Ch.165Victory Commemoration #6

“Hoho! To win by persevering so tenaciously… Quite impressive, isn’t it?”

As the King made this remark while watching Liam drag his leg away, the other dukes nodded in agreement.

His strategy of enduring until his opponent’s stamina gave out seemed crude, even brutish… but it was admirable nonetheless.

Several more matches followed, but not a single person won easily.

Even with physical differences, each competitor proved their worth as representatives of their territories.

The fights were so fierce that injuries were inevitable.

When all of today’s matches concluded, I headed alone to the tent prepared by the Central Knights, bringing medicine for Liam.

I decided to go by myself, thinking it might be uncomfortable for him if Helena and Ellen came along too.

Three people together would attract too much attention.

As I quietly approached the lodging building to avoid causing a commotion, I was fortunate to encounter a knight who guided me to my destination.

Though I was acquainted with both the Commander and Vice Commander of the Central Knights, I headed toward Vice Commander Randall’s office, with whom I was more familiar.

“Vice Commander. A guest has arrived.”

“A guest? I’m not sure who it is… but please come in.”

When the knight who guided me knocked on the office door and announced me, Randall’s voice responded.

The knight opened the door, revealing Randall hunched over paperwork at his desk.

“My goodness! What brings the Grand Duke all the way here…?”

As I approached the desk making my footsteps audible, Randall finally looked up, his eyes widening in surprise.

His deep voice made me wonder if he was truly surprised.

“I thought I’d show my face before meeting our representative. I was concerned I might startle him if I appeared without warning.”

“Y-yes, that makes sense. Oh, where are my manners… please have a seat over there.”

Randall, seemingly realizing his oversight, hastily stood up and gestured toward a chair in the center of his office.

For a moment, I wondered if I really needed to sit, but I could tell he would be offended if I refused.

So I obediently took the seat he offered.

The fact that it was the seat of honor made me slightly uncomfortable, but Randall was so insistent that I had no choice.

“By ‘our representative,’ you mean the man representing your duchy? His name was… Liam, wasn’t it?”

“Yes, that’s right… You remember his name?”

“Of course. As the one overseeing the tournament, I’ve compiled a list. And to prevent any cheating, all of us in the Knights have memorized their faces as well.”

It made sense to be vigilant against substitutions, but I found it admirable how he spoke of such troublesome duties as if they were perfectly natural.

I nodded, showing my surprise with sincerity.

It would have been understandable for knights to complain about such menial tasks, but he showed no sign of discontent.

“That’s impressive… but might some knights resent being assigned such mundane duties?”

“How could anyone resent orders from His Majesty? Broadly speaking, this too is an honorable duty in service to the royal family and protection of the people.”

While he couldn’t possibly know the true feelings of all the knights, Randall at least seemed genuinely convinced of the honor in their task.

Moreover, his exemplary way of speaking reminded me why he was the Vice Commander of the Knights.

“Ahem. In any case, since you’ve come all this way, it would be impolite to keep you waiting. I’ll guide you.”

“Ah… that’s not necessary. I couldn’t possibly take up a busy person’s time for mere directions. Thank you for your consideration.”

I hastily declined, not wanting to inconvenience the Vice Commander, and promptly left the office to head toward the tent where Liam was staying.

I had to struggle quite a bit to refuse Randall’s insistent offers to guide me.

As a result, I felt completely drained, as if my body had soaked up water, despite having done nothing strenuous.

Standing before the tent where the representatives were gathered, I considered entering directly but changed my mind and politely asked a nearby knight for assistance.

I could clearly envision how uncomfortable it would be if someone from a ducal house kept coming and going, except perhaps for knights who were already accustomed to it.

“Um… did you call for me?”

After waiting for a while in the tent, which served as a sort of command center, Liam approached hesitantly and addressed me cautiously.

Despite arranging a corner spot to minimize awkward situations, he still seemed uncomfortable.

I suppose that’s natural—I would feel the same way if I were in his position.

“Yes. I’m sorry for summoning you when your leg must be bothering you. Please, sit down.”

“N-no, not at all. How could you say such a thing…”

Liam bowed his head several times before finally settling into the chair across from me.

The contrast between his bruised, swollen leg and his healthy one made it look even more painful.

Perhaps comparable to when he was ambushed by that now-deceased elf.

“You haven’t received treatment yet, have you?”

“N-no. The knights said they would bring an apothecary to treat everyone at once. There are others who were injured in various ways too.”

That makes sense. I nodded, recalling the faces of those injured in today’s duels.

Some had bruised legs like Liam, others had arms covered in bruises, and some even had fractures.

It was only natural to call an apothecary for treatment.

There was also the somewhat selfish reason from the nobles that injuries diminished the spectacle’s impact.

“A person needs a healthy body before they can think about anything else. If your injuries don’t heal well, don’t hesitate to withdraw. Your body is your most important asset.”

While I don’t get overly emotionally invested in the representatives’ performances, I would feel terrible if someone became permanently disabled from such an event.

That’s why I suggested he should withdraw if necessary, but Liam seemed to interpret my words differently and his expression hardened.

It wasn’t that he disliked what I said, but rather that he had made a serious resolution.

“Yes. I’ll keep that in mind.”

Somehow his “I’ll keep that in mind” sounded more like “I will definitely win,” but I couldn’t bring myself to discourage him, so I simply nodded.

Come to think of it, many were injured during the selection process in our territory too, but I hadn’t gone around telling each of them to take care of themselves…

Thinking I might be inconsistent, but still wanting to give him what I had prepared, I took out a medicine bottle from inside my coat.

“Take this. When the apothecary comes to apply medicine, ask them to use this one.”

“What… is this?”

“It’s good for external wounds. It’s very bitter and has a strange taste when chewed, but you can also take it orally.”

When I placed the medicine bottle in Liam’s hand as he tilted his head curiously, his eyes sparkled so brightly it was almost uncomfortable.

He must have been quite grateful for all the attention.

“Well then, I’ll be going now. I don’t want to disturb your rest by staying too long.”

“A-are you leaving already?”

“Yes. Rest well, and I hope you recover quickly.”

I would have liked to offer some advice, but the King had stopped me, so there was nothing I could do.

Moreover, being in the heart of the Central Knights’ territory meant I needed to keep my mouth shut even more.

While the King favored House Krauser, he wasn’t above drawing lines, so I quickly left, consoling the disappointed Liam.

.

The duels continued, and Liam showed impressive performances, securing several victories.

The medicine I gave him seemed effective as the swelling in his leg had subsided considerably, and unlike before, he refrained from using his body as bait.

However, he still didn’t hesitate to throw himself into danger when cornered, which remained concerning.

“The representative you sent is fighting quite well, Grand Duke. Seeing his initial struggles, it seems he had difficulty facing smaller opponents.”

“Yes. It’s harder to find openings against smaller opponents. Simply put, they present a smaller target area.”

Helena, the two dukes, and the King exchanged brief conversations while watching the matches to determine the quarterfinalists.

Thankfully, this prevented an awkwardly silent atmosphere. I also contributed a few words, which seemed to help thin the walls between us.

“Oh my, look at that!”

In the midst of wooden swords clashing, the King exclaimed involuntarily.

Liam’s wooden sword had shattered with a loud crack while facing an opponent of similar build.

The collision had been powerful, but it seemed Liam’s sword was the weaker one, resulting in its destruction.

“Ugh?!”

Since the sword had shattered rather than simply broken, fragments and dust flew into the air, causing Liam to squeeze his eyes shut.

His opponent, not missing the opportunity, struck Liam’s left arm forcefully as he instinctively tried to rub his eyes.

It was only natural not to miss such a fortuitously created opening.

It would have been wrong to let it pass.

Liam’s face contorted more severely than a crumpled piece of paper.

The pain was visibly intense. Moreover, his opponent continued striking his arm as if determined to shatter it, with venom in his eyes.

If Liam lowered his arm due to the pain, with bruises blooming like dark mushrooms, it was obvious the wooden sword would come down on his crown.

So his only option was to back away while enduring.

If he wasn’t going to forfeit the match while unable to see, that was his only path.

“Ugh, uuugh…!”

After enduring for a moment, the pain in his eyes seemed to subside, and Liam slowly opened them.

His eyes flashed with as much venom as the man striking his arm, looking as if he could kill someone at any moment.

Yet instead of counterattacking immediately, he grabbed the body of the wooden sword with his damaged arm and looked around at the ground.

He was clearly searching for something.

“Urk! L-let go of this right now!”

“Would you let go if you were me, you idiot?!”

Even as the man who suddenly had his sword grabbed shook it around in panic, Liam’s eyes continued scanning the ground.

Then, as if finding what he wanted, his eyes flashed, and he swung his uninjured arm to strike the man’s stomach.

The man made a choking sound and staggered, and Liam, determined not to miss the opportunity, quickly bent down to grab something.

It was pointed at the end and fairly straight in shape—the upper part of the wooden sword blade that had broken earlier.

“You son of a…!!”

Then, seemingly overcome with rage, he even cursed as he straightened up.

Immediately afterward, he thrust the wooden sword fragment in his right hand at the stunned man’s throat.

With enough force that it would have pierced through the neck had it been a real sword.

“Keh, kehk…!”

The man made choking sounds as his Adam’s apple was struck hard. His face turned bright red as if his breath was completely cut off, and he hunched over with the characteristic look of someone unable to breathe.

It was impressive that he still didn’t let go of his wooden sword even in this state, but that didn’t last long.

Struck once more by Liam’s wooden sword fragment, he lost consciousness.

“That Liam fellow has remarkable ferocity. It’s worth noting how quickly he thinks of his next move even in such a physical state…”

As the King began his satisfied assessment, with the dukes adding a comment or two, I wondered if this was really acceptable.

It was impressive that he had won his way to the quarterfinals, but his methods were too reckless.

As I had thought before, if this had been real combat with real swords, he would have died long ago.

Of course, one could argue that tactics would change with real swords, but the danger remained undeniable.

Plus, his body was covered in bruises.

So, after the day’s matches ended and Liam had received treatment, Helena and I summoned him and advised him to withdraw.

“What? Withdraw? What are you saying…!”

“Exactly what it sounds like. I’ve decided I cannot allow you to continue competing.”

Given that he had been on a winning streak if one looked past the methods, it was natural for Liam to raise his voice without realizing it.

Depending on the circumstances, such behavior might seem disrespectful, but in other contexts, it could be overlooked, so I wasn’t offended.

If anything, I felt sorry for him.

Nevertheless, I had to say what needed to be said, so I composed myself and spoke.

“Liam, your fighting method is too reckless. While I acknowledge your tenacity and raw strength, and your results have been good as you keep winning… just looking at today’s match shows how dangerous your approach is. You could have become disabled if that excited opponent’s wooden sword had hit your head. Don’t you agree?”

“T-that… might be true, but…!”

I saw the anguish deeply etched on Liam’s face, but I still spoke as coldly and decisively as possible.

“If you continue competing like this, you might reach a point of no return. Neither Helena nor I want that.”

“That’s right. That’s why we made this decision, and we hope you understand.”

“…Yes, I understand.”

When Helena added her voice, Liam seemed to realize he had no choice and slumped his shoulders.

His disappointment was evident, but this was better than letting someone become disabled.

Other nobles might think differently, but that’s how Helena and I felt.

“Good. I’ll speak to His Majesty myself to have you removed from the competition. Afterward, you’ll return to our territory where you’ll be educated not to throw your body around recklessly.”

“…Pardon?”

Liam tilted his head, seemingly unsure what “education” meant.

This was our plan from the beginning, so it didn’t seem strange to us, but it must have come across as quite sudden to him.

“Your ferocity is admirable, and if you can master it, I think you’d make a fine knight for our territory. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

I thought anyone with a bit of perception would quickly grasp what Helena was implying, and fortunately, Liam wasn’t completely lacking in that department.

His eyes shook violently, and the corners of his mouth trembled, as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“Y-yes…!”

“Good. For now, focus on healing your wounds until this tournament is over. Understood?”

Liam nodded vigorously, his face brightening considerably at what was essentially an offer to appoint him as a knight.