Chapter 55

"It's time. Let's get started!"

The time had come.

Mariet and the others had not yet returned to the dueling arena, and the duel with Pierre was about to begin.

As I walked to the center, Mr. Clemen grabbed my shoulder.

"Stop being stubborn! It's fine as long as you're alive even if you lose!"

What a good teacher.

My appearance... well, I shouldn't worry about it.

But I have my reasons for not backing down.

"Even I carry the name of Holfort. I'm a hero, you know. When I return to my country, I have a certain standing."

Mr. Narcissus was wiping his sweat.

"I thought you were someone who had nothing to do with such things."

"A coward is weak when it comes to connections."

"I didn't think a coward would even participate in a duel?"

You're wrong.

I need to teach them what it means for a coward to participate in a duel.

"Both of you, please step outside."

As the two of them left the dueling arena, I moved to the center.

Standing in front of Arrogant, I could feel its size and intimidation.

It's usually reliable, but facing it like this makes me scared.

"Republic nobles are easy to crush. You call yourself a hero, but in the Republic, you're just a nobody."

"Do you know the saying, 'The weaker the dog, the more it barks'? Our Noel hardly ever barks. You should learn from her."

As I replied, Pierre shouted.

He can't control his temper.

Besides, you were the one who provoked me first.

"Referee! Start it already!"

Arrogant aimed its rifle at me.

The referee, perhaps predicting what was about to happen, declared the start with a complex expression.

"In the name of the Holy Tree, I hereby commence this sacred duel. Both parties, do you swear there are no lies in your oaths?"

While Pierre was saying "Hurry up!" I gentlemanly replied, "No lies."

"...Then, the duel begins!"

The referee's voice over the loudspeaker and the sound of the starting bell echoed through the arena.

Pierre aimed at my face and pulled the trigger.

I could hear screams from the audience, but I rolled to the right and started running.

The bullet passed through where I had been standing, hitting the wall and leaving a hole.

"Running around like a rat suits you, scum!"

Arrogant re-aimed its rifle, and Pierre pulled the trigger again.

I changed direction and dodged the bullets one after another.

"You're a terrible shot. Try hitting me."

I stuck out my tongue to taunt him, and Pierre threw his rifle at me.

"The rifle is useless! I'll catch you and crush you!"

Arrogant approached to catch me.

I deliberately charged in, ducked under Arrogant's legs, and escaped.

Pierre was getting frustrated.

"Don't run!"

"You want to catch me, right? Here I am. Try to catch me."

I taunted him, and Arrogant charged at me.

◇

Narcissus and Clemen watched Leon running around the dueling arena.

They were on edge, worried about Leon's fighting style.

"You're dodging well. Maybe you know its weaknesses since you were its previous owner?"

Clemen was biting her handkerchief anxiously.

"Still, it's a disadvantage. One mistake and it's over. Why did Leon challenge such a fight?"

Leon, dodging skillfully, did indeed seem more competent than an ordinary knight.

Moreover, he had courage.

Narcissus and Clemen thought, "He must have achieved something significant to become a hero at such a young age."

"Maybe the hero thing is true after all."

"At his age? I heard he rose to prominence by achieving great deeds, but..."

Neither of them knew the extent of his accomplishments.

Narcissus, in both good and bad ways, was more of a scholar than a noble.

Clemen was just a teacher.

They couldn't accurately assess the kingdom's internal affairs or Leon's true worth.

...If the Republic had correctly evaluated Leon, they would have refused his exchange program.

Around them, the academy students, ordered by Pierre, were watching the duel.

Pierre, wanting to show off his strength, had threatened them to watch.

Some girls, not wanting to see the duel, had their eyes closed.

Clemen, surprised, let out a rough voice.

"Whoa!"

Arrogant, holding battle axes in both hands, started swinging them to kill Leon.

Leon's face showed signs of anxiety.

Sand and debris from the destroyed walls, kicked up by Arrogant's movements, hit Leon, and blood trickled down his cheek.

"Leon!"

As Clemen was about to suggest stopping the duel, Julius and the others returned with a girl holding a dog.

"Baltofort! Carla and Noel are safe!"

Julius, out of breath, shouted, drawing the attention of the audience.

Pierre, in the middle of the duel, turned Arrogant's head towards Julius.

Leon, confirming Carla and Noel's safety, suddenly broke into a smile, as if he had been waiting for this moment.

Narcissus noticed the change.

(What's going on?)

Pierre looked uninterested.

"Tch! Useless. But even if I kill you here, it's the same. The women and the dog are safe, but you'll still die."

Leon wiped the blood from his cheek.

"No... I win."

As the crowd thought he had gone mad, Julius, Zirk, and even Carla smiled.

Noel was also looking at Leon.

Clemen, puzzled, asked.

"Hey, hey! Your friend is about to die, why are you smiling!?"

"Unfeeling!" Clemen shouted, and Julius and the others replied.

"You don't understand Baltofort. He's the strongest knight in the kingdom right now."

Clemen was surprised.

"But, even if he's strong, he's facing a suit of armor!"

Zirk wiped his sweat and smiled calmly.

"You don't understand. He's the strongest, but in terms of strength, he's just an excellent knight. His strength lies elsewhere. He's the kind of person who can turn a losing battle into a win."

Carla nodded.

"He will definitely win. Besides, he wouldn't fight if he couldn't win! And he's definitely angry, so he must have a plan!"

Clemen was confused.

"...Are you friends?"

Julius, pushing his bangs aside, said,

"Call us rivals. He's the one who beat me, the former crown prince, in public. And he still rose to his current position."

Narcissus couldn't understand.

"But, shouldn't he have been punished for that?"

Julius shook his head, as if boasting about Leon.

"Can't you see his strong luck and political skills? He's not the type to just fight and be done with it. Marie's scolding reminded me. Baltofort, who cornered us, wouldn't lose to a small fry like Pierre. Pierre is a villain, but... Baltofort is far above him!"

Clemen covered her mouth with her hands.

"That's not a compliment at all! It sounds like you're insulting him!"

Narcissus returned his gaze to the dueling arena.

(What is he thinking?)

◇

It seems someone is making fun of me.

Should I cut off Marie's support and let her starve?

As I thought about this, Pierre swung his battle axes at me.

I dodged each one by a hair's breadth.

"Die already!"

Well—enough time has been wasted.

I've bought enough time.

I took a large step back from Arrogant and assumed a stance.

"Huh? What's that stance? Are you seriously going to fight the armor with your bare hands?"

Pierre and his cronies in the audience laughed.

"Armor is limited in shape because it's designed to be operated by a person."

In the game's setting, the armor is moved by magic, making it easier to control in a humanoid form.

"Are you crazy? Then die!"

Arrogant charged at me.

I moved in sync with the battle axes swinging down, and Arrogant rolled past me, falling to the ground. To the audience, it looked like I had tripped Arrogant.

"Do you know the saying, 'Softness overcomes hardness'?"

Arrogant, trying to get up, was on the ground.

◇

Pierre didn't understand what had happened.

"What? What's going on?"

Anxious, Pierre kept slashing at Leon, but Leon dodged and knocked him away.

Leon, looking like a master of martial arts, was terrifying to Pierre.

Using nearly invincible armor and still losing highlighted Leon's abnormality.

Pierre looked at the back of his right hand.

"No, no. I can't. If I use this, I'll lose the blessing of the Holy Tree."

Pierre, fearing the loss of his blessing, heard an electronic voice inside the cockpit.

"Target voice data editing complete. Proceeding to the next phase of the operation."

"Who? Who's voice is that!"

Pierre looked around, but the audience didn't notice anything unusual.

"Hey, who's voice is that!"

Then, Arrogant started moving on its own.

"Huh?"

As Pierre was surprised, a voice, edited to sound like his own, said,

"What a joke! I'll blow everyone away!"

—Pierre hadn't said that, but Arrogant's voice was definitely his.

Arrogant moved on its own, releasing containers and firing missiles around the arena.

The arena exploded from the missiles, and the audience was running around in panic.

The referee shouted,

"Stop it! Pierre, stop the attack immediately!"

Pierre shouted,

"It's not me! Stop it!"

He tried to move the control stick, but Arrogant was moving on its own.

He picked up a dropped rifle and started shooting, destroying the arena.

"Everyone, blow away!"

Laughter echoed through the arena as the audience ran around in panic.

Pierre shouted,

"It's not me! It's not me!"

Then, Leon emerged from the smoke.

"...I'll end this."

◇

As I stood in front of the rampaging Arrogant, it aimed its battle axe at me.

"Shut up! I'll kill you and show everyone my strength!"

I assumed a stance.

From the audience, Mr. Clemen's voice was heard.

"Leon, run! Pierre is out of his mind!"

I tried to sound confident in my reply.

"If I run, I won't be able to stop this. Wait and see, Arrogant—I'll bring you back to normal soon."

I pulled back my right hand and opened it, putting everything into one strike.

"Don't think you can do anything with that!"

I charged into Arrogant's range, dodged the swinging battle axe, and pushed my palm against Arrogant's chest.

"Do you know? There's a technique to transmit shock internally. Just because you're in armor, don't think you're safe from a human's attack!"

As I applied force, Arrogant was blown away.

Mr. Narcissus's voice was heard.

"Such a thing! Do you know the weight difference?"

The teachers and the audience, who had stopped running, looked at me in disbelief.

I approached Arrogant, which had crashed into the wall and was sitting on the ground.

"Pierre, this isn't over. The fun is just beginning."

I clenched my hand, which was wearing a custom-made glove.

◇

While Leon was dueling, at the port.

As Einhorn purged the fixed equipment, it slowly rose.

A few of Pierre's drunk cronies and drunk vassals were complaining about the situation outside.

"Hey, who's controlling it?"

"I have a hangover. Stop it."

"Is this Pierre's order?"

They seemed carefree, but—

"Einhorn, shall we start the operation? This ridiculous time is over."

—It was Luxion.

Luxion headed to the bridge, where robots were operating the airship.

The cronies on the bridge were tied up and gagged.

They looked like they wanted to say something, but Luxion ignored them.

"Lock onto the guard and military airships in the port."

The robots moved, and cannons emerged from Einhorn, firing at the military ships.

The airships, with their vital parts destroyed, were burning.

Mostly empty, they slowly fell, and people were seen evacuating.

"Minimize casualties and destroy as you please. A fitting order from the Master."

Einhorn continued to destroy the airships.

The same went for the facilities in the port.

People were running around in panic.

Finally realizing the situation, the cronies and vassals rushed to the bridge, banging on the door.

"Open up! What are you doing?"

"You'll be killed for this!"

"Look, the military ships are here!"

Outside, the airships guarding the port were visible.

Luxion recognized one of them as the one that had inspected them.

"...Missile launch."

Missiles were fired from Einhorn, and the military ships were set ablaze one after another.

The power was adjusted, so they weren't completely destroyed.

"Deploy the drones. Crush Arrogant and thoroughly thank those who insulted the Master."

From Einhorn, legless armor-like robots took off.

They found the captain from the boat and surrounded him.

He was crying and shouting,

"Let me go!"

The robots beat him up and returned to Luxion, who said,

"If possible, I would have liked to cause chaos with the main body. Well, let's go. We need to show the Republic the power of Einhorn."

Einhorn headed towards the Feve family's territory, and as the family crest on the ship's hull emerged, vines grew and tried to engulf Einhorn.

"Analysis is complete. This level... won't bind me."

The crest exploded and disappeared as Einhorn's engine roared.

"Well, let's cause some chaos."

◇