The Second Son of The Marquis Runs Away from Home ~ Lacking Talent, He Abandons Everything and Becomes an Adventurer ~ - 29

Chapter 29: Overwhelming

“Fuuuaaaaaaaaah!”

I dodged the swinging halberd, occasionally deflecting it with my sword. When he swung the halberd downwards, I sidestepped and transformed my sword into a scythe, pressing down on the halberd from above.

“Wind Roar Impact – Wind Wave!”

I jumped into his chest, and with my free hand encased in wind, I struck his side. The moment I hit him, the wind trembled my fist slightly, and the vibration transferred to his armor.

“Ugh!?”

The impact to his side made Fulde’s arm holding the halberd stiffen. I grabbed his arm and delivered a knee strike to his elbow joint. The force caused his hand to loosen, allowing me to snatch the halberd and thrust the pommel into his stomach.

Fulde, falling back and kneeling after the strike, discarded the halberd in front of him.

“I’ll give it back to you. Pick it up.”

Fulde glared at me as if he wanted to kill me with just his gaze, and he picked up the halberd that had been dropped near him.

“Do you really think I’ll acknowledge it? That you’re stronger than me? I’ll never admit it! You shameless coward who ran away is inferior to me!”

Fulde yelled as he released his magic. The magical energy gathered into the halberd in his hand, and the axe blade started to be covered in a layer of rock.

“…Are you not going to surrender?”

“Shut up, shut up, shut up! I won’t let someone unworthy like you make a mockery of me in front of Alseria! ‘Giant Rock Axe Slash – Land Axe’!”

He swung the giant rock blade, almost two meters in length, in a horizontal sweep. Defense against something of this mass was undoubtedly impossible, but…

“Too slow.”

I used “Wind Jump – Wind Step” to leap and dodge it, then kicked off the air to close the distance rapidly. I approached Fulde, who was in a vulnerable position after his swing, and as our halberds clashed, I converted mine into a mace. I traced along the shaft like a crossguard and pressed against his halberd, creating a standoff.

“What kind of weapon is that!?”

“The one you called shabby.”

I strengthened my body and pushed forward. While continuing to battle with our halberds, I became convinced.

(He’s not that strong…)

Certainly, Fulde wasn’t weak. He handled the difficult weapon of a halberd well and had enough stamina not to lose his agility. If he were an adventurer, he might be at the level of a bronze rank.

But that’s about it. He didn’t possess the immense strength and destructive power of a minotaur, the agility and sharpness of a chimera, or the spine-tingling sensation just from being in proximity, like a Chaos Crusader.

I interlocked our halberd tips, then lowered them. Fulde’s halberd was also pushed down.

“What is it?”

I said with a hint of curiosity.

Immediately after the battle ended, I was stopped by Philneria and bombarded with questions. She was observing my weapon closely. Even though I wanted to shake her off, she was the princess of a nation, and I couldn’t be too rough with her. The knights around us couldn’t intervene either.

“Philia, that’s enough,”

Aria grabbed Philneria by the collar and pulled her away. Philneria, being held like that, let out a goofy sound that didn’t match her age.

“Aria-chan, let go of meee. I have the noble mission of analyzing this rare drop right in front of my eyes.”

“Berg has just finished a battle, you know? He’s tired today, and if you want to examine it, you should ask him properly, not by force.”

“Mmm, I want to examine Aria-chan’s too.”

“Fine, I’ll go ask Victoria right now…”

“Sorry for suddenly asking questions.”

Before Aria could continue, she corrected her posture and apologized to me. Her agility was unexpected, given her previous behavior.

“No, please don’t worry.”

“Really? Phew, that’s a relief. Better late than never, right? Let me introduce myself properly. I’m Philneria, Aria-chan’s big sister. Please call me Philia.”

“Thank you once again. I’m Berg.”

“You’re Berg, right? Don’t worry about formal language when talking to me. And if possible, could you tell me more about that weapon…”

“Philia!”

“Whoa, don’t get mad! I won’t do anything bad to my dear little sister’s love interest.”

“What!?”

Aria froze in response to Philia’s casual comment. Philia looked momentarily surprised and then raised the corner of her mouth, saying, “I see, I see…”

“Wait a minute, Philia!”

“Oops, sorry, sorry. It seems Aria-chan found more than just a lion. Well, I guess I should quietly return to the workshop for today.”

Philia waved her hand and fluttered back to the castle. I watched her go, and when I looked at Aria, her face was red, a mix of embarrassment and exhaustion.

“…She’s quite a free-spirited person.”

“Ugh…”

It seemed it would take Aria a bit more time to recover…