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Re:Zero Kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu (LN) - Volume EX4 - Chapter 2.15




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15

The training ground adjacent to the royal guard’s barracks was already beginning to fill with a quiet tension. This place normally rang with the clashing of swords as knights and guards honed their skills. But today, the soldiers all sat in the observation seats or stood by the walls, awaiting an impending moment.

“Well now, if this isn’t just the most ideal outcome,” Cecils said as he was led into the arena. He felt for footing beneath his zori, soaking up the countless eyes upon him. He was absolutely savoring the situation, while simultaneously looking forward to what would come next.

“I must say, I’m rather shocked,” Chisha said. “I thought the kingdom’s knights didn’t favor displays like this.”

“Ferri’s surprised, too. I never imeowgined the captain would actually go along with this. I thought he would bite our heads off.”

Julius agreed with their whispered conversation, but there was something else on his mind, as well. “Perhaps he simply wants to see it for himself—the silver-petaled dance between these swordsmen from the kingdom and the empire.”

“ ”

Almost at the same moment Julius spoke, a murmur ran through the watching crowd. The cause was another’s arrival to the arena: a young man with hair the color of flames. His posture was practiced, his eyes as blue as if they held the very sky. The white uniform of the royal guard looked as though it had been designed just for him, matching the white scabbard at his hip; he appeared the knight among knights.

“Reinhard.”

Reinhard van Astrea paused and smiled at Julius’s voice. The Sword Saint, returned from his inspection, chose a spot several feet away from Cecils and bowed politely. “A pleasure to see you again, Master Cecils. Permit me to welcome you to our kingdom.”

“And allow me to apologize for showing up without warning you. I thank you for accepting my impetuous request. Got to say, I’m really surprised.”

“Are you now?”

“Mm. Assumed you would turn me down flat. But I figured it couldn’t hurt to ask.”

Reinhard only smiled wider at Cecils’s directness. The man in blue pointedly tapped the hilts of his swords, saying, “You must be tired after such a long trip, but I’m afraid I’m not in any position to hang around here myself. I know that makes things a little unfair—hope you won’t hold a grudge.”

“It was my choice to accept your request. I won’t seek any further excuses for my performance.”

“Ah, that’s a swordsman. All right, then—”

The precombat formalities concluded, Cecils went over to the wall and removed his sandals. Chisha took them from him, and the two envoys from the empire proceeded to have some sort of conversation. Julius took advantage of the moment to go over to Reinhard and speak to him as well.

“Reinhard, I must say, this—”

“Why’d you say yes to such an idiotic request? Are you as stupid as he is, Reinhard?”

“Ferris…,” Julius interjected.


Reinhard’s eyes widened, but he responded to Ferris’s attack with no more than a smile and a shrug. “I won’t deny I have a bit of a foolish streak, but I don’t think it’s idiotic to do this. Though, I am touched you’re so worried about me.”

“First Julius, now you, Reinhard… Nobody cares about Ferri’s feelings…”

“True, Master Cecils’s request came as quite a surprise. But the captain had a say, too. Go out there and show him just how strong Lugunica is! he told me.” Reinhard, trying to imitate Marcus, dropped his voice to a forced growl that didn’t particularly resemble the captain’s at all. He glanced at the row of high-ranking knights assembled across the training ground, the captain sitting among them. The craggy old warrior noticed him, grinned, and made a punching motion.

“I don’t think he can hear us… Can he?”

“This is the captain’s handiwork, all right,” Ferris said. “Maybe he’s madder at the empire than we realized…”

“I’ve heard the two of you haven’t had an easy time of it. So this fight means something to me. I intend to requite the kingdom’s expectations and my friends’ suffering.” For all that, Reinhard sounded quite lighthearted, still smiling as he turned forward. Julius and Ferris withdrew, and there was Cecils, waiting for the Sword Saint to make his entrance. Cecils Segmund, the most powerful fighter in Volakia, sandals off, his two enchanted swords in hand.

“Hold it, Reinhard,” Julius said. “We don’t have a sword ready for you. Wait there; I can have one prepared in a moment…”

Reinhard carried a sword that was like his own partner, yet custom all but dictated that it never be drawn. Even Julius had never seen it removed from its sheath. Thus, he assumed Reinhard would need a different weapon for this battle, but…

“Don’t worry, Julius. I have a blade right here.”

“ ”

Reinhard sounded no different than he had a moment earlier. And yet his voice sent a shiver through everyone assembled there. The kingdom’s strongest fighter, the Sword Saint, was about to duel the empire’s supreme warrior, The Blue Lightning. The crowd, gathered in hopes of seeing the battle of a generation, would first be treated to the display of a legendary sword.

“The Dragon Sword Reid…,” somebody said aloud. Whoever they were, they spoke for all present.

In Reinhard’s hand was a sword both beautiful and terrible. The blade was unclouded, the steel so finely honed that it did not seem made by human hands. Rumor held that it was a gift from the Sword God. Legend told that it had feasted upon many lives, and that it had even ended the Witch. The audience members were one of the few to ever lay an eye on a near mythical weapon.

“So that’s the fabled Dragon Sword.” Cecils’s heart raced with excitement at the chance to behold the legendary blade. What he felt first and foremost was not terror, or even awe, but gratitude. “I couldn’t be more grateful, more delighted, or more appreciative to see the sword with my own eyes.”

“I’m not permitted to draw the Dragon Sword except against a fitting opponent. This bout with you will be only the third time I’ve done so… Indeed, you are one who deserves to face the Dragon Sword.”

Reinhard was constantly considerate of others and was always respectful. As such, it was not unusual to hear him praise an opponent. But his compliments now held weight that went beyond the words he said. Julius, recognizing this, felt a faint ache in his heart. Could it be…?

“Cecils Segmund, general of the Volakian Empire, first among the Nine Divine Generals.”

“Reinhard van Astrea, one of the Knights of the Royal Guard of the Kingdom of Lugunica, of the house of the Sword Saints.”

Filled with respect for each other, the two men gripped their beloved blades. Then at the same moment, they burst forth.

“Now the time has come—”

“—To fight!”

An instant later, there were flashes of light and blade. The force of the exchanges stirred up a whirlwind in the training ground, and the silver-petal dance rang out, echoing up toward the heavens.



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