To decide the best knight
This has become a dire situation. That’s what Mitina thought after hearing Kyelse’s shocking declaration and the dizzying events that followed the next day.
It seemed that Kyelse’s words about joining the Black Iron Knights had not been a lie, and he went to Zeffen first thing in the morning. And upon hearing him say that he would join the Black Iron Knights, without giving any particular reason why, Zeffen didn’t seem surprised and said the following:
“Anyway, let’s talk while you listen.”
And now. For some reason, Mitina was also there, and the two knights were having a conversation in front of King Regula.
“You’re serious, Kyelse.”
“That’s right. There’s no way I’d joke.”
“But I think the current setup is ideal. Certainly Kyelse could do well as a Black Iron Knight, but if that’s the case, who will be the captain of the Silver Knights?”
“There are plenty of replacements. If there were only incompetent people who couldn’t handle a job of that level, the Silver Knight would have fallen into decline a long time ago.”
There wouldn’t be any real problems if I was gone. Kyelse said this without any hesitation, and Rennet, who was listening to her, scratched her head in a panic.
“However… Kyelse-dono’s governmental affairs skills are second to none. Anyone else would cause delays and problems.”
“You’ll get used to it as you do it. Even I’ve been finishing my work so quickly recently that I have a lot of free time on my hands. Even the current assistant captain can do that much.”
The reason why he met Kyelse so often in the royal castle and why he returned home so early was probably because he was simply finishing his work too quickly, leaving Kyelse with too much free time on her hands.
Even so, Mitina thought that Kyelse was truly a genius who could do anything not just averagely, but several times better than the average person.
“Kyelse, please reconsider. It’s true that with your abilities, even as a Black Iron Knight you would be able to achieve great things. However.”
Finally, King Regula spoke up. Kyelse believed that a knight should follow the orders of the king, so she would likely respond to King Regula’s call. After all, he had accepted the unreasonable engagement with Mitina because it was a royal order.
“You are the only one fit to be the captain of the Silver Knights. Your vital energy is essential to the kingdom’s successor, no matter what the circumstances.”
Reconsider your thoughts. Kyelse frowned slightly when he said that. If it was the same as before, she would have admitted her short-sightedness, obeyed the king, and said that she would continue to be a Silver Knight.
But.
“My lord, what you say is true. It would be better for me to be the Silver Knight. However.”
With a grim expression on her face, Kyelse stared straight back at King Regula. Her seriousness was not a lie or a joke, it was the result of her honest feelings.
“Please stop treating me like a decoration!”
King Regula was silent at Kyelse’s response. He probably realized that no matter what he said, Kyelse would not change her mind.
Mitina’s face turned pale at this unexpected turn of events. She never thought that simply saying that she would not join the Silver Knights would cause such a big deal.
Should he say he should join the Silver Knights to settle the situation? While he was pondering this, Zeffen took a step forward.
“I understand Kyelse’s feelings. It seems we can’t come to an agreement, so let’s settle this with a duel.”
“…That’s what I want.”
“A-a duel?! You’re doing something like that without the king’s permission…!”
Seeing the two eager knights, Rennet raised his voice in a panic, but King Regula raised his hand to stop him and spoke in a calm voice.
“Very well. I will grant your request if Kyelse can defeat Zeffen in a duel.”
“Huh?”
“I have no objections, Kyelse, Zeffen.”
With expressions more serious than ever before, not only Kyelse but Zeffen too nodded quietly. The only ones who still hadn’t fully come to terms with the situation were Rennet and Mitina.
“Then, in the afternoon, the two of you will have a duel in private. Secure the venue and arrange for everyone to leave, Rennet.”
“Y-Yes…”
“And the Knight Mitina.”
When Mitina finally heard the voice, she hurriedly straightened up. Since she was the one who started it all, her stomach started to churn with tension and guilt.
“You’ll be the one to witness it. Great.”
“… I have been given the order.”
As soon as the duel with Zeffen was decided, Kyelse bowed and left the throne room. As I anxiously watched her strangely determined back, Zeffen gently tapped her on the shoulder.
“You look gloomy”
“Commander Zeffen… I’m so sorry. It was my mistake that things turned out this way. If it had become this serious, I should have just obediently joined the Silver Knights…”
“I see. So that was the trigger.”
When I bowed my head in embarrassment, Zeffen shook his head as if to say not to worry about it.
“Don’t worry too much about it. This incident didn’t just start with Mitina. The cause is that we, including you, have been too dependent on Kyelse.”
“You were being spoiled by Kyelse-dono…?”
“That’s right. I took advantage of his pride as a knight and continued to ignore his wishes. Now I’m being asked to settle that account, that’s all.”
There are other complicated circumstances. As Zeffen explained this, Mitina tilted her head slightly.
He laughed with a troubled look on his face and patted Mitina on the head as usual.
“I’ll tell you after the duel. I’m sure Mitina needs to know too.”
“……Understood”
Zeffen nodded in satisfaction at her response and told her to get back to work. Following his orders, Mitina also carried out her duties until the time for the duel to begin, even though she was not fully present.
And then the afternoon.
Naturally, there were very few people in the outdoor dueling arena that was usually used for events. And the sky was covered with dark clouds, signifying the fierceness of the upcoming battle.
When Mitina and Zeffen arrived at the dimly lit dueling arena, Kyelse was already there.
“Lady Mitina, this way.”
When Rennet called out to her, she gave a wink to Zeffen and ran over to the auditorium, which was filled with empty seats.
“Are there any other witnesses?”
When she exclaimed in response to the extremely bleak scene, King Regula, who was sitting at his seat with a grimmer expression than usual, replied.
“The Silver Knights and the Iron Knights are inherently incompatible organisations. However, they must not allow any clashes to occur publicly. That’s why they don’t want the duel between their captains to be exposed to the public eye.”
“Eh? Kyelse-san, you’ve always been hostile towards the Black Iron Knights…”
“That level is nothing short of adorable… If you think about it, the only one who can stand above the Silver Knight is Kyelse.”
While I tilted my head at King Regula who seemed to be convinced of something on his own, two men walked towards the center of the dueling grounds.
Seeing the two knights, known as the best in the kingdom, standing side by side like this, naturally made Mitina feel nervous. Kyelse, who had an imposing presence that was comparable to the tall Zeffen, seemed like a completely different person from the person she knew well.
(But even Kyelse cannot defeat Commander Zeffen. His strength is on a whole different level…)
“My king, if Kyelse-dono wins, what do you intend to do…?”
As Mitina recalled Zeffen’s strange strength, Rennet began to grow anxious. Even to his eyes, Kyelse seemed to look just as strong as Zeffen.
“It’s true that Kyelse was also the youngest to become the captain of the Silver Knights, but Zeffen became a captain when she was fifteen. And she only went into battle when she was thirteen. No matter how much of a genius Kyelse is, there’s a difference in the amount of experience she has.”
“That’s right, isn’t that right…?”
“However…”
He paused meaningfully and turned his gaze towards the two who were still glaring at each other.
“It all depends on whether Kyelse chooses her pride as a knight or victory.”
“Wh-what do you mean…?”
Leaving Rennet unable to understand, King Regula stood up. Then, as if to confirm their intentions, he asked if there was anything they wanted to say before they began.
Then, Kyelse took a breath and spoke.
“I will not use magic in this duel.”
“That seems like quite a… disadvantageous handicap to me.”
「I won’t show my disgrace by using magic to snatch victory against an opponent who can’t use magic. You would be helpless if I were to use magic on you.」
Kyelse continued to speak fearlessly and condescendingly as usual, but Zeffen smiled gently.
“Even at a time like this, you maintain your pride.”
“Of course.”
“I understand. In that case, I won’t hesitate.”
When Kyelse declared that she would not use magic, King Regula looked down with a slightly sad expression. As Mitina tilted her head, not understanding the meaning of his expression, the king looked up and raised one hand.
“You’re ready. Both of you, draw your swords.”
The sound of a sword being drawn from its sheath echoed through the silent hall. The two, keeping an excellent distance from each other, slowly prepared themselves.
“–Begin!”
The moment the loud signal to start was given, Zeffen took big strides and closed the distance in one go. His agility was unimaginable given his impressive physique, and Mitina was reminded of her training, causing her shoulders to naturally tremble.
However, Kyelse easily responded to his speed and easily blocked his powerful blow. Mitina would have been blown away if she hadn’t avoided it, but she didn’t even step back.
(Wow, I can’t believe you were able to endure all that…)
Having witnessed the Battle of Zeffen from close by many times, she was able to see that Kyelse was abnormal.
He easily dodges Zeffen’s sword, which is difficult to avoid, let alone parry. Moreover, he doesn’t just go on the defensive, but even launches a sharp offensive against Zeffen.
It’s true that there were many Black Iron Knights stronger than Mitina. However, Kyelse’s strength seemed to stand out even compared to them.
–And your skills are about the same as mine, senpai… No, I’d even say they’re even better.
–You’ve got to be kidding me… There’s no way he looks stronger than Commander Zeffen.
–It’s not good to judge people by their appearances.
Remembering her conversation with Zeffen, Mitina shook her head, however.
There’s no way that a man so arrogant, so narcissistic, so selfish, so used to belittling others, could possibly be this strong, be on par with Zeffen, or even surpass him.
(He’s more skilled than me…can that really be true…?)
As he is stunned by this reality, which he cannot easily accept, the nature of the duel suddenly changes.
Just now, their swords had been clashing again and again, sparks flying, as if they were simply competing to see who was the best swordsman. The two were equally matched in both strength and skill, and it seemed as if they would never be able to come to a conclusion, even if they fought for hours.
However, Zeffen suddenly raised his sword with one hand, dodging Kyelse’s sword strikes while launching small attacks.
As I was surprised at Zeffen’s fighting style, which I had never seen before, I heard him quietly apologise.
“…I’m sorry, Kyelse.”
“!”
Perhaps realising Zeffen’s intention at the last moment, Kyelse tried to quickly counterattack, but Zeffen caught his sword before she could, pinning the blade between her knee and elbow, causing a shock that broke it easily.
“teeth……!?”
The tip of the sword separated with a dull sound, and Kyelse cried out in surprise. Of course, Zeffen wasn’t going to miss such an opportunity, and he re-gripped his sword with both hands, easily knocking it out of Kyelse’s hand.
Hearing the clanging sound of the thing rolling to the ground, Kyelse glared at Zeffen in disgust.
No matter who saw it, there was no room for complaint; it was Kyelse’s defeat.
“The winner is Zeffen!”
“Kyelse-san…”
At the same time that the announcement of the outcome was made, the sound of thunder rumbled in the distance. Suddenly, drops of rain began to fall from the dark sky, slowly wetting the ground.
“My King, please hurry and come inside…”
As the rain started to get stronger, Rennet urged the king to hurry up. As Mitina gazed upon the situation, soaked in the rain, she saw Kyelse still standing frozen in the dueling arena.
Kyelse’s expression was twisted in frustration, she clenched her hands so tightly that it looked painful, and she looked down as the rain poured down on her. After a while, she turned on her heels without saying a word and left the dueling grounds.
Mitina felt an indescribable melancholy as she watched his back and wondered whether she should chase after him, when Zeffen returned having retrieved his sword.
“Commander Zeffen… congratulations.”
“Yeah. The match went just as expected.”
“As expected…”
The result of the duel was Kyelse’s defeat. This meant that the talk of him joining the Black Iron Knights had been safely averted.
However, Mitina, who felt something was off about Zeffen and King Regula’s words and actions, looked at her boss with anxiety. Naturally, Zeffen noticed and showed his usual gentle smile.
“As promised, let’s talk for a bit. About the feud between Kyelse and the Black Iron Knights, you know.”
Let’s hurry inside and talk calmly in the office,” Zeffen suggested. Mitina nodded in response, but she couldn’t stop thinking about Kyelse leaving by herself.
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