Chapter 19 — Slad’s Hot-Blooded Battle

Slad had lost.

From the stands of the eastern dormitory, Carnegis, who had been unable to celebrate Luka’s victory, laughed triumphantly, eager to exploit Jerid’s victory.

“AHAHAHA! Well done! The first battle was a little strange, but with one more win we have this! As expected, the members I’ve chosen are the strongest! All right, go forth, Kerio! End them! But... at this rate, Rigel and Persil will have no opportunities to show their power! Did I pick a bit too well? Well, whatever. HAHAHA! AHAHAHAHAHA!!”

Kerio stood up without a single word.

In his heart, a storm that was brewing ever since he had become a squire erupted, violently washing over his being.

(Persil... Rigel... Luka. That’s all they talk about. I’m a tournament winner too. But then they treat me like I’m not even here, and with Queen gone, I get selected, only to end up here...)

Kerio’s grip around his wooden sword tightened.

(It’s true that I can’t beat them. But I, too, was a strong contestant in the youth sword tournament. With this showing, I’ll make them all think twice about me!)

Ending his mental monologue, Kerio left from the stands and stepped into the arena.

In the northern dormitory’s stands, Remie was preparing for combat.

A strip of fabric was wrapped around his hands, strengthening his grip against sweat. In that same hand, Remie held his personal wooden sword.

“Kerio is a master of counters. Be careful.”

Remie nodded at Queen’s advice.

“Fight to win!”

“Of course.”

Nodding at Gormus’ words, Remie turned towards the arena.

The northern dormitory had already suffered two losses. As such, the fate of the dormitory rested on Remie’s shoulders — hope hanging from a thin string. Those very shoulders were now lowering him into the arena.

Remie slowly walked towards the center of the arena.

Kerio, who had arrived before him, was waiting — and the two wordlessly exchanged glances, each gripping their swords.

“Begin!” announced the referee loudly, after confirming the status of both participants.

The match had begun.

As the round started, Kerio immediately began observing his opponent.

Kerio had no intentions of rushing in, closing the distance, and ending the match in a few strikes.

He would instead observe and understand his opponent as they exchanged blows.

To begin with, the north-east inter-dormitory duel should have been an easy matchup for Kerio and his fellow squires.

Persil, Luka, and Rigel were squires who were all talented, and were famous names in their generation. With these members, there was no way the eastern dormitory could lose.

Even if Kerio were to lose for whatever reason, Rigel would probably instantly win his match, ending the duel in the process.

(That’s why I won’t lose!)

To Kerio, this wasn’t about the team anymore — this was personal, and it was a fight he could not lose.

If he lost here, the distance in strength and fame that separated Kerio and those three would surely only increase.

This was a match that he wouldn’t, and couldn’t, lose.

After all, his opponent was some nobody whose name had not even been heard of in any youth sword tournaments. Even so, Kerio decided to be cautious just in case — and started observing his opponent intently instead.

(Remie, huh... His skill with the sword is not bad. Not too bad at all. Pretty fast, too. However... his steps are large. Too many unnecessary movements.)

Kerio’s opponent, Remie, was by no means unskilled at the sword.

In fact, Remie would probably be able to defeat the average eastern dormitory squire. By this fact alone, Kerio knew that he had the upper hand.

Remie’s slim build meant that he was a reasonably fast opponent.

However, his speed did not come close to matching the monstrous levels of Luka’s and the rest. He should have no trouble dealing with Remie at all.

In addition, his steps were pointlessly wide and long, moving him more than a normal walking step would. As such, Remie’s position significantly changed with one step alone.

Evasive steps were, by and large, small but fast maneuvers. Said steps were used to adjust distance, facing, and to put oneself in an advantageous position — all of these could be accomplished with a small, precise movement.

However, small steps alone often used up one’s stamina, in addition to not being particularly fast. For this purpose, larger steps were often mixed into one’s footwork for flexibility. So the timing and mix of steps to use in actual combat were both situational and preferential.

However, Remie was only taking large steps as Kerio advanced and retreated.

(Seems like he’s quite the show-off... Then...!)

Rushing in, Kerio’s sword clashed with Remie’s. As they broke contact, however, Kerio purposely left himself open.

(Since he’s a show-off, he’ll definitely attack me here... with that large step. I’ll counter him then and there!)

With those thoughts in his mind, Kerio waited for Remie’s attack.

However, what Remie did next went completely against Kerio’s expectations. Upon seeing the opening that Kerio left, Remie immediately jumped backwards, once again entering a neutral stance.

(What...?! Was my trap too obvious? Did he know about my counters...?!)

Kerio hesitated, struggling to understand Remie’s actions.

Remie, however, struck out with a large movement immediately after recovering.

It would seem that Kerio’s opponent, Remie, utilized large steps to close the distance between them. As their blades clashed, Remie would then be able to judge the situation. If it were advantageous, he would press the attack — if not, he would withdraw.

As they clashed again, Kerio once more left an obvious opening, albeit in a fashion more natural than his previous attempt. Perhaps his opponent would think that this opening was created by his attack instead — and then he would go in for the kill with a solid counter.

However, upon seeing the opening, Remie took one large step backwards again, retreating into a safe range.

(Again...?!)

Kerio knew that Remie was aware of his reactive counter tactics.

He was, to a certain extent, famous for employing said tactics in his fights. Kerio assumed that the northern dormitory had squires who participated in the same tournaments as he did — Queen was there, after all.

It eventually occurred to Kerio that even this Remie, whose name he had never heard of, could have participated in those very same tournaments.

It was then fair to assume that his opponents had sufficient information on his fighting style.

Kerio was confused, however; an enemy not taking advantage of an opening to attack was almost unheard of — especially in a duel setting.

To crush one’s opponent’s defenses and strike at them with one’s sword: a basic tenet of victory. To give up on those actions would be tantamount to giving up victory itself.

Kerio had assumed that his opponent would swing at his provided openings even with the knowledge that it could be a trap — this was the only way anyone could win. He would then counter with a clean riposte, and his opponent would lose the match.

In fact, the only squires capable of winning against Kerio were those who could break his counters with a more ferocious attack of their own, such as Luka or Rigel. Persil, who could easily differentiate between a real and fake opening, would also easily win in a match between the two.

(Are you telling me this guy is perfectly reading my movements? No... that can’t be.)

Although Kerio’s first attempt at laying a counter-trap was somewhat obvious, the second opening was somewhat natural — at least, Kerio felt that way. As long as his opponent refused to exploit any openings that arose, there would be no way he would win the match.

Even as his mind was clouded by doubt, Kerio realized that as soon as he stopped moving, his opponent would attack, causing their blades to clash once more.

After a few similar clashes, Kerio’s opponent, a nobody known as Remie, once again made a large step backwards, retreating from combat range.

(Again — WHAT?!)

Something flashed in the back of Kerio’s mind.

Stepping aggressively towards Remie, Kerio planted his foot down on the spot where his opponent was just seconds ago, swinging his sword down.

However, his attack was intercepted by Remie almost immediately.

It was an attack that he had thrown with all his speed immediately after closing the distance between them.

Under normal circumstances, his opponent should have been caught unawares by his sudden change in speed. In this case, though, Remie had intercepted his attack in a flash.

The only deduction Kerio could draw from this was that his opponent had his mind focused on defense from the very beginning.

It could not have been anything else.

In fact, it had been this way for quite a while now, right from the beginning, when their swords had clashed for the first time.

“You don’t mean...!”

Kerio finally understood.

Although his opponent had made it look like he was being cautious while still attacking, the reality was somewhat different — Remie only had defense on his mind. Even if an opening was shown to him, he would only retreat — an action that suggested he was ready to give up on victory.

As such, Kerio was unable to use his counters at all.

At this point in time, all the pieces fell into place, and Kerio finally made sense of it all.

“You... You’re trying to make this a draw!”

Kerio shouted out his realization as their swords ground against each other. Remie’s only response was a mocking smile.