Ken yo, kaku katariki – 103
#11 – Black Wolf
“I-I don’t accept this! It’s not possible!”
Blamfelt screeched as he looked at the broken sword.
“He’s cheating. There must be some trick with his weapon…! You coward…!”
(Speak for yourself.)
But he was too pitiful as it was.
His face was pale, and he was shaking.
It was no wonder. That sword must have been very expensive. And I had broken it.
(He isn’t going to ask me to compensate for it, is he?)
I looked a little frantically towards the Count, but he shrugged as if to say that it would be fine.
Good. I would not be able to pay for something of that price.
“Oh? In other words… You are questioning my judgment?”
As the man tried to approach me, a grave voice echoed from behind him.
“Mar-margrave… I didn’t mean to…”
“Hmm. Then what did you mean?”
His mouth opened and closed like a fish, and his face was pale. His gaze went back and forth between the margrave and the broken blade…but he could not think of any excuse.
He finally realized that there was no way out of this.
He had done this to himself. Given his opponent a defective weapon, while using his family’s prized sword.
Nothing could be more humiliating.
“Well, that was a great fight! And to think that it was a little show put on for a party!”
(This racoon… Was this his aim all along?)
I sighed with exasperation.
So he knew that I was going to win. That’s why he allowed that weapon.
If I had lost and was greatly injured, it would expose to the others that he had judged wrongly. But if I won, then he would have an advantage over my opponent, no, his parents.
“Now, let us give a round of applause for Mr. Yukito’s wonderful display of combat techniques! A taste of what we can look forward to in this year’s tournament!”
The margrave laughed, and I bowed as the spectators clapped.
Regardless of what he was thinking, it was not bad that things settled like this.
“Teach…Mr. Yukito!”
As the margrave led the others back inside, Ms. Iria ran straight towards me.
I caught the margrave wink at me before leaving. Such smug gestures seemed to suit him.
“I’m sorry. For getting you involved…”
“It’s fine.”
“But…you looked so irritated…”
“Uh…”
Indeed. I had said that he had no right.
Damn it. I scratched my cheek and looked down and the sword in my hand.
Now that it was broken, the thin coating of iron was peeled off. As expected, the core was wood.
“That’s…”
“It did well.”
It had won against a great sword. Burning bright in a second of life.
Ms. Iria nodded and looked down at it with kind eyes.
“That’s right. I want to take this back with me. Do you think I could get some cloth?”
“Uh, yes. I’ll ask that maid over there…”
“That won’t be necessary.”
A voice suddenly rang.
And then a young man walked towards us from the house.
Even in the dim light of the night, I could see that his skin was brown.
“You want to take that back with you? Use this.”
“Uh, yes.”
I took the white cloth and wrapped the sword with it.
Then Ms. Iria took it and said she would leave it in the drawing room. And then she left with a bow.
“I saw your duel earlier. You are quite skilled. To be honest, I was impressed.”
“Uh. Thank you…”
“You aren’t used to being praised? But you’re so strong.”
He chuckled with his hands in his pockets.
His eyes glimmered red, and he had a lean build. Like a hunting dog.
“Oh, sorry. I haven’t introduced myself yet. I am Gileus Marion. Nice to meet you.”
