Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 125: “Events in Imperial Territory (9) (Part 2)”
──Several hours later──
Archduke Kharon and First Prince Diaz stood holding training weapons.
This was the arena located in a corner of the royal court.
It was a place built for the imperial family to conduct training and matches, often used by Diaz and Liana as well.
Archduke Kharon and Prince Diaz stomped on the ground, checking their footing. The arena floor was made of compacted soil.
Its shape was circular.
Around it were simple spectator stands.
Seated in the stands were high-ranking officials and princes and princesses called by Diaz.
And on a raised seat was the current emperor—Diaz’s father.
The terms of the current agreement had already been conveyed to the emperor.
So, he had probably come as a witness.
Since the emperor was watching, the promise could not be broken.
Though inside the imperial capital, the surroundings were silent.
Many people worked in the court, but their noises did not reach here. The area had been completely cleared of people.
Those in the stands silently watched the two.
What was about to begin was a mock battle between former Sword Saint Archduke Kharon and the empire’s crown prince Diaz.
Although one arm was impaired, Archduke Kharon had fought a new kind of magical beast.
The first in line for the imperial succession, the young swordsman Prince Diaz.
If you were a citizen of the empire, this was a match you would pay a large sum to see.
“Are both of you ready?”
The referee, a man, asked.
Archduke Kharon and Prince Diaz had each finished preparing their weapons.
Archduke Kharon held a single-edged training sword. Diaz held dual training swords. For armor, Archduke Kharon wore leather armor; Diaz wore a metal breastplate.
Each had chosen what was easiest to move in.
“Then, I will take your chest as my target,”
Diaz declared, holding his dual swords.
Archduke Kharon silently nodded.
The high officials quietly watched them.
They, too, were warriors.
They were likely curious about how the match would unfold.
Archduke Kharon was a former Sword Saint. However, his left arm was impaired.
First Prince Diaz was the emperor’s eldest son, gifted in swordsmanship from a young age. He could also use magic.
Whoever won, it was sure to be a good match.
“—Match start!”
At the referee’s voice, Crown Prince Diaz kicked off from the ground.
First Prince Diaz possessed the skill of ‘dual swordsman.’
Dual swords were also used by heroes and were renowned for speed and volume of attacks.
Even in the hero world, ‘dual wielding’ was a symbol of a strong fighter. Fortunately ambidextrous, Diaz had been honing his dual sword skills since childhood.
While ‘Holy Sword User’ Liana specialized in offense, Diaz with his dual swords specialized in defense.
Defense—that meant protecting the country from threats.
The threats, of course, were magical beasts and individuals uncontrollable even by the empire’s power.
“Come, Your Highness!”
Archduke Kharon shouted.
Diaz accelerated. The distance to Kharon shortened.
The magic chant had already been completed. Measuring the distance, Diaz unleashed his magic!
“Lightning, seal my enemy’s sight and feet! ‘Lightning Web’!!”
Immediately, countless bolts of lightning danced around Archduke Kharon.
Kharon instantly drew his sword, entangling it with the lightning and tore it apart.
The surroundings were wrapped in sparkling lightning.
Kharon’s vision was blocked.
Even more important was the sound.
The crackling lightning hitting the ground concealed Diaz’s footsteps.
This was Crown Prince Diaz’s strategy.
Archduke Kharon was a powerful ally but also a strong adversary difficult to control.
Therefore, Diaz had to think of a way to seal that power.
The best ally could become the worst threat if turned enemy.
That was why Diaz had long been thinking about how to defeat Archduke Kharon.
Kharon’s strength lay in his speed and precision with the sword.
If so, seal those two.
The lightning magic was for that purpose.
The countless flashing bolts sealed Kharon’s sight and movements; the sound sealed his hearing.
And Kharon’s greatest weakness was that his left arm… didn’t move well…
Then Diaz should wield two swords.
One to seal Kharon’s longsword, the other to strike Kharon himself.
That was Diaz’s devised method for overcoming Archduke Kharon.
Of course, this could only be used once. The second time, Kharon would prepare countermeasures.
But for now, this was enough.
The goal was to show everyone that Archduke Kharon was no longer the strongest. To confine Kharon’s actions even slightly.
More power than that was not necessary at this moment.
(Archduke Kharon. I think of you as an uncle to be respected. However… that does not mean all your words are allowed!)
Earlier, Archduke Kharon spoke about the Marquis Tilik family.
He probably knew about the Misra Marquis family as well.
For Diaz, it felt like an old grave had been disturbed.
The ‘Tilik Civil War’ that happened over forty years ago—that must not be touched upon.
How that incident happened must remain unknown.
(You must not speak of that matter. Why can’t you understand that!?)
Crown Prince Diaz kicked the ground and accelerated.
He moved at high speed and went around Kharon’s left rear.
Immediately, the view cleared.
Perfectly controlled lightning created a path between Diaz and Caron.
Kharon still hadn’t noticed.
(If you ever learn defeat, will you become humble, uncle?)
Diaz accelerated even more.
He approached Kharon’s back.
At that moment, Kharon’s eyes caught Diaz. He turned his body and swung his longsword.
At the same time, Diaz swung his arm.
His aim was Kharon’s longsword. To hold off a strike from the former Sword Saint for a few seconds.
Clang!
Diaz’s right-arm sword touched Kharon’s longsword.
A shock ran through them.
Desperately, he resisted being blown away.
As expected of the former Sword Saint — cold sweat trickled down Diaz’s forehead.
He had withstood a strike from the former Sword Saint Kharon. That alone made him proud.
He thought there was no one else in the vast continent who could face Kharon’s sword head-on — and with that thought, Diaz put power into the other sword of his dual blades.
A gap less than one second.
That was the point of the dual swords.
One sword stopped Kharon’s blade; the other aimed at striking Kharon’s left side.
He did not intend to kill.
Nor did he wish to cause injury.
To Diaz, Kharon was a threat, but also like a respected uncle.
He did not wish for his death or injury.
He only prioritized the stability of the Empire — the Emperor’s family — over Kharon.
“Prepare yourself! Uncle!!”
Diaz’s sword swung down toward Kharon’s left shoulder.
He sensed the distance.
Even Archduke Kharon could not avoid this.
The moment he dodged, the lightning flashing from the blade would strike Kharon’s body.
“I have won.”
Diaz whispered silently to himself — then —
“Well done, Prince Diaz.”
Pa-sst.
Spin.
Spoon.
Archduke Kharon’s left hand struck Diaz’s wrist.
The impact made Diaz’s sword slip from his grasp.
Immediately after, Kharon grabbed Diaz’s wrist.
He kicked Diaz’s pivot foot, throwing off his balance, and flung him with a “sppoon.”
“—Wha!?”
Flying through the air, Diaz looked at the arm that had thrown him.
(No way! Uncle’s left arm…!?)
He saw a dark red scar.
An old wound remaining on Kharon’s left arm.
Because of that, Kharon’s left arm was supposed to no longer move well, and he had resigned as Sword Saint.
But that left arm… was moving.
It effortlessly caught Diaz’s sword and threw him.
Impossible. Why—
“—Gah!”
Diaz screamed as he was slammed to the ground.
He instinctively looked at the sword still clenched — but the dual swords were gone. They lay at Archduke Kharon’s feet.
Before throwing Diaz, Karon had taken both swords.
Probably to avoid injuring Diaz.
His strategy was broken, he was thrown, and yet Kharon took care not to injure him.
It was a complete defeat.
(…N-no way…)
The high-ranking officials were watching Diaz.
They were not disappointed. Rather, their expressions praised Diaz.
He had challenged Archduke Kharon and lost. That was only natural.
The arena was filled with lightning.
They probably hadn’t seen Kharon use his left arm.
(…Father…)
The Emperor was nowhere to be seen.
He must have stood up when Diaz’s sword was caught.
He wouldn’t watch his son’s defeat. That was the kind of man he was.
(Failure. In front of Father… so humiliating…)
“Are you alright, Prince Diaz?”
Diaz suddenly noticed Archduke Kharon standing close by.
With a gentle expression, Kharon extended his left hand to Diaz.
“…Archduke Kharon. Th-that arm…”
“Oh, this?”
Archduke Kharon smiled shyly and twirled his left arm.
“I told you earlier, didn’t I? The border region has a nice climate. Just as Princess Sophia regained her strength, somehow my left arm began to move again.”
“W-what!?”
“It’s a strange story. What I did over there was fight magical beasts, investigate fortresses, tour the border area, peeked into the trade post… and with permission from the trade post manager, I took a bath in a local specialty… That’s about it. Honestly, I have no idea what helped.”
“………”
“Prince Diaz, you might want to leave the Imperial Capital once in a while. Broadening your horizons is important for a ruler, in my opinion.”
“…I will take your words seriously…”
I could only say that.
For him, this defeat… was all part of the plan…
He sealed Archduke Kharon’s sight and hearing, and struck with dual swords.
He had calculated the odds of victory as four to six.
Even if he couldn’t win, he thought it would be possible to corner Archduke Kharon. It was enough to show everyone that Archduke Kharon was not the strongest in the empire.
However, Archduke Kharon easily surpassed Diaz’s calculations.
The winning odds he had read as four to six turned out to be ten to zero.
On the contrary, Diaz had made it known to everyone that the Archduke was indeed the strongest.
He could not win against Archduke Kharon, who had both arms available.
Whether by fair means or by unorthodox methods.
This fact crushed Crown Prince Diaz.
“Your Grace, and… what about the wager?”
“Please proceed with the promised support for Princess Sophia. As for the people who fled the fortress and their connection to the recent rebellion… we will await further investigation. If unnecessary, there will be no need to make it public.”
“Understood.”
“Still, you have grown strong, Your Highness. I am impressed.”
Archduke Kharon nodded as he spoke, then—
“But, Your Highness, the girl I met at the borderlands was even stronger.”
“──!?”
“One reason I wish to have the Archduke’s territory in the borderlands is that I want to take her as my disciple. It seems she has no intention of leaving the borderlands. I want to visit and have the opportunity to teach her swordsmanship. Please laugh at me as a swordsmanship fanatic.”
Archduke Kharon continued, looking down at Crown Prince Diaz.
“In this world, there are those who possess power that astonishes even me. Not only that, there are alchemists who create magic items beyond imagination. We must never be careless or complacent.”
“…I believe you are right.”
“As expected of Your Highness Diaz, you understand quickly. I, Kharon, wish I had a son like you.”
“You jest. Ha, haha.”
Diaz gave a dry laugh.
He had been defeated. But he had been able to try out the dual-sword strategy.
He had shown Archduke Kharon’s fighting style to his comrades in the audience.
For now, he had no choice but to be satisfied with that.
(…I understand well, Archduke Kharon. My respected uncle.)
And so, First Prince Diaz kept a smile plastered on his face—
(The empire—no, with the current imperial power, we cannot stop you. Then—)
Without voicing it aloud, he murmured such words.
Thus, the match between Archduke Kharon and Crown Prince Diaz ended in Kharon’s overwhelming victory.
Afterwards, the high officials formally decided to make the town of Nosa and its surroundings a territory—an exclave—of the Duchy, and permitted Princess Sophia Dolgaria to govern it.
Eventually, official envoys were sent to the town of Nosa to explain the situation to Princess Sophia.
With her reply in hand, the envoys returned to the imperial capital—
“We have received a message from Princess Sophia: ‘We gladly accept Archduke Kharon’s proposal.’
Also, regarding information about the Demon Lord’s territory—apparently, the hostage we sent there, Thor Regus, has received permission from the Demon Lord and announced his engagement to a girl from the Demon Lord’s lands.”
The high officials were stunned by the information the envoys brought back.