Chapter 98: King
Translator: Soafp
After a while, I was summoned to the office by grandpa.
I had a bad feeling about it and wanted to run away, but reality didn’t allow for that.
“Aldo, you’re here. Please come in.”
With a heavy heart, I entered the office.
“You came.”
“Yes.”
“The other day, I spoke with the king.”
“…”
“The king expressed a desire to see either you or Elphus demonstrate your abilities firsthand.”
“I see.”
“We’re going to the royal palace next Tuesday. Be prepared.”
“Understood.”
“…”
“…”
The grandpa looked at me with an indescribable expression. What now?
“…”
“Grandpa, is there something else?”
“It’s about the Knight Commander…”
“Ha?”
“Knight Commander Shirea of the Royal Knights has intervened.”
“The Knight Commander?”
“Not the knights of various territories like the Blue Ring Domain. This is the elite of the elite within the kingdom.”
“Am I going to be…?”
“You were authorized to be armed for the audience. You must prepare yourself for a simulated battle with Knight Commander Shirea.”
“Oh… a simulated battle with the Knight Commander?”
The grandpa sighed noticeably.
“Haa… Knight Commander Shirea is said to be unrivaled in combat prowess. However, he infamous behavior is equally well-known.”
“The Knight Commander has a bad reputation?”
“That’s right. If we count his misconducts, they wouldn’t fit on both hands! He acts according to his own desires.”
“…”
“Because of his exceptional abilities, he’s a handful.”
“Is it that bad…?”
I felt a little excited. There was probably a hint of murderous intent as well.
“Aldo?”
“Eh? No, I’m not looking forward to it. Aaah, what a mess…”
The grandpa spoke with a tired voice while rubbing his temples.
“Next Flame day. Understood?”
“Yes”
He rubbed his face and muttered in a tired voice.
“That’s enough… You may leave.”
“Understood.”
As I left the grandpa’s room, it felt like I was being treated like a battle enthusiast. Unlike Ice Witch, I’m a pacifist. It’s really disappointing.
Unaware of my frustration, Flame day arrived.
During breakfast on Flame day, the grandpa spoke to me.
“Aldo, you know what today is, right?”
“Yes.”
“Elphus, Marl, Aldo will be skipping school today. Please inform the faculty.”
“Understood.”
“Of course, Balza-sama.”
El and Marl responded to grandpa, completely forgetting about “Anna-sensei,” a faculty member at the school.
Oh… Anna-sensei’s eyes are filled with tears. No, she’s really crying.
And so, I ended up going to the royal palace with grandpa.
Entering the palace required several checks. Despite being with the grandpa, I underwent even more scrutiny as a newcomer. We were instructed to surrender all weapons, so I handed over my two daggers and two spare knives.
After the checks, the grandpa and I were escorted to a modest office.
In the office, there were two knight guards, an elderly gentleman who was likely the king, another elderly gentleman who might be an attendant, making a total of four people waiting for us.
The grandpa immediately knelt and bowed his head, a gesture that only the king could prompt.
“Balza, please rise.”
The grandpa was allowed to speak to the man addressed as “king” in such a way, indicating that he was indeed the king.
“Yes.”
With that, grandpa lifted his head and began talking to the king.
“This is my grandson, Aldo.”
Although grandpa introduced me, I hadn’t been given permission, so I continued to speak with my head bowed.
“I am Aldo von Blue Ring. Thank you very much for granting me this audience.”
The king seemed to be looking at me, and I could feel his gaze. After a moment, the king spoke up.
“I am King Mendel Rois Fosterk of this country. Please raise your head and relax.”
Since I had received permission from the king, I slowly raised my head.
When I entered the office, I only caught a glimpse, but now I could clearly see the room’s layout.
The king was seated in the office chair, and the gentleman standing beside him must have been his attendant. Two guards stood behind the king, one behind the other.
“Aldo, I’ve heard about you from Barza and Keel (Count Sandra). They say you’re quite skilled. And I’ve heard you can fly through the air. Is that true?”
He suddenly asked about the Space Kick. I wondered how to answer correctly, and grandpa whispered to me in a low voice.
“Just be honest and tell the truth.”
“Yes. To be precise, I can walk through the air.”
There was a palpable sense of unease in the room at my words.
“Can you demonstrate it here?”
“Yes, I can. Although I’ll mainly be moving sideways since there’s a ceiling.”
“Show me.”
“Certainly.”
I stood up and moved to the door, using the Space Kick to move freely around the room. The people in the room, except for grandpa, looked stunned and amazed.
After judging that it was enough, I landed next to grandpa and knelt down slowly.
I remained in that position, waiting, until a knight standing behind me spoke up unexpectedly.
“What is that footwork called?”
He startled me by speaking from behind, but I had to answer the question.
“I call it the ‘Space Kick.'”
“Can anyone use the Space Kick?”
“I’m not sure. My brother and fiancée have learned to use it, but the knights of the Blue Ring Territory couldn’t.”
“I see. Is it simply a difference in talent, or is it age-related?”
“…”
“Can you teach me?”
I looked around at grandpa and the king. The king then intervened.
“Wait a moment, Shirea.”
“Yes, my apologies.”
The king then looked at me.
“Aldo, you’ve shown me something marvelous.”
“It’s an honor.”
“I see. Did you defeat a Wyvern with that Space Kick?”
“I was hit by magic halfway through and lost consciousness. My brother defeated the Wyvern on his own.”
There was a commotion in the room.
“Who is stronger, your brother or you?”
“I believe we’re about the same in strength. In our sparring matches, I usually win.”
“I see.”
At this point, the knight called Shirea interjected. Shirea… if I recall correctly, grandpa mentioned that he was the captain of the knights.
“My king, the Space Kick has its uses. Please grant permission for a sparring match.”
The king looked at me with a serious expression.
“Shirea, I understand your point, but when you actually meet him, you’ll face that he’s still a child…”
“Your words are noted, but he is a formidable opponent who has defeated a Wyvern. Please don’t judge him solely by his appearance.”
“…”
“…”
“…”
“Very well. Please.”
The king sighed and spoke to me.
“Aldo, what do you think? Would you like to have a mock battle with Shirea?”
“If it’s allowed, then certainly.”
The king sighed heavily as he looked between me and Shirea.
“Understood. I’ll permit the mock battle.”
“Thank you very much.”
“However, both of you, don’t overdo it. Absolutely no killing or causing serious injuries during the fight.”
“Yes, understood.”
And so, I was set to have a mock battle with Shirea, the Knight Commander.
As we moved to the training grounds, I asked Grandpa.
“Grandpa, how far can I go?”
“The purpose here is to show your true ability. You can use everything except for maximal magic.”
“Understood.”
(I see, this will be the first use of Reactive Armor. I wanted to test it against monsters, but if it’s the Knight Commander, he won’t die, right?)
I had a simple plan in mind. But what happened was beyond my expectations.
We arrived at the training grounds. It was a square surrounded by spectator seats. At present, only the king, his attendant, one knight, and Grandpa were present in the stands.
The Knight Commander wielded a sword and shield, while I held two short swords, facing each other.
“Aldo, when you hold those short swords, it feels quite ominous…”
“Is that so? I’m the one trembling with fear.”
“Don’t hold back. Give it your all.”
“Understood. I’ll go all out.”
The Knight Commander was more approachable and easy to talk to than Grandpa had indicated. After chatting with his for a while, an attendant loudly declared the start of the mock battle.
“Are you ready?”
“Yes, anytime.”
“Let’s go.”
Shirea rushed in, holding up his shield. It seemed he wanted to test the waters with a Shield Bash.
I planned to intercept it with Reactive Armor, a spell I was using for the first time.
Quickly, I erected a magical shield and activated Reactive Armor. As Shirea’s shield came towards me, there was a loud “Boom” as our shields collided. Shirea was sent flying about five meters.
After bouncing twice, Shirea lay motionless. I immediately thought, “Not good,” and hurried over to his, using Sonar.
Two broken bones, slight burns, bruises, sprains, and contusions all over. No life-threatening injuries. I quickly used healing magic to treat his wounds.
The king and his attendants were gaping, desperately trying to understand what had happened.
As the mock battle began, while Shirea cautiously assessed the situation with a bash, Aldo received it with a shield seemingly conjured out of nowhere.
In that instant, Aldo’s shield exploded, sending Shirea flying back about 5 meters. It made no sense—where had the shield come from? Why did it explode? The collapse of his previous understanding shattered his reality.
About 5 minutes after Aldo started applying recovery magic, Shirea woke up. He thinks about Aldo and his own condition and memories.
“D-Did I… lose?”
Shirea asked, staring at his hands in disbelief.
“I’m sorry. It was the first time using that magic, so I failed to adjust its power.”
“Magic? It felt like the shield exploded.”
“Yes. When attacked, it explodes. It neutralizes the enemy’s attack with the blast and can also counterattack. It’s a remarkable magic.”
“…From the perspective of the one being attacked, it’s like demonic magic.”
“What should we do? Can you still continue?”
“Yeah, you healed me, right? I’m fine. I can still go.”
“Shall I prohibit the Reactive Armor?.”
“Yeah… It would be helpful if you didn’t use it today.”
“Understood. I’ll stick to just the shield.”
They faced each other again. If he wasn’t using Reactive Armor, he could engage in his usual combat. Aldo released five Wind Barriers around him.
This time, I intended to attack. I shouted at Shirea as I wielded my dual short swords. It seemed he intended to defend herself with his shield.
I utilized space kicks to attack three-dimensionally. Not just my short swords, but also mixing in leg techniques to keep Shirea off balance.
Just as Shirea focused on my short swords, I placed five Wind Bullets around me.
“Go!”
With my signal, the Wind Bullets simultaneously assaulted Shirea. While he managed to deal with two of them using his shield and sword, he directly received three of them.
Shirea was blown back about 3 meters, showing no signs of movement… I immediately ran to his side and used Sonar again, just like before.
Three broken bones, bruises, sprains, and contusions all over his body… There seemed to be no life-threatening injuries, but I still used healing magic on his.
After about ten minutes, Shirea regained consciousness.
“I-I’ve lost again…”
Shirea muttered while trembling, looking at his hands just like before.
“I’m sorry.”
“N-no. Aldo, you’re not at fault. It’s my own issue…”
“…”
“What should we do? Do you want to continue?”
“…Since you’ve healed me, let’s continue for a little longer.”
“Shall I prohibit Wind Bullets?”
“…It would be helpful if you could.”
“Understood.”
Shirea and I faced each other again, this time I planned to use magical weapons as the main approach.
Since Shirea didn’t seem to be attacking with his shield raised, I decided to take the offensive! While moving three-dimensionally, I changed my magical weapons into dual greatswords.
Lately, Joe had been coming to the mansion frequently, mainly to use the bath with Noel. In exchange for the bath fee, I was learning to wield the greatsword. Up until now, I had been using a greatsword and a short sword, but recently, I had finally started training with dual greatswords.
Shirea shows surprise at the fact that I changed my weapon with magic power. It would be bad if he went down again, so I moved away and waited for Shirea to be ready.
Once Shirea regained his composure, he attacked with his one-handed sword. As I wielded dual greatswords, my swings were a bit broader.
Swiftly, I switched back to my short swords and slipped into Shirea’s guard. I demonstrated the effectiveness by striking at the “gap in the armor under his arm” and “the neck.”
“I surrender…”
Shirea murmured just two words, almost inaudibly…
The king and his attendants descended to the training ground. Everyone looked at me with bewildered expressions, and they looked at Shirea as if he were a pitiable sight.
I received a gentle scolding from grandpa, who whispered, “That was too much.”
As there was nothing more to be done, I was sent back home alone.
It seemed grandpa had something to discuss with the king and his attendants. He looked gloomy, so it didn’t seem like good news.
And thus, the audience with the king finally came to an end.
Diana Kurosawa
April 5, 2024 at 8:38 am1 paragraph repeated at the end~
Soafp
April 5, 2024 at 1:57 pmfixed. Thank you