Brothers And Boy’s Fight

In the arena’s VIP room, the princesses watched Rudel and Fritz as they stood facing each other and talked. Though each was supporting a different person, both were completely serious. Aileen clasped both hands tightly in front of her chest, while Fina remained expressionless, though inwardly…

(Fritz is fiiiiinished!!! Get beaten to a pulp by Master. And while you’re at it, make things easier by tanking my sister’s opinion of you! A Fritz who isn’t fluffy has no business being here!)

The Senior Knights around them also had complicated feelings as they stood before the two intensely focused princesses. Though they did not show it on their faces, Aileen’s guards were dissatisfied with the words and attitude of Fritz, a commoner. But since the princess herself adored him, they could not voice their complaints.

Sophina, Fina’s guard, had also come to understand Fina’s personality recently, so her feelings were complicated as well. She could not possibly imagine just how unrestrained Fina’s thoughts truly were, but she suspected that the princess was probably thinking nothing good. And when Sophina saw the serious expression on Rudel’s face as he confronted Fritz, her cheeks grew slightly warm.

The arena had recovered somewhat from the silence of the previous match, and cheers had begun to rise again.

“Don’t lose to an upperclassman, Fritz!”

“Show him the difference in your strength!”

“Show everyone who the strongest one is, Fritz!”

The upperclassmen had mixed feelings as they listened to the younger students shouting those taunts. Most of the third-years were reminded of their own younger days, while Rudel’s classmates listened angrily. The second-years knew that Rudel had defeated Aleist, and they also knew that he was close with the Second Princess, so they had no idea what they were supposed to say.

“Can you hear those cheers?… That’s the voice of the people, Senpai.”

The two exchanged a few words before the match began. The referee read the mood and silently allowed them a little time to talk.

“You use mana to create a pseudo-magic sword. Then you apply the same principle defensively… I looked into it. So let me tell you this… I’ve already caught up to you, and surpassed you.”

“I see. More importantly, I should thank you for what happened with my brother. At this rate, Chlust looks like he’ll be able to stand back up again.”

Rudel showed little interest in Fritz’s words. However, he was genuinely grateful for what had happened with his younger brother Chlust. He simply wanted to thank Fritz for that. But Fritz became angry at his attitude.

Then the referee announced the start of the match.

At the same instant, mana enveloped Fritz’s body, while a tremendous amount of mana flowed into his wooden sword as well. The sight of him seemingly clad in glowing armor and wielding a shining sword drew cries of surprise from the arena. Seeing that armor and sword of mana, the younger students grew excited and became convinced of his victory.

“This is me going all out! I didn’t even need to show this much against your little brother!”

Fritz shouted as he pointed his wooden sword at Rudel. Rudel, however, merely held his wooden sword in his right hand without taking a stance. He did not even try to channel mana into it.

“Planning to make excuses afterward and say you lost because you didn’t fight seriously? Nobles really are hopeless trash… Fine, then lie in a bed in the infirmary and regret it, you piece of traaaaash!!!”

Fritz closed the distance in an instant and swung his wooden sword downward. But the next moment, his body was slammed into the ring, with Rudel’s right foot planted on his chest. No—it was stomping him down.

“Do everything you can to endure this.”

Before Fritz could even understand Rudel’s words, he felt an overwhelming impact. Then, after coughing up blood, he lost consciousness.

Luecke and Unias wore completely different expressions as they watched the match end only seconds after it began. Luecke looked troubled.

“Haah. What an utterly boring match. He could at least think about entertaining the spectators a little… Someone experienced in combat would probably be impressed, but the younger students won’t understand what just happened.”

Rudel had leaned his body aside to evade Fritz’s reckless charge, then grabbed Fritz’s arm with his left hand and swept his legs out from under him. Rather than simply falling, Fritz had been slammed into the ring. Rudel then pinned his body down with his right foot… and launched some sort of attack from there.

It had been a violent enough attack to gouge a circular depression into the ring around the two of them… Fritz had immediately coughed up blood and lost consciousness, ending the match.

“Now that was fun… Man, that guy really is the best.”

Unias, on the other hand, wore such a ferocious grin that Aleist and Chlust, sitting beside him, visibly recoiled. He did not know what Rudel had done, but the attack had been powerful enough to send an unpleasant chill down his spine. The friend he had acknowledged had grown stronger without him even realizing it.

“I’m looking forward to the second term next year.”

As Unias happily said that, Aleist, sitting beside him, looked away and clutched his head.

(Wh-What do I do?! I don’t know any attack like that—what even was that!? At this rate, I can’t beat Rudel… What am I supposed to do?)

Depressed by the gap in strength that had widened even further without him noticing, Aleist sank into despair. Chlust watched his brother standing in the ring and, reassured, lost consciousness from the exhaustion of his own match. Izumi rose from her seat and supported Chlust from behind.

Two disguised Dragoons had slipped into the arena. Lilim and Cattleya, dressed a little more stylishly than usual, could not hide their surprise after watching Rudel’s match against Fritz. It was only natural, considering he had grown stronger again since fighting them, but even so, his rate of growth could only be called abnormal.

The two suppressed the excitement they had felt when Rudel first appeared and turned their attention toward the VIP room. They also sent messages to their dragons, which had been stationed at the academy, and completed their preparations.

『So that man’s child… no, Rudel, seems to have won. Are you pleased, my contractor?』

『Seriously!? I heard the voices, but that was an instant kill! Just how weak was the other guy? And after all that bragging in the last match… What a loser!』

The two women smiled wryly at their dragons’ replies. Lilim’s dragon called her only “contractor,” yet referred to Rudel by name. And Cattleya’s dragon had a particularly foul mouth.

“Well then, is the princess going to be all right?”

Cattleya asked Lilim while alternating her gaze between the VIP room and Rudel in the ring. She did not particularly expect the princess to do anything reckless, but since that was the reason they had been called here, they still had to remain vigilant.

Fritz was being carried away from the ring on a stretcher, and an indescribable atmosphere had settled over the arena. Those who could not comprehend just how vast the difference in strength had been began shouting that the result was unfair, while the upperclassmen started heckling those younger students in return.

“There doesn’t seem to be any signal. Still, I got to see something worthwhile.”

As she watched the VIP room, Lilim remembered Rudel’s gallant performance moments earlier, and her cheeks turned red. Cattleya sighed as she looked at her senior.

“You’re not even his fiancée anymore…”

Meanwhile, the VIP room that the two Dragoons were worried about had fallen into a minor commotion.

“Th-That was invalid! I refuse to recognize a match like that!”

Unable to accept Fritz’s defeat, Aileen protested to everyone around her. However, the result had been an absolute loss for Fritz, who had been rendered unconscious. He had not lost because of luck or misfortune. He had lost because of a complete difference in ability.

“No matter how many times they redo it, the result won’t change, Onee-sama.”

(There’s no way your prince could ever beat Master. After all, Master is the man who’s going to become my husband so I can reach Fluff Heaven… Wait? If that’s the case, couldn’t Master be a prince too? How about 【Lord of Fluff Heaven】? That’s way too good!)

Fina’s expressionless remark only irritated her elder sister Aileen even further. Because Aileen knew about her younger sister’s circumstances? she did not say anything aloud, but she was still furious.

“…I’ll never forgive him.”

No one heard Aileen’s mutter. Fina simply continued staring expressionlessly at Rudel in the ring. Even the Senior Knights around them failed to hear Aileen’s words, which were filled with emotions that could only be called complicated.

As the third term was drawing safely? to a close, Chlust, having been discharged from the infirmary, arrived at the academy gates. A carriage from the Arses Family had come to collect him. His parents had told him not to attend the graduation ceremony because he would be an embarrassment, and he was to be taken directly by carriage to the frontier.

Chlust was filled with loneliness, humiliation, and anxiety, but quite a few people had come to see him off. Luecke and Unias of the Three Dukes were there, along with Bargas, Basil, Aleist, and even Fina surrounded by her guards. Rudel, however, had not yet arrived.

“H-Hey, why isn’t his brother Rudel here? This is awkward as hell, and I have no idea what we’re supposed to talk about!”

Aleist voiced the atmosphere hanging over the gathering and pleaded with the others for help, but everyone looked away and refused to assist him. They had all come assuming Rudel would be there. None of them had expected a situation like this.

Time passed in silence, and occasionally someone considerate tried speaking to Chlust, but the conversation never lasted. After this continued for a while, Rudel finally appeared with Izumi, carrying a basket. Aleist and the others became slightly irritated by how close the two seemed.

“You’re late, Rudel!”

At Luecke’s shout, Rudel scratched his head apologetically.

“S-Sorry. I didn’t think you’d be leaving without going home first. I figured you’d get hungry on the way to the frontier, so I made some sandwiches in the cafeteria.”

Rudel held out the basket. Izumi was carrying one as well, and she went to hand hers to the servants in the carriage. Rudel then gave his basket to Chlust.

“It would’ve taken me a lot longer if Izumi hadn’t helped. I’m glad I ran into her on the way.”

“If you’d told me, I could have prepared everything immediately. Rudel, you act on impulse far too often.”

As everyone listened to the two of them talk, some were thinking, Why aren’t these two dating already? while another was thinking, Black Haaaaair!!!

“I-I’ll take it, I guess.”

Still unsure how he should interact with his elder brother Rudel, Chlust accepted the basket while putting on an abrasive front. Rudel then spoke to him.

“Survive, Chlust. If you don’t, you’ll never achieve your dream.”

Unable to think of what to say, Chlust simply headed toward the carriage. He had spent the previous day thinking about all the things he wanted to tell Rudel, yet in the end he could not express any of them. The others watched the brothers with warm smiles. However, Chlust was being sent to the border with the Empire, a tense region crawling with monsters.

Perhaps they would never see him again. With that thought in everyone’s mind, they called out to Chlust as they watched the carriage depart. Once it passed through the academy gates and began moving away, Chlust leaned out the window and shouted.

“Th-Thank you very much, Brother!!!”

Rudel continued waving goodbye to the carriage carrying his younger brother until it disappeared from sight.

At noon, when the carriage stopped for a break, Chlust opened the basket and took out the sandwiches. A small flask had also been packed inside, along with some misshapen sandwiches and others that were neatly made.

“H-Hmph. These ugly ones must be the ones Brother made.”

Chlust said that and took a bite.

“Wh-Why do they taste so awful… They’re way too salty.”

Chlust devoured them anyway, washing them down with the green tea from the flask as tears streamed down his face.

“Thank you… Thank you, Brother.”

As he ate and cried, Chlust looked just a little happy as he remembered Rudel’s words.

“I’ll survive, and next time I’ll thank you properly, face-to-face… I’ll definitely survive…”