Level up with swords (6)
“… “It’s been a while, Lian.”
Leon looked at him and spoke calmly.
It’s not that it’s not, it’s been quite a while.
Once he began receiving training from El Cid, Leon was completely isolated from his already limited work.
Even when eating or doing physical training.
This was because I didn’t know when and where El Cid would ask questions, so I didn’t have time to pay attention to anything else. Even my memories of talking with Rhian or Chloe were as recent as fifteen days ago.
“I went to the training ground right after lunch, so it’s like Leon.”
Lian smiled warmly and took a few steps closer.
Was the awkwardness resolved by exchanging a few words? The expression I saw a moment ago had disappeared completely.
He stopped with about four steps left.
Then he opened his mouth in a casual tone.
“I came here just in case, and I felt relieved.”
“what?”
Ryan shrugged his shoulders at his nervous reaction.
“I haven’t heard anything about sparring for almost a month. I wondered if you had given up on the challenge like everyone else. But looking at your face, it seems like you still have the will to do it.”
“Do you see that?”
“yes.”
Leon sarcastically asked back the words that made him seem like he knew everything, but Lian declared without a moment of hesitation.
To a genius, the submission of others was familiar.
A talent that clearly represents superior-subordinate relationships, even being violent. It destroys the pride of those who experience it and causes hostility or reverence. This power is also called charisma.
I knew this because I had wielded that power countless times until now.
“The faces of people who think they can’t beat me are very different from my brother.”
Leon hasn’t given up yet.
Ryan, who saw through that fact, was secretly happy.
It was even more difficult to capture him, but if Leon had given in as easily as others, he would have been quite disappointed. In some ways, feelings that could be called contradictory stirred carefully.
But there was no way Leon knew his inner thoughts.
“Yeah, you’re great. Is that the whole reason you came to see me during lunch? “If you’re done with your business, why don’t you just leave?”
Lian smiled bitterly at those blunt words.
“Wow, it’s chilly. It’s been a while since we talked like this, so please take a few more words.”
“How much do you have to say between you and me?”
“It only takes 10 minutes.”
Leon, tired of his steadfast attitude, let out a long sigh.
Then, Rian seemed to have seen that reaction as permission, and sat down nearby without him having a chance to say anything.
The green eyes that were rolling playfully soon turned serious.
Because what I’m going to say from now on wasn’t said as a ‘junior’.
“You’ve heard the rumor at least once that I’m not a commoner, right?”
“It’s a rumor… .”
Leon twitched the corner of his mouth at those words and looked back at Lian.
“Do I need to say it again? It didn’t seem like he had any intention of hiding it. “No, should I use the honorific language from now on?”
“I didn’t mean that.”
“then?”
Lian’s playful expression disappeared and his face became serious.
An inexplicable sense of intimidation flows out.
The aura of someone who had been raised as a member of the royal family from a young age, and the determination honed through terrible experience, were reflected in his eyes. It wasn’t enough to be called dignified, but it’s a problem that can be solved if you gain a little more experience.
Ryan’s voice naturally carried that weight.
“Please think of these words as being conveyed not by a ‘junior’ at the Academy, but by ‘Rian’, whose identity is hidden.”
“Sure.”
Leon nodded, understanding what he meant.
Even though he is blindfolded and says he is Aung, there must be a good reason for hiding his identity. Nevertheless, there was enough room for it to become a ‘threat’ to reveal the fact.
Rian, who changed the mood, thought for a moment and then opened his mouth.
“You probably know that I have accepted the sparring one-sidedly.”
“okay.”
No matter how free the sparring between students was, there was no example of it being applied as frequently as Leon. It was okay for Lian to just refuse, and he was able to avoid sparring with Leon without having to use his status.
It was thanks to Ryan’s favor that the two continued to compete.
It was as if he had dealt with Leon, who had challenged him without admitting defeat, with magnanimity as a winner.
To put it simply, Rihanna can do whatever she wants whenever she wants.
“Now let’s finish this quickly.”
It meant that the competition that had lasted for over three years could be ended.
“Let’s finish it?”
“Oh, of course, I don’t mean to end it here. This next match will be the last. As always, no aurors, just pure swordsmanship. Instead, use a false sword instead of a wooden sword.”
As if trying to gauge Leon’s reaction, Lian looked at his face with a thin smile.
I don’t know what answer I got from that observation.
Rian soon brought up the reason why he came to the training hall to visit him.
“And if I win that match, Leon will have to become my vassal.”
“… … .”
It was Rian’s own declaration of war to establish a superior-subordinate relationship that had never been established before.
It was in that context that I referred to myself as ‘I’ at the end.
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Leon said those words with an expressionless face.
“It’s some kind of bet. But what guarantee is there that I will keep that promise? “It’s not a magic contract, and if it’s a verbal promise, it can be broken at any time.”
“Heh, if it were someone else, it probably would have been like that.”
Ryan denied that possibility with a confident attitude.
“But I know very well. “Standing before my eyes is a person who has been pushing himself for years out of pride and has no trace of flexibility.”
“… “Is it an insult or a compliment?”
“I believe in my brother’s promise. “I will try to keep my word no matter what.”
“joy.”
If you say no here, all you can do is spit in my face.
Leon just snorted and blurted out those words.
Then, looking at Rian who was waiting for his answer, he returned a question that was no different from acceptance.
“If you are defeated, I will become your vassal. “That’s the condition, right?”
“yes.”
“But what if I beat you?”
It was not something someone who had never won to this day would say, but Leon’s voice was extremely serious.
I wasn’t just wondering, I was genuinely asking.
This means that I will fight with the intention of winning.
If anyone heard it, they would have laughed at that rant, but they didn’t laugh as much as Lian. Nodding her head as if she knew it would happen, she presented the conditions she had thought of in advance.
“I will grant what my brother wants as long as it does not jeopardize my honor or family. Things like arcane swordsmanship, teaching Auror techniques, and elixirs are all possible.”
“Okay, I will decide the date of the match. Are you fine?”
“Please tell me as soon as you are ready. “We need to make a place, so we need to know about three days in advance.”
Even though it was a non-compulsory promise, the two men reached an agreement without doubting each other’s words.
Leon, a hero chosen by the whim of the holy sword.
The prince, Lian, seeks to regain the throne of the empire.
In a true sense, this was the moment when their first confrontation began.
* * *
“… … “I feel uneasy.”
After finishing his conversation with Lian, who suddenly came to visit, Leon, who had finally calmed his anger, muttered softly.
I didn’t mean to say anything.
A defeat that lasted three years. And it must be a complaint born of a sense of inferiority toward the being called Rian.
However, there was someone who could not ignore those words.
[what? Feeling anxious? A little while ago, you accepted what that idiot said nicely, but now you’ve become scared?]
‘Oh, it’s not like that.’
Hearing El Cid’s words with a clear expression of displeasure, Leon waved his hands while breaking into a cold sweat.
There was nothing more unfair than being ‘punished’ for a single slip of the tongue. So he desperately racked his brain and came up with a reason that wasn’t a lie.
‘I wonder if I’ve really become stronger.’
[hmm?]
‘The past month’s training was difficult, but I didn’t feel like I had gotten any stronger.’
El Cid seemed to be convinced by the explanation and comforted him.
[Rest assured. You may not realize it yet, but you have already become quite strong.]
‘is it?’
[‘How to see’ is a strength different from physical strength. Since I’ve never used it properly, is it natural that I don’t feel it? Well, don’t worry, I’ve done other things… ah!]
El Cid, who was mixing explanations and talking to himself, remembered something.
[Leon, you said you would have a physical fitness test next time, right?]
‘Oh, right. ‘I remembered it.’
[Then look forward to it. Because something beyond your imagination will happen. You will never say the same thing again.]
‘… … ?’
Leon tilted his head with a puzzled expression at those words.
Are you expecting a physical fitness test?
As I was already practicing ‘how to see’, I only did a moderate amount of physical training to warm up my body, but what kind of results would I get?
It wasn’t like I learned anything special.
El Cid, perhaps aware of his question, didn’t explain any further and shouted at him to just trust him.
In the end, it was class time without knowing anything.
“Now, please stand in line again in order of attendance number. “If you are in a bad condition, leave aside and say your name, and the rest should relax.”
The instructor standing on the podium in the training hall gave instructions as always.
Leon followed suit and stretched his limbs.
The physical strength test does not use auras, but is purely based on physical ability. For that reason, it was one of the sports in which the grades of the noble class and the commoner class were not separated.
Nevertheless, the highest ranks were always noble classes.
‘Was I in 9th place last time?’
Even Leon, who has trained his body to the limit, is limited to being in the top 10. Even if you don’t use Aurors, nobles and commoners have different starting points. This was because the elixirs, special martial arts, and auras taken from a young age strengthened the body by learning them.
Just taking 9th place bare-chested was impressive enough.
[What rank is that guy?]
‘1st.’
[As expected. Even though it’s not as good as yours, it looks like you’ve trained quite a bit, so it can’t be compared to those bastards who only care about their families.]
Leon glanced sideways at Rian for a moment at those words, but then turned his gaze straight ahead and focused on himself.
If what El Cid said, there will be quite a big change.
There was nothing wrong with refining my mindset.
While he was concentrating, the physical fitness test started from the front row. The first event to be measured was sprinting, which can be considered basic.
Even if it is a short distance, you have to run two laps around the training ground, 400 meters per lap, so you have to run a whopping 800 meters.
“depart!”
Almost simultaneously, several students rushed out, creating an unseasonable cloud of dust in the training hall.
Since the class is for those aspiring to become knights, their physical strength is very good.
Even the student who came in last place lasted just over 2 minutes.
‘Last time, Rihanna’s time was around 1 minute and 20 seconds.’
For a speed achieved without an auror, this is terrifying.
Leon, who sprinted all out, was only at 1 minute and 40 seconds, but Lian surpassed that by about 20 seconds.
Even compared to other students in the noble class, there is a big difference.
The unrivaled first place was Rihanna.
[Don’t be scared even before you try it. No, even if you tried it, don’t be scared. Unlike before, you have me now.]
‘Ha, yes. I believe it, Holy Sword!’
[Oh!]
With El Cid’s encouragement, Leon stood up after his attendance number was called.
As we stood at the starting line drawn in white, the instructor raised his hand after confirming that the students were all ready.
Seeing that, Leon’s thighs swelled tightly.
Like a bow string just before shooting an arrow, the muscles came together to push the body with all its might.
and… … .
“depart!”
The moment the instructor’s hand was put down, the students, including Leon, kicked the ground as hard as they could with both legs.
Pop!
A few handfuls of dug-out soil bounce violently.
The windless air presses on the skin of my face.
A few strands of hair flew back and tickled the shell of my ear.
Moving forward before anyone else, Leon could not help but be taken aback by the unfamiliar acceleration.
‘what? Why so fast?!’
