Episode 81. Surrender (2)

“Ah, hello.”

Speak of the devil, and there he is. That Knight Allen was standing in the same spot as last time. However, this time, it seemed he had come looking for me, as his awkward smile held a hint of welcome, unlike before.

“…Greetings.”

To show up like this while I’m in the middle of exercising. This is only my second time here, and both times I’ve been interrupted. I should probably ask Viscount Constantine to give me another place, I thought, as I moved to one side of the line I had drawn before. It was almost completely erased by what I assumed were our footprints, but if you looked closely, you could tell that it was separating something.

“W-Wait a minute!”

I’m already annoyed, why is he stopping me? A Knight with such a pretty face and a girly way of speaking was grating on my nerves, making me dislike him overall.

“I won’t disturb you, so feel free to use it! I was sorry for bothering you last time…”

“…”

That was a sudden change in attitude. Wasn’t he the one who kept staring at me like I was bothering him? It wasn’t a bad change, but I couldn’t help but feel bewildered by the drastic shift in his demeanor. Regardless of my lack of response, Allen smiled and extended his hand to me.

“I kept looking for you to apologize, but I couldn’t find you for the past few days. I’m glad I found you today. Let’s shake hands like Knights. Um… Knight-nim. May I ask your name…?”

He was looking for me while I was trying to get Marie pregnant? Just to apologize? Looking at his expression, it didn’t seem like a lie. I had to admire his passion, his persistence. Someone who would go out of their way to apologize like that was now apologizing to me, so it was hard to act all high and mighty. I decided to forget about what happened last time and shook Allen’s outstretched hand.

“Call me Sir Edward.”

Allen’s small hand was full of calluses from training. You could feel the calluses from holding a sword.

“Which Family are you from…?”

“I came from the Eulstein Count Family.”

Having lived there for over ten years, the Eulstein Count Family came to mind before this place when I thought of my home. Lately, there had been more good things happening there, and I didn’t really have any reason to feel attached to this place. Although Marie and I would have a child soon… Officially, it would be Henry’s child.

Allen seemed to be a Knight who joined after I had transferred my allegiance to Eulstein. I had never seen his face before, and Allen didn’t seem to recognize me either. Back in my Mountberne days, I was famous for being scolded by Henry, so it would have been hard for someone of Knightly status not to know me. Allen made a puzzled expression upon hearing my last name, but he quickly hid it and spoke again.

“I learned that true Knights communicate with swords. If you don’t mind, how about a sparring match?”

Sparring? Sparring… I had gotten used to exercising alone lately, but it wouldn’t be bad to sharpen my combat senses and cross swords. It had been several months since I had a proper fight. Even during the last rebellion suppression, it ended anticlimactically due to an insider’s betrayal, and all I did was cut down a few small fries. The last time I fought someone as strong as a Knight was… before the regression.

But Allen was too small to fight me. He was a bit smaller than the average Knight, but I was quite large. At this rate, Allen would probably fly backward just from clashing swords. Sparring only works when the skill level is somewhat similar. I’ll have to adjust my strength accordingly, I thought, as I picked up a wooden sword and handed it to him.

“It’s always a pleasure to cross swords with a new swordsman. You don’t have to hold back or adjust your strength.”

“Haha, I understand.”

Allen said, as if he was used to this kind of attention. We stood facing each other at a distance in the open space, taking our stances. Allen’s stance was very stable. He didn’t seem that old, so he must have a solid foundation rather than a lot of experience. You could tell that he had honed his good talent in a good environment. Hmm, I guess I can go a bit harder than I thought.

We faced each other with wooden swords, then I charged first. Allen knew that a head-on strength contest would be disadvantageous, but he was preparing to block as if he would take it head-on. Still, considering his physique, I slightly reduced the strength in my arm and swung my sword.

Tak-

“Oh.”

His strength is more impressive than I thought. Allen, who had blocked my downward strike head-on, spoke with dissatisfaction.

“I told you, you don’t have to adjust your strength? Surely, that wasn’t your full power?”

“Hehe… I’m coming again.”

I’m not going to fall for such a simple provocation. I’m not that lacking in discipline. But since Allen himself wants it, I’ll gradually increase the speed and power of my sword swings. Instead of lightly swinging with just my arm, I’ll use the power of my arm, shoulder, and waist in a coordinated manner. Allen, who had only been taking a defensive stance, was blocking all of my attacks.

Allen inserted his sword into the path of my sword. He attached his sword to the path drawn in a straight line, gently twisting it into a curve. I didn’t lose control of my strength and stagger awkwardly, but I was impressed by his technique of nullifying all of my attacks.

Swinging my sword with all my might after a long time felt refreshing. A sword strike that used all the strength of my regressed, younger body. As I got older, I tended to focus on technique and experience instead of strength, but now that I was young again, I could forget about that and swing to my heart’s content.

Tak! Tak! Tak!

But is it because I’m just swinging mindlessly? Allen was struggling, but he was still deflecting all of my swords. With each faster swing, I felt more determined. How long can he keep blocking this? This was no longer just a match to determine victory or defeat, but a battle of pride as Knights. A battle of strength and technique. If we continued like this, the one who got tired first would fall, ending in a boring result. I couldn’t allow such a result.

“Huk… huk…”

Allen was panting. He stepped back slightly and raised his sword. Judging from his stamina, this one blow seemed like it would be the final strike in some way. I nodded at Allen, who had finished preparing to receive the blow. Our eyes met, and after nodding, I brought down my wooden sword with all my might. Allen, who had been receiving my attacks in the same posture as before,

Crack!

“Ugh,”

“Are you alright?”

Allen’s wooden sword broke because it couldn’t withstand the force, and he ended up allowing the attack. How unlucky, for the sword to break there. Fortunately, he didn’t seem to be injured by the broken pieces of wood, but he was in a lot of pain after getting hit in the shoulder.

“Ugh, I’m, alright.”

“Let me check for a moment.”

“Ah, no…”

He wasn’t wearing armor or anything like that, and he was hit that hard while wearing thin clothes, so there was no way he could be alright. Depending on the area, it could be a serious situation where he might not be able to use his arm for the rest of his life if his bone was damaged. He was refusing, but I ignored Allen and unbuttoned his clothes, exposing his shoulder.

“Hmm…”

Poke-

“Ugh!”

A painful groan escaped as I poked the red and swollen area with my finger. Judging from this reaction, it didn’t seem like the bone was broken. It could be cracked. But I’m not a doctor, and there was no way to confirm it in this place. Winnie had given me something to use in times like these. Winnie had given me a balm, telling me to use it sparingly because it was expensive, but to apply it generously to injured areas, which was a somewhat contradictory instruction. No matter how expensive it was, Winnie wouldn’t say anything if I used it for something I caused.

But that expensive and effective balm was in my room right now. It wasn’t far in a straight line, but I was a bit concerned about leaving a patient who was in so much pain outside. If he was injured anyway, he wouldn’t be able to exercise anymore. I was wondering how to move Allen when I found the position that would put the least strain on the injured area.

“Y-You don’t have to do this!”

“Stay still.”

I put one arm under Allen’s back and the other arm behind his knees, then lifted him up. Allen said that his legs were fine and that he could walk on his own, but there was no way someone who was in so much pain that he was sitting down could walk properly. It was just less frustrating to go quickly.

“Are we going to the infirmary…?”

“That quack is useless, so we’re going to my room.”

With that, I carried Allen to my room.