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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Ruby
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A sparring match was just a sparring match.
There was no need for needless bloodshed.
So both Bell and Aros picked up wooden swords.
They stood on the training ground’s sparring platform within the baron’s estate.
“I look forward to this.”
Said Aros, the twenty-five-year-old man.
Bell slowly nodded.
“Then, begin.”
*Snap!*
Melbron, the captain of the baron’s knights and a high-ranked Sword Expert who was serving as referee, clapped his hands sharply.
Bell stood still, her right hand holding the wooden sword hanging loosely.
It was a silent signal for Aros to come at him first.
*Whoosh!*
Aros kicked off the ground and instantly closed the distance with Bell.
Then he immediately unleashed his family’s swordsmanship.
A swift strike that traced a diagonal through the still air.
It was a flash so cold it was hard to believe it was just a [Wooden Sword].
*Clang!*
But it was lightly blocked by Bell’s wooden sword that had extended before anyone noticed.
Before the diagonal could even be completed.
*Clack clack clack…*
Aros’s eyes widened.
The wooden sword he’d tried to deflect didn’t budge at all.
Power.
He was surprised to find himself overpowered in strength by someone he’d heard was younger than him.
‘…Like a nail?’
The sensation was like being pinned down by a nail.
This was power coming from Bell’s perfect stance rather than pure strength.
Aros stared directly into Bell’s calm pink eyes.
‘What kind of monster is this.’
*Clang!*
Bell lightly deflected Aros’s wooden sword and stepped back once.
Bell casually rotated the wrist of her right hand holding the wooden sword.
Expert-rank at twenty-five.
While it was certainly an admirable talent and level from a normal perspective.
It didn’t stir any emotion in Bell.
[White Night Clan].
After all, she was someone who grew up among those born with talent for the sword.
Aros gritted his teeth and unleashed a series of strikes from his family’s swordsmanship.
The wooden sword’s trajectories wove patterns in the air.
High.
*Kwang!*
Low.
*Jjeok!*
And middle.
*Kang!*
A three-strike combination with speed maximized by twisting his upper body.
That three-strike combination was lightly blocked.
‘She didn’t move.’
Aros only realized after finishing his combination that Bell hadn’t taken even a single step.
‘Same with her upper body.’
Bell had perfectly blocked his attacks using only wrist control of her right arm.
“Add variation.”
Bell said this as he kicked off the ground.
*Swish!*
A horizontal slash shot toward Aros’s left shoulder.
Lightning-fast speed.
Aros hurriedly pulled his right arm with the wooden sword toward his body to block Bell’s wooden sword.
It was to block the horizontal slash.
The moment he barely pulled his arm back.
*Swoosh!*
Suddenly the sword path twisted like a wave into an upward vertical slash.
*Whoosh!*
Aros’s blonde hair was blown upward by the sword wind.
His hair stood on end.
He couldn’t even react.
If Bell hadn’t adjusted the wooden sword’s gap, it would have hit his face directly.
“This much is possible just by properly using your upper body and footwork.”
Properly.
Aros couldn’t even dare to guess what that “properly” Bell spoke of meant.
Afterward, Bell continued to lightly block Aros’s techniques and gradually correct them.
Like a teacher.
After Aros’s best thrust failed.
Bell’s foot moved lightly.
*Swoosh!*
And a thrust shot toward Aros.
To Aros’s eyes, that thrust looked like a yellow snake rushing to bite his neck.
*Stop.*
Bell’s wooden sword stopped just short of Aros’s neck.
“This is the same. It’s a variation you can perform just by adding a bit of footwork.”
*Gulp.*
Aros swallowed hard.
His hands were drenched in sweat.
*Thud─*
The wooden sword Aros had been holding fell heavily to the floor.
Silence fell.
Aros realized just how clear the gap between Bell and himself was.
And he thought it involved innate talent that would be hard to catch up to no matter how hard he tried.
Bell’s mouth slowly opened.
“Don’t give up.”
Bell’s pink eyes met Aros’s brown eyes tinged with frustration.
“The movements and judgment I showed, those are parts you can definitely catch up to.”
“…Is that so.”
Aros felt helplessness along with a rising desire to grow.
“If you, Grand Duke’s sword, are this strong, how powerful must His Grace the Grand Duke be?”
Bell shrugged his shoulders.
“…I’m finished in one strike.”
Aros could only be shocked at Bell’s murmur.
That even such a naturally gifted swordsman would be finished in one strike—it spoke to the Grand Duke’s martial prowess.
It was a moment when his reverence for Yuma shot through the heavens.
Bell slowly descended from the sparring platform.
Baron Amon worried about his son.
Whether he might be discouraged in front of such an overwhelming wall.
But he didn’t seem too shocked.
“I just need to do my best.”
Similar age.
If he had lost by a very small margin, he might have felt deep frustration.
But losing by such an overwhelming difference made him feel rather at peace.
They were different species.
Born different.
Once he accepted that, he reached the conclusion that he just needed to do his best with what he had.
Amon was pleased with his son’s attitude.
“Thank you. It seems to have been a good experience for my son.”
Amon bowed to Yuma once more.
“Good. I’d like to depart soon, but do you know anything about the northern sea?”
Baron Amon began telling Yuma what he thought would be useful.
“There might be pirates. There are several pirate groups controlling the northern sea. Information has come in that they’ve started being active again recently. They seem to be pirates targeting merchant ships from Resen, the kingdom north of the Astes Empire, but occasionally imperial ships suffer damage too.”
“Pirates? What’s their armament like?”
“I’ve heard they use basic pirate weapons like spears and swords, and magic arrows that can hold magical power. I’ve also heard some occasionally have magic cannons made with magical engineering installed.”
Amon added that the ship they had prepared also had one magic cannon installed.
And he said that since the pirates’ goal was plunder rather than destruction, their basic strategy was to use grappling hooks to get close to their target ship and then kill with swords and spears.
“Of course, no pirate in their right mind would attack once they know Your Grace’s identity. And since they haven’t been seen much recently either, the probability of encountering them seems low.”
That was the end of Amon’s information.
Time passed longer than originally planned, and after having lunch at the Amon household, they finally left.
“It was an honor to meet you, Your Grace.”
Led by Aros, his two younger sisters bowed their heads to Yuma.
“See you next time.”
Bell, who had crossed swords with Aros, waved her hand lightly.
“I’m coming back for more food!!”
Hestia’s shout rang out.
After saying farewell to the members of Baron Amon’s household, Yuma’s group walked toward the harbor at the edge of the land.
The harbor.
The blue sea formed a horizon.
*Saaaa…*
“Wow… the sea.”
The blue sea was reflected in Bell’s pink eyes. Bell was the only one seeing the sea for the first time here.
Though it was also Yuma’s first time seeing this world’s sea.
Bell took in the blue sky harmonizing with the navy-blue sea.
Hestia looked at Bell.
“Bell, then this is your first time on a ship too. Might be rough!”
Hestia looked at Bell with sparkling green eyes.
Yuma’s group boarded a medium-sized vessel.
Naturally, no one besides the captain and crew was on the ship.
The massive ship and personnel had been secured solely for the Grand Duke’s schedule.
“It is an honor to serve you! Your Grace!”
When the captain, whose white and brown hair intermingled, bowed his head, 25 crew members followed suit.
From Yuma’s perspective, their bows were excessive, but from their perspective, not at all.
After all, they were taking on as a guest someone who had become second in power only to the Emperor overnight.
The captain was able to barely calm his trembling heart because he had lived on the sea for decades.
Yuma received the captain and crew’s greetings with an expressionless face.
Shortly after, the sails attached to the masts unfurled.
“Ohhh! We’re departing!”
Hestia’s energetic voice rang out.
The ship left the harbor and began advancing into the sea.
‘Looks like two magic cannons.’
While the chances of encountering pirates were extremely low, even if they appeared, it seemed one ship could be handled with just magic cannons.
‘Unless that huge pirate group that supposedly controls the coast comes at us with three or four ships together, we should be able to handle it.’
Yuma checked the ship’s combat capabilities while maintaining his noble gait even on the departing vessel.
Yuma approached Bell.
Even for someone with a divine body and Sword Master rank, there was no guarantee against seasickness when riding a ship for the first time.
Contrary to his worries, Bell stood on deck with her blue hair fluttering, looking down at the sea.
“Are you alright?”
Bell nodded vigorously.
“Yes, my Lord. I was a bit dizzy at first… but after a few minutes I’m fine.”
“That’s good.”
Bell spent a long time admiring the sea from the deck.
Night fell.
Cloney and Hestia were lying on the floor mats provided in the cabin, chatting quietly.
Hestia’s green eyes stared into Cloney’s golden ones.
Hestia’s scarlet ears twitched.
“Cloney, have you ever seen the fishfolk? I haven’t.”
“No. I haven’t seen them either. I’ve just heard somewhere that their skin is blue.”
“Ooh, fascinating.”
Darkness fell.
And one night passed.
“Ugh… feels like I drank too much.”
Hestia stumbled out of the cabin.
Her sleep on the ship didn’t seem to have been very refreshing.
‘It’s a bit rocky.’
And it was the same for Yuma.
But he didn’t show it.
Hestia pulled out a familiar-looking notebook.
“The God of War… doesn’t sway even at sea.”
…Come to think of it, he remembered seeing her scribbling something like that before too.
Yuma ignored Hestia and approached one of the crew members.
When Yuma approached him, the young man in a neat yellow sailor’s uniform widened his eyes.
“Has the calculation been made for how long it will take to reach the Mullen clan?”
“Yes! If there are no variables, it should take about 9 days to Atlantis!”
“I see.”
Variables.
The variables struck on the third day of the voyage, just as the sunset was beginning.
*Swoosh─*
A crew member watching the front with a magic telescope raised his hand.
“A ship is visible ahead. Judging by the flag, it appears to be a ship from the Kingdom of Resen.”
There was no tension in the crew member’s words.
This was because the Kingdom of Resen was an ally of the Astes Empire.
“Ah…!”
The crew member gulped.
“It appears to be in a standoff with another ship. The Resen ship suddenly changed course urgently.”
*Zing*
The crew member hurriedly adjusted the telescope’s distance.
And what came into view were huge ships with black flags.
Not one, but three in total.
“It’s- it’s the Dusk!”
Dusk.
The most notorious pirate group had appeared.
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