"Listen, Master. Toru wants to kill you..."
Edo broke out in a cold sweat when the word "kill" and the name of the person who had already made him feel sick to his stomach several times came from the young knight's mouth. Klein, who was always calm and a little clueless, suddenly had a very serious expression on his face, completely unlike his usual nature.
Klein did not get a chance to finish because Edo suddenly found it hard to breathe. Sweating, he quickly said:
"Ki... Kill... Hah... ha. Well, I guess I should have expected this..."
Those were the only words Edo managed to get out. He could not say anything more. He had expected news like this.
However, Klein continued speaking in a calm voice.
"Calm down, Master. He won't do it in the way you think. He won't do it because if your head rolls, he'll be next. I will kill him then."
Klein said it coldly.
Edo placed his hands on the table, analyzing Klein's words, and then said:
"You'll kill him...? Right... Of course... But how does that lizard plan to kill me if you're saying he won't do it because he'll die by your hand?"
Klein rested his hands on the table and said:
"It's simple. He'll challenge you to a duel to the death. A knight's duel in which you can put everything on the line. Status, life, money, glory. However, you don't have to accept. It's not your obligation, and at your current level, you don't stand the slightest chance. Toru is one of the ten court knights, while you're only just beginning your journey into combat. Toru will crush you," Klein said calmly.
Edo let out a heavy sigh, trying to calm himself down, and then spoke briefly:
"So... I'm not in any danger? I can simply refuse?"
Klein merely nodded.
"Yes, you can."
Edo had already calmed down. However... however, a crazy thought suddenly crossed his mind. Something he should not even have considered in his situation. An utterly foolish idea began to circle around in his head.
"What if...? No, what am I even thinking?! Eh... no... no..."
A conflict began inside Edo's mind. Something like this had never happened during his comfortable life. He would never have even thought about something like this while he was still in his own world.
"What if I... accepted the duel? Hahahah, what am I doing?! But... this is the perfect opportunity to gain some status or improve my abilities. I won't achieve anything by training alone. I need to fight. But against a court knight right away? I'm dead... I don't know how to fight, and I don't have any special powers... Well, except for this damn thing."
Edo thought about it while remembering his eye and the disgusting power it possessed.
Suddenly, he spoke to Klein in a calm and serious tone:
"Listen, Klein. Do you think there's any chance I could defeat Toru?"
Klein answered briefly:
"No. Unless you have an ace up your sleeve that I don't know about, Master."
Edo sighed and began thinking for a moment.
"Maybe... Just maybe... I'll try training this power. Should I tell Klein about it? That I can see the future? Could I defeat him with something like that?"
Edo considered the idea, but quickly pushed it out of his mind.
"No. I'm not going to rely on this power. It'll destroy my psyche. I have to become strong on my own terms."
Edo thought for a moment before saying to Klein:
"No, I don't have an ace up my sleeve."
Klein sighed lightly and said:
"Then I don't see any chance for you. However... I've seen duels like this before," Klein said with a smile.
Edo looked at him in surprise and asked:
"What do you mean?"
Klein smiled.
"You'll be fighting someone who won't think during the fight. The moment Toru sees you, he'll be acting purely on instinct. If you train a little, use your wits, and... whatever it is you're hiding from me, then you have a chance."
Edo broke into a cold sweat at Klein's words.
"Whatever it is I'm hiding from you...?" he said, a lump forming in his throat.
Klein laughed and said:
"I'm not a fool, Master. I know you're hiding something more. If you didn't have it, you wouldn't have defeated a monster that powerful in the Misty Forest. And more importantly, you're gaining the recognition of powerful people. I know, Master, that you're hiding something that will allow you to win. That's what my intuition tells me."
Hearing Klein's words, Edo gained a little courage.
"Klein is right. I do have something that allowed me to survive and win, but... I don't intend to rely on it anymore unless I have to. I have to admit, though... if I didn't have this damn power, it wouldn't have even crossed my mind to take on this fight," Edo thought.
After a moment of silence, he said to Klein:
"I'll accept Toru's challenge. However, first I want to become stronger on my own. If he asks me, I'll refuse him for now, but I'll tell him that I'm willing to fight. I'll also tell him to wait until I've become stronger," Edo said confidently.
Klein replied with pride in his eyes:
"I wouldn't have expected anything else from my master! From now on, we're going to take sword training seriously! I'll turn you into such a warrior that the lizard will tuck his tail between his legs!"
Klein laughed and patted Edo on the shoulder.
Edo only smiled, but his mind was still swirling with thoughts.
"No matter what... I have to take this duel. I remember my goal. I have to become strong so that I will never have to fully rely on somone else again and others would trust me no matter what. The best way to become stronger is to fight increasingly powerful opponents."
"Alright, Master. It's time to wrap things up. Sitting in the dining hall this long is starting to make me sick. I'm going to my room. I recommend you get to training. Goodbye for now, Master. If you find out anything about Toru, let me know," Klein said as he left the table and headed toward the exit.
Edo stood up soon afterward and, just as Klein had told him, headed toward the castle exit to get a sword and practice.
As he approached the exit, he heard loud bangs coming from the courtyard.
"What is that?! Is there some kind of earthquake?!" Edo thought in panic.
He stepped out into the castle courtyard and saw a sight straight out of a fantasy novel. Two people were fighting a duel. They were Rei and Robin, who had indeed gone to have their duel, just as they had said during the meal.
Rei swung her hammer at incredible speed, as if it were the lightest stick in the world. Robin, meanwhile, a massive man, blocked every attack with his enormous swords. They moved at astonishing speeds. Every swing of a sword created a gust of wind and a deafening bang, making it difficult for Edo to remain standing. When Rei's hammer slid off Robin's sword, the impact caused tremors and left holes in the ground.
"What... am I looking at...? Am I seriously planning to fight one of the court knights?!"
After exchanging blows for a while, Robin was struck in the back by the hammer and fell to the ground. Rei had won.
"Better than before. You're making progress, Robin," Rei said to Robin, who was lying on the ground, before offering him her hand.
Robin grabbed it and got back to his feet.
"Yeah... I expected to get my ass kicked... But that was fun! Thanks for the duel!" Robin said loudly, clearly pleased.
A moment later, the two of them turned toward the entrance to the castle.
As they passed Edo, Robin waved at him, while Rei said nothing. Then they both entered the castle.
Edo stared at the battlefield and thought to himself:
"Who's going to clean this up now...? It looks like an actual battlefield!"
After recovering from his shock, Edo went to the changing room, changed his nice outfit into a simple white shirt and sweatpants, took a wooden sword from a box, and headed back out into the courtyard.
"Alright, time to get to work."
With that, Edo began swinging the sword according to Klein's instructions.