AN: I have made you wait
âd.a.m.n itâ¦â
He didnât win.
He had handled requests alone until he became an adventurer.
The requests included collecting herbs in a certain part of the forest, or chasing away animals from villages in the capital cityâs hinterland at night. These requests were merely odd jobs for beginners, but he continued to work at it until he became trusted by the Guild.
He persuaded a senior adventurer to teach him to use weapons.
He was confident.
He had even been invited to a party.
He had planned to surpa.s.s Wynn, who had not yet become a knight.
However, he sawing that he couldnât do a thing in that duel.
On the contrary, he lost in front of his crush after meeting her again after four years.
By the time he swung his sword, Wynnâs sword was already pointed at his face.
Unable to stand the sight of Leti, smiling brightly, so close to Wynn, without saying a word, Abel ran to his room, grabbed his stuff, and dashed out again.
He wanted to leave the place as fast as he could.
It was not yet the meeting time, but he ran straight for the Adventurerâs Guild.
It was his dream to be part of an adventurer party.
As he waited to meet his fellow party members at the Guild, he tried not to think about his match with Wynn.
He tried, butâ¦
Though it was his dream, Abel sighed as he trudged towards the end of the line in the adventurer party.
âWhatâs wrong, Abel?â
â⦠Regus-san.â
Lost in thought, he hadnât realized that he ended up beside a man with a gigantic stature.
It was Regus the axe-wielder.
He was the leader of the party who invited Abel.
He was a veteran adventurer acknowledged by the capitalâs Adventurer Guild. This time, parties were being a.s.sembled to subjugate a bandit group.
âYou have such a gloomy face, even before the mission. Were you ignored by a woman?â
âUghâ¦â
Being right on the mark, the words. .h.i.t Abel like a brick.
âWahaha! I was right on the mark. Who is the other girl?â
âItâs somebody Regus-san also knows.â
âHou? If itâs a girl I know, Flowering Moon Innâs Mira? Roadside Pebble Innâs Merril? Or is it Connie?â [1]
ââ¦Itâs Leti.â
Among the smiling adventurers, Regus listed the popular shop girls one by one.
With a peeved expression, Abel interjected with a whisper.
âLeti? The Leti that always stuck to Wynn?â
âOh? That Leti-san.â
Upon hearing Wynnâs name, Abel frowned.
Regus
âIf itâs Leti, thatâs impossible.â
âAh, it really is impossible.â
âThatâs whyâ¦â
âWhat are you guys saying!â
Overhearing his conversation with Regus, the other party members said that it was impossible, to Abelâs indignation.
Upon seeing their uniform faces of pity, Abel became incensed.
âItâs just that, that girl isâ¦â
Letiâ Leticia van Mavis.
The adventurers were able to find this out with their intelligence network.
The adventurers affiliated with the capitalâs Adventurer Guild were in contact with their junior adventurers.
Mingling among the adults, they came in and out of the Adventurerâs Guild, completing odd jobs and errands as a pair.
At first, Thinking that it was a childish exploration, they were made light of, but upon seeing them cross swords with the Guildâs training facilities, they were slowly acknowledged.
Showing swordsmans.h.i.+p uncharacteristic of children, the novice adventurers who hadnât learned the skills tried to leave the training center faster.
Eventually, upon not seeing Leticia anymore, and Wynn had saved up the money for the admission fee for the knight school and was admitted, so their visits decreased. But the pair left such a strong impression that they werenât forgotten.
Later, when Leticiaâs many achievements as the Brave reached them through rumors, those who knew her when her younger self realized the difference in their abilities.
âWell, we should stop talking about difficult matters. Sheâs out of reach.â
âI didnât know that!â
âEither way, doesnât Leti-chan like Wynn?â[2]
âUuhâ¦.â
Abel frowned, unable to reply.
Leticia had always followed Wynn around since they were young.
Through observing the coupleâs duels, they could see that Leticia held feelings for Wynn.
But Abel didnât notice that.
Even if Regus hadnât met Leticia since she returned victoriously as the Brave, from Abelâs behavior, it was easy tell that Leticia strongly yearned for Wynn.
In the first place, they were of different social statuses.
Apart from being the Brave, she was also a Dukeâs daughter, giving her a position among n.o.bility second to only royalty.
Even if Wynn had her heart, it would be reckless for an unrelated person like him to obtain her hand.
âEven then, I wonât give up! Iâll raise my fame, and then, Iâll confess to her!â
Abel raised his fist as he proclaimed.
After the mission, Regus, wearing a wry smile beside Abel, planned to tell Abel about the value of information gathering.
âConcentrate, focus on the opponentâs movements.â
To Locke, who was clad in light leather armour, most important goal was to be able to stop the agile Wynnâs movments.
With his strength magically enhanced, if he could stop Wynnâs movements, then he could win.
Holding his wooden s.h.i.+eld in front of him, he observed Wynnâs movements.
It was an opponent he had faced countless times.
In order to tempt Wynn into attacking, he slowly closed in on him.
When the s.h.i.+eld blocked the very first attack, he would thrust out just as Wynn stopped moving.
Wynnâs stance dropped slightly â
Dan![3]
With his step creating an intense sound, he instantly moved towards Locke.
Quickly and pointedly, he aimed below Lockeâs s.h.i.+eld, his abdomen.
Gak!
The sword collided with the face of the s.h.i.+eld.
âURAAAAAAH!!!â
Locke stopped Wynnâs blade with his s.h.i.+eld, and thrust at Wynnâs throat with a shout.
Wynn took a hanmi pose and then leapt to the side.[4]
Then Locke once again held his s.h.i.+eld up, as Wynn raised his sword, gauging the distance between them.
âOoh, Locke-san, that was pretty strong.â
Leticia, who was observing their spar in a place slightly removed, commented.
âAh, thatâs because Locke was the runner-up in last yearâs knight selection tournament.â
âOh? I didnât see that.â
At Corneliaâs words, Leticia inspected the frivolous-looking red-haired youth who was sparring Wynn.
It was about a month after Leticia returned to Wander Birdâs Pavilion after four years, the day Wynn dueled Abel.
Since the Knight School was still closed, Wynn and Locke occasionally trained together.
Since Locke also had responsibilities as an apprentice knight, it wasnât every day.
Due to the coup dâétat, there was a shortage of full-fledged knights
Consequently, the duties of the apprentice knights increased.
It was the same for Cornelia.
After the incident, she also started joining in the training.
Since she was a princess, she couldnât just exit the castle as she pleased.
She also had official duties.
She came here with an escort, which was now on standby off to the side.
On the other hand, Leticia visited Wynn every day like before.
She was a n.o.ble of the highest position in the country, but as the Brave, she could avoid being involved in the countryâs matters.[5]
Because of that, Leticia, who had not much else to do, borrowed books from the library to read with Wynn, and the sight of the pair studying became common.
Thatâs why, even if Leticia was almost always with Wynn, it was rare for the four of them to be together.
In the past month, though Wynn and Locke were timid upon learning that she was the princess at first, they eventually opened up to Cornelia, to the point that her Imperial Knight escorts wore sullen expressions, but since they were also in the presence of Leticia, they didnât voice their opinions.
On this rare occasion, Leticia and Cornelia sat under
Unable to keep up with Wynnâs almost superhuman speed, Locke always faced Wynn, observing his movements, creeping forward, defending himself s.h.i.+eld and counterattacking.
âItâs amazing, isnât it? Since Iâm observing from the sidelines, I can see Wynnâs blade, but when Iâm up close, I canât see it at all.â
Cornelia was praised the fact that though their magic was sealed, Wynn, and Locke, who fought with Wynn, overwhelmed many knights and soldiers.
His strategy should have been a bad choice against the agile Wynn.
Thus, Lockeâs abilities were excellent for an apprentice knight.
If he werenât from a wealthy family, but rather a aristocratic family, he may have claimed the top spot from Regin, who lost his life during the coup.
Howeverâ
âBut Onii-chan still isnât giving it his all.â
âEh?â
Just as Cornelia heard Leticiaâs remarkâ
âooOOOOOOH!!!â[6]
Wynn raised his voice.
He closed the distance between them, and attacked with a horizontal slash to the neck.
As with the first thrusting attack, Locke used his s.h.i.+eld to receive the blow.
The sound of the sword and s.h.i.+eld colliding was heard once again.
âWha-!?â
Locke, who tried to counterattack with a thrust like the first time, raised his voice.
At the moment Locke was confused by the fact that Wynn was no longer at the place he was aiming at, Wynnâs blade was held to Lockeâs throat.
âYou used the recoil from the collision to attack from the other side, huhâ¦â
It was fast.
Even Cornelia, who was watching off to the side, was unable to perceive Wynnâs movements, but Locke was able to keep Wynn in his field of vision.
âOf course, youâre really strong. To be able to move like that even without magic.â
Wynn retracted his sword as Locke took a deep breath, and smiled bitterly at his friend.
âBut Locke, werenât you able to follow my movements? The knights from before werenât even at the point of struggling to do it.â
âThat was a one on one fight. If I fought you on a battlefield, I would be slaughtered alongside all my allies.â
âWhat do you wanna do? One more round?â
âNah, itâs fine.â
âWait a minute!â
Leticia also obtained a practice sword and s.h.i.+eld like Locke and Wynn.
âOnii-chan, may I join? Seeing the two of you, I also canât resist joining in!â
âAh, then Iâm dropping out okay?â[7]
Locke set his s.h.i.+eld down.
âNo. Itâs two versus one. Itâs fine if you go all out, since Iâm going to be using magic.â
ââEh!?ââ
Leticia stretched her body.
âHey, didnât Leticia just see my fighting style?â
Leticia, who treated Wynn as her Master, had the same speed-based fighting style.
However, she had a G.o.d-like magic power to strengthen her body.
âThe s.h.i.+eld would be torn to shredsâ no, even the blade would be smashed, and my body would be blown away, wouldnât it?â
âThatâs right⦠Well, you get to spar with Mavis the Brave. What an honour!â
âWell, letâs let it all out!â
Leticia looked over her shoulder with a smile.
She gradually became wrapped in magic power, and a golden glow was visible, even in the sunlight.
Wynn and Locke exchanged glances.
âIt seems like she really is going to fight seriously.â
âWha- what is that light?â
âWell, try not to die!â
In the end: two people were left full of holes, only hanging on with Corneliaâs healing magic.
AN: I plan get things moving next time.
h.e.l.lo world
Translator notes