Chapter 22

Chapter 22 – Competition and Women (Part 2)

「On the red side! A member of the Imperial Guard Knight Corps! Knight Lucif Gadlist!」

「On the white side! The Miraculous Mercenary! Aegir!」

The intro has become much better .

After that first match, I won several matches, slept with Melissa with the rewards, and made Nonna jealous .

And then, in the sixth battle, the opponents became nothing but military personnel in active service and knights of nobility .

As expected, unlike the matches at the plaza, I didn’t come across any disappointing opponents, and every time I won and advanced to the next round, I was forced into a hard fight .

「So you’re Aegir . You’ve done well with the body of a commoner . 」

「It’s an honor . 」

Lucif or whatever was arrogant, but he did a greeting before the match .

This way of speaking for nobles towards commoners was probably the norm .

But right when we’re about to enter a match, that doesn’t matter .

There was the signal to start, but neither of us jumped in .

Lucif’s sword was a size smaller than mine, but it was that much more manageable, so it would be dangerous for me to carelessly jump in .

Continuing to stare at each other for a little while, at the time that the audience started to voice out their complaints, Lucif moved .

From an upper-right downward slash to a sweeping slash to the left, he went further and brought the blade back to make an intense thrust at my torso .

I received the blows with my sword, but unable to defend against that last thrust, it grazed my shoulder .

In desperation, I raised my sword overhead with one hand, but it was easily defended against .

Not pursuing, Lucif temporarily took his distance .

「Such power with a single hand . I had seen it in your previous matches, but that is quite the superhuman strength that does not match your outward appearance . 」

「I have no merit other than that after all . 」

Next, I went to engage him .

I high-handedly raised my sword overhead while charging in .

He naturally aimed for my wide open torso, but that was a feint as I didn’t swing my sword down but returned it to my chest and received his sword .

The swung out sword and the force of my charge offset each other, and this time where we destroyed each other’s posture at a short distance was a good opportunity .

With only the power of my arm, I swung downward with all my might, and because we had destroyed each other’s posture, he was unable to evade and could only receive it with his sword .

And then, if this were to turn into a simple clash of swords, I would have the advantage .

A loud metallic sound reverberated, and Lucif got down onto a knee .

He promptly raised his sword and got on the defence but this is where exchange of blows would begin .

One blow, two blows, with my consecutive attacks that wouldn’t let him breathe, I attacked him again and again .

When I tried to continue pressuring him like this, maybe because he didn’t overlook an opening, by him swinging his sword as if pulling a carpet out from under me, I noticed it, made a light jump, and evaded it .

During that time, Lucif used that recoil and got up as if he were spinning, and we once again ended up directly glaring at each other .

「Magnificent . 」

He was probably trying to make some idle talk while we were both trying to fix our breaths .

「I wonder how many among the Imperial Guard Knights would have been able to stave off those last few attacks . 」

「You staved it off, didn’t you . 」

「It is because I am excellent . 」

He probably didn’t care about the tone of voice in the middle of the fight .

Lucif made a broad grin, and without any preparatory motions, he slashed at me .

His sword, on top of being fast, skillfully changed its direction as if it were dancing .

If we were simply having a fight, I probably would have immediately been caught by it .

Exchanging two blows, I took some distance as if I were running away .

I had only one chance .

I changed the way I held my sword to holding it with only my right hand .

「What is the meaning of this?」

Using a two-handed sword with one hand held no advantage whatsoever unless there was also a shield .

That’s why this was a clever scheme .

I wouldn’t throw any needles or anything though .

「It’s just about how it feels in my right hand . 」

「It would seem that you are not throwing away the fight!」

Running with a speed that was almost a full power sprint, I then jumped up and held my sword up until it was behind my back .

This was probably a poor plan to anyone that saw it .

By jumping up, the sword path would be fixed and can’t be altered .

Moreover, with only my right hand, even it’s power was known .

Although he was making a baffled face, he raised up his sword so as to ward off the attack and stop the defenseless me .

And then, he opened his eyes wide in surprise .

My sword wasn’t in my right hand .

Changing the sword that I raised with all of the might of my right hand over to my left hand at my back, I then swung it to the right .

Maybe because he didn’t think that I would pass the two-handed sword around my back, his reaction was delayed .

I made a half-assed swing with only my left hand in an unnatural posture, but having a suitable weight behind it, it was plenty for a defenseless opponent .

A thick sound resounded, and my sword dug into Lucif’s flank .

「Guhoh!」

With him bending down and crouching, Lucif’s sword fluttered about in midair from my second attack .

From the thunderous shouts of joy, Lucif must have been a famous knight .

The townspeople were wild with enthusiasm from the complete upset, and even the noble seats were dotted with people that had stood up and were clapping their hands .

「That is not the way a knight fights . 」

It seems that Lucif has already recovered .

「But, you are strong! Magnificent!」

Lucif came seeking a handshake .

A noble having a handshake with a commoner is something that was originally unbelievable .

「It is because there is no criticizing ways to fight on the battlefield . You won against me! Be proud of that!」

Nonna, who was in the audience seating, was swinging her head forward and back with all her might .

It couldn’t be seen as anything but her head banging, but was she telling me to lower my head?

「It is an honor . 」

I bowed my head to Lucif .

Afterwards, according to the talks that I heard, if a noble were to shake hands with a commoner in the presence of the general public, that noble would be considered equivalent to a commoner and be looked down upon .

Therefore, I augustly lowered my head and showed my thanks, and that informed the surroundings that we did not have an equivalent relationship .

Nobles sure are tiresome .

It seems that the next match will be in three days .

Becoming aware of that, it seemed that the next match would be the semi finals and since the ceremonies before the opening of the matches would increase, there was a preparatory phase .

Thinking that it was fine to slowly go back to the inn after such a long time, just as I was bringing Nonna and Celia and left the match assembly hall, a crowd was made .

「You’re incredible!」「It’s been a long time since I’ve seen an Imperial Guard defeated!」「A mercenary? You aren’t of some Knight Corps?」

Being jostled around, when I walked through while making halfhearted answers, a distinct voice called out to me .

「So you are Aegir . 」

Three women, all having frilly dresses and decorated hair, and then having a sweet smelling perfume .

It couldn’t be any more clearer that she was a daughter of a noble .

This arena seemed to have been established to be straddling the townspeople domain and the noble domain, so people of both social positions could go in and out without reserve .

All of them seemed like they hadn’t even reached 20 years old, but they were giving off an atmosphere that said that they knew no fear .

「We would like to have a talk with you but . 」

I see, this time, I was the only one to win and advanced to the next round while being an existence unrelated to the nobles .

They wouldn’t be able to lightheartedly talk with other noble knights or people with peerage, but it would be fine if it was with me .

Since Nonna was muttering “courteously, courteously” to me, I used my own way of respect .

「Let’s see, and what what kind of talk might we be having then?」

Nonna was wriggling about .

Did I screw up?

「My! What a rude manner of talking!」

「But that kind of savage part of him is what is good, i