/
“What?! This bastard!”
Baron Ashval shouted a stereotypical villain’s line as three knights were tossed into the air by a booming strike. Pitch black energy cut through reeds and men alike.
“Sword—?! Is that—?”
Someone pushed off the ground with all his power and soared through the air like a bird, landing squarely in front of Baron Ashval.
The Baron whipped out his sword, but he immediately staggered from the sheer onrush of mana shaking his body inside and out.
“It seemed like the most natural way to respond when you asked who I am,” their new guest said as he seated himself next to Charles. He didn’t forget to shoot the wide-eyed Young Lady a grin. “Sir Cain, knight of justice, savior of the Princess, has arrived!”
“Sir Cain
” Charles finally came to grips with what was happening.
“Ah! Please, don’t cry. Your tears, lovely as they are, are totally unnecessary.” Cain reached out a hand to forestall her impending outburst. “Why don’t you take my hand, Young Lady?”
“I
 heuk
 I was wondering what I would say to you in the afterlife
 or what you would say to me
 ugh
”
Cain’s smile stiffened. He wanted to shout, Wait, why the hell are you killing off a perfectly healthy person? But it didn’t seem appropriate at the moment. At any rate, he was very happy being not dead. He still had things he wanted to do.
“You’re a wonderful knight, Sir Cain, but I can’t believe you’re trying to advance your ‘interests’ at a time like this,” a husky voice chided him.
“Oh
” Cain turned and cocked his head, his cheerful smile still firmly affixed to his face. “Icarus! Whatever could you mean?”
“You said it like it was the most natural thing in the world: ‘I wish I could hold a woman’s hand, just once.’”
Cain flinched. “That’s
 Uh, that’s not it—”
“Oh, of course it’s not.”
“Are you angry at me right now?”
“Me? Angry? How could I be anything but absolutely overjoyed that you survived?”
“I couldn’t tell you. I’m sorry, I had to be wary of spies once I knew there were traitors.”
“I know. It would have given the enemy the upper hand. You did well.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.” Icarus smiled.
“
You’re mad at me.”
“Who’s mad? Me?”
“Did you weep for me? I don’t see any tears.”
“Oh, Cain. The head does not understand how the heart feels.”
Cain stared at Icarus. Is this what being popular is like?
“Did you eat something weird?”
“No,” Cain answered. “I had plenty of food, even though I was being chased.”
“That’s good, then.”
“What, now you’re concerned about your fiance—”
Icarus scoffed. “You are the last person I’d want to be my husband.”
“Oh? So you admit you’re a woman?”
“Hah! Give me a break. Honestly!”
The rest of the group couldn’t help but smile at the endearing scene, despite the predicament hanging over their heads.
“This—This is bullshit!”
Cain and Icarus turned toward the voice just in time to see Baron Ashval stomp out of the reeds, furiously beating the dust1 out of his clothes. Cain hid Charles behind him.
“You’re still alive?”
“What, you didn’t hear me earlier?” Cain laughed. “I’m going to die of shame.”
“This won’t end like last time. We might both be B-Class Knights, but the swordsmanship I studied is nothing like yours. I’ll show you why people distinguish between Imperial and non-Imperial knights.”
Cain’s eyes narrowed. “Who’s the Master?”
“Even a house a young as yours would have heard of him.” Baron Ashval puffed up his chest. “My family is the Deogrant house from the south. My grandfather was Ashva Deogrant, the leader of his generation and one of the Empire’s great Masters.”
Cain knew who Ashva Deogrant was. He died twenty years ago. He only became a Master when he was already over seventy years old, making him the oldest Master in the history of the Empire. For his ten years of Mastery, he crushed anyone and everyone who disparaged him for his age.
“I studied the sword with him since I was a boy. Even before your lord, Joshua Sanders, was born.”
“That’s fantastic!” Cain hefted his enormous sword to match the Baron’s.
“Our family’s technique takes longer to build than that of other families—but after a certain point, the speed rises dramatically. The distance between B-Class and A-Class is as great as that between a beginner swordsman and B-Class. It only serves to prove how exceptional our family is.” He loudly proclaimed the merits of his family’s mana technique with a sly grin2. “Everyone here except the Young Lady and the Patriarch will face my wrath. You have no one to blame except yourselves. And
” Baron Ashval leered at Icarus. “You, especially, have a lot to look forward to. I’ll make sure my soldiers are happy, woman or not.”
Icarus shivered.
“Your teacher is not always your choice
 but your Master should be. Sadly, you chose poorly. And you’ll die for that mistake.” The Baron let out a low, confident chuckle, despite having lost to Cain before.
Cain calmly scanned their surroundings. The enemy’s encirclement was iron-clad. It would be impossible to break through this siege on their own.
Then all we can do is hold out until the signal arrives.
Cain stepped forward with a grin that dripped with derision.
“If you’re so sure, let’s give it another go.”
“What?”
“You’re not just bluffing, are you? Show me the great Deogrant family’s might.”
“Are you provoking me? Don’t be ridiculous—”
“There’s enough people here to serve as witnesses. You don’t even need to worry about us trying to escape
 but are they ready to watch you lose?”
Baron Ashval did want this fight. There was a reason he boasted about his family’s mana so much. I’ve been longing for this day ever since I lost that damn spar. The way his subordinates looked at him stung more than the defeat itself. His confidence had been driven to its lowest point. He’d put a lot of thought into why he lost, and his efforts had recently been rewarded.
“Okay then, I’ll start by cutting off your head, and then I’ll take that kitten by your side.” The Baron moved ahead with a smile that threatened to split his visage in two.
“As expected of the Deogrant’s scion.”
“Let’s see how long you’ll keep smi—”
“Hey. If you share the story of your teacher, isn’t it only fair that you hear the story of mine?”
“Unnecessary.” Ashval smirked. “I don’t want to hear it or anything else.”
“Oh, really?”
“Besides, your family—Viscount Harry—was abandoned out in the desolate north, even by His Majesty the Emperor. These days, even Barons get ignored. Correct me if I’m wrong, but your family doesn’t have anything but its swordsmanship, does it? But they’re sooooooo proud of themselves.” He sneered and flexed his muscles. “Enough small talk!”
“No, I’m telling you, listen.”
Baron Ashval looked confused, much to Cain’s amusement. Ashval’s teacher was a Master twenty years ago. Cain’s teacher was the strongest man on the continent.
“If you have the time to look up my family, you should’ve taken the time to look a little deeper.”
“What?”
“Knowing you, I think you’ll be shocked.” Cain slammed his sword into the ground, launching himself up at gravity-defying speeds.
Baron Ashval’s jaw dropped. For God’s sake, that sword’s bigger than he is!
Steel clashed, throwing up a vicious shower of sparks.
EDN: Don’t reeds usually grow in mud? ↩
EDN: