I Possessed the Villain’s Childhood Friend – Chapter 12

Helen lost her composure at the provocation and delivered her strongest strike directly at me.

“Huh?”

Just before Helen’s fist made contact, I barely managed to deflect it with my sword, turning the encounter into a contest of strength.

Normally, she would have continued the attack with her left hand immediately.

But right now, Helen was in an excited state.

As I countered with my sword in a dire situation, her eyes widened in bewilderment.

In that very brief moment.

‘Aiming solely for a strong hit means it’s that much easier for your opponent to read you!’

I decided to extend that brief opening and dove in, letting go of my sword.

“…Huh?”

The sword I released shattered completely the moment it left my hand.

It was regrettable, but I wasn’t surprised since it was already anticipated.

I swiftly turned my body to evade her attack and pressed into her space.

“Wha-What?!”

Seeing her stunned expression made me chuckle inside.

‘Most aspiring knights use weapons, so they’re accustomed to that. When you dive in unarmed, it catches them off guard. Your strength comes from that. But if I were to flip that…’

Helen was also inexperienced in unarmed combat.

That was the weakness the Crown Prince pointed out when he overpowered Helen in the original story.

I concentrated all my magical power into my right hand and struck with maximum output at her solar plexus.

“Gah!”

Like me on that fateful day, Helen was sent flying, rolling over ten meters backward before collapsing.

“Haah, haah, haah.”

Once the extreme focus required to create this situation ended, all the strength drained from my body.

“Urgh, ugh!”

Despite writhing in pain, Helen was struggling to rise.

Soon, she slowly raised her right hand and declared,

“I… I lost.”

With her surrender, cheers erupted from the audience.

I felt those cheers resonate through my body as I glanced towards the center of the audience.

There was Reina, clapping her hands alongside Duke Ricard and Rupert.

Her expression was blank, and the atmosphere around her was cold.

Yet, I could sense her genuine delight in that moment.

And then the next match.

Inevitably, the masked man facing off against the eldest son of Baron Verk.

Once again, the match ended with a single blow from the masked man.

Thus, the finals were confirmed.

★

There was a week left until the finals.

What should I do in that time?

“I need to get a sword.”

“A sword?”

“Yeah.”

The sword shattered completely in my duel with Helen.

I gathered all the shards and took them to the blacksmith in Heros, only to be told it couldn’t be repaired.

“If it’s a sword, our House can provide one for you.”

“That wouldn’t be bad, but…”

Just then, Reina offered me a solution.

She naturally sent all the maids outside again and sat down on the bed.

“That’s not going to work.”

A sword from the Rozelia Duke House would surely be of excellent quality.

However, I already had a specific sword in mind.

With only a week left, perhaps it was still feasible.

“Reina, can you prepare one carriage for me?”

“A carriage?”

“Yeah. I’d like to leave as soon as possible. At the latest, by tomorrow.”

“I can definitely manage that, but where are you going?”

Reina tilted her head curiously.

“There’s only one place to get a sword.”

The city always ablaze with flames.

The place where numerous blacksmiths from the Empire gather to hammer away.

“I’m going to Vulcanus.”

“It’s about an eight-hour journey from Heros to Vulcanus, so we’ll need to camp at least once.”

Reina immediately prepared the carriage used by the Duke House, streamlined for maximum speed.

“Camping? If we want to get there as fast as possible, wouldn’t it be better to go without stopping for dinner?”

“It’s not like we’re in such a hurry that we can’t afford a little rest. I don’t want to rush and cause an accident.”

“That’s true.”

Reina nodded in agreement.

Originally, I planned to go to Vulcanus alone, but strangely, Reina was joining me in an outing dress.

Not a single maid accompanied her except Anna, who was currently outside driving the carriage.

“Have you finished all your errands?”

“Of course. I got permission from Father. Besides, I thought we might as well go around together at least once before the finals start.”

So that meant the carriage was going to be just the two of us.

“Why are you going to Vulcanus directly? You could easily get a good sword in Heros, too.”

“Well, you’ll find out when we get there.”

But there was strangely no awkward atmosphere between us.

At first, I had various thoughts seeing Reina so eager to follow, but I dismissed those thoughts in less than ten minutes.

After all, it wasn’t the first time we spent time together.

Conversely, it was a situation we were quite familiar with.

“I ended up advancing to the finals, just as promised. How do you feel about that?”

“I expected it, so it doesn’t feel special.”

That was hardly a lie.

Initially, I’d have been satisfied just to make it to the main event, but having discovered a new application of physical enhancement, I felt I could definitely aim for the finals.

It was a tight victory over Helen, but I did win after all.

“Then it’s totally feasible to get revenge for the qualifiers, isn’t it?”

“Of course I should. That’s why I’m heading to Vulcanus.”

The truth is, I had no certainty that I could beat that masked man, even if things flowed as I desired.

I didn’t know his weaknesses like I knew Helen’s as a character in the original work.

If my skill were a 5, his was at least a 20.

The winning probability, viewed objectively, was below 5%.

This journey was to increase that probability to at least 15%.

It was like a cheat key I had because I knew the future, but I felt no guilt.

I wasn’t going to do anything that would change the future, after all.

“Aike, if you plan to camp, I think it’s time to start preparing,” Anna, driving the carriage, quietly opened the window and suggested.

Checking my pocket watch, it was already past 5:30 PM.

It would be better to start preparing now if we needed to set up tents and cook.

“Alright. Let’s stop around here then.”

We pulled the carriage off to a side road and chose a spot near a huge rock in the meadow.

While preparing for camping, I suddenly realized there was only a one-person tent to sleep in comfortably.

Well, I had originally planned to come alone, after all.

“Anna and I will sleep in front of the campfire. The tent will be for you, Prince Aike.”

Reina insisted that since they had inserted themselves into the journey I originally planned to undertake alone, I should be the one using the tent.

But for some reason, I felt a bit displeased by that.

We debated for quite some time, and ultimately decided to compromise and sleep in front of the campfire together.

The delightful aroma of apple pie and savory mushroom soup wafted through the air.

Additionally, fish was skewered over the crackling campfire.

Of course, the quality of the ingredients was far superior to my usual meals, but this experience had its own charm.

“It’s amazing.”

Reina whispered while gazing at the campfire.

“I never imagined I’d be sitting on the ground like this to have dinner.”

There was no trace of dissatisfaction in her expression as she spoke.

Rather, a gentle smile suggested she was enjoying the novelty of the experience.

I had been seeing this smile more often whenever I was with Reina lately.

“I wish Anna could have joined us.”

“True.”

Anna had moved to sit behind the rock by herself.

She claimed she couldn’t eat with us as a maid.

We insisted that it was fine, but Anna’s stubbornness wouldn’t budge.

“It should be about ready now.”

As I lightly touched the fish with my chopsticks, it made a crackling sound as its white flesh revealed itself.

“It’s done! Let’s eat.”

“Alright.”

I picked up the fish first, braving the heat and slowly took a bite.

The wood-fire aroma blended just right, enhancing the flavor even more.

Savoring that flavor, I followed with a spoonful of mushroom soup.

The deliciousness was divine…

“Who’s there?!”

“Cough!”

The shout from Anna behind the rock almost made me choke.

Fortunately, I managed to maintain my composure in front of Reina, even though I almost made a scene.

However, the mushroom soup and fish were now beyond recovery.

Reina remained completely unfazed by the commotion.

Somehow, I felt a distinct disparity in our situations.

As we moved towards the source of the sound, we were greeted by Anna, who had someone pinned to the ground.

“Stay still.”

“Damn it, let me go!”

The person pinned beneath was struggling with all their might, but Anna didn’t budge an inch.

“Calmly reveal your identity.”

“I told you! I just saw the light and came to request help!”

“Am I supposed to believe your suspicious words?”

“Then what should I say, dammit!”

Even while completely pinned down and unable to move, the person showed no signs of backing down.

“It’s suspicious, but it doesn’t feel like a lie.”

“I agree.”

Before I knew it, Reina, now the Ice Princess, endorsed my words.

“Anna. It seems there’s no problem. Why don’t you let them go?”

“Right! You can talk pretty well, huh?”

“Not at all. That’s not happening. Someone with such suspicious behavior…”

“Anna, please release them.”

“…Yes.”

At Reina’s command, Anna eventually eased her grip.

Then, the person—no, she—sprang up and took a deep breath.

She appeared to be at least 10 centimeters taller than Anna, who was relatively tall.

With her hair and eyes fiery red like flames, she wore a thin top and loose cotton pants, despite it being a slightly chilly spring evening.

Even at first glance, the definition of her muscles hinted strongly at her profession.

“Damn it. I came to request help, not to be caught like this.”

“That’s quite the level of uninvited behavior when you reach for someone else’s meal.”

“Sorry about that. I’ve been starving for nearly a week. I just lost my mind.”

“…I’ll prepare extra food. You and Aike should return to your meal.”

“Really? Thank you! I appreciate it!”

Without any hesitation or modesty, she beamed back at me.

Four apple pies, three bowls of mushroom soup, and seven fish.

“We’ll need to stop by the market before returning to Heros.”

“Indeed.”

The girl that Anna had subdued, Marin, had just eaten a dinner fitting for just her.

“I never thought the coachman I hired would turn out to be a fraud. I’m starving and my legs are sore from walking.”

“That’s genuinely unfortunate.”

We surrounded the campfire, including Anna, introduced ourselves, and shared stories.

Initially, Marin was taken aback upon learning our identities, but perhaps due to her innate temperament, she quickly adapted.

At hearing I didn’t want to bother with unnecessary titles, Anna did get a bit upset.

“Heading to Vulcanus? Since we’re heading to the same destination, could I hitch a ride?”

“Seems like Marin…”

“Right. I’m a blacksmith. Not widely known, but…”

Indeed, Marin’s profession was as expected—a blacksmith.

“Marin, there’s something I’m curious about. Is that okay?”

Maybe I could gather some information I wanted as well.

“Of course! If I’m getting a meal and a ride at the same time, I’ll answer everything I know!”

But I shouldn’t get my hopes up too high.

This was, after all, a plot point that remained unresolved till the end of the original story.

“Around three years ago, rumors spread about a blacksmith who crafted a holy sword…”

“Oh? That would be me!”

Marin casually claimed as if it were no big deal.

“Wha—?”

I bit my tongue upon hearing her words.