Chapter 40 - Duel Conclusion
Author remarks: Due to everyone’s efforts, this got first place in daily rankings; thank you very much! I will continue to try hard so please continue to support me!
「We will now start the duel between Yurina Kaspar and Eric Aurin. Please begin」
Although Jere-san told us to start, neither I nor Kasper-san moved.
Both of us were observing the other with our hands gripping the sword.
She gripped her sword from the middle of the handle and turned her blade towards me. The form looked very suitable and pretty. She must have learned it from someone.
I held my handle from the bottom, with the point of my sword not aiming towards her, but the ground below.
「What’s wrong, are you not coming at me?」
「My mother told me to treat girls gently you see, so whenever you’re ready」
After telling her that, her face turned into a frown.
「Mm, that’s pretty admirable. But know that I’ll make you regret that kind of spirit」
As soon as she said that, she closed the distance in an instant.
Fast!
I block her sword while falling back.
While her speed was fast, the speed at which she swung her sword was at a level you wouldn’t expect from a girl.
As expected from someone who trained with the sword for the same number of years as me.
「Hou, you can receive my strike. I even added in a faint」
「Is that so? My bad, my hand reacted on its own」
「What did you say!」
While our swords were locked together in our current state, she rotated her body and swung her sword at me once again.
Perhaps it was because of the additional centripetal force but her strike was heavy.
Her previous strike had both speed and power. The fact that her current attack was heavier meant that instead of speed, she focused on power during training.
But I had no reason to take that powerful strike head-on.
I deflected her sword in a way to not get hit and responded with a counter.
「Ku..!」
The attack she had performed just now had a big opening.
Even if for a moment, she had her back towards me causing her to lose sight of me.
Upon receiving my wooden sword on her arm, she fell back and put some distance between us.
I didn’t put too much power into that strike but it was enough that her arm should still feel pain.
She held her right arm as she frowned a little.
「Are you all right?」
「You must be quite relaxed to worry about your opponent in a duel. Don’t think that was enough for you to win!」
Having said that, she approached me once again.
Swinging down from the top, coming from the side, and slashing from below.
All her attacks were fast and heavy.
I could understand why even male knights who trained with swords couldn’t win against her.
Yurina-san had been training since she was a child, which was why she was so strong.
On top of that, she had great sense.
Although I had said that we trained for the same amount of years, if we truly had trained for the same amount of time, I might not not be able to win.
But I had not just the experience from this life, but also the years from my previous life as well.
「Damn it! Hit! Hit already!」
Because she was annoyed that her attacks weren’t reaching me, her swings became wider and wider.
Even with that much power, it was probably a first for her to not be able to land a hit.
She was putting in the power, but it wasn’t reaching me.
On the contrary, her attacks became easier to read and parry.
After sidestepping a swing from above, I closed in on her side and swung my sword at her stomach.
「Ugh..!」
Having received the impact of my attack, she crouched down holding her stomach.
I immediately looked back and observed her condition.
She was glaring at me while crouched down, eyes still full of fight. But getting up, it seemed that she had no energy left.
Using her sword as support, she got back up, once again pointing her sword towards me.
Her shoulders heaved from her breathing. Even now it looked like she was just about to collapse.
「I… haven’t lost yet!」
She exclaimed in a strong voice.
「No, it’s your loss Yurina-san」
「Ku..! Commander…!」
Before I knew it, Jere-san was standing behind Kasper-san.
Placing his hand on her shoulder, he declared the conclusion of the match.
「The winner of this duel is Eric Aurin」
「…I lost」
It seemed that even Kasper-san couldn’t say anything once Jere-san had spoken.
She replied looking exhausted.
「Good work both of you, Eric-kun, Yurina-san」
「Thank you」
While I relied to Jere-san’s words, she didn’t respond.
It might have come to a shock for her. Having never lost to a man of the same age as her before.
On top of that, I was two years younger which might have added to her shock.
Well if I included the time from my previous life, I was about twice her age…
Leaving that aside, I approached her slumped figure.
「That was a great fight, Kasper-san」
I extended my hand out for a handshake.
She raised her head to look at me and accepted the handshake.
Her hand felt weak.
「It’s my complete defeat. I couldn’t even land a single hit」
「No, rather Kasper-san was rather strong as well」
「Don’t be sarcastic… I am weaker than you. Also, you don’t need to speak to me using honorifics. I’m the weak one. I don’t mind if you used my name」
「That’s fine, let me continue speaking politely. I’ll take your word and address you as Yurina-san though」
「Well do as you like. I can’t complain as a loser」
It looks like she was the type of person to speak super negatively, just from losing this once.
Although there was a clear difference of experience between us, she would easily win against any normal person.
「Then Yurina-san, do you have any issues with sharing a room with Eric-kun?」
「Of course not. It was that kind of promise」
Yurina-san nodded listlessly in response to Jere-san.
Mhm yup, it doesn’t feel like I’m doing anything wrong.
「Good for you Eric! I’m glad you beat that girl!」
Tina who had been watching from the side, approached me as she spoke loud enough for Yurina-san to hear.
Wow, Tina… was your personality always this bad?
「…I’m sorry Tina-dono. I took an attitude that made fun of the person close to you. I apologize from the bottom of my heart」
「Eh.. ah, no it’s fine. Rather, I’m sorry..?」
It turned into a weird situation where both parties were apologizing to each other.
Tina probably didn’t expect Yurina-san to become this depressed.
If someone were to fall into a state like that, you would be the one labeled as the bad person instead.
It seemed that upon looking at her depressed state, Tina didn’t have it in her to deliver the final blow. I’m glad.
Devin
29 Jun 2021 @ 02:51 UTC+0000