Montavo woke up just after noon every day.
Thoroughly exercised by his master Kai every night, it was impossible for him to wake up in the mornings.
However, even when they were having a break in the training, he would spend the night drinking so he would end up waking up at the same hour.
Montavo who loved to engross himself playing around at night was known as the playful lazy son by the rumor mills.
However, they had a slight misunderstanding.
There was a real reason why Montavo likes to play the night away.
— He was afraid of the night.
He would hear the voice of the master he let die when he went to sleep.
[Bocchan … why … why …]
Her speckled patterned skin.
The visage of his poisoned teacher appeared many times to him in dream.
— But nowadays, it had become slightly better.
The illusion of Phryne didn’t scare him as much as it did.
The reason was clear.
That was surely because he was forcefully brought to Phryne’s grave.
He would be afraid of everything if he ran.
But when he faced her head on, the fear gradually subsided.
“Hmph …”
Leaving the bed, Montavo had an idea and took hold of his sword.
He stood in the middle of his room and swung the sword.
*swoosh* … the sword cut the air.
From outside, it looked like a perfect slash.
Made without unnecessary moves, faster than anyone.
However —
“It’s still warped …”
Its path was dull.
The warping was not something so easily fixed, it seems.
“Well, there are things even my noble master fencer self couldn’t do …”
Will he win against Yuutarou like this.
However, what was he to do after all this time.
He had to believe in his master Kai.
Then, that moment.
“Mon … are you up …?”
The door open, and his older sister entered.
“Oh, good morning. What brings you here my sister who shares the same blood as my noble self!”
“You won’t shut up with that as usual I see … I’m coming to see if Mon’s gone lazy … Your duel with that Kuutarou(?) reincarnator kid is close, right … Don’t lose okay … If you win the Lord’s daughter Chirisha(?) is going to be ours”
“The dueling opponent is Yuutarou, and the prize is Kirisha. She’ll be your future sister in law so get the name right please”
“Yes yes, that … Kirisha, make sure you get her, okay … and get many children off of her, okay. Children with the blood of the Lord are useful … veeeery useful …”
“Yes well … just leave it to me my sister of equal nobility to my noble self! My noble self the pride of the Gingait house will certainly make miss Kirisha my own!”
If he won against Yuutarou, Montavo Gilles Gingait was going to marry the Lord’s daughter Kirisha.
For the Gingait house, it was their holy grail.
They would be able to have ties with the Lord’s, that is the Marquis’, house.
How much power would they be able to gain with this marriage —
Montavo himself had no interest in the Kirisha girl.
He knew nothing of her except being the Lord’s daughter.
He didn’t know what will become of the girl’s life.
“Mon is strong so you’ll be fine … you can seal this Yuutarou(?)’s magic with the Sacrament Cage, right … so good luck with training today — oh I remember …”
His sister recalled something and said, “you know … there’s been rumors recently … dead people have been getting bodies and coming out … it’s funny isn’t it … something like this happening so soon before the festival … ghosts, huh … I wonder what business we can start if we captured one … I smell lots of cash …”
“The dead, huh …”
It was a common idle nonsense, right.
Ghosts don’t appear in the flesh — but Montavo wondered about that just a little bit.
＊＊
With the festival coming, the town of Coura’s central plaza was built into an impromptu arena.
The space with audience seating surrounding it was where Yuutarou and Montavo’s duel will be held on the last day of the festival.
It was a common situation in fighting manga.
Montavo came to visit the arena late at night.
Kai said tonight’s training will take place here.
“What did he want, a rehearsal using the real place …?”
Montavo grumbled and sat down on the anti-slip sand.
He looked up into the sky.
He saw starlight.
He recalled his master, and hummed a requiem — then.
*step* … the sound of footsteps
“Kai?”
Montavo looked towards the arena entrance — and held his breath.
It was not Kai there.
An wrinkly old lady with spots on her skin.
She was thin as dry wood, and yet her eyes gleamed like a carnivorous animal.
She had a sword on her waist.
“— get up bocchan. It’s time for practice”
＊＊
“AAAH — I’m late …!”
Late at night, I ran towards the Arena where I’m supposed to meet with Montavo.
I took too much time with the preparations and was late.
“You’re late but you’re not go ‘I’m late~ I’m late~’?”
“I’m not! I don’t have time to butt heads with a girl coming out of an alley”
“Motoki, you don’t abide by Earth legends, do you”
“It’s not even Earth here”
Ignoring Liu who was running next to me, I ran.
I was in the graveyards just earlier.
There I dug the grave of Montavo’s former master Phryne — and took a look at her rotten corpse.
— In order to transform into her.
Tonight, I will be fighting Montavo in the arena as Phryne and plan to be defeated.
Then in the end, I was going to say this.
[Bocchan, you’ve become strong … you’re the strongest swordsman].
Montavo will be released from the phantom of Phryne and become a Protagonist.
Finally I arrived at the entrance to the meeting place.
From the entrance door, I entered the arena grounds —
“— eh?”
Montavo was on the arena and was already fighting.
They stood facing each other with swords ready.
Who is it, Montavo’s fighting … an old lady?
“Motoki … that person, looks exactly like you right now … peas in a pod”
I was now transformed into Phryne.
Which means that is …
“What …”
Phryne was facing Montavo.
The dead old lady …!
What’s going on. It couldn’t be a real —
“M, Motoki … I remembered something urgent so can you let me go back to my parents’ home. Umm, my dad was suddenly ill. He might die tomorrow, it’s true. In fact he might have already died today. Then that being the case, adieu—!”
“Stop fooling around”
I caught the fleeing Liu by the scruff of her neck.
Don’t leave me alone in a situation like this …
“I can’t handle it …! I can’t handle ghosts! I’ve done nothing but bad deeds all day so I’m definitely going to be killed!”
I put more strength in my arm so that the wriggling Liu didn’t escape.
The return of the dead — you have got to be kidding me …
Is it because the festival is near …?
I heard the boundary between this world and the next becomes fuzzy during a festival.
Or now that I think about it … was it because of the rumor I spread? The one where the dead appears in Coura — no, but in that case why did only Phryne come back.
… no, let’s think about reasons later.
Right now, I have to grasp the situation.
I fixedly observed the situation.
Montavo faced Phryne, and then
— the match began.
«TN: 15 more chapters until I’m caught up. Whew»
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