On a sunny spring day, two men were facing each other with swords under the warm sunshine.
However, it was hard to view this as a fair duel at a glance, given the size difference between them. One was a rather delicate-looking young man, while the other resembled a seasoned mercenary with a large, bear-like physique.
Yet, strangely, the duel was not easily resolved.
It was impossible to think that one side was holding back, as the swords they wielded were wooden ones. If someone were to observe closely, they might misunderstand that one side was intent on killing the other given how fiercely they clashed.
The loud sounds of the wooden swords striking against each other echoed, and instead of blood, droplets of sweat flew during their duel, eventually culminating in victory for the much larger man.
With a crashing sound, he twisted the swords they were locking and struck hard to the side.
He struck with such force that his opponent lost grip of his wooden sword and sent it flying.
“You were slow to react this time.”
“Ugh…”
The young man, who lost his sword due to the force of the blow, sighed as he realized the other man’s wooden sword was pointed directly at his throat.
“Haah. Kail, I really can’t keep up with you using a sword. I thought I had prepared quite a lot for today.”
The man called Kail nodded knowingly, resting the sword on his shoulder.
“Well, that’s to be expected, Luke. You’re a mage, after all.”
The fact that a mage engaged in such a long-range duel with a swordmaster at this distance was already extraordinary. Mages were typically specialized strategic weapons suited for ranged, multi-combat scenarios, whereas swordmasters, though lacking in ranged response capabilities, were known as the kings of close combat.
Their specializations in capabilities differed.
However, despite this, the young man named Luke seemed disappointed.
“But I developed a close-combat artifact for today and even thought of a new circle operation method. On top of that, I packed various enhancement spells and thoroughly analyzed your combat tendencies. Yet, I still lost.”
Kail retorted angrily at Luke’s words.
“What? You were just goofing around while I was dispatched to Ganitel?”
“Goofing around? I was researching to defeat you.”
“Nonsense! You must have just sat in your lab, thinking about how to make me look foolish in our sparring!”
It was obvious; he always acted that way.
But Luke insisted there was something to hear.
“However, Kail, if my research progresses, won’t mages be able to resist the onslaught of swordmasters? That means we can shore up the vulnerability of mages in close combat. In a situation like this, I believe the difference is significant. And even aside from that, this knowledge will surely be of great help in the future.”
“……”
Having said that, there was little more to argue.
However, this had to be a well-prepared answer in advance.
“Haah, whatever. That’s how it is. Today was quite challenging. If it were another swordmaster instead of me, I might have lost.”
Kail sighed. After all, just as Luke knew his techniques, he also knew Luke’s, making it relatively easy for him to counter. Furthermore, if it were another swordmaster, they would likely have fallen victim to Luke’s swordsmanship.
At Kail’s evaluation, Luke smiled slyly, seeming pleased.
“Haha, is that so? I’m glad that my research hasn’t been in vain.”
It was a moment that brought a sense of accomplishment as a mage.
But utterly exhausted from the sparring, Luke approached a nearby patch of grass, leaned against a tree, and sat down.
“Ugh, it’s been a while since I moved my body so intensely; it’s hot.”
“Indeed.”
As Kail approached and sat next to him, Luke asked.
“By the way, Kail, your swordsmanship has improved significantly. Are you now comfortable handling the spear?”
Kail shook his head.
“No, having spent my whole life training with swords, I’m still struggling to get used to a new weapon.”
“Does it feel vastly different?”
“Extremely different.”
Kail began to grumble.
“Why is it a holy spear and not a holy sword? What the hell is that goddess thinking? If the holy item she gave was a holy sword, the Demon King’s head would be under my feet by now.”
“Well, we were never her candidate to begin with.”
“Haah, that’s true.”
Kail sighed as he looked down at his hands, which bore the transplant of the hero’s hand.
This was a holy gauntlet made using the holy shield to stabilize the forcibly transplanted hero’s qualification, wrapped like bandages around his hands.
Due to a single oversight, two complete holy relics had been diminished, leaving someone to complain about the inconsistency of the goddess’s actions if they caught wind of it.
“By the way, you’ve shaved again. What did you make this time?”
“Oh, this? I used it to create artifacts to defeat you. I used it to enhance these gloves and clothes.”
Having facial hair was one of the few advantages of aging.
There was a time when having choices beyond just hair was a welcome thought, but as he began to grow facial hair, it felt like a relief to have more options.
For someone like Luke, who had a constitution where body hair grew late, the thought of possibly never growing a beard or hair at all was quite stressful. After all, once he used his hair as a sacrifice, there wouldn’t be another option left.
So, Luke was naturally reluctant to use enchantments or magic with hair as a sacrifice before he began growing a beard.
But now that he had started growing one, there was little hesitation in experimenting with choices.
As such, the variety of spells he could consider widened immensely, and he was able to take into account many different ideas.
Additionally, the thought of having a backup that could be used should the need arise lead to him often trimming his beard relatively frequently.
Well, he had been carefully growing it until the day before Kail was dispatched, though.
“Hmm.”
However, Kail was looking at Luke with a somewhat suspicious gaze.
To which Luke glanced up and asked.
“Why are you staring at me like that? Is there dirt on my face or something?”
Kail shook his head.
“Just, without a beard, you look very much like a young master.”
“What does that mean? Is it a compliment?”
At Luke’s candid expression, Kail replied with exaggerated intonation.
“No, it means the one looking is extremely annoying, young master. How do you not age?”
Though they were both nearing their forties, one had already reached the uncle stage while the other, when he shaved his beard, was still called ‘oppa’ by some.
Isn’t the world terribly unfair?
“Well, I’ve been managing myself since I was little. After all, I’m a mage.”
That was only natural.
There was bound to be a difference between Luke, who had lived a life strictly based on self-management as a mage, and Kail, who had focused his training on physical body and strength as a warrior.
It wasn’t that they wouldn’t age, but rather that Kail’s aging was just a bit delayed.
Luke murmured while looking up at Kail.
“While I can say that, you have a tendency to treat your body roughly.”
“Well, I’m a swordmaster after all.”
“Looks like you’ve gained more scars again.”
“Ah, it was just a scratch from a beast.”
Kail scratched the back of his head and chuckled awkwardly.
As one of the continent’s top grand swordmasters, the fact that he got injured, especially on his face, by a beast felt quite embarrassing.
“Treating your body so carelessly, what on earth…”
Luke exhaled deeply.
Though the scars on his arms could be concealed by clothing, seeing the scar on his face would surely make Renie quite worried.
She was just that kind of woman.
Luke extended his hand towards Kail.
“Come here, I’ll heal your wounds without scarring.”
Although he was a mage, Luke was actually a high-level great mage with a considerable knowledge and authority, so the application of physical transformations to recover such wounds was not a difficult task.
“Uh, well, I appreciate it.”
Kail, who also didn’t want to hear Renie’s scolding, willingly accepted Luke’s touch.
Ordinary healers couldn’t treat the wounds of someone called the grand swordmaster, and the priest specialized in healing from the holy kingdom would end up sharing any information about Kail’s scars with Renie, the holy maiden, leading to considerable scolding from her.
Kail looked up at the sky as he received Luke’s healing, murmuring.
“The weather is nice.”
The sky was clear without a cloud in sight.
The high, clear sky had a power that made people look up vaguely, especially for those who carried a sense of heaviness in their hearts.
At that moment,
“Kail, are you worried about something?”
“Hmm?”
Kail was quite startled by what Luke had said.
How did this empathically deficient mage know that he had worries?
Did it show that much?
“How did you know?”
Kail asked, harboring a sense of embarrassment.
Luke simply replied, as if it were nothing.
“Well, it’s just that the frequency of your sighs I heard was about 2.4 times higher than average, and occasionally, the frequency at which your pupils froze while you gazed into the distance was also more frequent than usual. Moreover, it can’t be overlooked that you happened to look up at the sky talking about the weather.”
“……”
As expected of a mage, he had quite an analytical mind.
Well, at least it seemed that Luke had successfully become capable of analyzing human emotions.
Regardless, for now, it was best to keep things positive.
“It’s just that I feel exhausted thinking there are no holidays. I’m simply tired, tired.”
“Hmm, right. You did say you need to be dispatched to Rolande in a few days.”
There was hardly any time to rest.
“I’m absolutely swamped with work; it feels even busier than before becoming a swordmaster.”
Luke responded quite bluntly to Kail’s grumbling.
“Isn’t that unavoidable? If people like us don’t step in, this continent will face its end that day.”
“That’s true.”
Noblesse Oblige—that was the era where it was being forced upon them.
It couldn’t be helped; otherwise, everyone would meet their demise together.
The situation was that dire.
“Spending that brief holiday with a bunch of men like this, it feels like I’m going to die. Shouldn’t I be spending it with a beloved person instead?”
At Kail’s lament, Luke showed considerable interest.
“Oh, you have a loved one, do you?”
“I don’t! I was just talking!”
“Really?”
Luke licked his lips as if disappointed.
After all, talking about loved ones is a delightful topic for anyone, regardless of gender or age…
Just as Kail began to ponder about this, some clarity returned to him.
“Wait a minute, why the hell are you licking your lips?”
Luke was a mage.
The kind of being that is often said to be disconnected from emotions, if not completely castrated from them.
And standing at the pinnacle of that existence was Luke Irus.
So, there was absolutely no reason for him to take an interest in something he had said.
Soon, Kail found himself wearing a very intrigued expression, filled with anticipation and curiosity about this beautiful woman who had ignited a spark in the heart of this cold mage.
“What’s up with you? Are you truly interested in love talk?”
“Well, lately I’ve been increasingly curious about what love actually is.”
“Whoa!”
Kail whistled in surprised delight.
He must be thoroughly smitten!
“Kail, do you know what love is?”
Luke asked with an apparent earnestness, and Kail smiled broadly as he nodded.
“Well, broadly speaking?”
“Can you explain it to me?”
Kail grinned widely.
Though he had spent quite a long time living single and didn’t know much about love, it wouldn’t be hard to pull from the experiences and stories he had gathered over that time.
After all, he wasn’t someone who would lack an understanding of feelings compared to a mage.
“Hmm, love is when you constantly think about that person wherever you go, that their image comes to mind no matter what you do, and that you just feel happy being with them! Isn’t that it? But, hey, do you have someone like that?”
“Oh, really?”
Kail’s answer made Luke think for a moment before nodding.
As he observed Kail quietly, he thought, ‘A mage’s love talk should make for a very enjoyable topic of conversation!’ while suppressing the shocking statement that would follow soon after.
“Then it seems I love you, Kail. I’ve only been thinking about you these past few months while researching how to defeat you when you were dispatched.”
“Cough!”
Kail swallowed hard, choking on his spit as he coughed repeatedly.
“What nonsense are you spouting!”
“Isn’t that the case? Throughout my research to overcome you, I haven’t been able to think about anything else, and now that we’re together and chatting, I feel happy. Doesn’t that mean I love you?”
“Stop talking like that! I’ll kill you!”
“Why? This statement fits perfectly with what you said about love, doesn’t it?”
Luke asked, puzzled. Kail exploded with anger.
“Love isn’t like that, you idiot! That’s freaking… um, right! It’s rivalry and friendship! Love is something a little more, you know, romantic, right? It has an atmosphere! You’d want to be intimate with someone like that!!”
“Hmm, that’s difficult.”
Kail’s outburst made Luke frown, struggling to understand.
As expected of a warrior, he had quite the loud voice.
It felt increasingly impossible to continue a conversation about Luke having a romantic interest. As Kail suppressed his rage, he continued.
“No, why the sudden question only to say such nonsense? You’re not going around saying this stuff to others, are you?”
“Of course not. Who would I even share this with?”
Among the mages he knew, none were aware of love.
There were couples in the magic tower, but it was merely for political necessity; for them, there was no love.
So, it wasn’t something that could be asked; at least not of Luke.
“Well, I’m glad to hear that. Haah. It’s just that lately, some pretty ridiculous rumors are going around among a few women.”
“What rumors?”
“About what you just said to me, you idiot.”
Rumors were spreading that Luke and Kail were involved in that way, and if he found out who spread them, the person would face instant beheading.
“Tell me you’re not really a homosexual?”
At Kail’s question, Luke merely shrugged.
“How should I know? I don’t think I’ve ever really loved someone, so how can I be sure?”
“Good. I hope you’re not. I have no interest in homosexuality at all.”
“Then I’ll try my best not to love you in the future.”
“Seriously! Haah, whatever…”
Kail, who was about to lash out, was too exhausted and let out a sigh as he lowered his head.
“By the way, why are you suddenly interested in love? You hardly understand human feelings.”
“Kail, haven’t you heard?”
“Heard what? I know you’re a mage, but please just finish your thought.”
As Kail responded impatiently, Luke tilted his head, puzzled.
“Kail, I heard you’re being dispatched to Rolande. So, I thought you would know.”
“I just got back from the frontlines, so I don’t know anything. What on earth are you talking about?”
Kail’s voice was dripping with exasperation, and Luke shrugged his shoulders in response.
“I’m talking about Sigarmata.”
The Sacred Dragon, known as the Brilliant Dragon, Sigarmata.
She had recently made remarkable contributions to driving the demon race out of the continent.
This was breaking the law that stated dragons do not interfere with the events of the Middle World.
In an era where dimensional invasions were frequent, such laws had become more of a formality, anyway.
Moreover, Rolande was the territory where Sigarmata was assisting directly in battles.
At first, it was simply because it was close to her lair, but gradually, as Rolande received her assistance, their relationship transformed into a sort of contract.
Thus, until now, Rolande hadn’t needed any significant support.
However, now that Kail was being dispatched right there, it meant that there would be a void where Sigarmata’s power would be absent in Rolande.
“This is likely because her fiancé, Atanasis, has awakened.”
“Atanasis? That Dragon Lord?”
“Yeah, he didn’t approve of her helping Rolande. Upon awakening, he ordered her to return to her lair immediately.”
“Huh, as the wife of a lord, breaking the law?”
“Well, didn’t the goddess mention that she wouldn’t contest that part through her oracle? That makes rational reasoning insufficient.”
Kail nodded at Luke’s words.
After all, the dragon was known as the goddess’s agent.
Thus, at the point the goddess uttered her oracle, it was confirmed that collaborating to expel the demon race posed no issue.
So, from a rational standpoint, there was no immediate cause for concern.
“Well then, it seems you’re suggesting it’s for emotional reasons?”
“Right, the politicians seemed to think so. And based on my own thoughts, I believe that as well. Plus, they are technically a married couple, so there seems to be a connection to love in this situation. That’s why I became curious about what love actually is.”
“Hmmm.”
Kail scratched his chin, pondering.
“Well, it certainly seems it wouldn’t be a pleasant sight for a beloved wife to be fighting in a dangerous place.”
“Hmm, could it be that?”
Luke quietly gazed up at the sky, stroking his chin.
After a moment, Kail asked.
“Hey, wait a minute. When will Sigarmata return?”
“I don’t know that either.”
“Damn.”
