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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: The Fake Prince
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The moment I echoed the very words I had heard from Seron.
Ergo's face twisted into an expression more unbridled than ever before.
"Hah."
A gasp of disbelief, just like when Seron had uttered it, escaped his lips.
Simultaneously, fury boiled in Ergo's eyes.
"I had intended to overlook your insolence, considering you are the Third Princess's cousin."
The boiling rage spread outwards from around him.
He wasn't called a prodigy among the Six Stars for nothing.
Golden murderous intent flowed from him, constricting my body.
"You've crossed a line."
But I had long since grown accustomed to murderous intent.
From Isabel, who once looked at me with eyes full of rage,
to Nikita's murderous intent, consumed by the remnants of the ancient dragon, I had faced it all head-on.
At this point, Ergo's murderous intent
was laughable to me.
So, even in the face of his killing intent, I smiled faintly.
"Why, are you perhaps afraid?"
Provocation followed by more provocation.
"You want this, don't you?"
With that, I held up the Sword of Parajon.
Ergo's eyes naturally followed the sword.
This was the Sword of Parajon, acquired through immense hardship during the summer vacation.
Since the Sword of White Dream was my original goal, I intended to exchange swords with Ergo.
However, knowing the value of the Sword of Parajon, I decided to use it as leverage for something extra.
"Do you think I will simply overlook today's insolence?"
"I do not take His Highness Ergo Parajon lightly. In particular, I know you are exceptionally skilled when it comes to politics."
I handed the Sword of Parajon to Iris.
Iris, sensing my intention, accepted the sword.
"Just now, I transferred the Sword of Parajon to Lady Iris."
Ergo's eyebrow twitched.
"Therefore, the parties to this transaction are now His Highness Ergo Parajon and Lady Iris."
The Sword of Parajon, a treasure of historical preservation value.
The Third Princess of the Empire had sought out this sword and was now handing it to Prince Ergo.
This transaction would be etched into the annals of history.
It would signify not only the good relations between the Hysirion Empire and the Parajon Kingdom,
but also an opportunity for the prince, having recovered the Sword of Parajon, to solidify his standing among his people.
Would Ergo truly want any discord to mar such a historic moment?
I could assert with certainty:
He absolutely would not.
Naturally, today's insolence would not be recorded anywhere in history and would be kept silent.
As it had to be suppressed from history, there was no way he would inflict any special punishment on me.
Furthermore, thanks to this transaction today, Seron's rude remark of "fake prince" would also be buried in the buzz.
An heir to a kingdom's throne had been called a fake.
This remark was certainly something Parajon could take issue with.
While Ergo's actions were rough and swayed by emotion, he was not a foolish man.
He realized that my current narrative was designed to bury Seron's remark along with it.
"…It seems you take me quite lightly."
Regardless, Ergo's fury raged fiercely.
"You spoke of a duel? I will gladly grant it. But,"
Ergo ground his teeth.
"I will grant it, if you are prepared for whatever happens to your life in that duel."
"Excellent."
At my ready acceptance, Ergo was momentarily dumbfounded.
"Instead, His Highness Ergo Parajon merely needs to apologize for his actions towards the girl you fought earlier today."
He stared at me with a stunned expression.
"…I ask, just in case, but are you truly going this far, even wagering the Sword of Parajon, merely for an apology to that girl?"
A situation utterly incomprehensible by common sense.
That's why Ergo directly voiced his question.
I smiled faintly once more.
"Yes, that's right."
Ergo stared at me with a blank face.
It was as if he had never seen such a madman before.
"For His Highness Ergo Parajon, it's a simple matter.
You duel me, exchange the Sword of White Dream for the Sword of Parajon, and return to your home country.
Oh, and of course, I have no intention of harming His Highness Ergo Parajon's life."
How's that?
Still feeling the pressure?
Ergo stared at me in silence.
Soon, a hollow laugh began to escape his lips.
"Fine."
Ergo's unique traits were [Pride] and [Sadism].
These two ignited a fire in his heart.
A fire that vowed to utterly crush me.
"When you die, tell the God of the Underworld that it was I, Ergo Parajon, who killed you."
The duel with Ergo was set.
***
There was no need to prolong it.
Ergo wanted to crush me immediately, and I felt the same way.
So, we moved to a nearby forest clearing, out of sight of the professors.
"Hanon."
As I walked, following Ergo, Iris called out to me.
From Iris's perspective, she had suddenly been caught up in this.
I thought she might be worried about me, but then—
"If Prince Ergo seems to be in danger, I will intervene."
So, she meant I could beat him as much as I wanted.
Iris didn't for a moment assume I would lose to Ergo.
Of course, Iris knew I had fought and won against Nikita, who possessed the remnants of an ancient dragon.
Among the Six Stars, no one could truly contend with Nikita, save for perhaps Eve.
Nikita, who wielded ancient dragon magic, was that powerful.
I had defeated such a Nikita and rescued Iris.
So naturally, my standing with Iris was very high.
"Yes, I'll trust in you, Lady Iris. I might just beat him up quite a bit."
"Leave it to me."
As I finished speaking with Iris, Ergo stopped abruptly.
A clearing, sufficiently overgrown with trees around it to obscure sight.
It seemed to be an empty lot, likely cleared by a recent lightning strike and subsequent fire.
It was perfectly suited for a fight.
"I repeat,"
Ergo casually raised his hand.
At that moment, swords flew from his waist, filling the air.
The belt around his waist was a special treasury called 'Spatial Island.'
Since it could store an infinite number of swords, all his famous blades were kept there.
"I will fight with the intention of killing you."
I had explicitly told him to do so.
If I died by Ergo's hand today, I would have no one to blame but myself.
"Take responsibility for those words."
Ergo looked towards Iris.
Iris, who was acting as the judge for this duel, raised her hand above her head.
"Begin."
The moment her hand dropped,
Ergo's Firmament Sword Arts unfolded.
Swords adorned the sky, then simultaneously rushed towards me.
Each sword, resembling a beast's fangs, flew fiercely.
Seeing this, I stood still, doing nothing.
It was as if I were a person accepting death.
Ergo watched this scene with a bewildered expression.
But he did not stop his Firmament Sword Arts.
If I had given up, he would simply finish me.
If there was a trick, it would be a head-on breakthrough.
Swords flew from all directions, aiming to pierce my body.
It was truly like a rain of swords.
Yet, facing this, I didn't even blink.
KAGAGAGAGAGAGANG!
Soon after, Ergo's eyes widened at the sight before him.
All the swords he had launched had reached me.
From the side, it was an incredible sight, resembling a hedgehog bristling with quills.
Yet, among those swords,
not a single one
had pierced me.
Enigma
Steel Body
Bladed attacks, such as swords, could inflict no damage upon me.
My clothes might have been slightly torn, but I had not a single wound.
Ergo's eyes were wide with shock.
Ergo must have realized it now too.
Ergo and I were the worst possible matchup.
"Your Highness Ergo Parajon."
I casually pushed away the swords surrounding me with my hand.
"Didn't you say you were going to kill me?"
A smile, heavily laced with provocation, formed on my lips.
Sorry, but you can never kill me.
My body lunged forward the moment my foot struck the ground.
Seeing this, Ergo recalled his swords.
Swords pursued closely from behind, and others flew towards me from the front.
Facing them, I swung my hand-blade.
KAANG! KANG!
The swinging swords collided with my hand-blade and were all repelled.
Seeing me not even use a sword, Ergo frowned.
This fighting style was new even to him.
Charging bare-handed, without a weapon.
Normally, it would be no different from suicide.
But with every deflected sword and every step I took closer, Ergo's face hardened.
I was a juggernaut, impervious to attacks.
This instilled a sense of pressure throughout Ergo's entire body.
If I reached him, could Ergo stop me?
Pure killing intent flowed from my body.
That killing intent caused an endless chain of questions to form in his mind.
I had no intention of giving him time to draw a conclusion.
I moved my steps with more precision.
Empowered my lower body.
Raised my guard even more meticulously.
Closing the distance with steps was my specialty.
In the past, during my active duty, I had disoriented many with this.
I pressured him, narrowing the scope of his thoughts more and more.
The murderous intent emanating from my entire body constricted Ergo.
KAANG! KANG! KANG!
The number of deflected swords grew increasingly larger.
As the distance between Ergo and me narrowed, the intensity of his Firmament Sword Arts grew fiercer.
Yet, still, he couldn't leave a single scratch on me.
The moment Ergo's face completely froze,
I finally reached Ergo.
A gap.
A single line connecting Ergo's head and hand.
Following that line, my hand-blade surged through the air.
KAGAGAGAGAGANG!
Right in front of Ergo's nose.
My hand-blade abruptly stopped.
Around my hand-blade, swords instantly gathered and crossed, forcibly stopping it.
The swords, gathered in a circle, even resembled a flower.
They suppressed it with such force that my arm couldn't move forward an inch.
As befits famous swords boasting global renown, each exuded an extraordinary aura.
Through the gaps in the sword blades, Ergo's eyes met mine.
"Remember this,"
At that moment, Ergo's mouth opened from between the shadows of the swords.
"This is the difference between you and I, one that can never be bridged."
At that instant, a collective weight pressed down on the swords wrapped around my wrist.
With the sudden increase in weight, my arm was sharply forced downwards.
THUD!
My body, dragged along with it, was pulled to the ground.
Then, the swords rushed in simultaneously, like wolves tearing at bowed prey.
THWACK! THWACK! THWACK!
Swords deeply pierced the ground, trapping my body at every joint.
In an instant, I was completely immobilized.
"It seems you're clad in some special power that prevents sword cuts."
At that moment, Ergo powerfully swung a greatsword.
The flat of the blade flew towards my face.
"If it doesn't cut, then I'll just beat you until you lose consciousness."
Just before the greatsword's heavy flat hit my face,
light flashed from my arm, which was still restrained by swords.
CRASH!
With the activated magic engraving, an explosion erupted, tearing out the restraining swords.
The flat of the blade was right in front of my nose.
I spread my right hand and swung it directly at the blade's surface.
CRRRRRRRRRUNCH!
A sound like the greatsword crumpling could be heard.
Seeing this, Ergo froze.
Because my fingers had pierced through the flat of the greatsword he had swung, emerging from the other side.
Naturally, the owner of those fingers was me.
"You said it was a difference that could never be bridged, didn't you?"
I clenched my fingers tightly.
KIIIIIIIIK-
At that moment, the greatsword's blade was completely crumpled.
Through the crumpled blade,
my red eyes glinted.
"Let's see if you can still say that after all your swords end up like this."
CLANG!
Sword Breaker.
It was the moment Ergo's greatsword was shattered.