Chapter 18: 3rd Round, 2nd Game (3)
Johan remembered vividly.
No, how could he forget?
That day, the day he lost what he considered his everything!
And also, the words uttered by the monster that tore his leg apart!
"If you think you can run faster even with one leg missing... then come challenge me for the third time when the time comes."
Johan's voice was calm, but Ralph, who knew the past Johan, felt a pang in his chest.
Johan Redner.
Now known as the "Redner Blade," but in the past, he was referred to as the "Dragon of Luck."
Like a dragon soaring through the clouds.
Johan, who had honed the Redner Vision Martial Arts to its extreme, had movements that were beyond description.
Even his swordsmanship was admired for its speed.
To him, one leg would have been everything in life.
Seeing Ralph's face stiffen, Johan lightly waved his hand.
"Why the serious face, old man, when I'm still as lively as ever? Are you looking at me as if I'm a loser?"
"Senior."
"Don't take it so seriously. I've paid the price with my life and gained new insights... adding value to it. Losing one leg was a cheap price to pay."
"..."
"Haha, I only realized it when it reached this point. I can never defeat that monster with what I had. To capture the monster, I need a weapon worthy of it."
A heavy conversation after 15 years.
In the damp atmosphere and the pitiful gaze of his junior, Johan softened his impression.
"Hey, you pig, I'm still vigorous! Why are you looking at me like I'm trash?!"
Truly, it was a rare sight to hear Johan's affectionate cursing after a long time, and Ralph's stiff face relaxed.
He smiled quietly at Johan, who was drinking heavily.
"I'm getting old too... worrying about this guy because I have no one else to worry about."
When Ralph first entered the fold as a rookie, Johan was in his final fifth year.
At that time, Johan's talent, as witnessed by Ralph, was truly shocking.
'Even if he lost one leg, this person is... Johan Redner.'
Among the countless geniuses produced by the fold, he was undeniably the strongest.
The only one to be recognized as a master of the swordsmanship.
Also, the owner of the pendant Ralph had pursued all his life.
Remembering this, Ralph, too, playfully returned the favor, shaking off the weight.
"I didn't say not to call me a pig, did I? This is not fat, it's muscle!"
"Oh, right. The muscle pig. No, the guy who's old enough but still indulges in that ignorant training? Does it seem like your muscles have grown even more?"
"Well, as you get older, you need to have strength in your body."
"Even so, your body is too much."
"Don't talk nonsense. This is just perfect!"
"What? Now you're trying to teach me?"
"Hey, just five years difference. Should we be comparing ourselves like we're both getting old?"
"Oh, a whole five years younger! And someone who has never beaten me is trying to teach me? Impossible!"
As Johan interjected, a vein popped on Ralph's forehead.
Being shoulder to shoulder with Johan had been his lifelong goal, and he had fought countless times against him.
Of course, with a record of complete defeat.
Even though he had been defeated by someone like an idol, who would feel good about such a result?
But as Ralph was about to lose his temper, he hesitated for a moment before nodding his head.
"Let's stop talking."
"What? Aren't you supposed to come at me like an angry boar, demanding an immediate match?"
"Are you planning to do something if you defeat me now?"
This time, Johan's face stiffened at Ralph's words.
He glared fiercely at Ralph.
"What do you mean by that? Is it because I've become a cripple that I'm not worthy of being your opponent?"
"Don't be angry. That's not what I meant."
"Is that how it sounded to you?"
"No. If you're my senior... if you're the Johan Redner I know, even if you've lost one leg, you're still fast and strong. Where did your skill go, the one who used to toy with me?"
"..."
"But what I truly want to defeat is not the Redner Blade Johan Redner, but the Dragon of Luck Johan Redner. The great challenger to the Sword Seat! Let me ask you this. Can the current senior defeat the senior from 15 years ago who challenged the swordsmanship? Can the current senior be as confident as he was in his prime?"
Johan had no response to Ralph's words.
As heavy silence lingered for a while, Johan finally spoke up.
"In the end, you don't want to face me because you think my skills aren't what they used to be?"
"...If you put it that way, I have nothing else to say."
"You damn brat."
Johan, who had sent a momentary annoyed glance, chuckled and shrugged his shoulders.
"Well, you're not wrong. I'm not as good as I used to be. But promise me."
For a moment, Johan's eyes gleamed fiercely.
"If the time comes for me to challenge the swordsmanship again... before that, I'll add one more loss to your record and then challenge the swordsmanship."
"I'll be looking forward to it."
Ralph seemed relieved at Johan's declaration.
As the tense atmosphere eased, Johan began to speak again.
"So, do you have Shari or not?"
After circling around for a while, they returned to the main topic of conversation.
Ralph glanced around for a moment, momentarily forgetting the original purpose of their conversation, before answering.
"Um, no."
"Your voice is shaking?"
"W-Who said that? Me?"
"Heh, you're such an awkward guy compared to your size. If you don't want to give it, just say so, instead of pretending you don't have it."
"If I say I have it, even if I don't want to give it, you'll snatch it away!"
"Hehe, you really know me well after all these years. So hand it over nicely."
"What is it! Even if I had money, it's something hard to come by!"
"I know. That's why I came to you. You have something hard to come by, and you can get it for free from me."
Johan's brazenness made Ralph's shoulders tremble.
But he couldn't refuse.
'Ugh... he's still as shameless as ever.'
Having chased after Johan's back all his life, to the point of being indebted to him, Ralph knew that Johan was asking so shamelessly because he knew it.
"Hehe, Ralph has grown up a lot. Wait for me, senior. Shall we gather all the sixth batch kids together?"
At Johan's threat, Ralph resigned himself.
And he made a decision.
If he was going to be robbed anyway, he might as well get something from Johan and let himself be robbed.
Let's use this situation to our advantage.
In the midst of pondering what to ask for, one thought quickly flashed through his mind.
At the same time, a glint passed through Ralph's eyes.
"Fine, I'll give it to you. But!"
"But?"
"I have a condition too."
"A condition? Whaat? Haha, that won't do. Let's just gather everyone under me first."
"Oh, no. If you don't agree to the condition, I won't give it to you!"
"This guy..."
Unexpectedly, Ralph came out strong, causing Johann to take a step back.
"...What's the condition?"
Shari, which was hard to obtain and whose availability was uncertain, was necessary for future plans.
As Johann's question softened him slightly, Ralph's gaze shifted.
At the end of his gaze was the round, sleeping back of Yuri, who seemed dead to the world.
"Well..."
After hesitating for a moment, Ralph began to utter his conditions.
After a while.
Ralph's lips curled slightly as he finished stating all of his conditions.
"How about it, will you accept?"
His tone was quite provocative.
In response to this, Johann's lips twisted in a similar manner.
"Oh? That's quite an arrogant condition."
"Will you accept or not?"
With another provocation, Johann's smirk intensified.
It was as if he was saying, 'Are you trying to provoke me?'
Thus, the words that came out of his mouth were already decided.
"Fine, let's do it!"
With Johann's immediate acceptance, they began to plan the details of the conditions on the spot.
Meanwhile, a few meters away from them, Yuri.
"Ugh..."
Even though he was deeply asleep, he shivered as if foreseeing his unhappy future.
* * *
Upon reaching their destination, Yuri fainted.
He slept as if dead for more than 20 hours and woke up the next morning.
After a brief exchange with Ralph, while the landlord was briefly absent from the house, Johann's explanation continued.
Yuri blinked his eyes and shook his head in confusion as he listened to everything.
"What do you want me to do?"
In response to his question, Johann answered as if he had been waiting.
"A duel!"
"Why me?"
"What did you hear? Explain it again?"
"No, I roughly understood. So, you want to have a duel as a condition to obtain that Shari thing, right? With the grandson of that Ralph guy?"
"You got it."
"So why?"
"...Is this guy trying to mess with me again?"
"Whoa, calm down and listen. So, that Shari thing can temporarily stop the bleeding of my perforated blood vessels, right? If I have that, even if the inspiration isn't by my side, I can still turn the Mana Road alone."
"Is that so!"
"So, you don't really need Shari, do you?"
"Huh?"
"Even without it, if inspiration is always by my side, you can still assist me, right?"
"This guy... Do you know how difficult it is? After doing that once, my bones make noise whenever I move!"
At the request to do the hard labor again, Johann, who was about to shout in frustration, looked puzzled at Yuri's face that suddenly turned sinister.
"What's with that expression?"
"Well, it's strange. If you were the type to get angry, you would have shouted at me to fight right away... Why are you explaining the conditions so kindly, as if you absolutely must involve me in the duel?"
"......"
"Tell me honestly, Johann. Other than Shari for the duel, is there something else?"
Under Yuri's questioning, Johann broke out in a cold sweat.
'He's such a sharp kid.'
With a gaze that already seemed to have made up his mind, Yuri sent a piercing look at Johann.
Seeing this, Johann averted his gaze slightly and sighed deeply.
"Haah... Fine, you're right. I agreed to hand over Shari as a condition for the duel."
"And you made a bet? Whether I win or Ralph's grandson wins?"
"Yeah... That's right."
"Is that why you're acting all kind and explaining? Like, you absolutely have to involve me in the duel?"
"......"
"To be honest, Johann. Other than Shari for the duel, is there something else?"
Under Yuri's probing, Johann broke into a cold sweat.
'Anyway, he's a sharp little guy.'
With a gaze that seemed to have already caught on, Yuri sent a pointed look at Johann.
"Umm?"
"Hmm, no, anyway, that's true. Ralph and I made a bet on the outcome of this duel. I bet on you winning, while Ralph's grandson wins."
"Oh? What's at stake?"
"If Ralph's grandson wins..."
Johann paused for a moment.
Anger flashed across his face.
"If that guy Ralph wins the bet..."
"He wins?"
"He... he'll... he'll call me his older brother!"
"...."
"He said he'll call me his older brother?"
"...Is that it?"
"It's not over! He even... he even said he'd start addressing me more formally from now on! Arrogant!"
"Is that all?"
"What do you mean, 'is that all'? That's because you don't understand! The hierarchy in the Yoram's group is strictly observed even in society! What kind of audacity is it for someone from your rank to call a senior 'brother' and speak informally to them?"
"...Stuck-up."
"What did you say?!"
Johann's eyes narrowed.
Seeing this, Yuri shook his head nervously.
'He seems serious about this.'
Look at him.
He's so angry that he can't even control his cheeks from trembling.
Yuri, shaking his head as if it was nothing, asked in passing.
"What if I win?"
"Huh?"
"What's the prize for me winning?"
"Oh, that? Nothing special. Just agreed to receive a sword."
"A sword?"
"Ralph's grandson is quite renowned as a master swordsman. So, he asked for a sword to be made at the right time."
"He's quite ambitious. Johann, you seem to like swords."
"What are you talking about?"
"Huh?"
"It's not for me; it's for you, of course. Then how were you planning to enter Yoram without a sword? Fight with a tree branch?"
Yuri's gaze turned stern at Johann's frivolous response.
"Mine? My sword?"
"Yeah."
"Against a twelve-year-old?"
"Huh?"
"I said we'd play three rounds, and you only need to win two, right?"
"That's right."
"Don't worry, Johann. I'll make sure that bear cub never dares to call you 'brother' again!"
"...Divine beings shouldn't be used."
"Ah, why bring up gods for just facing a twelve-year-old opponent? Bring that bear cub here right now! I'll teach him a lesson he won't forget!"
Yuri clenched his fist tightly.
Fantasy.
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