to interfere.
But this was different.
Kyou had fought with real effort.
Unlike the Kyou from the original story, he could defeat Alan Ludwig with nothing but his own skill.
With that certainty in his heart, he watched for the opening.
Alan gripped his sword tighter as he prepared to charge again.
Kyou felt the mana gathering in Alan’s body.
And the moment Alan took a step forward to attack,
“Kuh!”
Alan’s leg wobbled.
Evidently, the injury from the earlier kicks had finally exceeded his limit.
‘Right now…!’
Exactly now.
With such a massive opening as this, he could strike with all his strength.
Just as he moved to act, his body shifted.
“Eh…?”
Movement had slowed.
His legs especially had become sluggish beyond compare.
A chill ran through his limbs, restricting his motion.
…That familiar mana.
Glancing sideways, Liliana stood there with a deathly pale face, staring at him.
And the aura of Alan’s incoming charge grew stronger.
She tried to flee, but her legs refused to move fast enough.
“Damn it…!”
In the blink of an eye, the wooden sword came crashing down right in front of him.
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