Helen lost her composure at the provocation and struck me head-on with her most powerful blow.
“Huh?”
Before her fist could reach my body, I narrowly deflected it with my sword, turning it into a power struggle.
If she had been calm, she would have immediately followed up with an attack from her left hand.
But Helen was excited now.
In that moment, as I countered with a sword strike driven to its limit, I saw the bewilderment flash in her eyes.
A brief opening.
‘Aiming only for strong blows makes your attacks predictable.’
I let go of my sword to widen the gap and dig in.
“…Huh?”
The sword, having left my hand, shattered completely at that moment.
I regretted it, but I wasn’t shaken—it was something I had already anticipated.
I immediately twisted my body, brushed off her attack, and charged into her guard.
“What, the?!”
Seeing her still-flustered expression, I chuckled inwardly.
‘Most aspiring knights rely on their weapons and are used to fighting similarly equipped opponents. So don’t panic if you go in unarmed. That’s where your strength lies. But on the flip side…’
Helen was just as inexperienced in hand-to-hand combat.
That had been the weakness the crown prince exploited when subduing her in the original story.
I channeled all of my mana into my right hand and struck her square in the stomach with everything I had.
“Guh!”
Just as I had once been, Helen was sent flying over ten meters and crashed to the ground.
“Ha… ha… ha…”
After pushing myself to the limit to end the match, my entire body felt drained.
“Ughhhh…”
Helen groaned in pain, struggling to rise.
Eventually, she raised her right hand and spoke slowly.
“…I lost.”
With her surrender, cheers erupted from the audience.
I let the roar of the crowd wash over me and turned my gaze to the center stands.
There sat Reina, clapping politely beside Duke Richard and Rupert.
Her face was expressionless, her presence cool and detached.
But I could sense it—she was genuinely happy.
Next up was the match between the masked man and the eldest son of Baron Berg.
Just like before, it ended with a single blow from the masked man.
And with that, the final match was set.
***
There was only one week left until the finals.
So what should I do in the meantime?
“I need to get a sword.”
“A sword?”
“Yes.”
During the fight with Helen, my sword had shattered completely.
I’d collected the fragments and taken them to Heros’ forge, but they had determined it was beyond repair.
“If it’s a sword you need, you could use one from our family’s collection.”
“That wouldn’t be too bad, but…”
It was Reina who came up with a solution.
She casually dismissed all her attendants and sat down on the bed.
“No way.”
The sword I’d gotten from the Duke of Rogelia was undoubtedly high-quality.
But I already knew the sword I wanted.
With just one week left, maybe—just maybe—I could make it in time.
“Reina, can you prepare a wagon for me?”
“A wagon?”
“Yes. I want to leave as soon as possible—by tomorrow at the latest.”
“Of course. But where are you going?”
Reina tilted her head, puzzled.
“There’s only one place to go if you want to get a sword.”
The city of ever-burning flame.
The forge of the Empire.
“I’m going to Vulcanus.”
“It’s roughly eight hours from Heros to Vulcanus. We’ll have to camp.”
At my request, Reina immediately arranged for a ducal family wagon.
It was a streamlined carriage, designed to travel as quickly as possible.
“Camping? If we want to go fast, shouldn’t we skip resting?”
“I’m not in such a rush that I need to push myself to exhaustion. I don’t want to risk an accident.”
“True.”
Reina nodded in agreement.
Though I had planned to go alone, Reina soon appeared dressed for travel and joined me naturally.
There were no other attendants besides Anna, who was driving the carriage outside.
“Are you done with your official duties?”
“Of course not. I got permission from my father. I was planning to go with you at least once before the finals.”
That meant it was just the two of us in the carriage.
“Why are you going to Vulcanus personally? Can’t you get good swords here in Heros?”
“Well, you’ll see when we get there.”
There was nothing particularly awkward between us.
At first, I had mixed feelings about Reina deciding to come along, but after ten minutes, I let them go.
This wasn’t our first time traveling together.
If anything, it felt familiar.
“You made it to the finals like you said. How does it feel?”
“I expected it, so it doesn’t feel all that special.”
It wasn’t exactly a lie.
At first, I’d only wanted to qualify, but once I figured out a new way to use body enhancement, I knew I could make it to the finals.
I had come close to losing to Helen, but I’d won in the end.
“So, you’re planning revenge in the finals?”
“Of course. That’s why I’m heading to Vulcanus.”
Honestly, even if things went my way, I wasn’t sure I could defeat that masked man.
Unlike Helen, I didn’t know his weaknesses as a character from the original story.
If my skill level was a 5, his was easily a 20.
My chances of winning were less than 5%.
This journey was to raise those odds—even if only to 15%.
It was a kind of cheat code I could use because I knew the future.
And I had no regrets.