Chapter 26
It was a situation that came up every time Leon fought someone.
Slave.
Pathetic.
Small frame.
It was the perfect setup to look down on Leon, so everyone who fought him let their guard down and charged in recklessly.
With the mindset of, 'Even if I half-ass it, he'll win anyway.'
Just like right now.
Even though Gerard had already sparred with Leon once before, he repeated the same mistake.
Last time, he hadn't been fighting with full strength.
That he wouldn't need swordsmanship or anything like that—just mana alone would make him realize the gap between them.
That he would show him a realm a mere slave could never reach in his entire life and carve despair into him.
Having justified it with all sorts of reasons, he simply rushed in.
“Guh...!”
Gerard tripped over his own feet and fell in a pathetic heap.
It was only a fall, but because he'd rushed in so fast, the impact was considerable.
Gerard turned his head and glared fiercely.
“You little slave bastard...!”
“No, why are you coming at me...?”
Leon felt wronged.
He'd been blamed for everything just because he was a slave, and now they were even criticizing him for falling over.
It was a sparring match—wasn't it Gerard's fault for charging in stupidly, not Leon's fault for dodging?
‘Come to think of it, he was always the emotional type.’
He had anger-management issues; if something pissed him off, he'd beat people down and break them on a whim.
That showed up in his swordsmanship too.
A sword filled with emotion. Its movements became simple, which made it easy to deal with.
“I’ll kill you!”
Gerard shouted, veins bulging as he stomped the floor. He shoved his strengthened body forward, scattering crimson mana violently.
Once again he closed in on Leon and swung his sword. The wooden blade rushed in, leaving a red afterimage behind it.
Leon narrowed his eyes and calmly read the flow of the attack.
The effect of [Master of Duels], a skill that pushed his concentration to the limit in one-on-one duels.
The sword wrapped in crimson mana looked sluggish, as if it were moving through water.
Where the sword began.
Where it passed.
And where it ended.
Its trajectory was visible in fine detail.
‘Here.’
-Clack!
He struck the side of the charging sword. Hitting the exact point, he lightly deflected the attack.
“Tch!”
Gerard did not stop.
A ferocious barrage of successive strikes. Red afterimages tangled together like a spiderweb.
Leon did not dodge. He read the incoming attacks and twisted their trajectories just slightly.
-Clack!
-Tack.
-Clack!
A series of short, repeated striking sounds.
Gerard poured out a rainstorm of attacks, but none of them reached Leon; they all scattered away.
“Why—!”
Gerard's face twisted.
Leon was clearly right in front of him.
He was clearly pressing forward.
And yet——
They didn't connect.
They were about to connect, but.
They didn't connect.
Like a steel wall coated with oil.
Every attack slid off as though it had no purchase.
“Whoa. Sir Zain, that...”
Helena could see it. Leon was using the protective swordsmanship he'd been focusing on lately.
In Leon's mind was a circle with a one-meter radius centered on himself.
I won't leave this circle. If I dodge, the master behind me will be in danger.
He stripped away unnecessary movements, then stripped them away again. Within the narrow circle, he defended with the minimum necessary motion.
This place was already the knight's sanctuary for protecting his master.
He would not allow even an inch of intrusion.
“Haa, haa...”
Gerard, who had not stopped attacking for a moment, panted harshly. The mana that had surged like flames had also weakened before long.
Even after pouring out everything he had, he still couldn't break through. The gap in power was so overwhelming you could see the outcome without even needing a decisive blow.
Even during the sparring a little while ago, it wasn't this bad, but now he couldn't even get near Leon.
Leon’s current status screen.
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•Owned proficiencies
[Intermediate Swordsmanship Lv. 5]
[Mana Breathing Lv. 3]
======
Thanks to Zain's guidance and his sparring with Helena, Leon had made remarkable progress in a short time.
Leon’s ability had long since gone far beyond that of an apprentice knight.
“Do I need to keep going?”
“You fucking bastard—!!!”
Gerard, unable to accept defeat, screamed and rushed in again.
-Whoosh!
Leon drew his wooden sword upward. The flat of the blade struck Gerard under the chin.
“Ugh!”
Gerard let out a single groan and toppled over as he charged in.
He collapsed face-down and did not move again. He had fainted.
In truth, he could have subdued him without even striking him.
‘I went through so much because of this guy, after all.’
How much had he tormented the protagonist? This was revenge for that time.
The trainees and knights were speechless at the unbelievable result.
“Looks like that's settled.”
In the middle of that, Rinoa walked over.
“From now on, I won't tolerate complaints about this. And I don't care whether you train or not, but you'd better keep it reasonable. I'm starting to get irritated.”
“…Understood.”
“And Leon.”
Rinoa turned her gaze to Leon.
“I have something to say, so come with me.”
***
Right after winning the sparring match, I followed Rinoa into the mansion without even a chance to shake off the dust.
‘What is it this time?’
Even though I'd won for once, I couldn't just rejoice.
Normally I'd expect praise at a time like this, but since it was Rinoa, I couldn't predict what she'd say.
Before I knew it, we had arrived at Rinoa's study.
Rinoa walked up to the mahogany desk and turned around with a twirl. A smile was on her lips.
“Good work. You completely overwhelmed Gerard, the top apprentice knight, so no one should be able to find fault with your skill anymore.”
“Not at all.”
Ding— A notification sounded, and the message that the quest had been completed appeared before my eyes.
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You have successfully completed the master's order, 『Completely defeat Gerard in a sparring match』.
A reward will be granted.
-Random A-Rank Reward
======
Kyaa~ Another A-rank skill.
Even [Grace of Chains], also A-rank, showed amazing effects—so what incredible thing would come out this time?
Of course, I wasn't the one choosing; it was random, but since it was A-rank, whatever came out had to be excellent.
“Are you listening?”
“Huh? Ah, of course I'm listening. Your voice is so pleasant it's going straight into my ears.”
“What did I just say?”
“…That our Leon is so adorable?”
“…….”
“I'm sorry. I'll focus.”
I was itching to check the reward right away, but this sharp-eyed viper wouldn't give me the chance.
Deciding to check it later when I got back to my room, I dismissed the screen.
“I'll make a special exception and tell you again this once. Since you lived up to my expectations, I'll give you a reward.”
“Really?”
“If you don't want it, fine.”
“No, no, no. If you're giving me a reward, of course I should accept it.”
This was yet another new discovery.
That Rinoa would not only praise a slave but even give him a reward?
‘Just how badly did you want me to win?’
If you wanted me to win, don't just stand there—at least cheer me on from the side.
“Is there something you want?”
“Freedom?”
“The day you leave my side will never come in your lifetime, so don't get ahead of yourself.”
Rinoa shut it down in a single stroke.
Figures.
I should aim for something more realistic.
“Then what can I get?”
“I'll do my best to grant anything within reason.”
Why was that?
To my ears, that sounded like she wasn't going to grant anything within reason.
But I had nothing to lose. I hadn't expected anything from the start.
What did I need most right now, in a situation where being set free was impossible?
“Hmm. A bunny-girl cosplay? A one-day master-servant reversal? Or maybe...?”
“So you really have a death wish, huh?”
Neither this nor that worked. Gold and treasure weren't useful to a slave either.
Should I ask for a girlfriend, then?
“You don't seem to need anything in particular. Then let's leave it at that...”
“Could I go out for a day?”
“Go out?”
“As you know, I was born a slave, so I've never once wandered around freely in my life. I want to roam around peacefully, even if just for one day.”
Rinoa's eyes turned cold.
“Do you really think that'll be allowed?”
“I can't disobey your orders anyway, and if you're still worried, couldn't I go with someone else as a chaperone?”
“Hmm...”
Rinoa sank into thought for a moment.
If it worked, great; if not, whatever. I waited without much hope.
Then.
“I'll think about it and let you know.”
“Really?”
“That's only me thinking about it. If I say no, then it's no, so you'd better not get your hopes up.”
“I'm grateful just for you considering it. I'll wait for a positive answer.”
After finishing the conversation with Rinoa, I returned to my room. I had been worried she might do something bizarre again, but it was a relief that she hadn't.
“Then let's check the reward.”
This was about the only dopamine I could feel in this world. My heart was pounding harder right now than when I fought with my life on the line.
I'm absolutely not backing out.
Right, let's go for the reward!
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■Random Proficiency Reroll Ticket
Randomly changes the chosen proficiencies into other proficiencies.
The level of the changed proficiency follows the level of the previous proficiency.
======
“Crazy.”
I thought it'd naturally be a skill or something, but to think a double gacha would pop out.
The reward itself was better than I'd expected.
I'd accumulated a variety of proficiencies after becoming a slave and taking on all sorts of roles.
Among them were plenty of useless ones.
‘What were they again?’
I opened my status window right away to check.
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【Basic Fitness Lv. 9】
【Intermediate Swordsmanship Lv. 5】
【Mining Lv. 4】
【Unyielding Spirit Lv. 3】
【Cleaning Lv. 3】
【Mana Breathing Lv. 3】
【One-Point Strike Lv. 2】
【Dishwashing Lv. 2】
【Firewood Chopping Lv. 2】
【Weeding Lv. 2】
【Laundry Lv. 2】
【Animal Affinity Lv. 1】
======
When I checked the expanded list, all the proficiencies that usually weren't visible popped up.
“There are a lot.”
A mishmash of proficiencies even a mangy mutt wouldn't touch. This was all because I'd recently worked as a servant.
But now. The moment had come to turn trash into treasure.
If I played my cards right, this could be a reversal of fortune.
I picked out the useless proficiencies.
‘Drop mining and cleaning, keep One-Point Strike. As for dishwashing, firewood chopping, weeding, and laundry, toss them all.’
I decided to keep Animal Affinity.
You never know. Maybe I'd end up job-changing into a beast tamer someday.
And just as I was about to choose the unneeded proficiencies and reroll them.
“Wait a second.”
It said the changed proficiency would follow the previous level. Then the higher the proficiency I changed, the greater my chance of a reversal of fortune.
“Then what if I sacrifice Intermediate Swordsmanship?”
I had raised it from the lowest-level swordsmanship, so by level alone, it was a whopping 25.
Advanced Cleaning.
If something like that doesn't exist, then wouldn't I mostly get good results?
“Hmm...”
For a moment, I was tempted to try it, but I decided against it. Right now, swordsmanship was everything to me.
A knight who can't wield a sword?
That doesn't even qualify as recyclable waste.
“But Basic Fitness is fine.”
Fitness?
Okay, I'll build that back up.
That's something you can build back up just by swinging a sword, right?
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Notification: Would you like to change the proficiencies you selected?
※Warning: Once changed, it cannot be reverted.
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I, the gambler, Leon.
I never miss a chance that comes my way.
“Let's go for a life-changing reversal!”
“Reroll, swoosh!”