The Necromancer Who Was Despised - The Necromancer Who Was Despised chapter 202
“I’d also like to request a spar with both of you.”
The Crown Prince’s expression turned awkward at his words.
“…….”
Kayla’s and my expressions stiffened.
◈ Royal Road
There wasn’t much talk about the fact that Priogaha’s dukedom was destroyed during the banquet.
There were people eating, and it was likely that they deemed it more important to hear about Kayla’s and my past directly from our mouths.
However, Gallic seemed to want to hear more about that story, and also indirectly compare Lucches’ power with his own.
Therefore, in context, the spar he wanted was not 1:1 but 2:1, which could be seen as belittling Kayla and me if not careful.
Regardless of his intentions, this was a clear discourtesy.
“Sir Gallic.”
The Crown Prince, who had been taken aback, regained his composure and cautioned Gallic.
“We can talk about battles as much as you’d like.”
And I also spoke up.
“However, I find it difficult to permit a spar.”
“It’s likely that Demain and I will be working together to support another country.”
……
“Because if not now, then there won’t be another chance.”
All I could think of was ‘what do you want me to do.’
He may be a renowned Master, treated with importance in the royal family, but that didn’t mean we were on the same level.
In fact, we had provided significant help to the royal family.
“…Lucches is familiar with the holy knights of the Empire and has frequent interactions with them. Moreover, he has had consistent exchanges with the Masters of the 2nd Kingdom.”
Gallic seemed to be saying that he wouldn’t refuse, but rather, he wanted to evaluate himself objectively.
“I want to assess my abilities objectively, is that right?”
“We know most of Lucches’ battle results. Before he betrayed the royal family, we had many conversations, so it’s only natural.”
In other words, he wanted us to evaluate him, comparing his abilities with Lucches’.
But…
“You won’t be able to show your full strength in a duel, will you?”
“Even so, it’s a fact that we lack information. If we can know this much, then we should.”
It seemed like he was trying to gauge his own abilities, comparing them to those of the Empire and the 2nd Kingdom.
It was as if Master Gallic was trying to humble himself, rather than being arrogant.
And now, as a newly appointed Master, Kaila, and I, a dark wizard, were being evaluated by him…
The prince’s expression turned cold, as if he had a different meaning in mind.
Master Demain was the same, opening and closing his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but ultimately choosing to remain silent.
What could be said in this situation?
‘I was just trying to do my best.’
“…Alright. Let’s make the duel private, then. The observer will be…”
“The six of us will do it here.”
It was the prince who spoke.
With his firm tone, I couldn’t help but nod my head.
“Very well.”
The duel’s participants were me, Kaila, and Master Gallic.
Master Demain would also participate, and the prince and Freina would be the observers.
‘It’s only natural to repay the royal family’s special treatment with loyalty….’
In a way, it seemed like the ideal Master that the upper echelons of the royal family wanted.
Thanks to this, the next day’s schedule was packed.
Gallic and Demain, who had received the duel promise, bid farewell to the prince and left, while the prince made a promise with the king regarding the dwarf construction.
The king had said to receive the remaining payment, but it was ridiculous to go receive it at this time.
In fact, until the banquet ended, I thought it was a good choice to come with Freina, but Master Gallic’s sudden action made me feel a bit overshadowed.
On the way back to the active palace, Kaila and Freina seemed to be deep in thought.
As the day changed, we could receive the dwarves as promised.
Many dwarves were prepared, and I had to check them one by one to find those related to Mutr.
I was able to find the two children of Mutre, but unfortunately, that was as far as it went.
“Are those two?”
“Yes.”
“They’re under the Tynairo Duchy. It seems His Highness has had a hard time.”
The prince, who had sent the other dwarves away, instructed someone to protect the two in the training hall.
The prince didn’t return even after the dwarves’ payment was finished.
Of course, it was because of yesterday’s promise.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes.”
He seemed to have cleared his entire schedule for the day.
Of course, it wasn’t an easy task, and it required the king’s permission.
When we arrived at the training hall, Gallic and Demaine were already waiting for us.
The prince seemed a bit tense, but soon grabbed Gallic’s hand and said:
“His Highness said he wouldn’t forget our loyalty. Originally, he wanted to come himself, but…”
“There must be many things he has to attend to, so it’s not possible.”
“Haha, it’s a busy time, indeed. That’s why I cancelled my entire schedule for the day, so what’s the big deal?”
It was a pitiful effort to lighten the mood.
“Then…”
But, fundamentally, the atmosphere didn’t change.
The story about the fight with Lucches came up, and I explained it to him in detail.
Gallic didn’t show any particular emotions while listening to the story.
When the story ended, he nodded once and thanked me for the detailed explanation, then immediately requested a duel.
“Let me go first. I’ll ask for conditions similar to when I fought Lucches.”
“Alright.”
During the fight with Lucches, we didn’t use the undead, so Kayla went ahead and I stayed far behind.
The duel that began ended in our victory, of course.
It was even easier than the fight with Lucches.
Kayla had grown through her fight with him, and she knew the swordsmanship of the Supertran Kingdom exceptionally well.
Lucches didn’t master the swordsmanship through the Supertran royal family’s secret techniques.
However, after he became a member of the royal family, he must have learned some related skills.
“I said that even after a long time, the Supertran techniques still have value.”
Of course, he didn’t abandon what he had learned before and grew anew.
He didn’t learn everything, either.
But it’s possible that he referred to some of it, and Kayla, who knew the original, seemed to find it easier to fight Gallic than Lucches.
As a result, Gallic was somewhat helpless against us and couldn’t even approach me, collapsing in defeat.
When the duel ended, Gallic had a very disappointed expression, and Prina, the prince, and Master Demaine looked astonished, as if they couldn’t believe it.
Their reactions were understandable.
Master Gallic was a master who had been known as the kingdom’s guardian deity for over 10 years and had gained a great reputation.
It was as if we had made him, who was considered a master, unable to do anything and had suppressed him.
Of course, Master Lucches was also a master who had gained a great reputation for a long time, just like Gallic.
Because of that, they must have thought that Gallic would be at a disadvantage.
However, facing this situation directly was a different story.
Of course, Nana and Kaila were confident that they would win, but I subtly exchanged glances with Kaila, and Kaila nodded in agreement.
“Objectively speaking, you’re above Luceres.”
“…Above, you say…”
“No. There’s no need to be modest. I know exactly why you challenged us to a duel, so I won’t bother with empty flattery.”
I spoke calmly to Gallic.
“After all, it wasn’t as if we had staked our lives on this duel, and it was the first time the two of us had faced a master together.”
“…….”
“Moreover, Kaila had fought against another master for the first time. I’m sure there have been many improvements through repeated reviews since then.”
Kaila nodded in agreement with my words.
“We’ve grown since then, and thinking about it, Gallic, you’re better than Master Luceres.”
But the difference wasn’t huge.
If the difference was huge, no matter how much we’d grown, we would have created at least one dangerous scene.
He didn’t know, but thanks to his informational advantage, it wasn’t easy, but he should have succeeded.
I conveyed my thoughts straightforwardly, and soon Gallic, who had risen from his seat, expressed his gratitude to us.
However, his expression wasn’t very good.
“A little better than Luceres….”
He muttered to himself, his eyes closed.
Just looking at his gloomy expression, I could tell what he was thinking.
“It seems that the masters from the Holy Empire’s side were generally above Luceres’ level.”
It wasn’t hard to understand.
The Empire and the 2nd Kingdom, being nations, had a high probability of frequent exchanges.
Just looking at Kaila, it was clear that she had gained a lot from her battle with Luceres.
The masters from the Empire’s side must have raised their overall strength through mutual exchange, so it was only natural that there was a difference in level.
Gallic must have had exchanges with other masters too.
He would have continued to exchange with the masters within the 6 Kingdoms Alliance.
But it wasn’t to that extent.
As the guardian deity, he couldn’t often be absent from his post.
So, to be honest, I was a little surprised that he was more excellent than Luceres.
Luceres, on the other hand, seemed to have had relatively free exchanges with the people from the Holy Empire.
“It’s ridiculous. They had exchanges with a potential enemy nation.”
Yet, the fact that they couldn’t be stopped at the kingdom level meant that the power of the Goddess Church was immense on the continent.
In reality, if they were judged to be oppressed, a rebellion would immediately break out….
After a brief rest, Kaila’s duel with Demain continued, and Kaila easily overpowered Demain.
“That was a good duel.”
“…Thank you.”
It was clear that Kaila was holding back, and the difference in level was evident.
Especially….
“Was it because she was a peripheral royal, or did she surpass the wall with the techniques of Spheitran?”
It was quite surprising.
“‘Still, being a royal family member…’”
If it were Hagiyal Demain, the possibility of being chosen as the next guardian of the kingdom was high.
It seemed like no one would be able to teach him if they didn’t teach him, even him.
However, right now, it was acting as a poison.
Kyle knew all of Spetraltan’s techniques and, even if some changes occurred over time, he could easily handle Demain since he knew the original form.
Of course, once you become a master, the learned techniques wouldn’t be easily suppressed, but…
“‘Kyle is also a genius and a master.’”
Still, it was clear that he was at a disadvantage from the start, especially since Demain hadn’t been a master for long.
Kyle was the same, but she was on a different level.
Once she became a master, Demain’s talent wasn’t ordinary, but Kyle easily suppressed him as if there was a heaven above heaven.
Suddenly, I remembered how Kyle had evaluated Athena.
A talent beyond oneself…
I couldn’t even imagine how great it was.
After the duel, we had dinner together under the prince’s guidance, just like yesterday.
The prince seemed to have a deeper interest in me and Kyle, but he didn’t show it openly since Gal Lik and Demain were there, who had been defeated miserably in the duel.
However, no one here didn’t know that.
“…I’m afraid of being really taken away. Now that the prince knows your value, the royal family will move more actively.”
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“There’s no such intention, so don’t worry. Just help me not to cross the line.”
“…How can we stop other nobles from paying attention, even if the royal family doesn’t…”
“We have to find a way to escape somehow.”
It seemed better to return to Lieneto as quickly as possible after the banquet.
“‘Is it better to stay quiet until the internal conflict ends?’”
The royal family’s obsession was reaching an annoying level.
In any case, since we would be in contact with the interspecies alliance later, it would be better to keep a low profile from the kingdom’s perspective.
“‘I’ll take care of the internal conflict myself.’”