After breakfast, Leo returned to his room and immersed himself in the Mana Cultivation Method at once.
Knowing his father's personality, when Magenta said he would assess Leo's qualifications, he meant.......
'Sparring.'
Leo was certain of it.
His father intended to take up a sword himself and assess Leo's skill.
And with such an important event ahead of him, Leo gained new power.
'Done.'
He completed 3-Star, one of the foundational stages of Akedos's Mana Cultivation Method that reinforced the Mana Road.
The stage Leo had reached in his previous life was 5-Star.
At 1-Star, one created a Mana Circle. At 2-Star, one tempered the Mana Circle. At 3-Star, one tempered the Mana Road. Then, at 4-Star, which came next, one began increasing the amount of mana one possessed in earnest.
'This is where the real battle begins.'
Everything until now had effectively been foundational training, so he had been able to complete it within a short period.
But 4-Star was different.
This was the stage at which he had to begin increasing the amount of his mana in earnest.
It would inevitably require not only effort, but several other things as well.
'At my current level, I should have the foundations of a Knight.'
Apprentice Knight, Low-Rank Knight, Knight, Deputy Knight Commander, and Knight Commander.
That was the hierarchy within a knight order.
Now that Leo had mastered every foundational stage of the Mana Cultivation Method, he could handle a Mana Sword at the level of a Knight.
Of course, judging by his physical abilities alone, he was still only somewhere between an Apprentice Knight and a Low-Rank Knight, but his Mana Sword was unquestionably at the level of a Knight.
Having completed his 3-Star cultivation, Leo slowly uncrossed his legs and climbed out of bed.
The time he had agreed upon with his father had already arrived.
Leo walked slowly to his wardrobe, changed into his training clothes, and quietly called Minatos.
"Minatos."
-Yes, did you call me?
"Were you with Vector Leger?"
-Yes, I was. But he did not come to the Valantes Inner Castle today, did he?
"I heard he's taking the day off."
Hans had looked into it for him and learned that Vector was off duty today and had not come to the Valantes Inner Castle.
-Hehe. Did you know he was cross-stitching with a group of women at a cross-stitch workshop near the western gate of the Valantes Domain?
"What?"
Leo's brow furrowed of its own accord at Minatos's words.
The Knight Commander of the Valantes Knights, the very embodiment of rugged masculinity, spent his days off cross-stitching.......
'It might be a hobby he doesn't want anyone to discover.'
Leo decided to pretend he did not know.
"Good. Thanks for your hard work. I'll call you again tomorrow, so head back and rest."
-Yes. Understood. I'll be going now! Bye!
Leo considered using Minatos's power in his spar with his father, but.......
He soon dismissed the idea.
'I shouldn't look too strong, either.'
Minatos's power would undoubtedly arouse his father's suspicions.
And given his father's personality, Leo would need to humor him at least a little to obtain the Secret Manual.
'I should show him just enough, then bow out.'
Magenta would use House Valantes Swordsmanship, while Leo intended to use Akedos's Swordsmanship.
The bout would be brief, but Leo was confident that he could contend with his father on equal footing for as long as he used Akedos's Swordsmanship.
That was how overwhelmingly powerful Akedos's Swordsmanship was in one-on-one combat.
However, Leo did not intend to show him everything.
He had already claimed that he wanted to learn House Valantes Swordsmanship because his own swordsmanship was lacking.
But what if House Valantes Swordsmanship was outclassed by Akedos's Swordsmanship?
His father, the very embodiment of pride and ego, might refuse to hand over the Secret Manual.
'Good. Let's go.'
Fully dressed, Leo slowly opened the door and stepped outside with a light heart.
"Y-Y-Y-Young Master."
The first thing that greeted Leo as he emerged was Hans making a tremendous fuss.
"Why, why, why, why are you making such a fuss? Anyone who saw you would think a war had broken out."
At Leo's rebuke, Hans swallowed hard and immediately continued.
"It is a war, of course. If this is not a war, then what is?"
"What are you talking about?"
"You are remarkably calm. You are doing this even though you know everything, are you not?"
Leo began walking with an unruffled expression and replied.
"I don't have the slightest idea what you're talking about."
"I heard you struck Young Master Jamie in a tavern."
Puzzlement entered Leo's face for a moment.
He stopped walking and slowly looked at Hans.
"Where did you hear that?"
"I heard it from a kitchen attendant who went to the market this morning. They say the entire domain is buzzing with the rumor."
"Really?"
"Yes. They say you subdued Young Master Jamie when he was about to do something wicked. Everyone is praising you as a hero, and the whole domain is in an uproar."
At Hans's words, Leo slowly nodded and resumed walking.
"Isn't that a good thing?"
"Y-Yes?"
"The people of the domain are treating me like a hero. Isn't that good?"
Hans made an even greater fuss at Leo's answer.
"No. No, Young Master. Young Master Jamie has not fully recovered yet, but if he hears the rumor after he recovers......"
Leo smiled pleasantly at Hans's words and asked in return.
"What happens if he hears it?"
"He will come looking for you."
"And?"
"He will torment you again."
Hans seemed to realize he had misspoken and slapped his own mouth. Leo smiled at the sight.
"If he torments me, I'll just hit him again."
Hans stared blankly at Leo's words.
"Young Master......."
"Let's go. I can't arrive after Father."
Leo patted Hans on the shoulder and headed toward the training ground.
'Did Exile spread the rumor?'
Leo had been quite cautious at the time because he was using Minatos's power.
Because of that, rather than using the power directly, he had cast magic on himself in the form of a buff.
Exile had been the only one to see Leo subdue Jamie, so if a rumor had spread, he was the most likely person to have told others.
'Well, I'll have to settle things with Jamie eventually anyway.'
Thus, Leo was not particularly concerned.
No, he was actually glad that he could clash with Jamie in this manner.
If one compared which of them had the stronger justification when they clashed, Leo had no reason to bow his head in the slightest.
'We're here.......'
At the end of the long corridor, he saw the door leading into the training ground.
"COUGH."
Leo's lips curled upward at the sound of Hans coughing beside him.
'An ordinary person would find this hard to endure.'
A heavy aura leaked steadily through the closed training ground door.
His father's test had already begun.
The weak Leo of his previous life would not have been able to endure it, but he was different now.
He merely sensed the aura. It did not intimidate him in the slightest.
"W-Whoa!"
The moment they stopped in front of the training ground door, Hans's legs seemed to give out, and he fell hard onto his backside.
"Be careful, Hans. What will you do if you fall and hurt your face?"
When Leo held out a hand, Hans scrambled to his feet and dusted off his backside.
"Thank you for your concern."
"Of course. Always be careful. Things are already precarious with May, so it'd be a disaster if you hurt your face too."
Hans fell into thought for a moment at Leo's words, then wore a tearful expression.
"Young Master, May and I are on good terms."
"Really?"
"Yes. Truly."
The strange tension Leo had felt vanished entirely as he traded jokes with Hans.
"Hans."
"Yes, Young Master."
"When I enter the training ground, stay far away."
"What? How far.......?"
"Beyond the corridor leading to the training ground?"
Hans nodded at Leo's answer.
"Yes. Understood."
'Father's aura alone was enough to make him fall.......'
If Leo released his aura as well, Hans would faint at the very least.
"Good. I'll see you when it's over."
After saying goodbye to Hans, Leo slowly opened the training ground door and stepped inside.
At that moment, a scorching aura enveloped Leo's entire body.
All of that aura.......
"You have come, then? Prepare yourself at once."
It poured from his father, who stood bare-chested in the center of the training ground, sweat streaming from his body.
***
The training ground of House Valantes.
It was larger than the training ground in any other castle in the Kingdom of Brahms.
It was spacious enough for all 200 members of the Valantes Knights to train inside at once with room to spare.
Leo and Magenta stood facing each other in the exact center of the vast training ground.
A duel between the two (father and son).
And what each of them held was a real sword.
"Are you ready?"
"Yes, I am ready."
Magenta was still bare-chested.
The sword scars carved across his body attested to how long he had walked the path of a warrior.
"Let us begin."
The moment Magenta finished speaking, deep-blue mana began rippling across both of their swords.
Real swords reinforced with Mana Swords.
Wooden swords were normally used for sparring, but without either needing to say a word, the two had drawn real swords first.
This was a solemn occasion to determine whether Leo was qualified to learn the House Valantes Swordsmanship Secret Manual.
Quite apart from his father's disposition, Leo also believed he needed to experience live-blade sparring.
'Just as I heard. He seems to have trained a great deal.'
As they slowly circled each other, Magenta looked at the blue mana rippling along Leo's twin swords and murmured inwardly.
He had been skeptical when told that Leo could use a Mana Sword, but Leo's Mana Sword was at a level that would not fall behind that of most Knights in the slightest.
WHOOSH—!
After the two had faced each other and probed for an opening for some time, Leo attacked first.
The sword in his right hand thrust swiftly toward Magenta's heart.
THUNK—!
Magenta raised his mana-clad shield and blocked the attack.
The moment he attempted to counterattack.
'Hm?'
WHOOSH—!
The sword in Leo's left hand swept toward Magenta's neck in an instant.
CLANG—!
Dust rose around them with the tremendous noise.
SWISH—! WHOOSH—!
Following those two attacks, the swords in Leo's hands continued their assault as though spitting fire.
CLANG—! CLANG—! CLANG—!
"HUP!"
SWISH—!
Leo expelled a deep breath and leaped from the ground.
He rapidly spun his body while parallel to the ground.
Holding the two swords parallel like the number eleven, Leo used the momentum of his spinning body to bring them down vertically.
CRASH—!
Magenta's shield vibrated violently as it blocked both swords.
Hidden behind the shield, Magenta's eyes trembled faintly.
'How can this be.......'
It was beyond anything he had imagined.
Of course, Magenta was not displaying his full ability, but Leo's skill was clearly far beyond the level he had imagined.
When Leo's attack ended, they separated once more and resumed probing each other.
Unlike Magenta, whose breathing remained calm, Leo was breathing so heavily that his back heaved.
"You are gasping after only that much? That is a fine way to die quickly on the battlefield."
At Magenta's words, Leo tightened his grip on his sword hilts.
At that moment.
WHOOSH—!
This time, Magenta began his attack.
His swiftly swinging sword collided with Leo's blade.
CLANG—!
Leo blocked the sword and swung his other blade, but Magenta caught the attack with his shield.
For a moment, the two struggled against each other's strength.
Their gazes crossed in the air.
Magenta's gaze was composed, and Leo's was no less calm.
At that moment, Magenta felt an inexplicable thrill.
It was the sort of thrill he felt only when he encountered someone on the battlefield whose skill rivaled his own.
"NGH."
Leo groaned as Magenta's strength suddenly increased while they struggled against each other.
He felt an immense pressure.
'I'll be pushed back at this rate.'
Leo quickly shoved Magenta backward and stepped backward.
Magenta surged after him.
At the sight, Leo immediately raised his swords.
WHOOSH—! CLANG—! CLANG—! CLANG—!
Magenta's sword flew at Leo's vital points.
'He's getting stronger.'
At first, Leo had thought Magenta manageable, but as Magenta's offensive steadily intensified, he began to find it overwhelming.
Normally, the stronger person in a spar should approach it with the intention of helping the weaker person draw out his utmost limits.
'I think this is happening the other way around?'
But in the current situation, Magenta was the one raising his strength, while Leo was forced to defend against it.
And the more intense Magenta's attacks became, the more a strange competitive spirit boiled up within Leo.
At first, he had intended to do only enough to receive the Secret Manual, but the warrior's nature he had developed across countless battles over ten years began to stir.
CLANG—! CLANG—! WHOOSH—! CLANG—! CLANG—! CLANG—!
The sound of metal grinding against metal and tearing through the air rang throughout the training ground.
Before they knew it, both men were completely immersed in the spar without exchanging a single word.
CLANG—! CLANG—! CLANG—! CLANG—!
Several more exchanges of attack and defense passed between them.
Then, in a fleeting instant, Magenta's eyes flashed.
He had seen Leo, his stamina depleted, sway and lose his balance.
SWISH—! CRASH—!
Magenta's sword came down upon the opening.
A dense cloud of dust instantly billowed around them.
"Hm?"
Magenta looked at his sword embedded in the ground and felt puzzled.
Then, feeling a cold sensation against his neck, he glanced to the side.
There stood Leo. After evading the strike, he had drawn his black dagger and leveled it at Magenta's throat.
"This means I am qualified as well, correct?"