[Translator - Peptobismal]
[Proofreader - Max]
Chapter 60: Demon Hunting (1)
After listening to Hal, Daniel remained silent for a while, then muttered in a dispirited tone,
"I couldn't even sense Aura when I was your age. But you..."
Hal, who could handle talismans, dragon language, and even his unique ability, the Azure Fla.
It was natural for Daniel to be speechless that Hal could now use Aura as well.
'These are abilities that are difficult for one person to master even in a lifeti.'
Daniel gazed intently at Hal.
Who could possibly call Hal a half-baked person now?
The Hal who was diocre in mana, holy power, and swordsmanship was no more.
'He himself doesn't seem to realize how amazing he is...'
After a mont of disbelief, Daniel sighed lightly and said,
"Take a look over there."
"...?"
Hal turned his head in the direction Daniel was pointing, and his eyes fell on Rupert.
Rupert was staring at Hal with burning eyes.
It wasn't difficult to understand what that look ant.
"It seems like he's feeling a bit competitive."
"...I didn't intend for that."
Hal averted his gaze with an embarrassed look.
He had thought Rupert would be pleased to see him use Aura.
After all, the north had always revered martial arts. Moreover, wasn't Glenvale a Clan that held the sword sacred?
But it seed he had only stimulated Rupert's competitive spirit.
As expected, the thoughts of such people were difficult to understand.
Hal sighed lightly at the unexpected situation.
It seed things had gotten complicated.
And a mont later,
Hal's prediction ca true.
"The winner of this match is... Sir Rupert of the Glenvale Clan!"
"Waaaaaaaaaah!"
Amidst the cheers of the crowd, Rupert raised his sword.
A clear Aura flickered on the sword.
Despite the obvious difference in skill between him and his opponent, Rupert had deliberately used Aura to break his opponent's sword.
The reason for this pointless performance was simple.
"..."
Rupert silently turned his gaze towards Hal.
Hal, holding his aching head, subtly turned his head away.
'...Nothing is going as planned.'
Hal hadn't intended to win the tournant from the beginning.
He had thought that if he simply showed his swordsmanship skills and Aura, Rupert would acknowledge him.
However, Rupert now seed determined to defeat Hal no matter what.
Things seed to have gotten quite complicated.
Hal sighed softly, but nothing changed.
His sigh was rely added to the clouds in the overcast sky.
The following matches proceeded faster than expected.
Even though the tournant was held in the north, famous for its swordsmanship, high-ranking knights were by no ans common.
This territory also had no high-ranking knights besides the knight commander.
However, this tournant had three high-ranking knights who could handle Aura: Daniel, Hal, and Rupert.
Although so knights stepped forward with fighting spirit, they were a minority.
Most of the knights gave up on the matches.
This was because, for knights, these tournants were a kind of gamble.
If they won, they could gain a fortune by receiving a ransom or taking the opponent's armor and weapons, but if they lost, they could lose everything.
Moreover, not many knights were willing to push themselves in a situation where they could suffer serious injuries or even die.
Thanks to this, Hal and Daniel were able to reach the semifinals after only one fight each.
"We finally et."
Hal's semifinal opponent was Rupert.
Rupert grinned, openly displaying his boiling fighting spirit.
"Defeat here, and I'll believe your words and follow you."
"..."
Hal remained silent.
He simply tapped the guard of the sword at his waist.
Rupert laughed heartily and drew his sword.
"That's right. We don't converse with words. Let's talk with our swords."
A fight between knights who used Aura.
It was not a common sight, so the audience watched the match with great excitent.
The announcer was no different.
He gulped.
As soon as the lord gave the signal, he would raise the flag to announce the start of the match.
The lord slowly opened his mouth.
"Now then, let the match..."
"Wait."
A sudden voice interrupted the lord.
A look of confusion crossed the faces of the people who had been building up the excitent.
Who would dare interrupt the lord at this mont?
"Please stop."
The owner of the voice was none other than Hal.
All eyes, including the lord's, turned to Hal.
Hal shrugged and replied,
"I forfeit."
"...?"
Rupert, who had been ready to swing his sword at any mont, stared at him blankly.
Hal turned around and walked off the arena.
A chilling silence fell over the arena.
Only Rupert stood there dumbfounded, like a statue.
***
Hal subtly averted his gaze from Rupert, who was glaring at him from afar.
It couldn't be helped.
Hal had only recently learned to use Aura, and he wasn't confident he could defeat Rupert with swordsmanship alone.
Not to ntion the Azure Fla, which was useless against humans.
He had to conserve the talisman, as it couldn't be used for a long ti after a single use.
Then all that was left was consuming Dragon Blood...
'There's no reason to go that far in a swordsmanship tournant.'
He couldn't use Dragon Blood, which he refrained from using even in life-or-death battles, in a place like this.
'Let's give up.'
Hal cleanly gave up on the match.
The reason for his decision was simple.
He had already prepared for this possibility.
"The final match will now comnce. Sir Rupert of the Glenvale clan and Sir Daniel of Heidern, please prepare yourselves!"
At the announcer's call, Daniel stood up.
He chuckled and said to Hal,
"I'll be back."
"Yes. Don't overdo it."
"Alright, alright."
Daniel waved with a smile and headed towards the arena.
anwhile, Rupert, who was sitting a little distance away, also headed towards the arena.
Still glaring at Hal.
He seed quite disappointed in Hal.
But what could he do?
The condition of their bet was to defeat Rupert.
'I didn't say who had to do it.'
It didn't matter if he won or Daniel won.
Hal calmly watched the two of them enter the arena.
Ono, watching from the side, asked with a hint of worry,
"Are you sure it's alright to waste your energy like this when Vinea could make a move at any mont?"
"I don't think it will move now. And it probably won't waste its energy either."
"What do you an?"
When Ono asked with a puzzled look, Hal calmly asked back,
"What do you think would happen if I fought Sir Daniel without using any of my abilities?"
"You'd lose?"
"Yes, I would. To be precise..."
Hal looked towards the arena.
The flag signaling the start of the match was raised.
In the next mont,
Clang!
With a sharp tallic sound, a sword flew into the air, spinning.
Then it fell powerlessly to the ground.
"..."
One person had his sword pointed at his opponent's neck, while the other stared blankly at the sword that had fallen to the ground.
The final match of the swordsmanship tournant.
The winner was decided in the blink of an eye.
"Th-the winner... Sir Daniel of Heidern!"
Hal, watching this, continued what he had been saying to Ono,
"I wouldn't be able to withstand a single blow."
***
Rupert was a far more skilled swordsman than Hal.
And Daniel was a far more skilled swordsman than both of them.
Of course, if Rupert had used Aura from the beginning, things might have been a little different.
But even then, the outco wouldn't have changed...
'It wouldn't have been as easy a victory as this.'
The reason for Rupert's defeat in a single blow was clear.
'Carelessness.'
Hal looked at Rupert with an impassive expression.
Rupert was trudging off the arena, seemingly unable to believe his defeat.
"Just as expected."
Daniel, returning to his seat, shrugged and said.
Daniel had anticipated that Rupert wouldn't go all out from the start.
Partly due to carelessness, and partly to gauge his opponent.
Normally, it wouldn't be considered a bad move.
But not in this match.
Daniel had used Aura from the beginning, putting forth his full strength.
Moreover, Rupert had been preoccupied with Hal until the very last mont.
With their differing mindsets from the start, his defeat was, in a way, inevitable.
"So what are you going to do now?"
Ono asked Hal impatiently.
The tournant was over.
In the evening, there would be a feast in the plaza to celebrate the winner.
Even the most oblivious person could tell.
That the ti for the final battle was approaching.
'About three hours until sunset...'
There was enough ti.
Hal stood up and said,
"You two rest until the feast. I have soone to et."
"Who?"
At Ono's question, Hal looked around and then fixed his gaze on a certain point.
"G."
"...What are you talking about, suddenly bringing up a rat?"
Hal lightly ignored Ono's retort and quietly walked away.
And when he naturally moved out of sight of the others,
"Greetings."
Hal greeted the person walking ahead.
"Hmm? Are you talking to ?"
The middle-aged man turned around with a bewildered expression.
"Have we spoken before?"
"Didn't you say you wanted to talk after the tournant, Sir Galahad?"
Hal said calmly, looking at Galahad, the knight commander of Lonely Ridge.
Galahad stared at Hal blankly, as if bewildered...
"Oh my... how did you know it was ?"
...and then expressed his admiration.
He tilted his head in wonder and continued,
"Did I make a mistake sowhere?"
"Not at all. I recognized you as the knight commander because of sothing else."
"I'm very curious about this 'sothing else'... but anyway, I understand."
The reason Hal had guessed G's identity was simple.
In a heavily guarded castle, the person who could slip a letter into Hal's room had to be soone in a high position.
And the hint Tristan had given him.
'Co to think of it, Uncle Galahad didn't like the pendant either.'
If he hadn't figured it out after hearing that, he wouldn't be qualified as an exorcist priest.
Hal shrugged and got to the point.
"So, may I ask why you wanted to see ?"
"Well, before that, I have one question."
"Go ahead."
"Was it truly a coincidence that you ca to this territory, Sir Hal?"
Galahad's eyes, which had seed gentle until just now, suddenly glead sharply like a polished sword.
Hal looked at him silently for a mont, then slowly shook his head.
"No."
"Then..."
Galahad's eyes held a hint of expectation.
Hal calmly opened his mouth.
"It was to hunt the demon hiding in Lonely Ridge."
[Translator - Peptobismal]
[Proofreader - Max]
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