Chapter 47: Chapter 47

Bronn looked at Dane in bewilderment.

What was that crazy bastard talking about?

“What did you say?”

“I told you. I made an appointment first.”

“Appointment? Oooh. What, did you decide to go together? It’s not like it’s urgent, so maybe later…”

“How do you know if it’s urgent or not?”

Bronn’s eyebrows twitched.

“Do you think you’ve achieved anything just because you entered the academy…?”

“What about you then?”

“Me? Have you heard of House Sauer? We’re the most powerful house in the West.” Bronn then smirked. “Well, that’s not important when it comes to taking care of you two.”

Bronn raised his hand as if there was nothing more to say.

“Hey, go and get them.”

Ernest trembled violently at those words.

As they got closer, step by step, his trembling got stronger.

In the academy, violence was sometimes justified.

Openly wielding violence was against the school rules, but if it was done in a place where no one could see and no one caught them, and both the person being hit and the person who hit kept their mouths shut, then it was okay.

That was also the law of the world.

‘We’re dead.’

Ernest shuddered with the helplessness he had learned from childhood. The reason he couldn’t break off contact with Bronn, even though he was often beaten, was because he had learned to be helpless.

Even though he had thought he had finally managed to muster up the courage to escape to the academy, the moment they met again, Ernest was overcome with even more helplessness and resignation than before.

‘I can’t get away.’

Then Dane put his hand on Ernest’s shoulder.

Ernest spoke urgently, “I think it would be best to avoid them even now. Even for you, they… they’re really scary!”

“It doesn’t matter. I’m repaying you.”

“R-repaying me?”

Repayment for what had happened at the Misty Garden.

Ernest was flustered. “Th-they’re all scary! Bronn in particular has been called a swordsmanship genius since he was little!”

A swordsmanship genius, huh? Dane laughed at that remark, as if he found it rather amusing.

“I’m curious about that.”

Ernest’s jaw dropped and he looked at Dane in a daze.

What was he saying?

Wait, by the way, did they know that he was Dane Sogres?

If they did…

“I’m glad they don’t seem to know me.”

“Huh?”

“Ernest. I’ll give one to you later, so punch him in the jaw with your fist.”

“Me… me?”

“Trust me, you can do it.”

Dane muttered something incomprehensible and then placed a hand on Ernest’s shoulder.

“Sometimes, there are often cases where it was nothing special after all.” Dane continued, “You can’t be scared of them forever, right?”

“…”

As soon as he finished speaking, Dane moved.

“Wh-what?!”

It was only a matter of seconds before Dane reached the three people who had stepped forward first. One of the guys reflexively swung his fist, but Dane dodged it with a slight twist of his body and grinned.

“You swung first, got it?”

“Uh… huh?”

Pow!

And then the unbelievable happened.

“Uuugh…”

In the blink of an eye, Dane grabbed one of them and pinned him to the ground.

A silence fell over the garden.

Dane patted his hand and looked at the other two.

“You’re nothing much.”

Then he looked at Ernest for a moment before he approached the one closest to him among the two left standing.

“You bastard…”

The one who didn’t even introduce himself rushed in with an extremely sloppy and awkward posture. At least, that was what Dane thought. He didn’t seem to be a genius.

“Ugh!”

Dane snapped his fingers to fire a «Mana Bullet» and he fell flat on his face, covering his nose. He probably didn’t even know what hit him.

In general, «Mana Bullet» was a non-chain magic that could be used even by non-mages, but that didn’t mean they were easy to use. It required a tedious process of concentrating one’s mind, reorganizing one’s magic power, and then firing all at once.

But Dane did it in a short period of time because he was a genius.

A talented genius at that.

‘It went out harder than I thought.’

Dane himself was a little perplexed as he watched the boy, his nose bleeding profusely. Was it because he had created an Ancient Magic Core?

He had thought it was shot with the power of a simple finger flick, but this was more like hitting someone with a fist.

Now, there were only two left.

“How do you want to do this?”

The remaining minion hesitated at Dane’s question, and Bronn seemed bewildered and at a loss for words.

“You don’t seem like much.”

“B-Bronn.”

The remaining minion turned around and looked at Bronn with a desperate expression, but Bronn said nothing. But that was just for a moment.

“Get out of the way. I’ll do it myself. You take care of that idiot over there, Ernest, and bring him in front of me.”

“A-alright.”

Dane watched him quietly as he stepped aside in relief.

Ernest was startled. He was really coming his way.

‘How? How can I…’

That was when Dane’s eyes met his. It seemed like he was saying he should give it a try.

Ernest gulped.

‘I-I can do it.’

A strange courage arose within him.

Was it because he was with Dane?

Yeah, he couldn’t go on like this forever. He would have to keep running into them in the future anyway, so he couldn’t just run away.

Ernest finally clenched his fist, and the boy who had been trembling just a moment ago while looking at Dane approached, licking his lips as if he had finally found a good prey.

“What? Are you clenching your fists? Why don’t you just take a few hits and we’ll all go our merry way, okay? I’ll hit you gently, gently.”

The sight of him approaching while giggling was incredibly terrifying…

“This won’t work, just get hit.”

He felt courage rise up, telling him he could do it.

That was when the other boy approached.

“Huh?”

He stopped for a moment.

Pow!

Before he knew it, Ernest’s fist struck his jaw from bottom to top.

“Ugh!”

For a moment, the world seemed to move slowly. A series of scenes where the boy floated in the air, a little blood burst out of his mouth, and he fell to the ground, all passed by in slow motion…

Thump.

Ernest finally realized it. For the first time in his life, he had done something called ‘resistance’.

“I… I…”

His fists were trembling and his legs were shaking, but it was definitely true.

The fallen boy didn’t move at all.

He had knocked him out.

Dane smiled at the sight.

“I did it…” Ernest trembled with emotion.

“That idiot. He really lost to a loser like that…”

In the midst of all this, Bronn looked at the unconscious boy with a belittling expression on his face and shook his head.

But that was just for a moment.

Bronn opened the subspace his father had given him as an entrance gift and suddenly took out a sword.

“It won’t matter since no one can see me here.”

Then he smiled like a crazy person.

“Did you know? It gets foggy here when the weather is cloudy. Sometimes they say you can’t even find a body.”

Was he reckless?

Or just crazy?

“Oh, but I’ll be gentle. Focusing on places that won’t be visible on the outside. Maybe a fancy scar on your chest would be enough?”

It seemed clear it was the latter.

Dane responded with a laugh at that.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

“Thank God.”

“What?”

“You don’t know me.”

Bronn tilted his head and asked, “What difference would it make if I knew who you were?”

“If you had known, you wouldn’t have caused trouble like this. I’m glad you did.”

Bronn burst out laughing.

“What, so are you the son of Duke Thermion or Count Sogres? Don’t you know Count Sauer? We’re one of the great houses in the West and a war hero of the Imperial War!”

Bronn swung his sword in the air as if he had nothing more to say. The sound of a sharp blade cutting through the air was terrifying.

However, Dane shrugged calmly and picked up a pole that happened to catch his eye. It looked like the gardener had left it there.

Then he took a light stance as if he were holding a spear.

“What? You think you can fight me with that?”

Dane looked at the pole once and answered calmly, not caring whether Bronn laughed or not.

“Yeah. I think it will work.”

“This bastard…”

Bronn had no intention of looking back.

With House Sauer’s backing, a bit of problem could be easily covered up. His father even has a small friendship with Duke Thermion, so whoever this boy was wouldn’t be a problem.

Bronn rushed in without further hesitation.

‘I guess I should beat him up a bit and put a tattoo on the back of his neck.’

So that every time he saw the scar, he would tremble with fear.

By the way, he looked like he was holding a spear. Did he learn spearmanship?

It was at that moment, after thinking that far, that he rushed in and was about to swing his sword.

Pow!

What happened?

“Kugh…”

Clang.

Bronn’s sword fell to the floor, and Bronn fell to the ground clutching his abdomen, choking on his breath.

‘Wh-what just happened…?’

It seemed like he’d disappeared from in front of his eyes for a moment.

But before he could think any further, he felt a strong impact to his abdomen and dropped his sword.

“Get up. If you draw a real sword, you have to finish.”

“Ugh…”

“My father used to say that, outside of a fair duel, drawing a real weapon means you have to fight to the end.”

There was no time to answer. Bronn barely managed to get up, but his vision started to blur and he felt nauseous.

Just one.

He never imagined that he would get hit in the stomach by a pole that didn’t even look like a weapon.

“Oh my god…”

Ernest’s jaw dropped. It was the most shocking thing he had seen in years.

Bronn was the strongest, most fearsome, and most terrifying being in Ernest’s world. That very terror just collapsed on the floor and was writhing in pain.

Was Bronn weaker than he thought?

No.

Dane was… ridiculously strong.

“Why? Do you feel like you’re going to die?”

“H-how dare you…”

Even as he felt like he was going to die, Bronn drew up his magic power and directed it towards his abdomen. The pain subsided slightly. His vision was still blurry, but he felt better.

“I’ll make you realize it was just luck!”

Bronn kicked off the ground again. He was holding his sword.

The sword flew fiercely, but Ernest was no longer worried.

Crack!

“Arrrgggh!”

Amidst a desperate scream, Bronn was struck in the right arm, which was holding the sword, by a pole and collapsed.

“My… my arm!”

It seemed like his arm was broken.

Dane looked at Bronn quietly, as if he found him insignificant.

Bronn screamed, his whole body shaking, and demanded, “You! You… who the hell are you?!”

Only then, as if he had been waiting, did Dane introduce himself.

“Dane Sogres. The son of Arken Sogres and a first year student in the Autonomous Department.”

Was this what it felt like when all the blood drained out of you?

Bronn felt a pang in the back of his head.

Rumors that suddenly came to mind. A rumor he’d heard countless times since he entered school.

The youngest son of Count Sogres had not only entered the academy with the highest honors but was also the first person to pass the autonomous major program in fifty years.

Well, it was interesting, but that was it. He was just an incredibly great guy, nothing more, nothing less.

Among all the rumors Bronn heard, there was one that particularly stood out.

He was beautiful, with hair like woven silver. Exactly like that boy looking at him right now.

“Oh, was my introduction a little late?”

And one more thing.

Count Sogres, the Empire’s greatest spearman, was known as the ‘Blue Whirlwind.’

He could see his form in Dane as he held the pole.

‘Someone like this is hanging out with a weakling like that?’

The strong should associate with the strong. The strong associating with the weak was nothing more than the strong taking pity on the weak and ‘accompanying’ them for a while.

Bronn had thought so until now, but that common sense was collapsing.

‘Fuck…’

For the first time in a long time, Bronn felt that primal emotion called ‘fear’.