When Einhorn set its sights on the Fevel family’s lands, a fleet of warships gathered and called out.
«Hey, what the hell are you doing!?»
He made his voice sound drunk, trying to make the opponent think he wasn’t in his right mind.
«Shut up! I’m doing this because Pierre‑san of the Fevel family told me to go on a rampage. If you don’t want to get hurt, clear the way, ooooh!»
When Einhorn opened fire, the warships deployed magical shields.
The shells shattered the shields without a hitch, but Luxion looked dissatisfied.
«The Republic should be strong in defensive battles, right? They’re constantly supplied with mana from the
Airships load magical stones and use them as energy.
Because of that, the space and weight taken up by the stones become a burden.
But Republic airships don’t have that problem.
Their output is higher than other nations’ because they’re constantly fed power from the Sacred Tree, so they can stay at full power.
On top of that, the effect gets stronger the closer you are to the source.
«…But you’re not my enemy.»
Einhorn charged at a still‑standing warship.
The enemy was about six hundred meters long—three times the size of Einhorn.
Still, Einhorn’s characteristic horns pierced the shield and sliced the enemy airship apart.
As the airship slowly fell, a transmission was intercepted.
«It’s a Fevel family airship! Those bastards are drunk and running amok! Send reinforcements now. That ship is insane!»
The warship kept falling.
The crew seemed to have evacuated safely, but the engine section was exposed.
A white‑glowing gem was discovered.
«Oh, that must be the gem the Master mentioned. Let’s collect it.»
Robots retrieved the gem and loaded it onto Einhorn.
After that, Luxion kept pushing through the Fevel lands, heading toward the Sacred Tree island.
◇ The duel arena.
When I got to the hatch in front of the fallen Alogantz cockpit, I decided to open it.
I’d beaten Alogantz, but of course there were traps and tricks involved.
In the first place—Luxion hasn’t betrayed me.
Did I really think I could beat Alogantz on my own?
«Soft beats hard, right?»
I’m no master, so I can’t pull that off.
Sorry, I’m just an ordinary guy.
The reason I was so sure I’d win is… because Luxion never betrayed me.
When the chest piece opened, I slammed a fist into Pierre’s face—right into his mouth.
«Hey, Pierre‑kun. Finally show your face. I’m so happy.»
Pierre, covering his mouth, had watery eyes.
I grabbed his hair, dragged him out, tossed him onto the ground, and stepped off Alogantz.
I punched his left palm.
«From now on I’m gonna beat you up, but don’t admit defeat easily. I’ve got a lot of revenge to take.»
Grinning, Pierre shouted.
His front teeth were broken.
«You! You hit me!»
I stepped forward hard and smashed my fist into his face.
«This guy’s weak!!»
I immediately drove my knee into his stomach, folded his broken‑over body, clasped my hands and brought them down on him.
Pierre fell to the ground, crying.
«Wait…»
«Hey, hey, don’t get all whiny now. The fun’s just starting.»
I grabbed his hair and kept slamming his face into the ground over and over.
«How’s it feel, being on the receiving end of a one‑sided beat‑down? You don’t get to taste this often, but from now on you’ll get plenty. Good for you, Pierre.»
Pierre’s face was a mess of tears and snot.
«Stop… please.»
«…I don’t want to.»
I smiled, flipped Pierre onto his back and took the mount position.
Then I kept swinging both arms alternately, pounding him.
I’ll pace it properly.
Because I want to hit him a lot.
«Truly a noble of the Republic’s Six Great Houses! Even after being pounded like this you still won’t admit defeat—awesome!»
Pierre seemed about to shout something.
He probably wanted to say he’d admit defeat, but I promptly smashed a fist into his mouth.
«What guts! I’ve got to step up my game too!»
He’s really something.
Even while beating him, I feel no guilt at all.
Instead I get this weird illusion like, «Hey, am I doing something really good?»
Even though what I’m doing is pure evil!
But I’m a top‑tier trash who actually feels exhilarated while swinging violence.
There’s no hidden noble motive, no backstory—just a pure, unfiltered scumbag.
I enjoy watching people suffer, I laugh at deceiving them, and I get my hands dirty with crime.
Even the lowest‑grade trash has a use.
Even after beating him to a pulp, my conscience doesn’t hurt a bit!
«Stop it. That’s enough.»
«Huh? What?»
I pretended not to hear and kept punching.
Pierre’s face was a mess, but in a world with convenient magic, healing should be quick.
Still, punching for so long made me tired.
I stood up.
Pierre glared at me with his swollen face.
«I won’t forgive you. You’ll never…»
He said that, so I smiled and— «Fine. Then… die.»
I kicked him in the face.
Pierre rolled, covering his face, eyes watery, as if he hadn’t expected it to go on.
«Okay, it’s over. Done!»
«What are you talking about? The judgment hasn’t declared an end. It’s obviously going to keep going, you trash.»
Now I decided to kick Pierre for fun.
What a boring game.
«You do this every day for fun? I can’t even understand a millimeter of your feeling. But I’ll keep doing this until you die. You love bullying the weak, right? Good, now you get to be on the receiving end after always being the attacker.»
I kicked his stomach and he writhed.
When the back of my right hand started to glow, I smirked.
«Huh? You’re gonna use it? If you tap the Sacred Tree’s power—do you even know what’ll happen to you?»
The condition I set was: don’t use Sacred Tree power during the duel.
Seeing Pierre’s face turn on the verge of tears, I guessed he remembered the penalty for breaking it.
«Right, you don’t want that. So you’ll just keep getting hit by me forever.»
I laughed and kicked again… but what the hell.
It’s really boring.
I’m smiling to scare him, but I’m already bored.
It’s getting too painful, even my conscience hurts a little.
Pierre, who can take this calmly, is still a scumbag.
◇ Looking down from the duel arena,
«…That’s cruel.»
«Yes, it’s terribly cruel. But it seems nobody around thinks that way.»
When Julius looked around, the fleeing students were watching Pierre.
«Serves them right.»
«The nobles without Sacred Tree power are just ordinary people.»
«More than that. Using armor and losing to a flesh‑and‑blood human? That’s never supposed to happen.»
It was clear how much the students despised Pierre.
He’d done enough to earn it, but Julius felt uneasy.
«Barthofort, are you satisfied with this?»
From Julius’s point of view, the fight could’ve ended much more cleanly.
If
Looking the other way, Pierre’s entourage was crowding the judge.
«Pierre’s gonna die!»
«Hurry up and stop it!»
The judge told them: «If you stop, Pierre loses. That’s fine, right?»
Even the judge wanted to intervene, but because it’s a duel he couldn’t just stop it.
If Pierre admitted defeat, the judge could step in, but Leon wouldn’t let that happen.
He kept silencing Pierre, torturing him.
Hearing that, Pierre’s followers were also stuck—they didn’t want to just concede because they didn’t know what Pierre would do next.
Then, «This duel, I declare Leon Fou Barthfort the winner,»
said a blond, blue‑eyed handsome man to the judge.
Narcis was shocked by his appearance.
«The head of the Doulieu house? Why are you here?»
The judge immediately announced the duel’s victor.
«The winner is Leon Fou Barthfort! Both parties, separate now!»
Dissatisfied murmurs rose from the crowd.
«We should’ve let them go further.»
«But look at Pierre’s face—so funny.»
«If he just stopped coming to the academy…»
Listening to the students’ chatter, Julius closed his eyes.
(It’s self‑inflicted. But what does this even achieve? Barthfort, is this what you wanted?)
◇ The winner’s proclamation was made, and I won as planned.
«…Should’ve stopped this earlier. I’m starting to feel like I’m just bullying the weak again. This was way weaker than I expected. My conscience hurts a little.»
A battered Pierre looked up at me, crying.
Doctors and nurses rushed in, treating Pierre. Because there were so many, his face healed quickly.
He could speak again, but most of his teeth were gone.
«I’ll kill you. No matter what I have to do, I’ll kill you.»
What guts. But it’s meaningless.
«You’re a truly wonderful asset. After everything you’ve done, holding a grudge is the best. Now I can act without hesitation.»
Pierre glared at me with a fierce look.
Then a very lavishly dressed handsome man arrived.
He looked like a golden‑haired prince straight out of a painting.
«Excuse me. You’re Count Barthfort, right?»
When I nodded, he introduced himself.
«I am Fernand Toara Doulieu. Head of the Doulieu house… one of the representatives of the Six Great Nobles.»
«A big shot shows up. So? Do you need something?»
Fernand looked at Pierre.
Pierre’s face turned blue, he turned away.
He clearly didn’t want to pick a fight with someone of higher rank.
His petty attitude was perfect.
«I can’t formally apologize for him, but as a Republic citizen I want to apologize. Moreover, I’d like to discuss the Sacred Tree sapling.»
Pierre’s right hand glowed with anger.
Fernand’s right hand also glowed.
«Pierre! I won’t let any more chaos go unchecked. Are you going to make a scene with the Doulieu house?»
But Pierre wouldn’t stop.
«Don’t joke with me! I lost because the Sacred Tree’s power was sealed. If it hadn’t been, I wouldn’t have lost!»
I watched Pierre, smirking.
Now that he’s healed and can stand, he’s getting cocky.
«The Sacred Tree’s power makes you unbeatable, huh? Hmm, impressive.»
«Don’t get ahead of yourself. I’ll beat you right now!»
«Pierre!»
Fernand tried to stop Pierre from using the Sacred Tree’s power.
In the chaos, Fernand’s subordinate rushed in.
«Lord Fernand! It’s urgent! The Fevel family’s airship is heading for the Sacred Tree Temple while carrying out destruction! The army can’t stop it, and it might attack the Sacred Tree!»
Hearing that, Fernand glared at Pierre.
«What are you thinking?»
Pierre was panicking too.
He probably hadn’t expected this.
«I—don’t know! I don’t know!»
But Fernand’s subordinate continued.
«…The airship’s name is Einhorn. It belongs to the Fevel family. Pierre‑dono, you were the one who managed that airship.»
Pierre turned pale.
«L‑lie!»
«It’s true. The army’s already taking damage they can’t ignore.»
Even Fernand looked like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
«The Einhorn? But that ship was built by the Kingdom. Did you… modify it?»
Fernand asked, and Pierre shook his head.
«No—I didn’t! I never modified it! I don’t know why a Kingdom ship would cause damage to the army. That’s impossible!»
Impossible.
Sure, it’s impossible for them.
In a world that’s advanced by magic, the one who can wield more magic wins.
The Sacred Tree is basically a plant that bridges the gap, making magic conveniently controllable for humans.
A truly convenient plant.
But since Luxion holds no ill will, it’s probably not something
Right now, they just need to understand that their «invincible myth» is nothing but a sandcastle.
Oh, and there’s one more thing I want to confirm.
«Well then, let’s keep our promise, shall we?»
…It’s not over yet, Pierre‑kun.