Chapter 137: The Royal Battle’s Preparation

「So, is the weapon ready? 」

「Yes, here it is. 」

Masauda, the first prince of the Arabia Kingdom, received a sword from the court sorcerer he had summoned to his room.

「Please be careful. The sword has been coated with Manticore poison. 」

「Hmph. 」

Listening to the sorcerer’s warnings, Masauda confirmed the mysterious luster of the sword and then sheathed it.

「Okay, arrange for this to be my sword in the royal battle. In a few hours, I’ll be able to say goodbye to that odious brat. 」

「Yes, but are you sure? Even if he’s a nuisance, killing him in public will only bring repercussions later on. 」

「What are you talking about? His death in the royal battle will be like an accident. We can easily get rid of the poison on the sword later. 」

「But wouldn’t banishment be enough without killing him? 」

「Shut up. You ignorant fool, stop talking. 」

The sorcerer protested against Masauda’s sentence of death, but Masauda’s murderous intent was stronger than ever.

「The fact that he’s still alive is unbearable to me. No matter what, I’ll kill him in the royal battle. Otherwise… 」

Masauda was about to say the rest, but he fell silent.

His words revealed impatience more than murderous intent.

「…Anyway, if I kill him in the royal battle, then my life will be safe. Now all that’s left is for that old man to die, and I’ll be able to ascend to the throne. 」

Masauda seemed to fear something lurking in the royal battle, as if he couldn’t ascend to the throne unless he achieved this.

At least, that was what the sorcerer who was watching him sensed, and a dark smile secretly formed beneath his hood.

—

「Okay, that’s enough. 」

「Haa…haa… 」

Meanwhile, Rostam and Zahak had been training Shin in the courtyard for nearly half a day.

「If you could do that in real combat, you’d have a good chance of winning. But the problem is the timing of your attack. Listen, don’t miss the opportunity when your opponent is feeling triumphant. You’re more than capable of exploiting your enemy’s weakness. 」

「Yes, thank you…! 」

Shin thanked Rostam for his advice and sat down.

His body was covered in sweat, and he was catching his breath while shaking his shoulders violently.

Rostam, on the other hand, didn’t seem to be sweating at all, but he was still smiling unaware of Shin’s impressive growth.

「…How’s it going, Rostam? How’s Shin doing…? 」

「Yes. As expected of someone raised by monsters, his reflexes and motor skills are above average. That’s probably thanks to the harsh environment he grew up in. In terms of pure physical ability, he’s on par with any hero. 」

「But the problem is his sword technique… 」

In response to Rostam’s comments, Zahak immediately identified what Shin lacked.

No matter how exceptional his physical abilities were, if his weapon handling skills were crude, then it would be no good.

Especially since this Royal Battle was a sword fight, and his opponent would be using it, so it was only natural to suspect that there must be some kind of preparation in his sword.

It was impossible to avoid it with movement alone; he must at least possess the skill to deflect and block his opponent’s sword blows.

「…But that tactic you just used…is it really okay to use it in the Royal Battle…? 」

「What are you talking about, brother? It’s not exactly illegal. It’s not even written in the rules. 」

「…No, that’s a problem that goes beyond the rules… 」

Zahak then remembered that Rostam was originally a monster, and sighed, wondering if he lacked common sense like this.

「…But you’re right… 」

It wasn’t written in the rules. That meant they could argue that it wasn’t illegal, and that was where Shin’s path to victory lay.

Swordsmanship wasn’t something that could be improved overnight.

They could only teach the wild child-like Shin the rough rules and how to fight in accordance with them.

But that was enough.

The two of them taught him tactics that only he could defeat, and all that remained was to test them to see if they would work.

「Shin, the Royal Battle will be held in the royal palace hall in a few hours. You should get plenty of rest until then. 」

「What, but if there’s still a few hours, I can do it… 」

Shin tried to stand up, but Rostam forced him to sit down.

「Pushing your body to its limits will only be counterproductive. You’ve come this far, so you should rest for a few hours. The most important thing right now is to challenge your brother in top physical condition. 」

Rostam declared with a persuasive tone, and Shin immediately nodded in agreement.

He lay down on the spot and began to breathe soundly.

An unfamiliar soldier approached where Rostam and Zahak were standing, watching Shin’s sleeping face, and whispered something to Zahak.

「Lord Zahak, there’s been some progress on that matter… 」

「…I see… 」

As soon as he heard the soldier’s report, Rostam called out to his brother as he began to leave the scene.

「Where are you heading, brother? The Royal Battle will begin in a few hours. 」

「…Regarding that other matter. We’ve received word that the location of the soldier involved in the incident several years ago has been found… 」

「I see. 」

The incident that happened several years ago.

Rostam immediately realized Zahak was referring to the assassination of Shin’s mother.

Since entering the kingdom, Zahak and Rostam have been using the imperial intelligence network to investigate the incident and the area surrounding Masauda.

Considering that Shin’s mother was the King’s official wife at the time, the assassination must have been no easy task.

Even if Masauda was the mastermind, the perpetrators of the assassination, the gatekeepers and soldiers who helped them, or perhaps the maids and nobles, were also involved.

It would be impossible unless many people were involved, and it would be impossible to eliminate everyone involved.

Even if they did, it would be tantamount to admitting to the dark rumors within the palace, and the standard tactic was to give them money to drive them away or to silence them.

But that wasn’t what Zahak felt.

Was it really necessary to assassinate the Queen and kill her children, when it meant so much effort, time, and risk?

That was the first question that Zahak had in his mind.

Masauda was the country’s first prince.

He was destined to inherit the throne regardless.

Surely there must be something bigger behind the assassination than just the Queen’s commoner origins.

Zahak headed to the city to find out.

Somewhere in his heart, Zahak had a hunch that the truth of this incident lay there.

—

「All right. 」

And so, I stepped outside the palace and watched the sun rise.

「I’ve done everything I could. Now all I have to do is go with the flow. 」

Muttering this, I turned to face my companions behind me.

「Let’s go. We have to go watch the Royal Battle and cheer on Shin. 」

Everyone nodded at my words.

We headed to the venue to watch the showdown between Shin and Masauda.

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