LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 52
The more I thought about it, the more it didn’t make sense. Duh!
Dodging and parrying… Isn’t it all a bit strange? Hmm?
Of course, if I put up with it somehow, I have nothing to argue against—but the questions just kept popping up.
Well, that only lasted a moment. After all, it’s a problem I couldn’t find answers to anyway, and as long as it works, who cares about the details, right? Shrug!
So, I never really analyzed it deeply. Like, nah…
“Deflecting attacks is classified as a basic defensive skill in combat, but delivering enough impact to send an opponent flying with a deflection is something that can only be seen as transcending to a certain level. In my analysis, that technique is….”
Maybe that’s why. The Crown Prince was chattering away to himself, but I couldn’t make heads or tails of it. Blah blah blah!
All I could manage was the occasional half-hearted agreement, like “Um, yeah…”
After a while of laying out his thoughts, the Crown Prince reached a conclusion.
“Therefore, it’s impossible to follow perfectly, but just mastering the techniques even a little… no, simply imitating them will significantly enhance my combat skills.”
It seemed my technique was something he regarded as reaching a level. Whoa!
It was just a cheat ability I could use because I possessed it, and seeing him trying so hard to learn made me feel a bit guilty. Oops…
Feeling awkward, I decided to toss out a question.
“Is there a reason why you’re training so hard?” Curious!
Honestly, the Crown Prince wasn’t a character with a huge impact.
In this story, the Emperor’s death was rare, and if he did die, the game would end before the Crown Prince could really take control. Bingo!
Still, I knew everything that mattered… but since I didn’t know the details, it felt a bit like meeting an awkward friend.
However, what was clear was that he wasn’t particularly motivated in terms of combat. Uh-huh…
I could tell from knowing everything about Seria’s family story that the weakest link of the family at the end was the Crown Prince.
It wasn’t due to a lack of talent; he just focused more on studying this and that as the next Emperor. Smart, but…
But why was he so desperate to learn techniques from me? I was dying to know. Why?!
“The reason for training is….”
The Crown Prince hesitated to answer my question for a moment, but he didn’t seem troubled.
He seemed to have a solid reason, so I quietly waited for his response.
“Yesterday, Seria said, if I want to share meat with her, shouldn’t I at least stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Duke Velorix?”
At that, I had to suppress a snicker. Ha!
Velorix—now that’s the name of the captain of the knights.
Often appearing as a strong figure in this world, but whether he’s a key character is debatable.
In the game, he was more often referred to as the Knight Captain than by name, so no surprises there.
But his strength was no joke.
When he wielded a sword seriously, rocks would split, and mountains would crack along with it! Boom!
No exaggeration, that literally happens in the cut scenes.
It’s not like a regular person could split mountains just by pulling power from somewhere. No way!
And he wants to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with that guy? Dude, really?
Seria must have been saying that casually, but he took her seriously. Huh?!
“Seria thinks you’re at least on par with Duke Velorix… or even better.”
Maybe he didn’t catch how absurd that was, but the Crown Prince just kept spouting nonsense.
No way that’s true! I can’t even scratch a rock, let alone split a mountain. LOL!
For now, I decided to talk about how ridiculous Seria’s goal was.
“You do realize that’s impossible, right?” Seriously?
“I know. Even though I can’t hold a candle to Duke Lux right now… I should at least give it my best shot.” Determined, huh?
That’s why he must have worked so hard to arrange this place, right?
The Crown Prince’s expression, speaking that way, was beyond serious. Wow!
…This is just too ridiculous.
Does anyone normally go through all this just to grab a piece of meat from their sister? Whaaa?!
I had a lot to say, but I suddenly felt tired, so I decided to keep my mouth shut. Mmm…
“Well then, I’ll ask for a lesson.” Let’s do this!
The Crown Prince took out a sword. Whoosh!
I was a bit late on the uptake, but the Crown Prince brought me to the main hall of the Royal Palace.
A vast space, usually empty when not in use. The perfect spot for our current situation! Echo!
“It’s been a few months. The last banquet was to celebrate Seria’s entrance.” Throwback!
Those were the first words the Crown Prince said upon entering.
Guess everything revolves around Seria, even the banquets. How very royal of them. Fancy!
Of course, they probably never expected to be doing something like this here. Oops!
There was indeed something I had to deal with here, but let’s just brush that aside for now. Phew!
So, the Crown Prince and I faced each other, standing where the dances would take place.
Sword play is also a dance, right? Twirl!
While letting such foolish thoughts run through my mind, I drew the sword from my waist.
“I’m not seriously planning to teach you anything. I don’t have that ability… just realize and learn on your own.” Wise words!
I threw in a slight insurance policy.
I couldn’t teach a power that was fundamentally breaking the rules of the game.
Letting anyone else in on that secret would be even more impossible.
I told him to figure it out himself, but honestly, I didn’t think it was even possible. Doubt!
“Since I’m going along with my stubbornness, what could there be to complain about?”
But surprisingly, the Crown Prince’s reaction was quite obedient.
Did he really hold my ability in such high regard? I was baffled whether to see that as a good thing or not. Confused!
“Fine, then let’s get started… oh wait.”
Thinking about it, we couldn’t just duel like that, so I specified some attack stances for him.
What he wanted was my parrying technique, so I showed him possible motions for that. Action!
“I said I wasn’t planning to teach seriously, but you’re giving detailed instructions.” Intrigued!
He took that as part of the teaching too, and that’s gotta be one heck of a burden! Heavy sigh!
Anyway, the Crown Prince followed my directions and approached with a straightforward attack while I gripped a short sword with both hands for the very first time.
It was to allow parrying with the blade itself.
Before, I had only parried using the hilt… but if I did that now, it would look too flashy! Show-off!
At the very least, I needed to at least act like I was counterattacking, so that was my reasoning.
Clang!
A slightly sharper and more stimulating noise erupted. Ka-POW!
Simultaneously, the Crown Prince’s body staggered back a few steps. Whoa!
“…Truly mysterious…”
He stepped back a good distance, checked his sword and his state, then murmured quietly.
Then he asked.
“How long can you keep this up?” Curious again!
“I could go all day, you know.” No sweat!
“Sure. Duke Lux didn’t show any sign of fatigue when sparring with me either. I shouldn’t have asked a useless question.” Ha!
No, it’s not that. It’s because my stamina is infinite and I don’t get tired! Heehee!
Anyway, we repeated the same actions for a while.
The Crown Prince swung his sword, and I parried, then parried, then kept parrying.
After repeating that dozens of times… just before hitting three digits, the Crown Prince finally stopped moving. Exhausted!
“Huff… I really can’t comprehend. It’s not a matter of swinging to deflect, nor is it utilizing magical force… what on earth causes the reaction to send people flying?” Puzzled!
It’s game mechanics. Don’t try to understand it with common sense. Ding!
But despite his words, there were some results to his efforts.
After a while, he began taking action when getting sent flying from my parries.
While he didn’t understand the technique for parrying, he seemed to have quickly mastered at least the skill of countering. Nice!
“Well, I guess I should give it a shot. Would you swing your sword at me?”
It seemed he wasn’t satisfied with just that, even though he was trying that hard. Yearn!
I had no reason to refuse, so I swung my sword as he requested.
He brought his sword to meet mine… and clashed.
Clang!
Naturally, there was no sending him flying. It just looked like his sword was blocking mine.
“This is all it takes to stop a lightly swung sword….”
He furrowed his brow, diligently analyzing but seeming a bit down about not grasping any clues. Bummer!
Hey, don’t feel too bad. Not being able to do it is normal. Pat!
As I pondered offering some words of comfort, the hall doors burst open with a bang.
BANG!
Startled, both the Crown Prince and I turned our heads toward the door, where Seria stood quietly. Surprise!
“What are you doing here?” Curious!
At that question, the Crown Prince hurriedly pulled back his sword, shoving it away.
I did the same and returned my sword to its sheath, but honestly, there was no point; she’d probably seen everything already. Oops!
In the awkward situation, Seria slowly approached us and… suddenly levitated the Crown Prince with magic.
“Se—Seria?!” What?!
The startled Crown Prince hurriedly called her name, but Seria seemed unfazed, muttering calmly.
“Honestly, why is everyone so obsessed with making life difficult for Rudion?”
Then she sent the Crown Prince flying out the window!
“If you come back in, you can expect to have dinner all alone tonight.” Threat!
With such a threat, he was expelled, meaning there was no way he would return here again.
…Now, alone in this situation, Seria sighed and glanced at my arm.
Though she was covering it with her long sleeves, knowing there was an injury seemed to be bothering her still. Worried!
“Is your arm okay?” Genuine concern!
“It’s a bit uncomfortable, but it doesn’t bother me.” Just a scratch!
As long as I didn’t press on it, it wasn’t too painful, and I could manage.
But it wasn’t a shallow wound that would heal just like that.
When I got back to the Academy, I’d have to ask Professor Reina for treatment. Plan!
While thinking about that, I suddenly recalled the “something I had to deal with” that I had brushed over earlier.
I looked at Seria, who was still wearing a worried expression as she stared at my arm.
“Seria.”
“What?” Curious again!
“Can I break that floating magic stone?” Dare?
“…Why?” Huh?
Well, if I leave it like that, it’ll cause a disaster during the future victory party. Uh-oh!
Truthfully, it wasn’t urgent enough to need immediate attention, but now that it caught my eye, I just wanted to clear it away.
But there was no way Seria would allow me since she didn’t know that fact.
Too bad, I guess I’d handle it next time…
“Well, do what you want.” Go for it!
“…Are you serious?” Wait, what?
“I know you’re not the type to break things without a reason. Or should I do it? That way, the cleanup will be easier.”
She said that and promptly cast her magic without hesitation.
Whoosh!
It’s really nice that she always trusts me, but now it’s getting a bit scary. Eep!
From now on, I should never lie to her. That thought popped into my head. Promise!