Chapter 100

Chapter 100 

Why did Hansen get so scared when hearing the name Maltive Kegen?

That was probably because…

“Maltive is the best knight in the training center, having reached 4th-rank last year. Compared to him, I……”

The suffering that had continued for a long time.

Fear that only someone who got hurt could know.

It was because of a poisonous terror that was felt when he was stuck in that inescapable hell all by himself, where his body now reacted before his mind.

A way to defeat this could never be found by another.

All the problems were laid in his heart.

However, I knew…

“You can win.”

“……M-me?”

“Yeah.”

I knew how strong and brave Hansen could be in front of someone he needed to protect.

“Hold your head high and walk confidently. From my view, you’re a much stronger person than those trash over there. Didn’t you fearlessly draw your blade to save your sister?”

“……”

Hearing my words, Hansen nodded his head very cautiously, and Maltive, who was walking in front of us, reacted.

“The more I hear you talk…… What did you just say? And what? Hansen can defeat me? That commoner bastard that’s just eating into my tax?”

“……Maltive.”

“Maltive? Hah. This is infuriating. Do I look the same as you now just because I go to the same training center as you?”

“……”

That was definitely a will of resistance.

Yeah.

I knew.

Maltive Kegen

4th-rank knight – Apprentice Sword Perito

Potential: High

Hansen

3rd-rank knight

Potential: Very high

Because the Player’s Eye told me so.

I couldn’t deny the fact that currently, Maltive was stronger than Hansen.

Just because one killed a thug before, just because they were able to perform a feat that they didn’t know they could do in a position of danger……

It didn’t mean that the person had grown to be as strong as a 4th-rank.

But didn’t I see it with my own eyes?

‘Hansen is strong.’

When he was killing the leader of the thugs with the shortsword, I saw the blue aura that signified being a Sword Perito wrapped around Hansen’s body.

Hansen was already 4th-rank.

No, if we considered his very high potential, he might’ve even had skills beyond that.

But he just didn’t know how to handle them yet.

This realization…

“Kneel and call me Lord Maltive, you fucker!”

“……”

If he could defeat that fear that clenched his mind, shook his legs, and pushed down his shoulders.

If he could just break down that wall, Hansen could win.

That was why Hansen must fight.

Even if to just break away this messy relationship, Hansen needed to break down the wall himself.

“……”

Hansen looked at me, and I could see a small hint of determination in his eyes.

A sense of shame that he didn’t ever want to show in front of his friend, humiliation from being denied his very existence, a sense of hopelessness, and the fear of never being able to retaliate.

Between these emotions, a drop of courage formed that might win over the rest.

The result from this drop of courage was quite big in reality.

After staying silent for a while, Hansen…

“……N-no.”

“What?”

“I won’t kneel to you!”

For the first time, he had expressed his own will.

No.

This rebellion that sneaked out from his shaky voice was enough to make Maltive, who had lived and indulged in authority all his life, severely enraged.

“What? What did you just say? Did I perhaps hear it wrong? No? No?!”

“Y-yeah! I said no!”

“…You bastard. You’re making me mad.”

Schwing!

“Come here, you useless commoner bastard. I’ll kill you today.”

“……”

He pulled out his sword on his hip without hesitation and stomped toward Hansen.

His sword?

A trainee knight who protects chivalry pulled out his sword for such a small thing like this?

“……!”

After becoming startled, Hansen took a few steps back and tried to hurriedly pull out his own sword, but I dissuaded Hansen.

“Don’t pull it out.”

“E-eh?”

“Aren’t you different from that guy?”

Coming from a big family, that guy would be fine in the end.

But if a commoner like Hansen was to make a mistake, he might get kicked out of the training center.

Even if not for this, he must not pull out his sword for something like this.

“Hansen, today’s not the day to fight that guy. Pummel him good when the opportunity comes. For today, just leave it to me.”

I pushed Hansen back and stepped forward with clenched fists.

The reason I stepped up myself…

Damn it…

When Maltive Kegen pulled out his sword, it reminded me of old times.

Wasn’t this the same?

That bastard who pulled out his sword to cut Hansen, and that insane bastard who sent a lighting bolt flying during class to kill me…

The faces of those two started to weirdly combine.

I had thought about repaying my debt to that guy who nearly killed me one day…

And that day was today.

“Move, you bitch!”

Instead of that guy who got expelled, I clenched my fist while aiming for Maltive as he ran toward Hansen behind me.

Crack!

Only three steps until he reached the range of my fists.

However, I couldn’t attack.

* * *

Translator – Jreaming

Proofreader – Artethrax

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* * *

“……Ughk!”

No, rather than couldn’t, it would be more accurate to say I didn’t need to.

Smack!

Before I could attack, a steel stick flew in from somewhere and struck Maltive in the head, causing him to fall backward and roll on the ground.

It happened in an instant.

Maltive shouted, fully enraged,

“Which punk dares!”

The steel stick was in actuality a scabbard, and everyone’s eyes turned to the person picking it back up.

“I dare!”

Clang!

The knight who was putting his sword back into his scabbard was…

The head knight of the Poldren Training Center, Sir Coulter Pirante.

He was glaring at Maltive with a serious face that I had never seen before, one so unlike the joking expression I had seen all this time.

“……”

As Maltive realized the one who attacked him was the knight captain Coulter Pirante, he couldn’t say another word.

“……D-damn it.”

He could only glare at us in fury.

Toward him, Sir Coulter asked,

“Maltive Kegen, what are you doing?”

“…Th-those punks started it first.”

Maltive pointed his finger at Hansen, and Sir Coulter didn’t even bother to look and asked again,

“And so you pulled out your sword? To swing at someone?”

“……”

“You are still just a trainee knight who hadn’t taken the knightly vow yet. Have you forgotten?”

Just like how an academy student couldn’t use magic as they wanted, it would be the same for a trainee knight.

It was definitely grounds for punishment—pulling out one’s sword in a situation like this—even if no one was hurt.

Sir Coulter spoke with an unwavering tone.

“Maltive Kegen, I am removing you from the position of Training Center representative. The position of representative will immediately be succeeded by the vice-representative, and you’ll receive disciplinary action as soon as we return to the training center.”

“What? B-but……!”

“Do you have any problems?”

“I-if you remove me from my representative position…… My father won’t stand for it. I-I’ll make an official complaint.”

Again and again.

That father of his.

It looked like that was the extent of his threats.

But unfortunately for him…

“…I am baffled.”

Sir Coulter wasn’t someone who would get scared by a child who always brought up their father.

“Yeah. Sir Bengrass Kegen won’t stand for this. If he learns of the fact that his one and only son pulled out his sword to use against another person when he was visiting the Academy as a guest…… He’d faint. Or he would break that unlawful son’s legs.”

“……”

“Maltive Kegen, have you forgotten why you were kicked out of the Royal Training Center and came to Poldren? It was a request from Sir Bengrass. To fix up his foolish son into a righteous man in whatever way possible.”

Maltive’s expression became icey.

And Sir Coulter Pirante dealt the final blow.

“Don’t forget. He asked me to make a righteous man, not a good knight.”

“……”

Meaning, if he kept disobeying his orders, Sir Coulter was threatening to forever expel him from the training center.

I clapped twice in my heart.

This was a true threat! Not something weak like using your father’s name!

“Kugh……”

Thanks to this, Maltive’s expression became pale.

If he was expelled here and ended up never becoming a knight, what would happen?

The answer was already set in stone.

“I-I apologize.”

Surrender.

After this, as if not wanting to look at Maltive any further, Sir Coulter Pirante turned his back.

“This is disappointing. There will be a report to Sir Bengrass for this incident. I’m curious as to what he will say about you.”

“……”

Uuuuuaaaaah……!!

A soundless cry.

Maltive Kegen kicked the blameless ground and tensed his muscles, but he couldn’t refute any of it.

He was probably scared of his father that he was so proud of.

“Ruin.”

Sir Coulter immediately talked toward me and whispered something quietly so that Maltive wouldn’t hear it.

“I’m sorry. The kids aren’t that bad… Hmm, I really can’t bring myself to say it.”

“It’s not something you need to apologize for, Sir Coulter.”

“No, it’s my responsibility for not managing them properly. I’ll pay more attention so things like this won’t happen again in the…… Huh?”

Sir Coulter looked between me and Hansen a few times and asked again,

“But…… did you guys know each other?”

Hansen and I looked at each other and smiled, and I shrugged my shoulders.

“We’re friends.”

“Hoh, really? This is quite surprising.”

“Yes. And he’s also my joint lesson partner this time.”

“…Partner?”

The one who asked wasn’t Sir Coulter, but Hansen.

Hansen looked at me with a confused expression, but I nonchalantly replied,

“Yeah. Partner. We’ll form a team together for the lessons.”

“W-with me? B-but I won’t be that helpful…”

“No, it has to be you. We have a mutual enemy.”

“…A mutual enemy?”

In the lessons for the second semester where we would spar and work together with knights, you chose your own partner.

You learned how to work together and even had competitions against the other teams.

Well, now that I had my ally chosen, who would be my enemies…?

Wasn’t that already decided?

My gaze turned to face Maltive, who was looking at me in rage, and Jakil, who was observing all this from a distance away.

“Yeah. A mutual enemy.”

“……”

Whether it be sword or magic, there were always influential people who only cared for themselves.

It wasn’t like I had a particular thing against all authority figures…

But if these authority figures kept acting like animals while the country was in this state, then that was a problem.

In a situation like this, you needed to properly fix them up.

Not just the heads of those rotten bastards…

But the entire system itself, and the rotten bastards own personal kingdoms in which they resided.

Maybe he read these meanings from my eyes.

“……Ruin Ardell, this won’t be the end.”

He promised revenge against me.

However, how could this be?

I wasn’t even a bit scared.

Yeah.

If I had to guess…

This second semester would be a total war.