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At the referee’s shout, I swung my sword at the man named Ryle with all my strength. I glanced over and saw my original opponent doing the same. It seems like we both came to the conclusion that we’d have no chance of winning if we fought them together.

Ryle deflected my attack with his sword. The clang of metal on metal reverberated across the arena. From then on, no matter how hard I tried to overpower him, he didn’t move an inch. Seeing him so unruffled, taking my swings as if they were nothing, ticked me off.

If this continues, I won’t be able to land a hit. Considering my options, I took a step back and tried to attack from a different angle. As I began to attack again, my sword was repelled, and this time I was pushed back by a torrent of blows. Each and every blow was heavy, and it was all I could do to protect myself.

“...kuh.”

I tried looking for a hole, a place to break through, but couldn’t find anything resembling an opening. Being one-sidedly attacked, I couldn’t even muster an attack. ...It’s been a long time since I’ve been forced into a corner. Given my upbringing, I’ve never lost to my colleagues. When I joined the Order, I worked hard and won. Even still... In this situation, I can only defend. My opponent is calm and composed. I can’t see the possibility of me winning this fight. To be honest, I’m astonished by the difference in skill between us.

*Clang*

In my periphery, a sword flew through the air. It seems like the match between the army guy and Dida has concluded. The winner is Dida. At the same time, Ryle’s swings became stronger and stronger. As I thought, he had been taking it easy on me. The blows continued until eventually, I too was disarmed.

I lost... I tried to surrender, but Ryle kept swinging his sword.

“Wha-..”

Normally, if your opponent loses your sword, you’d pull back. All I could do was dodge, I couldn’t even murmur what I thought. Given the strength of his blows, the speed at which he swung his sword was astonishing.

“Stop! The match is over!”

Ryle stopped his sword upon hearing the referee. His sword was inches away from my neck, I was barely saved by the ref.

“........”

Ryle pulled his sword back with a look of disappointment. I let out a sigh of relief.

“...Why aren’t you two affiliated with either the Army or the Order?”

I relaxed, not having wanted to confront the last attack. Instead, I asked them something that has been on my mind. If it were them, I’m sure both organizations would welcome them, but I’ve never heard of nor seen them before.

“We have someone who we must serve.”

“But... With that level of strength...”

“So what? I never even once thought of serving the royal family. As long as I protect the princess, I’m fine.”

“...Dida, you... You don’t need to say such a thing here.”

Ryle sighed at Dida’s outburst.

“But Ryle, aren’t you the same? What has the country done for us? The one who saved us was the princess.”

“That is true.”

“That’s why. We have no intention of joining the Army nor the Order.”

After that remark, both Ryle and Dida left the arena. General Gazelle took their place in the arena and stood in front of the Army and the Order.

“You’ve done well, all of you. Let’s set the pleasantries aside for today and have a drink.”

With that final speech, the mock battles had ended.

While the arena was getting lively again, I figured I’d go wash off my sweat, so I headed to the nearby watering grounds.

“Nice work today.”

Having been tapped on the shoulder, I turned around to see my senior standing there. Since he was the closest to me in age, he frequently helped me out.

“That fight earlier was impressive.”

“Not even. I didn’t even come close to being on par with them.”

“Well that’s a given. If they were to fight someone on equal grounds with them there’d probably be only General Gazelle on the army’s side, while on the Order’s side there’d Captain Malcolm.”

Captain Malcolm was the Order’s ace. If General Gazelle’s apprentices could fight on par with him, it’d be an amazing feat.

“I truly wonder why those two won’t come to the capital. I’m sure that both the Order and the Army would welcome them with open arms”.

“They explained earlier.”

“Even still...”

“When you suddenly questioned them, I was terrified. If you had continued, there’s no doubt that they have drawn their swords on you.”

“You’re kidding, right...”

I glanced at my senior hoping he was joking, but I could only see him grimacing.

“Just like you, both the Army and the Order tried to scout them a while back, but we were firmly refused. We came on too hard, and there was duel. They said that their master had been insulted by the scout. They won.”

I was dumbfounded. True, if your master was insulted as a knight you had the right to challenge them to a duel, but I’ve never heard of it actually happening before. I could only imagine them as mad dogs, protecting their master at all costs and barring their fangs at anyone who crosses them. But to have someone that can control such a beast, just who could their master be?

“...That fight was worse. They weren’t playing around like they were today, and had General Gazelle not stopped them, the scout would’ve lost his life.”

“It was that bad, huh...”

“Yeah. They don’t follow the Order’s code, nor do they fit the Army’s ferocity, seemingly adapting to the situation. Dida’s movements were too fast to perceive, while Ryle’s attacks were too strong to guard against. That fight was unforgettable. That reminds me, you were also saved from Ryle’s blows towards the end as well.”

“Why?”

“The master of those two is none other than Duke Armelia’s daughter, Iris. I feel sympathy for your terrible luck. It’s highly likely that General Gazelle knew beforehand that the results of the competition were likely to disturb the balance between the two organizations. That’s why the two would step in to ensure that neither party would win. In the worst case scenario they probably decided to allow our two versus their two to defuse any bad situations. After the score ended up being 2 wins and 2 losses, they appeared. And when they did I figured since it was your turn next, they’d be taking revenge for what happened at the academy. I was seriously worried about you for a second.”

“That is..”.

Their master was Duke Armelia’s daughter Iris... Hearing the identity of their master, I was assaulted with a wave of emotions. Surely it was a joke that she was leading them, that she was the one they were attached to...

“That’s why I said you did great coming back alive.”

I now feel that way too. It was good that today was only a mock battle. It was good that I fought Ryle over Dida, or else I might’ve not been standing here right now. I felt a chill creep down my back.

“....Senpai.”

“What is it?”

“What do you think of Duchess Iris?”

“Don’t look for an answer from me. After all, I’ve yet to talk to or even meet her.”

I felt those words pierce my heart. Before that event even occurred, I recalled that I never spoke to her once.

“But you know... seeing how those two act, I can only say that it seems like she’s a big-hearted person.”

“......That is a good point...”