THE SECOND PRINCE
Sue and Klevea were facing off in front of me, practice swords in hand.
Taking advantage of Sue’s small physique, Klevea easily deflected her sword as my sister charged.
Sue still kept attacking resolutely, but Klevea’s precise defense warded her off easily.
The petite girl attacked with all her might, but the muscular Klevea’s swordsmanship was more reminiscent of an elegantly flowing river.
In both appearance and movement, the two of them were total opposites.
Sue certainly couldn’t be considered weak, but compared to Klevea’s extensive experience in real battle, her skill was bound to fall short.
This was particularly unsurprising given that Klevea had Sword Mastery, the advanced version of Swordsmanship, at level 7.
Sue’s Swordsmanship skill was at level 6. So, according to a simple calculation, that was an 11-level difference.
There was no way to compensate for a disparity like that.
Still, there were many times when simple stats could at least prolong a battle.
Sue was invoking both Magic Warfare and Mental Warfare at the same time.
These were skills that could consume MP and SP to raise base stats, and since Sue had so much MP, the improvement Magic Warfare afforded her was nothing to sneeze at.
Her physical stats had gone up a lot recently, too, so she actually had a bit of an edge on the status front.
Still, Klevea was abstaining from Mental Warfare to create a handicap. If she were using it, too, the odds would certainly tip further in her favor.
Even without it, she was likely to win anyway.
Sue’s stats could be a bit higher, but that was a slight advantage compared to Klevea’s huge lead in fundamental strength and experience.
Sue didn’t have a chance of turning things around.
Just as I expected, Sue wore herself out on offense, and Klevea’s counterattack defeated her.
Taking a hard thump to the stomach, Sue fell to the ground.
Immediately, Anna rushed over to her and cast recovery magic.
Brushing the dirt off her clothes, Sue stood up with frustration written all over her face. “I lost.”
“If you can fight like that at your age, Princess, you’ll surely surpass me soon enough. Truly, your talent is a wonder.”
“No need to flatter me.”
As I was about to walk over to my sullen sister, I heard the sound of clapping from right beside me.
“I don’t think that was flattery at all! You really did fight well.”
Everyone in the room, myself included, widened our eyes in surprise.
Not even Klevea and Anna, never mind Sue and myself, had noticed this newcomer.
Even when he was standing right next to me, I didn’t detect the slightest hint of his presence.
“Julius!”
“Hey. Did I surprise you?” Julius, the second prince and my elder brother by the same mother, chuckled as if he’d pulled off a prank.
“When did you arrive back home?”
“Just yesterday. I wanted to say hello sooner, but between seeing Father, our older brother, and everyone else, I never got the chance.”
My brother was several years older than me, and he was already working on various things abroad.
So it was rare for him to come back to the kingdom like this.
“Sue, I take my eyes off you for a second and you get even more talented, every time. Your speed of improvement never fails to amaze me.”
Even though Julius spoke kindly to Sue, she only scowled in response. For some reason, she didn’t seem to like Julius very much.
Personally, I liked him a lot, since he was much friendlier than my two other elder brothers.
More than anything, I respected him.
So to be honest, the friction between the older brother I admired and the younger sister I adored kind of bothered me.
“Come on, Sue. Should you really be acting like that toward your own brother?”
“Ha-ha, it’s all right. Sue’s at a difficult age right now,” Julius said sympathetically.
If you counted my previous life, I was theoretically older than him, but Julius still seemed to outclass me in mental age.
“How about you, Shun? Want to practice together like we used to?”
“Could we?! Yes, please!”
Getting to train with my brother Julius? I couldn’t have asked for more.
“All right, I’m gonna borrow this, then.”
“O-of course.”
My brother took the practice sword from Klevea, who shrank away. She was never this nervous around anyone.
I guess it made sense with someone like Julius, though.
“Okay. Ready when you are. Come at me from wherever you like.”
“Right!”
I immediately activated both Magic and Mental Warfare.
There was no sense holding back against my brother Julius.
I focused on using all the power I had.
Then I shot forward, tracing a diagonal strike from below.
My brother effortlessly blocked me.
Though I’d come at him with all my strength, he easily stopped the blow with his sword held in just one hand.
But that was what I’d expected.
He’d never fail to fend off an attack like that.
Immediately, I drew the sword back for my next attack.
Again, he stopped me without a problem.
It was fun.
Even trying with all my might, I couldn’t touch him.
No matter how quickly or powerfully I swung my sword, no matter what complicated techniques I tried, I couldn’t get to him at all.
I couldn’t even begin to imagine how I might get past his defenses.
But that was why I felt lucky that someone so skilled was willing to spar with me.
It was incredibly fun.
However, no matter how much I wished to keep going like this forever, the end would come.
My Magic and Mental Warfare expired.
Breathing heavily, I dropped to one knee.
“Very nice. Your swordsmanship is very straightforward and strong. It’s like there’s no limit to how far your talents might go.”
“Thank…you…very…much…”
I panted out my thanks. Despite how worn-out I was, my brother’s breathing was perfectly even.
He really was amazing.
It made sense, since he was a hero.
The strongest human in the world.
Could I measure up to him someday?
If I had one dream in this world, it would be to become his equal.
I couldn’t even come close right now, but someday, surely I’d at least be able to have Julius’s back in battle.
That was my main goal.
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