Residents, merchants, even drunk people who didnât know what was happening bowed their heads.
It was because Murrayâs youngest son, Cora Murray was walking in front of them.
Murray, who is so strong that no lord would treat him rudely, and the favored son of such a man was passing by, no one could make eye contact with them.
At least, those who lived there couldnât.
However, there were those who followed him with nonchalant faces.
The blue-haired young man next to Cora Murray and the blonde who was being followed by an Orc.
And the cat around the Orcâs shoulder with an innocent look.
So was Judith.
She thought as she walked next to Irene, or a step behind him.
âThis one, did he solve the homework the schoolmaster gave?â
At first she didnât know, but then Judith came to know why Irene left Krono.
It was the result of tormenting Ian, who didnât inform her at all, for three years.
However, there was a part she didnât understand.
âFinding his own sword, what is that?â
For her, a sword is a sword.
Her schoolmaster said, âbecause he has an unstable swordâ but she couldnât understand what he meant.
And she didnât want to know either.
Because she knew that the answer would be difficult.
However, she understood that it was an important issue for Irene, who is more problematic than Bratt.
âStill⊠he looks better than before.â
Judith carefully looked at Irene.
Irene was two fingers taller than Bratt and his body was well balanced with calluses on his palms.
Then she looked at his face.
She wasnât sure, but he felt more passionate than before?
Not bad.
âIt has to be fun, the first match in 5 years and 6 months.â
Judith, who had a mischievous grin on her face, opened her mouth to talk to Irene.
But right then, someone spoke to her.
âHello?â
â⊠hello.â
âGlad to meet you. Iâm Lulu. As said earlier, Iâm Ireneâs sorcery teacher.â
âYes, I know! I heard about you before. But I just wanted to talk to you.â
As that was done, Judith smiled awkwardly as she looked at Lulu, who was smiling like a human.
It wasnât her first time seeing a sorcerer.
Since Krono often had special guests such as magicians and sorcerers, she met a couple of them.
What concerned her was that the cat was black.
âBlack cat⊠an ominous sign!â
It reminded her of the stories she heard in her childhood, things she didnât want to think about.
There were rumors that demons would be waiting if one followed a black cat which could speak human language, and that an epidemic spread in the town where a black cat appeared.
Of course, she knew that they were all groundless rumors, but⊠Judith was still a little bothered by it.
âI will give you this. A gift!â
But Lulu seemed different.
And Judith was beginning to like her, and the cat took out three golden mice from her subspace. Kuvar who saw them gulped, and one of Coraâs escorts who was watching that, went stiff.
With a mixture of surprise and joy, tension and anxiety, Judith said.
âI-Is this gold?â
âYes! Donât overthink. I have a lot!â
âA lot?â
âDo you want more?â
âNo, not at all. No no, what do you mean more⊠uh?â
ââŠâ
Seeing Judith confused by Luluâs words, Irene smiled.
She looked different but she didnât change too much. It was nice to see Judith still have her innocence as she matured.
Of course, the change wasnât just in her behavior.
One glance was all that was needed. She was tall and had a great body.
Perhaps her sword had changed too.
âI want to fight quickly!â
Sparks flashed in Ireneâs eyes.
He wouldnât have felt it before, but now he did.
Quickly, quickly. He continued his steps, hoping to get to Cora Murrayâs manor.
Fortunately, as he thought that, Cora stopped walking.
A very spacious area.
Once entered, it was even more amazing.
Judith admired the hall, which had a stone floor.
âWoah, itâs huge.â
â⊠wait.â
âHuh? What? Canât we start right away? I canât wait.â
Irene didnât say a word but looked at Cora Murray with excitement, making the others look at Cora as well.
Flustered by that, Cora sighed and opened his mouth.
âAnyway you people, you donât believe my words, right?â
âHmm?â
âEven if you show a poor sight and do not have a silver card, you will just dismiss everything that happened and weave your own stories to others.â
âSo what do you plan on doing?â
âBringing in a notary. Heâs in the manor, so Iâll be back soon.â
âWhat? Isn't he on your side? How do we trustâŠâ
âNot on our side. Sir Brian Burns, a wandering knight, a wonderful man, skillful, and just.â
âAh, Brian Burns.â
âAnyone you know?â
Judith asked Bratt who exclaimed.
âHe was ordained as a knight in the Belson Kingdom. As that one said, he isnât the kind to lie about such things. I accept it.â
âNice.â
âI need to unwind.â
After talking to him, Judith stretched her body.
She swung her sword with a single movement and when the others saw it, they knew that she was skilled, but it wasnât something Cora and his escorts accepted.
Instead, it was Irene who caused a commotion.
Shoo!
âHuk!â
âThere was nothing. The swordâŠâ
âOh-oh, what is that? Is thatâŠâ
âYes. Sorcery.
With a smile! Irene was wielding his greatsword.
Even the calm and cool-headed Bratt couldnât help but be surprised.
Rather, Judith was quick to adjust.
âYep, he definitely wasnât playing around for five years.â
âWe didnât get to talk and it has been so long, but once the match is over, Iâll tell you. What happened in the past.â
âGreat. Me and Bratt will listen and talk too. It might not be fun though.â
The two of them looked at each other and smiled bitterly.
A knight approached the hall and greeted Cora.
âI came here as I was asked to be the notary.â
âYes. That red-haired girl over there and the blonde one. After watching the match between those two, if you think that they have the skills of a silver card mercenary or more, say yes or no.â
âEasy task. Understood.â
âYou two have no complaints, right?â
âNo.â
âNo!â
âAre you agreeing to grant what the winning side wishes?â
âSure.â
âSure! I canât hold back anymore! Letâs start!â
âOkay. Letâs watch.â
Brian Burns spoke in a hard tone.
Judith, who smiled, took her stance.
Irene, too, took his position facing her.
Eventually, the two geniuses of Krono headed towards each other.
âDamn it. Do I have to do this againâŠâ
A famous wandering knight from the Belson Kingdom, Brian Burns, was grunting to himself. Because he didnât want to do such things.
But he couldnât help it.
For his younger brother who was collapsing, he had no choice but to listen to the family of Murray.
That meant that he should do whatever the youngest son of the Lord requested.
âDamn it! How comeâŠâ
He was thinking nasty thoughts but he couldnât escape from the situation.
He had to act like Murray's dog for at least half a year.
Brian Burns, who managed to calm himself, recalled the command.
âSo, whether the match results are out or not⊠I should just say if they are worthy of the silver card level or not?â
Great. This was easy.
It didnât require effort, nor his life, and it didn't take a lot of time.
He wondered if there was anything simpler than that.
⊠no, it wasnât simple.
Even though he was a wandering knight, for him, who knew what honor meant, this wasnât an easy task.
â⊠but Iâm glad.â
The swordsmen were both young.
And a silver card wasnât something easy to acquire. It was a high level card which was given to those with excellent performance and skills.
Of course, even if one has the skills of a gold card, first timers are only given a silver cardâŠ
âBut itâs impossible at such a young age.â
Whether itâs achievement or skill, such young kids couldnât have it.
Thinking so, Brian sighed. It was a relief that he didnât have to deceive anyone by downgrading the kids.
And then, the Murray kid wouldnât do something bad to those kids.
Brian Burns looked at the match with such a heart.
However, as soon as the two young peopleâs swords met, all thoughts in his mind disappeared.
Kang!
Kang!
Kang!
The red-haired woman and the blonde collided in the hall.
The two, who didnât seem very strong, were fast in their moves and kept changing their stances.
Kwang!
Kwang!
Kang!
The two faced each other and then did three more attacks.
A standard slash which aimed for the upper body.
However, the sophistication and power contained in it was so strong that it was engraved in Brianâs eyes.
Clang!
The blonde swung his sword loudly.
The girl accepted it and then pushed the sword back. It was an intentional act.
The appearance of her stomping hard and fast to move and attack.
The blonde was carefully posed.
Wheik!
That was when it happened. Just before hitting the greatsword, the red-haired woman made an incomprehensible movement.
Stopping, ignoring the inertia, and then quickly returning the opponentâs attack.
And blow!
Kwang!
The loudest sound ever made in the hall.
The blonde man horizontally placed his sword and blocked the attack which came hammering down from above.
Kwak!
The floor cracked because of the impact.
Even Brian Burns' body shuddered for an instant.
However the two who were in the match didnât stop and continued to wield their swords.
Strike, strike, and another strike
Block, block and another block.
They did the same thing about 50 times then widened the distance.
Brian Burns could see the excitement in their eyes.