Chapter 161: I Accept Your Challenge
Translated by AmaLynne
“――The Michels!”
The room was filled with the sound of Jonathan’s fist pounding on his desk.
His face was tinged with anger.
No wonder. Sam is the fiancée of his daughter, whom he loved like his own child, and of all people, he was the target of an attempt on his life by a swordsman.
“Calm down.”
“Sam is right, Father.”
Sam, who had been challenged to a duel, and Lise, who was complaining of poor health and unable to stand still in the face of her fiancé’s danger, were present at the scene.
Lise’s feelings must be especially complicated.
Her ex-husband’s family had ordered her respected teacher to kill her fiancé.
Hanae, who was not present, had gone home once to report this incident to her grandmother Magnolia.
She, too, has her thoughts on the matter and wonders if there is anything she can do to stop it.
Hanae likes to fight and says that watching strong people fight is a good way to learn, but she still thinks this duel is wrong.
“I didn’t expect them to move Sword Saint-dono, the Michels, you seem to want to do something about Sam.”
And we know why.
The other day, Julian Michel tried to take Sam’s life. That alone was enough to make them angry, but Julien was planning to take Lise, Hanae, and Stella away from Sam and make them his wives.
However, he was beaten back, had his groin crushed, and was unable to live again as a man.
From Jonathan’s point of view, this was a very resentful act.
“Um, Father. Why is Kurando-sama at the mercy of the Michel family?”
“Sword Saint-dono is greatly indebted to Mendes-dono, the previous head of the Michel family. It is probably because of that. That’s all I know.”
Jonathan’s lament is understandable.
Sam and Lise also cannot understand why Kurando made this choice.
Kurando Amemiya, the Sword Saint, is the strongest swordsman in the Skye Kingdom. He is not in the same league as Albert Frege, who was the strongest wizard in name only.
Of all the people who opposed Sam, he was probably the most troublesome and fearsome.
A wizard and a swordsman are not a good match.
A mediocre wizard can shoot magic from medium to long range and not let them get close, but a swordsman of Kurando’s caliber will cut down even that magic.
In the first place, it was doubtful whether he would even have time to use his magic.
Thanks to the cooperation of Liese and Hanae, Sam has become much more adept at close combat.
In fact, when he fought the dragon, he used his signature Water Style in close combat.
However, the Sword Saint is more troublesome than the dragon.
The dragon had many big moves to smash Sam, but Kurando would attack precisely as a wizard killer.
In a way, he is an opponent Sam would not want to fight more than his master Ulrike Scheidt Walker.
“Sam, you have been challenged to a duel, what do you do? There is no need to accept a duel for the sake of law.”
“I’ll accept it.”
“Sam?”
Liese screamed at Sam, who easily chose to accept the duel.
Perhaps it was because she was well aware of the Sword Saint’s abilities that Sam seemed so reckless.
“I don’t want to duel with Kurando-sama if I can help it. But he is willing to fight, and even if I refuse, he will fight in some way. If that is the case, I will just fight him head-on and crush him.”
“Can you win? The other party is the strongest swordsman in the country.”
Lise looks anxious, but Sam tries to reassure her with a smile.
“I understand your concern. I usually can’t win in close combat with Lise-sama. Just the thought of facing a Sword Saint is enough to give me the creeps.”
“If that’s the case!”
“I’m not going to lose. If we are going to kill each other, there are several ways to go about it.”
He won’t be able to run away from it, and he doesn’t want to.
Sam doesn’t want his fiancée to worry, but the worst-case scenario is that Liese and her family could even be harmed.
If the Michels were to only harm him, that would be fine, but if they were to direct their misplaced anger at even the Count Walker family, Sam’s choice not to fight Kensei here would be a bad one.
“I won’t lose.”
“……Sam.”
“I won’t lose in a place like this. I’m sorry to Kotomi-chan, Mizuki-sama, and his disciple Lise-sama, but――I’m going to fight him with all my might.”
Sam would not die, even if it would cause grief to Mizuki, Kotomi, and Lise, who had become good friends and respected Kurando.
He is determined to live for his late Ur.
He is not even at the top of wizardry.
Above all, he could not die without leaving behind his beloved Liese and Stella, who had become his fiancée.
“It’s okay, it’s not Sam or Kurando-sama’s fault. I only ask one thing of you――don’t die, Sam.”
“Let me tell you, too. Don’t die, Sam.”
“Yes, I promise.”
Thus, Sam decided to fight in tomorrow’s duel.
He was not without tension and anxiety, but he had a reason to live, so his fear naturally disappeared.
It’s not that Sam never fought an opponent greater than a Sword Saint.
Just as he had overcome them before, he would do everything in his power to win this time as well.
Sam thanked Jonathan and left the room with Liese.
He hugged Lise, who had been anxious until she fell asleep, and tried to reassure her, and they hugged each other to sleep for tomorrow.
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