New chapter of Plant Magic Lord is out (3/10 chapters)

 

 

The Knight’s Duty

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The sun rose high and shone brightly. The square swirled with unprecedented heat. Contrary to the expectations of Berzel and me, the battle continued. Yes, the one-on-one duel between Stella and the muscular knight had actually lasted for several tens of minutes. His body wavered, and though he was panting heavily, he had not fallen yet.

“Ugh…! Not yet…!” (Knight Leader)

“Commander, already…!!” (Knight)

“Uuu… Commander!” (Knight)

His whole body was unsteady and drenched in sweat. His stamina should have already been depleted. However, he stood only by willpower.

“Then, next, please throw the ball from your side.” (Stella)

But Stella still had plenty of room. Or rather, it seemed she was not tired at all.

“Huff huff, understood…!” (Knight Leader)

*Plop*

The ball thrown by the muscular knight had no force. The ball flew toward Stella in a parabola.

“Take this!” (Stella)

*Clang*

However, Stella neither let her guard down nor held back. She was thorough. The outcome was already clear. To anyone’s eyes, Stella’s victory was unquestionable. Yet the Cockatrice seats, the commentary seats, tried not to miss a single moment.

“Piyo ppi” (Amazing, isn’t it?) (Cockatrice)

“Piyo yo” (Both of them are doing their best!) (Cockatrice)

Nana from the commentary seats leaned forward eagerly.

“Now, next is Stella’s pitch. How many pitches has she thrown? About 150?” (Nana)

“That’s right… But she still has plenty of energy. The knight looks like he will fall at any moment…” (Analia)

“But this match is until both run out of stamina. Until the sun sets, until morning.” (Nana)

Hmm, the noble knights are not to be underestimated. I thought it would end sooner. He is surprisingly tenacious.

Berzel also gazed at the last standing muscular knight.

“Elt, by the way, I want to ask… why did you choose this kind of match? Judging by their movements, even if it was one against five, we had no chance, right?” (Berzel)

“…This is not a match. It is not even a formal duel.” (Elt)

“Hmm…? Hahaha, I see! Did you think it would be troublesome if you fought the knights head-on and won? You are thinking cunningly like our advisor.” (Berzel)

“You too, Nii-san, make sure not to try a revenge again.” (Elt)

“I understand, I understand. Elt is really clever. Even so… it seems the villagers are enjoying this. Even among knights, when the difference is this big, it is usually not very exciting…” (Berzel)

“That is because balls are used. When there is a clear thing to watch, surprisingly it is not boring.” (Elt)

This applies to all ball sports. There is something to focus on. In baseball, the bat and ball exist, so it is not confusing. Sword fights between knights may be exciting too, but at high levels, even amateurs find it not very interesting. They don’t know where to look.

“Did you think about that much? Wow, impressive… Ah.” (Berzel)

Looking, finally the muscular knight kneeled on the ground. He stood the bat on the ground, using it like a cane.

However, in baseball, you cannot win if you don’t stand up.

“Ugh… I cannot lose here… I must face Sir Tristan, the founder…” (Knight Leader)

“Tristan… after he fell, he left smiling.” (Stella)

That was heard clearly beyond expectation. It felt like the first time I heard about him from Stella. But it was not like she was reminiscing the past. She simply stated the old facts calmly, nothing more.

“No matter how long it continues, I will endure it… but I hope it is not too painful.” (Stella)

The muscular knight fell silent at those words.

“However–…” (Knight Leader)

“However, he did not say that. After I hit him three times fairly hard, he was blown away… he stood up immediately, smiling, and went somewhere.” (Stella)

Three fairly hard hits from Stella…!? He lived well.

Amazing, Tristan is strong.

The muscular knight muttered after hearing Stella’s words.

“Accepting defeat is also a knight’s duty…” (Knight Leader)

Then, he looked at Berzel. Berzel nodded quietly. Over these several hours, the muscular knight realized the gap between him and Stella. He must have understood that neither he nor they could compare to Stella or Tristan.

“Oh?” (Stella)

Stella twitched her ears and approached the muscular knight.

“Um…?” (Stella)

Stella waved her hand in front of the muscular knight. However, the muscular knight showed no reaction. Terrifyingly, there was nothing.

…No way.

“He’s unconscious… Doctor!” (Elt)

““Uooooh!! Commander!!”” (Knight)

He was burned out. The muscular knight knelt, supporting himself with the bat, in that posture. Of course, Stella won.

“My subordinate did well. Fighting for several hours against the opponent who defeated Sir Tristan. Until his spirit and body were exhausted…” (Berzel)

“Well, yes…” (Elt)

I never imagined he would faint in that posture. He is like Benkei. However, for now, the battle was over.

In result, it was Stella’s complete victory. But the endurance was more than expected. Stella seemed very pleased since she enjoyed long hours of swinging and pitching. By the way, Anaria rushed out at the call and made the muscular knight drink potions quickly.

“Hawa, potion! Potion!” (Anaria)

“Hah…! Was I… unconscious?” (Knight Leader)

He recovered quickly like that.

Berzel gave a final summary.

“I have certainly witnessed the power of Hero Stella! As thanks for accompanying us, please accept this money!” (Berzel)

Berzel handed over a heavy bag of gold coins. It was the payment for the trouble caused somehow. Though, it was unusually much. Well, it might also include hush money for me and Stella. However, such money must not be monopolized. Since everyone gathered, we should spend it all at once.

“All right, this is temporary income from the Black Dragon Knights. Naru, do we have stocks of food and drinks?” (Elt)

“Yes, nya!” (Naru)

“Use all of this money. Let’s have a feast together!” (Elt)

““Uooooooh!!!”” (Everyone)

Thus, the second square turned into a rowdy party.

“Nii-san, when will we depart from here?” (Elt)

“It’s just noon now… Soon.” (Berzel)

Berzel said so, then asked for a place out of sight. He seemed to take only the recovered muscular knight with him. The other knights would stay in the square for interaction.

For me, if the villagers and the Black Dragon Knights could get along, that was best. With Anaria, Naru, and Nana, there would be no problem.

“…Is the rooftop of my house okay?” (Elt)

“Ah, no problem.” (Berzel)

I took only Stella and quietly left the square.

Now, what kind of talk would begin?

 

—

 

“This place is nice, comfortable.” (Berzel)

As soon as we reached my house rooftop, Berzel said admiringly.

Around there, I did not sense any pretense from Berzel. It conveyed that he genuinely thought so.

“So… you did not come here only to fight Stella, right?” (Elt)

“By the way, it’s incidental… Well, yes. But I have thought about various things, and it is difficult to explain with words.” (Berzel)

Saying so, Berzel stretched out his hand smoothly.

“Do you have wooden swords? Let’s have a practice match after a long time.” (Berzel)

“Nii-san. That kind of thing–…” (Elt)

“Fight.” (Berzel)

His voice was serious beyond what the atmosphere had suggested so far. The air became tense. It was a feeling of no room for refusal, exactly that. But it was not scary. For some reason, it felt like this was also his true intention.

“…Understood.” (Elt)

I made two wooden swords with [Green Equipment]. The muscular knight seemed quite surprised and gasped at this magic. I handed one to Berzel and took one myself, assuming a stance.

The current commander of the knights and me.

I do not think it will become a match… but is there some intention?

The muscular knight spoke with a worried voice.

“Captain, that is too much…” (Knight Leader)

“Do you think so?” (Berzel)

“There’s a huge difference between the Commander, who graduated at the top of his class from the knight course, and the Lord. There’s no comparison in terms of physique or experience.” (Knight Leader)

“Hero Stella, how do you see it?” (Berzel)

Stella’s expression was the same as usual. She did not look worried at all. I also did not feel any special hostility from Berzel.

“Please do not take it badly. I think–…” (Stella)

Her answer was beyond my expectation. But Stella was right. No matter how many times we started over, Berzel’s sword never reached me.

 

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