The Middle Path

"Of course I trust Ian."

"As you should."

"Ian, don't tell me you wagered Sir Tarian himself?"

My brother had apparently pieced together the flow of the conversation, and I only smiled back at the look he gave me.

As we kept talking, I became aware of the stares around us growing sharp. It wasn't just the conversation, either — most of them were gaping at Tarian in open shock.

He really is famous.

A knight still counted among the young, and one who had already racked up a string of accomplishments at that. Naturally, his name came up whenever the next candidate for Sword Master was discussed.

Granted, that was talk of potential — the consensus was that the rank was still far beyond his reach.

"The Subjugation Festival we've all awaited begins now. May the future of the North shine on its own merit."

Just as brief as his opening address the day before, Luke Bahen finished his remarks and swept his gaze across the crowd from atop the platform.

Right now... he's looking at me.

I'd only been watching him ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠for a moment when I realized his eyes had lingered on me far longer than they should have. If it had been a passing glance, fine — but when he flashed a grin that bared his teeth outright, I couldn't help the chill that ran down my spine.

He knows.

He clearly already knew about whatever conversation had passed between Johannes and me. Well, of course he did — nothing happened inside the Bahen estate without him hearing of it.

At that thought, a small laugh escaped me as well. The moment that eternal stare finally left me, I discovered cold sweat trickling down the back of my neck.

"Whew."

"..."

Tarian and my brother, it seemed, were feeling exactly the same thing.

"Are you all right, my lord?"

"Barely."

It was different from yesterday. A being above knights. I had expected a tremendous gap between us, but I never imagined a mere look would overwhelm me this completely.

And that's the level I have to grow beyond.

Strangely, though, it didn't feel despairing. If anything, the resolve to surpass him arrived before the fear did.

"It'll be starting soon."

"Take care not to get hurt. Push yourself only as far as you can bear — and raising our house's name while you're at it wouldn't hurt either."

I nodded at the words of encouragement from my brother's mouth — the same mouth that never produced anything but worry. There was still concern threaded through it, but the corner of his lips twitched in spite of itself.

"Just trust me."

"I shall be cheering you on from here."

Leaving Tarian's calm well-wishes behind me, I pushed my way into the crowd of no fewer than dozens of nobles.

The stares came at once. At the sight of Johannes Bahen burning with fighting spirit, I let out a snort of laughter.

I'm going to win.

I mouthed the words silently, and he seemed to understand them perfectly well — there was the beginning of a furious flare in his eyes.

But before he could respond—

Pwooo—

The horn announcing the start of the Subjugation Festival rang out across the field.

"Move it!"

"Out of the way, that side's mine—"

Perhaps because many of them were already acquainted, they jostled and shouted as they broke into a run toward the forest. I followed behind them at a leisurely pace, watching the crowd gradually split off in several directions.

Naturally.

The Subjugation Festival traditionally offered three paths. The left route pitted you against low-grade monsters at a relatively easy difficulty; the right route against ordinary beasts like snowfield dire bears.

And the last one...

"So you've taken this road too, I see."

"Huh. You managed to get away?"

The center path — the one Johannes Bahen and I now walked. This was the road where monsters and magic beasts existed at a level that could genuinely cost you your life.

Cute ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠kid.

He'd hesitated at first, then seen me heading this way and trailed after me — as if I hadn't noticed. He could have pushed ahead on his own, yet he deliberately matched his pace to stay near me.

"Get away? What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, didn't everyone around you try to talk you out of it?"

I said it with just enough edge to provoke, and Johannes quickly caught my meaning, his eyes narrowing into a glare.

His level isn't bad, though.

A scion of a great house, with genuinely respectable skill to boot. Choosing the center path wasn't strange in itself — but there was no need for him to be this wound up about it.

"..."

"See? They did try to stop you."

Then again, he wasn't even an adult yet. He'd held a sword his whole life, but he clearly lacked real combat experience. Give him another year or two and he'd reach knight-level... but not now.

-Hmph! What would YOU ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠know about Yohan?

"...?"

I had been about to push ahead when the voice reached me, and my gaze drifted before I could stop it — to the sword hanging at his waist.

"Interesting."

"We'll see, won't we?"

Who ended up apologizing was something we could settle by watching.

Still — I hadn't expected it to speak first, before I'd even claimed it.

But these were words I could not simply let pass.

Bahen's mana cultivation method, hm.

My mana efficiency was already climbing, and if I secured a proper cultivation method on top of it, the synergy would be explosive. And they were offering to hand it over willingly? A smile crept across my face.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing. Then let's have a good match."

With those words, I took one deliberate step forward.

CRACK—!

The massive frost giant split clean in half. The petals of ice that bloomed around it turned crimson as they drank in its blood.

What... is that?

Shock flooded Johannes Bahen's eyes as he stared.

What kind of monster was a frost giant? Two of them could wipe out a squad of soldiers; five gathering together could flatten an entire village. That was the caliber of creature it was.

"That's one more down."

The sight of Ian carving up frost giants with such effortless ease was, to Johannes, something he could scarcely believe.

How did it come to this?

When he had first approached, it had been nothing more than curiosity — a swordsman his own age was a rare sight. The other children of House Bahen far outclassed him, and the heirs of other houses were simply not his equals. So when he'd seen Ian carrying himself with unusual bearing, he'd wondered if he'd finally found a worthy rival.

But then he'd heard that Ian had lived as an unremarkable recluse even within House Rashid, and his interest had soured into disappointment.

Too good for him, Tarian.

That was why he had so readily accepted the wager. He hadn't believed Ian was fit to be Tarian's master.

And I couldn't exactly hand him over without a fight.

The man who had taught him the sword as a child — and beyond that, the childish impulse to learn that swordsmanship for himself. And when he realized Tarian ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠carried the potential to become a Sword Master, the desire to keep him only deepened.

To be sure, Tarian had left the moment the instructor's contract ended — but Johannes had always believed he would seek him out again someday. Instead, their reunion had delivered the worst possible outcome: another lord already sitting in the master's seat.

WHOOOM—!

While Johannes stood lost in reminiscence, a frost giant had closed the distance without him noticing, and it swung its enormous club.

Wielding a whole tree like a mere stick. Johannes immediately circulated his mana to reinforce his body.

Shfft—

He severed the tree in a single stroke — but the recoil was brutal.

Frost giants were among the monsters that ravaged the North on raw physical might alone. They were hardly docile enough to sit still and accept a counterattack born of flustered panic.

Danger—

The frost giant advanced on Johannes, grinning with bared teeth. He stumbled backward without meaning to, lost his footing, and fell — and squeezed his eyes shut.

Slash—

By then, Ian had already leapt into the air and cleaved through the frost giant's neck.

Still smiling, the frost giant's head went sailing through empty air — and landed right in front of Johannes.

"HYAAH!"

When the startled Johannes hurriedly turned his gaze, what met him was the sight of every frost giant that had surrounded them lying dead.

"Hey. You alright?"

Unlike himself — who had frozen up, hesitating under an attack that had slipped in while his guard was down — Ian had all but massacred the frost giants. The gap was undeniable.

"I thought you could at least manage one."

"I-I let my guard down."

"Congratulations, then."

Watching Ian sneer with all the enthusiasm of someone forced to applaud, Johannes found himself unable to summon a single word of rebuttal. In truth, this wasn't a difference in skill one could argue away.

"Kgh... you're right. I fell short."

"Well, look at that. You can admit your own mistakes."

"I know it was a reckless act. I simply didn't want to give up."

At Johannes's frank admission, Ian let out a soft laugh. He really wasn't a bad-natured kid. He was just far too young — a far cry from the man in the game.

"Get up already."

Ian held out a hand and pulled him to his feet.

He really is worth taking along.

Less a party member to drag around than a natural ally. With House Bahen behind him, an alliance could only work in Ian's favor. When the thought reached that point, Ian smiled.

"Stop getting distracted and focus on the competition. Don't go wasting your chances worrying about other people."

"..."

"Do well, now. If I win too easily, it's no fun at all."

A tangle of emotions flickered across Johannes's eyes. He had committed a genuine discourtesy — demanding that Ian hand over a knight sworn to another house — and yet Ian responded with kindness instead of offense. Moreover, the skill Ian possessed stirred something dangerously close to awe in Johannes's eyes.

Another teacher...!

Anyone from whom there was something to learn could be made a teacher — that was simply how it worked. Thinking so, Johannes thrust out his hand with burning enthusiasm.

"Understood. I shall live up to your expectations."

I think he's gotten the wrong idea about something.

For a moment, Ian wondered at the boy who seemed to have twisted "do well on your own" into a solemn vow of mentorship. But good was good, he decided, and accepted the handshake with a smile.

At the flustered voice, Ian barely swallowed the laugh that nearly burst out of him and pressed forward.

My strength is on another level compared to before, that's for sure.

Back during the dungeon raid, frost giants would have given him real trouble. His raw physical stats were now on par with the Ancient Great Warrior of that time. With almost no technique to speak of, they might seem like easy opponents — but their habit of moving in packs made them genuinely awkward to fight.

And yet I won easily.

Having played the game for so long, he had long since memorized the frost giants' movement patterns. That knowledge was exactly why he'd been confident enough to propose the wager in the first place.

Even so — this easy?

Yeah. He really does grow fast.

Not to mention he now had Blessing of Frost and Frostfang working together. Even the frost-resistant frost giants were writhing on the ground with frostbite.

Drawing up his mana in an instant, he cut straight through the heart of the center path. Before long, the corpses of frost giants began piling up in his wake.

A long stretch of time passed, and only when the sun had begun its lazy descent did the Subjugation Festival finally come to an end.

The second day belonged to the promising young talents. Even the standouts among them had, at best, managed to fell a handful of frost giants.

And among them all—

THUD—!

With an enormous crash, a massive hilt hit the ground. It was packed full of frost giant heads.