Chapter 27
Volume 1 Chapter 9 part2
After tidying up the arena, Chris and his blue armor came down .
He was holding a large sword in both hands, and had a different kind of sword on his back .
He was a young expert swordsman . Not just a swordsman, an expert swordsman .
In the game, his status was higher than any normal swordsman, and had a title that recognized him for his ability .
His father was a master swordsman who had been harshly teaching Chris the sword since he was a young age .
His calmness stemmed from his inability to display his emotions .
However, he was unrivaled when he held a sword…I didn’t like this guy either . Not only was he a character that was hard to capture, but he also can only use a sword .
Due to that, he didn’t possess any long ranged attacks, which made things difficult in the war part of the game . The habits of these past three people were too tough to handle, leading to many game overs .
Just thinking back to it made me angry .
Readying his large sword and armor, Chris held his weapon to the side, resembling the Waki-gamae stance in terms of my previous life . (TLN: Waki-gamae is a Japanese martial arts stance involving a sword . )
Chris spoke .
“──I am not negligent like the other two were . I’m going all out from the onset . ”
“Is that so? In that case, perhaps I’ll also go all out . ”
Perhaps still irritated that I was holding a shovel, he flared at me .
“How long do you plan on using that tool? That’s not suitable for this place . ”
“You’re not the one to decide that now, are you?”
The referee announced the start .
“Begin!”
──Well, despite what I said, I did think he was a strong character . He actually made sure not to be negligent, unlike the other two .
There was no hesitation when he moved in a straight path to slash at me .
“Luxon, deploy the drones . ”
[The drones are being deployed . ]
Drones successively descended from the weapon containers on my back . Firearms were installed on the spherical drones .
There were eight of them .
“──Wha?!”
As they were heading towards a surprised Chris, I made my next move .
“Open fire . ”
Pulling a trigger on a joystick, the drones all faced towards Chris and began firing .
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Chris hurried in an attempt to avoid them, but there wasn’t much he could do when surrounded by eight drones . The damage from the machine gun attacks of the drones piled up .
Perhaps thinking that he wouldn’t win if only defended, he tried attacking the drones, but Luxon was operating them .
[How futile . ]
When he tried to attack them, they would go around and attack him from behind .
However, Chris responded immediately and took measures to prevent them from going around him by stepping back to the wall . It may have seemed like a good choice, but…
“Alright, checkmate . Will you admit defeat?”
While I was carrying the shovel and didn’t move, Chris got emotional .
“You! Are you satisfied with this method of fighting?! There’s not even a trace of the knights’ way in it! What are you fighting like this for?!”
I knew that with him being particular about the sword, he wanted a knight-like fight, but to be frank, I had no interest .
“Is that all you wanted to say? This isn’t a bout . No matter how much you guys are keeping this up as a duel, it’s still a fight to the death . It’s bad to rely on firearms, you say? I never heard of a rule like that . In the first place, aren’t I, the one going against you five, the one that should be pitied? No wait, perhaps that was out of line . It’s fine if it’s five rounds of one-on-one, so I suppose it can’t be helped if I don’t receive any sympathy . All things considered, the gap between us is too big, so I was thinking about going easy on you . I even thought about going through with that fair-and-square way of the knights that you guys were talking about . ”
Chris tried to moved while I kept incessantly talking . Luxon, not overlooking that, began having the eight drones around me all fire .
In order to not take his life, they used special bullets that reduced damage, but soon unable to move, Chris then used his giant sword as a shield while leaning down .
“You’re making light of me…Nobody would acknowledge a fight like this!”
“That’s fine All that matters is the outcome . You guys lose, and I win . There are few people who care about the means to the end . Ah, but you guys will probably say that you’re all those kinds of people . Your standings would worsen if you just said that you clumsily lost, after all .
“Aaaaaaargh!!”
Chris, using his willpower to push his way through the storm of bullets, reached where I was and swung down his sword . Due to Chris’ magic power and sword speed, it looked like he was swinging down a blade of light, but I caught his left hand and crushed the large sword .
“As expected of an expert swordsman, that was superb . ”
Smoke was fuming out of Chris’ armor, and the referee announced the winner .
“Chris Fier Arkwright is unable to battle! The winner is…Leon Fou Baltfault . ”
When the referee said my name, I felt like he had no enthusiasm in his words .
I could hear a sobbing voice from the armor .
“…Why? Why did I lose? I worked harder than anybody else . I persevered longer than anyone else…I wanted to be recognized . ”
I had some sympathy for Chris, who was forced to work hard due to circumstances at home, but this matter wasn’t related to that, so I didn’t really care too much .
“Boast about your misfortune in front of that prideful girl . You’ll surely receive sympathy, then . ”
[You’re such heap of garbage, aren’t you?]
Luxon’s words stuck to my mind, strangely enough . Well, perhaps I really did overdo it a bit . However, these guys deserved to suffer defeat .
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There were voices of anxiety from the audience .
“H, hey, Chris lost . ”
“What the heck . Isn’t that unfair?”
“…Say, that Leon person managed to conquer a dungeon solo and earn the position of a baron, right? Could it be that he’s really strong?”
“W, wait a minute . If that’s the case, then has the victor been set in stone? I’m going to lose everything I own!”
The audience started getting impatient after realizing that the bet they thought they would absolutely win might not go as expected . Meanwhile, the students that had looked down on Leon started to change their understanding of him .
Olivia had a face that looked as if she was about to cry .
“Anjelica, I’m…really sad . I’m glad that Leon won, but this is too cruel . ”
Anjelica spoke to Olivia .
“Don’t say foolish things . Even Leon might lose if he lets his guard down . He had to take vigilance with his opponent . ”
“I, is that so?”
She nodded and spoke about Chris .
“His swordsmanship instructor comes from an earl household . Chris’ father is the number one swordsman in the kingdom, earning him the title of master swordsman . That boy was able to earn the title of expert swordsman, which is only a step lower . ”
Olivia was impressed .
“How amazing . ”
“Sure, amazing . ”
(That boy couldn’t even lift a hand or foot against him, which means…the foster brother, Jilk, is probably getting flustered . )
Looking at where Julian and the others were, she couldn’t see Jilk or his armor .
Julian was comforting Marie, who had gone pale, and when Anjelica saw that scene, her chest tightened in bitterness .
(…his Highness . )
While Chris was being taken out of the arena and towards the medical office, Jilk was preparing for the next match .
He gave some instructions to the mechanic of his armor .
“Load all the weapons there are . I’m going to use both bullets and magic bullets . ”
The mechanic widened his eyes .
“They’re not items to be used in a match!”
“This is a duel!”
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The normally kind Jilk was getting impatient and lost his composure .
His green armor had feather-like decorations .
That armor was equipped with a rifle which gave off a dignified aura, and not a sword, but an axe . It was equipment that made it look quite like he was going to a battlefield .
“Can you remove the decorations and install additional armor? Afterwards, prepare hand grenades and similar items . ”
The mechanic was troubled .
“Jilk, I’m limited on the parts that I have on me right now . ”
Jilk casted his eyes downward, then lifted his head .
“Don’t worry . Just do what you can within the realm of what’s possible . ”
While the urgent modifications to the equipment were being done, Jilk thought about the fight while not looking at his surroundings .
(I have to stop him by all means necessary . If I don’t do that, his Highness’ reputation will suffer damage . )
Jilk lived for the sake of his foster brother, his close friend . If they lost here, Julian’s reputation would drop significantly .
Not accepting that fate, Jilk took all means necessary .
He picked up a bomb that was laying nearby .
“…I’m going to head out for a bit . ”
While the parts on his armor were being exchanged, Jilk stepped out of the room .
“*yawn*~, I’m tired . ”
There was a temporary break, so I went out of the arena and into the waiting room to rest .
Once I finished my business at the restroom, Olivia and Anjelica rushed over .
“Leon, where did you go?!”
“I was worried about you . ”
I tilted my head in response to their reactions .
“Huh, what?”
The two exchanged glances .
“Err, um, we heard that you were in a bad condition . ”
I narrowed my eyes .
“Me? I was only taking a break . ”
Anjelica became a bit suspicious .
“A girl who called herself your sister appeared . Olivia confirmed that by looking at her face…and she said that you were looking unwell, so she wanted us to see you . ”
My sister was worried about me? Not a chance .
She didn’t want to meet me since I picked a fight with the prince, but I definitely did cause some trouble for her . However, would she talk to me at this time?
While thinking of such things, Luxon spoke to me . The two people in front of me couldn’t hear it .
[Master, an explosive was set on the exterior . Your older sister was the one that set it, but someone ordered her to . ]
…I thought so . It’s most likely that she was threatened into it .
She felt ashamed since I had picked a fight with the prince in the academy . This is where Jilk comes in .
I may be a heap of garbage, but Jilk was the scum of the earth . Well, I believe that guy would stop at nothing for the sake of Julian, and would do anything .
[The one who ordered her was your next opponent . ]
While hearing Luxon’s report, I breathed a slight sigh while thinking about how my suspicions were on point .
The two looked uneasy .
“I see…so you know my sister . What actually happened was that I was holding in the urge to go . My stomach started cramping . I thought I was going to leak . That was a more difficult struggle than the duel . ”
When I said that, Olivia looked flustered and embarrassed .
“S, something like that can’t be helped, can it?”
Anjelica looked at me with a cold gaze .
“Do you think you should speak like that in front of girls?”
“I suppose you got a point . I went to go pick flowers then . The arena doesn’t have any flower beds though . ” (TLN: “Going to pick flowers” is an indirect way of saying that someone went to the restroom . )
When I said that, Olivia made a bitter smile .
Anjelica held her hand against her forehead .
“That explanation was…well, never mind . You’re going to make a mistake at some point if you don’t fix your normal way of speaking . Leaving that aside, it’s almost time . ”
“In that case, I suppose we should go . ”
Luxon gave me information as I headed to the arena .
[The explosive was set on the back of the exterior . Since the armor of this world contains important mechanisms in that spot, it seems that the perpetrator intends to seriously stop us . After calculating the quantity of explosive powder, it seems that it’s an amount that can take the life of a pilot inside any regular armor . ]
The normally kind guy was the most frightening…things like that were a common trope these days .