kaaang
“Kuk!”
Ray backed away at the shock he felt in his hand. Bruno didn’t give the slightest gap and pushed on as it was.
Even though he has the upper hand, his opponent is also an ancient bloodline.
I couldn’t relax because I didn’t know where to turn.
‘Fortunately, it seems that the combat experience is shallow.’
In terms of pure physical ability, he was on par with Bruno. Although his strength is on the low side, his speed is fast, and his instantaneous explosive power is strong enough to send chills down his spine.
However, he lacked the skill and improvisation of swordsmanship, which is important for a knight. It was a typical characteristic of an inexperienced apprentice knight.
‘Shall we finish it soon?’
After calculating, Bruno swung his sword with all his might for the final blow.
“Suck!”
jjoong
“…!”
A deafening sound echoed throughout the gymnasium. At the same time, Ray’s model staggered sideways, and a sword flew high into the sky.
People’s gazes went up to the sky and headed for the falling sword.
clink
“…”
A metal sound resounded in the silent gymnasium, and the sword fell. All that was left was Ray, who staggered and looked at his empty hands, and Bruno, who lowered his sword.
For a while, no one spoke. The first to come to his senses in the silence was Werner.
“The winner is Sir Bruno.”
“It was a good fight.”
“…It was a good fight.”
When Bruno greeted him at the same time as the declaration, Ray also hesitated a little and lowered his head. Only then did people realize that the duel was over.
But even though everything was over, no one opened their mouths. It was because the scene I had just seen was so shocking.
clap clap clap
“How wonderful!”
Count Leonard was the only one who came forward with a smile on his face and a round of applause. The Count came up to the gymnasium and looked at Bruno and Ray and exclaimed with admiration.
“I thought the age of heroes ended with the founder, Leonic. But it was my mistake. There are two knights here that can be compared to the legendary heroes!”
“It’s an overstatement.”
“Oh, that’s too much praise.”
When Bruno bowed his head in humility, Ray clumsily followed suit. It wasn’t just combat experience, it was an attitude that had never been praised by anyone.
“Excessive praise! To be honest, even this is not enough. Isn’t it a blessing for all of humanity to have two people who can become humanity’s guardians?”
Even if the lord you serve is different, if you are a human, you will learn how to fight monsters. The Count’s words were like raising the two of them with a sword capable of killing menacing monsters.
“How much more should I not be happy as a father since both serve my son? I’m going to hold a banquet to honor your couple, so please join me.”
“Since it’s your Excellency’s word, how can I refuse?”
“Go, thank you.”
Bruno grinning happily accepted the offer, and Ray awkwardly agreed. When the count finished speaking, cheers broke out among the knights.
“May the hero’s return be blessed!”
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“Goddess, protect the great knights!”
The knights who revere Mu first gave their praises, and the servants, who were attracted by the heroic story, burst into cheers.
Luke, who was clapping his hands amid thunderous cheers, smiled bitterly at the Count.
‘Anyway, people who don’t usually notice are good at things like this.’
The duel between the two just before was very impressive. However, power beyond human cognition is always accompanied by fear.
Otherwise, the two knights could have been feared as monsters with a sore throat, or beings with evil powers.
‘But he just stepped out at a turning point and turned it into a good side.’
Beings with overwhelming power are either monsters or heroes. The Count fixed his perception on the latter when people were still not coming to their senses.
No one in the family would recognize the two as monsters anymore. They will only regard you as a hero of a new era.
“Oh, come to think of it, Julich, didn’t you tell me earlier? When the sparring is over, Sir Ray will take off his helmet.”
“yes. I was meant to do that anyway.”
Yulihi smiled and looked at Ray. The face from before, which was shaking and unable to control its expression, was a lie-like transition.
“Take off your helmet, Sir Ray.”
“yes.”
Ray put his hand on the helmet and took it off. The people who saw the face revealed inside shouted in surprise.
“Hey, woman!?”
The red hair that was tied inside the helmet flowed like a waterfall. Her skin was white enough to remind her of pearls, and her eyes were like jade.
The age he appeared to be was also young. Should I call it a flower bud that is just about to bloom?
“My God, that knight who fought so fiercely was a woman!?”
“Besides, I never thought I would be that young. They look like they are nineteen to twenty.”
“If you’re a man, it’s just when you get your apprentice knight’s ticket.”
Amid the people’s astonishment, the Count also opened his eyes wide. I thought it was a childish voice, but I thought it was a woman!
“This is amazing. I’ve never seen one that lives here.”
There is no rule saying that a woman cannot be a knight. However, it is extremely rare to walk the path of a knight with the body of a woman who lacks physical ability.
Even more so if you have a beautiful face. It’s because it’s much easier to live in a arranged marriage with a big family than to become a mere knight through hardships.
Julich approached the Count and explained with a smile.
“If you reveal that you are a woman, why not look at your gender first rather than your ability? I wanted to prove Sir Ray’s skills.”
“Um, indeed.”
The Count nodded in agreement. Because there are people in the world who don’t notice anything else if stereotypes stick to them first.
Putting aside the question of whether there are people who can maintain stereotypes despite the skills they showed earlier.
“How old are you this year? Have you been officially appointed?”
“Nineteen. I have been appointed by His Excellency Viscount Elias of the West.”
“Hey, at that age, I was just an apprentice knight!”
The Count burst into admiration and laughed out loud.
“The legendary Valkyrie was here! Your sword is as good as the Valkyrie, so why not someday ascend to heaven and stand by the side of the goddess!”
“Oh, that’s too much praise.”
Ray’s face turned red, and he lowered his head. I suppressed my emotions as much as possible, but I was impressed.
‘That’s my father’s hidden true value.’
Discovering the good things in people and thrilling them by drawing the perception of the surroundings towards them.
Because it was not intended by itself, the target would become more thrilled and swear allegiance. Because it all came from the heart.
‘On the contrary, Bruno, who reached out to such a father to the end, is also a great guy.’
There must have been a sense of despair due to the curse, but it must have been because it was a maniac nature.
“Okay, let’s stop talking nonsense! Now is the time to enjoy the return of the hero!”
After the sparring, the servants were busy preparing for an unexpected banquet. Julihi was laughing happily, but she couldn’t stop the pouting of the corners of her lips.
‘Damn it. You ate one shot, little brother.’
Julich’s eyes, which drew a thin arc, were coldly looking at Luke.
****
If Bruno and Ray were the first main characters of the banquet, then the masters Julich and Luke were the second main characters.
However, Julich returned to his room without participating in the banquet. It was because the body was tired from the return journey.
The real reason, of course, was that I just didn’t feel like it.
“I never thought things would turn out like this.”
Julihi gnashed his teeth and clenched his fists tightly. Oscar cautiously stepped out.
“Still, the money has been saved, so fix it. Not bad since he left a strong impression on people and fought on par with the strongest knight in his family…”
“What do you mean by just taking care of your money! That’s a loser’s mentality!”
At the lord’s words, Oscar staggered and stepped back. Julihi, who was annoyed for a moment, sighed and lay down.
“According to the original plan, Sir Ray should have risen to the top. The strongest female knight at only 19.”
In that case, people’s impressions would have jumped up to the point where they couldn’t be compared to now.
As the one and only hero and the second coming of the legend.
However, everything went awry when he fought against Bruno and lost.
“One became two, the lesser of the two. Young age, lack of experience, and potential are all excuses!”
Anyway, isn’t the strongest called Bruno after all? And it was Luke, not Julich, who possessed the strongest knight.
When people talk about the monarch with the strongest knight, who do they think of, Julich or Luke?
“Besides, my half-brother was even more invigorated! Normally, I should have won here to break the momentum, but I fanned it to my heart’s content!”
Julihi hit the desk so that there was a bang. I couldn’t forget Luke who praised me for writing a great article at the end.
In praise, ‘This is a great article! My knight is the strongest!’
“Damn it, my stomach is bursting. How long has it been since you had such a fever?”
“Is it your turn to step out?”
Just then, a hunchbacked old man echoed in the corner of the room. Julich paused for a moment before looking at the old man.
“Is there a way?”
“As an assassin, there is only one way. Although there are many means.”
“done.”
The meaningful old man’s words were rejected by Julihi with a single knife.
“Using you now is the worst of the worst. Rather, it only destroys what has been built up until now.”
“If the lord says so.”
After the hunchbacked old man disappeared into the shadows again, Julich sighed. Still, I felt a little calmed down.
Because having a last resort and not having one made the relaxation of the mind different.
“Anyway, it’s been a pain in the ass. I have to break his momentum somehow.”
“Then I think giving a present would be a good way.”
“gift?”
When he looked up at Oscar, a faint smile appeared on his lips. It was the expression he usually made when he came up with a confident strategy.
“Isn’t your lord the sword you got in the dungeon?”
“Oh, you mean that demonic sword?”
Yulihi frowned. The power that I can definitely feel is not normal, but it is a sword that no one can use.
Thanks to that, I’ve just put it in a box, but I’ve never wielded it.
“Isn’t it coming of age soon?”
“yes. Because the new year is over.”
“Wouldn’t it be right to give congratulatory gifts to the family at the coming of age ceremony? That demonic sword would be just fine.”
“Ooh!”
Julich’s eyes twinkled at Oscar’s words. I thought it was a useless magic sword, but there was a corner to use it here.
“As you know, that demon sword is just an iron sword for those who can’t draw power.”
“yes.”
“However, it is rather against those who can draw the power of the demonic sword.”
“Thanks to that, I almost burned my hands.”
“That’s right. Because the descendants of the Bernstein family, with dragon blood, deserved it.”
Having said that, Oscar smiled.
“Even though your younger brother is an illegitimate son, isn’t he the one who inherits the blood of the dragon?”
“I have more than enough qualifications to draw out the power of the demonic sword.”
“So you must be very happy. It’s a sword with great power inside.”
“ha ha ha! What a good idea!”
Yulihi laughed out loud. If possible, it would be better to do some preliminary work before handing over the sword.
If done well, it’s a way to break the momentum of my younger brother who is ascending to heaven.
‘If you don’t try to take a loss, the reaction will come back to that extent, younger brother. I hope this can be a lesson for you.’
A cold smile formed on Julich’s lips as he remembered Luke.
****
That night, after returning from the banquet, Luke muttered as he carefully calculated the date.
“Let’s see, is it New Years soon?”
“I guess you only had a few days left.”
“That’s right. My coming-of-age ceremony is coming soon.”
In this world, coming-of-age ceremonies are held in the new year when a person turns sixteen. At that time, the person who was going through the coming-of-age ceremony received a congratulatory gift from his family.
It was an event held by everyone, regardless of nobles and commoners.
“It just went well. I still needed a good sword.”
“yes? Is it a sword? Did someone even say they would give you a sword?”
A congratulatory gift is not received by saying it yourself. It is up to the giver to decide.
But to say it as if it had already been decided.
“Oh, actually, my older brother is going to give you a very nice sword as a gift.”
“Brother Julihi? Did you say that?”
“no. There is a way to know everything.”
“…?”