[Let’s finish this! Partner! Here we go! Wooooo!!!]
The Black Prince lets out an embarrassing battle cry.
At that moment, my mind is forcefully imprinted with violent talents and experiences.
“Oof!”
With a headache so intense it feels like my head might break, the nosebleed I had evolves into a double nosebleed.
Thump, thump.
My heart races as if it would burst, and the Magic Core and Black Stone heat up like a glowing iron.
My body burns with pain, but instinctively, it moves on its own.
[Watch closely. Partner.]
The Black Prince’s voice resonates in my head.
[This is the fourth technique of the Black Sword Art, Gyeoksantau──!!]
As the Black Prince cries out, the tip of Durandal, covered in darkness, shoots towards William’s abdomen at a terrifying speed.
“What the?!”
In the moment William’s eyes waver.
[Black Sword Art]
[Technique]
[Gyeoksantau]
Thud.
At the last moment, the blade, losing power, barely grazes William’s abdomen.
“I thought you might be a little surprised, but is this all? Commoner. Once again, it’s proven that my absolute defense is invincible. You can never defeat me. Khe-khe-khe-khe!”
William laughs, feeling no impact at all.
[Goodness, who isn’t a drug user? That’s foolishness. Gyeoksantau is a technique that strikes directly at the inside, not the outside. Naturally, there can’t be any damage on the surface.]
The Black Prince begins to explain in a pleased tone.
[What I want to say, partner, is that the time he can talk in such a fine state is only until now.]
“Now Olivia is mine······. Gack! Gag!”
The moment the Black Prince finishes speaking, William coughs up blood.
“Who says what’s whose? Can’t hear you?”
“Gack! Y-you······. W-what······. Kyaaaaaaaaaaa!!!”
Seeing that guy rolling on the ground like a worm and shaking while spitting blood makes me feel so much better.
You shouldn’t have tried to act all big.
And Olivia is my super high-spec girlfriend. You punk.
After this and that and all that stuff…
Hoo.
I take a deep breath.
I deactivate the synchronization.
I sheathe Durandal.
The chapel falls quiet, as if cold water has been thrown on it.
“Gggh, gagaaaaaaaa!!”
William’s scream of blood-coughing echoes through the Notre-Dame Cathedral.
Was it that shocking to see me defeat William?
Murmurs.
I hear the crowd muttering something in French.
I feel eyes on me from somewhere.
The French Emperor and his wife are looking at me.
The French Emperor opens his mouth.
[Are you calling me?]
The Black Prince runs an internal translator.
“I don’t speak French, you know.”
I confidently respond in English.
The French Emperor shows a flustered expression.
He clears his throat, and a gentleman who looks like an interpreter steps up beside him.
“Regarding Raul’s sword techniques and his techniques······. Who on earth are you?”
The Emperor’s question comes back through translation.
[Say you’re the rightful heir of Durandal, chosen by the spirit. Your uncle will surely accept that. If possible, it would be good to show the White Flame Sword Art too.]
I hear the Black Prince’s advice in my head.
It echoes.
The legitimate heir to Durandal, huh?
Thinking about saying such cheesy lines makes me sigh, but I have to be recognized by the French royal family, so there’s no choice.
I draw Durandal and activate the White Flame Sword Technique.
Woong.
The blade of Durandal trembles as it absorbs mana.
Fwirrr.
Black flames engulf the blade.
“What? The White Flame Sword Technique…! And now the White Flame Sword Technique after the Black Glory Sword Technique…! How could an outsider like you know the royal family’s techniques…!”
The Emperor speaks in a shocked voice.
[Now’s the time, partner! Tell your uncle that you’re the true heir of the Black Prince!]
The Black Prince urges me in my head.
He’s right.
This is the chance.
“Because I am the legitimate owner of Durandal and the true successor of the Black Prince.”
The moment my words finish.
The Emperor’s eyes flicker.
The murmurs of the surrounding people grow louder.
“So please acknowledge it. This match is over with my victory. Acknowledge that and declare the engagement with Olivia null and void. I can’t let someone like that have Olivia.”
I point Durandal at William.
Olivia cannot be given away.
“That’s…”
The Emperor’s eyes waver.
“The true heir of the Black Prince? That Oriental guy?”
“But that was definitely the Black Glory Sword Technique just now.”
“That sword is indeed the real Durandal!”
“With the black mana glow and combat mode—it’s hard to believe, but it really feels like the reincarnation of His Highness the Black Prince…”
The Black Prince translates the mutterings of the startled extras.
With the same mana glow, same skills, same weapon, and even the use of the White Flame Sword Technique, it’s no wonder they react like this.
This was the expected outcome.
The crowd’s agitation naturally shifts toward the Emperor and Empress.
“Hmm.”
Just then, as the Emperor lets out a hum,
Olivia steps forward.
She gazes directly at the Emperor and speaks.
“What he said is true. Father, this man, Kim Deok-Sung, is the true heir of the Black Prince. And as I mentioned earlier…”
Clap.
Olivia places her hand over her chest.
“I will always be his personal maid! The only person worthy of having the noble bloodline of Bonaparte, the French princess, as his personal maid is, without a doubt, the legitimate heir of Durandal and the one who carries the name of the Black Prince!”
Olivia looks at the Emperor as she speaks.
“Do you understand, Father? And even if you refuse to acknowledge it, it doesn’t matter. Because I’ve already crossed the line with him!! I’ve done all sorts of things with that fool!!!!”
Olivia shouts, her face flushed.
Wait, crossing the line? What nonsense is this?
This is absurd.
I’m flabbergasted.
Even as Olivia spat that absurd line in rapid French, I can’t help but admire the professionalism of the interpreter who instantly translates without any hesitation.
[N-No, it’s…]
Even the Black Prince is at a loss for words, while Olivia’s parents look completely shocked.
“S-so now there’s no turning back! Do you understand!? My body and heart are already all his!”
Olivia finishes with a crimson face.
“Oh my…”
“The princess has already gone that far…”
“If she’s not just a commoner but the heir of the Black Prince, then still…”
“Your Highness…”
The crowd murmurs in a state of shock.
“Junior… Is what the princess said really true? Did you really do all that with him? I’m the number one slave to Junior, but… could it be that you don’t want someone as hideous as me? How cruel. So Junior truly is the Black Beast…”
It seems that Kasumi-senpai has finally grasped what Olivia said, as she comes up to me, puffing her cheeks.
“Master… Is it true? That Bonaparte lady did such things…?”
Makoto follows up, sporting a shocked expression.
Makoto.
“Kugh… I thought I was confident in my body, if not in girl power… Tell me, Kim Deok-Sung. What exactly is lacking about me? I’ve resolved to offer you my chest, thighs, and virginity. So why is it Bonaparte and not me…?”
“Eri… I’m shocked. I wanted to be your first, Master… This is too much…”
Rin, with her hand on her chest, bites her lip, while Eri’s eyes waver.
“This is inappropriate, Mr. Kim Deok-Sung! Miss Bonaparte! How can you even discuss such scoundrelly and unwholesome romantic relations…? As the Student Council President, I cannot allow this disturbance to Shuo Academy’s moral conduct!”
For some reason, even Aris, who is fiddling with her Student Council armband and biting her lip, joins in.
Their gazes turn to me.
No, I don’t even know what’s going on.
I’m genuinely wronged.
But denying it now will only backfire.
Keeping quiet makes it look like I’m admitting it, too.
What am I even supposed to do?
There’s no answer.
[Your partner is quite the sinful man.]
Even Raul, the Black Prince, is mumbling some nonsense.
It’s a total mess.
Tension fills the air, like the calm before a storm in the chapel.
“Alright.”
The French Emperor breaks the silence.
“Though I may not like it, since he’s proven himself with skill, I don’t need to say more. Olivia, handle this engagement as you wish. But that doesn’t mean I acknowledge you, black-haired one. I’m merely respecting my daughter’s wishes.”
The Emperor looks at me.
His typical line reminiscent of an otaku dad isn’t too displeasing.
“Hmph. Even if you didn’t say that, I planned to do it my way!”
“But really… um, that thing you said earlier… was it true?”
The Emperor stutters in his questioning.
What he’s referring to is undoubtedly the nonsense about crossing the line.
Olivia’s face turns crimson.
“I-I-I d-don’t know!!”
Olivia yells with her eyes tightly shut.
The crowd starts to stir again, and the women begin glaring at me.
“Gzhhhhh…”
Seeing Makoto speak out loud, I can’t hold back anymore.
If the protagonist were in this situation, he’d likely just awkwardly laugh and stir up even worse misunderstandings, but I can’t do that.
I lack the twisted desire to enjoy misunderstandings like a light novel protagonist.
I need to say what I have to say.
“I appreciate Olivia for helping, but there’s nothing to worry about that the Emperor is concerned about. As Korea’s only hero candidate, I swear on the honor of my motherland and the name of the Black Prince.”
I speak in English, looking at the Emperor.
Using names and honor in such a corny way is something I usually want to avoid, but for the sake of proving my innocence, it can’t be helped.
“…The honor of your motherland and the name of the Black Prince. I can’t believe it, but I don’t think you would lie on behalf of those two as the only hero candidate with Korean nationality claiming to be the Black Prince’s successor. Very well. I’ll trust you.”
The Emperor says.
Just by throwing around names, he believes me. Truly, this is a kind light novel world.
[Partner. You managed to escape well. It’s a bit much to use my name, but I’ll let it slide this once since it’s an emergency.]
The Black Prince mutters in my head.
It seems my words have been received, as the crowd begins to stir.
The women who were glaring at me now show hints of remorse.
“Junior! So that was it, sorry for the misunderstanding… But, well, you do prefer the Black Beast and the princess, so I assumed that’s how it would go. Bad boy, Junior.”
Kasumi-senpai is the first to speak up again.
It doesn’t sound much like an apology.
“Hmm. Then does that mean there’s still a chance for me to be the first for Master? Eri, you’ll need to step up.”
“Washboard. How can you satisfy him with such a meager chest? Kim Deok-Sung, your virginity is mine. I will definitely claim your virginity, even if I have to use… use Yobai… Do you understand?”
“Washboard. How do you expect to satisfy him with such a pathetic chest? Kim Deok-Sung. Your virginity is mine. I will definitely claim your virginity. If necessary, even by doing… yo-bai… Got it?”
“Cow. Yo-bai? Did you just say that? What a perverted level of talk.”
“I can’t hear the words of a loser washboard with a pathetic chest.”
“Cow!”
“Washboard!”
Lynn and Eri start fighting again over chest size.
A global live-streamed battle of chest sizes right after the declaration of the official maid.
There’s no one left to sell this to.
“…Thank goodness. My lord. I still have a chance, right…?”
From the bickering Lynn and Eri, Makoto’s timid voice can be heard.
“…If you say that much, I’ll believe you. But there’s no next time. Remember that!”
And Aris’s words.
Listening to these lines that have now become an annual event, I sigh internally.
“Fool, pervert, idiot, Kim Deok-Sung.”
Olivia mutters in a low voice in Japanese.
She puffs up her cheeks and looks this way, but turns her head when our eyes meet.
“Hmph!”
Olivia snorts.
It’s somewhat refreshing to see the usual Tsundere Olivia.
[Partner, is it really the end now?]
The Black Prince’s cliché lines echo in my head.
I don’t get why he keeps saying such lines, even if it seems resolved.
‘No.’
I reject the Black Prince’s words.
Sadly, it’s still a bit early to pop the champagne.
Gares, the true mastermind and source of this chaos.
The moment we capture him is the moment this farce ends.
I cannot let that bastard slip away like in the original story.
“Grrrk, I can’t, I can’t do this…”
Wriggle.
William squirms like a bug, spewing blood foam as he speaks.
Yeah.
It seems the signs of Phase 2 starting are beginning to show.
“Gares!!! This isn’t what you said!!! You said Kim Deok-Sung was nothing!!!! Gares!!! Take responsibility for your words!!!!”
William literally screams while spitting blood, calling out to Gares.
“Gares?”
“Talking about Prince William’s personal attendant?”
“It was mentioned in that recording too, right?”
“What kind of relationship do those two have?”
“Where is that guy?”
“Um, over there!”
It seems William’s heated voice caught the attention of the crowd, leading to a quick exchange of glances, all gazing towards Gares.
Of course, my gaze naturally followed theirs.
There was…
“Haah.”
A neatly dressed man with slicked-back hair, likely trying to exit the chapel quietly, now caught everyone’s attention, making a grimace while letting out a sigh.
No doubt about it.
The impression matches exactly with the face seen in the animation.
That guy is Gares.
A member of the 13 Apostles, an S-rank villain, and the true mastermind behind volume 6.
And the reason I traveled all the way to France, as well as why I brought the cooking club and the student council president to the chapel, making him the source of this damn engagement ceremony.
Gotcha.
Where do you think you’re running off to?
I won!
“Damn it…”
Gares brushes his khaki slicked-back hair aside with his left hand.
“What a fool… You’re such an utterly useless guy…”
His mouth spits out insults.
Gares, regurgitating the clichés of light novel villains.
In the anime, he was a villain wearing a carefree smile at all times, but now he’s sweating in a corner, looking pitiful.
“A useless guy?! Gares!! How can you say that to me?! Hey! What are you doing! Hurry and capture that ungrateful bastard!!!”
William weeps while spitting blood.
Hearing his words only makes Gares’s face twist even more.
“Not only did you ruin everything, but you also have the audacity to interfere with me… This is… No, there’s one use left.”
Gares presses his forehead and, bowing slightly, chuckles.
