episode_0269

-Ha. You really are so reckless. Is it that strange that I am leaving the Duke’s house?

Literally, literally.

There was no such thing as a reckless person.

To rush into that room after hearing just one word from the conversation between Carcein and Marquis Magnuel? Even now, thinking back, it was rash.

Just misunderstanding it.

Catch a living person at will.

I almost did something wrong.

It’s fortunate that you’ve come to your senses, unlike before, if things had turned out like they did with Lilpette…

Among the gods, this matter was brought up and Karsine would have suffered again. If he had missed even a little bit, a dizzying future would have come that would have made his eyes close on their own.

Thank goodness I came to my senses and didn’t go that far.

But why is that?

Claire was deeply troubled by those words.

‘Why does leaving the house feel so awkward?’

Although I gave proper reasons for leaving the Duke’s house, I couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling.

I wonder if I’m missing something.

It was around that time that I fell into worry again.

“Claire. Claire.”

“Oh, Mom.”

When she came to, Isabella was shaking her shoulder.

“I don’t know how many times I called you.”

He said that because there had been no response at all since a while ago, he shook his shoulders like this, and only after he exerted so much force that his entire body shook, did he respond.

Isabella asks Claire indirectly.

“…Did you have a fight with Karsane?”

Claire flinched for a moment at the question.

It was true that I had met Karsain, so I couldn’t help but flinch. What’s more, what happened there wasn’t so good.

But he denies it sharply.

“No, Mom! What are you fighting about? Why are you saying that?”

“That’s because you’re not paying any attention. Look.”

Isabella pointed to the stadium.

Karsine came out early and played the game.

He even won by subduing his opponent in just two rounds. It was not unreasonable for such a misunderstanding to arise.

“Da, just two sums! The winner is decided in just two sums! The winner is Karsain Bagrand!”

─Wow!!!

The surroundings are already bustling and filled with cheers.

Who should be the happiest at this sight unfolding before our eyes?

“Even though you’re playing like that, you don’t pay attention to it or show any reaction, so don’t you worry about that?”

“…”

It was my second older sister who was so quiet that I wondered if they had fought.

The misunderstanding needs to be corrected.

Claire cleared her throat and answered, “Ahem.”

“It’s true that I met Karcein, but… we didn’t fight.”

“Really?”

“That’s right. I just have something else to think about.”

Isabella is relieved by those words.

“If you stare blankly for too long, you’ll miss everything. Claire?”

“Oh my gosh. Mom!”

The mood returns again.

The conversation naturally ended with a return to the topic of Karsane’s matches, along with some light banter.

As I shook off those thoughts and turned my gaze towards the stadium, my collar was suddenly pulled slightly.

The youngest brother, who was pulling on the collar of his clothes with his slender fingers like bracken, had a worried expression on his face.

Yes. If the topic of Karsene comes up, there’s bound to be one more person to worry about. There were so many remnants scattered in the past.

This time, perhaps worried about the repercussions, Flora asked her in a low voice.

“No way… Did something happen to Carcein?”

“No. No. There weren’t any bad rumors going around.”

“But, I used to be…”

“Flora.”

Claire gently stroked the youngest’s golden hair.

“It’s true that there are things that even my sister doesn’t know, but I can tell you this for sure. Not this time.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. So, our youngest can watch the game without worry?”

“Yeah.”

Only then did Flora smile brightly and turn her gaze to the stadium.

-Yeah. I was the one who should have left the dukedom in the first place, right?

Those words still feel a bit awkward, though…

For now, Claire decided to put that discomfort aside.

If not now, I won’t be able to watch my younger brother’s games. I need to watch them all one by one.

***

one side.

Arina is watching the other contestants’ games closely.

Watch other people play and get an idea of their style.

Make a strategy on how to deal with it.

You must create a path to victory using the information given.

While the other participants were busy with their personal maintenance during this time, Arina was leisurely digging up this information.

‘The onslaught of Sir Maxel will be quite difficult. The opponent who was eliminated was also one who made it to the quarterfinals last year. Who would have thought he would be able to overcome someone like that?’

Plus, there are quite a few new participants this time.

Several of the western tribesmen took part in the martial arts competition as examples and showed considerable skill, which led to an increase in the number of unknown figures.

But there weren’t many people who were that threatening.

If you want to cope, you can cope well enough.

As for Arina, who had accumulated considerable internal energy over the years, she did not seem to have any significant rivals.

At that moment, a game starts.

Arina’s gaze was quickly fixed on one person.

“…Carcein.”

The corners of my eyes narrowed without me realizing it.

The date of your birthday is bound to come to mind vaguely.

Although the hair tie was a hair tie, it was more important that the place, where not only the nobles but even the vassals had gathered, not be ruined, so he did not get angry.

But Karsine finally showed off the hair tie again that day, causing a huge storm at the party.

Not only were there sharp criticisms from the guests, but there were also all sorts of complaints and condemnations from the nobles in attendance.

How exhausting it was to put her to sleep. Arina’s birthday turned into the worst day ever because of one Karsain.

And finally, by throwing away the birthday present I had given her before, I ended up losing all the affection I had left behind, and so even resentment remained.

The day before the start of the arena, no less.

If the showdown with Karsain had happened, he would have been made to pay dearly for making such presumptuous remarks.

In that respect, Carcein was very lucky.

“If the match had been decided between us, I would have shed tears of blood.”

Either way, Karsin is on the opposite side of Arina and they will never meet again unless it is the finals.

That means there will be no chance to correct that rotten mind in this martial arts tournament.

I wonder if I could miraculously make it to the finals.

“Huh. Okay. There’s nothing to see.”

Looking at that ridiculous pose, there’s nothing more to say. It’s a pose that’s so full of gaps that it wouldn’t be strange if the opponent attacked in any direction. You’d fall down in no time.

At that moment, Arina was about to turn her head away without even watching Karcein’s game.

Karthine’s sword moved gracefully and struck the opponent’s sword.

-Kang! Kang!

After neatly blocking the opponent’s attack, he easily pushed away the center of the sword and finished him off by subduing him with martial arts.

“…”

It was a simple sword fight, without any flashiness.

It was an ordinary movement that didn’t even use mana.

It was easy to understand at first glance.

But, the victory was achieved.

Arina snickered.

“Yeah. Considering how arrogant you are, your skills have improved quite a bit. ”

It definitely looks different compared to last year.

Well, I heard you spent a considerable amount of time in the training camp. Maybe because you received proper training, it seems like it’s not time to drop out yet.

“Come all the way up. Then I can correct all your rotten minds.”

No, it won’t end with correcting the mind.

I’ll stamp that cheeky mouth down so it won’t play again.

***

“See, I’m right? It’s true that Karsain Bagrand’s power has increased!”

“Tsk. The opponent was quite skilled, too.”

With Karsain’s victory, a new atmosphere began to flow in the stands.

Unlike in the past, there were quite a few who predicted his victory, and the number of people who became even more enthusiastic after seeing his performance increased noticeably.

However, there were quite a few people who were jealous of such a karcein.

“Huh. Did you see how they won cowardly last year? Of course they would have done the same this time too.”

“So. Where would a fundamentally shallow guy go?”

“Looking at the fact that there’s only one sponsor, it seems like the family showed some favor. Hehe.”

“It would be funny if we kept going like this again, by beating up someone during the game.”

Because he still had many enemies.

The fact that he was a child picked up from outside, in a slum at that.

The fact that a commoner of unknown origins suddenly rose to fame and entered the family of a duke.

In addition, there are countless incidents and accidents that he has committed, and he is followed by gossip.

Such labels were a perfect fit for making enemies, both in aristocratic society and within the Peselos Empire.

There’s nothing I can do. Things like that aren’t worth responding to, so I’ll just let it pass. Pollux tried to close his ears to their conversation.

“Even so, it’s only two hits. How could you subdue your opponent so well…”

“Hey. Common sense tells you that there is such a thing as luck. Huh?”

“Well, maybe he knocked the opponent down by pouring all his power into him.”

“You can knock it down in just two turns? It looked easy at first glance. I can do it too!”

Pollux suddenly burst out laughing because the foolish ones were talking like that.

‘Does that mean it looks easy?’

This is an intolerable nonsense.

Yes. It’s just two sums. If there’s a trick that’s easy to use and perfect for deceiving others, you might be able to win by taking advantage of their moment of letdown.

A fool like me, who has never properly held a sword or even gotten a blister on his hand, might think so.

So how can I endure it without laughing?

‘In swordsmanship, being easily visible to others means that the person’s movements were very clean.’

Clean and clear.

Intuitive enough for anyone to see at a glance.

That neat and straight movement means only one thing: you have completely subdued your opponent.

It’s the gap with the opponent.

Because the level was already different from the start.

Because the difference was enough that Karthus could crush his opponent in just two hits.

So this is what happened.

Pollux, who had personally received the sword of Carthage, knew this best.

The thorough calculations made in those unwavering eyes…

As time goes by, you begin to feel that no one can beat that guy.

‘It’s been quite some time since my duel with Karsain. Considering how much I’ve grown in that time…’

Well, I can’t guarantee victory.

I may have definitely won at the time, but I’m not so sure now.

“As expected, it’s beyond my imagination. When I first started fighting with you, I couldn’t have imagined that you would grow to that extent.”

Talphon sat down next to Pollux, his presence clearly visible, as he laughed at the idiots talking nonsense behind his back.

Thanks to that, the idiots who were talking nonsense have shut their mouths like sacks of rice cakes.

“Talpon.”

Pollux stares as if asking why he did such a foolish thing.

Talphon looks at Pollux and smirks.

“It’s funny how people who don’t even know how much of a gap there is between them are talking nonsense. That guy Karsain polished his sword every single day without fail, but he said it didn’t work.”

“…”

“Do you agree?”

“Hey. Talpon.”

As soon as they heard that, the monks who didn’t even know the meaning of the sword, let alone the competition, ran away.

Pollux sighed as he felt the sound disappear.

“Don’t spread unnecessary gossip.”

“Huh. I have no intention of listening to those fucking imperial bastards insulting my close friend.”

Well, Pollux agreed with that to some extent.

“So, Pollux, what do you see?”

“What are you talking about?”

“What the heck. I’m asking what the matchups will be like in this competition.”

Pollux glanced around the gathered participants and answered.

“It will probably flow towards a two-party system. ”

“That’s right? I think so too. When I smelled Mana, I could only narrow it down to about six.”

Talon, gulping down a large glass of wine, asked casually.

“Khaha! But, among them, there are only two. The ones who will face each other properly in the finals. You know them well, right?”

“…What are you talking about?”

A skilled person recognizes a skilled person.

There are two people who stand out so much in this arena that they seem to be on a different level.

It was Karcein and Arina.

Here, the conversation stops.

Despite knowing all of this fact, and perhaps even foreseeing the outcome of this competition, neither Talphon nor Pollux brought it up first.

An odd silence flowed.

“The next game starts!”

The silence was filled with the announcer’s voice announcing the next game.

***

-Chaenggang!

“Ugh…! Ha, I surrender.”

-Tiring!

▶I defeated my opponent in the martial arts tournament!◀

▶Continuing to the next match.◀

-chuck.

“I lost, I lost.”

-Tiring!

▶I defeated my opponent in the martial arts tournament!◀

▶Continuing to the next match.◀

-Thud.

“Surrender. You’re amazing.”

-Tiring!

▶I defeated my opponent in the martial arts tournament!◀

▶Continuing with the next match.◀

On several occasions, he has faced his opponents in tournaments and emerged victorious.

And so I won. And so I won again.

As I watched the Noblesse Points pile up, the time had come.

“The final showdown, let’s start a civil war between the Bagrand Dukes!!”

-Tiring!

▶We’ve reached the finals!◀

▶If you win a battle against an opponent, you may receive additional rewards.◀

[ Opponent: Arina Bagrand ]

The final position where only those who have achieved victory in a fierce battle advance.

It was the final.

‘Ha. This is ridiculous.’

The message that appeared in the status window was really funny.

[ Arina Bagrand ]

[ Inferiority complex: 86% ]

In the meantime, the numbers have increased.

The very word inferiority complex is ridiculous, but I am amazed at the fact that it has grown in the meantime.

Also, there was a phrase that I hadn’t seen before that said something about the changes that I had made to each person I beat.

▶You got a penalty!◀

[ Damage received increases when facing Arina! ]

[ Damage received increases when facing Arina! ]

[ Damage received increases when facing Arina! ]

…

…

Nesting, nesting, nesting again.

The numbers piled up like that.

[When facing Arina, damage taken increases by 35%!]

It had a figure of 35%.

At this point, you’ll probably get other debuffs when fighting Arina.

‘You’re really holding on to me, aren’t you?’

If there’s one thing that suddenly comes to mind here, it’s that I think the first one was probably like that too.

Because of that, a hollow laugh almost escaped my mouth without me knowing.

‘Okay. Okay. I’ve already decided on my path.’

Maybe this is the final that everyone wants and is looking forward to.

Isn’t this a highly anticipated matchup?

Following last year’s civil war in Baghdad, the conditions are no different from then.

Some people may be hoping for some kind of result.

Whether externally or internally.

And one person.

He must be really itching to take me down.

So, it tramples all of that in an instant.

“I will abstain.”