Chapter 276

“Uwaaaaargh!”

Beric roared with one foot planted on the belly of his completely knocked-out opponent. He savored his victory, giving playful winks to the spectators, then turned his head towards the second floor where Ian was. Romandro and Jin had risen to their feet, applauding.

“Beric! Well done! You rascal!”

“Good job, Beric.”

Ian, however, seemed to be working, exchanging documents with a mage. Beric grinned broadly and winked at them too. Look here, I won! Romandro laughed uproariously and waved his hand, as if telling him to stop that nonsense.

Creeak.

As he descended from the arena, Xiaoshi handed him a towel and a water bottle. While Beric had merely worked up a sweat without a single injury, Xiaoshi’s body was covered in wounds. It was hard to believe he had actually won his matches.

No, with injuries like that, wouldn’t it be more accurate to say he lost even if he won? Beric gulped down water and asked:

“Xiao, are you okay? I saw you taking hits constantly earlier. What’s wrong with you? What if you get hurt somewhere and can’t fight in the next match?”

Minimal strikes. Xiaoshi had adhered to that rigorously. Even if it meant enduring more, he couldn’t bring himself to launch unnecessary attacks.

No, it would be more accurate to say he didn’t want to. He knew all too well how terrible the pain of violence was from his time as a slave. When Xiaoshi silently offered the towel, Beric shook his head.

“I just can’t understand you at all!”

“……”

“Winners, come this way to sign the consent form for the next duel.”

“Oh, okay okay! Winner Beric, coming!”

Beric eagerly ran to grab a pen at the staff member’s call. When he had briefly asked Xiaoshi earlier, he’d said there were injury-related precautions written on it.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Though he couldn’t read, what mattered was that drawing a picture in the blank space below would allow him to participate in the next duel. No reason not to do it! Beric drew a picture of a cow and then his eyes sparkled.

“What’s my current rank?”

“Just a moment. The evaluation scores haven’t come down yet. You were 47th earlier, so I think you might have entered the top 30 now.”

Regardless of wins and losses, the evaluation scores from the officials watching from the second floor also affect the rankings. Beric turned towards Captain Jeirutt and shouted:

“Old man! Give me lots of points! I’m on a winning streak!”

“Noisy. Deducting points for attitude.”

“Aaargh! Are you crazy, seriously. D-d-don’t you know how to separate public and private matters?”

“I don’t know about ‘public and private matters’. But I do know about public and private.”

Jeirutt clicked his tongue and noted under special remarks: ‘Lacks common sense, most thoughts related to food.’ And then…

“Beric. Did you read the consent form for the next duel?”

“Huh? I can’t read, you know?”

“…I’ll have to add illiteracy as well.”

“No way, you’re deducting points for that? It’s fine if I can’t read!”

“That’s just your opinion. The problem with ignorance is that the ignorant don’t know they’re ignorant. And Beric, think about it. If your opponent knows you, but you don’t know your opponent, wouldn’t that make for a very difficult fight?”

“Huh? It’s fine as long as I win, right?”

“…I’ll have to add lack of comprehension too.”

“I get it! I get iiit!”

Just as Beric was jumping up and down in protest, an announcement came from behind.

“Participant Beric, please return to the arena you came down from. The duel will begin immediately.”

“Uncle Jeirutt! Watch closely! I’ll show you that not knowing how to read isn’t a problem! Then erase all those point deductions!”

Tap tap tap!

Beric bounded up the stairs, taking two at a time. Now that he’d properly warmed up, he was going to crush his opponent this time! Beric swiveled his head around, keenly sensing the changes in his surroundings.

Who could it be? That guy? Or that one? Ah, who is it?

Creeak.

He heard the sound of the door closing. Turning around, he saw Xiaoshi standing there. Beric tilted his head in confusion, then blinked.

“Xiao?”

“……”

“Damn, who the hell made these brackets?!”

Even as he shouted this, Beric looked up at Jeirutt. His expression was a strange mix of bewilderment, amusement, trouble, and welcome.

“They made it real interesting.”

“……”

“But it pisses me off.”

Swoosh.

Beric raised his fists and took a fighting stance. Hadn’t he always been pestering Xiao for a duel? It was good to have the opportunity, but it was frustrating to think that one of them would have to lose.

“Xiao, you know me, right?”

I won’t go easy on you, so give it your all. As a gleam appeared in his red eyes, they seemed to spark with fire. Xiaoshi also took his stance and glanced up at the second floor.

‘Is this the Master’s will?’

No. That couldn’t be. It would be beneficial for both Beric and himself to advance to the higher ranks in this situation. If that was the case, then this must be someone else’s intention…

‘The goal might be to cut one of us off early, or to cause injuries and physical exhaustion through this process. Beric seems to think it’s Captain Jeirutt’s intention. Could that be true? If it’s the Captain, it could also be part of another test. Specifically, to evaluate Beric rather than me…’

Peeeeep!

The whistle signaling the start of the duel pierced the air.

Simultaneously, Beric charged in like a whirlwind.

Xiaoshi instinctively stepped back, dodging the punch.

“Xiao! That one-hit stuff doesn’t work on me! So!”

The wind brushed past his ear. Was that truly a human’s punch? Xiaoshi agreed with Beric’s words. Unlike with others, he couldn’t aim for a single decisive blow while taking hits like that. Even one solid hit could be fatal.

Xiaoshi focused on constantly circling the arena, dodging Beric’s attacks.

‘If only one of us, Beric or me, can advance…’

Ian was watching them. He had even stopped reading his documents.

Xiaoshi gritted his teeth. If only one of them could advance, of course it should be Beric. His very existence as a mage-knight made him valuable. In contrast, he was just a worthless former slave.

‘Should I forfeit so he can advance without either of us getting injured? What about Captain Jeirutt’s evaluation? If it’s Beric, he could make up points in other duels-‘

“Xiao! You’re not focusing!”

“…Ah.”

Beric snapped with an irritated look. Even though their attacks hadn’t connected, he could sense that Xiaoshi’s mind was elsewhere.

“I’m going to be number one! Then I’ll kill Captain Jeirutt! And eat tons and tons of meat!”

Everyone turned to Jeirutt in shock at the mention of killing the captain. But he remained unfazed, continuing to write something down.

Beric got up on his tiptoes, getting closer to Xiaoshi.

“And with Ian-!”

“…!”

Thwack!

Bam!

And with Ian, what? Just as Xiaoshi thought this, the attack landed. Taking a direct hit to the face, Xiaoshi tumbled backward.

Romandro covered Jin’s eyes, while he himself winced and let out a groan with his eyes tightly shut. It was truly hard to watch family members fighting like this. Though Beric, who was actually fighting, seemed unbothered.

Swoosh.

Jeirutt impassively scribbled with his pen. Beric’s identity as a suspected descendant of the Atan tribe. His belligerence bordering on madness, disregard for life, raw morality, and so on.

These were characteristics utterly unacceptable for someone in the imperial palace. Though Ian was nurturing him and letting it slide for now, it couldn’t be overlooked if he joined the Imperial Guard.

Jeirutt watched Beric with a sharp gaze.

‘The Imperial Guard serves close to His Majesty the Emperor. The Atan tribe’s habits are too dangerous to keep nearby. Beric, it’ll be trouble if you don’t show a different side.’

Thwack! Thud!

Xiaoshi was family, living together with Ian at the center. Based on human emotions, the key was whether he showed potential.

‘Ah, shit.’

Beric could feel Jeirutt’s gaze on the back of his head. Though he had interpreted the intention differently.

‘It seems like he’s watching to see if I can beat up even a friend. Shit, shit, shit…’

Thwack! Thwack!

He threw his punches with even more force. Xiaoshi’s blood spurted thickly, but Beric felt like he was losing strength as he went on. It wasn’t fun. It felt strange. Something, something…

“This feels gross.”

Realizing this, he felt his fighting spirit deflate sharply. Beric turned towards Jeirutt, irritated.

“You bastard!”

“…What?”

“This is too disgusting, I can’t do it. Don’t live your life like that!”

And he even showed his middle finger. It was a clear expression of how bad he felt.

Jeirutt raised an eyebrow and hastened his pen movements.

“What’s so unpleasant? You’re winning, aren’t you?”

“I don’t know! I don’t know, okay! You dirty old geezer. I’ve been calling you ‘uncle’ all this time, but now you’re not even an uncle anymore!”

Personality defects, insolence, rough speech, and so on continued to be written down. But-

“How can I keep beating up Xiao? You crazy bastard! End it already!”

When Beric shouted this, Jeirutt paused. After a moment’s consideration, he crossed out ‘raw morality’ under Atan tribe habits. Beric kept yelling to ring the bell, but Jeirutt didn’t allow it.

“Who says it ends on your whim? Your opponent hasn’t forfeited or lost consciousness.”

“What kind of bullshit…”

Beric frowned and turned around. Wasn’t that Xiaoshi, beaten to a pulp, coughing as he stood up?

Rustle.

Jeirutt flipped the pages and pulled out Xiaoshi’s evaluation sheet. His skills were decent, but he hadn’t shown aggressiveness to a problematic degree.

Is a soldier who gives his all for minimal attacks truly beneficial to the imperial palace?

‘Well, if he can give his all, he’d certainly be suitable as a guard. Lord Ian does have an eye for people. His skill in using them in the right places is also impressive.’

Xiaoshi wiped the blood trickling down his face and looked up at Ian. As if asking what he should do. But instead of an answer, Ian only offered encouragement.

“Xiao. Do as you wish.”

“……”

It was fine to forfeit. It was also fine to keep fighting. He was no longer a slave, so he needed to decide for himself. Xiaoshi spat out the blood that had burst in his mouth and muttered.

“…Beric.”

“What?”

You fight for the reason of ‘with Ian-‘.

I fight for the reason of ‘to Ian-‘. More precisely, to show Ian that the self he threw into freedom is living well.

As Xiaoshi took a fighting stance, Beric scratched his head vigorously. You want me to keep beating you up in that state?

Whoosh!

But what could he do? He couldn’t just let it go when his opponent hadn’t given up. As Beric charged in, Xiaoshi focused all his nerves on following his trajectory.

One strike.

A single chance that wouldn’t come twice was the only way to win.

“Ah, really!”

“……”

As Beric closed in and threw a punch, Xiaoshi dodged once more. This time, he didn’t step back. Instead, he dove into the opening, getting in close under Beric’s body.

Thwaaaack!

Whack!

Their fists connected simultaneously with each other’s jaw and side. A tremendous impact sound echoed far and wide. The spectators frowned as if they had been hit themselves, slowly opening their mouths.

The sound of impact was not just brutal, but awe-inspiring. How could it make such a noise? It was the sound that only occurred when attacks connected perfectly without any error.

Boom!

Peeeeep!

The whistle signaling the end of the duel. Romandro let out a regretful groan while tightly gripping Jin’s arm, and Jin clicked his tongue as well.

“Oh dear, this is…”

“Who won? They both passed out.”

“Beric probably won. Even if they both lost consciousness, he had accumulated attack points before that. It’ll likely be a decision victory.”

Swoosh.

Ian closed his file of documents and stood up, approaching Captain Jeirutt. He had been doing his job until the very end of the duel, assigning scores.

“Captain Jeirutt.”

“Yes, Minister.”

“Well, are you satisfied with the results you wanted?”

“…There was more to gain than I expected.”

As he moistened his lips and spoke, Ian smiled faintly. If he had told him in advance, he could have shown him what he wanted in another way without losing manpower.

It was a cute trick, but it couldn’t be overlooked.

Ian spoke in a low voice, as if warning:

“Be careful. The talents of the imperial palace belong to His Majesty the Emperor, not to you.”