Chapter 10
Chapter 10
“Silence, you are before His Majesty.”
At Carius’s words, August bowed his head with a face full of dissatisfaction.
At that, the Emperor, who had been sunk in silence, snapped his fingers as if a good idea had come to him and opened his mouth.
“Then how about the two of you having a proper sparring match. No, while we’re at it, it wouldn’t be bad to take a look at all the princes’ abilities.”
“A sparring match?”
At the Emperor’s words, Carius smiled.
Since he firmly believed that he was, without question, the strongest among us, he must have thought there was no reason to refuse a stage where he could stand out.
August, standing beside me, also wore a delighted expression.
It was the face of someone who believed that while he might fall short against the other brothers, he could at least knock me down.
‘A sparring match, huh.’
If I were to lift the curse of the Veil, even if those three charged at me at the same time, they wouldn’t even be worth one of my fists.
I wanted to do exactly that right away, but thinking calmly about it, in the middle of a gathering filled with countless dignitaries, the third prince known as a madman beating all the other princes to a pulp?
I might feel good from the exhilaration for the moment, but it would only instill unnecessary wariness in those who hadn’t paid me any attention before.
There had even been an attempted poisoning just because I beat up one younger brother and smashed an older brother’s face in.
As long as I hadn’t yet built up my own power base, I was bound to be at an absolute disadvantage.
As I said before, I had no choice but to endure it, thinking of it as sweet potato before soda.
The Emperor ordered the preparations for the sparring match.
The Royal Knights stepped in themselves, and before long, a large stage for sparring was set up in the center of the banquet hall.
At the mention of princes sparring with one another, the banquet hall heated up once again.
The nobles seated all around watched us with shining eyes, and each prince displayed his confidence with a dignified attitude.
No matter what, it would be absurd to spar while wearing ceremonial attire, so while the stage was being prepared, we returned to our respective palaces to change into proper clothing.
“Hm.”
My gaze suddenly fell on Tyrfing lying atop the table.
I had received a lot of help from her over the past week.
When I asked her to teach me the sword, she had first made an incredulous expression, then ended up granting my request.
‘Me’ had never even held a sword, let alone swung one, but ‘Leios’ had gone through grueling training to the point of reaching the intermediate level of Sword Expert by the age of sixteen.
After several sessions of instruction, though not all of it, I succeeded in drawing out part of the memories engraved into this body.
That was why, even at the prospect of a sudden sparring match, I was able to maintain my composure without panicking.
It wasn’t that I wasn’t nervous.
During training, I had fought fiercely with Tyrfing as if it were real combat, but this was the first time I would truly cross swords with another person, so cold sweat naturally seeped from my palms.
Everyone else, when they possessed a body or reincarnated, seemed to fight effortlessly right away, but damn reality accuracy.
“Tyrfing?”
I softly called her name, but the ancient tome showed no reaction.
By her own words, she said that she still hadn’t recovered from the damage she had taken in a battle more than ten years ago, and that she needed continuous sleep to regain her strength.
There was no such story in the original work, so it seemed to be because I had awakened her earlier than intended.
It would have been nice if I could receive her help, but since I couldn’t, it was only regrettable.
Well, even if she had been awake, I had no intention of bringing Tyrfing with me anyway.
She was, after all, a trump card.
I didn’t want to reveal her in front of so many people, especially with the Emperor watching.
“Hoo.”
I fiddled with the ring on the ring finger of my left hand.
If I were to fight seriously, I would overwhelm August with physical ability alone.
There had been help from the system assist, but it was thanks to that as well that I had defeated him in the previous incident.
However, there would be an absurd gap in swordsmanship proficiency and mana control.
Regrettable, but unavoidable.
No matter that this was Leios’s body, the me residing inside had only been holding a sword for just over a week.
In real combat, I was bound to be clumsy.
Clack.
When I lifted the prepared sword, a heavy sensation lingered in my hand.
It was a bit heavier than the K-2 rifle I had held in the army, but perhaps because the balance was well set, it felt like it fit snugly in my hand.
Whoosh—
When I swung it lightly to loosen up, a sharp sound of air being cut split the empty space.
As I held the sword, I could feel Leios’s body naturally settling into a stance.
This wasn’t my memory, but the crystallization of effort engraved into his body.
The bodily memory of having swung it thousands, tens of thousands of times guided me.
“Don’t rush.”
If I had about a month, I felt like I could get used to this sensation, but I calmed my mind so as not to grow too impatient.
Even if I knew the future developments, the contents of the novel didn’t record every single thing that would happen every second.
Moreover, the current point in time was still before the prologue. Even in the original work, it was only briefly mentioned as an extra, so I didn’t know it well either.
‘I’ll fight moderately, then lose on purpose when the mood changes.’
That said, I had no intention of meekly accepting defeat. Carius or Darius would be difficult, but I planned to create a confrontational dynamic with August.
Even that alone would become a catalyst to cause ripples in the bad reputation of me being an incompetent madman.
In other words, it was foreshadowing for the future.
Clink.
With the heavy sword strapped at my side, I headed back toward the imperial palace’s banquet hall.
The massive doors opened, and the knight guarding the entrance announced my arrival in a booming voice.
“The third prince of the Ribera Empire, His Highness August von Ribera, enters!”
Between the slowly opening doors, countless gazes focused on me.
‘Hoo.’
Taking a deep breath in, I stepped forward with all the dignity I could muster.
“A sword?”
Turning the clock back a bit, one week before the founding anniversary, when Tyrfing asked me what I wanted, I answered that I wanted her to teach me the sword.
At first, she made a blank expression, then burst into loud laughter.
She found it so amusing that tears even welled up at the corners of her eyes as her shoulders shook.
“You’re an interesting man. If that was meant to make me laugh, it was a huge success. So tell me what you really want.”
She spoke with a thin smile after barely swallowing her laughter, but I gave the same answer once again.
Perhaps reading the sincerity in my expression, Tyrfing’s face hardened. Then, with an expression of disbelief, she asked again.
“…Seriously?”
“Seriously.”
At my firm answer that left not even a shred of room for doubt, she made a dumbfounded expression.
“Not power to look down upon the world, nor strength that no one could dare covet?”
“That’s right.”
If I had wanted those things, you would have granted my wish without hesitation.
But at the end of that path, certain destruction would be waiting.
Great power comes with a great price. It was a line from a famous movie, but it was a saying that applied anywhere.
And right now, there was no need to obtain overwhelming power. If someone were to recognize it, it would only attract unnecessary attention.
It was enough if I could draw out even a part of the power sleeping within this body.
“I lost my memories of the past in exchange for seeing the future.”
Even I thought it was a fairly convincing excuse.
This body had reached the realm of Sword Expert and 4th Class, but since the software didn’t match, it was all nothing more than gilded trash.
As for swordsmanship, I only knew how to slash and stab, and on the magic side, I couldn’t even get a sense of what I was supposed to do.
This was also the reason I sought Tyrfing.
There was the protection of my body, but having lived for hundreds of years, she could become a good teacher in her own right.
Being taught by a sword was a little ridiculous, but in this situation, I didn’t have the luxury to be picky. And it wasn’t as if there were no such cases.
“This is absurd. Everyone who’s held this body so far has wanted exactly what I said.”
“I don’t want to meet destruction.”
Until I got out of this place, I would cling on and survive no matter what.
Selling my soul to Tyrfing was, quite literally, the last resort. Did she think I’d hand it over willingly?
“…Well, I suppose this too will be a fleeting bit of amusement. Not bad.”
She spoke as if it were trivial, yet in the end she granted my request.
What a classic tsundere.
At the same time, a sense of anticipation rose within me.
Isn’t everyone like that? The protagonists who transmigrate or possess another body in a different world all possess powerful abilities without exception.
Compared to them, I might be lacking for now, but Leios’s growth was by no means inferior.
On top of that, I even knew the future, so if anything, I had more going for me, not less.
That said, I hadn’t expected Tyrfing to work me so ruthlessly.
Since she bore the name of a god-slaying demonic sword, she said she couldn’t teach me halfheartedly, and under the pretext of “practice,” she crossed swords with me every single day without exception.
Every night, I collapsed into bed like a rag.
Perhaps she had shown some consideration, as aside from small cuts and scrapes, I hadn’t suffered any serious injuries. Well, the gap in skill was so vast that her blade hadn’t properly touched me in the first place.
“Make sure no one gets hurt.”
At the Emperor’s voice, I snapped back to my senses.
When I raised my head, the resplendent banquet hall greeted me.
Had I been lost in some strange sentiment, or was it simply because things had been that exhausting? To think I’d drifted into idle thoughts in a situation like this.
The order of the sparring was arranged so that all four princes would cross swords once each.
And just before the sparring began, the Emperor spoke to us with a small smile.
“It wouldn’t be fun if you just went at it plainly. I’ll grant one wish, within reason, to the one who claims the most victories.”
“……!”
At those words, not only the princes but even the nobles stirred.
This was practically the same as declaring that he would choose the strongest as the Crown Prince.
And at the present moment, the one closest to that position was, naturally, the First Prince, Carius.
He himself seemed to think so, looking at us with a supremely confident expression.
Darius stared at him with eyes that sparked like flames, and August too ignited his fighting spirit.
‘Am I not even on your radar?’
“I won’t kill you.”
A voice suddenly whispered at my ear.
When I turned my gaze slightly, it was August, wearing a despicable smile, casually letting the words slip.
“Instead, I’ll humiliate you so badly you’ll want to die.”
‘Hah.’
The sight of him getting cocky without knowing how high the sky was was laughable beyond measure.
Still, compared to my other brothers who treated me like I didn’t exist, he felt almost human, which oddly made me feel a bit of affection.
I’ll beat you lightly later.
“Alright, then we’ll start with the youngest.”
At the Emperor’s words, August and I stepped up onto the prepared stage.
“The sparring will continue until one side acknowledges defeat, or until we judge that the outcome has been decided. With that, we wish you good fortune in battle.”
The knight of the Royal Knights acting as referee quietly explained a few precautions.
August fixed his gaze on me as if his body were itching to move, while I roughly nodded and acknowledged the knight’s words.
After finishing his explanation, the knight stepped back.
There was no familiar bell, no shout announcing the start of the match, but naturally we glared at one another, sharp hostility flaring up between us.
Shing—
With a sharp sound, August’s sword was drawn.
As the flashing longsword appeared before my eyes, my lips grew slightly dry.
Even though I had trained until I bled for a week, it couldn’t help but be nerve-wracking.
My bouts with Tyrfing had been decided without injury due to the vast difference in skill, but with August, there was a high chance things would turn messy.
If I were to get slashed even once……
The image of flesh splitting open and blood spilling out formed vividly in my mind, and my face naturally twisted.
“Can’t even draw your sword? Tsk, and you dare call yourself of Ribera blood. You really are nothing but vermin.”
As if he had read my thoughts, August let out a greasy sneer.
Slightly stung in my pride, I deliberately drew my sword with force, as if to show him.
[…Fight?]
‘Huh?’
At the same time, a familiar voice sounded in my ear.
Thinking it might be my imagination, I turned my head to look around, but there were only nobles watching us with eager expressions.
…Was it my imagination? It sounded like Tyrfing’s voice.
“Haah!”
With a powerful shout, August launched himself at me.
It was a sudden attack, but having steeled my resolve already, I tightened my grip on the sword.
Sword met sword, sparks flying.
A numbing recoil traveled up my hand, but August’s blade pressed on without respite.
“Hup!”
There wasn’t even time to catch my breath.
Each time I blinked, his sword struck several times, and whenever a brief opening appeared, I gasped for air as I was steadily driven on the defensive.
Grrrk—
“It’s not too late even now, so declare your surrender like the pathetic wretch you are. If you do, I’ll at least spare your life.”
August halted his furious assault and pressed his sword against mine. Then, from a distance so close our noses could touch, he stared at me with icy eyes.
‘So that’s why you boasted.’
Faced with that look, as if he were staring at a bug, curses nearly spilled from my mouth.
August’s swordsmanship was undeniably outstanding. For the current me, merely blocking it was already my limit.
To be honest, it felt less unfair than it did regretful.
Regret toward myself, who had never even properly held a sword.
The restricted stats imposed by the curse of the Veil.
The lack of real combat experience and my clumsy sword skills.
If only, if only I had had more time, I wouldn’t have been pushed into a corner like this.
As if to engrave the gap between us into me, August slowly, steadily ate away at the distance, gaining the upper hand.
When I glanced around, I saw people talking with expressions that said they hadn’t expected me to struggle this much.
‘Is this enough?’
The thought that I had done enough began to seep up from deep within my heart.
Leios within the imperial palace had been utterly incompetent, unjust, and foolish. But through this sparring match, that image would gradually begin to change.
The nobles who witnessed me fighting August on equal footing here would spread the word.
But.
Was that really enough?
Thud!
Seeing the smug expression on his face, as if victory were already his, rage flared up inside me.
That was why I suddenly lifted my foot and kicked his abdomen with all my strength, but sensing it at the last moment, he pulled his sword back to block it.
“Ghk, you bastard……!”
Perhaps because it was so sudden he couldn’t fully block it, one of the fingers gripping his sword was struck by my foot. August ground his teeth, his brow furrowing in pain.
Does it hurt?
Well, what can you do.
It’s going to hurt even more from here on out.
Because I no longer felt like losing.