CH 232

C232: After Defeat / Yuto

Ever since I came to this world, no matter what enemy I fought, I was never defeated. Even so, I thought I had made an effort to grow and lose sight of myself. But……today, I tasted complete defeat.

Thanks to Rosetta and the others, I was able to leave the battlefield alive. However, I feel as if something I’ve built up has collapsed. I’m afraid that I’m going to go back to the way I was before, to the way I was before I came to this world.

Back in those days when I lacked self-confidence and was afraid to talk to people……I was never accepted by anyone and always spent my school life in the corner of the classroom, scared. I was always ridiculed and harassed relentlessly by my heartless classmates.

My life changed on the day when the express train my class was riding came to this world. Compared to the Ludia values of my classmates, mine were outstanding. Since then, the environment around me has changed drastically, as if my life on Earth was a lie.

It was probably when I met and fought with one of my classmates on the battlefield that I became completely confident in myself. He was a pompous ass on Earth, he was violently oppressing me. So he demanded that we have that relationship on the battlefield where we met, and demanded that I get down on my knees and surrender even before we fought.

I beat him to a pulp. The fight was like between a child and an adult, in the end he was crying and begging for his life. My personality changed, and people around me began to look at me with respect and admiration. I have made many friends and have subordinates who adore me. Everything is going well but I’m afraid that it will be ruined…….

“Yuto, what are you going to do now?”

I was in a daze, but Emesis called out to me.

“How much strength do we have left?”

“About half.”

When I heard that, all at once my anxiety overwhelmed me. I wondered if I would be able to fight the Sword Clan with that kind of strength…….I was even slightly afraid. But I pushed that feeling to the back of my mind. I don’t want to go back to my old self, I need to maintain my current self…….

“We can still do this. We’ll try again when we’re done repairing Ajura.”

“Huh. I knew Yuto would say that.”

Rosetta smiled happily. It seems that she had not fought enough.

“Fighting is fine, but the Swordsmen are strong. In the previous battle, I had a fight with a small magicraft, but it was surprisingly strong. If you think there’s a bunch of those things out there, it’s probably going to be tough for us since we only have half of our strength left.”

“I’ll have the troops attacking the Citadel of Mospilay send some of their forces our way.”

“Yes, that would be nice too. But I also have a secret plan for you.”

“Secret plan……What kind of plan?”

“After the way they’ve been acting, it seems like the Sword Clan isn’t united. Maybe that’s where we can take advantage of them.”

“Are you saying that the Sword Saint can’t control the Sword Clan?”

“Yes. Just let me handle this for a bit, maybe I can take down the Sword Clan with ease.”

Somewhere in the back of my mind I was worried about a rematch with the Sword Saint, so I went along with Emesis’ idea. I suppose I should really fight the Sword Saint head-on again. Next time, if I were to lose……thinking about it made me lose my usual courage.

The repairs to Ajura were finished, and reinforcements from the troops that had been attacking the fortified city of Mospilay had arrived. Emesis’s plan seemed to be going well, and we were ready for another battle with the Sword Clan.

“So, Emesis. When is your plan going to take effect?”

“Soon. The outcome will be decided before the battle.”

“I’m sure it’s a cunning plan of yours, but why should it be a secret even from your allies?”

As Rosetta said, Emesis did not explain the details of the plan to us either. That bothered me a little, but Emesis said that I was better off not knowing, and just smiled wryly.