Arrieta and her partyâs journey was smooth. After leaving the territory of the Western Border Guard, four days had passed without anything dangerous happening.
However, this didnât mean there werenât any problems. The mood within the group was steadily getting worse.
The culprits were Azell and Boar.
Wa-jang-chang!
As they finished their meals within the camp, the empty bowls were noisily flipped over. Then Boar let out his murderous intent.
âStop trying to mess with me.â
âWe are in the same party, so Iâm trying to assign the dish washing duty. Is that me âtrying to mess withâ you? That concept is new to me.â
âThat work is only suited for a base born like you. You dare to request someone with noble blood to do such work?â
âWhoa, how scary. How dare a mere knight like me not recognize a lord. I treated you wrongly. May I ask how many knight are pledged to your service, lord?â
Azell was being sarcastic. Enora, who was far away, had a hard time breathing, because of the murderous intent emitted by Boar. However, Azell didnât show any signs of being intimidated.
Boar growled.
âYou are holding up your head too high, since the princess favors you a little bit! I donât know where you rolled in from, but your base born blood doesnât know anything about honor. How dare you talk to a knight with such a dirty mind!â
â I didnât realize the title of a knight was so important in the era after the rule of Nadick Empireâs Emperor Haven. Even back then knights werenât considered to be so special. AlsoâŠâ
Azell smirked in front of him.
âWhen a talent-less bastard with a trash-like mind praises himself to be a ânobleâ, it really nauseates me. â
âWhat? How dare you not know your place! I was being patient, because we are in front of the princess. However, I canât stand it anymore!â
Sssroooong!
Boar was enraged, so he unsheathed his sword.
Azell looked at him as if he was pathetic. Boar made a request to Arrieta.
âPrincess! His man has insulted my honor! Please allow us to have a duel!â
âMmmmâŠ..â
Arrieta had a conflicted expression.
The event had progressed this far, so her decision was simple.
The party moved with an emphasis on speed, so they hadnât stayed in any of the towns. They had camped along the way, and Enora had been in charge of cooking the food. Azell didnât mind doing the odd jobs, and Giles, who was used to military life, also helped with the work.
Arrieta wasnât in a position to do anything. She didnât want to refuse doing chores, but her station didnât allow her to do these kinds of work. Most of all, Enora was resolute in blocking her from doing the chores, so she could take part only when her magical power was needed.
During all of this, Boar did nothing. He refused to gather dead leaves and branches as they got ready for camp. He didnât help in the dinner preparation, and he didnât wash the dishes. When it was time to leave, he didnât pick up after himself.
If one considered his past, it was a reasonable attitude. He was born into a noble family, and he was promoted to the royal knights. During that time, he didnât have much experience of traveling outside, and even when he did, he had his underlings do the annoying work. Even though, Azell could guess his circumstances, he wouldnât tolerate his attitude. Eventually, Azell told him he was doing less work than the princess, and that was too much. Azell tried to put him in charge of washing the dishes. When he did, Boar exclaimed, âHow in the world could he do such a thingâ, and he became angry.
âHe is making such a fuss, because he really hates washing dishes. If I had to make an award for the worldâs most irritating noble, then he would probably be nominated.â
Originally, there were a lot of people like him in the ranks of the nobles. In any situation, they refused to do âmenial workâ. They insisted those works would damage their honor.
During the Dragon Demon War, the population was going through such a harsh tribulation that such perception had thinned out. However, now that the world had become livable again, their dirty true nature had spread again like a disease.
Azell took a peek at Arrieta. Without moving his lips, he used Whispering to relay his intentions to her.
-Please allow it, princess.
After a moment, Arrieta also used Whispering to reply back. Whispering could be used with Spirit Order, but it was a technique that also existed within Dragon Demon magic, and magic.
-Mmm? ButâŠ.
-Any ways, wouldnât it be hard to order him to wash the dishes in your position?
-If it is needed, then I will.
-Miss Enora will stop you. We need to use this opportunity to step on him once. Moreover, I want to.
-Mmm. This feels like participating in a bad prank.
-Jeez, I know you find him annoying, princess.
-I wonât deny that.
Arrieta laughed bitterly.
She had a much more noble bloodline than Boar, but Arrieta was surprisingly very self-aware. She was taught by teachers, who possessed carefree attitudes. Also, she had grown up being influenced by the ideal that said, âYour power exist to protect the people.â
Arrieta spoke.
âI understand. Iâll allow it.â
âPrincess?â
Enora was surprised, so she turned to look at her. However, Arrieta continued to speak in a calm manner.
âExcept you canât forget about the mission you have accepted. I order you to do your best not to harm each otherâs life.â
At those words, Boar spoke.
âI understand. No matter how insolent and lowly a person is, life is a precious thing. I just wanted to fix his attitude. I have no intention of taking his life.â
Azellâs eyebrows shot up at those words.
âHo-oh?â
His insolent words grated a little bit against his nerves, but his other words were a bit unexpected. I guess he wasnât scoundrel, who treated otherâs lives like flies, when his pride was involved?
Arrieta spoke.
âThe loser has to respect the wishes of the winner. As the Dragon Demon Princess Arrieta Weil Rulain, Iâll be the witness to the duel between Sir Boar Zilred, and Sir Azell Zestringer.
Azell and Boar stopped at a location a little bit off from the camp fire. Azell took out his sword. While they looked at each other, both of them placed their swords in the middle so it slightly touched.
Arrieta made the declaration.
âStart the duel.â
2
Azell and Boar stood face to face.
Both their figures contrasted each other. When he set out as Arrietaâs guard, he had received a sword that was big enough to be used with either one or two hands. Azell loosely grabbed his sword with both hands as his sword pointed downward. If seen at a glance, the posture made him look like he wasnât interested in fighting.
On the other hand, Boar had a long sword in his right hand, and a shield on his left. He was in a typical knightâs stance. His shield was in front of him, and he was positioned to swing the sword at any moment.
Boar taunted.
âYour body is so weak that I donât know where I should hit.â
Azellâs eyebrows rose.
For reference, Azellâs body had improved quite noticeably. He had trained his body during the travel, so his body was taking shape incrementally.
However, his body was still frail compared to a completely trained, muscle-bound knight.
âThis guy really⊠He has a talent for annoying others?â
Azell didnât even think about the fact that he had also taunted his opponent. He glared at Boar.
Even though he didnât have much muscles, his body was rapidly becoming strong. It was because of the Dragonâs power he had drunk using the Dragon Slayerâs ritual. On the surface, there werenât much change, but a human body that has drunk a dragonâs power becomes robust. Even if someone has the same body build, there are those who are stronger than the other. In the same vein, there was a difference between becoming sturdier through the dragonâs power, and training oneâs body.
âWell, if we compare our pure physical traits, the bastard is on a much higher level than me.â
Azell passively accepted his fact. Azell was taller than him by a finger length, but Boar had a thoroughly trained body. He ignored his emotions, and he was able to coldly assess his opponent. This ability was something every one of his teacher had complimented on. Azell studied Boar, and he was able to analyze Boarâs power in a flash.
âIâm different from you, who grew up in a nice environment. Iâm able to think rationally. This is why Iâll tell you this. You will be hurt badly. You will be hit until you feel pain akin to dying. However, I wonât injure you in a fashion where your power will diminish.(TL:he wonât hurt his cultivation) Iâll promise you that.â
Azell had already completed his 3rd Ring of Life in the past couple days. He had wanted to test out his power, so he liked this turn of event.
âYes. I knew I needed to beat this bastard at some point.â
Boar responded to Azellâs taunt.
âHnng! That is what I should be saying. As a knight, who knows about honor, Iâll let you attack first! Come at me!â
âReally?â
Azell decided not to refuse his offer. He took one long stride.
In a flash, Boar became surprised.
âWhat is that?â
Azell had taken a step. However, the distance of 5 meters that existed between the two disappeared in that one step.
Tuh-ung!
âKuk!â
The sword struck the top of the shield, and Boarâs body shook.
âWhat is it? What is this damage?â
It was weird. The sword strike wasnât especially ferocious, but the moment he blocked it the blow traveled through his entire body. Even his bones hurt.
He started to slowly retreat when Azell took another step. His light step looked like he was taking a stroll, but he had moved to an ideal distance for bring down his sword.
Tuh-ung!
After another strike was applied, Boar staggered backwards.
When Arrieta saw this, she let out a sigh of praise.
âThat is an interesting technique.â
If one watched from the side, the move could be understood. Azell looked like he was taking a normal stride across the surface of the ground, but he was actually sliding to close the distance. It was like sliding across ice.
When facing him from the front, it was hard for an unsuspecting opponent to decipher his movements. It ruined the timing and sense of distance of the opponent, so one would have a hard time responding to it.
Even when he was sliding, there was no noise. This meant it was a Spirit Order technique. However, Azell was very adept at disguising his magical energy use that one couldnât read what he was doing.
Giles spoke.
âHis sword strikes are surprising.â
âI wouldnât say it is surprising. It would be more apt to call it spiteful.â (TLN: the word used is a mixture of spiteful/naughty)
ââŠâŠ.â
Giles laughed bitterly at Arrietaâs observation. He completely agreed with her sentiment.
Azell had broken Boarâs timing and sense of distance. His attacks were like a bait being thrown to a fish. These attacks were perfectly made for a shield to block. From Boarâs perspective, he wanted to block with his shield to make an opening, so he would counter attack.
However, Azell had foreseen his tactic, so he was using this Spirit Order technique. The impact bypassed the shield, and it spread across Boarâs entire body.
The same pattern repeated three times, and Boar finally saw through Azellâs tricks. On the fourth sword strike, Boar didnât block it with his shield. Instead, he avoided it then he counter attacked.
Azell lightly flowed past it. Boar staggered a few step forwards before he was able to regain his balance.
âOoh-ook. That is a surprising technique!â
âI canât hold back my excitement at being praised by such a noble person.â
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âTruthfully, Iâm impressed. When an opponent is good, it is a knightâs duty to acknowledge that fact! Iâll acknowledge that you posses high level techniques.â
Boar glared at Azell with eyes burning with his fighting spirit.
He already knew from Azellâs first sword strike what he was trying to do. Even if he knew this, he couldnât block the 2nd and 3rd strike. Initially, he thought Azell had thrown an easily block-able strike. However, the impact had passed through his shield, and he couldnât defend against it.
If one was a Cord Rope master, one was able to easily bypass a wall to strike at an enemy. Even if the opponent was wearing a thick armor, it was possible to deliver damage past the armor.
Also, when one uses such a method, the opponent usually uses an offsetting technique. However, he knew that Azellâs technique was coming, but he couldnât come up with an move that would cancel it out.