Don't Call Me Childish
It was decided much too
quickly. This wasn't just a small fight, with the observers around us it
wouldn't be a problem if it were considered a duel. Before we knew it, a crowd
of spectators had gathered outside of the weapons shop, surrounding Shalt and I
as we faced one another.
「Since combat practice starts next year, you haven't
fought me before, right Velt? Today is a good chance. As the son of General Tiara,
I'll show you the pride of House Sylvain with my strength.」 (Shalt)
「That's pretty exaggerated. To the distant kid of a
noble, this filthy dog will teach you a lesson.」 (Velt)
Having said that, the flow of
events was leading me to a fight with Shalt, and considering how we spoke, it
was embarrassing. To begin with, even though he was facing me head-on, I won't
lose in anything aside from this sad excuse for a conversation. Like a martial
artist challenging a novice in the arena of a dojo, it was if Shalt wasn't
going to lose. Between the two of us, Shalt is the one accustomed to fighting.
「Well then, are the both of you prepared? There aren't
any specific rules. I will make the call if someone is unable to fight, or you
can surrender. However, if Velt is able to land a single strike on Shalt, then
it will be his victory.」 (Taira)
The rule put on me by Taira
seems simple, but in reality landing a single strike would be difficult right? It
would take something like a miracle. I will certainly lose if I face him
head-on, but I can't lose no matter what.
「Well then, begin!」 (Taira)
With Taira's signal, Shalt
drew his rapier and immediately began an incantation for a spell with his
sword.
「O
militant Goddess of Wind within me, residing in my blood, I release thee. Element Sword・Cyclone Saber!」 (Shalt)
Read the atmosphere will
you... Why would you use something dangerous like a sword wrapped in a tornado
against someone who can't use magic.
「In a duel I will bring out every bit of strength I
have. This is the pride of my ancestors, and the courtesy to my opponent! Now
come, face me!」 (Shalt)
For a seemingly slender brat,
his spirit is overflowing with vigor. If he so much as grazes me, it'd probably
blow me away and knock me unconscious wouldn't it? As for my weapon, it is a
wooden sword made for training. I have no usable spells. There's only one way
to win,
「The way to win against this well-behaved kid is with
my wisdom and experience of a method he's never faced before, right?」 (Velt)
I turned my back on him and
walked toward the crowd of people.
「Where are you going? Are you scared?」 (Shalt)
To the me that had suddenly
turned my back on him, Shalt couldn't attack. The peanut gallery didn't seem to
understand the meaning of my action. Well, it's fine if he doesn't understand.
I began to mingle with the crowd, and looked back over my shoulder.
「What's wrong, Shalt? I'm waiting.」 (Velt)
「Wha- wai- what are you doing Velt!」 (Shalt)
「Nothing really? It's just, I'm waiting for you where
it's easier for me to fight you?」 (Velt)
Shalt opened his wide with a
shocked expression. Taira and Melma seem to be surprised too.
I began to run through the
crowd, causing a commotion.
「Hey, Velt. Isn't it dangerous for us for you to be
here!?」 (Crowd)
「That's right, you should fight at the center. How are
you going to beat Shalt if you just run away?」 (Crowd)
I'll get other people involved
if I'm out here so I should go to the middle? That's not it, it's anything but
safe.
「Velt, are you seriously doing that?」 (Shalt)
Naturally, Shalt shouldn't be
able to attack. He can't do so because of the possibility of hurting the people
gathered here.
「You have to attack me if you want to beat me you
know?」 (Velt)
「This guy... I'm a bit angry you know? Are you trying
to threaten me?」 (Shalt)
「Threaten? Don't say something so foolish. Aren't you
just scared of me?」 (Velt)
「Wha, what are you even saying?」 (Shalt)
「Even though I can hear you, are you afraid of
attacking, because you might get the crowd caught up in it? Or is it that
you’re afraid of me?」 (Velt)
Shalt is at a loss for words.
On the contrary, he's trembling from having been found out. Not sure what to
do, Shalt appeared to appeal to Taira for what to do next. However, Taira
didn't say anything. He didn't stop my actions either. He simply looked upon
the two of us in silence. At Taira's
silence, Shalt seemed to have a conflicted expression and undid his magic.
「Hmph, if that's the case I won't use magic, and
defeat you with my swordsmanship instead.」 (Shalt)
Here it is. He's going to
resort to just swordplay. So as to not involve the others, he's going to aim
directly for me with refined strikes, and take me head-on. It was, well,
somewhat strange to me. I want to make fun of him a bit for being all too
serious.
「Shalt, your opponent can't use magic, did you think
about that for even a second?」 (Velt)
「!!」 (Shalt)
「Take this! Finishing move,」 (Velt)
Appearing directly in front
of Shalt, I used my special attack.
「PISS SHOOOOOOOOOOOT!!」 (Shalt)
「WAI-WAAAAAAAAAAAAH!」 (Velt)
I pulled down my pants for a
second, and shot piss towards him. There's nobody who could have expected this.
Surprised, he jumped back. However, you cannot space out for long in the middle
of a fight.
「There!」 (Velt)
「*Guh... Ur, urg, ueegh.*」 (Shalt)
I delivered a kick straight
to his stomach. He had an expression as if he was about to throw up.
「And another!」 (Velt)
Since he stopped moving, I
immediately did a low kick. He's just a 10-year-old kid. Because he could use
magic, his endurance was just that of a regular child. I did squats to
strengthen my calves, so once should be enough for a weak child.
「*Kaha, ah, gaha, ugh.*」 (Shalt)
He can't breathe well after
one kick to the stomach. My leg felt numb after delivering the low kick. He can't concentrate or use an
incantation anymore. Now, if I give him an axe kick to the head while he's bent
over...
「Hey, are you alright? Maybe I hit a little too hard.」 (Velt)
「*Buha, ah, gaha, urgh.*」 (Shalt)
「Ah, take it easy and pull yourself together.」 (Velt)
Well, anything more than this
really would be overboard wouldn't it. I patted the back of the immobile Shalt. Either way, even
if I don't do anything else, he can't do anything. That's what I thought, so I decided not to attack again...
which means...
「You idiot! You think I'll accept this?」 (Crowd)
「You, I thought you were just a bad kid beyond any
help, but this cowardly way isn't how a man fights!」 (Crowd)
「You're the worst, Velt!」 (Crowd)
The crowd was booing loudly.
「Wh- why! I didn't do anything particularly bad!」 (Velt)
「It's how you went about it! Something like pissing at
him, that's the worst thing you could have done!」 (Crowd)
「Don’t screw with me! Compared to the cyclone sword,
what I did was a lot safer!」 (Velt)
「You don't have any pride as a man!」 (Crowd)
I thought it would be fine because
I'm a child. Well, if Asakura Ryuuma did it as an elementary school kid, would
his head have been beaten into a different shape by his dad? I didn't go
overboard because it's just a fight between kids, and used what I thought was
the safest method, did they really not understand that? But for some reason,
sensei had collapsed. Could it be that even my high school teacher was
affected?
「*Kukukukukukuku.*」 (Taira)
However, there was just one
person who could be heard laughing in the midst of all the booing.
「Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha! Ah, I give up. This
is the first time in my life I've ever seen a special move like that.」 (Taira)
Even though he was crouched
next to his son, he was laughing loudly by himself. Seeing this sight, the
booing settled down, as they all became confused.
「I seem to have underestimated Velt, just a little
bit. He's overwhelmingly weaker than Shalt, and yet he overwhelmed him.」 (Taira)
Where nobody would admit my
victory, Taira was different. There was no anger or criticism, only an
expression of admiration. But, there was a child who would not accept that.
「Not yet!」 (Shalt)
Shalt jumped up from where he
was previously keeled over, and flourished his sword. I instinctively took some
distance, he is clearly mad.
「I won't, accept this loss, Velt. As a man, with no
pride nor conviction in your actions, I cannot praise you!」 (Shalt)
Calming his breathing and
recomposing his mind, Shalt prepared his sword. But, the rule was...
「Get him, Shalt!」 (Crowd)
「Shalt, give that bad kid a beat down!」 (Crowd)
「Even if this idiot becomes the king, it'll be fine
because Princess Forna and Shalt will be there.」 (Crowd)
It should have been my win
after one hit, so why are they getting riled up like this. To make sure I
looked at Taira, but he didn’t say anything and smiled. This bastard, he
changed the rules however he wanted. If that’s how it was going to be, there
was no point in having done something as embarrassing as shooting piss.
「But well, there's no proof of having broken the
rules. Unreasonable things like this happen quite often after all.」 (Velt)
It can't be helped. Shall we
dance? I'll play with him a bit longer.
「Hey, General Taira, you sure it's fine to not put a
stop to this?」 (Melma)
「Fufufu, which one of them are you worried about,
Melma?」 (Taira)
「Both of ‘em.」 (Melma)
「Is that so? This is a good opportunity for me so I
want to watch a bit longer. Someday, my son might run into someone who doesn't
care about fighting fair with pride and honor.」 (Taira)
Shalt began an incantation.
Compared to the large amount of magic of Cyclone Saber, it was a spell with a
small range.
「O flowing tears of the Goddess of Ice, pierce the
heart of evil! Ice Shot!」 (Shalt)
A small chunk of ice. It's
weak and probably doesn't have much power. Even though he's angry, he's
obediently using a small and controlled magic.
「I'll return that right back to you with this batting
strike!」 (Velt)
I planned to break it into a
bunch of small pieces, and struck it with my wooden sword.
But it didn’t break.
Rather, at the moment of
impact, the sword began to freeze.
「What the, the hell is this!?」 (Velt)
「Crap, Asakura! Let go of it fast! You'll freeze too!」 (Melma)
「Woah, that's dangerous.」 (Velt)
Though I let go of the wooden
sword and avoided a disaster, it was still dangerous... not. I wasn’t naive enough to give him an
opportunity by being relieved.
「I’ve got you!」 (Shalt)
「Sheesh, ...too naive.」 (Velt)
Shalt came at me as I lost my
weapon, thrusting with his rapier. Though he probably plans to stop just in
front of my face, it's too honest. Even though the movement was elegant, he's
still a child. Too slow.
Lowering my center of gravity
and evading Shalt's stab, I grabbed his fluttering mantle, and pulled it
between his legs and up into his crotch with all my strength and knocked him
over.
「*Gya...O, owowowowowow.*」 (Shalt)
「*Kuhahahaha,* Though it's a symbol of pride for
nobles, doesn't the mantle get in the way during a fight?」 (Taira)
「Grr, Velt!」 (Shalt)
「Woah.」 (Velt)
Shalt got up immediately and
began swinging his sword. Though he was still full of spirit, there should be
quite a bit of stress built up.
「Come on, bring it, the devil is right here.」 (Velt)
「You, wa- wait right there!」 (Shalt)
I ran around in circles this
time. Shalt may overwhelm me when it comes to magic and techniques, but I've
got the stronger body between us.
「You, *haa, haa*, wait! *Haa,* Why won’t you fight
fairly!? How can you possibly be a man!?」 (Shalt)
「You’ve already seen what I’ve been doing for some
time now right?」 (Velt)
「That’s not the problem, it’s about a man's pride!」 (Shalt)
「What’s a man? I’m just some kid who hasn’t even
kissed a girl before.」 (Velt)
「Haven’t you done things with Princess Forna before!?」 (Shalt)
「Aah... W-well there’s that... But well, I think I
understand how boys and girls are together more than you? Well, since I know from
my previous life.」 (Velt)
「I don’t get what you’re saying! Fight me! Fairly!」 (Shalt)
It’s just like a fight
between kids. Well, by a fight between kids, it just means that Shalt’s been
recklessly flailing around. As expected he’s a kid isn’t he. He doesn’t
understand how a fight works. With his stamina, as long as he keeps swinging
around he’ll quickly exhaust himself.
「*Haa, haa, haa, kuu.*」 (Shalt)
His feet stopped, here’s my
chance. I’ll give him another low kick.
「Take this!」 (Velt)
「When di- Aaah!」 (Shalt)
「And another!」 (Velt)
「Uaaaaaah!」 (Shalt)
While he was in pain I hit
him again. With this his feet had completely stopped. I hit him so he wouldn’t
be able to take another step.
「Velt......」 (Shalt)
「Don’t look at me with those hateful eyes. It’s that
you’re strong. If we had fought at a practice area or dueling grounds, then I’d
probably be beaten instantly. But this is a street fight. Everything here is my
weapon. With the set rules (or lack of rules), it was already your loss.」 (Velt)
「With those tricks, do you think I’m going to yield to
you? I haven’t lost yet! I’ll show you my pride!」 (Shalt)
「Ah ha, if that’s the case, then let’s move a bit more
to the center. If we’re too close to the peanut gallery then it’ll be dangerous
right?」 (Velt)
「Eh?」 (Shalt)
「UUURAAAAAAAAAH!」 (Velt)
「WUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!」 (Shalt)
I gave another low kick with
all my might. It wasn’t so my leg would go numb, but delivered so that It’d
completely destroy my opponent’s will. Shalt, who looked completely dumbfounded,
had already lost the strength in both of his legs, so he hit the ground with
his rear, and was no longer in any condition to stand up again.
「Look, for me it was a fight between kids, and for you
it was a duel right? Don’t look away so easily.」 (Velt)
「*U-Uuuuuu, ku.*」 (Shalt)
Why didn’t I win? That was,
quite possibly, what Shalt was thinking.
「W-what was that, Ve-Velt you... That wasn’t just
unfair... But he made it a fight like that.」 (Crowd)
「He- He’s... A fiend...」 (Crowd)
The peanut gallery’s mood was
ruined, huh. However, calling me a fiend was pretty mean. There are countless
other people out on the street that are more ruthless. But, fiend or not, the
result is the same. The winner had already been decided.
「That’s enough!」 (Taira)
Up until now Taira was quiet,
but he had finally gotten his lazy ass up and came in between me and Shalt.
「That was magnificent, Velt. Up until now I didn’t
think you’d be able to get so close to Shalt. But throwing out your shame,
pride, aesthetics, and using everything available to you for victory, that sort
of dynamism and spirit is in a sense, the strongest form of combat.」 (Taira)
There was no sense of
sarcasm. Even though I had beaten up his kid he didn’t seem to be angry.
「Truly unbelievable. By provoking him you interrupted
his rhythm, and you struck as he exhausted himself by missing his attacks. Even
more surprising was that in the face of his rapier and magic, you understood
your opponent’s range well and dealt with it courageously. Well done.」 (Taira)
With true admiration, Taira
applauded me.
「On top of that, you were able to calmly avoid Shalt’s
attacks.」 (Taira)
And then,
「This match, is Velt’s victory!」 (Taira)
With the announcement of my victory, the duel reached its conclusion.
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