The duel was just a duel.
There was no need for unnecessary bloodshed.
So, Bell and Aros picked up their wooden swords.
Inside the castle’s training ground, the two stepped onto the sparring stage.
“Nice to meet you.”
Aros, a twenty-five-year-old man, said.
Bell nodded slowly.
“Then, let’s begin.”
Clap!
Melbron, the captain of the castle’s knight squad and a Sword Expert, clapped his hands loudly.
Bell stood still, her right hand holding the wooden sword hanging loosely.
It was an unspoken signal for Aros to come at her first.
Boom!
Aros kicked off the ground, closing the distance to Bell in the blink of an eye.
He immediately launched the family’s sword technique.
A clean diagonal cut slicing through the still air.
It was hard to believe it was a [wooden sword] as it left a chilling trail behind.
Clang!
But just like that, Bell’s extended wooden sword easily deflected it.
Before the diagonal cut was even completed.
Creak creak…
Aros widened his eyes. The wooden sword he tried to flick away didn’t budge.
Strength.
He had heard she was younger than him. He was shocked to find himself overpowered in strength.
‘…What?’
It felt as if a nail was pressing down on him.
This wasn’t just strength; it was the perfect stance Bell held, emanating power.
Aros stared deeply into Bell’s calm pink eyes.
‘What kind of monster is this?’
Clang!
Bell lightly deflected Aros’s wooden sword and stepped back a foot.
She casually rotated her wrist that held the wooden sword.
At twenty-five, she was an Intermediate Expert.
Certainly impressive talent and skill from a general perspective.
But for Bell, it evoked no emotion.
The [White Night Clan].
She grew up among those born with a natural talent for the sword.
Aros gritted his teeth and unleashed a flurry of sword strikes from his family’s martial arts.
The trajectories of the wooden swords wove patterns in the air.
Upper strike.
Boom!
Lower strike.
Slice!
And mid strike.
Clang!
Twisting his upper body to maximize speed with a consecutive three-hit slash.
Those three slashes were brushed aside effortlessly.
‘She didn’t budge at all.’
Only when Aros finished his combo did he realize Bell had not moved a single step.
‘Her upper body is the same.’
Bell had perfectly deflected his attacks with nothing more than the control of her right wrist.
“Change it up.”
With that, Bell kicked off the ground.
Swoosh!
A horizontal slash shot toward Aros’s left shoulder. An attack with a flash of speed.
Aros swiftly drew his right arm with the wooden sword towards himself to block the horizontal strike.
Just as he pulled his arm back.
Swish!
Suddenly, her sword path twisted like a wave.
With a vertical ascending slash.
Whoosh!
The wind from her swing tossed Aros’s blonde hair up.
He was left stunned.
Song became speechless.
He couldn’t even react.
If Bell hadn’t adjusted the gap of the wooden sword, it would have hit his face directly.
“This much can be done just by properly using your upper body and legs.”
Properly.
Aros couldn’t even begin to guess what that “properly” Bell was talking about meant.
After that, Bell easily blocked Aros’ advancing techniques and gradually corrected them.
Like a master.
After Aros failed his decisive thrust…
Bell’s foot moved lightly.
Swish!
And a thrust was shot toward Aros.
In Aros’s eyes, that thrust looked as if a yellow snake was rushing in to bite his neck.
Whoosh.
Bell’s wooden sword stopped just shy of Aros’s neck.
“This is the same. With just a bit of footwork added in, it could be an unexpected strike.”
Gulp.
Aros swallowed hard.
His hands were drenched in sweat.
Thud—
The wooden sword Aros was holding fell heavily to the ground.
Silence flowed.
Aros realized how clear the gap between him and Bell was.
And he thought that it was mixed with a natural talent that he could hardly grasp no matter how much he tried.
Bell’s mouth slowly opened.
“Don’t give up.”
Bell’s pink eyes met Aros’s brown ones, which were stained with despair.
“The movements and judgments I’ve shown, those are parts you can definitely catch up to.”
“…Is that so?”
Aros felt a rise of growth desire along with his sense of powerlessness.
“If this is the extent of the Duke’s swordsmanship, then how strong must the Duke be?”
Bell shrugged her shoulders.
“…I can finish in one blow.”
At Bell’s murmured words, Aros couldn’t help but be astonished.
Even a swordmaster with such innate talent could end in one blow—this made his awe for Duke Yuma soar to the heavens.
Bell slowly descended from the sparring stage.
Baron Amon worried for his son.
He wondered if his son was discouraged by such a huge wall. But he didn’t seem too shocked.
“I think if I do my best, that’s enough.”
At a similar age.
If he had lost by a very slight margin, he might have felt deep despair. But since he lost by such an overwhelming difference, he felt more at ease.
They’re made of different paper.
The inherent abilities are different.
Realizing this, he arrived at the conclusion that if he utilizes what he had and does his best, that would suffice.
Amon was pleased with his son’s attitude.
“Thank you. It seems to have been a good experience for my son.”
Amon bowed his head once more to Yuma.
“Right, I’d like to depart soon. Do you know anything about the northern sea?”
Baron Amon began to share what he thought was useful information with Yuma.
“There may be pirates. There are some pirates operating in the North Sea. Recently, we’ve received information that they have started to become active again. They seem to be targeting the trade ships of the kingdom of Rethen, which is situated further north than the Astes Empire, but occasionally imperial ships are also affected.”
“There may be enemies. There are a few pirates that have been raiding the North Sea. We’ve received information that they’ve begun to resume their activities lately. It seems they’re targeting the trade ships of the kingdom of Resen, which is further north than the Astes Empire, but occasionally, imperial ships also suffer damages.”
“Pirates? What’s their armament like?”
“I’ve heard the basic armament is similar to that of regular pirates, with daggers and spears, and they use magic arrows that can store magical power. Occasionally, there are some using the magic cannons made with magic engineering.”
Amon added that they also had a magic cannon installed on their own ship.
And since the pirates’ goal is not destruction, but plunder, their basic strategy is to use hooks to get closely attached to the target ship and then kill with swords and spears.
“Of course, if those crazy pirates knew Your Excellency’s identity, they wouldn’t dare attack. And it seems they haven’t been seen much lately, so the chances of running into them should be low.”
With that, Amon finished his words.
Time passed more than it should have, and eventually, after having lunch at Amon’s residence, the group left the Amon estate.
“It was an honor to meet you, Your Excellency.”
Leading the way, Aros and his two younger sisters bowed their heads to Yuma.
“See you next time.”
Aros waved lightly along with Belle, who had clashed swords with him.
“I’m gonna come back for more food!!”
Hestia’s shout echoed.
After bidding farewell to the members of Amon’s family, Yuma’s group walked towards the port at the edge of the land.
The port.
The blue sea met the horizon.
Saaaaa…
“Wow… it’s the sea.”
The blue sea reflected in Belle’s pink eyes. Belle was the only one here that was seeing the sea for the very first time.
It was the same for Yuma since it was also his first time seeing the sea in this world.
Belle took in the blue sky merged with the dark blue sea.
Hestia looked at Belle.
“Belle, then this means it’s your first time on a ship too. You might have a tough time!”
Hestia looked at Belle, her green eyes sparkling.
The group boarded a medium-sized ship.
Naturally, aside from the captain and crew, no one else was on the ship. It was a massive vessel and manpower gathered solely for the schedule of the duke.
“It’s an honor to serve you! Your Excellency!”
As the captain, with white and brown hair, bowed his head, 25 crew members followed suit, bending at the waist in succession.
From Yuma’s perspective, the level of bowing was excessive, but for them, it was entirely appropriate.
They were hosting a person who had become the second most powerful figure after the emperor overnight.
The captain, who had spent decades at sea, managed to calm his trembling heart.
Yuma received the salutation of the captain and crew with an expressionless face.
A moment later, the sails hanging from the masts unfurled.
“Ooooh! We’re setting off!”
Hestia’s lively voice rang out.
The ship left the port and began to sail into the sea.
‘There seem to be two magic cannons.’
“There are two that look like magic cannons.”
The chance of pirates appearing is exceedingly rare, but even if they do, it seems manageable with just one shot from a magic cannon.
“Unless that giant pirate crew ruling the coast is dragging along a ship or two, we should be fine.”
Duke Yuma maintained an elegant stride on the ship while checking the battle readiness.
He approached Bell.
No matter if she’s a sword master and the owner of a legendary sword, there’s no guarantee she wouldn’t get seasick on her very first boat ride.
Contrary to his worries, Bell was standing on deck with her blue hair flowing, gazing down at the sea.
“Are you okay?”
Bell nodded vigorously.
“Yeah, My Lord. I felt a bit dizzy at first…but after a few minutes, I’m fine!”
“Thank goodness.”
Bell spent a long while admiring the sea from the deck.
The sun began to set.
Cloney and Hestia were lying on the mat in their cabin, chatting quietly.
Hestia’s green eyes were fixed on Cloney’s golden ones.
Hestia perked-up her crimson ears.
“Cloney, have you ever seen a merfolk? I haven’t.”
“Nope. I haven’t seen one either. I’ve heard that they have blue skin, though.”
“Ooh, that’s interesting.”
Darkness fell.
And a night passed.
“Ugh… It feels like I drank a ton of alcohol.”
Hestia staggered out of the cabin. It seemed that the sleep on the ship wasn’t very refreshing.
‘Feeling a bit queasy.’
Duke Yuma felt the same way.
But he didn’t show it.
Hestia pulled out a somewhat familiar notebook.
“The God of War… remains unshaken even at sea.”
…Now that she mentioned it, he recalled seeing something like that scribbled down before.
Yuma ignored Hestia and approached one of the crew members.
As he approached, a young sailor in a neat yellow uniform widened his eyes.
“Have you calculated how long it will take to reach the Mullen Tribe?”
“Yes! If there are no variables, we should reach Atlantis in about nine days!”
“Got it.”
Variables.
The moment the variables struck was on the third day of the voyage, as the sun began to set that day.
Fwoosh—
One of the sailors, who had been keeping an eye on the horizon with a magical telescope, raised his hand.
“A ship is visible ahead. Judging by the flag, it appears to belong to the Resen Kingdom.”
There was no sense of tension in the sailor’s voice.
That’s because the Resen Kingdom was an ally of the Astes Empire.
“Uh…!”
The sailor swallowed hard.
“It looks like they are in confrontation with another ship. Suddenly, the Resen ship changed course rapidly.”
Zing—
The sailor hurriedly adjusted the distance on the telescope.
And what came into view were massive ships bearing black flags.
Not one, but a total of three.
“It’s… the Dusk!”
Dusk.
The most notorious pirate crew has made their appearance.
