Chapter 50
――Near the entrance to the hideout.
"Honestly... Right up to the very end."
As he headed for the entrance, where the knights were probably getting ready, Baldo grumbled.
"Your fight left me in tatters."
And that was the truth.
His body was in shambles, his consciousness hazy, and his magic power nearly depleted.
And yet.
'Let's fight again sometime.'
The masked man's final words to him had been surprisingly casual.
Despite being sworn enemies who'd tried to kill each other, they'd exchanged words with an almost breezy cheerfulness.
What's more—
(The way that guy talked... He sounded utterly certain I wouldn't die.)
Genesis had been an irritating man right to the very end.
The Knights of Lyon were renowned for their strength, with the hero Rain at their head. And Baldo was going to hold them off.
The odds of him making it back alive were slim.
(Honestly... Just how soft had I gotten?)
And then.
At last, Baldo reached the entrance to the hideout and slowly emerged.
"...Who's there?!"
Before him stood knights in full armor, surrounding the hideout.
And among them was a particularly large man. Was that the hero Rain?
"...A wounded man...?"
A knight eyed him warily.
It was an entirely ordinary reaction. Anyone who saw the state he was in would assume he was a victim.
To be honest, this was practically a suicide mission.
He was facing an opponent he probably couldn't beat even in perfect condition, and he was already wounded.
――But.
Strangely, Baldo had absolutely no sense that he could lose.
It felt as if a fire had been lit inside his chest.
(In a situation like this, I'm actually planning to win? I'm seriously insane... Maybe that idiot's madness rubbed off on me.)
Baldo couldn't help but grin wryly as he took up his sword.
Perhaps they had seen Baldo's stance.
In response, the knights all took up their weapons at once.
"Those wounds. What happened? Why are you taking up a fighting stance? If you remain calm, we won't harm you."
Rain asked in a deep voice.
It was a call to surrender.
But—
"No," Baldo replied, ignoring the offer.
"There's a man behind me. For his sake, I'm going to hold you off for a little while."
"—Oh?"
Rain's warm demeanor changed.
"Then I'll make you talk by force."
In an instant,
the knights formed ranks and surged toward him.
"Hah."
He closed his eyes.
He was doing what he always did.
His pre-battle routine.
"――≪O shadow≫"
With the knights bearing down on him,
the man simply
went and licked his sword.
――The Fierce Battle of Hafen.
A battered man named Baldo suddenly appeared. To the elite knights, defeating someone who looked so utterly exhausted seemed like an easy task.
But the man's skill was astounding. He never yielded an inch against the knights, and fought them on equal terms—or better.
And so began the legendary battle that would later be celebrated throughout the world as the Fierce Battle of Hafen. Few knew that it had all started with a rather minor misunderstanding over a few words.
――――――――――――――――――――――
The protagonist, who thinks there's no way he'll die since he's only turning himself in
→ "(I'll turn myself in quickly, and then, sometime later,) let's fight again."
Baldo, now thoroughly fired up
→ "Oh... ('Let's fight again sometime,' meaning he'll take on the entire order of knights right here and now.)"
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After 'Villain Reincarnation,' I keep hoping 'Sword Licking' will be the next big trend.