SLO Chapter 73

[Men’s New Year’s Eve]

(Dan Side)

After losing in the semi-finals of the Sword Emperor’s Cup, I became the laughingstock of the royal capital.

I couldn’t remember how the fight went.

But, before I knew it, I found myself showing my stomach to Iris and barking like a dog.

Upon witnessing this, the referee immediately declared my defeat.

Ever since then, wherever I went, be it at school or in the royal capital, people would laugh at me.

After attending the academy, Lady Lyncean and I gradually grew distant, and we hadn’t talked much to each other after the Sword Emperor’s Cup.

It was because neither of us wanted to talk about our defeat

I didn’t get to see Lady Lyncean’s match because I had been undergoing medical treatment following my match against Prince Muno.

From what I heard, her match was incredibly fierce and intense.

Lady Lyncean didn’t seem enthused to discuss it, so I refrained from asking about the details.

Rumors had it that during the match, Lady Lyncean had a moment where victory seemed within her grasp. They said she had her sword pressed against AcGee’s neck. But then AcGee managed to turn the tables on her and ultimately defeated her.

I wished I had watched it.

With the Sword Emperor’s Cup over, some students went back to their parents’ homes, while others headed off to train in dungeons. I stayed at the Marshall House’s mansion in the royal capital to fulfill my duty as Lady Lyncean’s personal knight/attendant and as a knight apprentice to the Marshall House.

Nobles flocked to the royal capital from the various parts of the kingdom to celebrate New Year’s Eve, awaiting the opportunity to have an audience with the king once the new year commenced.

The other members of the Marshall House had come to the royal capital for the same reason.

While Lady Lyncean was catching up with her family, I was showing the guests around.

Among the guests was my master, Sword Emperor Arthur. Lady Lyncean had extended an invitation to him, asking if he would like to come and stay with us for New Year’s Eve, and with delight, Master had accepted her offer. As a gesture of gratitude, Master generously trained not only me but also Lady Lyncean during his stay.

By the way, Master had seen how I lost, and for a while, every time we met, he would burst out laughing “Bwahahahaha, Fido… woof, woof! Bwahahaha!”

On the other hand, Professor Cirrus had calmly given me homework “You need to hone your resistance against mental magic.”

They didn’t seem to really care about my defeat and just told me to work harder.

Anyway, what truly caught me off guard this time was the presence of the other guest, Prince Muno, whom I had befriended during the Cup. Out of the blue, he had just up and asked if he could join us.

“I, too, have a strong desire to learn swordsmanship from Sword Emperor Arthur, Immovable Guts, and Earthshaker Gawain,” he had said.

Seeing his passion, Lady Lyncean allowed him to come along with us.

Currently, Muno was calmly sitting on the sofa, enjoying his tea, exuding all the qualities of a prince.

“Heh, looking elegant there, Princey Boy. But gotta say, I just can’t feel at ease in such a big mansion, being a homeless guy.”

“Instructor, didn’t the kingdom offer you a residence for getting the title of Sword Emperor?”

“Hm? Yeah, but I turned down the offer and asked for some cash instead. I’m all about freedom, you know? Being tied down just ain’t my thing.”

Master was the same as always, no matter where he was.

–Knock, knock.

With a knock, in entered a couple of men. Upon seeing them, I promptly got down on one knee.

“Lord Gawain, Lord Guts! I greet you.”

The other two just stood up, watching the situation.

Neither of them needed to show the same level of respect as I did. Prince Muno held a higher rank, and the Sword Emperor was obligated to show reverence only to the king.

“No need to be so formal, Dan. I consider you my own son,” Lord Gawain kindly responded.

“It is an honor!!!” I exclaimed, feeling deeply touched.

With a warm smile, Lord Gawain turned to Master and asked, “So, you are Sword Emperor Arthur, I believe?”

“Yeah, I’m Arthur.” Master nodded.

“It is great to finally meet you. I’m Gawain Sword Marshall, lord of the Marshall Duchy. Thank you for looking after my daughter and Dan, my son,” Lord Gawain bowed his head to Master for my sake.

I was so moved that I felt my chest tightening.

“No worries, I’m doing it for my own enjoyment. I just want to see an average joy surpass a genius. And frankly, Fido still got a long way to go,” said Master with a playful tone.

“Please stop calling me Fido! Master!” I pleaded.

Despite not remembering how things unfolded, the thought of how I had lost in apparently a pathetic manner in front of the entire royal capital filled me with overwhelming shame and embarrassment.

Magic truly was deep. I had put up a magic barrier to resist Lady Iris’s Charm, but with her mana pool being bigger than mine, she had easily taken over my mind.

“Hehehe, to lose that way… I was unable to hold my laughter as well.”

“Not you too, Muno.”

“Hey, show some respect to Prince Muno.”

Brother Guts scolded me.

“No, no, it’s fine Sir Guts. I was the one who had asked him to speak with me casually.”

With Muno speaking up for me, Brother Guts relented. But he advised me to speak formally in public.

“In any case, we have five men here—each one either a knight or a martial artist. How about we all have a friendly fight to get to know each other better?” suggested Lord Gawain, who had a strong passion for combat. Whenever he encountered an expert, he couldn’t resist asking for a spar.

Shaking his head, Master responded with a helpless look on his face, “I can tell you’re not gonna accept a no. Dan, no holding back today.”

“Ehh!!”

I sparred with Master almost every day, but obviously, I stood no chance against him even though he held back. But now he said he wasn’t going to hold back, I’d definitely be sent to the infirmary or be treated with recovery medicine later.

The five of us gathered at the training field and engaged in a round-robin battle.

Should I say, as expected of His Excellency the Marshal? Lord Gawain proved to be a formidable match for Master, whose strength was evident by his title of Sword Emperor.

“I’m learning so much just by watching them fight. It was a wise decision to come along with you, Dan,” Muno remarked, wiping his sweat beside me.

Brother Guts had just beaten him.

Muno and I had been neck and neck in our bout, but we were ultimately crushed by everyone else.

We were covered in wounds, and they were painful.

“Let’s call it an end here. It’s my defeat.”

The battle between Sword Emperor Arthur and His Excellency the Marshal, the final match, ended with Lord Gawain declaring defeat.

However, neither of them bore any wounds, and they seemed to have plenty of mana and Aura to spare.

“Haa~ this country is filled with too many monsters,” Master complained, releasing a tired sigh.

“No, I still have ways to go. There are quite a few nameless experts stronger than me in the kingdom.”

Was there no limit to power…?

“Oh, there was so much snow piled up,” Muno exclaimed.

As I looked out, indeed, the surroundings were blanketed in snow.

“Okay, let’s go for a second round outside.” Lord Gawain suggested enthusiastically.

“What? Aren’t we done yet?” Master complained, seemingly reluctant to continue in the cold.

As if struck by an idea, Lord Gawain removed his armor.

“No sword or armor this time! A man has to prove himself a man with nothing but his fists.” Lord Gawain declared, now shirtless. Brother Guts followed suit, taking off his armor.

“Eh, when it’s this cold?”  Muno looked hesitant, but I took off my jacket and armor, following Lord Gawain and Brother Guts.

“Why is there only a bunch of crazy guys here? Okay, okay, I’m doing it too.”

Master followed suit, and eventually, Muno did as well with “I suppose I have no other choice.”

And so, we engaged in another spirited round-robin, fighting each other with fists and our upper bodies exposed.

With each movement, I felt my body heat up, and with every punch thrown, blood splattered. The thrill of the fight made me feel truly alive.

When we finished, Lord Gawain immediately suggested, “Now let’s go for a drink!” and we wasted no time transitioning to a drinking party.

Before I knew it, the knights of the Marshall House had also gathered, turning the gathering into a celebration for everyone. It soon evolved into a lively brawling tournament among the half-naked men, adding even more excitement to the festivities.

Ahh~ it was such a blast!

The thrill of seeking strength and having stupid conversations between men, it was all incredibly fun!

But someday I would become stronger and defeat Luc.

“Hey, look! Fido’s here!”

One of the knights jokingly called me Fido.

So I turned to him and said, “Woof!”

““““Gahahahahaha!!!””””

It was embarrassing, but meh. As long as everyone laughed and enjoyed themselves.

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