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The day of the showdown arrived.
As promised, Kael and Claudion arrived at the farm at the appointed time.
Unlike last time, they didn’t bring their followers with them, and only the two of them revealed themselves through dimensional leap magic.
Kael looked around the farm with a calm smile, while Claudion just quietly followed behind.
I was the one to welcome them when they arrived.
“Welcome, Sir Kael.”
“Has it been a week already? Let’s cut to the chase.”
“I notice you didn’t bring any of your followers this time. What happened?”
“Last time, we brought some extra people to help carry our stuff, but today, it’s just me and this guy. It’s better not to have unnecessary spectators in such an earnest showdown.”
I was kinda hoping to watch, but hearing Kael’s answer I wasn’t sure if I could.
As I slightly showed my confusion, Kael quickly read my thoughts and chuckled.
“Normally, outsiders aren’t allowed to attend such events, but I won’t care much today, so don’t worry and just watch. You don’t mind either, right?”
Kael looked over at Claudion, checking in with him.
“Convincing my brother and everyone else here would probably be the best approach. As for me, I don’t mind.”
Claudion seemed pretty relaxed as he spoke, which made it clear that he was confident about the outcome of the showdown.
As I realized his confidence was genuine and not just a facade, I began to feel anxious and my mouth became dry.
“Alfred must be ready by now, right? Then, let’s not waste any more time and get started.”
“Understood. Both of you, please follow me.”
I led Kael and Claudion over to where Alfred was waiting for the showdown to begin.
Rub Rub Rub.
Andras and Lilia were working on Alfred, giving him massages to loosen up his muscles before the showdown.
Beside them, Lia was standing by with cold water, ready to hydrate him at any moment.
Meanwhile, at the center of all this, Alfred was preparing for the showdown with a quite tense expression.
Seeing his tense face, Kaneff, who had been watching him with a frown, suddenly spoke up.
“Why are you looking so tense?”
“Boss Kaneff…?”
“You’ve been training like crazy for a week, so don’t let your nerves mess you up. Just show ’em what you’ve got.”
It was weird to see Kaneff giving proper encouragement, and Alfred also seemed touched by his unexpected behavior.
Kaneff patted Alfred’s shoulder and grinned, “You know what happens if you lose, right?”
“…….”
“Your tough week will seem like a breeze compared to…”
“Ugh! Please go away, Boss. What are you saying to someone who’s already nervous?”
I used both my hands to push away Kaneff, who was spouting off nonsense.
“Alfred, you got this! Don’t be too nervous, and if you do your best, there will be a good result.”
“You gotta win this, Brother Elaine!”
“Good luck, Elaine!”
The Schnarpe siblings, Lia, and the two Angels all had something to say to encourage Alfred.
“You got this, Senior Elaine!”
“I’ll be praying for your success.”
Finally, Speranza and I added our voices to the cheering.
“I’ll be rooting for you, Brother Elaine!”
“Show them that the time you spent here wasn’t meaningless!”
“Yes, Senior. I’ll do my best and come back, Speranza.”
Alfred gave Speranza’s head one last stroke before heading over to the duel location.
Thanks to everyone’s support, his steps seemed a little lighter.
“I’m ready, Grandfather.”
“Alright.”
Claudion kept looking at Kael for a while even after he finished his greeting. Kael smiled faintly.
“Don’t worry about me, just focus on giving it your all against your opponent. I just want to see how much that kid has grown with my own eyes.”
“Got it.”
After bowing his head one more time, Claudion headed over to the duel location.
A moment later.
The Verdi brothers faced off against each other, exchanging intense gazes filled with a mix of emotions.
“It’s been a while since we’ve had a sword fight like this.”
“Yeah, it has, brother.”
“Back then, our duels were more like training sessions. However, if you believe that today’s challenge will be like that, you are greatly mistaken.”
“I know the difference, brother. If you came here expecting me to be the same student you used to teach, then you’re in for a harsh awakening.”
Alfred confidently pushed back against Claudion’s momentum, and Claudion’s lips curved up slightly in response.
But that moment of warmth was short-lived, as the two brothers quickly grabbed their swords and faced off.
-Clang!
-Clang!
They drew their swords with lightning-fast speed, pointing their sharp blades at each other.
“I’m not here to teach you anymore, but I’ll give you a head start.”
“I won’t decline.”
“Good. Let’s get started.”
Alfred stared down the tip of his sword and his opponent with a determined expression, then charged forward with powerful steps.
-Clang!
I held onto Speranza’s hand tightly and whispered to Kaneff beside me.
“Who do you think is gonna win?”
“I don’t know. You can never tell how a match will turn out until it’s over.”
“But there are predictions, right?”
“He’ll win overwhelmingly.”
“Who, Elaine?”
“No. That Claudion fellow will have an overwhelming victory.”
“……”
“Looking at him with a sword, I can see it more clearly. He’s at least two or three steps ahead of Elaine in terms of skills. Unless something unexpected happens, it’s gonna be pretty much impossible for Elaine to win.”
I asked again with a flustered expression, not wanting to accept Kaneff’s all-too-rational assessment.
“Is it really that bad? Elaine’s been training hard for a whole week, right?”
“Ha! One week of training ain’t gonna make a difference. You think people who train every day are idiots?”
“……”
“And on top of that, his opponent’s the Verdi family heir. He’s probably been training since he was in diapers. Trying to catch up in just a week? That’s one crazy dream.”
Kaneff’s cold and realistic evaluation made me a little annoyed, but I also understood his point. One week was hardly enough time to bring about significant change.
“But it’s not hopeless.”
Andras joined the conversation.
“Elaine has made some progress here, and the training he did with Mr. Kaneff and Mr. Bellion will have an impact on the duel.”
“Really?”
“We’ll just have to wait and see. As Mr. Kaneff said, nobody knows how a match will turn out until it’s over.”
-Clang!
-Clang!
The clash between Alfred and Claudion grew more intense by the second.
After a week of intense training, Alfred’s movements were lightning-fast and fluid. However, Claudion easily kept up with him, blocking and countering his attacks with ease.
At first, Alfred had the upper hand, launching a series of sharp attacks that Claudion had to defend against. But despite the onslaught, Claudion stood his ground, calmly blocking and parrying each blow.
Gradually, Claudion began to gain momentum.
As the battle slowly became more balanced, Claudion quickly took the initiative.
It soon became clear that Alfred was struggling to keep up. His grip on his sword was slick with sweat, and he stiffened with tension as he tapped his foot nervously.
“Ha!”
Claudion suddenly backed off, creating some distance between him and Alfred. The fight naturally entered a brief lull as they caught their breath.
Looking at Alfred, Claudion spoke up.
“You’ve changed a lot.”
“Ha… ha…”
“You’re no longer controlled by your emotions like before, and your focus has grown tremendously.”
“Ha… Are you already admitting defeat?”
Claudion shook his head firmly.
“I acknowledge that you’ve grown, but it’s not enough to change my mind.”
“Give up the duel now. Continuing like this won’t change the outcome.”
“Ha… I’m sorry, but I have no intention of giving up. I have plenty of supporters cheering me on.”
Alfred grinned and looked back at his supporters.
“Aren’t you just setting them up for disappointment?”
“We won’t know until we see it through to the end. And…”
“……?”
“I think I’m starting to understand your rhythm. It was a little harder than I thought, but…”
“What?”
Claudion looked puzzled, but Alfred just took a sword stance without answering.
“If you’re so eager to finish this duel, I’ll make you regret not ending it earlier.”
The atmosphere quickly heated up again. This time, Claudion made the first move.
Whoosh!
Clang!
Alfred barely blocked the heavy attack, but Claudion didn’t stop. He continued his relentless assault, striking with lightning speed.
Clang! Clang! Clang!!
Alfred struggled to defend himself against the flurry of blows. At that very moment, everyone on the farm was sweating nervously.
Whoosh!
Thunk…
The side of Claudion’s attacking sword was stabbed by Alfred’s sword.
“Ugh?!”
Claudion immediately groaned and pulled his sword back. However, his face showed pain as the aftermath of the impact still remained on his wrist.
“What, what was that?!”
Watching that scene, I was so surprised that I almost forgot I shouldn’t make a sound.
“Hmm?”
Kaneff was also intrigued by what he saw, stroking his chin as he spoke.
“Andras, did you see that just now?”
“Yes, I did.”
The movement Alfred just used to block the attack.
It closely resembled the movement that Bellion had shown with a tree branch.
“But how did he manage to pull that off? Master said Alfred could never do it.”
“It seems like Elaine has found his own way to use it.”
Claudion, flustered by the unexpected counter, looked perplexed.
On the other hand, Alfred’s eyes shone with excitement at the change in the atmosphere of the duel.