Chapter 97: Competitive meet Part 3
Translator: Soafp
I, El, Marl, Faristea, and Anna-sensei were walking back to the Blue Ring mansion.
I asked El about today’s commotion regarding the space kick during the match.
“El, it seems there was a bit of a fuss over using space kicks in today’s match.”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
“What are we going to do about tomorrow’s match?”
“Oh, right, it’s me and Nii-sama… If we go all out, it might be a bit…”
“Yeah, but if we hold back, we won’t know who will win.”
“True… It would be a complete fix.”
Everyone around us listened silently to our conversation. In this situation, it seemed they understood that fixing the match couldn’t be helped.
“Maybe we should consult grandpa.”
“Yeah, it’s not just our decision.”
In the end, since we couldn’t decide among ourselves, we decided to leave it to Grandpa.
After returning to the mansion, El and I went straight to Grandpa’s study.
“It’s Aldo. May we have a moment of your time?”
“Come in.”
El and I explained today’s events to Grandpa.
“To be honest, I’ve heard that you two are strong, but I don’t know to what extent. Show me a mock battle in the garden.”
Indeed, Grandpa’s request made sense. We promptly moved to the garden with everyone.
In a corner of the garden where it couldn’t be seen from the road, El and I faced each other.
“El, let’s use magic weapons since we don’t have wooden swords.”
“Understood.”
“Grandpa, please give us the signal to start.”
“Got it. Then, ‘Begin.'”
At Grandpa’s signal, El and I immediately activated our body enhancements.
I surrounded myself with five Wind Bullets (non-lethal), while El stood ready with his shield as usual.
We started with a light hit. I ran towards El and began attacking with aerial maneuvers using space kicks.
The mock battle with El was enjoyable. Initially fought on the ground, we somehow ended up fighting in the air.
Magic was flying around, and people started to notice… I suddenly looked at Grandpa, who seemed to be shouting from the ground.
We hadn’t noticed due to focusing on the battle. I interrupted the fight and talked to El.
“El, stop. Grandpa seems angry about something.”
“Eh? Oh, you’re right…”
“Let’s land for now.”
“Understood.”
El and I descended in free fall, and Grandpa tried to catch us… Everyone tried, but it was impossible.
We slowed down our falling speed considerably before landing, then descended the spiral staircase-like structure to the ground.
“What’s wrong, Grandpa?”
“Grandpa, is something the matter?”
Upon hearing our words, Grandpa, with an obviously tired expression, began to speak.
“It was a bit, no, quite different from what I imagined… Were you planning to do this in the school’s mock battle?”
“Yes.”
Grandpa rubbed his temples with a grimace.
“Aldo, how much of the spatial kick did you show?”
“Eh? I just escaped upward, so maybe two or three steps?”
“Both of you, limit it to three steps. Never show that you can walk as far as your magic allows. Make sure your acquaintances are on the same page.”
“”Yes…””
“Elphus will win tomorrow. If Aldo wins, it will attract too much attention.”
“”Yes…””
“…..Don’t make that face. I didn’t say to hide forever. I’ll talk to the king once.”
“”…The king?””
“Ah, openly displaying that power might be a bit risky… Do you both still have your ultimate spells?”
“Yes…”
“At this point, I’d like to see those as well, but Rafina warned me it’s dangerous to be more than an hour away from the city. Let’s plan for me to accompany you on your next trip back to the Blue Ring estate.”
“”Understood.””
Things seemed to be taking a serious turn. First, I instructed Anna, Faristea, Yuri, and Marl to keep quiet about it.
The next day at school, I promptly informed Nero and Lewis about my and El’s combat capabilities, emphasizing it as a request from the Blue Ring family.
Though I trusted Lewis, Nero, Faristea, and Anna, I still had some doubts about Yuri.
It seemed Noel had some interest in her, as she often used the bath as an excuse to visit the Blue Ring estate twice a week.
Today, Noel should already be handling the matter of secrecy.
Next, I needed to address the issue of the match-fixing… Frankly, I wasn’t looking forward to it.
I called Anna, Faristea, Lewis, and Nero to the D-Class classroom. The other students were at the training grounds.
I explained yesterday’s conversation with Grandpa to them.
Just like me, they probably didn’t expect the matter to escalate to the king. They all seemed to mutter “shouldn’t have asked” with pale faces.
With that, my part of the conversation was over. I promised to keep them informed of any developments and we disbanded.
Returning to the training grounds, El’s match against the Commerce Department was about to begin.
The Commerce Department’s representative was a giant of a man. While El and I were about 155cm tall, the opponent seemed to reach around 180cm.
At a glance, it was like a man facing off against a child. I wondered how many people in the audience thought El would win.
Although they both used knightly swordsmanship, the opponent’s size made his weapon look like a two-handed sword in El’s hand.
He approached El with a slight smirk, waiting for the starting signal.
On the other hand, El stood calmly, with no hint of tension or fear. His demeanor seemed confident, almost like a silent challenge to his opponent.
When Suito-sensei judged that both were ready, he declared the start of the match.
“Begin!”
The giant man charged towards El. El prepared to defend with his shield.
The opponent swung down from his height of 180cm, but El easily blocked it with his shield.
Then, El struck back with his one-handed sword, cleanly hitting the opponent’s side. The man doubled over and rolled to the ground, unconscious.
The arena fell silent. El was waiting to claim victory, but unable to wait any longer, he cast a recovery spell on his fallen opponent.
After a while, Suito-sensei announced the winner.
“The winner is Elphus from the Knight Department.”
Cheers erupted from the Knight Department’s spectators, while sighs could be heard from the Commerce Department’s seats.
Next was my turn, but it would be about an hour later.
I took a break with Lewis and the others in the classroom, but then I remembered there was something I wanted to ask Marl.
Using the area sonar, I located Marl. She was in the cafeteria.
As Marl was drinking milk with El, I approached them. I greeted them and then turned to Marl.
“El, congratulations on the first match.”
“Thank you.”
“I have something to discuss with Marl, but it’s a bit crowded here.”
“Do you want me to step out?”
El’s eyes showed a hint of concern… I reassured him that he didn’t have to leave.
“It’s okay if El stays. But it’s about something I’d rather not discuss in a crowded place.”
“Understood. Let’s move then.”
I, El, and Marl moved to a secluded spot where no one else was around.
“Actually, during my fight with Olivia yesterday, she mentioned wanting to be in the same position as Ashera… Honestly, I don’t know what to do about it.”
“This is… not something I should interfere with.”
“What about your feelings, Aldo?”
“To be honest, it feels good to be liked. But I have Ashera. I can’t do anything dishonest.”
“Ashera and the Blue Ring family have approved. But how about your own feelings?”
“…I don’t know.”
“Olivia’s feelings are genuine. But I’m also friends with her. When I see her…”
“…”
“All I can say ends here. I want Aldo to find his own answer.”
“Understood.”
“But Aldo is also my friend. Don’t push yourself too hard, okay?”
“Thank you, Marl.”
Back in Japan, I never had such luxurious dilemmas. Regardless, I intend to seriously consider and come up with an answer. It’s a matter of courtesy.
Feeling somewhat gloomy, I walked towards the training grounds. Along the way, I bumped into Anna-sensei.
“Aldo, where were you? It’s about to start.”
“I’m sorry. I’ll head there right away.”
With that said, I quickly ran to the training grounds using body reinforcement.
At the training grounds, the opponent on stage seemed impatient.
“Hey, you’re late.”
“Sorry.”
With just a word, I quickly got onto the stage.
“Hey, you’re the brother of the guy who represented the Knight Division earlier, right?”
“Eh? Yeah, that’s right, but…”
“Tell him. He will definitely pay the humiliation that I have face. Like that…”
“Are you planning something against El?”
“Ah? Who knows. Speaking of which, I heard his girlfriend is in the Mage Division. Hehe…”
“…”
It seems I need to teach him a lesson…
When the instructor judged that both sides were ready:
“Begin!”
Taking down the opponent in one blow could lead to unknown consequences later. So, I’ll break his spirit instead.
I sheathed both my short swords and decided to fight bare-handed this time.
The opponent probably thought I was underestimating him and charged at me angrily.
Dodging his attacks was easy with my body reinforcement.
I kept dodging relentlessly. It must have been about 30 minutes. I hadn’t launched a single attack, just kept dodging.
The opponent was panting heavily, sweating profusely.
“Damn it… can’t… hit… you… Ha…Ha… like… this…”
It’s time for the next stage. I summoned five Wind Bullets (gentle breeze version) around me.
These Wind Bullets were special, with their power reduced to the level of a regular person’s punch.
I struck the gaps in the opponent’s armor with the Wind Bullets while he was catching his breath!
One hit… Two hits… Five hits… Reload. Another five Wind Bullets appeared.
The opponent started showing signs of fear. I secretly hoped he would forfeit soon.
After a few more “reloads,” the opponent signaled to the referee that he forfeited.
Before we left the stage, we had a brief conversation.
“Those were Wind Bullets I used earlier.”
It seemed like he didn’t expect me to approach him, as he turned towards me with a blatantly displeased expression.
“I didn’t think you’d talk to me.”
“Aah? I don’t know anything about that.”
Ignoring his response, I continued speaking only what I wanted to say.
“The Wind Bullet has various levels of power and is easy to use. This one earlier was the weakest, this is the non-lethal type, this one is lethal, and this one is for killing monsters.”
I continued to drive the Wind Bullet into his wooden sword, shattering it with the lethal type aimed at it.
“If you plan on doing anything to El or Marl, be prepared…”
His eyes widened, and his legs trembled. Maybe I went too far against a thirteen-year-old kid? But if I didn’t drive the point home, he seemed like he might develop chuunibyou someday. Let’s believe he’ll grow from this experience.
With that, the morning matches came to an end. Next up was my match against El in the afternoon. But first, I needed to join up with Lewis and the others for lunch.
As we left the training grounds, Lewis and the others were waiting for me. We headed straight for the cafeteria.
I noticed people whispering and casting glances at me from afar, just like yesterday. I sighed inwardly, and Lewis suddenly shouted out.
“What’s with you guys? If you’ve got something to say, say it!”
With that, he looked around. Unlike before, many were avoiding eye contact now.
“Hey, you, you were talking about me earlier, right? Come on, say it to my face!”
This time, he approached someone nearby, but they just hung their head and stayed silent.
“You, it was you, right? You were whispering about me earlier. Come on, tell me!”
Now he was bothering someone further away. At this point, it seemed like he was the one causing trouble!
“Geez. I can’t stand this kind of petty behavior among humans…”
With that, we walked towards the cafeteria. As we passed by, the students Lewis had confronted earlier looked sheepish.
After finishing lunch, it was time for the third match against El.
As we chatted by the side of the stage, Suito-sensei made a sarcastic remark.
“I wonder if it’s appropriate for opponents to be chatting so amiably? Seems like mixing business with pleasure, doesn’t it?”
I could understand Anna-sensei’s sentiments a little now. It would be tough if this happened all the time.
However, it didn’t concern me, so I ignored Suito-sensei’s comments and continued talking to El. Throughout, the sound of Suito-sensei’s tongue-clicking never ceased.
When the time came, El and I went up to the stage simultaneously.
“El, you’re not nervous, are you?”
“I’m fine. And what about you, Nii-sama?”
“I’m fine too.”
We exchanged light banter before the match began. We fought at about 30% of our usual strength. Of course, we can only use the Space Kick three times, as instructed by Grandpa yesterday.
At some point, I had to make sure I would lose. Just as Grandpa had said.
“El, are you ready?”
“Yes, I’m ready.”
“Then, let’s go.”
“Okay.”
The battle from thereon was fought with about 30% of our usual strength. Of course, I adhered to the limit of three steps for the space kick, as instructed by Grandpa.
By imposing the three-step restriction, I believe we were able to genuinely convince those around us that I could only use three steps.
And now, it was time for him to win, as instructed by Grandpa.
I swung my dagger at El’s shield. He blocked it and immediately countered with a strike towards me.
The blow I received directly had quite an impact. I felt like I was about to lose consciousness for real.
But when El swung his blade at me, his expression looked like he was on the verge of tears…
As his older brother, I absolutely couldn’t afford to lose consciousness. I desperately endured it.
I then signaled my defeat to the referee, acknowledging my incapacity.
Despite Suito-sensei’s grand gesture of disapproval, I ignored it completely.
After the match was settled, El promptly cast healing magic on me.
And thus, the tournament concluded with my defeat.
I feel bad for Anna-sensei, who probably wanted to get back at Suito-sensei and the principal, but I hope she’ll let it slide with this.
What’s concerning now is what kind of discussion is taking place with the king… I hope things resolve peacefully, but deep down, I can’t shake the feeling that something is bound to happen.
And so, I continued to live with a sense of impending unease.