Chapter 20: Victory Ceremony Tournament (2)

“Is it… a tournament?”

At Jackson’s request, Victoria tilted her head.

It seemed like she didn’t know what a tournament was.

“No, even I know what that is!”

“You know? How do you know?”

!!!

“There was someone at the guild I frequented who used to boast that he was from a knightly background! I heard it from him!”

Victoria confidently spoke and then tilted her head again.

“Normally, it’s true that knights participate in the tournaments, but this time, adventurers can also join.”

“I see! My knowledge has grown!”

“So, Victoria, would you please participate in the tournament?”

At Jackson’s polite request, Victoria smiled broadly and exclaimed.

“No, I won’t!”

“Huh? Why not?”

“I heard that tournaments are competitions to raise one’s own honor! Is that correct?”

“Yes, that’s right. Even if you don’t win, if you fight well, your fame will certainly increase greatly—”

…

I was slightly moved by Victoria’s words.

I knew she was sincere about learning, but to put my teachings before raising her name in such a big competition—could this be the joy of raising a disciple?

For some reason, I felt incredibly proud.

But Jackson, watching me, softly whispered.

“Don’t get proud, just convince her! She’s saying she won’t participate!”

I quickly composed myself and tried to persuade Victoria.

“Victoria, why don’t you reconsider and join?”

“Why is that?”

“To improve your skills, experience is more important than anything else. And opportunities to face knights and swordsmen head-on are hard to come by.”

In fact, it’s not just hard to come by—it’s almost nonexistent.

Knights are both retainers to the nobles and, themselves, nobles.

An adventurer, someone of low rank, is not in a position to clash swords with a knight.

At my words, Victoria asked.

“Can knights also shine with their swords?”

“Uh… I don’t know about that. I’ve never seen it.”

“Then, what do you learn from knights?”

I was shocked by Victoria’s question and asked back.

“What do you mean by that?”

“The light from the sword can cut through both the sword and the armor! No matter how strong or skilled a knight is, wouldn’t they be powerless if that happens?”

I stared directly into Victoria’s eyes, wondering if she was serious, but her eyes remained clear and transparent.

Her expression was one of someone who thought this with knowledge, not arrogance or excuses.

I suddenly realized something.

“Ah, that’s right. She’s never seen proper swordsmanship!”

Victoria is from a farming family, and her parents are ordinary farmers.

The adventurer guild she belongs to mainly handles quests dealing with monsters, so she hasn’t had much opportunity to fight people.

And what I teach her isn’t traditional swordsmanship, but combat techniques and sword energy.

In other words, she has only cultivated raw combat ability until now.

“On top of that, she has the talent to copy techniques she occasionally comes across.”

So for her, swordsmanship was just a grab.

In reality, all the opponents she could face would have been defeated that way, so she never had the chance to correct her misconception.

“I need to correct this misconception quickly.”

To be honest, I’ve had similar thoughts myself.

With the power to cut through both swords and armor, what meaning is there in sword fighting?

But that’s wrong.

While sword energy is indeed an extremely powerful technique—

Just because you can unleash sword energy doesn’t mean your body will be able to deflect an opponent’s sword.

I learned that from Isel, and through that, I was able to learn proper swordsmanship.

“I was lucky enough to have had the opportunity to learn that way…”

But what if an enemy had taught me this?

In that case, I would have died without being able to do anything.

If I don’t teach Victoria this, there’s a high chance that would happen.

“Should I teach her swordsmanship from the beginning, even now?”

But if I teach her, Victoria would probably think of it more as ‘my combat style’ rather than ‘swordsmanship’…

I thought for a moment, then came up with a solution and said.

“Is there such a person?”

“Yes, if there’s such a person, would you be willing to join the tournament?”

Victoria, who had been thinking for a while, nodded her head.

“If there’s such a person, I’d definitely want to fight them!”

“Then, if there’s a knight who can overcome sword energy, you’d participate in the tournament, right?”

“Yes! I’m really curious if such a person exists!”

Good, I’ve got her.

“Of course, that person has no chance of participating in the tournament—”

Anyway, I didn’t lie, did I?

With Victoria’s promise secured, I headed to the capital to meet a knight who could overcome sword energy.

It was a tour of the capital with all the members of the restaurant.

***

The capital, Fludris, which I visited after a long time, was in full festival mood.

This was because people and goods from all over the country were gathering for the upcoming victory celebration.

“Look, mister! It seems like they even decorated the streets with flowers!”

“That’s because there’s a festival coming soon.”

“A festival?! We must have arrived just in time!”

It’s not because we arrived at a good time, but because of the good event happening.

However, there was no need to spoil Selly’s mood, so I just smiled and agreed with her.

While Selly was in high spirits, Staren was quietly observing the capital.

He was muttering to himself while looking at the royal palace, citizens, and carriages passing by.

“Have you been here before?”

“No, this is my first time.”

Staren added, his expression somewhat downcast.

“But it feels familiar. Really.”

“Really? Do dragons also build and live in cities like this?”

“I’m not talking about the appearance.”

Staren shook his head irritably and said,

“I don’t want to see any more. Where’s the inn?”

“Not going.”

He said that and pulled the blanket over himself.

Selly, who had been watching with a concerned expression, whispered to me,

“You said you were going to meet someone with Victoria, right? Go ahead. I’ll take care of Staren.”

“Are you sure? He seemed like he wanted to see more of the capital.”

“It’s fine. He’s not leaving right away, right? There will be more chances.”

“You’re so kind, Selly.”

When I patted her head, Selly accepted the gesture with a pleased, cat-like expression.

After I dropped Selly and Staren off at the inn, Victoria, who had been unusually calm, spoke up.

“Sure enough, the capital is different. I can see strong-looking people everywhere.”

“Really? Do you think you’ll learn something from the tournament soon?”

“Not really. I still think it would be more helpful to learn from you, Master.”

“Really? I see.”

Victoria and I headed deeper into the capital.

As we went further in, there were more and more different kinds of buildings.

A blacksmith, a magic tower, and various guilds.

Unlike Hilton, Victoria put on a determined expression as we approached the large building where the Adventurers’ Guild was located, but when I simply passed by it, she asked with a puzzled look,

“Master, why are we passing by the Adventurers’ Guild?”

“We came to meet a knight, didn’t we? There’s no need for the guild.”

“Aren’t we meeting a knight who works as an adventurer?”

I smiled softly at Victoria’s question.

Victoria must have thought that a knight would be in the Adventurer’s Guild because she had never met a proper knight.

Well, to be honest, it’s not entirely wrong.

For a commoner to meet a knight, the limit would be a free knight who also works as an adventurer.

But the person I want to meet is not someone like that.

Victoria and I continued deeper into the capital, and as we reached a certain point, the scenery before us changed.

The walls were stained white, as if no dirt could be allowed.

A spire that reached high enough to overlook all the buildings.

At that point, Victoria’s eyes began to tremble.

“Master, isn’t this the royal palace?”

“Yes.”

“Are we going to fight the king?”

What are you saying, Victoria?

Are you planning to start a rebellion in the kingdom?

I shook my head at Victoria, who was whispering such strange things, and approached the royal guards who were guarding the training grounds attached to the royal palace.

“Stop. Please state your identity.”

“Gold medallion adventurer Kyle.”

“Purpose?”

“I’ve come to meet Sir Gilbert.”

“The Commander of the Knights is not someone who will meet with an adventurer like you on a whim.”

“That’s not for you to decide.”

At my words, the guard’s expression hardened, and he glared at me.

I stared back into his eyes and said,

“[Crimson Moon Sword]…?”

At my words, the guard flinched, returned to the outpost, and spoke to another guard on duty inside. The message was soon relayed to the royal palace.

Then—

[What? Kyle is here! I’ll go right away, so tell him to wait!]

The communication sound from the crystal tower echoed loudly, and soon after, the sound of heavy footsteps shaking the ground could be heard from the training grounds.

Hearing that, I chuckled.

“Still as vigorous as ever, old man.”