Volume 4 Chapter 20 - The old man becomes a knight. (1/2)

Thanks to the effect of the Eternal Ring, I teleported towards the surface as I landed not in the ring, but in the middle of the audience. The ideal situation would be if Lutra managed to defeat Princess Aure, however I fully intend to interfere with the battle even at the cost of her victory if it meant saving her life. In order for Lutra to have a chance of victory, Princess Aure had to be in the dark about our activities.

[Such a waste of an amazing item.] (Yuuya)

It seems that the item only had a single charge left as the moment my Teleportation ended, the ring shattered. This answered my question about the man’s hesitation in using the ring as he wouldn’t be able to teleport the monster to Princess Aure if he had used it against us. A nearby spectator was surprised by my sudden appearance as I continued to inch towards the ring. Meanwhile, an attendant who was nearby noticed my presence and began approaching me. However I kept him away by informing him that I was under orders from Prince Aleck, as a hero of the kingdom was conducting a secret investigation. He was clearly one of Princess Aure’s underlings, but Lutra’s safety came first.

When the ring came into view, Lutra and Princess Aure were already facing each other as the referee gave the signal. I prepared myself to jump out at anytime while carefully observing the ring.

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(Ten minutes earlier, Lutra’s waiting room)

Princess Aure and her escorts entered the room.

Immediately after noticing her sister, Lutra got into her battle stance as she grabbed her shield, suspecting that she came to finish the job before the match started.

[Lutra, you don’t have to be so alarmed by me.] (Aure)

[I’ve already decided to be vigilant against you. Aneue, I trusted you. Yet why?] (Lutra)

Rather than hostility, Lutra’s tone was filled with sadness and loneliness. Even after being eaten by the Starfish Larvae, even after she knew that her own bodyguard tried to kill her. Even after encountering the trap placed for her in the royal dungeon, she had a glimmer of hope as she tried to find evidence against her sister’s motive.

Previously, her siblings had prevented Lutra from obtaining any information about her surroundings. However thanks to her sister’s absence and her brother ceasing his obstruction, she was able to finally understand the situation with the help of a certain hero. Although she set out to prove her sister’s innocence, she managed to justify her murderous intentions instead.

[Since you’ve discovered the truth, I will not make any excuses. It was all done for me to become the queen. If nothing was done, aniue would be the king with you by his side. Then there would be no place in the Laluzulu Kingdom for me. For my own sake, I had to eliminate you and aniue.] (Aure)

Aure’s face remained calm with a smile as bright as the sun.

[Aniue, and I, we both needed you. Aniue even said it, he would have needed your power if he became the king. And I told you that I would have placed you on the throne if I had won!] (Lutra)

[It’s a sad turn of events isn’t it. Before the incident with the Starfish Larvae you didn’t tell me that you were going to push me to the throne. The incident in the royal dungeon, was also your doing wasn’t it? “If aniue was his old self and better than me in all aspects, you would put him on the throne over me.” You said it yourself. It’s a shame but he hasn’t changed at all nor am I on his level in any aspect. Which means that both of you must be erased.] (Aure)

[…. how did you come to such a conclusion.] (Lutra)

[Lutra. All I am doing is answering your question. Abstain from the tournament. You don’t have any hope of winning.] (Aure)

Lutra knew.

She had seen them begin to move when Prince Aleck’s battle had ended. She trusted her reliable allies to change the situation somehow.

[I might not be able to defeat you. But that doesn’t mean that I’ll lose to you.] (Lutra)

[No. There is no hope left for you to win. If you don’t withdraw right now, the situation will be worse. Remember how I wasn’t in the castle recently at all? Well I’ve managed to find a suitable marriage partner for you. If you’ll remain outside of the kingdom, then I’ll revert to the kind and loving sister anytime.] (Aure)

Even though she wasn’t bright when it comes to politics, Lutra knew that she would just be used to reap profits for others.

[…Thanks to this, my mind has never been clearer. I’ll win. The reason why you’re here, is because you’re not confident in your victory. You would never waste time performing meaningless actions, this is enough for me to know that I will not lose.] (Lutra)

[I can’t believe that my Lutra has become this twisted. I’m incredibly saddened by this.] (Aure)

[Then you can continue doing so. Aneue, it’s about time for you to return. The match is about to begin. I won’t be misguided anymore and I will beat you in the match.] (Lutra)

‘I won’t be misguided anymore’. Her words were filled with conviction but unknown to her, Yuuya had already created the key to her victory. In order for her to win, then she couldn’t hesitate and move forward.

[I’m sad that I’ll have to lose my sister this way.] (Aure)

[And so do I… There’s just one thing I have left for you. Thank you for everything until now. Even if it was just a lie, I would never had survived and stand up on my own two feet, if it wasn’t for the kindness you showed me.] (Lutra)

Looking at Lutra’s face, Aure turned back without saying anything as the conversation she intended went completely awry. She intended to ask Lutra to repay her graciousness at the beginning by surrendering or take advantage of Lutra’s naivety and disrupt her thoughts right before the match. All to gain benefits for herself.

However, there was something in her heart that couldn’t let her say so. She felt that if she said that, then that important thing she had left, would break into a million pieces.

Her battle with her sister was inevitable, and in a few minutes, one will be the winner who has everything.

And the loser will be left with nothing.

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[It is time for the final round of the succession ceremony! Competitors, enter the ring!] (Referee)

Lutra and Princess Aure were facing each other in the center of the ring.

The distance between them was only two metres as both of them waited for the referee’s signal.

The moment the signal was given, the two fighters began moving. Princess Aure took a leap backwards while Lutra charged towards her at full power.

Both parties knew that this was the deciding moment in the battle. Lutra’s only chance of winning was to defeat Princess Aure before she activated her *Summoning Magic* while Princess Aure jumped back to gain as much distance as possible. Although Lutra’s exclusive class, Crusader didn’t have any increase in speed when compared to an average person, her fully charged rush forward was still fast enough to mistake her as a Thief.

It was the movement technique called Shukuchi which was thoroughly beat into her by Yuuya. It was a movement technique which converts the user’s potential energy into kinetic energy for an instant, allowing them to travel at a higher speed than they normally could. While using Shukuchi, a sword was simultaneously being quickdrawn as her sword was pulled out of its scabbard and stuck out with all of her strength, erasing the two metres as well as the distance gained by Princess Aure’s leap. However, Princess Aure was still calm.

Note: Shukuchi is called Ground Shrink or something similar to the sort in other novels. I’m unsure on what to name it so I’m leaving it as it is for now.

She had expected this the moment her magic was exposed as it was a crucial weakness to a magic user, which allowed her preparations to bear fruit. Her battle dress wasn’t particularly strong in defense, but it provided an additional effect that was crucial to magicians. The defense of a magic user was so ridiculously weak that it didn’t make any sense to reinforce that tiny amount, but it was possible to supplement it with something else. Which is why they had this special ability.

It was a passive ability that nullifies any attack inflicted on an hourly basis and attacks the source of the damage. The moment Lutra’s blade touched her dress, the sword began to crack and shattered, nullifying her sword thrust.

It was a legendary equipment hidden in the castle’s vault, the Siren Dress. The armour was capable of rendering other legendary equipment unless for a period of time, and if the weapon used wasn’t on a similar level, then it would be destroyed instead.

[Looks like it’s my victory.] (Aure)