King Siandar tightened his grip on his sword, utterly tense.
That bastard named Trine, who was laughing at him right before his eyes...
Siandar could not approach carelessly because he felt an overwhelming pressure from him.
Trine smiled unpleasantly and said to the king,
"Come at me, you incompetent, feeble king."
"You bastard!"
King Siandar struck down at Trine with all his might.
But Trine easily blocked the blow with his bare hand.
He even yawned leisurely while doing it.
"What the hell are you?"
King Siandar, too, had once been a hero who saved the nation with a single sword.
And yet Trine had blocked his sword this easily.
If he was a fighter of this caliber, perhaps it would be fine to entrust Princess Sia to him.
However...
"Hey, Siandar. Your daughter is going to die soon anyway, so I can play with her however I like and toss her aside, right?"
"Do not be ridiculous! You, at least, I will kill no matter what!"
For the first time in decades, King Siandar became serious and began swinging his sword.
***
Trine stood with the grimoire opened,
Watching as the king swung his sword wildly at empty air all on his own.
Trine's new grimoire was 'The Bremen Town Musicians.'
It was a story about small animals pretending to be monsters and driving out robbers.
Apparently, this grimoire belonged to the illusion category.
To be precise, it was a spell that made the target mistake the caster for an overwhelmingly powerful person.
But the king did not lose his will to fight.
Instead, he grew more frenzied as time passed.
"Die, you wretched bastard!"
Unlike his expression, which was filled with rage, the king's sword strikes were calm and sharp.
If Trine carelessly approached, he might get caught up in them and have his neck cut off.
In the end, there was nothing Trine could do.
Trine carefully asked the knights of the royal guard nearby,
"Um, could you please stop this duel?"
"Even if it is His Majesty, we cannot interfere recklessly in a sacred duel."
Seriously, what the hell was with these duels...?
Just then, Princess Sia said,
"Hold out just a little longer. Father is getting on in years, so he will soon tire himself out and collapse."
What in the world was this princess's goal?
Judging by the situation, this duel was clearly Princess Sia's plan.
Trine glared sideways at Princess Sia with all his might and asked,
"What exactly were you thinking, causing something like this?"
"I wonder? I did not do anything, did I?"
Judging by her playful smile, she had clearly planned this.
She was even holding a camcorder in her hand, though who knew when she had prepared it.
And it looked exactly like the one Prince Sirean had used before.
"Why are you filming this?"
"Because, of course, I want to preserve your achievements, Trine."
"What are you going to do by preserving something like this?"
"Besides, Father's disgraceful video may prove useful later for blackmail—no, negotiations."
Just then, Prince Sirean could be seen approaching from a distance.
He went straight to Princess Sia and said,
"Hey, you. This prank is going too far."
"Father should exercise once in a while too."
"Send me that video you are filming later."
In a somewhat irritated tone, Trine shouted at Prince Sirean,
"You do something instead of joking around!"
"I would like to help, but it is a proper duel."
Just then, King Siandar finally seemed to tire himself out and sank to one knee.
"You... I will... without fail..."
At that, Princess Sia and Prince Sirean shouted excitedly.
"Trine! Now!"
"Cut off his head!"
"Are you two seriously insane?!"
Just then, King Siandar sprang back to his feet and shouted toward empty air.
"Very well! If you insist that much, I shall show you my true power!"
When he struck the ground hard with his palm, the earth began to rumble loudly.
At that, Princess Sia and Prince Sirean murmured at the same time,
"This is a problem. Trine, I think you should surrender for now."
"Well, if it is you, I am sure you will manage somehow."
Trine looked at the two of them in panic and asked,
"What is it?! What's happening all of a sudden?!"
A massive stone pillar rose from beneath King Siandar's feet.
It soon began taking the form of a rock golem.
Its body was two or so times larger than the giant sword Trine had summoned earlier.
From atop the golem's head, King Siandar shouted,
"Crush that rat!"
The golem suddenly began running.
Because the king was still caught in the illusion, it ran in a completely wrong direction.
But unfortunately, that direction happened to be toward the gymnasium.
Trine shouted urgently,
"Someone stop him! If you leave that thing alone, the people inside will get hurt!"
But no one reacted.
Even in a situation like this, they would not stop it because it was a duel.
Trine closed the grimoire and shouted toward the golem.
"Where are you going? I am right here!"
"Very well! Stay right there!"
The golem somehow turned around quickly despite its massive body.
Trine hurriedly took a glass bottle from his pocket.
The mana potion Lizbette had given him before.
Without hesitation, he pulled out the cork with his teeth and swallowed the contents in one go.
"Ugh, that tastes awful."
There was one thing Trine did not know.
Because of the monster's poison, his mana had fallen to one-tenth of its normal level.
That reduced amount of mana could be temporarily restored through a potion.
"What, does a mana potion have alcohol in it or something?"
Trine staggered and threw the empty potion bottle to the ground.
Symptoms of intoxication caused by the sudden recovery of mana.
With one hand covering his eyes, Trine cackled and shouted,
"Xuck, you royal basXards! I might really X every last one of you and XX you!"
***
Princess Sia looked into the camcorder and murmured with an intrigued expression.
"To say such things to Father without hesitation. As expected, he is quite bold."
At that, Prince Sirean looked at Trine as if he were pathetic and said,
"He is the kind of guy whose liver has crawled out of his body."
"And even during a duel, he thinks of other people's safety before his own."
She had learned that the easiest way to confirm a person's true nature was through a duel.
In particular, observing their reaction to the king was the most certain method.
That was why, even though she knew it was excessive, she had deliberately prepared this "prank."
'At any rate, he is fascinating in many ways.'
The way he had won the unfavorable swordsmanship match with nothing but wit.
The way he had sincerely grown angry for Princess Sia's sake.
In many ways, he made Sia's heart race.
'I thought I would never feel such emotions again.'
In any case, the prank ended here.
At this rate, Trine might be trampled to death by the golem.
Princess Sia lowered the camcorder and asked Prince Sirean,
"Should we stop the fight soon?"
But Prince Sirean snorted and replied,
"No. It will definitely get interesting from here."
Meanwhile, the golem was still charging toward Trine.
If he were an ordinary person, he would have been frightened and run away long ago.
But Trine stood in place, grinned, and murmured,
"Though the flesh may decay, chivalry shall be eternal. Sword of the dead, answer my will."
A magic sword as massive as the golem appeared in his hand.
Perhaps it was because his mana had increased.
It was a blue sword that shone so brightly it could not even be compared to the one from before.
"Come at me, you lump of rock."
Princess Sia raised the camcorder again without realizing it.
Her heart was pounding.
Her heart, which had remained quiet ever since she learned her fate,
Now surged for the first time before that magnificent sword.
King Siandar shouted, veins even bulging on his face.
"Trample that bastard!"
As the golem raised its foot to step on Trine,
Trine closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath.
"You are not my enemy. The enemy I have to defeat is... far stronger."
Just before the golem could trample him,
He brought the sword down vertically with all his might.
CRASH—
Dust spread everywhere and blocked the view.
Within that momentary silence, only Trine's low murmur could be heard.
"Get the hell out of my story."
The golem tilted and collapsed, split in half.
"Aaagh!"
King Siandar screamed and jumped down.
"Father!"
Princess Sia, somewhat flustered, ran into the cloud of dust.
Fortunately, King Siandar was sitting there without any serious injuries, shouting,
"Ugh! What kind of absurd monster is that boy?!"
Just then, Trine approached the king through the thick dust.
Holding the massive magic sword, he came over, looked down at the king, and asked,
"Will you continue?"
At that, King Siandar lowered his head and answered,
"I surrender."
"Thank you."
When Trine released the magic sword's summoning,
King Siandar asked,
"Who in the world are you, to be so strong?"
Trine answered that question without hesitation.
"I have someone I want to save, so I have no choice but to become strong."
"...Can you take responsibility for my daughter?"
But Trine could not answer.
Due to the mana intoxication and the tension suddenly leaving his body,
He fainted and collapsed to the ground.
Only then did the knights run over and support the king.
"Your Majesty! Are you all right?!"
Prince Sirean hoisted Trine onto his back and said,
"It has been a while since Father got that worked up."
At that, Princess Sia asked with a worried face,
"Will Trine be all right?"
"It is only simple mana intoxication, so there is no need to worry."
"That is a relief."
"Do you think Trine will be useful?"
Princess Sia put the camcorder into her handbag and said,
"Yes. Thanks to you, Brother, I have finally found a knight I can trust."
That was by no means empty flattery.
His skill, which did not lose ground even against the king.
His intelligence, enough to realize Princess Sia's plan.
And most of all, his attitude of openly disliking Princess Sia.
If it was him, she could surely entrust her own fate to him.
Of course, Prince Sirean still seemed to be misunderstanding Trine.
"This guy is pretty single-hearted toward you, so he will never betray you."
At those words, Princess Sia replied with a bright smile.
"Indeed. That is why he is someone I can trust even more."
***
"Lady Yuril, I have brought breakfast."
"Mm..."
The butler began setting breakfast on the table.
Yuril briefly took her eyes off her book, stretched, and said,
"What about today's newspaper?"
"I believe it would be best if you did not read today's article."
"Don't tell me Trine is in it again."
"Yes. However, this time, it seems the newspaper company wrote an article with absurd exaggerations."
"Give it to me anyway. We agreed not to hide this kind of thing."
In the end, the butler reluctantly handed the newspaper to Yuril.
On the front page of the newspaper, Trine's photograph was proudly displayed.
A hero standing proudly with a gigantic magic sword.
Yuril smiled without realizing it and murmured,
"What did he do this time?"
However, when she soon read the article's headline, her face quickly twisted.
'Knight Department Class Representative Trine Engaged to Princess Sia.'
"...What did he really do?"
"There must certainly have been some kind of mistake."
"I know. Princess Sia is under a curse that will kill her soon."
"So you knew after all."
"If he had actually forgotten me and gotten engaged to another woman, that would be something to welcome."
Despite saying that, Yuril's expression looked quite displeased.
In the end, the butler cleared his throat once and spoke calmly.
"My lady. I would like your permission to take a stroll in the forest for a few days."
A stroll in the forest.
Hearing that excuse for the first time in quite a while, Yuril glared at the butler and asked,
"What are you planning?"
"I merely intend to meet an old disciple and have a talk."
"...Do as you like."
Yuril turned her gaze back to her book.
***
A few days later.
Even though the sun was high in the sky, Trine remained on his bed in his room, wrapped in his blanket.
"I want to die..."
In truth, immediately after his duel with King Siandar, Trine had slept for two days due to mana intoxication.
After he woke, for some reason, an article announcing his engagement to Princess Sia had been published.
Thanks to that, Trine had to endure a barrage of questions from reporters and other nobles.
'Please tell us in detail about your relationship!'
'Did you already know Princess Sia before this?'
'Did you perhaps enter the Academy for the princess's sake?'
That was why Trine had shut himself in his room as soon as he was discharged from the infirmary.
For several days, he skipped class like a wreck.
He even stuck a note reading "Absolutely No Visitors" to the front of his door.
On top of that, he did not open the door even once for the friends who came to visit him.
At one point, Princess Sia also came by and persistently lingered in front of the door.
'Trine, are you feeling all right?'
'I would like to have a brief conversation about our future together.'
'If you come out, I will give you one grimoire.'
In the end, unable to endure it anymore, Trine even used 'The Bremen Town Musicians' to drive Princess Sia away.
It had even felt refreshing when Princess Sia screamed and fled.
"Should I just run away to another country like this?"
There was a reason Trine had become this twisted.
Due to the backlash from mana intoxication, he had developed acute depression.
And so, while he was holding out alone in his room...
"Fire!"
...Fire?
Wondering what was going on, he slightly opened the door to check outside.
Just then-
"Got you!"
Jize suddenly grabbed Trine's arm and forcibly dragged him out.
At the same time, the other knight department students each grabbed Trine's arms and legs.
Trine struggled and shouted,
"Let go of me, you bastards!"
At that, Instructor Eloy said to Trine with a pathetic expression,
"Class representative playing hooky? You have guts."
"Just leave me alone for a few days!"
"We cannot do that anymore. Because of you, the entire knight department got dragged into this."
"What?"
Instructor Eloy cleared her throat once, then unfolded a piece of parchment and shouted,
"This is the king's special order! The first-year students of the knight department are to devote their efforts to breaking Princess Sia's curse within this year!"
"Ugh..."
"If the princess's curse can be broken, the status of every member of the knight department will be raised by one step!"
"T-That is good news, then."
"Instead, if you fail, that damned Trine bastard is absolutely getting executed!"
"Don't be ridiculous! How are students supposed to break a curse that no one else could break within a single year?!"
When Trine sank to the floor, Instructor Eloy placed a hand on his shoulder and said,
"Do not be too discouraged. A reliable reinforcement came to help, so it will work out somehow."
"A reinforcement?"
"None other than Lord Elford, who was the knight commander before last, came here personally to help you."
There was no way Trine would know who the knight commander before last was.
However, the name Elford sounded extremely familiar.
So he carefully raised his head...
"It has been a while, Trine."
Beside Instructor Eloy stood an old man dressed as a butler.
That dignified man with a monocle and a short white beard.
It was Yuril's butler, Elford.
Trine opened and closed his mouth for a moment with a ridiculous expression.
Then he forced himself to smile.
"I-It has been a while, Master."
At that, Butler Elford answered with a gentle smile.
"I am glad to see you look healthy, for a coward who ran away."
"...I have no excuse."
"Then, since I came all this way, shall we cross swords for the first time in a while?"