It's time. Let's go!

　It was time to go.

　Marie and the others hadn't returned to the dueling arena yet, and the duel with Pierre was about to begin.

　As I walked to the center, Dr. Clément grabbed me by the shoulders.

'Stop being so stubborn!　If you lose, you still have your life!

　You're a good teacher.

　Your appearance is ... yeah, you shouldn't care about it.

　But there's a reason I can't back down either.

'I'm still carrying the Holfert sign. I'm still a hero in this, you know. I've got a position to take back to my country.

　Dr. Narcissus was wiping sweat off his face.

'I thought you were out of the loop with all that stuff, though.

The little guy doesn't like to be tied up.

I don't think the little guy's going to duel, do you?

　Wrong.

　We need to teach them what it means for the little guy to duel.

'The two of you will have to step outside.

　As they walk out of the dueling arena, I proceed to the center.

　As I stand in front of the arogants like this, I realize how big and intimidating they are.

　They are usually reliable, but facing them like this makes me afraid.

''I'll mincemeat the nobles of the kingdom right away. You said you're a hero, but I'm going to tell you that rubbish like you are a small fry in the Republic.''

Did you know that the weaker the dog, the more likely it is to bark?　My little Noel rarely barks. You could learn a little from him.

　When I reply, Pierre shouts.

　You're the one who can't stand it.

　You're the one who stirred him up first in the first place.

''Referee!　Start now!

　Aroganz points his rifle at me.

　As if the judges expected what was about to happen, he announced the start with an indescribably complicated feeling.

'In the name of the Sacred Tree, we will now conduct a sacred duel. Both sides, you have not lied about your vows, have you?''

　Pierre said, 'Get on with it!' While I said, I said, 'No, sir,' like a gentleman.



　The loudspeaker voice in the hall and the sound of the bell announcing the start of the event.

　Pierre pulls the trigger, aiming for my face.

　I can hear some screams from the audience, but I avoid to the right as I roll over and start running as I go.

　A bullet passes through the place I was, hitting the wall and punching a hole in it.

''You're a good sport to run around in a chopper, Mishita!

　Alloganz reasserts his rifle and Pierre pulls the trigger, aiming at me.

　I change direction and flee, dodging bullet after bullet.

'You suck at it. Try to hit me.

　I stuck my tongue out to agitate him, and Pierre threw his rifle at me.

'The rifle is bad!　If this happens, I'll catch you and crush you!'

　Aroganz approaches to catch me.

　I deliberately lunged at him and escaped through Aroganz's crotch.

　Pierre was annoyed.

'Don't run away!'

We'll get him, right?　Look, I'm here. Go get me.

　When I give them a stir, the allogants charge at me.

◇

　Narcissus and Clement watch Leon running away in the dueling arena.

　They were both cringing at the way Rion was fighting.

'You're running away well. Since you were the previous owner, do you know your weaknesses as well?

　Clement chewed his handkerchief anxiously.

'Still, it must be a disadvantage. If you let your guard down even a little, you will die instantly. Leon-kun, why did I challenge you to this kind of fight?

　Rion, who runs away well, certainly looks excellent, unlike ordinary knights.

　On top of that, he has guts.

　I'm sure you'll be able to find out more about this.

I'm not sure if that's true.

At that young age?　I did hear that you got a rise out of it by taking credit for it, though.

　Neither of them knew how successful they were.

　Narcissus was more scholarly than aristocratic, in a good way or a bad way.

　Clement is a teacher.

　He was well versed in the inner workings of the kingdom and could not be said to have correctly assessed Rion.

　........If the Alsel Republic had correctly evaluated Leon, they would surely have refused to study abroad.

　Around them were the students of the school who were being ordered by Pierre to watch the game.

　Pierre, who wanted to show off his strength, threatened them to watch the fight.

　The girls, not wanting to watch the duel, had closed their eyes.

　Clement was startled and let out a bare voice.

　A wild voice.

'Nuh-oh!'

　Aroganz held the battleaxe in both hands and began to swing it around to kill Rion.

　Even the fleeing Rion shows signs of impatience.

　Besides the flying sand, a piece of the destroyed wall of the dueling arena was blown off by Aroganz's movement and hit Rion.

　Blood is flowing from his cheek.

''Rion-kun!''

　Clement was about to go immediately to advise him to stop the duel, when Julius and his friends returned with a girl with a dog in the audience.

'Baldfart!　Kara and Noel are safe!

　A breathless Julius shouted, drawing the gaze of the crowd.

　Pierre, who was dueling, did the same, turning the head of the allogantz to Julius.

　And when Rion also confirmed that Kara and Noel were safe, his tired face suddenly began to smile. It's as if he's been waiting for them.

　Narcissus notices the change.

(Wha, what?)

　Pierre looked bored.

'Tsk!　They're no use to me. But if I kill you here, it will be the same in the end. Just because the woman and the dog are saved, it doesn't change the fact that you're going to die.

　Rion wiped the blood from his cheek with his hand.

'No I win.

　As many of them wondered if he was crazy, Julius and Jirku - and Kara - smiled.

　Noel also looked at Leon.

　Clement seemed to wonder.

'Hey, hey!　Why are you smiling when your friends are dying!

　Heartless!　Julius and the others say to Clement, who is angry.

''Well you don't understand the man called Baldfalt. That guy is the strongest knight in the kingdom at the moment.

　Clement is surprised.

'But no matter how strong you are, you're up against armour!

　Zilk wiped the sweat off his face, then smiled serenely.

''You don't understand. Even if you say he is the strongest, he is only about as good a knight in terms of strength. But his strength is not there. He is - Count Baltfart is a man who will take it to win even in an unwinnable battle.

　Kara nodded.

'I'm sure he'll win. To begin with, if you can't win, you're not a fighter!　I mean, he's definitely angry, so he must be up to something!

　Clement was puzzled.

''Well, I mean, you're one of us, aren't you?''

　Julius brushed a hand away from his bangs as

Your rival, shall we say? He's the man who beat me, the former crown prince, to a pulp in public. And yet he's risen through the ranks to where he is now.

　Narcissus couldn't understand it.

'No. If you do that, you would normally be punished?

　He shook his head that Julius didn't understand.

　It was as if he was bragging about Leon.

'Don't you understand the hard luck of someone who rises to the occasion, and the political power of someone who does that, and not just strength, but rooting and so on?　He's not the kind of guy who ends up fighting. When Marie yelled at me, I remembered. Baldfalt, the man who hunted us down, was never going to be beaten by a little thing like that. That Pierre is a villain. But.........Baldfalt is a man who goes far beyond that!

　Clement brings his hands to his mouth.

'That's not a compliment at all!　You're bragging about it, not putting me down!

　Narcissus returned his gaze to the dueling grounds.

(What on earth are you thinking?)

◇

　Somewhere out there is someone who thinks I'm an idiot.

　Shall I cut off my aid to Marie and give her a string to tie up?

　As I was thinking about this, Pierre swung a battle axe at me.

　None of them, I try to dodge them with a paperweight.

''Enough of this, you're going to die!

　Well, I think we've bought ourselves some time.

　I've been given enough time to make up for it.

　I take a big step away from the arrogants for once.

　Then I take a stance.

'Huh?　What's that stance?　Could it be that you're seriously planning to take on an armor opponent with your bare hands~''

　Pierre and his cronies in the hall, who are giggling at my stance.

　I speak plainly.

"Armor is inevitably limited in form due to the relationship between people entering and handling it.

　In the game's setting, it was easier to move the same humanoid form because the armor was moved by magic, or something like that.

'Have you gone mad?　Then die!

　Aroganz charging at me.

　I move with the movement of the battleaxe as it is swung down, and I move too - Aroganz goes through me and rolls on the ground. To the audience, it would have looked like I'd just let Aroganz roll over.

You know what they say about "soft and stiff"?

　Aroganz, who had fallen, was trying to get up.

◇

　Pierre didn't know what had happened.

'Hey, what. What's going on?

　Pierre is in a hurry, and he slashes at Rion repeatedly afterwards, but all of them are avoided and blown away.

　Rion looked like a master martial artist, but Pierre was terrifying.

　The fact that he used armor that was almost as strong as his strongest, and couldn't win, was what made Rion so unusual.

　Pierre looks at the back of his right hand.

''Nah, no. I swear by the holy tree, if I use this, I - I'll be without a blessing.''

　Pierre was frightened without his blessing, but he heard an electronic voice inside the cockpit.

'Target audio data editing is complete. We will now move to the next phase of operational action.''

What?　Whose voice is that!

　Pierre moves his head to look around, but the audience doesn't notice anything unusual.

'Hey, whose voice is that?

　Then the arogants start moving on their own.

'Heh?'

　Pierre was surprised to hear his own voice, edited out - and then he said.

'You've got to be kidding me!　I'm going to blow you all away!'

　--Pierre hadn't said anything like that, but there was definitely a sound of Pierre's voice coming from Aroganz.

　He moved of his own accord, releasing the container and letting the missiles fall around him.

　The dueling arena was exploded by the missiles and the crowd was fleeing.

　The referee shouted.

'Stop it!　Mr. Pierre, stop the attack now!

　Pierre exclaims.

'Oh, it wasn't me!　Stop it now!

　He moved the controls, but the arogants were moving on their own.

　He picked up the fallen rifle and fired, destroying the dueling grounds as he fired.

'Everyone blow up!

　Laughter echoed through the dueling arena as the crowd fled the scene.

　Pierre shouted.

'It wasn't me!　It wasn't me!

　Then Rion came out of the smoke.

''I'll settle it.''

◇

　As I stood in front of the rampaging Aroganz, Aroganz pointed the battleaxe in his left hand.

''Shut up!　I'm going to kill you, and then I'm going to show these people here what I can do!

　I composed myself.

　Dr. Clément's voice came from the audience.

'Run, Leon, run!　Pierre, you are insane!

　I answer as matter-of-factly as I can.

"If I get out of here, you won't be able to stop him. Wait for me, Aroganz--I'll have you back in a minute.

　I pull my right hand back a little and open my hand, betting everything on the blow.

''I don't think that's enough to make it go away!

　He dives into the bosom of the oncoming Aroganz.

　He dodged the swinging battleaxe and then pressed his palm against Aroganz's chest.

'You know what?　There's a technique that allows you to pass the impact inside, you know. This is what happens when you're caught off guard against a flesh and blood human being just because you're in armor!

　I exerted myself and the allogants blew up.

　I heard Dr. Narcissus' voice.

'Oh, no!　You have no idea how much of a weight difference there is!

　The teachers looking at me like they couldn't believe it.

　And the crowd that stopped running away.

　I approach Aroganz, who hits the wall as I blow up and sit down.

'Pierre, don't think that's the end of it.' --the fun is just beginning.

　I shook my hand with the custom-made glove on it.

◇

　The harbor at the time of the duel between Rion and the others.

　As Einhorn purged the apparatus he had fixed in place, he slowly floated up.

　A few of Pierre's cronies, who were drunk, and some of his drunken vassals were whining about what was going on outside.

'Hey, who's running it?'
I'm hungover. Please don't do that.
Did Pierre tell you to do this?

　I thought they were a carefree bunch--''


''Einhorn, I think it's time to start the operation. This ridiculous time is over.''


　--It was Luxion.

　Luxion made his way to the bridge, where the robots were operating the airship.

　They tied up Pierre's cronies on the bridge and made them chew on the cloth.

　They looked at us as if they wanted to say something, but Luxion ignored them.

'Security forces anchored in the harbor, lock on to the military airship.'

　As the robots started to move, a turret came out of Einhorn - shooting out the warship.

　The airship, which had been shot out of its vital engine parts, was on fire.

　People could see the people evacuating as the airship, with hardly any people on board, slowly fell down.

The airship has a very high level of safety and security. That's a typical order for a master.''

　As it is, Einhorn is destroying airships one after another.

　The same goes for the facilities in the harbor.

　People are fleeing.

　They finally realize what's going on and their cronies and vassals who have come to the bridge in a hurry knock on the door.

'Open up!　What the hell are you doing!
They'll kill you if you do this!
Look, a warship is coming!

　What they saw outside were airships guarding the harbor.

　Luxion realizes that one of them is the airship that inspected them.

"....missile launch.

　As the missiles were released from Einhorn, the warships flared up one by one.

　The power of the missiles is adjusted, and they are not reduced to pieces of wood.

'Launch the drones. Those who have kicked Aroganz in the leg and insulted their master will be carefully rewarded.''

　Robots like legless armor fly away from Einhorn.

　The robots surround the fleeing Republic soldiers when they find the Captain from that time in the boat.

　They have him, and the captain is crying out.

'Let me go!'

　The robots beat up the Captain, and when they came back Luxion told them.

'I would have liked to rampage around in the main body if I could. Then let's go. We must show the Republic what Einhorn is capable of.

　As it was, Einhorn turned its course towards the Fevell family's territory - ivy was growing out of the crest that floated on the hull of the ship and was about to swallow Einhorn.

''The analysis has already been completed. Don't think that this level ... can bind me.''

　The crest that emerged popped off as Einhorn's engine roared and disappeared.

''Well, let's let it ramp up too.