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Chapter 390: The Prince of Raze, and a Foolish Challenge.

Raze Martial Kingdom.

A kingdom situated to the west of Strain Kingdom and to the north of Eisengard. A country consisted of multiple races, it places emphasis on decorum and values martial strength.

Mismede Kingdom over on this side would be the closest to it in terms of form. Starting with the beastmen, various races mingle and live together in the country; within it, the weirdest aspect would be its national identity.

As can be seen from the country’s name of “Martial Kingdom”, its people seek strength. And it’s not just regular strength; it’s said that they seek mental fortitude as well.

To explain it simply, they respect tough guys who are strong in both body and spirit.

First, one has to be strong. Next, one has to be able to emphasize with others. They’re a bunch of people who personifies the idea “A healthy mind begins with a healthy body”.

Excluding golems, it’s the strongest country in the world, or so they say.

“You cannot live on if you’re not tough. You do not have the right to live if you’re not kind.” I guess? They’re like a detective from somewhere.

And so, as for the reason why the second prince of such a country visited us, that is…

“I would like to be granted a serious fight against the strongest person in this country. I have been given permission by my father.”

“Nonono, if you fight seriously you’d die, you know? It’d be an instant kill, you know?”

If you talk about the strongest in our country, that’d undoubtedly be either Moroha nee-san or Takeru ojii.

Having a serious fight with those two… No way I can let that kind of suicidal plan pass in front of me.

However, the second prince of Raze Martial Kingdom, Zanbert Gal Raze, apparently took offense at my words and replied back with a resistant tone.

“I am the second prince of Raze Martial Kingdom, for what it’s worth. I am within the top five strongest in my country without a doubt. I do not believe that I can fall that far behind an opponent. If you want to decline because you have no self-confidence, I’d like you to say that upfront.”

Umu, that’s not what I meant at all though. What should I do with this…

“If he says he wants to fight, why don’t we just let him? It’s something he brought up anyway, so there shouldn’t be any complaints even if he loses, right?’

Mr. Zanbert’s temple twitched again as Leen let out her words. That Leen, is she provoking him knowingly?

“What kind of martial arts does Prince Zanbert use?”

“Most everything. If I have to pick one, hand-to-hand fighting.”

That would make his opponent Takeru ojii. He’s the Martial God anyway, so it’s a suitable role.

“I’ll ask this again, but you really don’t have any intentions of giving up, right?”

“Nay! Being able to fight against a strong person, and polish one’s own martial prowess further; there’s no greater joy than that!”

Prince Zanbert let out those words with a fierce smile. Me, I’m honestly worried whether it’ll even become a proper fight…

“Hahaha! Quite the nice ambitious youth we have here. Alright, I shall be your opponent!”

The loud laughter of Takeru ojii resounded in the training grounds to the north of the castle.

Standing by at the edge of the field, myself as well as Elze and Ende could only make cramped smiles. Besides us, there’s Moroha nee-san who volunteered to be the referee smiling as if she found this enjoyable, and Leen—she who egged Prince Zanbert on in the first place—who’s sitting down on a bench and reading a book as if none of this concerns her. Pola who’s near her feet looked like it’s excited, though.

On a side note, Robert’s fiancée, Celes, apparently has no interest in the match, as she immediately headed off to the room Robert was carried off to.

Apparently this happens all the time, and she says she finds no greater enjoyment than watching the sleeping face of Robert by his side. Quite the strange taste… Wait, the other one also has strange tastes, so I guess they’re a perfect match for each other in that sense.

“How long do you think he’ll last?”

“Dunno… Wouldn’t it depend on shishou?”

“As expected, I don’t think he’ll go at that prince seriously, though.”

When we, who simply cannot imagine Takeru ojii losing, had such a conversation between us, the second prince of Raze looked towards us with an irritated look. Seems like he has very good ears.

“Raze-style combat arts, Zanbert Gal Raze! Let us fight fair and square!”

“Very well! My name is Mochizuki Takeru! Here I come, young man!”

“Are you both ready? Then, begin!”

The next instant after the referee, Moroha nee-san, swung down her arm, Prince Zanbert flew away while bouncing on the ground like a ragdoll together with a *Don* sound after receiving Takeru ojii’s elbow strike to his chest.

“““U, waaaa—aa!?”””

The voices of Elze, Ende and I echoed within the training grounds. What just happened!? What the hell did he just do!? That damn uncle!

When we ran up to Prince Zanbert while panicking, he was foaming at the mouth, and his eyes have completely rolled back into his skull.

“You trying to kill him!?”

“Hahaha, if I was, I would’ve more cleanly gouged out his heart. I properly held back so that he’s one step from dying, so it’s alright. His heart might’ve stopped for a wee bit, but some light recovery magic should wake him up.”

Nonono, in the first place, if he requires healing magic, then isn’t that already a dangerous state where he might possibly die!?

Since I can’t leave this alone, I casted [Cure Heal] on him, upon which Zanbert promptly opened his eyes.

“Ha!? Wh, what was I…”

“You were taken out by Takeru ojii in one hit. You don’t remember?”

“Im, impossible…! This me, taken out in one hit…!?”

The second prince fell prostrate on the ground while leaking out a disbelieving voice.

“Boring. Wouldn’t it have been better if you kept him company for a while longer?”

“If he couldn’t block that much, then it wouldn’t have made any difference. I don’t think he would live up to your expectations, you know?”

“O, once more! Please let me try again!”

Here we have the fearless Zanbert, butting in on a conversation between gods—or rather, Takeru ojii and Moroha nee-san.

“Fumu, once more you say. Do you have any plans? If you don’t, it’ll just be a repeat of earlier, you know?”

“I shall unleash the true power of us dragonewts! With that, there’s no way I would lose that easily!”

“Hoho, the true power of dragonewts, huh. Interesting. Then I shall be your opponent once again!”

Since both parties have agreed to it, we started over from the top and held the match again. Why won’t you give up…

“Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

“Oh?”

From the body of Zanbert who took a stance, a swaying [Ki]-like substance rose up.

The muscles on his body bulged up, and scale patterns emerged all over his skin.

“Is it Toukihou?”

“It is Toukihou.”

Ende and Elze opened their mouth with a bit of surprise. That Toukihou is a fighting technique where the user assimilates magic power into a part of their body, and fights by changing the characteristics of their body as they adapt to the situation.

The “Hakkei” used by the dragonkin Sonia-san also seemed to be an application of that, so I wonder if the prince, who is of a similar race as her, using it isn’t something unusual.

“Attacks like the one earlier won’t work on me now, when I have transformed into a Dracle! My power, speed and toughness of body all rise several times in this state!”

With a ferocious smile on his face, Zanbert roared.

“Well then, begin!”

At the same time Moroha nee-san called out, once again, Prince Zanbert was blown off with a *Don* sound and bounced away on the ground with a tailspin.

“““Againnn—n!?”””

Nothing changed at all! We were only made to see the exact same scene as last time!

Once again, we rushed towards Zanbert—who was foaming at the mouth and rolling his eyes back, same as before—and casted [Cure Heal] on him.

“Ha!? Wh, what was I…”

“You were taken out by Takeru ojii in one hit again. The same as last time.”

“Im, impossible…! This me who has turned into a Dracle, taken out in one hit…!?”

The second prince fell prostrate on the ground and groaned again. Identical to before, ey.

“Ku… It’s my loss!”

“Right.”

It’s so far gone that I don’t even know what to say to him. Things like “It’s a shame” or “You’re quite good” all sound fishy when he didn’t even put up a fight.

At times like this, let’s ask the one who fought himself for some words. Since he’s an adult, he should reply with some consoling words like “You’re on a good track” or “Your future is promising”, right? (TL: aaaaaaand there’s the flag. I totally didn’t copy-paste this from earlier.)

“Ah… How, was he?”

“Not worth talking about!”

Instantly cut down! Well, I mean, I can understand that; he basically didn’t do anything, after all. It’s more accurate to say he wasn’t allowed to do anything, though.

Raising his head, Prince Zanbert headed towards Takeru ojii while still on his fours, and kneeled in front of him.

“I, it’s my complete loss! That strength, is almost like a god of martial arts! It’s far above my reach…! I, I beg you! Please take me as your disciple!”

“I refuse!”

Instantly cut down again! At least pretend to consider it for a bit, please! The prince’s freezing up on the spot, isn’t he!?

“Is he no good even though you took Ende and Elze as your disciples?”

“Ende is someone I picked up myself, and Elze is your dependant. Compared to those two, he’s not on a level that warrants attention, you know. It’s impossible to teach a baby multiplication.”

“That can’t be! Are you saying I’m below these people!?”

Prince Zanbert cried out while pointing at Ende and Elze. I suppose it’s hard to accept the fact that those two, who seem like they’re around the same age as him, are accepted as Takeru ojii’s disciples while he isn’t.

“You’re out of the question when you can’t even judge an opponent’s strength correctly. If you appraise someone based on something like their appearances, you’ll eat a harsh counter one day, you know.”

No, well, forget one day, he ate one just earlier, didn’t he.

Prince Zanbert, who still couldn’t accept it, looked at Ende and Elze with antagonistic eyes. Oi oi, that’s barking up the wrong tree alright. It’s not their fault that you can’t become a disciple of Takeru ojii, isn’t it?

“Th, then! If I can win against either of those two, then please make me your disciple!”

“I don’t mind with that.”

“Alright! It’s a promise!”

“Eeee~” voices leaked out from the two of them when they heard Takeru ojii’s instant reply, sounding like they found this truly bothersome. I understand how you feel, guys.

“Also, Ende and Elze, if either of you pull your punches, tomorrow’s training menu will be the Hard Course.”

““Geh!””

The two’s faces paled at Takeru ojii’s added remark. Just what kind of training have you been making them go through normally…

“On the other hand, the one who beats him the fastest among you two can take a break tomorrow afternoon.”

““Awlright!””

And at his second added remark, the two’s faces broke out into joyous grins. Seriously, just what kind of training have you been making them go through normally…

After that, I witnessed the exact same thing that happened with Takeru ojii twice more in succession. When it’s to this degree, I already have no more impressions to give. Using recovery magic on the prince was also starting to feel like some kind of work.

On a side note, the one who managed to get the half-day break was Ende. Isn’t that where you pull back, come on. I feel sad for Elze.

And finally, Zanbert asked me for a match as well, but since I found it all just annoying at that point, I blew him away like everyone else and made him fly in the air like a ragdoll.

Coming this far, I finally realized the fact that this second prince may be an idiot.

“Impossible… I was… The proud descendant of dragons, dragonewts losing to mere humans… The humans in this country are weird…”

Zanbert muttered quietly with a blue face while falling on all fours on the ground. Well, to be fair, nobody here is a “mere human”, so.

“First, throw away that thought process about dragonewt this, mere humans that, or whatnot. Don’t mistake pride with arrogance. Such things are less than trash when you tread far down the path of training.”

The prince of Martial Kingdom raised his face when he heard Takeru ojii’s words. He’s been blown away so much that his clothes are in tatters as well. Recovery magic can’t heal clothes, so it’s no wonder.

“When someone boasts of his own strength without understanding the power of his opponent, that is a clear sign that he’s carrying weakness inside of him. The you of earlier was exactly like that. That type of person is brittle. They can break easily.”

“Uu…”

“However, someone who has acknowledged their weakness and could face it head-on, and climbed up while remembering that weakness in their heart is strong. You have been given that chance. Whether you use it well or waste it is up to you.”

“Se, sensei!”

Dunno what that was about but the idiot prince is shaking with some deep emotion, oi. I don’t think it’s such a good idea to treat everything that uncle there says seriously, you know.

The divines, likely due to their powers, are rather sketchy when handling things. It’s highly likely that he just blurted out some random words that came to him via feeling.

“That reminds me, in the end, what did you come here for? You can’t have come here only to fight, right?”

“Ah. F-father entrusted me with a letter. H-here it is.”

When Elze threw out an accurate remark, Zanbert took out a crumpled-as-hell piece of letter from his bosom. Oi, shouldn’t you have passed that to me first?

When I spread the letter open and read it, it contained a notice from the Martial King that Raze Martial Kingdom will be participating in the world conference that would be held at Brunhild, and also some words expressing a wish for us to break the pride of the second prince who had become somewhat arrogant.

Forget breaking, I think it caved in a little.

Well, since the king himself said that, I guess there’s no problems. Still, they’re quite the spartan royal family, eh. Their family motto is probably something like “First, be strong!”.

“I have fully understood how weak I am. I shall carve sensei’s words deep into my heart and renew my efforts at training from tomorrow onwards. Thank you for your guidance!”

“Umu. I won’t make you my disciple, but when you think you’ve become strong enough, you may come here again. I shall break that conceit of yours down once more.”

You a demon?

Isn’t that like a parent pushing a lion cub down a steep cliff, then when it climbs back up after enduring all kinds of hardship, the parent pushes it down again with a smile?

In Takeru ojii’s case, I feel like he might even throw some stones down as a bonus.

In any case, seems like Raze Martial Kingdom would be participating in the conference as well. It’ll be more of a party than a conference, but well, there shouldn’t be a problem.

I prayed that the king there, known as the Martial King, isn’t an idiot like his son here is.

- Pixel