Chapter 7
"So you chose mock battle . Alright then . As for the rule . . . . the winner will be decided when either of you give up or from my discretion as a referee, okay?"
My father Castor asked Biffgel, not me .
He continues on while ignoring my will .
But well, I think I can somehow win if it's just against Biffgel, as long as there's no some weird rule in place .
"Wait a minute Father . "
"What is it?"
"A referee has their limit . You can't say that they never misjudge . "
Biffgel said such a thing .
Aa . I know what Biffgel is thinking somehow or other .
He's probably worried if our father Castor be partial to me in his judgment . Father doesn't think too well of Biffgel after all .
It's not surprising for him to say that if he's aware of it .
"Okay then . Let's go without a referee . "
Father withdrew quite easily .
Looks like we're going to have a mock battle without a referee . I don't understand what father is trying to do now .
"And also, Mathias probably won't be satisfied with just one match . How about five matches?"
"Got it . Then let's make it five matches . "
"Also, I'm confirming just in case, there's no need to hold back right?"
"Yea . 『Both』 of you need not to hold back . "
Father told Biffgel that .
Or rather, our father Castor's face began to look eviler every time Biffgel suggested something . He's already all grin now . At the same time, he also looks like he can't believe it .
If there's anything remarkable about what he said, it was probably how the 『Both』 part was emphasized I guess?
. . . . Not good . I genuinely don't understand what father is thinking .
Father made a sidelong glance at the dumbfounded me, gave a training sword to Biffgel and moved to a position a bit away from me .
And then he declares the starting signal for the mock battle .
"Are you both ready? Mock battle, begin!"
"ORAAAAA! DIEEEEEEEE"
Biffgel made his move with the signal .
He readied his sword on the front while saying something inappropriate for a mock battle, rushing in toward me .
No need to hold back was it . Guess I should get serious right from the start too .
Biffgel's strength isn't comparable to father anyway, his swordsmanship is also terrible . I can probably win with a frontal attack .
I hit Biffgel's down-swinging sword from the side, turning it away to the left .
"Owa!"
Biffgel lost his balance . You can't be telling me that he didn't think how to cope if he got blocked .
. . . . That can't be . If that's the case then that means his skill is really poor .
This must be a trap . He must be planning to counter me with magic or something when I let my guard down by the obvious chance .
Once I saw through him as such, I decided to get on it .
These kinds of plans become a folly once you read through them .
An action that deviates from the textbook is not efficient, that's why they're not in the textbook .
I swing my wooden sword toward Biffgel while paying heed of any sign of magic .
0 . 3 seconds remaining until it hits . There's no movement .
0 . 2 seconds remaining . He still hasn't made his move . He won't make it in time if he doesn't activate the magic right about now though . . . . ?
At the remaining 0 . 1 second, Biffgel showed a movement .
Biffgel is actually closing his eyes at my sword .
It's as if he fears the sword that's coming at him .
Really, there's no way one would take such an action even in a mere sword training .
Did I perhaps overlook something? Did I get myself caught in Biffgel's trap without realizing it!?
Even though that thought flashed in my mind, there's only one action that could be taken in this situation either way .
I throw my hesitation away and swing my sword with all my might .
BAM .
"GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!"
Biffgel got hit by the wooden sword, he screamed and writhed .
There wasn't a trap or anything . My wooden sword made clean hit on Biffgel without a hitch .
Too weak . . . . No wait .
The victory condition for this battle was 『If either give up』 .
In other words, Biffgel hasn't lost yet .
Moreover, his writhing in pain . It's obviously not normal . It's not something a trained person would do .
Perhaps he's pretending to be in pain to buy some time .