Chapter 2

Abelin’s eyes burned with the determination not to let me off the hook.

It seemed her threat to kill me wasn’t entirely empty.

Even though I was the one who angered her, I had no intention of going down without a fight.

As the captain of the Black Iron Vanguard, if I got beaten by Abelin, what would happen to the pride of me and my subordinates?

“Plymus, give me my sword!”

“Yes, Captain!”

Plymus, who had been looking out the window at me, hurried inside and fumbled to bring out my sword.

My sword was not only enormous in size but also unimaginably heavy.

I wielded it with one hand, but for an ordinary person, it would take both hands just to lift it.

And then…

“Here it comes!”

Plymus hurled that massive sword straight at me.

“Move, move!”

“If that hits you, you’ll be crushed!”

Everyone around me scattered, but I calmly reached out and caught the hilt of the falling sword with precision.

This was why I couldn’t stop training even for a moment in my past life—it was all to wield this sword.

But…

‘Why does it feel lighter than before?’

Anyway, since everyone ran away to avoid the falling sword, Abelin and I were left alone without any distractions.

By now, the brawl between my Black Iron Vanguard and Abelin’s Silver Guards had long since ended.

Compared to the mock battles with wooden weapons, the real fight was between me and Abelin, their respective commanders.

“Hoho, Kairon. You’ve done well.”

“You said you’d kill me, and now you’re complimenting me?”

“I’ve made up my mind too. My resolve to kill you hasn’t changed, but I’ve added a promise not to make it easy for you. So, prepare yourself!”

“Do I really need to prepare? Come at me all you want. With those fragile princess limbs of yours, you’re no threat at all!”

“Calling me a princess again! Ugh, Kairon…!”

In her past life, Abelin had an oddly strong reaction to being called “princess.”

Sure enough, poking at that again made her tremble with boiling anger.

And the reactions of her subordinates, the Silver Guards, who were watching in silence.

“…I’ve never seen Lady Abelin make that expression before. It’s breathtakingly beautiful, but also terrifying.”

“How can Kairon act so brazenly even in front of Lady Abelin? Even though she hates him more than anyone in the world, his audacity is impressive.”

“Even though we’re rivals, he was a decent guy… We’ve lost a capable commander.”

The Silver Guards were already mourning as if I were dead.

While acknowledging my strength, they firmly believed their superior, Abelin, would win.

Truly, as Abelin’s direct subordinates, their loyalty to her was unmatched even among the Vanguard.

But just as Abelin had her Silver Guards, I wasn’t alone either.

“Black Iron Vanguard!”

“Yes!”

At my call, the Black Iron Vanguard shouted in unison.

“Watch closely. This is who you believe in, who fights alongside you!”

“Waaaah!!”

The powerful cheers of my subordinates, the Black Iron Vanguard, completely overturned the Silver Guards’ confidence in Abelin’s victory.

“What are you cheering for?!”

But when Abelin, a formidable fighter, infused her voice with mana and shouted, even my Black Iron Vanguard flinched and shrank back.

“And you, Abelin, what are you shouting about?”

“I did well! I only went to confront you because you didn’t show up on time!”

“Well, that’s true, but…”

I just wanted to sleep in, okay?

It’s not like I chose to come back to the past for no reason!

But even if I explained, no one would believe me, so I had to say something.

“But that doesn’t mean you have to try to split me in half! Was asking if you liked me such a big mistake?!”

After my outburst, silence fell for a while.

And then.

Swoosh-

“Huh…?”

Suddenly, the sound of metal began to ring out.

The Silver Guards were putting down their wooden training swords and drawing their real weapons.

“We can’t forgive this. How dare you say such things to our noble and pure Lady Abelin!”

“Don’t strain yourself, Lady Abelin! We’ll handle this for you!”

In response, the Black Iron Vanguard also drew their real weapons.

But their stance was somewhat awkward.

“P-protect the Captain! Even if the Captain was wrong this time, who else will protect him if not us?!”

“Let’s protect the Captain no matter what!!”

Stop it, if you’re going to protect me like that, just stop!

I know, asking if she liked me was a stretch.

But in the first place…

“Abelin, you broke down my door, barged in uninvited, and then stared at my naked body for a long time!!”

Silence fell once again.

And this time, the Black Iron Vanguard’s morale shifted.

“Our Captain’s naked body…? And you stared at it?!”

“After breaking down the door and barging in?!”

The Silver Guards, who had drawn their weapons first, hesitated.

“T-this seems like Lady Abelin’s mistake first.”

“No, it’s Kairon’s fault for being late! Breaking down the door was unbecoming of the dignified Lady Abelin, but…”

“Is it true, Lady Abelin?! It can’t be! Please say it’s not!”

“Sh-shut up! Can’t you be quiet?!”

Abelin shouted again, infused with mana, and the commotion died down.

It seemed like she was trying to cover up her own actions.

“I’ll admit that was my mistake. But this is separate. What on earth possessed you to say such a thing to me?”

“Well…”

“Why can’t you answer? You must have thought something before saying that!”

Of course, I had thought about it.

But I could never tell her the background.

If this eccentric woman found out what she did to me before I died in my past life…

She wouldn’t just try to kill me—she’d erase any trace of my existence.

“Enough of this nonsense.”

Abelin shook her head, shaking off her thoughts.

Then she pointed her sharp sword straight at me.

“A swordsman communicates with their sword. I’ll find out what made you say such a thing. Draw your sword, Kairon!”

“I’m already holding it.”

“What…?”

“My sword, I’m already holding it. Can’t you see?”

“Ugh, seriously…!”

My childish response made Abelin’s face turn bright red with anger.

Feeling there was no more point in talking, she charged at me with terrifying speed, living up to her nickname “Silver Flash.”

But somehow, this time too.

I felt the same as when I caught my falling sword earlier.

‘Was Abelin always this slow…?’

I didn’t even feel the need to block with my sword.

Whoosh-

“…!”

I sidestepped, dodging her attack, and Abelin’s eyes widened in shock.

“H-how did you do that, Kairon?”

“How? I just saw it and dodged.”

“That’s impossible. Even if it was just now, this time I was serious!”

“Stop joking. You’re the one holding back.”

“No, I’m not!”

Abelin shouted and began attacking again.

Stabbing quickly, using the momentum to slash even faster…

The more Abelin swung and thrust her sword, the faster her movements became, as if on fire.

But in contrast, her eyes grew wider with shock.

Because I was dodging all her attacks, one step ahead.

Finally, Abelin stopped her attacks and backed away.

“This is impossible. What on earth happened? You’ve never dodged my serious attacks before!”

“I’m surprised at myself too. Hmm, even though I know you well, Abelin, I don’t know how this is possible. Are you really serious?”

“…Stop it.”

“Huh? What?”

“Stop making that annoying sound!!”

In that instant, Abelin, who had gathered all her mana into her legs, charged at me with incredible speed and thrust her sword.

No matter how much my eyes and body had changed, I couldn’t dodge this attack.

Moreover, while her previous attacks had the intent to kill but not actually kill a comrade, this one was a genuine strike fueled by pride.

I quickly pulled my body back, but even so, Abelin’s sharp sword reached right in front of my nose.

This wasn’t something I could block with my sword.

There wasn’t much time.

If I couldn’t dodge, the only answer was to face it head-on.

Then, rather than…

“Ah…!”

With Abelin’s short scream, a cloud of dust rose.

And as the dust slowly settled.

“Ugh, ouch…”

Abelin, who had been grimacing, slowly opened her eyes.

And then…

“Kyaa, kyaaaah!”

She let out a clear scream upon discovering me pinning her down.

“What are you doing?! Get off me right now!”

“If I move, you’ll attack again.”

“That’s true, but…! Just get off! What are you doing?!”

My battle-hardened mind quickly made a decision.

This time, I couldn’t dodge Abelin’s sword.

So the answer was to close the distance and counterattack.

…And that’s why I pounced on Abelin.

“Q-quickly! Get off me! How long are you going to stay like this?!”

“Would you move if you were me?”

“Ugh, ugh…!”

Since I had Abelin pinned down tightly, unable to move, my decision was ultimately correct.

But I hadn’t thought about what would happen next.

Slap-

“Oof…”

My body slowly fell to the side after being hit.

Thanks to that, Abelin, now free, pointed at me angrily.

“Shameless. Utterly shameless, Kairon!”

“What did I do…?”

“If you don’t know, that’s why you’ve been alone since you were in your mother’s womb until now!”

“Ugh…”

Honestly, it didn’t hurt.

But even though I won, why do I feel like I lost…?