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The Selberg family applied for the honor duel, so I was given the chance to decide where the duel would take place.
At first, I thought about doing it near the most comfortable place, the farm, but I thought it would make Speranza anxious, and also there was a high possibility that Yakums might react sensitively.
So, I chose an open space near the strawberry field.
Originally, it was a place to put the strawberries that had been harvested and load them in a carriage, but today it was used as a place for the duel.
Since the strawberry field is not irrelevant to this duel, I decided on this place.
As soon as we arrived, we found a group of the Selberg family members who had arrived first near the vacant lot.
There were more knights and soldiers than last time and there were some people who carried Selberg family flags.
With just four members, we felt very simple.
As soon as they found us, they came toward us.
The Selberg family’s Young Lord Gladion and his knights stepped forward and were courteous.
“I meet the former Lord of the Verdi family, the hero of the dimensional war.”
“Are you the Young Lord of the Selberg family?”
“It’s an honor to meet you, Sir.”
Kael, who was looking at Gladion, continued, recalling the old days.
“I remember seeing your father a long time ago.”
“Maybe it was during the coronation of the new Lord of the Verdi family. I remember hearing it from my father when I was young.”
“Yeah. Your father was so young then, and I can’t believe he already had such a grown-up son… Time flies so fast.”
The two briefly created an atmosphere of meeting an old relative.
However, as soon as the proper greeting was over, the atmosphere hardened.
The first person to speak was Gladion.
“I heard that the hero of the dimensional war, Mr. Kael, will be the observer of today’s duel.”
“Yes.”
“I don’t know if you know it. Prince Alfred of the Verdi family has a very close relationship with the opponent I’m going to duel with today?”
Gladion told Kael about my relationship with Alfred.
He explicitly weighed the issue of fairness of the observer.
“That cheeky little….”
Andras quickly stopped Alfred, who got agitated and was about to draw his sword.
Of course, Andras also frowned as if he was offended.
Rather, only the person concerned, Kael, was smiling leisurely.
“If it’s a matter of fairness, you don’t have to worry at all. Now, I’m just an old man, who has only the glory and honor of the past, I won’t make mistakes because of my personal feelings.”
“Haha, I guess I was worried for nothing.”
“Yes, that’s right. That’s not what you should be worried about right now.”
“What?”
Kael’s eyes deepened as he looked at Gladion.
There was irresistible heavy energy around Kael.
The energy quickly seized control of the surroundings.
“If your father, who had met me in the past, had acted like you now… …I would have cut off his head on the spot.”
“….”
The expression of the knight and the soldiers, as well as the Gladion, turned pale.
“The only reason I’m not acting like that now is because I felt I didn’t have to. But you snotty brat, always keep in mind — An old man with only the glory and honor of the past can always become a monster for trivial reasons…”
At the end of his words, the heavy energy that covered the surrounding area disappeared in an instant.
But fear still lingered on the faces of the Selberg family.
Kael, who returned to his usual appearance, said with a smile.
“We still have time until the decided time, so let’s wait in our respective positions. I’ll send you a signal when it’s time.”
“Ugh, huh…yes…”
Gladion and his men backed away in a hurry.
Through their reaction, I could indirectly feel how great Kael was.
Kael, who forced them to retreat, approached me.
“You have some time before the duel starts, so just relax.”
“OK, sir.”
“You do remember what I advised you to do, right?”
“Yes, sir. Activate the sharp senses as soon as the duel starts, and push the opponent as hard as I can and deplete his strength!”
“Yeah, you remember it well.”
“Get ready.”
After a while, it was time for the duel.
In the middle of the wide-open space, Gladion stood facing me.
And in the place between us, there was Kael.
The farm members and the Selberg family soldiers each stood opposite and cheered for us.
“Cheer up, Sihyeon!”
“Break that jerk, senior!”
Andras and Alfred’s voices came from behind.
The Selberg family soldiers also cheered loudly.
However, perhaps because I focused only on Gladion in front of me, the sound of support felt far away.
“Honestly, I’m a little surprised by you.”
“……?”
“I thought you’d avoid the honor duel and use the power of Ester to try to negotiate.”
“…”
Gladion continued in a very arrogant tone as if he had seen through everything.
“I’d like to give you my heartfelt compliments on your courage, but I’d like to tell you that it was a stupid act after all. You wouldn’t have lost the whole strawberry field if we had negotiated moderately.”
“That can’t be said until the duel is over.”
“Haha, that’s right. You’re free to have false hope.”
I slowly pulled out my sword and posed.
I stared at Gladion’s eyes and said,
“If I win, you should never lay your hands on the strawberry field, and the people of Elden village.”
“If you beat me, I will. But…”
Gladion slowly took out his sword.
“That’s never going to happen.”
Both of us stared into each other’s eyes as if a spark would fly in the air from our stare.
When both of us got ready, Kael, who was standing in the middle, shouted in a loud voice.
“We will begin the duel between the Young Lord of the Selberg family and Ester Lim Sihyeon. If one side can no longer fight, or if the observer determines that one of the persons is no longer in the condition to fight, the duel will end. So….”
Kael put his hand facing the sky down and signaled the start of the duel.
I was the one who moved first as soon as the start signal was given.
BAM
I kicked the ground vigorously and swung my sword at my opponent.
The heavy metal sound rang throughout the field.
Starting with that, the sound of the sword hitting one another continued.
First, I activated my senses as soon as possible.
Following the advice given by Kael, I focused on reviving the sense I had worked hard to train for several days.
The sharp sense got revived faster than I expected.
I pushed the opponent hard from the beginning, following the advice of Kael.
It couldn’t be compared to Kael and Bellion, but Gladion’s sword felt much lighter than Alfred’s.
It’s worth a try.
I can really win.
Kael’s expression as he watched the duel hardened slightly.
The flow was good in the beginning when Lim Sihyeon activated his senses and rushed at the enemy.
However, the situation after that turned into something that Kael did not expect.
Gladion made only defensive moves against Lim Sihyeon.
At a glance, it may seem to be on the defensive, but it wasn’t.
He was nibbling away at his opponent’s physical strength by letting him attack moderately.
“I didn’t expect that he would come out with this strategy…”
It was a battle of endurance in which Lim Sihyeon was way weaker than Gladion.
Due to that weakness, Kael made Sihyeon practice activating his senses as sharp as possible with training, and advised him to push the opponent before he could find the flow.
However, Gladion was passive from the beginning, even though he was way stronger compared to Sihyeon as if he knew Kael’s strategy in advance.
Thanks to this, Gladion was able to continue his flow stably without being swayed by the rapid offensive of Lim Sihyeon.
From the trap to the honor duel, everything is done with a meticulous plan by perfectly anticipating the opponent’s strategy to completely crush the opponent.
Kael could not help but admire Gladion’s meticulous appearance.
Lim Sihyeon’s offensive, which had continued from the beginning, started to falter.
At the same time, Gladion has abandoned his defensive form and gradually started attacking with bold moves.
The direction of the offensive has been completely reversed.
Now, Gladion took the lead and continued the offensive, and Lim Sihyeon only continued his defense.
Unlike Gladion, who was able to defend leisurely, Lim Sihyeon blocked the attack with everything he got.
Since Lim Sihyeon used up a lot of his physical strength in the early offensive, defense alone seemed to reach its limit quickly.
Lim Sihyeon’s sense and sword skills, which were raised as much as possible, were of no use in such a long-dragging battle.
Kael’s face watching the duel gradually darkened.
‘It won’t be easy… no, should I say it’s over?’
A relaxed-faced Gladion stopped the attack and spoke to Lim Sihyeon.
“Give up.”
“Haaaaa… Haaaaa…”
Gladion’s breathing was a little rough, but the Lim Sihyoen was almost at his limit.
“You’ve been holding out better than I thought. But the match is already decided.”
“Huuu…no…not yet… …it’s not over…”
Lim Sihyeon said in a gasping voice that the duel is not over.
Gladion frowned a little and looked toward Kael.
It was a silent protest asking him, the observer, to make a decision.
Kael turned and looked at Lim Sihyeon.
He looked as if he was about to collapse any time, but his eyes were still burning with the will to fight.
For a moment, a pity flashed on Kael’s face.
Then he fixed his expression and shook his head toward Gladion.
It meant that he could not declare victory or defeat yet.
Gladion looked unhappy as he narrowed the gap between his eyebrows.
However, he lifted the sword again with a relaxed expression.
“That’s great. If you don’t admit defeat, I have to just force it to end. I hope you don’t blame me for not showing mercy later.”
“Haaa…”
Lim Sihyeon didn’t reply to Gladion’s words, saving his strength.
Gladion’s eyes shone brightly for a moment.
And soon intense energy started flowing into his sword.
Kael also felt something unusual and opened his eyes wide.
It felt like Lim Sihyeon could be in danger.
“Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!”
As soon as the scary blow was about to reach Lim Sihyeon
POW WO WOOOOOOOO
An incredibly loud cry filled the surrounding area.
Ah… I’m so tired.
My physical strength has already reached the bottom.
My wrists and arms are so painful that I feel like they would fall down any second.
I am really holding out with just my will.
Even if I feel weak I don’t want to give up.
I don’t want to give up the field I created with my own hands.
I don’t want to give up on the happiness that the Yakums feel whenever they eat the strawberries.
I don’t want to give up on the smile my daughter shows whenever she eats strawberries.
I don’t want to give up on the hard work that the Elden villager had given to this strawberry field.
While I was thinking Gladion, who started to give off terrifying energy started rushing toward me.
I could instinctively feel that a dangerous attack would come.
But I don’t want to give up!
I’ll…..never give up on the happiness of my family.
The moment I tried to bite my lips and prepare to defend against the attack I heard the cry of a Yakum.
And at the same time, a glittering fairy powder began to fall around me.
POW WO WOOOO
“Don’t faint! Popi!”
Akum… Gyuri?
I heard the voices of baby Yakum and the fairy in my head.
Along with them, another voice rang out in my head.
-That’s right, Bellion’s disciple should never fall down.
-Ah! Bellion? How the hell did you…
– Well, I don’t know. When I heard a girl’s voice, I realized that you were fighting with that Demon.
A girl’s voice?
– Hey, snob! That’s not the point now! Your opponent is getting ready to attack again!
Bellion’s roar activated my senses again and I stared straight ahead.
Gladion, who had faltered due to Yakum’s cry, was preparing to attack again.
-I don’t want my disciple to lose to such a wanky-looking Demon. Get ready.
-Wh…What do you mean by get ready? What can I do in this situation?
-Of course, it’s time to use a lethal move.
-I’m sorry, but I’ve never learned any lethal moves…
-Hahaha, You haven’t learned it but you’ve seen it.
A scene got naturally painted in my mind,
It was Bellion’s memory of cutting off the Demon Lord’s horns.
At that moment, I unknowingly began to take the same posture as Bellion in my memory.