Chapter 149

When Jereuth requested a ‘spar’ with me.

The already quiet training ground became even quieter than quiet, so quiet that it could hardly be called silence.

The trivial noises from outside the royal castle.

The sound of a small bird flying in the sky.

Even the sounds of the insects hiding in the grass everywhere seemed to have disappeared.

“What’s the matter, Your Highness. Do you not have the confidence to face me?”

Seeing me hesitate, Jereuth provoked me.

Of course, it wasn’t a provocation to mock me.

It was just… a provocation that seemed to be testing me, asking if I could take on the most dangerous and important role in the war without even having the spirit to face him.

‘…What should I do?’

Jereuth’s momentum was not ordinary.

It was a momentum as if he really thought of me as an ‘enemy’ and would cut me down. The momentum of an old general called a hero among heroes was, in fact, too much for a novice like me to handle.

But.

‘I can’t back down now.’

If I backed down now, my justification for playing the role of the ‘bait’ instead of Jereuth would disappear.

Of course, it would be possible if I forced the order, but then it would look strange.

I would look like a pouting novice.

‘I have to make Jereuth acknowledge it. That I, not him, am qualified to be the ‘bait’ representing the kingdom.’

“That’s not it.”

I said calmly, trying my best to act.

Though I didn’t know if Jereuth would see through my acting.

—Huh…?

—H-hey. Shouldn’t we stop this?

—G-good heavens…….

—Are they really going to spar?

When I held my sword with both hands and got into a stance, flustered voices came from among the knights and soldiers.

It seemed they all knew that this spar was not a training spar simply to gauge each other’s skills.

I knew that too.

Jereuth really intended to defeat me.

Looking straight into my eyes in my stance, Jereuth spoke with a stern voice.

“Then I will set the rules for the spar. The spar will continue until one of us, Your Highness or I, admits defeat. Even if one of us is injured to the point of being unable to spar, if we do not admit defeat, we will continue.”

—C-Commander!

—That’s too dangerous! That’s not a spar, it’s a duel!

—Y-Your Highness! This is not acceptable!

Hagen and the other high-rank knights stepped forward.

But Jereuth didn't pay them any mind and only looked into my eyes.

He was demanding my answer.

‘Even if one of us is injured to the point of being unable to spar, if we do not admit defeat, we will continue fighting… it’s a death match.’

What should I do?

This kind of situation wasn't in the Future Diary.

‘If it were a high-rank knight of Jereuth's level, I could somehow incapacitate them. It would be difficult, but possible. But Jereuth… honestly, I don't know how strong he is. I've never seen Jereuth this serious before.’

Similar worries and concerns continued to circle in my head.

But I couldn’t back down now.

‘To prevent Jereuth from dying in the war, I have to be the ‘bait’. For that reason—.’

“Very well. Let’s do it that way.”

—…?!

The knights’ eyes widened as if they hadn’t expected me to accept this condition. Many of them had their mouths hanging open.

Among them, Hagen stepped forward and tried to say something.

“Don’t—!”

He was probably trying to stop my and Jereuth’s spar—our ‘duel’.

But before that.

“Haaaageeeen!!”

“……!”

“How dare you try to come between the king and the knight commander, do you wish to die?!”

Jereuth shouted at Hagen, not hiding his anger. Though Hagen was a knight whose bones were not just thick but burly, he was so surprised that he couldn’t move.

Honestly, even I was scared. The Jereuth of now.

“…S-sorry.”

Hagen bowed his head and bit his lower lip as he stepped back. Then the other knights and soldiers also distanced themselves, centering on Jereuth and me.

It was a move not to interfere with my and Jereuth’s duel.

Thud—.

Jereuth, holding his sword, took a step towards me.

It was a trivial movement. But I felt a sense of pressure.

It felt as if the air around me, the air allowed to me, was pressing down on me.

…Is this the spirit of an old general?

“I will begin, Your Highness. I will try not to injure you, but if you do not admit defeat, Your Highness, I will have no choice. It would be wiser to stop you here and now than for you to die or get injured on the battlefield.”

It would be wiser to stop me here and now than for me to die or get injured on the battlefield…….

“The same goes for me. Rather than have you, Commander, fall in battle, I will stop you now.”

“No matter how old I am, my sword is not so rusty as to lose to you, Your Highness-.”

“We won’t know until we try.”

“……”

“What more is there to say. Let’s begin.”

The moment I spoke.

Flick—!

Jereuth, heavily armored except for a helmet, closed the distance in an instant.

Too fast.

—Before I could even think that, Jereuth’s sword came slashing towards my shoulder.

Clang—!

‘W-what is this…?’

I had barely blocked Jereuth’s sword, but it wasn’t really blocked.

Even though I had been training non-stop until now, my hand was tingling after blocking Jereuth’s attack just once.

‘…If it weren’t for this sword my father gave me, the sword itself probably would have broken.’

I tried to grip the sword hilt tightly to regain the feeling in my hand.

But Jereuth didn’t allow it.

Clang—! Clang—! Clang—!

Even just blocking was difficult.

The feeling in my hand was gradually fading.

‘I can’t win with strength. I have to deflect it!’

That was the swordsmanship the king had taught me.

To face the opponent not with strength but with technique, and to gradually overwhelm them not by cutting the opponent but by cutting the space.

The only problem was—.

Clang—!

‘C-crazy…!’

I had completely lost my pace.

All I could do was barely hold onto my sword and block Jereuth’s attacks.

Like a challenger facing a champion in boxing who doesn’t lower his guard.

‘This won’t do. I have to somehow move forward…!’

Just as the king, my father, had taught me.

Watch the opponent’s movements carefully and predict the next attack.

I aimed calmly. For a small gap, that moment.

‘My advantage over Jereuth is stamina. Because I have the health necklace.’

In other words, time was on my side.

…Though I didn’t know if my hand and wrist could hold out.

Clang—!

***

Gulp—.

The knights and soldiers watching the duel between the knight commander and the king.

The sound of swallowing dryly came from among them.

‘S-scary.’

‘Commander… does he really intend to kill His Highness?’

‘…To swing a sword so recklessly without his stance wavering, I can’t believe it.’

The soldiers felt fear from Jereuth’s sword.

The mid- and lower-rank knights, who were at a higher level than them, worried about Leonardo.

The high-level high-rank knights admired Jereuth’s martial prowess.

However, there were also many knights who evaluated Leonardo as amazing, not just Jereuth.

‘To parry Commander Jereuth’s full power several times… His Highness is certainly not ordinary either.’

‘At first, he was just being pushed back, but as the duel goes on, he seems to be finding his stability?’

‘His breathing is stable. And he’s enduring such a stormy attack!’

Though the knights and soldiers were worried about the duel between the king and the knight commander.

On the other hand, they felt another emotion.

It was trust and confidence.

‘Our king and knight commander… have amazing skills.’

‘If those two are on the battlefield, we will never be pushed back.’

‘With two such knights, we can go to any battlefield.’

The kingdom’s army already had high morale.

But now, it was to the point of breaking through the limits of morale.

With the king and the knight commander being so strong, what was there for the army to fear?

It was then.

—Cling… Clang!!

Jereuth’s sword, swung diagonally from top to bottom.

Leonardo deflected that attack with his sword.

Jereuth’s attack, having missed its target, gouged out a chunk of the training ground floor.

From that, the knights and soldiers could indirectly see what a terrifying attack Leonardo was facing.

Jereuth’s sword right now… was certainly dangerous enough to kill the king.

‘His Highness is only defending. Does he have no intention of counterattacking?’

Hagen thought, ready to jump in between the duel at any moment with a shield in each hand.

Though he had been severely scolded by Jereuth for getting between the king and himself before the duel, Hagen couldn’t let the king get hurt.

‘No matter how good His Highness’s stamina is, if he keeps taking such heavy attacks—.’

As Hagen was thinking that.

“Hup!”

Like a lion hunting its prey, crouching and then pouncing.

Leonardo, who had been busy receiving Jereuth’s sword all along, closed the distance with Jereuth.

‘N-no! Switching to the attack now is a suicidal act—!’

Hagen couldn’t react in that brief moment.

He was that flustered, and from Hagen’s point of view, it seemed Leonardo had recklessly entered Jereuth’s space.

However, contrary to Hagen’s expectations, the tide of the duel changed.

“……!”

Perhaps he didn’t expect Leonardo to switch to the attack at this timing?

Jereuth’s expression, which had been calm since the beginning of the duel, wavered.

Tang—!

The king’s attack was blocked by the knight commander. Compared to the knight commander’s sword, the sound made by the king’s sword was so weak it was thought to be pathetic.

But that wasn’t the end of it.

Tang— Tang—! Tang— Tang— Tang—!

If each of Jereuth’s attacks was destructively heavy.

Each of Leonardo’s attacks was so fast it was difficult to grasp.

‘…His Highness is leading?’

Whether it was a spar or a duel.

Whether it was war or politics.

Everything was a battle of flow. The one who seized the flow was at an advantage, and the one who lost the flow was bound to be swept away by it.

And now, the flow of the duel was clearly being led by Leonardo.

Tang—!

‘Moreover… His Highness’s attacks are light but clearly fatal. He’s only aiming for the vital points!’

The duel between the king and the knight commander was beyond dangerous, it was beautiful.

At that thought, Hagen, without realizing it, was about to loosen his grip on the shields in both hands—.

‘…N-now I have to stop them. Any more is dangerous.’

Right now, Leonardo was clearly leading the duel. So if it continued like this, Leonardo could win.

But.

‘The Commander… is aiming for a counterattack. His expression has become calm again.’

Probably, if Leonardo showed a slight opening or made a mistake, Jereuth would thrust his sword into that space at that moment.

Then the king would surely be greatly injured.

Conversely, if the king dodged or blocked Jereuth’s counterattack, then Jereuth would be greatly injured.

A counterattack was originally like that. If it didn’t work, you had to risk your life.

“……”

Carefully, Hagen looked for an opportunity to intervene between the two.

As a knight, he wanted to watch this great duel for even a little longer, but as the vice commander of the knight order, he had to stop it immediately.

But then.

—Swiiish………… Clang!

A spear fell.

Between Leonardo and Jereuth, in that very narrow space.

It was a spear that looked considerably thick and heavy for a human to hold.

“!”

“!”

When the spear flew in, both Jereuth and Leonardo reflexively distanced themselves.

Then, as if by appointment, they looked in the direction the spear had come from.

The knights and soldiers watching the duel also looked at where the spear had come from.

There, the Giant elder, Barut, was scowling fiercely.

He had thrown the spear.

“What are you two doing? Jereuth! Do you intend to kill Leonardo?!”

“…Barut, this is—.”

Without even listening to Jereuth’s words, Barut shouted at Leonardo.

“King Leonardo! What are you doing too! Your attacks clearly had killing intent! Did you intend to kill Jereuth?!”

“…I didn’t intend to kill him, but if I didn’t go that far, I would be the one to get—.”

“Shut up!!”

Thump— Thump— Thump— Thump—.

Barut went to Jereuth and Leonardo, pushing aside the knights and soldiers.

His footsteps were heavy.

“Deciding who is right by force is the way of the Giants. A foolish method.”

“……”

“……”

“Your human way is to solve things with words, isn’t it? Am I wrong?”

Jereuth said to Barut with a sigh-filled voice.

“I know what you mean. But this is between His Highness and me.”

“Then it must be my business too. Since I am a friend of both you, Jereuth, and King Leonardo.”

“……”

“I will never let the two of you make the mistake of killing each other. To stop that, I am willing to knock you both down. Jereuth, are you confident? Confident enough to face me in your exhausted state?”

Squeeze—.

Barut clenched his fist hard and slowly raised it. A fist the size of Jereuth’s head, heavier and harder than steel.

“……”

“I thought so.”

Turning his gaze away from the speechless Jereuth, Barut then said to Leonardo.

“King Leonardo, I roughly heard why you ended up fighting with Jereuth. It seems you hurt Jereuth’s pride. Saying that you would personally take on the most important role of ‘bait’ in the war?”

“……”

“I don’t know why you are trying to do that. It doesn’t make sense for a Giant like me to try to understand a wise human like you. But you know, there’s something else I don’t understand. A wise king like you could have persuaded Jereuth without such a reckless and useless duel, couldn’t you?”

Leonardo remained silent for a long time at Barut’s question.

Hoo—.

At that, Barut let out a big sigh as if frustrated and looked around.

Then he spotted someone and pointed.

“You. Peralta, right? The staff officer.”

“Ah… yes!”

Peralta, who hadn’t expected to be called, answered awkwardly.

“You drew up the strategy that made them fight, so you take responsibility and decide.”

“…Pardon?”

“What do you mean, ‘pardon?’. Since you drew up the strategy, I’m telling you to choose the one who seems like they would be better at the role of ‘bait’, Leonardo or Jereuth. Since you drew up the strategy, you should know better than anyone!”

When Barut spoke, everyone’s gaze turned to Peralta.

Peralta suddenly felt the weight of the attention on him and the momentous decision he had to make heavily on his chest.

‘N-no…. I have to decide?’

No matter who he chose, it was a problem.

If he chose the king, he had to be mindful of Jereuth, and if he chose Jereuth, he had to be mindful of the king.

But the atmosphere right now was not one where he could say, 「“I don’t know.”」.

Because not only Barut but also the other knights and soldiers were all hoping he would decide.

‘They’re all… worried about the Commander and His Highness, right? If they really fought more, one of them would likely be seriously injured.’

Peralta felt the same way.

But that didn’t mean he could make a decision readily.

Because no matter who he chose, the king or the knight commander, it wasn’t the right answer.

‘If that’s the case….’

“A-as you all saw, the Commander and His Highness could not decide a winner. Therefore, we cannot say who is stronger.”

—…….

“So… I think what will be important is which of the two can withdraw from the battlefield more quickly. Since that is also the most important point in the role of the ‘bait’.”

‘Compete on who can withdraw from the battlefield faster.’

—At those words, Leonardo nodded in satisfaction. Because he could ride a Gryphon.

On the other hand, Jereuth scowled fiercely at Peralta. Because he had set a condition that was very disadvantageous to him.

But Jereuth couldn’t say anything else.

‘…I can’t refute it.’

The condition Peralta had presented was certainly a correct one.

What was important in the role of the ‘bait’ was to fight well and run away well.

In the end, Jereuth also let out a sigh and nodded.

Hoo—.

“Very well, Your Highness. We will compete on the condition of who can withdraw from the battlefield faster.”

“Then now—.”

“But.”

“……”

“Please give me time until I can get a Gryphon and ride it properly. I will accept on that condition.”

At Jereuth’s words, Leonardo thought for a moment.

As if it wasn’t a bad proposal, he nodded.

“Let’s do that. If you, Commander, can ride a Gryphon better than I can, then I will also agree to you taking on the role of the ‘bait’.”