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189. Engagement – The Strongest

White steam escaped from Lena Ainar’s mouth. Her body, drenched in sweat from intense training, let out wisps of vapor.

It was an open area. After finishing her training, Lena hung her sword behind the house and went inside, but thinking she needed a wash, she stepped back outside and splashed her body with cold water.

As the backyards merged, an unspoken rule formed between Leo’s house and Lena’s house.

Leo, Noel Dexter, and Dehorman washed themselves at the well near Leo’s house, while Lena Ainar and her mother used the well near Lena’s house.

There was no formal agreement.

Only Lena’s mother knew how to cook in both households, so naturally, the water drawn from Lena’s house was used for cooking. Thus, it was split that way.

Lena changed into casual clothes after going up to her room and dried her hair. Eventually, feeling lazy, she just shook it off and sat on the floor to stretch.

First, she grabbed her feet and stretched—

Her chin touched her knees. With some leftover space, she twisted her waist to breathe some life into her exhausted body. Changing her posture, she leaned her back and thought.

I’m hungry.

She knew it was almost mealtime. As she vigorously toweled dry her hair, she made her way down to the living room. Her hair wasn’t long, so it dried quickly.

“Mom—what about dinner?”

“You little brat. Didn’t come when called. It’s in the kitchen, so go get it.”

If there were another rule between the two houses, it would be regarding the timing of communal meals. The Dexter father-and-son usually ate at Lena’s house, but all together only when Dehorman was home. If Lena’s father, Dehorman, was out hunting, Noel Dexter wouldn’t show up. Leo would come occasionally.

So, it fell on Lena to serve the meals. She split the food onto two trays.

Since the backyards were connected, she carried the trays and entered through the back door of Leo’s house.

Leo’s house had a somewhat desolate atmosphere.

While it was economically well-off with a fireplace and table, equally tall chairs, good-quality curtains and carpets, and a few silver candlesticks and frames, there was an air of desolation somewhere.

It was distinctly different from Lena’s house, which was filled with little souvenirs and knick-knacks.

‘It’s because of that armor. The armor.’

Lena laid the blame on the poor armor. The truth was it was because Leo’s aunt wasn’t around, but mentioning her was taboo. This could also be seen as an unspoken rule.

Lena passed by the armor displayed in front of the study. Though it was cleaned, it seemed to exude a smell of blood.

– Knock, knock.

“Dinner’s ready.”

Leo’s father, Noel Dexter, was almost always in the study.

After retiring at a young age, he seemed intent on spending the rest of his life reading books, as a myriad of books stacked in the study made Lena think this was also a reason for the desolate atmosphere in Leo’s house.

Noel Dexter, who was sitting in a rocking chair reading, moved to the desk. He thanked his apprentice and future daughter-in-law, saying, “Thank you,” before asking.

“Is Leo still like that?”

“Seems so.”

Noel Dexter nodded. Though he wore a slightly bitter expression, he adhered to the house’s unspoken rules.

Lena, holding the tray, headed toward Leo’s room. Once upstairs, she cleared her throat a few times to warn him,

– Bang!

She kicked open Leo’s door.

“Oi! Get up, it’s time to eat!”

Dumbass.

─ she thought of adding, but stopped. She placed the tray on the table and approached Leo, who was lying on the bed, hiding his face with one arm. She sat next to him and coaxed.

“Leo! Get up so we can eat together.”

He looked like he wouldn’t budge, but his arm groped around trying to find Lena. Once he grabbed her wrist, he sighed heavily as if relieved or perhaps more anxious.

“Hey!”

But Lena wasn’t the type to care about his pitiful state. Whatever his reason, lying like that all day was enough.

“Get up! You’re not even training. What are you doing?”

She pushed the arm covering his face away. Reluctantly, he moved it aside, revealing Leo’s face twisted into a frown.

Short, neat hair. If he was handsome, then yes, his face was handsome. The strong lines of his jaw and eyebrows could be polarizing, but at least he had a masculine appearance that would draw compliments.

Of course, Lena had no complaints about his looks. If she had a complaint, it would only be about his gaze.

“W-what? Why are you staring at me like that?”

– Squeeze.

Slight pressure came from the hand gripping her wrist. Feeling a tiny shiver, Lena’s heart softened.

“Is something wrong?”

“…”

“If you don’t answer, I’ll hit you.”

“……Ouch!”

Lena grabbed his ear. No matter how he grimaced or made faces, she yanked it mercilessly until finally, his expression became tolerable.

“Get up to eat already. Hurry. I’m starving to death.”

“…Fine.”

Leo got up. At the small table meant for two, Lena and Leo had their meal.

“About the merchant group that’s here now.”

“…”

“Could you at least respond?”

“…Yeah, why about the merchant group?”

“They’re leaving tomorrow. Actually, I wanted to buy something. Want to go together later?”

Tomorrow?

Leo’s expression turned puzzling. But soon he seemed to lose interest, rolling his neck front and back as he spoke. Lena’s eyes widened.

“Are you talking about the leather straps?”

“Uh?! How did you know?”

“Because we went together before.”

“But I didn’t say anything… did I? I didn’t say anything, did I?”

Did I make it too obvious?

If I had known he would figure it out, I would’ve gone alone. Pouting because the steam had escaped, Lena was cut off as Leo plopped back onto the bed.

Now he rolled away completely, so Lena dashed over. She pressed down on him and asked.

“So, are we going together or not?”

But maybe it was too close. With Leo turning to face her, their faces were nearly pressed together. It was a distance more suited for a kiss than a conversation.

Leo’s expression was quite emotional, and his gaze was gentle, making Lena think,

‘Ah! Is he going to kiss me?’

But that didn’t happen. Leo reached out his hand and brushed her cheek.

“Lena.”

“…What?”

“Do you… want to run away?”

“Uh? What do you mean?”

Seizing the opportunity, Lena pulled back her face, half lounging on the bed, and asked again.

“Why would we want to run away?”

“Just… don’t you want to go far away and live just the two of us?”

Huh. Lena finally caught on. Leo was joking. He had done it so convincingly; she was almost fooled, especially since Leo hardly ever joked.

“Wow~ Do you want to elope with me or something? That’s so touching, but do you have money?”

“…”

“Stop spouting nonsense and get up. Judging by this weird joke, you must be feeling better now.”

Lena rose to her feet. Leo grabbed her hand tightly, but Lena stubbornly pulled it away from Leo’s grasp.

“I’m going to spar with my father. Get ready quickly. Huh? What’s this?”

[ Achievement: Bound Item, 1/3 ]

[ Sword – Indestructible. ]

[ Mirror – Not usable. ]

Lena picked up the hand mirror that was by the headboard of the bed. She squinted her eyes, turning over the plain-patterned frame with no decorations.

“Hey! Where did you get this? You bought it from Merchant Uncle, right? How stingy of you to buy it all alone! So mean!”

“You can have it.”

“Sure! I’ll take it… huh?”

Leo raised himself up and sat on the edge of the bed. Pulling Lena closer, he said,

“It’s a gift. A bit early, but… more importantly, Lena.”

“What, what’s going on?”

“…”

Leo was silent for a moment. He buried his head in Lena’s stomach and didn’t move.

For the first time, the bulky Leo looked so small.

Feeling a strange sympathy, Lena stroked his hair, and soon Leo rose. The shadow cast by his large frame loomed over Lena.

No more whining.

Leo pulled Lena into an embrace just once. His fingers brushed against her hair, yet fortunately, Leo was unaware. Had he remembered the sensations from their previous engagement rounds, he surely wouldn’t have been able to endure it.

“Let’s go.”

Leo picked up his sword, and Lena, still stunned while holding the mirror, watched his back.

“What’s up with him?”

Who knows?

*

“You’re here.”

Lena’s father was outside in the open area.

Noel Dexter did not blame the son who had been holed up in his room all day since yesterday. He first sparred with Lena and then kicked her rear end away as usual.

“Ouch! Ugh! Just you wait when I’m older. I’ll show you, no matter who you are, I’m tired of being looked down upon every day.”

As Lena handed the place over to Leo, she murmured. She couldn’t quite say she would surpass that monstrous gentleman. She thought she might catch up one day, but by then, she could guess the Master would have grown old.

Leo’s father was that impressive. If he hadn’t retired, he would at least have been a Knight Commander. Even Lena, who was confident, deeply respected him.

Leo took up his sword.

Instead of stiffly exerting force, he extended the sword casually, causing Noel Dexter to sense a tension sharpen as he stood in front of him.

Instinctively, he realized that his son, no, the opponent before him was an incredible threat, and he corrected his posture. He didn’t even speak.

“Whoa?”

Meanwhile, Lena held her breath at Leo’s changed demeanor.

All the habits Leo had shown hundreds of times disappeared. Good or bad, they all vanished, leaving the person before her in pure tranquility. Feeling nothing at all made him sharper.

– Clang.

A cautious exchange. The two shared a move to set the starting direction.

The swords that met showed that they both chose a convenient right side. Then Noel Dexter made the first move.

With swords still touching, he raised his arm. By lifting his sword horizontally, he intended to step inside.

The countermeasures to this were countless and impossible to list. But broadly speaking, there were evasive measures, countermeasures, and tactics to push into a strength contest.

Ordinarily, Leo would have dragged it into a battle of strength.

He wouldn’t dare use swordplay against his father, so he would have relied on the strength contest instead.

But Leo turned that around. Lowering his posture slightly, he burrowed inside instead, forcing Noel to quickly grab his sword in reverse. He raised the hilt even higher, preparing to strike down.

This way, Leo’s sword held vertically would become entirely useless. Even if he managed to cut, Noel would dodge, and Leo’s sword would surely find a hole in him somewhere.

In such cases, one would usually either retreat or raise their sword as well. They would push against the descending trajectory.

As it was a set sequence, Noel prepared for the next move, but…

Leo raised his arm. Yet, only his left arm lifted.

What is he doing? It turned out that Leo, near the sword hilt, was pushing Noel’s sword while turning in a circle. With his arm raised high, Leo’s elbow crashed into Noel’s right armpit.

“Gah!”

He hadn’t read the intention of the rotation. He hadn’t expected his hand to leave the sword either, but the son was already prepared to spin.

Feeling he had no choice, Noel turned his back. He took the elbow on his back and spun as well, casually discarding the sword with one hand while making a broad sweeping motion.

– Clang!

But since he had held his sword in reverse grip, he was a beat behind. As he jumped and spun like a top, Leo was already poised for a solid stance.

In other words, only he had been hit. Furthermore, his position was unfavorable…

Before he could admire it, his son pushed forward. As Noel was regaining his stance after the large spin, he charged in like a bull.

Noel exerted force through his back legs. He poured out all the ‘one move’ he regularly kept hidden and stood firm, yet his body was still being pushed back.

At that moment, he could either trip him with a leg sweep while his opponent was pushing him or change the position of the sword to stab.

Noel Dexter broke out in a cold sweat. If he didn’t snap back to reality right now!

He caught the strong smell of blood. Days from over a decade ago during the civil war flashed back with tension, but,

– Chaang!

Leo forcefully pushed Noel’s sword away and stepped back. He resumed his calm stance, his breath not betraying a single quiver.

“Huh…”

Noel Dexter chuckled softly.

He knew his son was hiding his skills. He had been blocked by a wall for quite a long time, and he expected that on the day that wall broke, Leo would advance greatly.

But this was…

He wore an expression of awe and wonder. Lena Ainar, who was watching from the side, stared at Leo in disbelief.

Phew.

Meanwhile, Leo was able to settle his tumultuous thoughts. Thanks to his robust physique, the strongest swordsmanship he had ever displayed filled his empty heart with confidence.

I am strong.

Aside from the Apostle of the Evil God and the three Swordmasters known on the continent, there would be no one stronger than me. Even Sir Bart, who seemed formidable, was now beneath him.

Leo quietly sheathed his sword. However, he had no intention of being arrogant.

After all, there are those stronger than me, and numerous powerful authorities transcended individual prowess in this world.

I am still just an ordinary knight.

‘I’m definitely off to help Reb. By the time I arrive, Nevis will have been surrounded. I can’t leave Lena behind.’

So, there was only one thing I had to accomplish in this round.

Leo lifted his head. Looking up at the sky, he silently prayed this wouldn’t be a trick.

[ Quest: Duelist 986/1000 – {Swordsmanship} skill will rise by one level. ]

I must go to war and fill that quest somehow. If my skills can increase any further from here…

[ Swordmaster ]

…this was all that remained. The pinnacle of the strongest in the continent was beckoning him.