Chapter 30 - Beginning Ordinarily and Finally Becoming Extraordinary (3)

My maternal uncle always said the same thing.

That it only became real starting from two circuits. That the mana of the heart could withstand only a single circuit that did not resonate.

That was no exaggeration.

The moment I met Dunham's sword head-on, I realized it. My insides churned. It was different from when I had faced my uncle. Back then, I had used the [Poem of Slaying Dragons], but what I had now was only the ordinary-grade [Poem of Sparring].

And the [Poem of Sparring], which had easily offset the waves from one circuit, could not perfectly protect me from the waves raised by two circuits resonating with each other.

I forced down my churning stomach and let out a short breath.

Through the pouring flashes of sword light, I saw Dunham's face. His sharp eyes gleamed like a hawk hunting prey, full of fighting spirit.

CRASH!

The moment our swords collided, another wave turned my insides upside down. But instead of shrinking back, I thrust my sword out hard once more. Before the silver flash could even reach the end of its path, Dunham's sword blocked its way.

A momentary lock. Dunham's sword slid down my blade like a snake. I yanked my hilt up as if snatching it away and knocked off the blade clinging to mine.

"Hah!"

With a short inhale, I spun my sword halfway through the air. Naturally, Dunham was at the end of it. Dunham raised the sword that had been knocked aside and held it upright.

CRASH!

Iron and iron, mana and mana, fighting spirit and fighting spirit collided and became sparks. Through the scattering sparks, countless flashes of sword light gleamed.

CRASH!

I drew in a breath. My body heated up as if I had inhaled flames. The heat began to lift my mood.

CRASH.

My ears were ringing. Probably because of the countless explosions that had gone off right beside me.

"...!"

Dunham's mouth opened. But I could not tell what he had said.

Because I could not hear it.

All I could hear was the distant crashing sound that rang out every time swords collided in the air.

My head was strangely cold.

My sword moved without rest, yet it did not feel like my sword. I could not even feel the impact I should have felt each time sword met sword.

Had my strength already run out? Had my mana run dry?

I looked at Dunham. Eyes filled with fighting spirit stared straight at me.

Why could I not feel the waves?

No matter how carefully I thought about it, no answer came. Even during that time, my sword was busily moving through the air.

CRASH.

At some point, a cluster of light clung to the tip of Dunham's sword. Even through the haze, my skin tingled.

I saw Dunham raise his sword.

His movements were strangely slow, and over his broad shoulders, I saw the faces of the spectators watching this way. Among them were Adelia and Arwen.

"...!"

The sight of the two of them moving only their mouths as if performing a pantomime was ridiculous. I shifted my gaze again. I saw a flash of light falling straight down from the sky.

My sword moved on its own. At just the right slant, perfect for that cluster of light falling from the sky to ride along and flow away.

The flash touched my sword. Before I knew it, my sword too was wrapped in a cluster of light. Light flowed down along light.

THUD.

At that moment, I felt a dull sensation. It was a shock as if someone had grabbed my organs and was shaking them around, and I clenched my teeth.

CRASH.

Dunham's sword, having flowed down along Twilight, struck the ground. Dust flew up, and powdered stone scattered.

The moment the weight pressing down from above disappeared, my sword sprang upward. The tip of the sword spun once through the air and aimed at Dunham's shoulder.

A single silver line appeared in the air. Then, one beat late, bright red blood sprayed up.

"...!"

Dunham's mouth fell wide open.

I pulled my sword back. Blood sprayed again. At that moment, Dunham's sword, which had dug into the ground, rushed at me once more.

But I had already moved behind Dunham.

I adjusted my grip on the hilt and swung my sword with all my might. Dunham, struck in the back by the flat of the blade, bent forward at the waist. I lifted my foot and kicked down into the back of his defenselessly exposed knee.

THUD.

Dunham dropped to one knee.

WHOOSH.

I spun my body once and swung my sword with all my might. Dunham, struck in the side, flew through the air.

I watched Dunham fly through the air with his eyes rolled back. His manly face blurred. And in its place, the face of someone entirely different appeared.

It was the face of a knight other than Dunham.

The face blurred again. Another face was revealed. This time too, it was the face of someone completely different. Someone I did not know went tumbling across the ground.

"Next!"

A breath full of heat, a voice heated to the limit, and my face flushed hot.

At that moment, the muffled world returned to normal.

"Petten fainted!"

"My God!"

The silence was suddenly torn apart, and my mind, which had been lifted to the ends of the sky, dropped with a thud.

My body cooled.

"Haa, haa."

My chest felt tight. I was out of breath to the point it caught in my throat.

The mana in my heart was exhausted, almost empty, and my muscles spasmed constantly, screaming in protest.

My heart pounded as if it would burst. My mouth was bone-dry. Every time I breathed in, it felt as though the inside of my mouth was splitting apart.

"Wow! He really won again!"

Only after hearing the knights' heated cheers was I able to remember everything.

I had beaten Dunham, and after that, I had crossed swords with four more knights. And,

"Five wins in a row!"

I had won every single one.

The moment I became aware of that fact, my mind snapped clear.

「Having crossed blades a hundred times, I withstood a thousand waves.」

「Before waves greater than those, I shall stand proud.」

As the haze in my head cleared, a low singing voice reached me.

「Now, at last, I take up my sword and rise.」

A newly added verse.

「The grade of [Poem of Sparring] has risen.」

「The grade of [Poem of Sparring] has become [Extraordinary Grade] from [Ordinary Grade].」

Messages came one after another.

「[Poem of Sparring] changes to match its grade.」

「[Poem of Sparring] has become [Poem of Duel].」

Only a few hours had passed since I arrived at Iron Lion Castle, yet I had obtained what I wanted far earlier than expected.

Was it because I had obtained what I wanted?

"Hm."

Suddenly, the world spun before my eyes. There was no strength left in my body.

"Your Highness!"

At that moment, a rough hand dug under my armpit. That unfamiliar hand supported me as my knees buckled weakly and I was about to sink down.

I forced strength into my closing eyes and looked back.

Some man was behind me. His face was unfamiliar, but guessing his identity was not difficult. The man was wearing the uniform of the Iron Lion Knights.

But even though I knew who he was, I could not understand the unexpected emotion on his face.

It was clearly goodwill.

"Your Highness."

The man smiled, showing white teeth.

"I offer my respect for the victory Your Highness has achieved."

No sooner had the man finished speaking than cheers burst out.

"Respect to the sword of His Highness the First Prince!"

"Respect to his fighting spirit!"

"We offer our respect to his victory!"

The knights of the Iron Lion Knights cheered as they looked at me. The men who had acted so hostile that they seemed ready to devour me now looked at me with nothing but goodwill.

"They are..."

Then a heavy voice spoke.

"...simple men by nature."

It was York Walloden, commander of the Iron Lion Knights and commander of the fortress.

"Swords and victory. Nothing makes them more enthusiastic than those."

At his words, I looked around again.

Some gave me a thumbs-up and grinned broadly, while others chattered on about the five victories I had won. I even saw some snickering as they looked at their comrades who still could not get up.

"Ah..."

As I stared blankly at the scene, my uncle suddenly cut in.

"It seems you thought they would resent you."

I nodded without thinking.

I had just been thinking it strange that they were not drawing their swords at once, saying they had to restore their fallen honor.

"A fair defeat is worth more than a filthy victory. You tested each other's skill with all you had, so what do victory and defeat matter, and what is so dishonorable about such a defeat?"

"The name of the Iron Lions does not lose its luster just because they lose a few spars."

York Walloden backed up my uncle's words.

"Dunham may resent you a little."

"After all, he will have to offer Your Highness the sword he bragged about so much!"

"That is quite refreshing. He always strutted around so much that it was hard to stand watching him."

"Look who's talking! This feels like ten years of indigestion finally clearing up!"

The Iron Lions noisily ran their mouths.

It certainly seemed that the commander and my uncle were right. Rather than being upset over the fact that they had lost, the knights seemed excited as though they had merely watched an entertaining spectacle.

Still, even so, pretending not to see their comrades lying there battered and bloody was a bit much.

"Your Highness."

Adelia belatedly approached. Her face was full of concern, as if worried that I might have been hurt.

"You have sweated a great deal."

With a handkerchief I had no idea when she had taken out, she wiped my face. At that moment, the Iron Lions let out sighs.

They were pitiful men shut away in a remote fortress, waiting only for the day their swords would be used, and now even the one flower blooming in that fortress was about to leave.

Out of a sense of responsibility, I stopped Adelia's hand at an appropriate point.

A small laugh slipped out.

"Still, at least one thing hasn't changed."

Their straightforward attitude toward victory and defeat, and their reverence for the strong, were just as they had been in the past and now. Pleased by that, I smiled.

* * *

After that, I stayed at Iron Lion Castle for two more days and crossed swords with the knights. Among them were knights I had not seen on the first day, and there were also those like Dunham who charged at me again, saying they would take revenge.

Of course, I won all of my spars against them.

Though every one of those who crossed swords with me was a regular knight of the Iron Lion Knights, from my perspective, needing to diligently pile up victories for the poem's grade, there was no reason to force myself to spar with those who did not step forward on their own.

At least, not for now.

"Then let us meet again next time."

When I climbed onto my horse and looked back, York Walloden and the Iron Lions were looking at me.

"May you remain in good health until the next time we meet."

"You take care as well, Count."

After exchanging brief farewells, I was about to leave the castle when I stopped my horse again. I had just remembered something I needed to ask.

"Please keep everything that happened while I stayed here a secret."

"Would it not be of help to make it known?"

He was asking whether saying I had won against the Iron Lions would not help, even a little, in clearing away my infamy as a scoundrel.

Of course, the Count's words were true. But right now, I was not particularly inconvenienced by failing to immediately shed my infamy as a scoundrel.

It was only to the extent that my ears burned a little, or that the gazes directed at me held some malice. That was all. And such things were not the slightest problem for me.

"May I ask what your reason is?"

"There is someone I want to give a hard time."

"By a hard time, you mean..."

Instead of answering, I held up three fingers. As if he had somehow understood what the gesture meant, York Walloden laughed heartily.

"Gladly, I shall do so."

Since the farewells seemed roughly finished, I turned away. Behind me followed the Royal Knights, Adelia, and Arwen. My uncle was already far ahead.

"So damn impatient."

After grumbling briefly, I spurred my horse.

"Uncle!"

"Do you have something to say?"

When I called him, my uncle slowed his horse.

"About the match schedule."