Christian did not deny her warning.
“Of course, I couldn’t beat the Vice Captain if she used her full power. But will you really use all your power against a scoundrel like me, from such a noble origin?”
“……”
“Let’s fight with only up to 1-star magic allowed, and no curses. If you’re not confident about winning with 1-star, shall I allow up to 2-star for you?”
Melin burst into laughter.
That scoundrel was provoking her by claiming he could win when bot of them are at the level of 1-star magic. He was saying this to her, whole 4-star.
And not just any 4-star, but a high-ranking 4-star knight like her.
“No need for even 1-star. I’ll use just half of that. And I’ll only use the basic ‘Mud Sword Technique’.”
Tightly.
She tied up her hair.
“But in return, after the duel, as payback for insulting me, I will break both your legs.”
It wasn’t an empty threat.
She truly intended to do so.
Since he was at least distantly related to the Dark Magus lineage, she would stop at breaking his legs, whereas if it had been anyone else who dared provoke her like this, she wouldn’t have ended things so lightly.
But Christian kept taunting to the end.
“If I lose the duel, then do so. But you might want to consider what you’ll do if you lose, Vice Captain?”
“!!”
“I don’t think I will lose, though.”
Melin scoffed multiple times.
She was unsure whether to be angry or dumbfounded by the audacity of that thunderous fool.
“If you win, I will grant whatever request you have. Whatever it might be.”
“That seems like a risky condition, doesn’t it?”
“It’s fine. Whatever the condition.”
Flash!
Melin’s body accelerated instantly.
She struck at Christian with her sword sheath.
Crack!
Watching Christian barely defend himself, she coldly whispered.
“After all, you won’t be walking out of here today.”
* * *
‘Impudent fool.’
Melin thought.
Now, it was clear he possessed tremendous talent.
Perhaps his talent might even compare to that of ‘Ashed de Balran,’ the heir apparent of the main family.
Talent enough to be arrogantly confident.
But that was as far as it should go.
Being arrogant, yet overstepping one’s bounds, was problematic.
“Understanding one’s place is the most necessary virtue for a knight. If you want to live long.”
The society of knights, though a hierarchy of strength, was not without order.
Rather, there were strict rules.
Submission to the stronger.
By that standard, Christian ‘s current behavior was nothing but the reckless idiocy of a thoughtless fool.
“I’ll need to correct his behavior. Since I owe Count Kazar a great deal, I might as well repay that debt by taking this opportunity.”
She intended to thoroughly ‘educate’ Christian today.
To ensure that he never again acted as recklessly and mindlessly as he had today.
That scoundrel would eventually be grateful to her.
She needed to teach him how to bow down to the stronger.
The method was simple.
He just needed to be defeated.
After taking enough hits, he would naturally develop respect for the stronger.
With this in mind, she swung her sword sheath again.
Considerable time passed.
Melin attacked relentlessly, and Christian managed to defend barely.
All the knights watching thought the outcome would soon be clear.
“He’s no match, really.”
“Yet he’s holding out quite well against the Vice Captain.”
“Perhaps his talent is real.”
The knights sent admiring glances as Christian lasted surprisingly long.
But even so.
That scoundrel was bound to fall soon.
Any moment now.
Soon.
But… that soon never seemed to come.
“!!”
Melin’s face hardened.
Something was off.
Clearly, he shouldn’t have been a match for her, but strangely, her attacks didn’t connect.
Melin felt a sense of déjà vu.
Like with Theren earlier… and during the previous duels… hadn’t it been like this?
Christian smirked.
“It seems things aren’t going quite your way.”
“!!”
“Vice Captain… maybe you’re not as great as you think.”
Melin’s face flared with anger.
It was an insult she hadn’t heard since reaching her current level.
Enraged, she gritted her teeth.
She intended to overpower that annoying, mosquito-like scoundrel immediately.
Magic surged from her core to her sword sheath.
One of the stronger attacks in the Mud Sword Technique, a Mud Strike.
It used only about half of 1-star worth of magic, as promised.
Not a large amount, but she thought it should be enough to subdue that scoundrel.
But as she gathered her will, a problem occurred in her posture.
Her movements became slightly larger.
A mistake she herself did not recognize.
Or perhaps, it was not a mistake
.
Though her movements were enlarged, it wouldn’t typically cause an issue.
Unfortunately for her, Christian —or rather, the entity within him—was not an ordinary being.
A genius to the extent that even a hero would admire.
He didn’t miss that gap.
Especially since he had completely grasped the Mud Sword Technique in just a few days.
He knew exactly what opening would appear when executing a Mud Strike.
Christian exploited that gap, moving swiftly inside.
“!!”
Melin was caught off guard by the unexpected closing of their distance.
Their proximity had changed, and so must her attack.
The problem was that her last movement had been too large.
A slight delay occurred as she attempted to change her motion.
Christian did not miss this opportunity.
He knew this moment might never come again. If he missed it, he would never win.
So, he moved boldly.
Magic surged from his core throughout his body.
It was still too weak to fortify his entire body, so he selectively strengthened only the most necessary parts.
Then, he pushed even deeper inside her guard.
“!!”
Melin was even more flustered by his movement.
Moving further inside? That would make it impossible for her to properly swing her sword.
In that moment, she realized Christian’s intentions.
“Could it be?”
But it was too late.
Although the explanation took time, what happened next was over in the blink of an eye, and it was too late for her to adjust her movements.
Then, the result:
Thud!!
Christian ‘s forehead slammed right into her nose bridge, a headbutt enhanced with magic.
* * *
Silence fell over the arena.
It was another moment of silence, indeterminate in count.
Unlike before, the knights could hardly believe what they had just witnessed.
“What just… How did this happen?”
“Why did the Vice Captain…?”
From the start to this point in the duel.
Christian had been overwhelmingly pushed back.
It was expected.
Even though Melin was restricted to using only half of 1-star worth of magic, the gap between their levels was still vast.
Yet at some moment, Christian had managed to dive in and succeed with a headbutt.
It was a perfectly timed move to exploit an opening Melin showed, but the knights lacked the keenness to see that.
Christian , bleeding from his nose, smirked inwardly as he watched Melin’s dazed expression.
“This duel, strictly speaking, was almost like cheating.”
It was a startling realization.
This duel was, in fact, entirely orchestrated by Christian .
‘How could a 4-star mage possibly match me with such restricted power, especially a magus knight?’
Magus knight.
A knight who uses both sword and magic.
The Dark Magus lineage traditionally excels in wielding both sword and magic simultaneously.
They focus on swordplay while using various dark magics as support.
The Black Marsh Knights were particularly renowned for skillfully using ‘curse’ magic, and sealing off ‘curses’ was like fighting with one hand and one leg tied.
If Melin had been a mage focused purely on swordsmanship, Christian would not have been able to strike so easily.
“Considering just swordsmanship, maybe she’s around 3-star? It’s typical for magus knights to have lower individual achievements compared to their overall level.”
Of course, even so, it was a significant feat.
The piercing stares of everyone proved it.
Astonishment, shock, confusion, and disbelief were all mixed up and directed at Christian .
Then, Melin burst into loud laughter.
“Ahahaha!!”
Unexpectedly, it wasn’t an angry face.
Rather, it was a laugh that seemed somewhat relieved.
She roughly wiped the blood from her nose with the back of her hand.
“I must apologize for what I said earlier. It seems I underestimated you, young master.”
Melin raised her voice again.
She acknowledged Christian .
A pleased smile spread across her face.
She was a true knight.
For the first time in a while, she felt the joy of meeting a worthy opponent.
“I’ve been dispatched to this branch family, killing time every day, but to encounter such enjoyment…”
Her initial intent to correct his behavior vanished.
At this moment, Melin recognized Christian as her ‘worthy opponent.’
Of course, strictly speaking, he was not really her match.
If she exerted her full power, he would stand no chance against her.
But what did that matter?
Her blood was boiling like this.
She recalled the moment when Christian had dived in during that split-second opening.
The insane sharpness in seizing that moment, and the boldness akin to a wild beast seizing an opportunity.
It was thrilling.
Such pleasure was rare in recent times.
“Things will be different going forward. Let’s concentrate, shall we?”
Melin licked her lips, her gaze now significantly more serious than before.
But Christian just shrugged.
“That would be difficult. The match is already over.”
“What?”
“Look at your neck.”
Melin, flustered, felt her neck.
Then she felt a faint scratch.
“When?”
“I scratched you with my fingernail while headbutting you. Imagine what would have happened if my nails had been poisoned?”
Melin was dumbfounded.
Christian was right.
She had lost.
“But… this is… this is…”
She bit her lip hard.
Was it just because she was careless?
It sounded like an excuse only a fool would make.
But was it really over?
To have lost so anticlimactically?
More than anything, she didn’t want to squander her rising excitement.
She wanted to truly cross swords with this genius.
She wanted to experience that thrill again.
Ultimately, she swallowed her pride.
“…Let’s go again.”
“Hmm? Are you not accepting your defeat?”
Melin bit her lip.
After hesitating, she answered.
“No, I admit it. You won.”
As she acknowledged her defeat, the crowd buzzed.
“But why are you begging like this?”
“That’s because…”
Melin blushed slightly with embarrassment.
“…I’m asking you. Regardless of winning or losing, I want to properly duel with you. In return, if you agree to another duel, I will grant any additional request you have.”
The knights looked incredulous at her humble plea.
That the haughty Vice Captain would lower herself like this.
“Besides losing the bet, you’ll grant another request?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
It was a significant offer.
Two blank checks combined with her victory in the duel—a considerable value, especially considering her status as a respected knight from the main house of the Dark Magus lineage.
But.
“I’m not particularly interested.”
“!!”
“The right to challenge you twice. As if that’s any significant privilege.”
Melin’s face hardened.
Christian curled the corner of his mouth.
And then he spoke in a low voice, audible only to Melin in front of him.
“Unless you’re offering to kneel before me unconditionally.”
***
Here is the Glossary/ Characters/ Settings of this novel!
If you have any suggestion for better names or words, feel free to share your suggestions! All the names and words chosen are all due to my own judgement, so some wording may not be to your taste.
