Chapter 243


    On the outskirts of Arcadia was a mansion. Inside the mansion was a young man staring into the sky. He was young. He looked to be twenty years old at most and was very handsome.


    A shadow crept up behind the young man.


    “If you are going to hide your presence, you have to pay more attention to your breathing than your steps.”


    “Well…” The shadow halted and smiled brightly. “I had no intention of hiding anything. I just saw you and had the urge to surprise you.”


    “...” The young man remained silent.


    “No response?” the shadow clicked its tongue. “You’re no fun.”


    At that, the young man finally turned around. His golden eyesnded on the shadow as he said with a bright smile, “It’s about time that the master takes care of his ugly disciple.”


    “What are you talking about, Your Highness?”


    “I’m joking. Don’t be like that—Did you really think that I’d make a meaningless joke about this kind of thing?” The young man’s golden eyes seemed to narrow ever so slightly. “I just came back from seeing His Majesty. He just appointed you as the Kaiser ben Britten’s great tutor. Isn’t that incredible? The mercenary Joshua has be the great tutor of a prince. How incredible is it that His Majesty descended upon this mansion?”


    Kaiser’s endless chatter made Joshua smile bitterly.


    “Right, why do you look like that? Are you disappointed to be the master of a powerless prince?”


    “No—the opposite.”


    “The opposite?”


    “His Majesty has granted me a task of utmost importance.”


    “<em>Huh?</em>” Kaiser gave him a bemused look. “You’re too humble. What do you mean ‘utmost importance?’”


    “It was just a simple nickname given to me by my pals on the battlefield, the mercenaries.”


    “Hey, don’t say it like that!”


    “Rumors are meant to be exaggerated.”


    “It doesn’t change the fact that His Majesty treats you especially well,” Kaiser insisted, meeting Joshua’s eyes with a steady gaze. “Why not go to His Majesty, if I may ask?”


    “Do you want me to go to His Majesty?”


    “No way! As much as he loves people with talent… I can’t just give away someone as talented as you. <em>Huh?</em> Could it be that you have already received an offer? Are you hesitating because of me?”


    Joshua remained silent at that. Eventually, he spoke, “Your Highness was the one who brought me here, not His Majesty.


    “...” Kaiser stared at Joshua for a while without saying anything.


    “Let’s think about what yourst name is going to be. We don’t have to rush,” said Kaiser with a smile. “I also want to introduce you to someone.”


    Perhaps already sensing the guest, Joshua’s gaze turned toward the corner of the mansion. A robed man was approaching.


    “You may take off your robe.”


    “Are you going to be okay?” a young man’s voice responded.


    “I trust Joshua more than anyone else.”


    “If that is so…” He doffed the robe, revealing a handsome, purple-eyed man in his thirties.


    “He is the sessor of Marquis Lancelot, and he has been the Battalion Commander of the 2nd Battalion of the Imperial Knights for quite some time now. Have you heard of him?” Kaiser asked Joshua.


    “My name is Ghad du Lancelot,” Ghad said, introducing himself.


    “I’m Joshua, nost name.”


    They examined each other. Ghad’s eyebrows twitched ever so slightly.


    “It would be strange for me not to know of his name, Your Highness. After all, he became a Battalion Commander as soon as he returned from his long-term mission,” replied Joshua to Kaiser.


    Ghad offered his hand to Joshua. “Let’s work together.”


    “I wish you all the best.”


    The moment Joshua took the outstretched hand, Ghad’s arm muscles bulged explosively. Ghad saw the slight grimace on Joshua''s face and smirked.


    “I’m looking forward to our cooperation,” said Ghad.


    And that was how they first met…


    ***


    There was a light ng, and a sword went flying.


    “Haah… Haah… Haak—” Ghad, the sword’s former wielder, clenched his fist as he gasped. The wrinkles around his eyes and the emblem of a golden dragon emzoned on his breastte were the only things that stood out.


    His armorcked any indication that he was in a battalion or uniformed personnel at the very least. However, a nk armor like that meant that the person d in such armor was the Knight Commander of the Imperial Knights Order.


    “Today makes it exactly one hundred.”


    “Damn it—!” Ghad grit his teeth as Joshua lightly brandished his spear.


    “It’s a shame.”


    “Are you kidding me?”


    “<em>Oh,</em> please. If you executed the technique correctly and quickly enough, I could’ve taken serious damage as well.”


    “Are you talking about me?” Ghad’s battered visage contorted as anxiety filled his mind. He really felt like his mind wasing apart. One hundred battles and Joshua had taken victory every time.


    One hundred defeats…


    It had been twenty years since they started fighting each other, and Ghad was convinced that no one else had fought someone else for so many matches throughout the entire continent.


    Now, he had no choice but to admit it.


    “Your mouth… and your damned talent. They’re both great at making people depressed.”


    Joshua gave Ghad a disappointed look. “I am well aware that the Lancelot family’s mana technique has a special, hidden lightning power amidst the flow. Even if I can’t do anything about it…”


    Joshua raised his crimson spear and said, “My spear knows about it.”


    “Huh?”


    “The Thunder God’s Charge—a technique that encourages the mana inside your body to explode all at once. Cutting the enemy’s vital points three times in a single stroke, or to be exact, attack three times in one sh.” Joshua’s eyes narrowed. “The sh of lightning will temporarily steal the opponent’s vision, and since lightning is both destructive and fast, the opponent would die even before they realized it. It’s that fast and strong.”


    “But why won’t it work on you?!” Ghad shouted like a frustrated kid.


    “I’m just too strong. I can see the weakness in that technique,” said Joshua.


    “<em>Eh?</em>”


    “It won’t work if your opponent is stronger than you. Of course, there are only a few people stronger than me on the continent.” Joshua’s eyes shed. “shing three times is great, but it exhausts a great deal of energy, so I rmend that you condense the power of those three shes into one…”


    ”If you can make that happen, the Thunder God’s Charge would be reborn as the greatest technique on the continent, both in name and reality.”


    Ghad was so astonished that he couldn’t help butugh. Honestly, the people who had created the secret technique had also said the same thing as Joshua.


    “I think it should be something like this,” Joshua muttered and vanished.


    Ghad’s eyes widened “No fucking way…!”


    Three crimson streaks could be seen in the air, but the horrifying thing was that Ghad only heard a single brandishing movement behind him.


    Ghad broke out into a cold sweat as he turned around.


    The stone wall behind him had been cut open, revealing the rough stone within it.


    Speed, uracy, strength, and finally, stealth. Ghad had spent ten years honing the technique in secret, but for some reason, Joshua was better than him when it came to executing his own secret technique.


    And for Ghad, it was the fault of a damned word, which was ‘talent’.


    “Damn it.” Ghad cursed, spitting out his feelings of frustration as well.


    He couldn’t help but think that God was unfair.


    ***


    “Congrattions on being awarded the title of Grand Duke.” Ghad greeted Joshua with a smile. His eyes were sparkling with joy, and any third party who caught sight of his smile would think that Ghad was genuinely happy for Joshua.


    “It’s just a title,” said Joshua with shrug.


    “Come on! The title of Grand Duke is awarded to those who have a small country under their rule or a fellow monarch in an alliance with the empire. You say it’s just a title, but it carries a heavy weight. I’ve heard so much, but my heart is still not at ease…”


    Joshua couldn’t help but smile at that.


    “For once, I regretmanding the Imperial Knights,” Ghadmented.


    “When the family is at peace, you can do outside work without worries.”


    “I’m just asking, just in case,” Ghad couldn’t help but ask, “Isn’t it a pity?”


    Joshua stared at Ghad with a doubtful look.


    “You have achieved so many things, so isn’t it strange how you still haven’t received any awards? You spend decades wading through the blood and corpses on the battlefield, and I think it’s about time for you to settle down, right?”


    “...As I said before, I’m not overly attached to the seat. Besides, don’t you have any idea how much chaos I would cause if I were to desire more power?”


    Ghad’s eyes lit up for a moment. “You really think so?”


    “Of course,” said Joshua with a smile.


    Ghad stared at Joshua from top to bottom before erupting into a burst of boisterousughter. “I have to say this, though. His Majesty seriously favors you!”


    Ghadughed for quite a while, but he inexplicably stopped and said in a low voice. “I-If it’s all right with you, can we be friends?”


    “Friends?”


    “Yes, friends. Regardless of our age, I really want to be friends with you. It’s been over twenty years since we’ve met, hasn’t it?”


    Joshua eyed him oddly, and the sight of that made Ghad feel uneasy. He didn’t want to get rejected.


    “All right.”


    “...!” Gahad’s eyes briefly widened before his lips curved into a smile. “All right, from now on, we’re friends! <em>Hahaha!</em>”<blockquote>


    Persephone''s Thoughts


    Unedited</blockquote>