Chapter 3: Duel, and then Inadvertently Steal a Girl
[space_man][space_man]”Excuse me… Claude-san, are your hands alright?”
[space_man][space_man]”Ah, it’s nothing.”
[space_man][space_man]
[space_man][space_man]Looking at the other party who smiled with a gentle atmosphere, he turned his gaze to Revia next to him.
[space_man][space_man]
[space_man][space_man]”This is Fine, a mage of Clawsolas L-type and the adopted daughter of the Captain.”
[space_man][space_man]”Nice to meet you.”
[space_man][space_man]
[space_man][space_man]”Likewise…”
[space_man][space_man]
[space_man][space_man]While rubbing his slightly painful hand and returning a bow in response to her lowered head, a lean knight who seemed to be around the same age as the Captain stepped forward.
[space_man][space_man]
[space_man][space_man]”Claude-dono, I witnessed your skill from the encampment… Captain Xenos, how about entrusting him with a Clawsolas?”
[space_man][space_man]
[space_man][space_man]”Hmm, but…”
[space_man][space_man]
[space_man][space_man]In addition to the fact that a mage is essential to control the power of a giant knight, each of the seemingly only five Clawsolas should have a dedicated knight on board.
[space_man][space_man]
[space_man][space_man]In other words, someone would have to get off… A slight tension ran through the assembled knights.
[space_man][space_man]
[space_man][space_man]”I hate to say it, but… putting the soldiers entrusted to me by the King in danger out of personal feelings is nothing short of foolish. This time, the damage to the knight was due to Dino’s inexperience, so he should be the one to step down.”
[space_man][space_man]
[space_man][space_man]”W-wait a minute, Raizes-sama!”
[space_man][space_man]”…You could have gotten Revia killed, you know.”
[space_man][space_man]
[space_man][space_man]”Ugh…”
[space_man][space_man]”…I’m sorry, Dino.”
[space_man][space_man]
[space_man][space_man]The cornered blue-haired young man turned to his childhood friend, but she apologetically averted her gaze. Unable to bear the sight, he searched for words he could offer without hurting the young man’s pride as a warrior, but was met with a sharp glare.
[space_man][space_man]
[space_man][space_man]”I challenge Claude-dono to a duel! Captain, if I win, I don’t have to give up my Clawsolas, right?”
[space_man][space_man]”Well, I don’t mind… Someone lend Claude-dono a sword.”
[space_man][space_man]
[space_man][space_man]”Here, use this.”
[space_man][space_man]”Hold on a sec…”
[space_man][space_man]
[space_man][space_man]Before he could finish, the tall, handsome man removed an iron sword, still in its scabbard, from his sword belt and casually tossed it over. Claude caught it reflexively and sighed at its considerable weight.
[space_man][space_man]
[space_man][space_man]”Whoa, is this a real sword…?”
[space_man][space_man]
[space_man][space_man]He handed the empty scabbard to Revia, who had reached out, and since there was no way to refuse the atmosphere with Dino already in his stance, he stepped back with his left foot and faced him in the left-handed Jodan no Kamae stance he was accustomed to.
[space_man][space_man]
[space_man][space_man]”On guard… Begin!”
[space_man][space_man]
[space_man][space_man]”Haaaaah!”
[space_man][space_man]”Hmph.”
[space_man][space_man]
[space_man][space_man]The moment the signal echoed and Dino lunged forward with a diagonal slash, Claude met it head-on. In the instant their blades clashed, he kicked Dino’s right arm with his left foot, throwing him off balance as he shifted his body, the crossed blades moving with him.
[space_man][space_man]
[space_man][space_man]He then struck the exposed side of Dino’s neck with the hilt of his sword and stepped back to create distance.
[space_man][space_man]
[space_man][space_man]”Guh, damn it!”
[space_man][space_man]
[space_man][space_man]Perhaps angered that Claude had opted for a strike rather than a cut despite having presented a fatal opening, Dino took a large step forward from his stumbled position and unleashed a sharp upward slash.
[space_man][space_man]
[space_man][space_man]”…I don’t mean any harm, but…”
[space_man][space_man]
[space_man][space_man]Unlike those grotesque monsters, Dino simply lacked the resolve to kill a person, and in that respect, he might be far superior to Claude.
[space_man][space_man]
[space_man][space_man]While thinking such thoughts, he placed his left hand on the flat of the blade, pushing it out slightly to receive the attack, and swept Dino’s leading foot outward with his own left foot.
[space_man][space_man]
[space_man][space_man]”Ah… Guh!”
[space_man][space_man]
[space_man][space_man]Dino let out a small cry and collapsed forward. Claude struck his face again with the sword hilt and this time pressed the blade against the fallen man’s neck.
[space_man][space_man]
[space_man][space_man]”Kuh, just kill me…”
[space_man][space_man]”………………”
[space_man][space_man]
[space_man][space_man]He looked down at him in silence for a while. Dino’s face gradually turned pale as his anger cooled, and a hint of fear could be seen.
[space_man][space_man]
[space_man][space_man]”Even if you say it with that face… Do I have to kill him, Captain-dono?”
[space_man][space_man]”It’s a duel, so it’s the victor’s prerogative.”
[space_man][space_man]
[space_man][space_man]”Then I’ll pass.”
[space_man][space_man]”D-damn it, why am I…”
[space_man][space_man]
[space_man][space_man]Unable to forgive himself for flinching at the last moment, he slammed his right fist, covered in a gauntlet, into the hard ground with all his might.
[space_man][space_man]
[space_man][space_man]”Dino-san, please come this way so I can treat you…”
[space_man][space_man]
[space_man][space_man]The petite Fine grabbed his arm, which was bleeding from the corner of his mouth, helped him up, and slowly led him to the tent.
[space_man][space_man]
[space_man][space_man]”Dino…”
[space_man][space_man]”Aren’t you going to go?”
[space_man][space_man]
[space_man][space_man]When Claude asked Revia, who was standing still, she shook her head slightly.
[space_man][space_man]
[space_man][space_man]”As Raizes-sama said, I think it’s better for everyone if I team up with you, so I don’t have anything to say to him right now.”
[space_man][space_man]
[space_man][space_man]”I’ll check on him later. He’s a rare talent who can operate a Clawsolas.”
[space_man][space_man]”Thank you, Captain.”
[space_man][space_man]
[space_man][space_man]Revia bowed deeply, her red hair swaying, and beyond her, Claude could see the cavalry and infantry returning after eliminating the small Aberrations.
[space_man][space_man]
[space_man][space_man]As if timed with their return, the group of technician-like people who had been observing began to approach the Clawsolas and start maintenance on the knights.
[space_man][space_man]
[space_man][space_man]”Jax, what’s the extent of the damage to the fourth knight?”
[space_man][space_man]
[space_man][space_man]”It looks like we can manage with a refill of magic fluid and some repairs to the artificial muscles. We’ll get it done by dawn, Vice-Captain Raizes!”
[space_man][space_man]
[space_man][space_man]Revia sighed in relief at the words of the mechanic in charge of the giant knight she had just been piloting.
[space_man][space_man]
[space_man][space_man]”Thank goodness, the core wasn’t affected…”
[space_man][space_man]
[space_man][space_man]Claude followed her gaze and looked at the giant knight, which was clearly an example of over-technology compared to the musket rifles carried by the regular infantry.
[space_man][space_man]
[space_man][space_man]”This knight, it was actually developed by a Rare Human from a neighboring country and provided to us.”
[space_man][space_man]”Is that so?”
[space_man][space_man]
[space_man][space_man]Two years had passed since the grotesque creatures known as the Hour of Ruin appeared and destroyed the island nation of Iglad, a major power across the strait… On the continent, the Francia Kingdom had also been destroyed, and alliances were being formed between nations. In the midst of all this, the giant knights were an innovative new weapon that each country had been working to develop and deploy as a matter of national prestige.
[space_man][space_man]
[space_man][space_man]Looking at it again, it really was a gigantic suit of Western armor, lacking a sense of reality. Its stocky form was the only thing that hinted at its practicality.
[space_man][space_man]
[space_man][space_man]Nina Valer, a Rare Human who was merely the lord of the Zephyrus Domain, a small territory within a single nation, had brought this technology to the world. By holding back the large Aberrations that appeared alongside the smaller ones, she had given hope to the people of the continent.