Side: Yuki (Kazuya Torino)
"Listen, the match starts when I say 'Begin!', understood?"
The opponent nods.
"Yuki-dono, are you ready?"
Like hell I am.
I'm not "ready" at all.
"Actually, I'm not feeling well..."
"He'll be fine. My husband will not lose no matter the circumstances. No—overcoming this level of hardship is exactly what makes him worthy of being my husband."
S-Seraria, you...!
She's systematically blocking every single one of my exit routes!
...Wait, hold on—if I lose this, wouldn't that mean Seraria could potentially annul the marriage?
"...Don't even think about something so stupid. I've gone this far to stake my claim, after all," she whispers.
"...Yes, ma'am."
Well, I don't actually dislike Seraria, and the political power and status are things to be grateful for. If I were to break ties with her now, that would cause its own set of massive problems.
But still, how did it even come to this...?
* * *
The root cause was Seraria's "I have a husband" announcement.
The actual duel nonsense started the morning after the "respiratory failure" adventurers recovered. Every adventurer who came back from scouting yesterday heard the news about Seraria's marriage.
Thanks to her wanting to go public, I've become the center of some very unwanted attention.
"Pardon me, do you have a moment?"
"Yes, what is it?"
"Are you Yuki-dono, the husband of Seraria-sama?"
"Uh, well, yes."
The moment I answer, the surrounding adventurers look me over... From top to bottom, bottom to top...
I don't like this... Whether it's men or women looking, this level of scrutiny is painful!
I finally understand why zoo animals get so stressed out. Anyone who doesn't feel stressed by this must be an exhibitionist.
"...Forgive me for saying so, but you don't look like you've ever held a sword."
"Well, of course not. I'm a civil official. I can use a bit of magic, sure, but that's about it."
When I say that, the adventurers look stunned, while my wives...
"A 'bit' of magic, he says." (Eris)
"Well, it's not technically a lie. Onii-san's silver tongue is as sharp as ever." (Ratz)
"...It's not fraud, but it's close to rule violation." (Milly)
"We couldn't even get close to him, after all." (Tori)
"Yeah, that was brutal. I got sent flying with just one hit." (Riel)
"...His fundamental way of fighting is different." (Kaya)
"Come to think of it, I've never seen Yuki-san do close-quarters combat."
"But Yuki-san said so himself, didn't he? That he's the back-line support type."
"Can a 'back-line support' type crush us all in a single blow...?" (Derieu)
"...Technically, he's a user of recovery magic equal to or greater than us, so it's not incorrect."
"""...."""
A while back, we held a training session during the defense preparations.
Apart from Aslin, Filia, and Labyris, the others had some combat experience, but only within normal bounds.
Large-scale army battles are on a completely different level, so I did a bit of training to change their individual skills and mindset.
At that time, I fought against all my wives once, and I won overwhelmingly. After that, we did proper training.
Thanks to that, everyone performed brilliantly during the defense battle.
Well, they still couldn't keep their units under control though.
"Pardon me. Did you say 'civil official'?"
"Yes, that's correct."
"...Wait a moment. Seraria-sama, may I ask something?"
"What is it?"
"I heard that Seraria-sama's marriage partner had to be someone stronger than herself?"
"That's right."
"...Ah, uh. Forgive me, but Yuki-dono is a civil official and doesn't look like he could ever beat you in a fight..."
"I lost to him. And he saved my life. There's no better husband than him."
Seraria answers casually.
Well, she's probably talking about that training session. That was the only time I've actually competed against her.
Incidentally, the details of the fight against my wives were:
Seraria and Derieu charged straight at me, supported by Tori, Riel, Kaya, and Ratz. Milly and Eris provided covering fire with their bows.
I deployed Barrier-kun No. 14—a multi-layered barrier I had been experimenting with—and stopped everyone in their tracks.
Barrier-kun No. 14 is a multi-layered structural defense. First, I create physical and magical barriers using magic power, stacked in 14 layers. Between each layer, I insert pure water as a cushion. The outermost layer has an electric current running through it to shock anything that touches it.
Seraria got paralyzed immediately and was out.
Derieu endured the shock but exhausted herself breaking through five layers before she couldn't move anymore. In the meantime, I created flame bombs right where Tori and the others were supporting and blew each of them away. Since "designated protection" prevents fatal damage, it's easy to go all out.
"Manifesting explosions directly like that was unfair!" they complained, but the principle is simple.
'Why must magic be manifested in the hand and then fired?' That's the core question.
Magic in this world is about gathering mana in one place and deciding how to use it through a technique or an image. That means as long as you can imagine it, anyone can use magic. The amount of magic power is what depends on talent.
People usually form it in their hands because it's easiest to visualize. But there are also spells like Lance-type that fire multiple projectiles, or Storm-type.
That's where I got the idea.
'Lances manifest in the air near the caster'. That means, by some method, they are being created in that specific location. "Storm" spells are the same. If you fired a Storm spell from your hand, you'd blow yourself and your allies away. Instead, they manifest at a designated spot.
The key realization I had was:
'There's no need to make it appear right next to me, is there?'
'It's way easier to just gift them an explosion right where they are.'
And so, Tori's group was wiped out by the explosions, and Eris and Milly surrendered on the spot.
Once I actually taught them the theory, everyone could handle it quite easily—even Tori and Riel, who are Beast-kin with low mana capacity. After all, it doesn't require mana for solidification or maintaining speed to pierce the enemy, and it doesn't consume mana continuously like a vortex. It's just a "Boom" on the spot. Though, with their low mana, the power was smaller.
"So he's a civil official, but he's stronger than Seraria-sama?"
"That's correct."
The adventurer takes in Seraria's words as if chewing on them. Then, he slowly turns back to me.
"Yuki-dono, I request a spar. Won't you show us the prowess that earned you victory over Seraria-sama?"
Uh, no thanks.
Why should I have to reveal my hand?
I'm trying to maintain my "helpless civil official" image!
"I'm sorr—"
"Of course, it's fine. My husband will be your opponent."
"Wait!?"
"It's fine, isn't it? It's a great opportunity to prove you are worthy of me."
"...And your real motive?"
"I want to see your close-quarters combat. I've been stoking the fires since yesterday for this very reason. I won't let you refuse now."
She planned this from the start!!
Seraria, you terrifying woman!!
"My husband will fight without using magic!! Because that's more than enough for this level of opponent."
Seraria poured even more fuel on the fire. The adventurers are now filled with hostility.
"Hoh, without magic? That's much appreciated."
He's angry, he's definitely angry!!
That's not a grateful expression at all, is it!?
"Hohoho. I, the Grandmaster, shall witness this duel."
Ugh, another troublesome person joined in!?
"If no magic is to be used, then the guild training grounds will suffice."
Old Man Rock says.
And so, I find myself forced to fight in the training grounds.
* * *
"Onii-chan, do your best!!"
"Nii-sama is the strooongest in the world!!"
"Onii-sama's heroic figure... is there a camera!?"
"Onee, calm down. Just use the Call function."
The cheers from the little ones made it even harder to refuse. Villia and the others are at the children's dungeon today.
Fine, I guess I have to get serious... Once I resigned myself, the Grandmaster raised his hand with a delighted smile and swung it down.
"Begin!"
The adventurer in front of me firmly holds his sword, watching me intently.
He's not letting a single opening pass, huh. A far cry from the adventurers who were chased by kobolds.
"I don't know why you chose the same bastard sword as me, but..."
He closes the distance in an instant.
"A sword isn't something that can be handled by a mere civil official or mage!!"
The sword he was winding up mid-dash closes in on me with maximum power.
Man, if I take this head-on, my hands are going to go numb... No matter how high my level is, scary things are still scary.
Swish!!
With a sharp sound, the sword swings through from right to left.
"...!?"
The opponent immediately jumps back. Why? Because he felt no resistance at all.
"Hoho. This is quite something."
The Grandmaster lets out a surprised voice.
"I had no idea Yuki-dono could do this..."
"Oh? Rock, you didn't know?"
"Up until now, he's only ever been active in magical combat."
"My, my. How terrifying. Not just at long range, but at close range too?"
What I did was simple. Relying on my raw stats, I stepped back and shifted the line of the blade slightly. In other words, a parry.
A weapon has limited means of attack. Combat is basically a game of reading hands. In my opponent's case, he's using a bastard sword—a greatsword. A greatsword's primary use is to hack through enemies with its weight. It's not something meant for nimble, frequent swings.
In this world, levels and stats might allow for some absurdity, but if you're going to perform a different kind of attack, you wouldn't be holding a bastard sword in the first place. For rapid combos, you'd want a one-handed sword or dual blades. For thrusts, a rapier. For volume of strikes, martial arts like Derieu's gauntlets.
Of course, saying it is easy; doing it in practice is terrifying. That's what I used to think, but after all the "monstrous" and "absurd" power-leveling I've done with Kiyu, this fight feels rather quaint in comparison.
WHOOSH!! CLANG!!
The sounds echo through the training hall.
"Dammit, what kind of reaction speed is this... Seraria-sama wasn't lying after all..."
The opponent, having put distance between us again, mutters to himself.
"But you can't win just by dodging like a willow tree!!"
"Oh, so 'willow' tree exists here too."
"Eh?"
The moment he blinks to shout, I close in.
You really should think about your timing when you blink, buddy.
CLANK!!
For the first time, our swords clash.
Ah, so he could react to that. He's a high ranker for sure. We enter a lock of blades...
"Nggghhh... it seems I have the advantage in strength...!!"
"Guh...!"
I mean, I'm being pushed back, but... yeah, it's an act.
"I'll finish this by pushing you over!!"
Look, I told you—don't announce when you're going to put all your strength into it.
Slip.
I suddenly release the pressure in the lock. The opponent loses his balance, falling forward toward me.
"Ga...!?"
A dull sound rings out, and the man falls flat on his back, face toward the ceiling.
I'm left standing there with my right hand raised. In other words, an uppercut. It landed perfectly on his chin.
...Man, I hope I didn't shatter his jaw.
"Match over!! Winner, Yuki-dono!!"
"""OOOOHHHHHH!!!"""
The crowd erupts in cheers, but I'm too busy worrying. The man is on the ground, eyes rolled back, twitching. I can't exactly use recovery magic myself, since I'm supposed to only be able to use a "little bit"!!
"...Ah, how wonderful. Danna-sama..."
"Stop blushing and get over here and heal him, Rurua!! This is bad, I hit his chin perfectly!!"
I snapped Rurua back to her senses, and somehow the man survived.
Rurua mentioned later that his jaw was shattered and there might have even been a crack in his skull.
...I really need to practice holding back, just like Kiyu.
