Orlando's raised eyebrow began to tremble, and he spoke in a voice filled with anger. "What the hell are you talking about, human?"
Enea remained calm and replied evenly, "Sorry, I didn't mean to offend you. But you know, I hate to admit it, yet I'm quite sadistic once a battle starts, so I can assure you that this encounter will not be painless-."
Before Enea could finish his sentence, Orlando cut him off, his voice blazing with fury. "Say no more, human! I have my pride as a Royal Knight of the Kingdom of Yggdora, and even if I were absolutely certain that death awaited me in this encounter, I would still not surrender. To do so would be an affront to all my comrades and to Queen Alberia herself. I am fully aware that even though you are a mere human, you will certainly be a formidable opponent. But that alone is no reason for someone in my position to surrender before a battle has even begun. If a little pain were enough to frighten me, I would never have become a Royal Knight!" Orlando declared, staring straight into his opponent's eyes.
"Human, huh..." Enea murmured quietly. Then, with a smile that blended bitterness and smug amusement, he continued, "I don't really mind that answer at all. As I said, I can be quite sadistic, and I enjoy having an extra chance to let off some steam. Besides, I personally respect that decision. But I warn you now, I won't go easy on you. Are you really-"
Once again, Orlando cut him off. "I told you not to say another word, human!" the elf snapped, his voice burning with restrained fury.
"Sigh..." Enea let out a soft sigh, then began to speak again. "All right, but you can still—" He stopped himself. "Never mind. Let's just begin."
Enea had been about to add that Orlando could surrender at any moment during the match and that he would not stop him. But realizing that, to him, such words would only sound like another insult, he decided to keep silent instead.
Orlando said nothing further. His eyes burned with rage as he drew his sword and pointed it directly at his opponent.
Seeing this, Enea's smile widened, now carrying a twisted excitement that made it unsettling to look at. Even so, he didn't change his posture, remaining completely relaxed and casual.
"Are you ready to begin?" Pinusal asked, seeing that the fighters had finished speaking.
Both nodded.
"Good. Then the match will begin at my signal," Pinusal announced.
"Ready... Set... Go!"
"That boy certainly has some nerve, saying something like that to a member of the Royal Knights. Caesar, do you think he's deliberately trying to provoke his opponent, like that hero named Musashi did earlier?" Aislyra asked, a smirk forming on her face.
"It's definitely a consequence he doesn't mind," Caesar replied calmly. "Opponents in that state tend to push themselves harder, and Enea doesn't mind a good fight at all. Still, I'm certain that the advice he gives at the beginning is completely sincere. If he knows his opponent isn't strong enough to face him, he prefers to give them a chance to walk away. Even though he personally isn't opposed to fighting—and 'having fun' with—someone weaker than himself, he doesn't think it's fair to force a fight if the opponent has no real reason to face him. At least, that's what I've gathered from his behavior and from what he's told me during the few weeks I've known him."
"So the boy is confident he'll win without any real difficulty. Do you truly think that's the case, Caesar?" Aislyra asked.
Instead of answering directly, Caesar posed another question. "How do you rate Orlando compared to his vice-captain?"
"A clash between the two would be a true toss-up. Orlando is the superior swordsman and a better user of the physical enhancement spell overall, but he is not a great magic user. The only spell he truly knows how to use well is a general spell passed down from generation to generation within his family—Hardening. This spell allows him to make any object he comes into contact with harder and more resistant without increasing its weight, which makes it useful almost exclusively for defense.
On the other hand, Gilciso is a less refined swordsman, but he is an excellent user of the physical enhancement spell when it comes to increasing the strength of his arms. However, for the rest of his body, he is inferior to Orlando. Unlike his assistant, though, the weight increase spell that Gilciso has mastered is far more versatile. And even though he didn't have the time or the composure to use it during his match, he is also an excellent practitioner of water magic and of its derived magic—ice magic—which, unfortunately for me, is also my own derived magic, but in which I am obviously superior," Aislyra explained, laying out the abilities in careful detail.
Thank you for such a thorough explanation, Lady Aislyra. But yes, I am sorry for Orlando but I don't think he stands a real chance of winning," Caesar replied firmly."
"Considering that brief clash he had with Fu the day before yesterday, I expected as much as well... What a shame. It looks like this will be another quick match," Aislyra added, sounding slightly dejected and more than a little jealous. Since she hadn't even been able to have her own match that day, she was beginning to grow tired of watching so many people seemingly 'waste' theirs.
"Don't worry, Lady Aislyra," Caesar said calmly, attempting to reassure her. "Although I'm not sure whether it's a good thing or not, given Enea's personality, there's a very high chance that this match won't be short at all."
Hearing this, the queen's bodyguard shifted her focus back to the duel that was about to unfold. The same was true for Sequoria and Lucas—but especially Lucas, whose curiosity about the mysterious boy was growing by the second.
Orlando immediately activated his physical enhancement spell and, for good measure, hardened both his armor and his sword. Then, without hesitation, he launched his attack with remarkable speed, aiming directly for his opponent's heart.
Enea avoided the thrust effortlessly with a simple movement, as though Orlando were moving in slow motion.
Anticipating a counterattack after his strike had been so easily evaded, Orlando retreated a couple of steps, holding his sword defensively in front of the only exposed part of his body—his face. But no counter came. Enea hadn't moved at all. Yet somehow, without Orlando having any idea when he had drawn it or from where it had appeared, Enea now held a black-and-white katana in his right hand.
Orlando was just about to attempt another assault, planning to pour even more mana into his legs to launch a faster, more sudden lunge—at the very least forcing Enea to block with the katana—when he felt something warm trickle down his right cheek, followed by a faint sting of pain.
He immediately touched his face and then looked at the armored glove of his hand, now stained red. It was blood. What he had brushed against was a fairly deep cut carved into his cheek.
'When did this human cut me?!' Orlando wondered in shock. Had Enea used some kind of invisible attack? Or had he moved so fast that Orlando hadn't been able to perceive it at all?
The sensation was eerily familiar, reminding him of the first times he had trained against Captain Fortore, when he would suddenly realize he was covered in cuts, bruises, and scrapes without knowing how they had appeared. He had improved greatly since his early days as a Royal Knight, but even in recent training sessions, whenever Captain Fortore decided to become even slightly serious, the same thing still happened.
If this human truly moved faster than he could perceive, then that meant one thing: Enea was at least as fast as Fortore when he was serious—if not faster.
Meanwhile, Enea did nothing more than watch him, a satisfied smile resting calmly on his face.
Aislyra's eyes were wide with shock, and the reason was simple: even she had been unable to perceive how Enea had managed to cut Orlando's cheek.
"Katerina, were you able to sense Enea's use of mana just now?" Aislyra asked in a serious, focused voice.
"I'm sorry, Lady Aislyra, but we are too far away, and the arena is far too crowded. It is beyond my abilities to determine whether Enea is using any kind of spell," Katerina replied in her usual calm tone, though there was a faint hint of dissatisfaction beneath it.
Of course, the possibility that Enea wasn't using even a trace of mana to enhance his physical performance was almost unthinkable. In this world, virtually every creature, whether consciously or unconsciously, relied on mana in some form to reach such extraordinary speeds. But if this person truly could accomplish such feats without using even a single drop of mana, then that boy was no ordinary human—he was some kind of monster that did not belong in this world at all.
That thought alone, even as a mere possibility, sent shivers down Aislyra's spine and, paradoxically, brought a grin of pure excitement to her face.
Sequoria, having reached the same conclusion, felt a similar chill. At the same time, she couldn't help but feel grateful that their kingdom maintained a virtually unbreakable alliance with the Kingdom of Leore.
But even though interest in the boy named Enea was very high, no one asked Caesar anything, waiting for him to decide to speak.
"What are you doing there, looking dazed? Didn't you say that a little pain was no problem at all for a member of the Royal Knights?" Enea taunted, his voice light but cutting.
The provocation snapped Orlando out of the dark spiral forming in his thoughts. The human was right. What did it matter if his opponent struck him with blows he couldn't even see? During his training with his captain, this kind of thing happened in practically every session. He was a Royal Knight, a member of the strongest military force in the kingdom. He couldn't allow a disadvantage—no matter how overwhelming—to break his resolve.
Orlando answered the taunt not with words, but with action. He poured as much mana into his legs as they could endure without damaging them, then launched himself forward in a rapid dash toward his opponent. With that burst of superior speed, he attempted once more to strike Enea with a swift, decisive slash, putting the plan he had conceived earlier into motion.
But even with this sudden increase in speed, nothing changed. Enea evaded the blade once again with a simple, almost lazy movement.
The scene repeated itself. Orlando retreated instinctively, and a moment later felt pain bloom across his left cheek. It wasn't particularly surprising; Enea had already avoided his previous attack and cut him at the same time with absolute ease. It was now clear that the human could dodge without even bothering to parry. At the very least, Orlando had become almost certain that this was the result of pure speed. What's more, it seemed that Enea had no intention of aiming at anything other than his face, likely because his reinforced armor was performing its role as intended.
At least, that was what Orlando believed—until a sharp, searing pain tore through the right side of his pelvis.
For less than a second, Instead of the familiar black-and-white katana, Enea's right hand now appeared to wield a blade of extremely pale blue—so light in color that it seemed nearly transparent, as if forged from pure ice. And the only one who noticed the change was Aislyra.
Orlando immediately looked down at the wounded area and saw that both the armor and everything beneath it had been cleanly sliced through. A deep gash—far more severe than the cuts on his cheeks—was carved into the right side of his pelvis. It was undeniable proof that his opponent could easily bypass his defenses.
A bitter smile spread across Orlando's face. 'So you're telling me I have no chance of defeating you...' the Royal Knight thought grimly. If the human could move faster than he could react, and if his armor was meaningless against those attacks, then Enea could end the battle whenever he wished. There was no path to victory.
"But I refuse to give up!" Orlando shouted, his voice brimming with both anger and pride.
With that declaration, he launched himself into a relentless series of attacks, vowing not to stop until either he—or his opponent—fell.