Chapter 9. The Seventh Prince wins (wants to lose) a duel against a knight and a mage

For some reason, the Kingdom’s talented Knight Captain, the Chief Court Mage, and my fiancée, from a great noble family, came to my territory.

“Um! Noah-sama! It’s an honor to meet you again!”

　Diva, a female knight with a nice ponytail.

“No, I wonder why you’ve come here.”

“I heard that Noah-sama has been sent here to help the people suffering from the damage caused by monsters and demons!!”

“No, I was simply banished for being incompetent…”

“I admire your noble spirit, Noah-sama! I, Diva, have come here to be of service to you, even if it’s only in a small way!”

“Listen to what I’m saying……..”

　On the other hand, a petite woman with an eye patch and a witch’s hat says…

“……Hello, my kinsman. I am Liza, dweller of darkness, I have come to help.”

　Bam…! She strikes a cool pose…

“Hey, Liza. What brings you to this place? You hate the countryside, don’t you?”

　This woman is a court mage, but she was originally from the town of [Myokou] in the countryside.

“Well, that’s because…Noah-sama is gone…”

“Huh? What did you say?”

“What? Nothing! I like the name, underworld territory. It sounds dark. I’m not here just because of Noah, not by a long shot.”

“Oh, really?”

　　Liza puffed up her cheeks and kicked my legs. What……?

“A knight with no brains and a chuunibyou witch? The number of troublesome people has increased, Noah-sama.”

　The white cat, Laurie, yawns and says without being concerned.

“Go home! This isn’t a place for people like you!”

　We don’t need talented people!

　Lista had already brought a lot of talented people to Noah! As expected, those who are talented also have talented friends!

“I can’t accept that! I want to help you!”*

“Kuku…I’m not going to leave here until I’ve taken you in as my ward, Noah…..”

　It’s no good, they’re not going home…

　Damn it…!

“If they are not going to leave, I’ll change my mind. I’ll use these guys to make an incompetent move…!

“What are you going to do? 』\

“It’s decided…it’s a duel!”

　　　　★

We arrived at the entrance to Abyss Wood, a forest of abyss adjacent to the Carter domain.

　Me, Diva, Liza, and.. the gallery.

“What is it?”

“I’ve heard that Noah-sama is planning to duel the Knight Commander and the Chief Court Mage.”

“By “duel,” do you mean two against one?”

“No, it looks like it’s different…”

“Seriously. I’m curious!”

　The people of Ain’s village are gathering.

.

“Then I, Saradias von Graham, will serve as the judge.”

　　My blue-haired fiancée, Sarah, stands between us and says.

“The rules are simple: enter the Abyssal Forest, defeat the monsters within the time limit, and return with their corpses. The winner is determined by the strength and number of monsters you’ve killed. If you fail to hunt down the monsters, the game will be forfeit, so don’t worry.”

　We nodded at each other.

“Then…the match has started!”

　Bam…! We entered the forest and split into three ways.

“Uoooooh! [Zantetsu]!”

　Diva lifts the large sword from her back with one hand and swings it with a bang!

“Wow! The trees in the forest of the abyss are being knocked down!”

　Liza raises her cane.

「【Purgatory Fireball, Nova Strike】」

“This time the maximum magic!? These two are amazing!”

　Alright, those guys stand out in a good way.*

“What about Noah-sama?”

“He just strolled in without doing anything……”

　I don’t need a flashy performance.

　All I want is an incompetent move. That’s all.

“What? What do you intend to do to make yourself look incompetent this time? 』\

　Laurie asks from above my head.

“Simple. I’ll just get one monster that looks weaker than theirs.”

　I look around and look for monsters that look as weak as possible.

“The weakest monster…like? 』\

“That’s right, the weakest of the weak monsters, of course, is the slime, it’s decided.”

　No monster is weaker than that.

“But there aren’t any slimes…….what’s going on…?”

“There should be plenty of slimes in the grasslands. But, you’re right, I haven’t seen any. “

　Well, killing the volcanic turtle must have had an effect and the slime monsters ran away.

　And that’s when it happened.

“Pikyu!”

“Oh! There it is, a slime!”

　A vulnerable looking monster about the size of a human head appeared.

“Oh yeah, this is it. I’ve been waiting for this weak-looking monster.”

“That?  Noah-sama, isn’t there something wrong with the color of this thing? Have you ever seen a golden slime in your life? 』\

　Indeed, slime with a golden glow is rare…

“It’s not that rare. When I was a sage, there were many of these different colored slimes.”

“Oh, I understand. I can see the future development.”

　Laurie is convinced by something.

“But how do you defeat a slime? Noah-sama is too strong, you’ll probably just vaporize the slime, right? 』\

“What?”

　I have a dead slime in my hand.

“You’ve already defeated it? How did you do it? 』\

“It’s obvious that I used [instant death magic].”

“No, instant death magic…isn’t it the great magic of darkness! There’s no one in this world who can do such ritual magic alone, it is only activated after 100 famous magicians gather to perform the ritual! 』\

“Well, it was essential to learn in my time.”

　Well, I don’t use it that much because it consumes a lot of magical power.

　When magical power decreases, you become dull.

“”Hah ~~~~~  Well, it’s okay. It’s a good thing no one can see you…”

“Oh, that’s right. Do you want to go home quickly?”

　I used my transference magic to quickly return close to the entrance area.

　As expected, if I transfer to the people waiting at the entrance, they’ll see my ability.

“But, where are Diva and Liza, are they dead…”

“Well, the monsters near the entrance are running away because Noah defeated the volcanic turtle, and there are no monsters unless you go all the way to the back, right? 』\

　That’s right.

“I’ll get some sleep. Wake me up later.”

“Taking a nap in the forest of death and the feared abyssal forest…Really, this person is too amazing…”

　　　　★

“Noah-sama, it’s time to wake up. It’s time for the game to end…”

　I was awakened by Laurie and returned to the entrance.

“Lord Noah is finally back!”

　The people of the territory show an expression of relief.

“Noah-samaaaaa!”

　Lista, the maid, hugs me with tears streaming down her face.

“I was worried! Diva-sama and Liza-sama came back, but they didn’t show up so easily……so we thought you might have died, gusun( crying, sniffling sound).”

　Lista cries…

　All right, I’ll take advantage of it.

“I’m sorry, Lista. I’ve been struggling to fight the monsters. It took me longer than I expected……”

“I see, they’ll ask what kind of strong enemy you’ve been fighting and you say here, it’s a slime, that’s your strategy.”

　As expected, Laurie, you understand well.

　This is the [Noah-sama, why are you having trouble with a slime?] Strategy.

　But, why is Laurie looking with such cold eyes?

“So, Noah-sama. Where are the monsters you’ve defeated?”

“Oh, Sarah. I’ve defeated….this monster!”

　I take out the slime stored in the subspace and show it to everyone.

　Everyone’s eyes open wide.

Yes…That’s right, this is the slime monster that I told you I struggled with.

　They must be surprised…

　However…….

“” “Amaziiiiiiiiiiing!” “”

　Contrary to my expectation, the people of the territory’s eyes were shining.

“As expected of Noah-sama! Noah-sama is amazing!”

　What is this?

“Mmm! Noah-sama, you’re the one!”

“Kukuku….Noah-sama, you’re the best. I didn’t expect you to catch the [King of Gluttony, Slime King].”

　Knight Captain, Diva, and the Mage Master, Liza, said that as if they were impressed.

　Eh, the king of gluttony? What’s that?

“Kuku….One of the super-powerful kings of monsters. With such a small body, it could easily swallow 1000 old dragons, it’s the king of gluttony.”

“Huh, really…? Seriously?”

　Oh, crap. Could it be….

　Sara nodded and said….

“Noah wins this match!”

“That’s great, Noah-sama!!”

　Diva smiles and pats my back.

“I could only defeat about 10 old dragons!”

“Kuku…I killed five…!”

“No, these guys defeated the old dragons like they were snacks! The old dragons are SS rank! These guys are also good! 』\

　Laurie’s voice is distant.

　That’s right, because…

“”Waaaaaa! Noah-sama is truly amazing, uuuuu!””

　The people of the territory and Lista are raising a great cheer while shedding tears…..

” Noah-sama, you’re so strong! Even though both the knight and the mage are strong, they’re far inferior to you! Noah-sama is amazing!”

　I look at Lista with her glittering eyes and think.

　……Ah, I’ve done it again!

Previous chapter | TOC | Next chapter