[Resolve]
(Lyncean Sword Marshall Side)
That day, I found Dan the moment I woke up after losing to Ruby.
“Mmh, mmgh. Where am I?”
“Yo. Looks like our sleeping beauty is finally up.”
“Dan!! I see… I lost…”
The pain lingering in my jaw, my still-shaking vision, and the sense of security from Dan’s presence made me realize that I had lost to Ruby. Did this mean that Deskustos was correct? Was I… wrong? A sense of loss filled my chest, making me feel short of breath.
“Yeah, you lost. That made us both.”
“Why are you so calm? Aren’t you frustrated?!”
“I am. Verily so. But that’s all the more reason why I–we have to understand.”
“…Understand what?” I asked, closing my eyes and hiding my face with my arm.
“That we were wrong.”
“We weren’t wrong!”
“We are!!! Don’t believe what you hear, believe what you see for yourself!!!”
Dan yelled at me when I denied him.
He’d never yelled at me like this before…
“…Dan.”
“Listen, Luc Hugaro Deskustos is strong, incredibly strong.
“His family is evil? So what? That doesn’t change the fact he’s strong.
“He’s worked super hard to obtain that strength. Acknowledge it.
“Then understand. Understand that we can never defeat him unless we train to become stronger than him!
“Because as you are now, you are weaker than him!”
I knew that even if he didn’t tell me.
Deskustos was strong.
Quite a few people looked up to him.
Had he ever done something bad? Never, as far as I knew.
He was too lazy to do it.
“Sorry. I said too much.”
“…It’s okay. I know you mean well…”
“Alright. Let’s go back to the dorm and get something delicious to eat. I’m starving.”
“Yeah.”
I still couldn’t get Luc Hugaro Deskustos out of my mind even after returning to my room supported by Dan.
I spent my days watching Luc Hugaro Deskustos all the time since then.
My level went up several times by following his words in the dungeon.
The Marshall Duchy was filled with dangerous monsters. My options were limited if I wanted to fight one on my level.
As such, I had only been able to hunt monsters under the protection of the knights, which resulted in my leveling pace didn’t quite match my satisfaction.
The monsters here were way weaker, but I managed to kill plenty by following Luc Hugaro Deskustos’ instructions and made it to level 10 in about two weeks.
Level 10 was the hallmark of novice knights, and level 20 and above veteran knights.
My body felt light and I became able to sense monsters before they got put to sleep and killed them easily.
I thought he would scold me, but he didn’t say anything and just went on to put the other monsters to sleep.
Myril was now able to shoot farther and stronger.
Ruby became faster and better at hiding her presence.
Our strengths were improving at a significant rate as our levels went up.
By the time the extracurricular class day rolled around, I hit level 15 and could explore the outer edges of the dungeon by myself with no problem.
When it was departure time, I thought my preparation was perfect and was raring to go, but the other three told me it was no good.
They reduced my luggage to the bare minimum and stripped me of my plate armor, having me wear leather armor instead.
It was light and made it easy to move around. I could see why Myril told me to wear it instead of the plate armor.
We then proceeded to head into the dungeon. As usual, Luc put the monsters to sleep, then the rest of us killed them. At the end of the day, I made it to level 16.
Raising up my level had never been so easy before.
Night arrived, Luc set up a tent big enough for the four of us.
He also ensured our safety while we rest with his magic.
Easy leveling, shelter, peaceful rest… we got everything thanks to him.
With Luc going to bed first, the rest of us had a chance to have a girls’ talk and I was able to apologize to Myril and Ruby.
I had been so focused on Luc that I hadn’t given them proper treatment.
I knew my apologizing was the same as admitting that Luc was correct and I was wrong, but I had seen firsthand how the two became stronger and their levels raised so quickly. What other choice did I have than to admit it?
Having watched him for the last couple of weeks… I had come to realize that he was harmless and… surprisingly considerate.
He never ordered members of his faction to do bad things, which was the typical thing to do for arrogant high-ranked nobles.
He always left the classroom during breaks so that members of his faction could relax.
He never caused trouble during class, either. (Every time he had an argument, I was always the one who started it.)
The more I thought about him, the harder it was for me to fall asleep, and by the time I noticed, Luc had gone from his bed, leaving the tent. I hurriedly grabbed my sword and went after him.
I found him in the middle of a clearing after following his tracks.
It was still rather dark, but there he was training by himself.
He demonstrated martial arts movements while casting magic at the same time.
……I was fascinated.
How much training had he done to be able to move so smoothly, to get such a strong body, to cast magic so beautifully? I finally understood what Dan said.
And before I knew it, I was… attacking him.
“Oh, well done.”
He easily dodged.
“What are you playing at? Do you actually want to die? We aren’t in the academy, nor are having a Ranked Match. I could kill you and no one would know since the dungeon would absorb your body.”
Facing the pressure he radiated, for the first time I understood. Of how strong Luc truly was.
“…Is this the real you?”
“Huh?”
“I’ve been following you since you woke up. You strolled around the dungeon, did intense physical training, and all the while practicing magic… it was incredible.”
This was the real Luc Hugaro Deskustos…
“Haa~, what do you want?”
“Please fight with me.”
“Again…? Is fighting the only thing filling that head of yours?”
“…I know I’m stupid!”
I hadn’t been seeing Luc with my own eyes.
“House Deskustos is the enemy of my family, my enemy. But you… whether you are my enemy… I’m not so sure anymore…”
I didn’t doubt what my family told me.
But I couldn’t see Luc as an enemy.
“I’ve always seen you as an enemy… but Dan told me. Don’t believe what I hear, believe what I see for myself.”
When I mentioned Dan, Luc released a deep sigh.
“Alright. I’ll fight you.”
“Really!!!”
“Don’t get ahead of yourself just yet. I have one condition: you are to never challenge me to fight again.”
“That’s fine. Thank you!”
I couldn’t be happier. Some things you could only understand by fighting.
“What are we betting on?”
“Nothing… I simply want to cross blades with you. By doing that, I hope to be able to better understand you and see a glimpse of your true self.”
“Heh, you are stupid.”
He smiled at me for the first time. It made my heart ache a little.
“Here I come.”
I went all out from the start.
However, he dodged my attack and almost caught my arm.
“You won’t take me down so easily,”
I tried to attack him again and again and again and again, yet none of my strikes connected.
“Kh! Haa, haa, haa, haa.”
When I ran out of breath, Luc attacked me for the first time.
“Gh! Not yet.”
I grabbed his arm and pulled him along as I fell backward.
Wha!!!
My lips and Luc’s……!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
“Hmm.”
He got up as if nothing happened.
“That’s a checkmate.”
He flicked my forehead.
“Auu!”
It hurt and I couldn’t muster the strength to get up.
“I won. Keep your promise and don’t challenge me again, okay? Haa~ can’t wait to take a shower.”
With that, he left… My first kiss was with… Luc? My face suddenly grew hot.
“There’s no way I could get back and look at the other two in the face now…”
As I walked around the forest to cool off my face, I noticed something strange.
“Hmm? There are no monsters?”
Getting a bad feeling, I went on to search the surroundings for a little longer then returned to the tent and reported my findings, or lack thereof to Myril and Ruby.
Luc was asleep. Just looking at his face made my heart skip a beat.
Those were… the lips that had stolen my first kiss…
Want more? Please consider supporting me on Patreon! Then you can read up to 10 advanced chapters!
Zky Translates 
👍🏻
LikeLike
Rip Dan lol
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well Dan probably still has other girls to go after
LikeLike
😄😄😆😆😍
LikeLike
nice
LikeLike
Go luc, kiss all the girl!!
LikeLiked by 2 people