On the day of the duel.
The instruction given by my father was to take moderate damage until a signal was given.
It wasn’t to pretend to be at a disadvantage, but to actually take damage, which suggests he had some plan in mind.
However, taking too much damage could lead to the duel being stopped.
I had to take enough damage that others wouldn’t stop the duel. It was a difficult task.
But it seemed my father had a plan.
He mentioned it was a money-making scheme, but what he was thinking, I had no idea. However, if there was some extra income, I could buy a book for Rena. I decided to go along with it.
Well, if I couldn’t trust my father… winning was the priority.
I didn’t want to show my swordsmanship, but losing was annoying.
With these thoughts in mind, I stood on the stage of the duel.
■■■
“You did well not to run away, Luvell-kun.”
“It’s a duel I challenged you to.”
A considerable number of people had gathered at the practice ground.
It was like a match in an arena. The duel took place on a square stage, and falling off meant disqualification.
“Both parties, final check! Are you ready?”
“Tim Townset. No problem.”
“Roy Luvell. No problem.”
“Good! If you fall out of the ring, you lose. If you faint, you lose. If you admit defeat, you lose. If I, the referee, stop you, you lose. Got it?”
I nodded at the words of the teacher acting as the referee.
Then we both stepped back ten paces.
The swords we held were practice swords. They had no blades, and a special mechanism reduced the impact of any magic-infused strike by half.
But for a swordsman chosen as one of the top ten sword demons, even that would still be quite powerful.
I glanced around the spectator seats.
I couldn’t see my father. He was probably sneaking around, waiting for the right moment.
As I thought this, the signal to start sounded.
■■■
“Magic Swordsmanship.”
It is a combat technique combining magic and sword skills originating from the Kingdom of Albios.
Magicians cast spells, but the swordsmen of Albios are different.
They transform their swords into magic swords.
“Behold! This is the ‘Thunder Sword’ of the Townset Duke family!”
The blade of the practice sword turned jet black and was wrapped in lightning.
In response, I channeled magic into my practice sword to strengthen it.
Strengthening is the most basic of basics. In other words, Tim was one step ahead of me.
But this was a duel between swordsmen.
The quality of the magic sword alone wouldn’t settle the duel.
If having a good sword was all it took to win, there would be no struggle.
“Haah!!”
Tim charged into my bosom with vigor.
In response, I stepped back to deal with it.
Already out of the sword’s reach. However…
“Naive!”
With that, Tim swung his sword.
Indeed, I was outside the reach of the sword, but the lightning wrapped around the sword struck at me.
I was too late to defend, and the lightning hit me directly, blowing me further back.
“Kuh…”
I glanced behind me, and I was almost out of bounds.
Without pursuing me further, Tim stood in the center, sword at the ready.
“If you’re scared, you can step out of bounds. It’s also a wise choice not to fight an opponent you can’t beat.”
“What’s wrong? Are you afraid of losing?”
“What…?”
“If you’re confident, you should finish it quickly. You suggest stepping out because you think there might be a chance, right? Thank you, senior. Now I see a chance of winning.”
“You…! Don’t get cocky!”
Tim charged at me from the center.
And he swung down his thunder magic sword.
I caught it. A test of strength occurred on the spot.
“I caught it!?”
“Not bad! Failed noble!”
The audience was stirred up.
But Tim, having his strike caught, twisted his face in humiliation.
“Don’t get… cocky!!”
A barrage of strikes.
I managed to catch them all. Just barely.
But no damage was done. After the barrage, I was unscathed.
Perhaps because I did better than expected, anger appeared on Tim’s face.
He was losing his cool because things weren’t going his way.
He thrust with murderous intent, as if to say die.
Seeing that, I smiled. Tim’s weakness was his mental state. Too accustomed to things going well, he couldn’t accept when they didn’t.
In this world, things often don’t go as planned.
I deflected the thrust and switched places with Tim.
Then, Tim, carried by his momentum, nearly fell out of bounds.
“Guh…!!”
He managed to stop himself at the last moment, but he was close to falling.
So I delivered a heavy blow to Tim.
Whether he caught it or dodged it, his stance would be broken.
But Tim did neither.
“Failed noble… how cunning!!”
The thunder magic sword was thrust into the floor.
Instantly, lightning traveled across the floor and struck me.
Caught off guard by the unexpected attack, I was blown away and pushed back to the center.
During that time, Tim easily recovered from his precarious position.
“So you were aiming for a victory out of bounds because you couldn’t win head-on… Just like the son of the Luvell Baron family! Cunning!”
With that, Tim stood in the center of the stage, sword at the ready.
He had an air of not falling for the same trick twice.
I would have preferred if he had fallen then, but oh well.
Now he was too scared to deliver a decisive blow.
The match would progress with accumulating damage without a finishing blow.
This must be the match development my father wanted. All I had to do was take moderate damage.
I wonder what kind of strategy he will come up with.
Let’s see the handiwork of the “Grey Fox.”
