Chapter 150 : Chapter 150
Chapter 150. If You Teach Me the Imperial Sword Art
At some point, whenever evening came in Raviedel, people began gathering in the plaza.
It was to cross swords with one another.
Every evening, a winner emerged, and for those who participated in the sparring matches, becoming the day’s victor was an immense honor.
They boasted about how many times they had won and argued over it.
Even those arguments were entertaining for the spectators.
In a small territory, there was no better spectacle than this.
The day’s winner was treated to a free meal at the village tavern, among other perks, and the evening sparring matches had firmly established themselves as one of Raviedel’s trademarks.
“Your Highness, today’s sparring winner is apparently someone from outside the territory.”
Radel was surprised by the unexpected news.
He had heard the names of Gusto, Rando Chau—the leader of the Lizardman warriors—and other skilled fighters among the territory’s residents, but this was the first time an outsider had taken the top spot.
“Did they come all the way to our territory just to spar?”
Of course, that seemed unlikely.
How many people would be so interested in swordsmanship that they would travel to such a small territory just for sparring?
However, Chariot’s reaction, as he delivered the news, was different from what Radel expected.
“That may be the case. When asked how they arrived, they said they came after hearing rumors about the territory.”
“If that is true, then that is impressive.”
At this point, even Radel’s curiosity was piqued.
He wondered what kind of rumors had drawn someone here, and who this person was that would come from outside just to spar.
Radel went with Chariot to meet the winner of that evening’s sparring.
“Your Highness has arrived!”
As Radel entered the plaza, the territory’s residents, who had finished sparring and were watching, welcomed him.
They no longer felt as intimidated by Radel as they had at first.
Radel occasionally participated in the sparring himself, and whenever he did, the residents would boldly declare that they would defeat the Prince.
“You must be here to see today’s winner.”
“Yes. I heard an interesting story.”
When Radel confirmed it, the sturdy men who had participated in the sparring eagerly joined in.
“They were truly amazing! I have never seen swordsmanship like that before.”
“Even the Lizardmen could not handle them!”
“The apprentice Holy Knights looked pretty shocked too.”
Radel showed interest in their words.
“Really? I would like to meet them right away.”
If not only the Lizardmen but even the apprentice Holy Knights had been unable to deal with them, then the winner had to be someone extraordinary.
Some of the defeated Lizardmen could also be seen nearby.
“No, the sword was definitely slow, but I just could not block it!”
“How does that make sense? If you can see it, you should be able to block it!”
“I am telling you it is not like that! If it were possible, I would have blocked it myself!”
A sword that could be seen, yet could not be blocked.
From the Lizardmen’s conversation, Radel gleaned information about the winner.
As he moved closer, he saw Gusto and the apprentice Holy Knights standing with their arms crossed.
Gusto bowed his head slightly when he noticed Radel.
“Your Highness.”
“Gusto, did you fight this rumored winner too?”
“Not me, but my fellow trainees challenged them and came back crying just now.”
At Gusto’s words, the ears of the apprentice Holy Knights standing nearby turned red.
“That is a misunderstanding, Your Highness.”
“Those were not tears. It was sweat, sweat!”
In the center of the plaza, the winner could be glimpsed standing there.
With a hood pulled over their head, it was hard to tell, but from a distance, they appeared small in stature.
“As you can see yourself, Your Highness, this winner has a small build. Yet they never yielded at all. Just watching was a great learning experience.”
As Gusto spoke, the other apprentice Holy Knights added their thoughts.
“It was truly strange. I thought they were just a small, nimble opponent, but once you cross swords, it is not like that at all.”
“It is a slow and heavy sword. It feels like pushing against a mountain.”
The closer Radel got to the winner, the more he understood what they meant.
“Woooah!”
“A final challenger! A challenger has stepped forward!”
Even after a winner was decided, sometimes challengers were still accepted for the sake of entertainment, and it seemed today was such a day.
The final challenger drew their sword and charged at the winner.
Whoosh!
The winner watched the challenger approach all the way, then swung their sword in a slow motion.
It was slow enough that anyone should have been able to block it.
The entire trajectory was readable.
Yet, incredibly, the challenger failed to block the strike.
Boom!
Instead, along with the clash of blades, the challenger’s body spun and was sent flying.
They slammed into the ground, kicking up dust.
“I… I lost.”
Barely managing to rise, the challenger declared their defeat.
“The challenger has been defeated!”
“Woooah! The winner has crushed the challenger!”
And with that, the final sparring match ended.
The winner sheathed their sword and turned toward Radel.
At that moment, Radel recognized who it was.
“Senior Shartea?”
She had been wearing a hood, but not enough to fool someone who knew her.
“Oh dear, I have been found out.”
Saying that, the winner removed the hood.
Shartea’s face appeared, wearing a satisfied smile.
“You could have let me know you were coming today, Senior.”
“I believe I wrote in my letter that I would stop by soon. I happened to have time, so I dropped by while passing through.”
Passing through, was his territory really that close to the capital?
As Radel stood flustered, Shartea tapped her scabbard and spoke.
“And I received the best welcome just now. It has been a long time since I truly crossed swords with someone.”
Shartea looked genuinely pleased.
It was an expression of refreshment Radel had never seen at the Academy.
“The rumors were true. This territory certainly has many interesting sights.”
“Are there really such rumors?”
“When I heard that you could see Lizardmen and the apprentice Holy Knights here, I doubted my ears at first.”
Shartea looked around Raviedel, taking in the various people.
They loved the sword, and they had the will to face stronger opponents.
“And yet, it really is so.”
Already, Shartea was beginning to like this small territory.
“Come. There is much I have to teach you.”
***
Whoosh!
Shartea stood in the backyard of the Lord’s Castle, swinging her sword.
“The concentration of mana here is certainly high. This is just right for training.”
So that was why the apprentice Holy Knights of the Main God had come all the way here.
Training in a place with such pure mana was effective not only for mages, but for swordsmen as well.
It helped the body recover quickly from fatigue, and merely breathing caused mana to accumulate within the body at a faster rate.
Summoned by Shartea, Radel felt a strange sense of wonder.
Hearing both Gusto and Shartea say the same thing made him think that perhaps this truly was a good place for training.
“Is that so?”
“Of course. It is the same reason the Academy was built in Marcellent.”
The Marcellent mountain range was one of the places with the strongest mana in the Empire.
It was no coincidence that the city of magic had been established there.
“But Senior, the reason you called me here is…?”
“That was a good question.”
Shartea answered as if she had been waiting for it.
“I am going to teach you a sword art.”
“Sword art?”
“Yes. You know it as well. The Imperial Sword Art.”
The Imperial Sword Art.
A sword art passed down through the imperial family of the Empire, and also used by the knights of the Imperial Knight Order.
There were only two ways to learn the Imperial Sword Art.
One was to become a member of the imperial family.
The other was to join the Imperial Knight Order.
Radel was of imperial blood, yet he had never had the opportunity to learn this sword art.
“However, if you do not want it, I will not teach you. Among the imperial family, I am the only one who can properly use this sword art anyway.”
There was a trace of bitterness in Shartea’s words.
Radel had been unable to learn this sword art partly because he had not awakened his ability and thus had not been treated as true royalty, but also because, in the first place, there were no imperial family members who wanted to learn swordsmanship.
Most imperial family members chose magic over swordsmanship.
Magic was stronger than the sword.
That was the prevailing belief of the era.
Shartea found this situation regrettable.
“I want to learn it.”
Radel answered without hesitation.
He had already been thinking that he needed to become stronger after fighting the heretic not long ago.
He could only be grateful that his senior had come all the way here to teach him swordsmanship.
“If you are willing to teach me the Imperial Sword Art, I will learn it with everything I have.”
“…Very well.”
Shartea was inwardly moved by Radel’s sincere attitude.
Until now, there had been no imperial family member who faced swordsmanship with such upright resolve.
Except for herself.
But now, there were two.
That fact gave Shartea great strength.
“Ahem, then let us begin. First, I will tell you why the Imperial Sword Art was created. The Imperial Knight Order uses it as well, but in truth, this sword art was made for the imperial family….”
Under a night sky filled with stars, Shartea passed on everything she knew to Radel.
It was meaningful not only for Radel, but especially for her.
***
“It is a bit late today.”
As usual, Radel climbed the valley carrying a slab of meat on his back.
He had lost track of time while learning the Imperial Sword Art.
That was why he was going to see the griffin much later than usual.
He was exhausted from sword training, but he could not neglect the taming.
If he wanted to go deeper into the lake, he had to tame the griffin no matter what.
“That sword art really is something else.”
Even on his way to tame the griffin, Radel’s mind was filled with the Imperial Sword Art.
As he reviewed the forms he had just learned, a notification suddenly sounded.
Ding.
[The user has learned a new skill.]
[Skill: Imperial Sword Art of the Empire]
[Would you like to register this skill? (Y/N)]
“Wow….”
So this worked too.
Marveling at the system, Radel registered the skill.
A skill window immediately appeared.
[Imperial Sword Art of the Empire (F)]
A sword art created for the imperial family of the Empire.
He who would wear the crown must bear its weight.
Before this sword art, there is no escaping its overwhelming heaviness.
Block (0/20,000)
Slash (0/20,000)
Thrust (0/20,000)
The Imperial Sword Art that Senior Shartea had taught him was not as simple as what appeared in the skill window.
Perhaps once he actually used the skill, it would be applied automatically.
‘That is something to check later.’
For now, Radel found a spot to tame the griffin and lit a fire.
He took out a frying pan and grilled the meat.
Kieeeek!
From far away, the griffin, having caught the scent, flew in and let out a long cry.
It almost sounded like it was protesting why he had come so late.
“Anyone would think I owed you meat.”
Radel chuckled and was about to toss the meat, when he hesitated.
Kieeek!
The griffin thrust its beak forward, threatening Radel.
Without thinking, Radel lifted the tongs he had been using to grill the meat and struck the griffin on the forehead.
‘Imperial Sword Art!’
Tap!
Normally, the griffin would have avoided Radel’s attack, but this time, it was struck squarely by the tongs.
Radel stared at the stunned griffin in bewilderment.
Kieeek?
Perhaps finding it unbelievable itself, the griffin charged at Radel again.
Tap!
Once again, without exception, the griffin was struck by the tongs.
This works?
Grasping the feeling, Radel grinned and raised the tongs.
At last, it seemed he could properly show the griffin both carrot and stick.