CH 162

"Settled."

Translated by Dawn

“Settlement.”

Without paying any mind to the surprised Vista and the others, I continued savoring my tea. The tea leaves I had acquired during my stroll in the capital of the Kingdom of Schells were somewhat high-quality, giving off an elegant aroma and flavor.

The sweet potato served as a snack paired well with the tea, complementing its astringency.

“…ndo-sama, Rolando-sama! Are you listening?!”

“Ah, the tea is delicious.”

“He’s not listening. He’s too engrossed in the tea to listen.”

“Hmm? Did you say something?”

As I enjoyed my tea break, it seemed that Alicia had said something, and our eyes met with a slightly exasperated gaze.

“Why are you enjoying tea here? Weren’t you supposed to be fighting Alesta?”

“Ah, that was an illusion I created. It’s called Substitute Mirage, a magic that creates a fictional doppelgänger of oneself or someone else.”

The advantage of Substitute Mirage was that, unlike mirages or intangible illusions that utilized refraction of light, it created a tangible presence that appeared to actually exist.

In other words, it was akin to creating another version of myself or someone else, making it difficult to impersonate the actual person.

In this case, as the real me, I chose to avoid direct attacks and opted to use this magic. It seemed to have worked quite well.

“So, the opponent Alesta is currently fighting is…”

“My illusion. Moreover, its power has been reduced to less than a tenth of my original strength.”

“What?!”

Ignoring the shocked Vista and the others, I indulged in this moment of tea time until the mock battle concluded.

Alesta continued to swing her wooden sword at my decoy, occasionally repeating words that sounded like death flags, such as “Not yet. I can still go on” or “I’ll defeat him and go to defeat the Manticore!”

“Rolando-sama, what is that?”

“Hmm, this? It’s called sweet potato, a sweet treat I made.”

“A sweet treat?”

Saying so, Anastasia gazed at the sweet potato. It seemed that girls have a weakness for sweet things, as Alicia’s eyes were also locked onto the sweet potato, though she didn’t vocalize it.

“Wanna try it? It’s delicious.”

“Is it alright? Then, thank you.”

“Um, may I have some too?”

Since it seemed uncomfortable to eat alone, I offered them some, and they immediately took the offer.

You might question whether it was appropriate for a princess of a nation to be enticed by sweets, but as Alicia expressed her desire to try it shortly after, I treated both of them to the sweet potato. Alicia, you’re the Grand Duchess, you shouldn’t be swayed by food…

“It’s delicious.”

“It’s really delicious.”

“Vista, would you like to have some?”

“I-I’ll have some…”

Men tend to not assert themselves much in these situations, but deep down, they also wanted to try it. Understanding that sentiment, I offered Vista some sweet potato as well. As expected, he seemed to have been holding back in front of the two girls, but my suggestion made it easier for him to accept.

“Indeed, this is delicious.”

“I’m glad you think so. By the way, don’t you need to watch Alesta’s match?”

“””Ah”””

It seems that they were too distracted by the sweet potatoes to pay attention to the important match. All three of them had the same reaction.

“Ha, ha, ha…..”

“What’s the matter, are you finished?”

“Y-You monster…”

“It’s disheartening to be called a monster. I’m still human, you know?”

Completely out of breath, Alesta cursed as her final resistance. In the midst of that, my illusion casually swung the wooden sword in a sweeping motion. She no longer had the strength to evade, and the blade of the wooden sword pierced into her side, causing pain and impact that made Alesta involuntarily drop to her knees.

“Anastasia, that’s enough. Declare the winner.”

“Understood. That’s it! The winner is Rolando.”

“What?!”

Although I missed some parts in between, I witnessed the decisive moment when the outcome was determined, so I urged Anastasia, the referee, to declare the result.

Receiving Anastasia’s declaration, Alesta displayed a shocked expression but quickly stood up and began to protest to us.

“I can still fight. I haven’t lost yet.”

“You should understand better than anyone that continuing the fight as it is won’t lead to victory.”

“Father…”

“Besides, you weren’t fighting against Rolando-sama himself, but rather against the fake created by Rolando-sama. And on top of that, it was a fake with significantly inferior abilities compared to the real one.”

“That’s… impossible…”

Being told that by Vista, her sword instructor, Alesta had no intention or energy left to argue or express her will to fight. She folded her knees as if a dam had burst, feeling dejected.

In such a situation, I released the magic and took the wooden sword held by my illusion. Approaching Alesta from behind, I waited for her to turn towards me and then spoke.

“You are very lucky.”

“…Even though I lost?”

“Yes. After all, you managed to avoid fighting against the real me, the main body. There is no greater luck than that. If you had fought me directly… hmm.”

Cutting off my words for a moment, I swung the wooden sword I was holding horizontally toward an empty space. The next moment, an enormous roar shook the surroundings as a cloud of dust engulfed the area.

When the dust settled, the ground that should have been there was carved out like a giant crescent moon. Its scale was extraordinary, with a radius of twenty-five meters and a depth that couldn’t be seen even when peering into it.

“You would have undoubtedly died.”

“…”

As Alesta realized the catastrophic scene unfolding before her eyes, she was left speechless. She witnessed an unreal sight before her and came to know the true power of my existence. The fear of potentially being exposed to such overwhelming force welled up within her, and she promptly lost consciousness, falling backward.

“Alesta!”

“Big sister!”

“Quick, let’s take her to the infirmary.”

“She’ll be fine. No need to worry. She’s just unconscious.”

Vista and the others rushed over, concerned about Alesta, but I reassured them that she was only unconscious. They let out sighs of relief.

“That’s right. When she wakes up, make sure to give her this. She’s the only one who couldn’t have any.”

“Th-Thank you.”

I handed Vista the portion of sweet potato intended for Alesta, and he accepted it with a somewhat awkward and complex smile. It seemed like he wanted to say something along the lines of “You’re the one who made my daughter faint and couldn’t eat this,” but the fact was that Alesta fainted of her own accord, and I certainly didn’t make her lose consciousness.

“Now then, with that, let’s consider the matter with Alesta settled for now. Now, Grand Duchess Alicia and Duke Bourgeois.”

“Yes, sir.”

As they straightened their backs and responded to my formal tone, I observed them and couldn’t help but inwardly smile wryly. Nonetheless, I voiced my business.

“Regarding the request at hand, there are various preparations to be made, so I will take my leave for today. We can discuss the details once the mission is completed.”

“Yes, understood. Take care.”

With that, for the time being, I concluded the matter with Alesta and returned to the inn. After informing them that I wouldn’t be back for a while, I headed toward the village where the Manticore was said to be.