Ch.3737. Victory

“I support Reibahn’s love.”

I said this with a bright smile, offering him praise.

Typically, the eldest son of a viscount would receive constant marriage proposals. Most would get engaged even before their coming-of-age ceremony, but he was different.

To endure until his engagement was broken off for the one he loved—what admirable devotion!

‘How beautiful.’

Thanks to his fantastic choice, even my own love could be protected—

“—Ha. This is ridiculous.”

He ran his hand through his hair, his face contorting.

Why?

“Ah. Did I seem easy to you because I was being nice?”

Reibahn glared at me threateningly, emitting something close to killing intent.

Though his appearance was quite intimidating, he was shorter than me, so I wasn’t scared at all.

“…You seem to misunderstand something. I truly, sincerely hope you win Ainer’s heart.”

I appealed to him sincerely.

With my strong backing now, the possibility of being harmed was low, but this level of provocation was still tolerable.

“You keep lying until the end. Fine. It doesn’t matter. I was just playing around anyway.”

“Pardon?”

What does he mean by lying?

You’re not taking the lady with you?

“You looked so clueless that I pretended to be nice, but seeing how you’re acting like a jerk, I guess you’ve figured it out?”

“…”

“This isn’t your place to interfere, so get lost. I was eyeing you because you’re pretty, and since your fiancé died, I thought I’d take my chance… but having someone like you around is really unpleasant.”

So he was just trash.

“If you’re that upset, go tell the lady. Well, she probably wouldn’t believe such absurd claims from a barbarian anyway.”

He said that as he approached other nobles.

“Ah, yes.”

She probably would believe me if I told her.

But it wasn’t a big issue, and I might face retaliation, so I decided to hold back.

‘Let’s be patient for now.’

I could tolerate it twice, though not three times.

If he provoked me one more time, I’d reconsider my approach.

After that, I just sat quietly, passing the time.

Fortunately, I wasn’t the only one watching the surroundings without friends, so I didn’t feel lonely.

I felt a strange inner connection with that person, but…

“…?”

At some point, they disappeared without a trace.

What’s going on?

“Lady Rubine, you’re as beautiful as ever today.”

“Ahaha, thank you. You look very handsome too, Reibahn.”

Just then, Reibahn’s excited voice interrupted my deep thoughts.

He seemed to have spent the entire party chatting with many ladies.

‘So he’s a womanizer.’

Another stack of dislike added.

***

The coming-of-age ceremony proceeded normally.

At first, it was like a regular banquet to pass time. In the middle, a high priest sang some hymns and gave Ainer a “baptism,” concluding the ceremony.

‘It’s dazzling.’

Receiving that baptism grants divine power different from ordinary priests, which is why it’s only given to nobles.

Even the imperial guards are all holy knights who have received baptism.

‘That’s the real corruption.’

Anyway.

After the ceremony, it was time for nobles to show off their knights.

“Now we begin the duels.”

-Clang!

Knights fought each other in a dueling arena prepared inside the party venue.

After the massacre, many nobles started forming their own guard units, but nowadays it seemed more like another display of wealth.

There are even regular gatherings where they train knights and have them fight.

For reference, this was just a preview, so only squires participated in the duels.

‘What a waste of money.’

Honestly, I wondered why they spent so much, but I decided to respect their world.

It’s probably like playing an expensive training game that costs millions?

“-Duel over!”

As I watched quietly, one knight won the tournament.

‘Is it my turn now?’

This party seemed to conclude with a match between the tournament winner and me.

I was invited as a sort of exhibition match.

For reference, I got this position through Reneva’s recommendation, but unfortunately, Reneva was a no-show and couldn’t shield me.

“What’s with that barbarian?”

“He looks decent, but given his opponent, there’s no chance he’ll win.”

That means no nobles were cheering for me.

With a lonely heart, I put on the equipment provided by the count’s family.

It was solid mythril gear, which felt good just to wear.

For reference, other knights also had 1-2 mythril pieces in their equipment.

‘Such corruption.’

Though not all nobles are wealthy, all the nobles here seemed to have money to burn.

“Can you win?”

Just before entering the arena, the lady approached me as I was putting on my armor.

“I can’t give you a definite answer. My skills aren’t that exceptional.”

“I see. Well, your opponent is strong, having defeated all the other squires.”

Of course, all squires were weaker than mid-level explorers, so I could easily win.

But I had no intention of winning from the start.

If I lost, the lady would be disappointed. It was a perfect opportunity to lower her affection.

“I look forward to our match, Sir Knight.”

I faced a squire who had won the tournament, holding a longsword.

He had a slightly confident expression. Did he think I was a novice?

“Yes, Explorer Adel. I look forward to it as well.”

His polite bow made me feel oddly proud despite my initial irritation.

“Let the duel begin!”

And so the duel started.

-Clang! Clang!

‘He’s stronger than I expected.’

I had underestimated him, thinking he was just casually trained, but each of his strikes was quite heavy.

His technique was also refined, making him a challenging opponent.

‘If I used the Source, it would be over instantly.’

If I fought seriously, it would take about 10 seconds to subdue him?

Anyway, we fought intensely for about 2 minutes, and I eventually suffered a glorious defeat.

“Haa, haa.”

I knelt down, using my sword to prop myself up.

I grimaced as if I could barely open my eyes from exhaustion.

“Duel over!”

As the referee called out, I turned my head toward him with a pitiful expression.

Perfect acting.

“He was strong, but still lacking.”

“I heard he recently became a mid-level explorer. Judging by his poor power control and swordsmanship, explorers are indeed weak in human combat.”

Yes, yes.

Though I had tarnished the average reputation of explorers, I was the ultimate winner.

After maximally lowering the lady’s affection, if she also discovered I had a lover, she would lose interest completely.

‘Come to think of it, it’s still concerning.’

Even if the lady knew I had a lover, problems could arise.

What if she went dark and kidnapped me?

What if she used the count’s authority to force a marriage?

There couldn’t be a more horrifying regret-despair-obsession scenario.

Though the possibility was low, reducing her affection was essential to prevent it.

‘How’s her expression?’

Looking at the lady watching from afar after the match…

…she was narrowing her eyes with a truly puzzled expression.

I tried to fight moderately without being obvious, but the lady seemed to have a better eye for combat than I thought.

“Wait, I have something to say to that explorer who just finished the duel.”

Not stopping there, even the head of the Manis family addressed me.

“You didn’t seem to give your all just now. Am I right?”

“…No, sir. It was just that the knight’s skills were so excellent that my momentum was stopped.”

“No need for modesty. Ainer, you’ve observed him closely, haven’t you?”

Am I screwed?

“Yes, Father. The explorer Adel possesses sufficient skill. However, given the occasion, I believe he matched his opponent’s level.”

“Was he burdened by others’ gazes?”

“Not burden, but rather he saw through the true purpose of this situation. To create excitement and entertainment for others, he needed to make it an even match.”

“I see.”

The family head showed a faint smile.

Judging by his good expression, he fortunately didn’t seem to harbor ill feelings toward me.

“He was an outstanding squire, but it seems you need a more special opponent. I apologize.”

“…”

This is truly maddening.

What has Ainer been saying behind my back to set expectations so high?

“However, there are no more skilled squires here. Regrettably, we’ll have to wait for another opportunity to confirm your skills.”

Just as he was about to conclude, a familiar young man walked up to the family head.

The womanizing eldest son of some viscount family.

There are people whose faces alone are unpleasant, and he was exactly that type.

After spending so much time in the Labyrinth, I could sense the subtle steps of a villain.

‘What’s going on?’

After conversing with the family head for a while, the head finally spoke.

“Adel. The man before you is Reibahn Aditor, eldest son of the Aditor viscount family, and quite a promising talent. Would you be willing to duel with him?”

So he had asked to fight me.

He probably wanted to put me in my place and gain the lady’s favor.

“…Yes. Thank you for the opportunity.”

I couldn’t refuse here, so I accepted.

Should I have just crushed him from the start?

No. Even if I had, this eldest son would have found some reason to fight me.

‘How skilled is he?’

I faced him in the center of the dueling arena.

His armor was mythril, but it seemed thin overall, perhaps prioritizing speed.

His weapon was also a short sword rather than the longsword typical knights used.

Just before the duel began, we stood close and had a brief conversation.

“Grateful? I’ll win as quickly as possible to save you from embarrassment.”

“Yes, thank you.”

I expressed my gratitude and stepped back.

“Let the duel—”

The duel began, and as I exchanged blows with him, I pondered.

He was extremely weak.

Should I really lose to him?

The lady and her father already seemed to know my skill level, so would acting weak again really be a good idea?

‘Hmm.’

I also didn’t want to lose to someone I disliked.

Womanizer.

Treating love so lightly—he had no manners.

“Hup-!”

He attacked me with a full-body twist, and I pretended to barely block it.

His strength felt similar to a 5th floor explorer.

‘I’ve gotten much stronger.’

-Clang!

About 5 minutes into the duel, he mindlessly clashed swords with me, starting a test of strength.

Being a speed type, he seemed impatient that the match hadn’t ended after so long.

I found his desperate expression amusing as I gradually let him push me back.

“He’s clearly dominating.”

“No matter how much he hides his skills, the offensive has always been with Reibahn. This shows the clear difference in ability.”

Many nobles were predicting his victory at this point.

“I heard he was invited on the strong recommendation of Lady Reneva and Lady Ainer… but perhaps being young, their ability to judge talent is somewhat lacking.”

“Or perhaps that barbarian deceived them?”

Seeing the change in gossip subjects, the match seemed to have become boring.

Hearing the conversations around us, his lips were gradually curling upward.

‘Should I lose now?’

That thought briefly crossed my mind, but I dismissed it.

My pride and reason wouldn’t allow me to lose to such a frivolous person.

‘Possibility of retaliation?’

Even if I won here, he couldn’t retaliate against me.

Many nobles were watching me, and this duel was hosted by the Manis family.

As I was finishing my calculations of the situation…

“Easy, isn’t it?”

He provoked me in a whisper.

This bastard.

-Swish!

I let my sword slide away and punched him square in the face.

‘Instantaneous Hardening.’

Though I was wearing gauntlets, somehow the striking technique counted as a bare-handed attack, so the damage multiplier of 5x applied directly.

A kind of bug.

-Crash!

With a thunderous sound, his mythril helmet pierced through the dueling arena floor.

“…”

“…”

Everyone was speechless at the sudden turn of events.

“Easier than I thought?”

I decided to just win.