CHAPTER 145: CLASH OF CHAMPIONS [1]

Time passed quickly.

The semifinals of the Jousting Competition went as everyone expected.

Luina Berchef defeated Kuntz Bayal, and Rob Kaellin defeated Balrosi Viston.

After a short day’s rest, the day of the final match, the last day of the festival, dawned.

The Jousting Competition and the Magic Tournament.

The entrance to the arena where the finals of both competitions would take place was packed with people who had come to watch.

"Welcome, Master Gerhard. Let me guide you."

Entering directly into the VVIP section without waiting, Gerhard paused when he saw someone occupying his seat.

"What are you doing? Come and sit."

"That’s my seat."

"There are plenty of seats around."

The VVIP section was arranged like small rooms with partitions for individual privacy.

"When did you arrive, Father? You’re such a busy person."

"I’m not so busy that I can’t come see my son once. Though I didn’t come just to see you."

"Killing two birds with one stone, I see."

Someone of the Duke of Goldenheim’s stature couldn’t move freely.

Of course, this time he had come directly because of the serious matter of the demon, but there was no reason to handle just one thing.

"Humans are fickle creatures. Even if they receive something as a fair price, they might hold a grudge if you wipe your mouth clean."

"Are you talking about the headmaster?"

"The headmaster isn’t that kind of person. But words of gratitude cost nothing, yet sometimes they’re worth millions."

"I understand."

But that couldn’t be all. Gerhard was certain that the Duke and the headmaster had discussed the demon.

And that was probably about the direction going forward.

"Have the other Grand Dukes come as well?"

"I’m the only Grand Duke who came directly."

Indeed, the title of Grand Duke wasn’t so light. Especially since they would think it was a malignant creature, not a demon, so they wouldn’t move easily.

Anyway, it meant that the Grand Dukes’ agents were positioned throughout the VVIP section.

"How much of it is real?"

The Duke spoke haphazardly, but it wasn’t difficult to understand.

"All of it."

"Then which parts were not recorded from the beginning?"

Just as the headmaster had sensed something strange, the Duke who checked the recording crystal also noticed that it was choppy.

"The part where Luina Berchef stands in front of Aint Armian."

"That necklace."

The Duke’s gaze turned to the necklace around Gerhard’s neck.

"If you reduce the size of what you made using my craftsmen and my facilities, it would look like that."

"Yes, it’s a golem."

Tiny Wooden waved his hand. The Duke, who already knew it was an ego golem, wasn’t surprised.

"It seems to have been quite effective against Andromalius."

"It brought him to a near-death state."

"You hid it well."

An ego golem was something that could cause a huge stir across the continent.

"But you were careless."

He wasn’t careless. There was no trace of Wooden in any part of the recording crystal.

However, what the Duke was talking about wasn’t about the golem.

"The judges who received the headmaster’s letter have begun to move."

"...The problem isn’t the golem, but that my presence there was revealed."

"Stay as quiet as a mouse. There’s no cure for being bitten by a mad dog. Especially don’t mention that you knew in advance about the demon being summoned."

Gerhard barely managed his expression at the sudden comment.

"I didn’t know."

"Let’s just say that’s the case."

"It’s true."

"Coincidentally, you happened to be at the place where a demon was summoned, at that precise timing."

"It was coincidence. If I had known, I would have avoided it. I’m not a fool who would go there of my own accord."

"The branch of the World Tree."

"I restored that properly."

"Yet a demon popped out."

There was nothing to say.

"I didn’t know."

But there was no need to say more.

The Duke also seemed to have no intention of probing further and silently turned his gaze away.

"You’re right."

By now, the contestants were coming up onto the stage for the final match.

The Duke’s eyes lit up when he spotted Luina Berchef.

"Such achievement at that age. The Berchef family isn’t ready to decline yet."

"Were you really trying to make them decline?"

"If a family that loses its Vision Swordsmanship were to decline, they wouldn’t deserve to bear the name of a Grand Duke."

"They’re not actually a Grand Duke now."

And it was the Duke who made them sell the rights to their Imperial Decree, the symbol of a Grand Duke.

"Even if it’s Vision Swordsmanship, in the end, it’s a copy, not the original. And since we won’t distribute it to the world, it wouldn’t have been a big problem for the Berchef family."

Nevertheless, Berchef chose to sell the rights to the Imperial Decree rather than giving up the Vision Swordsmanship out of the two choices.

"But they couldn’t use their full power against us."

Having a swordsmanship manual isn’t just for learning. The true value of possessing an opponent’s swordsmanship manual was the countermeasures created through thorough analysis.

"You formed a pair with her, have you developed feelings in that short time?"

"Luina will become a Royal Knight."

"So you’re trying to curry favor in advance?"

"Words of gratitude cost nothing."

"Words from someone in a position are worth a thousand gold."

The Duke took a sip of the cold tea that had been prepared in advance.

"Begin!"

The final match began.

Luina Berchef and Rob Kaellin. The horses carrying the two knights began to charge toward each other.

────!

A sound like the air being torn resonated.

Shockwaves spread in all directions but couldn’t penetrate the defensive magic array installed in the stands.

"Albinus Berchef is already a Royal Knight."

It was an abrupt comment.

"I know."

"If Luina Berchef becomes a Royal Knight, the Berchef family will have two Royal Knights."

"Yes."

"That’s not a bad method either. To have a Royal Knight that can’t be bought with money."

────!

The second collision. Still, no winner was determined.

Amid the thunderous noise, Gerhard replied instantly without his complexion changing.

"I’m sorry, but you’re mistaken."

"Are you saying you’ll bake bread and give it to a beggar?"

"I’m not even baking bread."

"You used mandrake as firewood."

He was referring to Gerhard giving Luina the mandrake root.

─────!

The third collision. The two knights simultaneously dismounted and drew their swords.

"There’s no law saying flour can only make bread."

"An investment is only complete when you sell it and receive the proper value."

"I will receive it."

And he had already recovered the principal.

The very fact that Gerhard was having this conversation next to the Duke without being expelled was worth more than the principal.

─!

──!

Slashes entangled.

Silver trajectories and blue-sky-like auras tore at each other.

"This is a rare scene that’s not easy to witness."

Indeed, watching a battle between the children of Royal Knights wasn’t an easy thing to come by.

"Father."

The Duke silently turned his head slightly.

"I want to make a deal."

─!

"Speak."

─!

"What kind of person is the Mercenary King?"

"Is that the deal?"

"It’s just a simple question."

"He’s a Royal Knight. A person who received the title of the greatest knight without being a knight."

That was something everyone knew.

"I gave you the black adamantite vein."

"I never said I would develop it."

"Are you not going to?"

"I also never said I wouldn’t. It will be processed according to your report."

"Nothing else?"

"He is a mercenary to the bone."

─!

The fierce battle between the two knights grew rougher. Fragments of broken aura swept around.