Master’s Smile

C111 – Duel

Ritter was facing Theldorff.

The location was a desolate arena in the suburbs.

It was a large arena which once accommodated a large number of people, but it currently held only four people.

Neena and Lintz, competing for the throne, as well as Ritter and Theldorff dueling on their behalf.

“(I wanted Master to watch, though….)”

Even in the face of the most powerful knight in Evans Kingdom, Ritter’s thoughts remained unchanged.

Although she was a little concerned that Theldorff had a demon, it was not really that much of a threat to her.

A long time had passed since “That time” when Ritter met her master, and since then, she had grown a lot.

She was now able to win against low-ranked demons even in her usual absent-minded state.

Hence, she was not that nervous.

“I knew we would have to fight someday, but I never thought it would turn out this way.”

“……?”

Theldorff began to speak before the fight.

Ritter didn’t care that much, so she decided to listen to him for now.

She could just quickly kill Theldorff and be done with it, or she could listen to him like this and then kill him.

“I knew from the moment you joined the knights that you were an extraordinary fighter. You were a good asset for the kingdom, but for what it’s worth, you had a lot of mental problems.”

Ritter lacked the basics of human relations.

It wasn’t because she tried to keep people away by spreading her bloodlust, rather, only certain people could manage to have a conversation with her in her absent-minded state.

Furthermore, it was hard to hold a conversation with her in the first place, since Ritter had no interest in people.

It made her a very difficult person to deal with in the knights order, where acting as a group was the norm.

“I’ve always wanted to enforce it on you, but for a number of reasons I haven’t been able to do that. Therefore, today is the day.”

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“…You have no right to tell me what to do. Is assassination, allowed for knights?”

What Theldorff just said was perfectly normal like what a boss would say towards his troublesome subordinate, but to Ritter, who knew what he had done, it was laughable.

It would not be strange for a member of a gray or dark guild to perform an assassination, but if it were discovered that a knight, which was a sacred profession, was doing such a thing, they would be stripped of their role.

Nevertheless, Ritter’s wording was not appropriate to use towards a knight leader.

He could have been furious by her words, but….

“…Sigh, you’re right. I too have fallen.”

With a self-deprecating smile, Theldorff accepted Ritter’s words.

“When are you going to start!?”

At that moment, Lintz’s voice rang out in the audience.

He must have grown impatient with the two of them, who had only been talking and not fighting.

Theldorff’s face contorted in disgust for a moment, but quickly returned to a blank look.

“It seems that my Lord has run out of patience. It’s about time we got started.”

“Okay.”

Theldorff, who is known as the strongest knight in the kingdom, and Ritter, the female knight who is unmistakably the strongest in Neena’s faction.

These two people finally clashed.

　◆

It was Ritter who made the first move.

As one might expect from her light gear, she is an agile type of knight who fights quickly and moves around the battlefield.

Theldorff, who stood at the top of all the kingdom knights as the knight commander, of course already knew her fighting style, but he still couldn’t help but let out a sigh of admiration when he saw her speed once again.

Ritter’s sword was aimed right at his neck without hesitation.

However, Theldorff immediately pulled out his sword and caught it.

“Oooh!!!”

He put all his strength into crushing her while their swords were locked against one another, which could be read even by Ritter.

Hence, she quickly moved back and widened their distance once more.

“…You don’t have a shred of hesitation in killing me, huh?”

“……? Because, I plan to kill you, here.”

Theldorff made a wry smile and muttered so.

However, Ritter only tilted her head, wondering what he was talking about.

Although she didn’t really care even if Theldorff went after Neena, Ritter just couldn’t accept that he had attacked her master.

No matter what the reason was.

“Fuhaha!! I like it. I haven’t had this much fun in a long time.”

Theldorff laughed fiercely.

Then, the next move came from him.

He closed in on Ritter at a speed that would be hard to believe for someone as heavy-equipped as him.

“UWOOOOOOOOOOH!!!”

With a yell filled with vigor, he swung his sword down.

The sword had such destructive power that if a careless person tried to block it, they would be slashed with their sword still up.

Ritter knew this.

She knew that her slender arms would not be able to stop the blow.

Hence, she shifted her sword down diagonally to fend off his blade.

“Nuoo!?!”

Not getting the response he was expecting, Theldorff involuntarily stumbled forward.

What awaited him in the abdomen was a sharp kick from Ritter.

“Guhaa!!!”

The power that came from the slender woman was unimaginable, causing Theldorff to take several steps backward.

However, Ritter’s leg also went numb from the kick to his thick armor.

Unable to pursue him, she stopped dead in her tracks.

“Alright! That’s good!”

“Tsk…!”

Neena and Lintz’s reactions were just the opposite of one another.

Neena was pleased that Ritter was putting up a good fight against the strongest kingdom knight, while Lintz could not hide his anger at Theldorff, who was being dealt with by a little girl.

“As expected, you have overwhelmingly more moves than I do.”

“You are stronger, so even.”

“Hahaha! maybe so.”

Theldorff felt the joy of being able to put his own strength to the test for the first time in a long time.

He was forced to do something that deviated greatly from his chivalrous spirit by Lintz’s order.

Therefore, he was very happy to be able to put his all into a fair and serious contest like this.

Ritter, on the other hand, did not feel anything in particular.

“Theldorff! What the hell are you doing!? Stop fooling around and put up a fight!”

At that moment, Lintz’s pressing voice resounded.

He was obsessed with becoming the king and had no idea how Theldorff felt, nor did he intend to understand.

Theldorff did not want to obey such a man, but he still had his daughter to think about.

He let out a sigh and readied his sword.

“I had hoped to enjoy our battle more, but if the prince insists, I have no choice. No hard feelings, okay?”

“……? Think you can beat me?”

There was no way that a member of Yelquchira would be defeated by an opponent who tried to harm their master.

With her thin sword ready, she was prepared for Theldorff to attack at any moment.

However, contrary to his gallant words, Theldorff did not come close.

Since he is a knight, he should have had to approach in order to fight, but he remained frozen in place.

As Ritter wondered, she noticed a change in the situation.

“Wind….”

The wind had not been blowing hard enough to sway her hair, but now a gentle breeze had been created.

It was flowing from all directions and gathered around Theldorff’s sword.

“ーーーHere I come!’

“…….!”

With a brief signal, Theldorff mowed down the spot where he stood.

Soon after, the wind that had gathered around him turned into a blade and struck Ritter.