episode_0027

I don’t know if hitting or throwing an opponent with a gloved hand for a duel is a custom unique to this world or if it was spread by someone who had been reincarnated. Honestly, I’m not really curious about it. The important thing is that it is a method of communication that is used anywhere on the continent.

“The duel will be held immediately, and the location will be the knight training grounds. Any objections?”

“Tch.. Should I add one more? It’s said that using a real sword doesn’t matter if you live or die.”

“It doesn’t matter, but…”

Are you okay?

On the topic?

Katrina’s face turned red as she spoke in a tone that made her really angry.

“Ha, okay. Then it’s okay to use a wooden sword.”

Katrina’s eyes are burning brightly. No matter where you look, she’s desperate to kill me. I think it’s bad for your health to be so excited.

I asked Vice Principal Aiden, who had come into the classroom and was watching us, to be the person to witness the duel, and he accepted without saying anything. It’s nice and comfortable, but isn’t this academy too free?

Even on the way to the training grounds, students from not only the upper classes but also the lower and middle classes gathered to watch the duel. Of course, skipping class is free, so I don’t think I’d want to miss out on such an interesting spectacle.

Despite the fact that he was furious, his head was surprisingly calm. I wanted to compliment him on not beating Katrina up any more on the spot.

“Excuse me, are you okay, princess? You’re pushing yourself too hard…”

“It’s okay. Do you think I’ll lose to Cosette?”

“That’s not…but…”

Cosette also has a rough idea that my skills are not ordinary since she received one-on-one swordsmanship lessons from me, but she can’t help but worry since we’re dueling. Furthermore, she’ll naturally realize that it’s because of me since I acted right away when she became the target.

Still, this is something I have to do.

I don’t think I have much influence in this academy. As long as people gather, someone will bully the weak, and that’s just the natural order of things. It’s not something I can realistically stop or eradicate just because I say I can.

But, isn’t there a limit to what you can do?

They are just first graders. At this young age, they are not just teasing them a little or stealing their allowance, but they are catching animals and laying out their corpses on the desk. And they are even doing this to their friends because they are ignoring them. If we leave this alone, how far will their behavior go? They might even swing a knife at the target of their bullying. If they fight with mutual consent, that is not the case.

So we need to set a precedent. If we cross the line too much, we’re in real trouble.

While I was thinking about various things, I arrived at the training ground. People who had already heard the news and were already there, and students who had been waiting for the knight lecture were gathered in a circle as if they had made an appointment. Of course, Katrina, me, and Aiden, who was a new member, were among them.

“Yangja, please tell me what duel conditions you want.”

“Using a wooden sword, life or death is not an issue, and the game continues until the winner declares victory.”

“I checked. What about you?”

Katrina spoke quickly, spinning her sword in her hand. She seemed very eager to get started. In addition, the victory condition was full of the will to continue to harass her, even if she cried and begged.

It’s admirable that he doesn’t even think that he will lose.

“I agree to all of their conditions, and if I win, I want you to come to me with those you bullied and apologize. Nothing else.”

“Confirmed. If you have any objections, please speak up now.”

“..”

“..”

“Okay. The winner has the right to use the wooden sword, regardless of life or death, and to end the duel. If Katrina loses, she must fulfill the winner’s conditions. ”

Aiden created a sphere between me and Katrina, who had stepped back widely. Was this like a signal to start the duel?

As I swung my right hand and felt the weight of the wooden sword, my eyes met Katrina’s. Her eyes were gleaming with anger and murder.

Many people look down on it when you call it a wooden sword, but it is an excellent weapon simply because it is carved from a solid piece of wood. It is not at all lacking in breaking human bones.

What if it was a wooden sword with a steel core embedded in it to increase its weight? Needless to say, there was no fear in Katrina’s eyes, even though she was about to fight with such a weapon.

Yes. It is the pride that one can never be defeated. Also, one does not think of danger at all. Fear is not something that one should not know, but something that one must endure while knowing.

I’ll tell you that from now on.

It’ll hurt a little.

.

.

.

The sphere created by Aiden exploded with a loud noise, and at the same time, Katrina kicked the ground. The trajectory of the sword that was swung quickly was a downward strike towards the head from above. It is the most basic technique known to both those who are learning swordsmanship and those who are not.

Leah, who had to fight him, was standing still. Katrina raised the corners of her mouth with confidence in her victory, and the students watching either looked away or looked forward to the horrific sight that was about to unfold.

Swish.

However, the swinging sword did not touch Leah’s head. The moment Leah’s wooden sword, which was slowly raised, touched Katrina’s wooden sword, its momentum disappeared and it was slanted to the right, and Katrina’s body followed helplessly. It was a textbook example of a slash.

Katrina was completely defenseless when her full-power attack was nullified. On top of that, she was caught off guard by a situation she had never imagined.

“Watch your side.”

With those words, he immediately raised the wooden sword he had used to throw it diagonally and struck Katrina in the side.

The horrible sound of bones breaking that everyone watching the duel had expected for a moment did not come. It was a proper attack that landed while defenseless, so if it had been a normal attack, the outcome would have been decided in an instant. For a while, he would not have been able to walk properly.

But Katrina stood upright, though she was pushed back by the pain and shock. Onlookers were puzzled, but Katrina quickly realized.

‘This bitch… on purpose…’

“What are you doing? Are you going to stop attacking now?”

“Shut your mouth!”

Ignoring the throbbing side, Katrina rushes in again and, unlike before, launches a fierce attack with short, cut-off strikes. She seems to have become a little more calm than before, and her attacks do not show any major weaknesses. However, the attacks do not reach Leah. She takes the attacks so calmly and easily, as if she had come out for a walk, and there is no change in the atmosphere.

“Be careful of your shins.”

Bam! Another blow struck Katrina, as if trying to inflict maximum pain without affecting her bones. Katrina barely managed to hold back a scream. Even though her shin was under her tough uniform, she could tell at a glance that the flesh had burst and was covered in blood.

“Oh no.. Did I swing too hard? I’m sorry.”

“I told you to shut up..”

“Why are you doing this when you’ve only been bullied twice? I and the others you’ve bullied must have been bullied dozens or hundreds of times.”

Katrina charged at Leah again, letting out a shriek that was not audible. It was a much faster and stronger attack than before, even with her injured leg. However, all of her attacks were just as easily destroyed.

Objectively speaking, Katrina’s skills were quite outstanding. For someone of commoner origin, her physical abilities were on par with those of mid- to low-ranking nobles, and she had probably handled a sword at least once or twice, so she was able to make vicious attacks naturally.

But in the end, it was nothing more than a reckless attack without any basis.

Swordsmanship is a technique created to kill an opponent, and the ultimate goal and ideal is to attack and defend most effectively and quickly to kill an opponent. In other words, it was only natural that the swordsmanship learned from fighting in a corner of the market would not work on someone who had honed the most efficient killing techniques in the royal family. Even if their physical abilities were the same, there would be a huge difference in technique, and since even their physical abilities were so different, they could not possibly be opponents.

But Katrina had no way of knowing this fact.

“Right shoulder.”

“Left thigh.”

“Left side.”

“Right shoulder again.”

“A stab in the buttocks.”

“Be careful with your wrist. If you do it wrong, it will break.”

Leah continued to attack one or two places at a time while enduring the fierce attacks of Katrina who was rushing in like crazy. The attacks only caused pain, not injury. Before she knew it, Katrina had no intention of attacking and was only focused on blocking Leah’s attacks.

“In the despair of not having any means to fight back. Right side. How does it feel to be unilaterally attacked? Left thigh again. ”

Even while talking, Leah’s wooden sword did not stop. She did not laugh at her opponent or become intoxicated with victory, but just calmly and with a calm expression, continued to attack the area and then stabbed the sword into it.

“Right arm. Did you think you were a king? Left arm. Did you think no one could stop you and defeat you?”

“Left shin. If you think about it even a little, you’ll understand. You didn’t go far, and the teacher was much stronger than you, so why didn’t you think that you would be retaliated against or become a victim yourself?”

Before she knew it, Katrina’s body was covered in blood. Even if it was an attack that didn’t affect her bones, if she was hit by a wooden sword with an iron core, her flesh would tear and burst. Before she knew it, Katrina was only showing signs of trying to run away from Leah, continuing to back away, and her fighting spirit had completely disappeared.

“Isn’t that what you were trying to do to me right now? You were going to keep playing with me as a toy until I died, and then you were going to end it. How does that make you feel? Is that fun?”

“Oh, don’t come..”

“Why should I listen to you? At least one of the people you touched must have told you not to do it. Did you hear that? You don’t need to ask. Of course you ignored them.”

As Katrina swung her sword as if in a fit, Leah easily knocked it away, and the wooden sword slipped out of her limp hand. Katrina stared blankly at the wooden sword that had flown far away.

“You have lost your will to fight and now you have lost your weapon. If this were a normal duel, you would have decided the winner here. But what can you do? The condition for winning this duel you wanted is that the winner must acknowledge victory. ”

Thud. Thud.

Leah slowly approached Katrina.

“I still don’t feel like I’ve won against you.”