Dream Life Vol II Chapter 65.3: “Rathmore Village Martial Arts Competition?: Part 1”

~Beatrice’s Perspective~

　He is a man who loves his father, so he probably tried not to embarrass his father, the lord, in front of the squires and the vigilantes.

　The current lord seems to understand and feels that he was handicapped, saying, “I didn’t know you could become so strong in just one year.”

　The previous lord asked Zack to continue the mock battle and named his next opponent.

　Byron Seedorf, the new squire.

　He was as tall as me – two meters – and had a huge wooden sword about Zack’s height – 150 centimeters. He was carrying a huge wooden sword about Zach’s height–150 cm.

　According to Zack, this man was formerly a garrison commander in the Kingdom of Caum, a mountainous state in the south of the country. He had heard that he was as hardy as he looked, but more than that, he used practical attacks.

“It’s been a year, hasn’t it?” (Byron)

　Byron chuckled, but his expression soon turned serious.

“I have been trained here by the former lord. I will show you that I am not the man I once was.” (Byron)

　Byron raised his huge wooden sword in the air.

　And then, the signal from his predecessor, “Begin!” Byron remained in the upper stance and made no move.

　Zack, wary of Byron’s stance, muttered to himself, “He doesn’t need two slashes, does he? That’s a tricky one,” he muttered to himself.

　I did not understand the meaning of his words, but I somehow understood what Byron was thinking from his posture.

　He was probably trying to finish Zack off with a single blow before Zack could take the initiative.

　If he swung down with his huge body, even a wooden sword could be fatal. I muttered to myself, “This is a bad idea,” and looked around, but no one tried to stop it.

　Not even Lydiane, who loved Zack.

　I was worried and asked her, “Is this safe? That Byron is pretty strong,” I said to Lydiane, but she replied in her usual light tone.

“Zack will be fine. Zack, he’s always saying that anything goes except instant death. I’m here today, and I’ll take care of him to some extent, and he’ll heal himself after that.” (Liddy)

　He was wearing protective gear, but if that cudgel-like wooden sword came down on him, it would be fatal.

　I was desperately trying to suppress the urge to stop this training.

　And then the battle suddenly began.

　Zack took a half-step forward to take the first move, but Byron’s killing intent made him hesitate slightly. Byron did not miss that moment.

　“I know because I’ve been there myself, that if you’re big, you need to take your time on your first move,” Byron said. But the man closed the distance without making any preliminary move, like a bent branch bouncing off a tree.

　I couldn’t help but open my eyes.

　It would be understandable if he was a beastfolk, even a catfolk, but a mere human, a man who seems to value power over speed, showed moves that rivaled mine. It would be unreasonable to say that he was not surprised.

Byron closed the distance between Zack at once with an explosive, linear movement. Then, with a huge wooden sword held in the upper position, Byron swung it with a “Ha!” He swung it at Zack.

　Even with a wooden sword, he could easily kill an orc.

　I could picture Zack’s head being crushed like a pomegranate.

　But the wooden sword only struck the ground, sending up a cloud of dust. No, Zack was not under that wooden sword.

　While I was surprised by Byron’s movement, Zack was already on the move.

　If I had been my normal self, I might have been able to follow him with my eyes. But today, I was so surprised that I couldn’t keep up and use my usual senses.

　Zack, perhaps expecting Byron to come in a straight line, had jumped into Byron’s range to get out of time to receive the fatal blow.

　A bold move, as always.

　After he jumped into Byron’s range, he slashed his sword through the right side of his body and seemed to be thinking of slipping out of the way. I could not see Byron’s body from my side, but I thought Zack had won.

　But that was not the end of the match.

　Byron had expected Zack to make a move like that, and the moment he thought he had missed, he pulled his right hand away from his two-handed sword and used his sturdy cage gauntlets to repel Zack’s slashes.

“You are as good as I expected. Did you take a cue from grandfather’s moves?” (Zack)

　Zack said, and Byron’s burly face broke into a smile,

“Yes, I was guided by the previous lord. I was going to smash Master Zack’s right shoulder, but it seems to not have paid off.” (Byron)

　As expected, Byron did not seem to aim for the head in the mock battle. It looks like Zack took advantage of him for slightly deviating to the right.

　The conversation ended, but Zack is a good evader.

　I thought so when I first met Zack, but he has reached the top level of evasion. If Zack concentrated on evasion, even I would have a hard time landing a blow.

　I once asked him how he was so good at avoiding.

　He grinned and replied,

“Because I can move three times faster than normal, despite the black color of my equipment. If it doesn’t hit me, it doesn’t matter!” (Zack)

“You can triple your speed with Magical Combat?!” (Beatrice)

　I said in surprise, and he said, “I’m only joking.

　When I looked at him curiously, he looked a little sad and muttered, “After all, it’s hard to grasp when you don’t know the original concept…”

　In the end, I don’t know why he was so good at evading, but it was fully demonstrated here as well.

　After exchanging a few words, the two men began to furiously strike each other.

　To be precise, Byron showed a storm-like attack utilizing his physical strength and reach, and Zack dodged it like a fluttering leaf. Then, while dodging, he would add an attack that targeted a vital spot.

　The fierce battle continued for about five minutes, and when Zack’s lack of stamina slowed him down, a wild, side-swiping blow slammed into his abdomen. Not only that but his light weight was blown several meters and he rolled on the ground.

　I panicked at the sight of him.

　Our ongoing training at Doctus was also quite intense. However, we had not dealt a fatal blow so far.

　I had no time to worry about my surroundings and flew to him.

　I immediately called Lydiane.

“Are you alright! Lydiane! Healing magic!” (Beatrice)

　While I was in a hurry, Lydiane slowly approached me as if she was about to yawn.

“He’s fine. He just fainted from the impact.” (Liddy)

　Lydiane, who was so distraught when it was a ghoul, wasn’t shaken at all. On the contrary, none of the people around us were even trying to move.

　When I asked Lydiane for healing magic again, Zack opened his eyes.

“It’s all right. I got hit hard, but it’s nothing compared to the blow my grandfather gave me.” (Zack)

　He says this and gets up without even casting a healing spell.

　When I asked, “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Beatrice is a worrier. This is normal in my house.” (Zack)

　He laughed, but I couldn’t understand it.

　I was angry with Byron. Then I went over to him, stood directly in front of him, and brought my face close to his. Then I raised my voice and complained to him.

“He is the son of your lord, right? Why don’t you go easy on him a little? If a child like him were to receive a blow from you, he would die!” (Beatrice)

　Byron’s eyes are blank at my pointed glare.

　He opened his mouth to say something, but I opened mine first.

“I’ll beat you right back! Come!” (Beatrice)

　At that moment, I heard a voice behind me say, “You are a worrier, Ms. Beatrice.”

　I turned around to see the former lord standing there, holding back his laughter.

“I’m saying that he didn’t have to hold back. But Byron still held back. And Zack doesn’t care either.”

　If that’s what the former lord said, I had no choice but to back down, even if I didn’t agree with it.

“You can fight Byron later. First, check let’s Zack’s arm.” (Govan)

　I couldn’t believe my ears.

　They are still thinking of continuing this.

　The former lord didn’t notice my thoughts at all, and nominated Nicholas Garland saying, “Nicholas! You’re next.”