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CHAPTER 28 – THE SO-CALLED DUEL
7 Years Old: Chapter 28 – The So-Called Duel
Translator: Krrizis
Editors: Nahct & Wafflez
To be honest, I didn’t think that the story until here would turn serious when I had initially requested for it.
*******
「If I win, I desire that you will — on no account — have anything to do with me and my people」
「If I win, I want you to become my bride」
「Do both parties agree to the terms?」
「Yes」
The person who came asking these questions with a serious expression was a handsome looking man with blonde hair and blue eyes. Incidentally, his position is the thirty-second ruling king. To put it bluntly, the present Majesty, the King, is His Highness’s father.
Being addressed for the first time by His Majesty the King, the earl’s son looked nervous. Yet, considering that the agreement was made before His Majesty the King and, in this case, his wish would certainly be realized, his lips began to relax. He really didn’t think he was going to lose, huh?
*******
So how did this happen?
This question surfaced when I started looking for a place to borrow for the duel.
As expected, if we carried out the duel in the garden or the town, a disaster can be expected. Mainly from my sorcery. I don’t know what his abilities are, but from what I’ve seen from the nobles’ magical powers, the level is below average. Well, a large-scale calamity probably wouldn’t occur.
As for me, my aim was to use a wide space as much as possible, so I considered hard before settling on the castle. The Magic Institution is located in the castle, and within it, there’s a space for sorcery training. If it’s the people from the Magic Institution, they would conjure a magic barrier and this made me feel relief.
Therefore, I requested Gilles to take me to the Magic Institution. Being Father’s daughter, I plotted that they wouldn’t be able to bluntly refuse me. Sorry that I’m not cute.
And then, a problem occurred. Somehow, His Highness found out about it.
His Highness was elated that I was in the castle. Well, leaving that aside, how did he know that I was in the castle? Since I wanted to borrow the place, I couldn’t say nothing and explained it to him.
Naturally, when I mentioned the subject of the marriage proposal, His Highness got upset. After which, His Highness told the story to His Majesty.
『Nevertheless, Lizbeth-jou is just like Welf. After all, Welf also duelled about ten years ago』
『Eh, for what reason?』
『To marry Selen. Welf’s father was stubborn….. He was opposed to the notion of accepting low-class nobility blood. Therefore to gain recognition, he dueled with his father』
『Father had ..…』
『Then, I had judged the match. This duel, I will judge it too』
It was shocking to hear my Father’s episode as is; furthermore, to hear this bombshell of a statement from His Majesty ….. To have His Majesty personally judge it. Or rather, just like Father, I’m settling a love affair through a duel ….. No, I’m doing this for the sake of defending my chastity and for the sake of ensuring the safety of my body.
It seems that, with various things, Father secretly caught wind of the duel preparations and steadily hastened his pace towards us.
*******
「Liz! I did not hear of this conversation! The duel is also unheard of!」
Then, the day of the duel.
It seems Father, who was busy running around settling the case, learned about the matter from His Majesty on the day itself. Of course Father was surprised and shouted at me.
….. Since I didn’t inform him.
「But that’s because Father didn’t return home. Thanks to that, an engagement was pressed against my wishes. If Father was around, you could have rejected it」
「Ugh」
「Welf, Lizbeth-jou’s decision is sound. In the first place, wasn’t it you who opened the doors to your household?」
「Wasn’t it Diaz who said to clean up after!」
「Yes, however, neglecting the house was also your fault. Besides, I wouldn’t worry, Lizbeth-jou is undoubtedly your child」
With those last words, I had a feeling that I had His Majesty’s support despite being unable to publicly support me.
That’s right, I’m Father and Mother’s child. No matter what, I won’t allow a strange pervert to defile my body. My ideal partner is someone who is gentle, honest, and occasionally, someone who remonstrates me. Speaking of desires, it would be good if I am able to find someone who’s good with sorcery, like Gilles. It’s not like I have to be protected.
However, there isn’t anyone like that; someone like that is practically impossible to find.
Confirming that my Father had silently withdrawn, I gazed at Gilles and His Highness, who were in a distant location. His Highness seemed anxious and, in the meantime, was shooting seemingly hateful scowls towards the earl’s son.
Gilles threw a glance at the earl’s son with eyes filled with contempt and pity. Gilles’s chilly gaze was somewhat frightening but upon meeting my eyes, he gave me a sweet smile.
I’ll do my best since Gilles, who had always taught me sorcery, came too.
「Your Majesty, would it be permitted for me to ask a question?」
「What is it?」
「The outcome of the duel is decided if the opponent surrenders or is on the verge of being fatally wounded, right? In the case of an injury, there will be no charges, right?」
「Naturally. It is your own responsibility if your training’s inadequate」
Just hearing that was sufficient. Even if it’s just a minor scratch, it would be acceptable within the agreement.
*******
The hem of my skirt fluttered with the blowing wind, gently lifting the cloth as it fluttered.
Presently, my figure is dressed in a high-class trimmed lady-like one-piece. Originally, I’d considered wearing a dress, but I thought it was too troublesome, so I passed on it for a sweetly appealing, cute one-piece. Not overtly gaudy nor too plain. The main point was the accompanying ribbon which was of a modest design.
Speaking of why I’m dressed in an outfit that is difficult to move in, it is for the sake of emphasizing that I’m a helpless little girl. Along with presenting an inhuman impression to the public of a feeble girl being challenged to a duel, the sense of an ignorant young lady would induce the earl’s son’s negligence.
And most of all, my appearance was of a transient-like girl; this look was achieved as Mother selected it for me. Since it’s Mother’s choice, I’ll wear it.
Mother knows about the duel. She wasn’t even particularly against it, could she maybe have known his abilities?
Being informed that His Majesty was judging, the duel at the castle was spread out, so there was also a lot of audiences. Even till this point, it was frankly unexpected.
All of the audiences were sympathetic towards me. They knew about the opponent, who was twice my age, and the unreasonable duel request. For now, the earl’s son, Zerias, had no allies.
「Now then, are both of you ready?」
「Ah, please give me a bit more time, Your Majesty」
「That’s fine」
His Majesty seemed as if he knew what I wanted to do, so he coolly nodded his head. Having made a bow of gratitude towards His Majesty, I ran over to Father and Gilles.
「Father, I’ve come for your cheers」
「….. Don’t lose, Liz」
「Yes. I’m Father’s daughter」
Being hugged, I laughed and gave a nod. It’s been awhile since I smelt Father’s scent, which was as always like the sun, so it made me feel wonderful and happy.
「Liz-sama, if it’s you, you’ll do fine」
「Yes」
「When it’s over, I won’t mind you doing whatever you like」
「Th–That speech is already sufficient …… So, I’ll do my best」
Gilles stroking my head made me recall unnecessary things, so I exasperatedly pouted my lips and slowly moved away. The audiences smiled warmly as they looked at us. In response, the other party was silently protesting with a cold gaze.
If that was aimed at me for doing so, it’s not like I have any loveable qualities.
「I apologise for the interruption, Your Majesty」
「I don’t mind. Now then, are both parties ready?」
「Yes」
Trotting back to the predetermined location, I nodded to His Majesty’s words. The opponent doesn’t even have a weapon, it’ll just be a simple sorcery match, right?
Lord Zerais looked at his surroundings uncomfortably while still looking at me, giving off a daring smile. Without even considering being defeated in the slightest, I had a hunch that he was thinking of his instant happiness in his head. Ah, that won’t do, I want to turn these hateful people bitter no matter what.
After His Majesty verified that both of us had made our preparations, he quickly inhaled in his breath. Seeing that signal, I prepared the magical power within my body to complete a single spell.
「Begin!」
To prepare the spell, a massive amount of magical power was poured into it. This was made possible owing to the vast amount of magical power I possessed. Due to my accumulating constitution, I was able to frequently change the incoming magic essence effectively.
The earl’s son also used sorcery, but its power was terribly slow and small. It seems like the sorcery was usable ….. But I won’t let you resist, kay?
「『Absolute Zero』」
It’s the first time I’ve tested it in actual combat. At most, I’ve only used it in practice.
Murmuring the name when the signal was given, the temperature surrounding Lord Zerais, dropped in an instant. −273.15℃, ….. Well, as expected, I didn’t intend to go that far but the extremely low temperature in the air surrounded the earl’s son, making a mountain of perpendicular ice rise from the ground. Precisely, leaving a gap for the earl’s son.
This is mercy. I don’t know who he thinks he is, but I really hate being touched by this man. I want to erase it from my memories. In order to prevent him from approaching me again for the second time, it would be better for me to just do this.
Though there is more or less a bit of space left , the gap will gradually freeze. It’s just a matter of time before the earl’s son’s body becomes a victim to it. Making him slack purposely was to fan his fear. In my opinion, it’s also important in a match to snatch away their collected thoughts.
By nature, absolute zero is colder than liquid nitrogen so it’ll immediately crack, but I have adjusted the spell so that the temperature is higher than liquid nitrogen. As expected, I couldn’t even bring myself to kill him. Even if it cracks easily, if he comes into contact with it, he’ll be frozen solid.
On the other side, the opponent used flame sorcery to melt the ice; however, it wasn’t easily melted.
*******
Before he could resist, I fired a few baby dome-shaped fireballs at his directions and wiped my hands. With precision, the fireballs overwhelmingly scattered about from the exceeding magical powers or rather, it flickered about. Of course, with the barrier in place, it only flickered nearby.
By doing this, I appeared strong while my opponent didn’t possess overwhelming skills and schemes as well as magical powers. If he thought he could win only by age, that was a big mistake for I’ve been studying under Gilles.
At that time, I had panicked and wasn’t able to enact a barrier due to being injured but ….. I won’t let it happen again.
*******
It was not just the earl’s son’s surroundings, the atmosphere in the audiences also stilled. They probably didn’t think that this young girl would apply so much pressure single-handedly.
「….. Do you surrender?」
Just in case, I used『Icicle Rain』to suspend icicles above the earl’s son’s head as I slowly raised the question. If he didn’t surrender, I wouldn’t kill him as it would make me feel sick as expected, so I’ll momentarily leave him in the middle of the ice to endure the cold.
It’s a fortune to have an abundance of magical power. If it melts, I could freeze it again and until the surrender comes in, I’ll just wait it out?
Discerning that there was no mercy in my eyes, trembling as he shivered from the cold「I–I surrender!」and yelled with a pale face. Alright, checkmate!
「Your Majesty, it’s my victory with this, ne?」
「Mhm. The winner is Lizbeth Adelcian!」
Everyone in the audience was bewildered by His Majesty’s announcement but before long, cheers of joy were heard. They probably didn’t think a child could win, hence why I felt their eyes look towards me in awe.
….. Why am I standing out so much when all I want to do is escape from the crisis of my chastity.
Dropping the icicle in a suitable place and using a sufficient flame sorcery, I melted the ice. As it was an appropriate amount of firepower, Lord Zerais felt the heat but I couldn’t care less.
Without even soaking in the victory, I trotted straight to Gilles right after. Since Gilles was like a teacher-figure and because I wanted to show off my unsightly sorcery.
「Gilles, how was it? I did my best!」
「Excellent, excellent. Shall I say as expected of Welf’s daughter?」
「Aren’t I also Gilles’s pupil?」
「Fufu, that’s right. Well done」
Gilles was also angry at the earl’s son, so even if I had attempted to use the ice, he wasn’t even upset about it. Rather, his face indicated it would have been better if I had used the ice.
Embracing my shoulder and caressing my head, Gilles praised me. Personally, I’m satisfied with only Gilles’s praises. Thinking that I was already free from the unwanted marriage proposal, I naturally began to relax my face.
The audiences seemed satisfied by watching us with relief. Well, I’m sure they also disliked seeing a frail looking girl be forced into lewd things by a paedophilic-loving earl’s son in the future. If that had happened, I’ll release all my magical power.
As a matter of fact, only one person didn’t agree.
「Th–That’s sly! I have never heard of such magic!」
Released from the ice, the freed earl’s son shouted. The cold and heat made the earl’s son’s skin color uneven. I will neither be responsible for the burns nor the frostbite.
「Even if such a thing was said. Wasn’t it you who decided to issue a duel challenge? Since Gilles can’t participate, it’s only natural for me to take his place」
「Th—That’s because you said–」
「Either way, I believe even if Gilles was challenged, the tables would turn on you」
If he can’t win against me, then it’s impossible for him to win against Gilles. Although I have a considerably higher amount of magical power, when it concerns control and implementation, Gilles was overwhelmingly superior. As Father hasn’t really seen it, he wouldn’t really understand. However, Gilles was equally as strong or even stronger than him.
Eventually with training, I will surpass him but, for now, his back’s far away. If the earl’s son can’t win against me on this occasion, he won’t win against Gilles.
「If you have any dissatisfaction towards the ruling, then please make a direct appeal to His Majesty. If you are so inclined, we could go for another round. If you’re unable to face me, then I’ll get Gilles — who was your original contender — to accept」「~nh!」
「!!」
「How unsightly, Zerais-dono!」
His Majesty barked in a thundering voice at the sight of the earl’s son gritting and scowling.
At the force of His Majesty’s voice, the tantrum throwing earl’s son was startled stiff.
「The situation is already settled. Cease your struggle, know your place… You have to accept Lizbeth-jou’s demand」
In some respects, I was treated with an indifferent look from the earl’s son. Ah, isn’t this ….. the desertion route? With this, doesn’t this mean neither the needless affair nor the possible guilt of a rank change would happen?
Well, this is what it means to reap what you sow.
「And with this, the duel comes to an end」
For now, it’s great that my body and chastity has escaped from danger.