LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 43
Though I live my life leisurely, this world is actually a very dangerous place.
BANG!
Monsters, demons, gates… there are even people using their powers for crimes.
CRASH!
With things crawling out from who knows where to disrupt the world, there’s no way I can feel safe.
WHOOSH!
Right now, there aren’t any major incidents, so things are somewhat okay, but this won’t last long.
THUMP!
Soon enough, when the demons start ramping up their activities, I won’t be able to relax like this anymore.
ZAP!
But I’m not worried. No matter how big the incident, there’s someone who will do everything they can to stop it.
WHOOSH!
The Royal Guard, consisting only of the finest warriors among countless knight orders.
CLANG!
As long as they are here, no matter what danger approaches, we could at least avoid the worst of it.
“Give us our princess back!”
SWOOSH!
…Right now, they’re just swinging wooden swords at me.
WHACK!
They were supposed to be cool characters in the story, but seeing them act like this, they seem more like immature fools than anyone else.
HISS!
That said, their skills aren’t foolish at all. Just the fact that they’ve imbued their wooden swords with magic is an indication that they’re already at a high level.
WHOOSH!
I twisted my body to dodge the wooden sword that was right in front of me… then swiftly evaded.
ZING!
The sword, which was almost on my shoulder, passed right through me.
WHOOSH!
“…Huh, that’s quite a fascinating ability.”
BLAM!
That crazy guy twisted the trajectory of the sword he was swinging in my direction. He really has no intention of letting up.
ZIP!
If I hadn’t realized in time and avoided it, I could’ve really been in big trouble.
CRUNCH!
Even though it’s just a wooden sword, without any cutting power, with it being imbued with magic, the impact would still be considerable.
PATHOW!
It could easily crush rocks, so hitting my shoulder bone would probably turn it to dust on contact.
THUD!
I was too careless. No matter what, I should have realized I was up against a skilled opponent while trying to utilize my weak stats.
WOMP!
But it’s fine now since I managed to dodge. The other person seemed quite surprised that their attack didn’t hit.
BAM!
“Maybe I could kick it up a notch.”
SHING!
However, that single dodge seemed to impress him too much… suddenly, the color of the magic surrounding his wooden sword changed to a golden hue.
FLASH!
I realized immediately—what he had surrounding that sword now wasn’t just magic.
DING!
‘Is he really using that now?’
WHOOSH!
The reason the Royal Guard is so strong isn’t just the high levels of each member, but also the unique swordsmanship they possess.
SWISH!
The technique created by the current captain of the order isn’t something one can easily learn, but its performance is utterly outstanding.
WHOOSH!
In the game, it’s learned in a passive form, with an effect that boosts damage dealt by 120% during sword use.
BOOM!
That means the damage gets overblown by more than double.
WHAM!
And since I learned that technique, there’s an effect that occurs whenever I wield a sword… that golden aura is what it looks like now.
SHIMMER!
Why he’s using such a broken technique now makes no sense to me.
HUM!
Is it because of Seria? But his expression looks too serious for it to be that.
GRRRR!
As if it’s appropriate for me to be the one he uses it against.
RAWR!
But… I just barely dodged one attack!
“Be careful! Just a brush would be dangerous.”
WHIP!
He could just not use it, you know.
THWACK!
I wanted to retort, but his wooden sword moved too quickly.
SLASH!
“Forget it, I don’t care anymore.”
SMASH!
For now, let’s just dodge everything.
WHOOSH!
BANG!
WHOOSH!
An unbelievable scene unfolded before the eyes of the commander of the guard.
THUD!
The guy I thought would have fallen flat already has been holding on for quite some time.
CRASH!
No matter how elite the upperclassman is, they’re still only in their first year; for him to evade all the attacks of the Royal Guards is ridiculous.
WHOOSH!
And the one wielding the sword is someone everyone recognizes as a skilled fighter—about to be appointed as the deputy commander of the elite guard.
DING!
However, he just has excellent control over his power, which is why he’s letting this happen…
THWACK!
‘This was really unexpected.’
BAM!
I never imagined his swordplay would last this long.
POW!
When I first brought Rudion here, everyone in this place was convinced.
WHAM!
That pompous guy who tried to abduct our precious princess would be utterly crushed.
BAM!
Even after the princess herself arrived to set things ablaze, that certainty didn’t change.
CRASH!
But… what’s the situation now?
WHOOOSH!
With THWAP! and BAM!, his wooden sword can’t even touch Rudion, just slicing through the air.
SLASH!
No, to be precise, the sword isn’t cutting through the air; it’s passing right through him without making contact.
SHING!
When he suddenly started using a sword aura, I was taken aback, but seeing the current state, it was undeniable.
WHOOSH!
‘He gauged my level with just a single strike.’
THWACK!
His skill in controlling his power also means he’s adept at assessing his opponent’s level.
SWISH!
The fact he started using the sword aura was undoubtedly because Rudion acknowledged him as someone appropriate to use it against.
BAM!
It’s not an exaggeration to call it a bizarre ability; the thick calmness in evading the attacks is unusual.
BEEP!
And the way the princess trusted him to an extraordinary degree.
RING!
Taking all of that into account, he must have concluded that using the sword aura was necessary.
DING!
Though belated, when I realized that, the words the princess spoke just before the start replayed in my mind.
BUZZ!
Didn’t she say there’s no need to hold back? To go all out?
WHIRR!
I turned my head slightly to glance at the princess.
SWISH!
She wore a relaxed smile as she said,
SMIRK!
“Fufu, didn’t I say you didn’t have to hold back?”
WHOOSH!
The way she said it as if she had expected this outcome left me feeling like I’d just been hit in the back of the head.
CRACK!
I wasn’t under some kind of spell; that wasn’t the case from the beginning.
CLACK!
Everything was a result of thorough calculations, as usual.
THUMP!
‘I was the one who was being irrational.’
BAM!
How could I even doubt the princess’s words and make my own assumptions? I felt extremely embarrassed.
BLUSH!
I continued watching their duel, but it showed no signs of concluding.
WHIRL!
‘It’s about time to wrap this up.’
CLANG!
Rudion kept evading the attacks, which was enough for me to ascertain his skill, so I didn’t think I needed to watch any longer.
BAM!
Just as I was about to intervene and end the duel… the princess stopped me.
STOP!
“Just let it finish itself; just watch.”
WINK!
She said playfully.
GIGGLE!
…It will finish itself? Who will do it? How?
PUFF!
The answer to that question quickly emerged.
BAM!
I was consciously avoiding parries and focusing solely on dodging, yet somehow, there was no sign of an end.
WHIZZ!
Was it because I’d gotten used to the speed that I had some leeway to look around? I even noticed that the commander had no intention of intervening.
SWISH!
No. To be exact, it seemed he was trying to intervene at some point. He definitely seemed to have tried to approach.
WHOOSH!
Had Seria not intervened, this situation would have ended a long time ago.
TWIRL!
That left me no choice; I had to resort to parrying.
SHING!
I didn’t want to use it, thinking that if evaluations were boosted even here, it would be irreversible… but because Seria messed things up, I had to.
FLIP!
As the wooden sword tried to hit my side, I brought my short sword’s hilt up to block it.
DING!
A fresh, lively noise resounded that you’d never think was caused by a wooden sword clashing.
BANG!
The opponent went flying and landed several steps away, staring at me with an extremely bewildered expression.
THUD!
Not just him, but everyone here who was watching us wore similar expressions.
BLINK!
The only one who seemed to be smiling brightly in this situation was Seria herself.
BEAM!
“Is it over now? Rudion, let’s go back.”
WINK!
Seria nonchalantly tried to pull me away, despite the atmosphere.
PULL!
Of course, there was no one who could stop the princess from leaving, so we exited without any hindrance.
“Travel safely!”
WAVE!
Could it be because they just saw what I did? I felt the glances toward me were very different this time.
GASP!
I never particularly wished for this kind of situation, but experiencing it in person isn’t so bad.
HMM!
Of course, I was concerned about the consequences of this event falling entirely on my shoulders… but I decided to leave that for my future self to deal with.
SHRUG!
“But where are we going now?”
HUM!
“My mom is waiting for us in the library.”
GASP!
I casually asked while walking alongside Seria, and she answered nonchalantly.
PUZZLED!
“…Your mom?”
THOUGHT!
“Yes. To be honest, she’s been waiting for a while now. She’s a bit sensitive about time due to my father, so we need to hurry.”
RUSH!
Seria’s mother… I haven’t seen her since I got here, but I can’t say I don’t know who she is.
THINK!
In a way, she’s even more famous than the Emperor.
GASP!
The Empress. Seria’s mother.
WHIRL!
Now, she’s known by that title, but she had an even more famous title before that.
GLIMMER!
The Archmage.
BOOM!
A genius capable of shaking the heavens and earth with her magic, capable of breaking the will of any opponent just by her presence.
HUM!
Ah, now that Seria is here, I guess she’s not legendary anymore.
SHRUG!
In any case, while she now lives quietly, her magical prowess is truly genuine.
SPARKLE!
Where do you think Seria’s magical talents come from? It’s all inherited from her mother.
TWINKLE!
As that thought crossed my mind, I suddenly recalled the words from a letter I had forgotten.
RUSTLE!
– You mentioned your name is Rudion? Since my daughter likes you, I’ll let it slide this time, but if you ever hurt her, I won’t let you live. Do well.
GASP!
…Did I possibly screw something up?
HUM!
“Seria, you don’t have any grievances against me, do you?”
CONFUSED!
“What’s with the sudden question?”
PUZZLED!
“Ah, it’s just….”
HMMM!
“Um… I don’t have anything in particular.”
RELIEVED!
I asked out of sudden anxiety, and thankfully that was her response.
PHEW!
What a relief!
WHOO!
I almost slipped from evading the death penalty only to be killed here.