“Did you see it?”
The emotion in the Crown Prince’s voice was clearly one of surprise.
Well, it would be ridiculous for an opponent who was bleeding profusely all over to claim they could win.
But it wasn’t a lie.
When the initial plan collapsed, I completely gave up, thinking I was done for.
Yet, the more I was cornered, the less I could understand.
After seeing that last thrust, my doubt turned into certainty.
Winning wasn’t impossible.
“To become a Knight, perseverance is necessary. I can admit that. But beyond that, you need to know your limits. Thinking you can overturn everything with sheer tenacity is arrogance, Aike.”
“Whether it’s arrogance or not, you’ll find out yourself.”
“…Alright.”
Slowly, I took a stance.
The Crown Prince lowered his center of gravity as if he was about to charge at any moment.
And as expected, it was the Crown Prince who moved first.
Our swords collided, creating a cross shape.
The Crown Prince seemed to be trying to break through my defense, but seeing my unmoving sword made him click his tongue.
“That sword. I was thinking of breaking it earlier, but it’s surprisingly sturdy.”
“It took quite some effort to obtain this sword.”
Hildegrim.
A term that collectively refers to weapons that never break.
Hildegrim isn’t created through magic.
It’s a type of technique that can only be barely made by a master blacksmith who has reached a supreme level, pouring all their strength into the finest materials.
There weren’t more than ten Hildegrims in the entire Empire combined.
Hildegrim was treated like hundreds of Platinum Coins.
And both ‘Neia’ and ‘Diana,’ which Marin made for us, were Hildegrims.
Still, I thought there was no way I could receive these for free, but Marin stubbornly refused to accept payment as a reward.
In the end, we compromised on the promise that I could contact her anytime if I needed help.
Anyway, Hildegrim. The performance of Neia was truly certain.
If it had been an ordinary sword, it would have already shattered, leaving me with no choice but to surrender.
“Still, it doesn’t mean much if the user is weak, no matter how good the sword is.”
The Crown Prince quickly widened the distance and swung his sword four times.
If he couldn’t break through from the front, he’d wear me down bit by bit.
That seemed to be the picture the Crown Prince wanted.
However.
“…Huh?”
“I told you, I can see.”
As I blocked all his attacks, his voice filled with astonishment.
“What the…!”
The Crown Prince gritted his teeth and continued his assault.
The silver sword overwhelmed me like a flood.
But I wasn’t flustered at all; I almost blocked all his attacks.
“How….”
“Well, somehow, it’s working.”
The Crown Prince was strong.
I could fully acknowledge that the claim of him being the greatest genius in the Empire’s history was true.
Overwhelming strength and nonsensical technique brought down all foes head-on.
Only head-on.
Right.
The current Crown Prince knows only frontal challenges.
And there is a limit to the technique he can display in a head-on battle.
Of course, it’s not like I’ve awakened or anything.
I simply memorized all his techniques.
No matter how much faster his basic movements were than mine, if I could move just a beat before him, I could block.
To put it simply, he’s like an incredibly strong boss monster with set patterns in a game.
“Can you really see?”
“I have no need to lie.”
But I couldn’t afford to drag this out.
The Crown Prince would quickly figure out how I was dodging and retaliate.
In other words, the only opportunity I had to catch the flow was right now, while he’s bewildered and has stopped attacking.
“Ha!”
I closed the distance again and swung my sword horizontally.
My fatigued sword moved so slowly it made me laugh; the Crown Prince easily stepped back to avoid it.
As I didn’t stop and raised my arm, he too took a defensive stance this time.
I stepped forward and swept the floor.
The Crown Prince’s balance wavered when his legs were kicked.
“Ugh?!”
Used to a direct contest of strength, the Crown Prince reacted slower even with a slight incursion to the side.
If it were the future Crown Prince, he would have scoffed and easily blocked such an attack, but at least not now.
Had I not gone to Vulcanus, I would have lost even with this opportunity, fighting only head-on.
When I sparred with Marin, I fought with a sword that broke easily.
The method I chose back then was quick strikes.
That didn’t mean I overwhelmed her head-on either.
Marin was not a push-over who could be toppled easily with a basic sword from the front.
I merely exploited the gaps formed by getting into her blind spots.
Being able to fight by finding weaknesses in an opponent with no information was thanks to that experience.
I never anticipated that spar would be so beneficial.
Thinking so, I pressed the attack on the Crown Prince again.
“Ha, ha, ha.”
I was out of breath.
Moving intensely while already bleeding a lot made my head more dazed.
Had I not forced my magical power to flow through my entire body, I surely would have collapsed by now.
“…I think I roughly understand what happened.”
The Crown Prince, thinking he had me cornered, was still in fine condition.
He had a deep wound on his right side, but it wasn’t fatal.
I wanted to ask if there was truly such a monster in this world if there was a god out there.
“Thanks, Aike. Thanks to you, I realized my shortcomings.”
He wasn’t completely unharmed, however; his breathing was clearly shaky.
Could I really stab through that opening?
I could no longer see any flaws.
He must have already figured out how I was blocking attacks.
“I’ll admit that earlier remark was inappropriate. You’re not weak.”
The Crown Prince lowered his center of gravity and pulled back his sword in his right hand.
It was the same stance he had shown earlier for the thrust.
“So let’s end this now.”
He had caught on, after all.
If the opponent memorizes all your attacks and blocks them, aiming for a powerful blow that cannot be blocked is the answer.
And with my current physical state, I had no confidence in dodging that attack.
“Ha.”
I slowly regained my breath and took a stance.
Like it or not, I had the instinct that this would be the last exchange of the match.
Could I really pull it off?
No, I wouldn’t worry about that.
The only thought I needed to focus on was winning. That was it.
And this time, we both stepped forward simultaneously for the first time in this match.
The Crown Prince’s movements were evidently slower than before.
The wound on his side seemed to be holding him back at the ankle.
Yet despite that, I was still much slower.
“Ugh!!”
With a shout, I burned away all the remaining magical power in my body.
With creaking sounds, I lunged forward.
Only five meters remained.
The Crown Prince’s sword flew toward my chest.
The moment that sword touched my chest, the contest would be over.
It was an obvious trap to anyone watching.
Earlier, I had tried to block head-on and was overwhelmed backward.
So this time, I aimed for the side of the sword.
Using Neia’s characteristics, I aimed to break the Crown Prince’s sword.
Only three meters remained.
Right before the sword touched, I barely twisted my body and swung Neia down with all my might.
The moment Neia made contact with the Crown Prince’s sword.
“…Huh?”
The strength in my wrist loosened.
Neia couldn’t withstand the recoil and flew off to the opposite side.
The Crown Prince’s sword changed its trajectory just slightly and pierced my side.
“Ugh, arg!”
My side felt like it was on fire.
My mouth filled with blood in an instant.
My magical power was almost completely drained.
But I didn’t stop.
Even with the sword piercing my side, I advanced toward the Crown Prince.
“What?! Stop, Aike! No matter how much the barrier….”
The Crown Prince seemed horrified.
But I couldn’t hear what he was saying properly.
I had no time to focus on his words.
I strangled the Crown Prince’s neck and tripped him, forcing him down.
Neia had already flown to a corner of the arena, making it unusable.
I lacked enough magical power to subdue him with my fists.
But I still had this.
“Give up.”
As I tasted the blood flowing from my mouth, I glared at the Crown Prince.
He didn’t move at all.
The dagger, Diana, gifted to me by Reina, was pressed against his neck.
“I’ve won.”
The match would end the moment Diana touched the Crown Prince’s neck.
Even if I were to faint from excessive blood loss, I could still graze his neck first.
The Crown Prince tightly gripped his sword in his right hand once more. Then, slowly, he let go.
“…I lost.”
There was no sound from the audience.
Despite the numerous spectators, silence prevailed.
“Ha, ha, ha, ha.”
I slowly turned my gaze to the center of the audience.
Finally focusing my magic into my eyes, I looked at her face.
Reina had her hand over her mouth, and a single tear was falling.
I did it after all.
Smiling slowly, I raised my right hand, giving a thumbs up.
“I won, Reina.”
As the cheers of the audience echoed late, I lost consciousness.
★
Magic is amazing.
The first thought I had when I regained consciousness.
Before losing consciousness, I was worried I might die, but when I opened my eyes, my body felt completely fine.
Well, the deep wound on my side would leave a scar, much like the previous one on my chest.
“Congratulations on your victory, Aike.”
The first person to enter the medical room where I was lying alone was the Crown Prince.
He had removed his mask and wig.
“Your Highness.”
“Relax. Don’t get up. Standard healing magic just treats the body; it doesn’t restore stamina.”
“…Thank you.”
I slowly leaned back against the bed and looked at him.
“What happened in the match?”
“Obviously, it ended in your victory. But since you fainted completely, the award ceremony was canceled. Still, don’t worry; the prize money will be sent to Akses House.”
The Crown Prince said this as he slowly sat down on a chair next to the bed.
“I was sure you’d win.”
There was confidence in those words.
I was the one who had won, but I couldn’t laugh at that comment.
After all, I was almost a loser myself.
“But I lost to you.”
I wasn’t particularly curious, but the Crown Prince started talking to himself.
“I was mistaken. I publicly declared I had faith in you, but deep down, I thought I would definitely win. Even knowing how foolish complacency and arrogance can be.”
“I see.”
“Thanks to you, I learned something good this time. Thank you, Aike. And truly, congratulations on your victory.”
“…Thank you.”
“Well then.”
The Crown Prince ended it there and left the room.
A few minutes after he left, this time Reina came in.
“Aike.”
“Oh, Reina.”
“I’m sorry.”
And without hesitation, Reina bowed her head and apologized the moment she entered the room.
“…For what?”
“I knew the final opponent would be the Crown Prince. Even knowing that, I kept it a secret, citing fairness as my reason.”
“That was to be expected.”
“But I made you think you wouldn’t win; I made it sound difficult for you, adding unnecessary pressure! And while doing that, I asked you to win! Knowing who your opponent was, I acted out of selfishness!”
A single tear rolled down Reina’s cheek.
I thought it was a tear of joy when I saw her in the arena earlier, but that wasn’t the case.
“I’m sorry. If I had known you would push yourself this hard, I wouldn’t have made such a request.”
Those tears were tears of regret.
“Now I’ve added another scar because of me. Because of me, even until the end….”
“Reina. I think you’re misunderstanding something.”
“Huh?”
Reina lifted her head and looked at me.
I shouldn’t think she seemed cute while crying, but I felt a smile coming on.
“It’s true you pushed me. It was indeed a difficult request. But as I said before, I aimed for victory from the beginning.”
There was a hint of bravado in my words, but this was no lie; it was my true feeling.
“Sure, I ended up with a scar, but if I think of it as a symbol of victory, it’s no problem. It’s kinda cool, right?”
“…”
“So, instead of this incomprehensible apology, I’d rather hear something I want to hear.”
“…You’ve really changed a lot, haven’t you?”
Well, I wasn’t the same person anymore.
That thought couldn’t be spoken out loud.
Reina slowly wiped away her tears and smiled brightly.
“Congratulations on your victory, Aike.”
