CH 94

[Unclench-able Fist]

When Amanai, who had finished the race, was challenged by Baldasare, he decided to accept it thinking that it was inevitable.

Originally, in Julia’s event, he had to fight several characters before fighting Baldasare.

He thought that he did not need to worry about the order being out of order and just went with the flow, because if he win the fight, the clearing of the event would be easier.

“You, little!” (Amanai)

“Gh——light! Take this!!!” (Baldasare)

Parrying the spear, and throwing a kick in that opening.

Baldasare moaned slightly receiving the impact on his abdomen, but then he gritted his teeth and swung his spear to counterattack. Amanai then parried it and threw a punch.

Over and over and over again.

The number of exchanges of offense and defense that even winced the spectators had now surpassed twenty.

“Let’s just end it here! Don’t you have enough already!?” (Amanai)

“No! No, not yet, Amanai-dono! My hands can still move, my legs can still move, my eyes can still be opened wide, and I can still breathe! Which means my body is still fine! I have not lost yet!” (Baldasare)

Some blood spat out of his mouth as he yelled. The punches and kicks that he had received might had been causing irrepressible damage to his inside.

Amanai never intended to have a life and death battle when he accepted the duel.

Even in the original storyline, after the protagonist defeated him, Baldasare would acknowledge him, saying “With this much difference in strength, I cannot not acknowledge you…!”

That was why Amanai did not get it.

He himself was almost unharmed, whereas the opponent was in a terrible condition. Just how far apart their difference in strength was.

Baldasare should understand that by now.

“Gh, guho… ‘I don’t get it’, your expression is saying that, Amanai-dono.” (Baldasare)

Having taken a distance from Amanai, Baldasare flipped his symbolic green cloak along with his spear, and said so while coughing violently.

His eyes, in which burned unwavering fighting spirit, was looking only at Amanai.

“I am still standing because I haven’t lost to Amanai-dono yet.” (Baldasare)

“…?” (Amanai)

“My spear hasn’t been able to touch you, despite you being empty-handed at that. In terms of strength, you are certainly above me. It is not strange that Julia-sama set her eyes on you.” (Baldasare)

“But!” Baldasare, releasing his stance, stabbed the butt end of his spear to the ground and gazed steadily at Amanai.

That figure of his could even be said to be defenseless in front of Amanai, who kept up his stance.

That was exactly why Amanai focused on what Baldasare going to say.

“The ten or twenty punches I received had no ‘heart’ in them! There was no way that things like those can shake this Baldasare!” (Baldasare)

“‘Heart’?” (Sakurai)

“We knights are taught that to become a full-fledged knight, we only need to possess three qualities: heart, skill, and physique! We naturally have to train our bodies, and we must not neglect to hone our skills and improve ourselves! And only when we possess not foolhardiness, but courage to take steps forward to the enemy on top of them will we be acknowledged as a true knight! And I am, this Baldasare is! A man who believes that the strength of the ‘heart’ is the most important aspect among the heart, skill, and physique!” (Baldasare)

Baldasare lively said with chest puffed up high while blood was dripping from the corner of his mouth.

The surrounding knight apprentices who were watching the duel could be heard sighing, saying, “There he goes again.”

However, it was not with negative tone of voice, but one that sounded coming from a positive astonishment, which spoke of his reputation in the military academy.

“The true defeat is not the physical defeat but the mental defeat! So, even if, say, a child throws a slap, if the ‘heart’ contained in it surpasses that of the opponent! Even if the opponent is a grown up, that one slap will turn into a blow that can defeat the opponent! Faith, belief, ideology, and thought; the ‘heart’ backed by an unwavering spirit gives weight to the fists!” (Baldasare)

“That’s just nonsense…!” (Amanai)

“Amanai-dono’s fist doesn’t have ‘heart’ in it! Therefore, I won’t admit defeat, I won’t admit that you are a worthy opponent for Julia-sama!” (Baldasare)

At the same time as he screamed, Baldasare launched an assault.

Amanai, who was unconsciously pressured by his speech and its heat, was delayed in reacting and reflexively stepped back while parrying the spear that was swung at him.

If he had stepped forward, Amanai would have receive the spear in the center of the handle, stopping it in the middle of acceleration.

However, because he tried to widen their distance, Amanai was forced to catch the swinging of the spearhead, which had fully accelerated, with his arms.

“Gh!?” (Amanai)

The impact he felt from the top of his gauntlets created from ‘God’s Sacred Raiment’ wasn’t comparable with the previous ones; although he succeeded in parrying it, it left a strong numbness in his arms.

The second, third, and fourth blows came attacking while the numbness had not completely dissipated.

Amanai fell into defensive due to the storm of attacks from Baldasare, who had completely changed from earlier.

“Sh!” (Amanai)

In a split second of opening, he kicked the stone that was lying at his feet.

The stone, kicked from awkward position, unimaginably flew straight and accurately, and hit Baldasare’s forehead directly, making his head turned upwards slightly and his body stiffened.

Then, Amanai, getting close to him, made a hand-blade and put the tip on the opponent’s chest.

“——”

After a moment of hesitation.

Amanai gritted his teeth and folded his hand-blade into a fist.

The fist then launched from a very close distance and hit Baldasare’s chest. (TL: Imagine one-inch punch)

“Kah, koh!?” (Baldasare)

Baldasare showed the white of his eyes and collapsed on one knee while making strange breathing sound. And Amanai sensed the battle was over seeing that.

The punch was different from the previous ones, and if hit at a bad place, it could lead to death. That was why Amanai showed a slight hesitation.

However, thinking that a mere punch wouldn’t be fatal to Baldasare, he launched the fist into his chest.

Was the reason why he unnecessarily put slightly more strength into it because Baldasare’s words bothering him?

Tasting an unpleasant bitter taste in mouth, Amanai wrinkled his forehead.

“————It’s not over yet!!” (Baldasare)

“Wha!? Geho!” (Amanai)

Baldasare stood up with a majestic roar, and his head hit Amanai’s chest as if it was a payback for his punch.

Stepping back a few steps and seeing the spear swung sideways by Baldasare who had stood up, Amanai didn’t oppose his stepping back momentum, lowered his buttock to the ground, and did a backward roll to dodge the spear.

This time Amanai was the one kneeling and looking up at Baldasare.

What he saw was a man who looked about to collapse at any moment, stabbing his spear into the ground to support his body.

His body swayed from side to side every time he tried to move.

Still, his pair of eyes alone were looking at Amanai vigorously.

“I won’t be defeated… by a fist… with no ‘heart’… in it!” (Baldasare)

“You keep saying heart this and heart that. Then, do you want to say that I’m pulling my punches! Do you want to say that I’m not fighting seriously!” (Amanai)

“No!! You give it your all, but you’re not serious!!” (Baldasare)

“That’s.” (Amanai)

“Amanai-dono’s fist is wonderful, backed by body and skill. But without enough thought into battle, without the proper ‘heart’, you can’t bring out its fullest.” (Baldasare)

Having put his breathing in order, Baldasare spoke slowly this time.

Unlike before, the volume of his voice was incomparably low, but his words dug deeper into Amanai’s heart.

“But the ‘heart’ that Amanai-dono put in his fist is not to move forward, but to stay in place.” (Baldasare)

He didn’t know why.

But, Amanai was horrified at Baldasare’s words.

He got goosebumps, and his consciousness froze like someone had grabbed hold of his heart.

“A battle is… something you do to move forward. A fist is… something… you use to pave your way forward…” (Baldsare)

Perhaps it was getting harder for him to keep standing, Baldasare was slowly, slowly, dropping down to the ground.

“As long as… the ‘heart’ you put in it… is to stay in place, to stay stagnant… you would never… defeat——” (Baldasare)

Then Baldasare fell down with a thud.

He kept looking at Amanai without averting his eyes until the very end, and suddenly fell down as if his battery had run out.

Even though he had been standing due to his will of steel despite the damage accumulated in his body, he was unable to keep it up for long.

The surrounding knight apprentices lifted the fallen Baldasare up and started to carry him away from the place.

“Sorry you had to go along with Baldasare’s selfishness. Well, he’s always been like that, so you don’t need to take what he said to heart.”

“Yeah, that’s right. Though he said all that, he still lost in the end.”

“In fact, you did well defeating him bare-handedly. I heard that adventurers are not good at anti-personnel combat, but seeing your fight, I have to change my thought, it seems.”

Some knight apprentices called out to encourage the stunned Amanai.

They lightly praised Amanai and left the place.

Then all that was left was Akano and Ethel, who were watching the battle among the surrounding spectators.

“How do I put it, he’s kinda passionate.” (Reika)

“Reika, you can be honest and just say that he’s a perfervid guy, y’know.” (Ethel)

“A-ahaha… But seeing that battle, I think that someone with a steadfast will is amazing, after all.” (Reika)

“Isn’t it just a false bravery? I mean, in the end, he lost and Amanai won. Even though I firmly placed my faith on him because the odds were in his favor, tsk.” (Ethel)

“Ethel-chan, don’t tell me, you were betting?” (Reika)

“Ah~ ah~! I can’t hear you~! Those knights were the ones who started it, so it’s not my fault~!!” (Ethel)

As the two began to cause a ruckus, Amanai finally let go of his stance.

However, his fist stayed clenched tightly; he couldn’t open it.

He knew the reason why, he knew, and yet… Amanai couldn’t find the answer to solve it in himself, and his heart was in agony like he had won the battle but lost the war.

“…No way I can get it.” (Amanai)

The words leaked from his mouth sounded somewhat rough, probably because of the discomfort from the agony.

Looking at his appearance, his childhood friend Akano called out to him, “Hayato?” but he only replied with, “Yeah.”

His eyes, casted slightly downwards, kept staring at his fist, and he didn’t glance at Akano even once.

“What’s wrong, Amanai? Could it be, what that guy said bothers you?” (Ethel)

“Eh, ah… umm.” (Amanai)

“As I said earlier, he’s the one who lost in the end, right? Stuffs like you don’t put in your heart or the likes… they’re things that only oneself knows, so if you’re bothered by the words of such haughty and pretentious guy, there’ll be no end to it, y’know.” (Ethel)

Ethel dismissed Baldasare’s words.

“Ethel…” (Amanai)

“Why do you still look down? Then, do you mean you weren’t serious when dealing with that monster at the opera house? You were, right?” (Ethel)

“Yeah, but.” (Amanai)

“Then, it’s all good, no? It’s weird to take a duel seriously when it’s not a life and death duel, in the first place. You only need to be serious when the situation requires it.” (Ethel)

That might be the solution. However, Ethel’s answer did not resonate with Amanai.

It was because a voice whispered in his heart that the ‘serious’ Baldasare talked about was different from the ‘serious’ Ethel talked about.

Back then at the opera house, he was just fighting out of necessity. It was true that he gave it his all then, but he felt that that, too, was different from the ‘serious’ that Baldasare talked about.

“Hey, Hayato. How about we go grab some meal for now? We haven’t eaten anything since the morning, and I don’t think we can come up with a good idea thinking with an empty stomach.” (Reika)

“Agree~! I’m hungry, too~! Gimme a treat~! (Ethel)

“That’s right. Thanks, you two. I’ll treat you to lunch.” (Amanai)

“Yay~! I’ll order enough food to even out my lost!” (Ethel)

“Ethel-chan?” (Reika)

Akano glared at Ethel, who said whatever she wanted, with reproachful eyes, before the two started walking ahead.

Amanai looked at the backs of the two and relaxed his shoulders slightly, forcing his inner conflict to the corner of his mind.

He then quietly hid his still unclench-able fist in his pocket and started walking after the two who had gone ahead.