Kays Translations

Chapter 26: Mock Battle

──── In addition to fifty laps, I was made to do eighty squats and a hundred sword swings…

My body was already a wreck.

My new knight's uniform is stained with sweat and sand, and every muscle in my body is screaming.

I don't know how many times I almost broke down because the training was too "stoic" to describe…

I want someone to praise me for not giving up in the middle of the training and for finishing the hellish training without using any magic.

Next time, I'll ask Nigel-sensei to come up with the training menu instead of His Highness Grayson…

His Highness' training menu has one too many zeros.

If you're a knight who works out every day, you're a knight, but I'm just an ordinary person.

Then, His Highness Grayson said, "I reduced the number considerably."

This made me wonder what kind of training he is doing every day

I sigh, "Hah ...", and while lining up behind the queue, I activated the magic circle for purification that I had created instantly.

I removed sweat and sand from my hair and clothes and adjusted my body.

As if I had just taken a bath, I felt refreshed and my eyes caught a glimpse of ──── Nigel sensei from between the lines.

Nigel sensei had just finished teaching the riding course and had come back to the field.

He may have walked on his own this time as he didn't bring the white horse known as the Queen with him.

"First of all, good job on the independent practice. It looks like everyone was working hard. I'm glad you're making good use of your time. So today we're going to have ──── a mock battle."

He clapped his hands lightly and said happily. For a moment, I couldn't understand what he said and ruminated on the word "mock battle" in my brain.

"What? Mock battle? Did he just say "mock battle"? That's a lie! It's only the first day, and we can't be having a mock fight…! I've never learned to use a sword in my life! I only just touched a wooden sword for the first time during my physical training earlier…!"

I hoped I was mishearing him. However, the reality was that I hadn’t misheard him.

The beautiful blonde man started explaining the rules with a smile.

"It's one-on-one, and I decide who you fight against. And you can only use wooden swords. You may use magic to assist you, but you may not attack your opponent directly with magic. And there are two conditions for victory. The first is to make your opponent surrender and the second, to make them incapacitated. No killing, of course. I'll stop you if I think you're in danger."

Taking out a wooden sword from a nearby cylindrical basket, Nigel sensei twirled it around his wrist.

As he handled the wooden sword like a baton, he squinted his garnet colored eyes happily.

Even if it's only for support, if I can use magic, I may have a chance…

I'm sure I can't beat His Royal Highness Grayson, who is a sword master.

I'm sorry to say this, but I just hope that I'm up against someone who isn’t as good as he is.

I am inferior to the other students in terms of both strength and physique, and I look at Nigel sensei as if praying.

While clenching his hands tightly and lowering his eyebrows, the beautiful blonde man pointed to a male student with a wooden sword.

"The opponent in the first match is you......"

Nigel sensei, who pointed his sword at a man with dark hair in the front row, cut his words there, and suddenly his gaze wandered.

Looking around, he smiled when he found me at the end of the line.

I don't know why. I have an incredibly bad feeling about this...

Nigel sensei mercilessly pointed his sword at me, who was sweating and my cheeks twitching.

"Shall we ──── the girl with purple hair?"

The bright tenor voice said the words, and I crumpled involuntarily.

Overwhelmed by despair, I momentarily said, "Did you choose another student?”

However, I was the only student who was described as "the girl with purple hair" in the swordsmanship course that had a few girls.

Why did you choose me out of all the choices?

And of all people, my opponent is ──── the second son of the Collins family?!

That's too much!

My opponent, a man with dark blue hair, was a member of the Collins family, which has produced many excellent knights.

I believe his name is… Daniel Evan Collins.

I don't know what he's capable of, but if he's from the Collins family, he's probably pretty good at it.

At the very least, he's not an opponent that an amateur can beat.

What should I do?

Should I just say I'm not feeling well and abstain?

But if I run away, it might leave a bad impression of me.

I'm afraid to ruin my image, which has recovered so well.

"So, both of you go ahead."

Without knowing my dilemma, Nigel sensei beckoned us with a smile.

Perhaps he was taking delight in the fact that his opponent was a woman, but Daniel stepped forward with enthusiasm.

When that happened, I had to go forward too ... I had no choice but to rush to the side of the teacher.

As the other students looked on, Daniel and I were handed wooden swords by Nigel sensei.

At this point, I felt like I was going to cry.

It's been a terrible morning.

I'm never coming back to the sword-fighting course again!

Next time, I'm going to go for the horseback riding course!

I don't give a shit about strengthening my body or getting some exercise anymore!

I can handle most of it with magic anyway!

I give a rather extreme answer and face Daniel-sama, who is smiling with a relaxed look.

I'm not sure if he's convinced of his victory, but he had relaxed his entire body and is pointing the tip of his sword downward.

"Both of you, take a stance."

At the sound of his voice, I held the wooden sword in both hands.

But my stance, which I didn't know how to hold properly, was no different from a child's game of sword fighting, and Daniel snickered at me.

"Well, both of you don’t overdo it. Now──── begin!"

At the same time that Nigel sensei raised his hand, Daniel rushed out.

It was light and quick as the wind, even though he didn’t use wind or enhanced magic.

As expected of the second son of the Collins family, he didn't care to hold back.

"I'll finish it with a single blow!"

The man with dark blue hair, who raised his wooden sword, did not seem to have any hesitation.

Gender doesn't matter in a match, but how could he point a sword at a woman without hesitation?

In front of Daniel with a fearless smile, I exhaled ──── and kicked up the ground with all my might.

"Fly!"

It created a breeze that helped my body float in the air, boosting my jumping power as well.

As I soared to the height of an adult male, I stomped on Daniel's ──── face, who was surprised.

"What?!"

I jumped again but this time using his face as a springboard.

Then, while supporting the movement of the body with wind magic, I made a full turn and landed behind him.

"Boost."

As I chanted body-enhancing magic, I regained my grip on my sword and slumped slightly.

Daniel-sama, who covers his just stepped-on face with his hands, may have lost his composure due to pain and was unaware of my movements.

"──── Now, I can do it. "

Because I'm not careful and swing my sword harder than necessary, this is what happens…

I swung a wooden sword to the side according to the lines, and I sliced the back of Daniel sama's neck as hard as I could.

No, I hit him.

It was a dull thud as my arm strength and speed increased thanks to my body enhancements.

The dark blue-haired man lost his breath for a moment at my powerful blow and fainted with the whites of his eyes...

He dives headfirst into the ground and doesn't move.

However, I could him breathing, so I was certain that he was alive.

I tried to copy the attack that His Highness Grayson had used on the plant thief this morning.

Did I go a little overboard?

It's not a good idea to hit them with all your strength, even if it's a woman's arm strength.

I stared alternately at the wooden sword with a slight crack and Daniel who fainted, and as I was panting - I heard a small clap crackling.

"That was brilliant! You’re an amateur with a sword, but your use of support magic was perfect. Your judgment of the situation was spot on!"

The blonde-haired beauty, not paying attention to the unconscious Daniel, said, "Bravo! Bravo!”

The students who were watching the game also clapped their hands.

"Well, no ... it just happened that I won! If Daniel-sama was serious, I couldn't win!"

I shook my head that I hadn't done anything to be admired and revealed my confusion.

As I said earlier if Daniel-sama hadn't let his guard down and swung his sword wide open, if he had been serious from the start, I wouldn't have stood a chance.

"It's not like that. Even if your opponent's carelessness was the reason for your victory, a victory is a victory. You can be proud of it, just like me!"

I nodded my head, though I wondered, "No, why does the teacher come out here?"

The proud blonde man laughed and shook his side hair.

"Now, let's go to the second round as since were done with the first. Oh, you don't have to help him because he's lying down unconscious. He's not badly hurt. Even if he's left alone. He will wake up soon, so let's decide on an opponent for the second round."

Leaving the unconscious Daniel-sama completely unattended, Nigel sensei enthusiastically announced the opponents for the second match.

I had defeated him myself, but Daniel-sama, who wasn't looked after by anyone, looked pitiful.

"I'm sorry I defeated you."

Previous chapter | TOC | Next chapter