Chapter 14: Vulcanus III (part 1)

“Defeat me with that sword. Easy, right?”

“Mari? What do you mean…?”

“Do you think this is a joke?”

Marinen rushed at me in an instant.

She swung a massive greatsword at me without hesitation.

“Ugh—!”

The strike was heavy. 

And fast.

If I hadn’t reflexively used body-strengthening magic, I would have been knocked out instantly.

“You want to be acknowledged by me and receive a sword, don’t you? Then prove you’re worthy!”

Even in the midst of a swordfight, Marinen was smiling. Her eyes were sincere.

“… Is that how it is? Fine.”

I circulated the mana slowly spreading through my body.

Her greatsword bore down on me from above with overwhelming force, pushing my stance back.

Marinen stepped behind in a flash and repositioned herself.

“Good, good. Are you ready now?”

“Yes. Anytime is fine.”

“Don’t worry about getting hurt. I’ve set up a simple barrier.”

“Is that so?”

“Go!”

Marinen was the first to move. Her steps were so light, it was hard to believe she was wielding such a large weapon.

Still, I wasn’t far behind.

I chose to meet her head-on.

“Hey, are you confident?”

“To what extent?”

She suddenly raised her power, breaking the stalemate and swinging her sword diagonally.

Marinen reacted swiftly, using the hilt of her blade to deflect my strike with expert precision, forcibly redirecting my attack.

“Amazing.”

“Isn’t it?”

We shared a brief smile before continuing the fight.

“Keugh!”

The balance began to crumble—not because of my opponent, but because the sword I received from Marinen was beginning to crack.

“Mari?!”

“Don’t stop, Ike! Keep going!”

Marinen must’ve noticed it too, but she didn’t stop.

“Damn it!”

It was to be expected.

My sword was an ordinary longsword—a mass-produced model, according to Marinen the blacksmith.

In contrast, her weapon was a massive greatsword, unmatched in both strength and durability.

Naturally, my blade couldn’t hold up when clashing head-on with hers.

“Haah!”

With a shout, she brought her greatsword down from overhead.

Dodging was impossible.

I had no choice but to raise my sword above my head to block it.

Her blade paused for just a split second—

Chang-geurang!

—and in that instant, my sword shattered and plunged to the ground.

Luckily, I used the brief delay to evade the strike.

“That’s it. As expected, you can’t last long with a hastily made sword,” Marinen said as she retrieved her greatsword and slung it over her back.

“If you knew that, you could’ve gone easier.”

“That wouldn’t be any fun.”

She grinned, flashing her fangs. I couldn’t argue.

“You said you wanted a two-handed sword, right?” she asked while gathering the fragments of my broken blade.

“That means…”

“Yes. I’ll make it. It’s been a while since I got this excited.”

“Thank you. Please take good care of it.”

“Look forward to it.”

We shook hands—hers strong and joyful.

“Now, it’s your turn,” she said, turning her gaze to Reina, who had been standing behind me.

Reina and Marinen’s duel began. I silently stood beside Anna.

“It’s getting late. We said we’d only stay for five days…”

“Marie.”

“Hmm?”

“Can we talk for a moment?”

“…Alright. Then wait here for a while.”

Reina, Anna, and Marinen went out into the garden.

“Haah…”

I glanced up at the sky—it was already completely dark.

I pulled a pocket watch from my back pocket. It was already ten o’clock.

An hour and a half had passed.

“Come to think of it, what will happen with Reina?”

Marinen was strong. Maybe not on Helen’s level, but still stronger than most aspiring knights.

Of course, that didn’t mean Reina was weak—but being a knight wasn’t her calling.

If it were a real duel, she wouldn’t be able to win.

Somehow…

“Ike!”

Just as I was getting lost in thought, the door burst open and Marinen entered.

“Starting tomorrow, you’ll be training with me every evening until next Tuesday. That’s final. Go home for today.”

“Huh? What about Lady Reina?”

“She’s fine. You passed the test for her anyway. Starting tomorrow, same time as today.”

With that, she left—just like that.

What on earth were they talking about?

I asked on the way back, but Reina and Anna didn’t answer.

When we returned to the lodging Anna had arranged, I threw myself onto the bed.

The heat of the workshop felt like it could melt me, and yet Marinen and I had fought with everything we had, without pause.

It wasn’t physically hard, but mentally… I was drained.

Still, it was a good outcome—I’d secured confirmation of the order on the first day.

Now, I could take a breath and focus on what mattered most.

The finals of the Knight Competition on Friday.

My opponent: a masked man known only by the alias A.A.L.

A powerful fighter who had knocked out all his opponents in a single blow.

“Can I win?”

I had no plans to give up.

If I did, I wouldn’t have come all the way to Vulcanus in the first place.

The real issue was the lack of information on my opponent.

I couldn’t analyze his strength—every match he fought in the finals ended in a single blow.

Meanwhile, I’d shown quite a bit during my fight with Helen in the quarterfinals.

How could I overcome that difference?

I still didn’t have an answer.

“Ike.”

“Yes, Anna?”

“Dinner’s ready. Do you want to eat in the restaurant?”

“Hmm… I’ll eat alone. Just leave it for me.”

“Alright.”

…Then there’s only one thing to do.

Prepare everything I can.

I’m not a genius. Neither was the original Ike, the owner of this body.

I’m just a stubborn fool.

All I can do is keep working hard.

I picked up the wooden practice sword from the wall and began to swing it slowly.

And…Anna later scolded me for letting the rice go completely cold.