Well, well, living all peaceful and whatnot, but honestly, this world is a pretty dangerous place.
Monsters, the Demon Race, gates. Heck, even folks using their powers for crime.
With all these troublemakers crawling out of nowhere, there’s no way this place is safe.
Right now, things are kinda chill since no big incidents are happening, but that’s just temporary.
Once the Demon Race starts making moves, we won’t be able to keep living like this.
But hey, no worries. Even if something big goes down, there’s someone who’ll go all out to stop it.
The Royal Guard, the cream of the crop among all the knight orders.
As long as they’re around, no matter what danger comes, we can at least avoid the worst-case scenario.
“Give us back our Hwangnyeo (Princess)!”
…Right now, they’re swinging wooden swords at me, though.
In the story, they were supposed to be cool, but seeing them like this, they look more like immature clowns than anyone else.
That said, their skills are no joke. Just the fact they’re wrapping mana around wooden swords shows they’re on another level.
*Whoosh!*
I twisted my body to dodge the wooden sword coming at me… and barely managed to avoid it.
The sword that almost grazed my shoulder passed right through me.
“…Huh, that’s a neat trick.”
Crazy guy. He just bent the trajectory of his swing mid-air. He’s not holding back at all.
If I hadn’t noticed and dodged in that split second, I’d have been in serious trouble.
Even though it’s a wooden sword and doesn’t have cutting power, the impact from the mana would’ve been brutal.
It could easily smash rocks, so my shoulder bone would’ve turned to dust on contact.
I got too careless. Even so, trying to rely on my weak stats in front of a powerhouse like this?
But hey, I dodged it, so it’s fine. The other guy looked pretty shocked too, like he didn’t expect me to avoid it.
“Guess I can step it up a bit.”
But maybe because dodging that one attack made me look too good… suddenly, the mana around his wooden sword turned golden.
I knew right away. That’s not just mana he’s using now.
‘Is he really using that right now?’
The reason the Royal Guard is so strong isn’t just because each member is skilled, but also because of their unique sword energy.
The sword energy created by the current captain isn’t something you can learn easily, but it’s ridiculously powerful.
In the game, you learn it as a passive skill, but—
The effect is a whopping 120% increase in damage when using a sword.
That means the damage gets more than doubled.
And ever since learning that skill, there’s this effect that appears when holding a sword… which is the golden aura you’re seeing right now.
I couldn’t understand why he was using such a broken skill now.
Is this because of Seria? But his expression was way too serious for that.
It was as if he thought this was the right thing to use against me.
But… I just barely dodged one attack, you know?
“Be careful. Even a graze could be dangerous.”
You could just… not use it, you know?
I wanted to retort like that, but his wooden sword moved too fast.
“Ugh, I don’t get it.”
For now, I’ll just focus on dodging everything.
Whoosh! Swish! Whoosh!
Even as the Knight Captain, what I was seeing was beyond comprehension.
The guy I thought would’ve been knocked out long ago was holding his ground for quite a while now.
Even if he’s from the advanced class and part of the Student Council, he’s still just a first-year. For him to dodge all the attacks of a Royal Palace knight? It was absurd.
And the one swinging the sword right now is someone widely recognized for his skill. He’s even about to be appointed as the deputy commander of the royal guard.
Though he’s skilled at controlling his strength, which is why he was sent out in this situation…
‘This is truly unexpected.’
I never imagined his swordplay would last this long.
When Rudion was first brought here, everyone in this room was certain.
That this arrogant brat… who dared to try and take away our precious Princess, would be utterly crushed.
Even after the Princess herself stepped in and lit the fire, that certainty didn’t waver.
But… what about the current situation?
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
His wooden sword couldn’t touch Rudion and just sliced through the air.
No, to be precise, it wasn’t just slicing through the air. The sword that should’ve hit was passing right through his body.
I was startled when he suddenly started using sword energy, but seeing this now, I had no choice but to accept it.
‘He gauged his level in a single strike.’
The fact that he’s good at controlling his strength also means he’s skilled at assessing his opponent’s level.
In reality, the reason he enveloped his sword in energy was probably because he acknowledged Rudion as a worthy opponent for using such a technique.
It’s not an exaggeration to call it bizarre.
A skill, dodging attacks with an overwhelming sense of ease.
And the Princess, who trusted him to an almost bizarre degree.
Taking all of that into account, he must have decided to wrap himself in sword energy.
A bit late, but realizing that, the Princess’s words before the start came back to mind.
She said there was no need to hold back, to go all out.
Remembering that, he slightly turned his head to look at the Princess.
She smiled leisurely and said,
“Hehe, I told you I wouldn’t hold back, right?”
Her words, as if she had anticipated this outcome, made him feel like he’d been hit on the back of the head.
It wasn’t that he was blinded by love. From the start, there was no such thing.
Everything was a conclusion reached after thorough calculation, as usual.
‘It seems I was the one being irrational.’
He felt deeply ashamed for not trusting the Princess’s words and making his own judgment.
Continuing to watch their spar, there was no sign of it ending.
‘It’s about time to wrap this up.’
The man named Rudion kept dodging attacks, but that alone was enough to gauge his skill, so there was no need to watch further.
With that judgment, he was about to stop the spar… but the Princess stopped him.
“I’ll end it myself, so just watch.”
She said with a playful expression.
…End it herself? Who? How?
The answer to that question came in an instant.
///
Consciously avoiding parrying and focusing only on evasion, for some reason, there was no sign of ending.
Perhaps because he had gotten used to the speed, he had some leeway to look around, but even the knight captain didn’t seem to intend to stop it.
No. To be precise, he seemed to have tried to stop it. The knight captain definitely tried to approach.
If Seria hadn’t stopped him, this situation would have ended long ago.
So, he had no choice but to use parrying.
He didn’t want to use it because it might inflate the evaluation beyond repair… but Seria ruined it, so he had no choice.
He placed the hilt of his dagger against the wooden sword aiming for his side.
Clang!
A light, crisp sound echoed, unlike what you’d expect from a wooden sword clash.
The opponent was sent flying, landing a few steps away.
She landed in place and started looking at me with a very flustered expression.
Not only that, but everyone watching from this spot had a similar expression.
Seria, who could be said to have created this situation, was the only one smiling brightly.
“Is it over now? Rudion, let’s go back.”
Seria, unfazed by the atmosphere, tried to pull me back.
Of course, no one could stop the princess from leaving, so we were able to leave without any hindrance.
“Please return safely!”
Perhaps because of what had just been shown, I could feel the way people looked at me had changed.
I didn’t particularly wish for this situation, but now that I’m experiencing it, it doesn’t feel bad.
Of course, the problem is that dealing with the aftermath is entirely my responsibility… I decided to leave that to my future self.
“But where are we going now?”
“Mother is waiting for us in the library.”
As I followed Seria and casually asked, she answered nonchalantly.
“…Your mother?”
“Yes. Actually, she’s been waiting for a while. We were a bit late because of my father. She’s very sensitive about time, so we need to hurry.”
Seria’s mother… I haven’t seen her since I possessed this body, but she was someone I couldn’t not know.
In a way, she was even more famous than the Emperor.
The Empress. Seria’s mother.
Though she’s called that now, she actually had a more famous title.
The Archmage. A genius who could easily wield world-shaking magic and break the will of her opponents just by appearing.
Ah, now that Seria is here, maybe she’s not the only one.
Anyway. Though she lives quietly now, her magical abilities are truly the real deal.
Where do you think Seria’s magical talent comes from? It’s all from her mother.
As my thoughts reached that point, I suddenly remembered a line from a letter I had forgotten.
-You’re Rudion, right? Since our daughter likes you, I’ll let it slide for now, but if you hurt her even a little, I won’t let you live. Be good.
…I haven’t done anything wrong, have I?
“Seria. You’re not upset with me or anything, are you?”
“What’s this all of a sudden?”
“No, just wondering.”
“Hmm… Not really.”
I suddenly felt uneasy and asked, but thankfully, that was the answer I got.
That’s a relief.
I almost got killed in the place I fled to escape execution.
