80 – What is loyalty (2)

* * * *

“How can I point my sword at a nobleman? Then, if I really inflict even one scratch, my head will run away.”

said the Prius, shaking his head in a nonsensical way.

“I take all the responsibility. Still, I’m famous for the academy’s swordsmanship department, but I’m not the kind of person who makes a fuss about just one scratch.”

“It has a different meaning. This is not an academy, and you are now a state guest of the Empire…”

“Could it be that you’re afraid that you won’t be able to scratch me after standing still for 10 minutes?”

flinch. Prius, whose pride was stimulated, shook his shoulders.

To be honest, the Prius’ point was perfectly valid.

This is not the academy, but the realm of the empire, Gegada. In such a dusty training ground, a knight must hurt the body of a state guest? It sounded like a big deal.

But I had more confidence than that.

A swordsman who was already exhausted, even a Prius who was the former Knight Commander, would not be able to inflict even residual wounds on me.

Still, with the advantage of not moving in consideration of its own fairness, the moon night was not brought out, but the result was obvious.

It is not me who has digested Huturu Finn’s experience over the past years.

I don’t know if it’s an opponent that my main skill doesn’t work at all, like a lycanthrope, but in a battle against a human, it’s my swordsmanship that can preoccupy the superiority of the perfect match.

In such a situation, he digested the experience of Finn, who had waged war against many people.

Thanks to that, he was able to subdue even Ian, who would later be praised as a hero, with just one stroke.

“If you say so, I am still the former knight commander.

“Well, I guess I’ll never be able to.”

fast.

The Prius squeezed its teeth away from its tightly closed mouth so that I could not see it.

The tendons sprouting from his forehead sway like waves rolling over them.

Even so, it seemed that he couldn’t show his anger at me, so he lowered his head to hide his feelings.

It wasn’t without the feeling of being a little blatantly provocative, but it was one of the necessary steps.

As for the Prius, no matter how much I was a student at the academy, it must have been very annoying that I, who was only a freshman, showed such a confident attitude.

Be it a demon or whatever, it’s a Prius that has probably spent more than my age on a sword.

But will I look nice when I boast that I can’t even get a single scratch?

Guilt is guilt, and the anger that boils over having your life belittled is different.

It means that it is not strange at all that the Prius feels both guilty and angry at me.

But I didn’t deny his life.

As for the Prius, it was an illusion caused by not knowing that I, a boy, had more years than the Prius and had experiences with quality several times that of the Prius.

So I was just stating the obvious.

Better than you, the Prius who wields a sword in the training ground of the imperial palace.

That is more than you, who does not try to put his will into the sword, repeating the same movements endlessly in order to control the confusion in his mind.

The fact that I am many times better.

Not only from an empirical point of view, but also from a technical point of view.

“I understand. If you really need to do that, since I’m also a prosecutor, I can’t back down.”

The Prius, which corrected its posture, shot me with sharp eyes and said.

“I’ll go.”

* * * *

“Heo-euk…! Ha-ha, ha-ha.”

The Prius collapsed to the ground with a rough breathing sound.

I couldn’t see the expression on his face, but it was easy to tell from the air that emanated from him that he was quite desperate.

Far from being scratched, I was only fooled for 10 minutes by my movements as I stood still and swung my sword… This is because it is the result of a game he bravely jumped into.

Wouldn’t it be the thought that his whole life devoted to a single sword had disappeared in vain.

I didn’t like it because it felt like I had won by using a cheat, but I couldn’t help it.

This process was necessary in order for him to grow even a little, who would later become Lily’s ally.

He said, slowly approaching the Prius, who was reproaching himself.

“Did you think you could win with only experience?”

“…”

He didn’t open his mouth to answer, but the Prius’ body trembled violently for an instant, and it was enough to answer.

“If experience alone could have won, an 80-year-old man would have taken over the world.”

“I didn’t wield a sword based on experience alone.”

“Then, why did your sword never even brush me? I must have just stood still and swung my sword as I declared?”

Although the Prius shuddered in anger, he admitted that he was facing a reality that he had no choice but to admit, although he did not want to admit it.

“It seems to be the difference, of talent.”

A reasonable decision for him who does not know the truth about me.

That, in a way, could have been an answer, but he shook his head, saying that this time it was completely different.

“Prius, what are you swinging your sword for?”

The Prius begins to ponder with his mouth firmly shut.

The fact that I was worried like this was a testament to the result that it was natural for me to lose.

I also have a mindset that would have taken me a long time to realize if Finn hadn’t told me.

The fact that the sword must contain only one pure and clean will must have been a secret that only Finn knew.

If you think about it deeply, it was natural.

Who in the world would think of only one will when wielding a sword?

It’s hard to imagine unless you’re a justice idiot like Ian.

No, even Ian was originally such a human being, so he must have been able to do it naturally without intending to. like breathing.

Most of them, when they wield their swords, have all sorts of thoughts in their mind in an instant, and then strike their swords together.

Like Ian, to keep everyone from evil.

With one heart, I wanted to protect Lily like Finn.

It is said that there are very few people like me who wield it with the intention of killing everyone who blocks Lily’s happy ending.

“For the imperial family? Or for your shattered pride? Or as a means to escape from your petty guilt?”

Prius still treated me silently.

Maybe it’s because it’s all mixed up. It was difficult to pinpoint just one.

“You can’t answer.”

“That’s the reason your sword is weak, Prius. It’s not enough to fight only with experience, and even that experience is divided into various reasons for holding the sword, so will that experience show off my skills?”

Not the answer I was thinking of.

This is the answer Finn gave me.

So I’m sure my one and only teacher will understand.

He said that he would strengthen his allies who will protect Lily, but he couldn’t help but shout.

“……Is that all?”

Prius’ question-and-answer at the end of the long run wasn’t too bad.

Originally, everything starts with a question.

However, I skipped the process because I trusted the pin, and the Prius only grows one by one step by step.

“That’s all. Even if you swung the sword for the sake of protecting your own pride, if you only held the sword for that purpose, you would have been able to inflict at least one scratch on me.”

“It’s not a great swordsmanship or talent, it’s just that…!”

“I want you to tell me about your complaint after you practice it yourself. In fact, I’m telling you that I beat you very easily, so there’s no reason not to believe it.”

The Prius rose slowly, with trembling hands on its knees for support, and looked at me.

pupil still shaking. Even if they know how to do it, they seem hesitant to put it into practice.

“What should I do if the will I put into it only causes trouble to my lord?”

now i get it This Prius seems to have been an elite among elites who had never suffered much failure.

So, after making a big mistake once, I was afraid of failing and chose only the path that would not fail.

“If the will you will bring is noble loyalty, then I will help prevent that from happening.”

“Stop thinking that you have to be by my side to support me just because you offered your loyalty. Shouldn’t you try to make sure that your loyalty reaches the ears of the princess even from far away? It’s not a problem if you cover her memory with your loyalty. more?”

Whoa.

After catching my breath, he recited lines that deeply impressed me.

For him, the words of his lord probably resonated most deeply.

“One day, when I was in a state of frustration, the princess told me. It is a waste of time to worry about things beyond my ability. The current me is the result of the sacrifices of countless people. The only way to repay that sacrifice is to look forward and move on. It’s just that, it’s not a sacrifice given to solve a problem for which there is no answer.”

Perhaps this is the most appropriate advice for the current Prius.

It was as if Lily had told Prius, who was like a lost lamb, that the only way to repay him was to simply move forward.

In any case, now is the time to give the Prius some time.

It’s not like I’m going to get caught up suddenly just because others are pushing me.

I left the training ground with only one word left.

“Think carefully.”

* * * *

“Ah, Berry…!”

When I returned to the imperial palace, Lily waved and greeted me as if she had been waiting for me. With a lot of ladies-in-waiting at the back.

‘What kind of hard work are they doing this summer?’

I thought as I looked at the ladies-in-waiting who bowed toward me in unison without an inch of distraction.

Since the princess said she wanted to wait for the state guest, he must have had to wait that long while standing upright without being able to take a break.

For some reason, I felt that there was a little bit of my fault, so I hurriedly ran away.

“No, why are you waiting outside, princess?”

“Ehehe…well, that…there’s something I want to tell you quickly.”

“Yes? What…?”

As I tilted my head, Lily, who had been scratching her cheeks, hugged my arm and said.

The scent of Lily’s hair, blown in the wind, wraps around me like warm sunlight.

Even though it was only the time of night when the sun had already set.

“Uh, we…! Why don’t we go to the village festival together tomorrow?! Everyone, just the two of us!”

in a slightly heated voice.

Lily looked up at me, even groping, no matter how nervous she was.

The light blush that bloomed suggested that Lily was extremely shy.

The first kiss, the first confession.

Now even asking for a first date.

Lily, who preoccupied all the very first things that were my very first.

I added one more thing to Lily’s attributes in my heart, the aggressiveness I hadn’t even thought of.

He scribbled the word bulldozer next to the word unicorn.

Of course, apart from that, my answer came out as if it were very natural.

“I was going to tell you first, but I’m a step late.”

Lily was fully aware that it was a made-up lie, but she didn’t bother pointing it out.

“Then next time, should Berry talk first?”

Because I was just holding you in my arms and making your eyes like a deer shine brightly.

Disrespectfully, he gently stroked Lily’s silk and nodded.

“Is there any other way?”