Clang! Clatter!

A sharp resonance rang throughout the chapel.

The battle between Malik and Pascal.
It was a tense exchange of offense and defense.

‘Maybe it’s possible to take him on alone.’

Sharpened by tension, he was driving Pascal into a corner.

When Malik’s sword struck down Pascal’s dagger, Pascal’s stance visibly wavered.

Seeing Malik’s overpowering brute strength and his almost demonic swordsmanship, I hypothesized that perhaps Malik might even win this fight.

‘As expected from the Histania family.’

The son of the captain of the knights.
The secondary male protagonist, Malik.
The prowess of Histania’s eldest son was more remarkable than I thought.

The reason Rowen said Hanna had no talent was becoming clear; Malik’s talent was starkly evident.

It only took 1 minute for Malik to grasp Pascal’s swordsmanship, 3 minutes to figure out the timing of the dark magic deployment, and less than 5 minutes to understand his opponent, showing off a monstrous adaptability in this battle.

Pascal’s magic, which aimed at vulnerabilities, was neutralized by Malik’s physical enhancement magic, and with his dazzling swordsmanship, he split the attention and inserted the real strike among the feints to wound Pascal’s shoulder with calm precision.

It was credible to speculate that he could capture Pascal alone.

With such skills, most criminals would probably choose to confess rather than resist. I’m not sure if there are only such monsters in the Royal Knights, but it was clear that Malik’s skills were on par with Pascal’s.

However, if we’re to measure up by experiences, Malik couldn’t catch up to Pascal.

Pascal had crossed numerous life-or-death situations,
his experiences having slain many adventurers were overwhelming.

Pascal too possessed a talent comparable to Malik’s,
and he was honed by countless real battles.

Clang!

Pascal, with a dagger just a bit longer than his forearm, parried Malik’s sword and smiled.

“Isn’t this a bit too easy?”

From an outsider’s perspective, it was clear that Malik was dominating the battle, but Pascal was provoking Malik with a relaxed smile.

Malik showed his frustration at Pascal’s bravado.

“Have you gone mad at the thought of going back to prison?”
“No. It’s not that. It’s just I was scared because of the Histania name, you know.”

Thrust. Pascal’s dagger came in swift.

Malik could not dodge.
As blood flowed from his cheek, Pascal laughed while licking the blood from the blade with his tongue.

“You’re so much worse than I thought. Kihihih.”

I, having read the novel, knew that

Pascal was the archbishop of madness.

He was a lunatic with a frequent laugh,
a madman who liked to provoke regardless of the situation.

Especially, this guy’s ability was

– Wobble.

to control the human body.

Malik’s body staggered greatly.
Since being cut on the cheek by Pascal, it had been hard to stand stable.

As he wobbled more, wounds accumulated on Malik’s body, and as Pascal savored the blood on his sword, strength slowly drained from Malik’s body.

As his body staggered involuntarily, Malik asked Pascal.

“What have you done?”

Pascal shrugged in response.

“What do you think?”

Bang.

Malik swung his sword widely.

Targeting Pascal’s neck,
he cut across largely but,

the destination of the sword was not Pascal, but a chapel chair split in half.

“Who are you swinging at? It’s not even winter yet; are you trying to chop firewood?”
“Shut up….”
“Kihihih….”

Pascal placed his dagger on his  belt and walked towards Malik. The sound of his hard  shoe heels hitting the chapel floor seemed to signal the end of the battle. Malik trembled greatly.

“Now, Mister Malik… Mister Malik.. what genre do you prefer?”

Inside the striking distance but unable to move, Malik bit his lips tightly and desperately tried to swing his sword, but his body wouldn’t budge, it had long escaped his will.

“…”

Pascal’s expression started to fill with confidence, knowing Malik had fallen for his dark magic.

He walked right up to Malik’s nose and said,

“Are you dreaming of an unreachable love in poignant romance? Or is it a heart-pounding action that excites you? Ah, that might be good too. A comedy of the eldest son of Histania who can’t do anything!”

“Shut your mouth. Before I rip that mouth off…!”
“Wow, Mister Malik, keep going.”
“Shut up.”
“More… more… More! It’s said to be the finest artwork; struggle as I tell you.”

With eyes drunk on madness, Pascal said to Malik,

“Smile.”

Pascal kneaded Malik’s face.
Forcing him to put on a smile.
He demanded Malik to show his gums and laugh.

Malik trembled with rage.
Ashamed at his own helplessness, feeling so pitiful for losing the battle due to a single moment of carelessness.

Seeing the hate-filled eyes of Malik, Pascal grinned with satisfaction.

“Finally, one more of my artworks has been completed. What should I name this piece…?”

Pascal spoke to me, sitting on a chair,

“Shall we call it ‘Friendship’?”

Seeking approval with his gaze, I replied by slowly standing up from my seat.

“I’m not really into comedy.”
“Excuse me?”
“Personally, I prefer romance over comedy.”
“The actors in my work don’t have the right to choose the genre, you know?”
“Ah! Like how insects can’t choose their farm?”
“Just die.”

Malik, deprived of his freedom, walked towards me. As the distance between us narrowed, Pascal’s laugh became increasingly soaked in insanity.

Holding a sword and casting a spell to strengthen his body, Malik was overwhelmed with self-loathing.

“…Run away. No matter who you are, you can’t beat him.”

Malik closed his eyes tightly.
The only freedom granted to him at the moment was his mouth.

‘Damn it’

I didn’t want to be a trash
I said confidently that I could do this
I was too pathetic for not being able to do anything, too ashamed.

I should have given up when he said not to come. Then I could have avoided such humiliation.

Malik bit his lip firmly.

The sight of blood trailing down his jaw was something to be seen.

“I’m sorry.”

Malik’s sword was pointed at me.
The well-sharpened blade was kindly settled on my neck, ready to cut off my breath.

His hands were trembling with nervous energy. It seemed he was resisting in his own way.

Impressed by his brave appearance, I spoke earnestly.

“You know, Malik.”
“Run away…”
“Feels pretty embarrassing right now, doesn’t it?”
“Damn it.”

Malik cursed vehemently. It seemed he hated me for trampling on his noble sacrifice. But what can I do if teasing him is so fun? It’s like eating chicken in front of someone who’s dieting—it’s one of life’s greatest pleasures.

I taunted him.

“You said you could do it alone. I wonder where the person who said it was possible has run off to.”

“Shut up.”

“See, Hanna is even more amazing. At least she attempted to swat the mantis with a fly swatter.”

At the mention of a fly swatter, Pascal’s body flinched. It seems to have triggered his PTSD.

“Watch carefully.”

I raised my sword.
Filled it with a rich aura.
And stuffed the aura into the sword as if it was about to burst.

“This is the whip of love.”

As humans, we usually start by getting hit and learn our lessons through those hits.

“It might sting, but bear with it. That way, the dark magic will break.”

[Limits Break (L) is testing the limits of the Aura (A).]

I also spoke to Pascal.
Because the chance for rehabilitation should be given equally to everyone.

“Watch closely, Mr. Mantis.”
“?”
“It’s an electric fly swatter.”

The red aura gathered,
and I felt something was going wrong.

“Oops, I put too much strength into it.”

With a flash, Malik’s view was illuminated.

*

*

*

Inside the cathedral, where morning sunlight shone.

Malik, regaining consciousness, clutched his throbbing head and stood up.

“What’s this?”

Next to him, Pascal lay foaming at the mouth, clutching his hand tightly.

“My lord, have you awakened?”

A knight from his family greeted him with folded hands. It was strange for it to be morning already and even stranger for Pascal to be lying next to him.

While several questions arose, there was one thing that Malik was most curious about.

Malik asked the knight.

“Where did that guy go?”

The knight avoided Malik’s eyes as he spoke.

“He said that staying overnight was forbidden, so he returned at dawn yesterday.”

Malik thought of the red-haired steward.

Truly a damn rascal.

***

“Let go!”

This time, Pascal was being taken away to be put on display like a pinned insect. I gave him a pitiful shower of tears.

“Don’t cry.”

Malik, wounded all over and looking haggard, patted my shoulder.

“It’s embarrassing. Please, don’t cry.”
“But… it’s so sad to see such a good moneymaker leave…”
“Please…”

It seemed Malik had gained some sort of enlightenment from his battle with Pascal. He might not have mastered the aura, but perhaps he took a step forward as a person.

Indeed, the whip seems to be the answer.

[Histania Malik Lv. 48]
[Job: Royal Knights]
[Affinity: 34]
[Favorite topics of conversation: Understanding situations/Swordsmanship/Paying back favors/Apology/Reconciliation]
[Least favorite topics of conversation: Perfectionism/Being ignored/Discrimination/Pascal/Insects]

He still had much attitude, but it seemed like he had come to see me in a better light.

Malik said to me.

“As soon as things settle down, I’m going to apologize to Hanna.”
“You’ve become quite a person.”
“That’s right.”

Malik’s change was pleasant to see.

“If Hanna says she’s going to hit you, you have to take it.”
“…Will she hit me?”
“She said if she gets the chance, she’ll hit you until you’re ragged.”
“…”

Malik swallowed dryly.
The whip of a sister who had mastered the aura.
It must have hurt quite a bit.

Malik, climbing onto Pascal’s transport carriage, spoke.

“The agreed-upon fee for the request can be transferred to the same account I used when I paid the bounty last time, right?”
“Yes.”
“Alright.”

Before leaving, Malik took out two pieces of paper from deep inside his chest pocket and placed them in my hand.

“And take this.”
“What’s this?”
Malik spoke calmly as if it were nothing significant.

“It’s a dining voucher for ‘Friend of the Forest’. It’s a tough place to book, so go with the lady when you have the time.”

A Friend of the Forest.
One of the top eateries within the top five places in the novel, it seemed like the lady would enjoy it.

Come to think of it.
Malik’s way of referring to the lady had changed from the daughter of a ruined household to a noble lady.

I smiled faintly.

“Thank you.”

I was in a good mood at the thought of going out with the lady after a long time.