"Huh? I did not need to hold back in the first test!?"
Right after the first test ended, I shouted in the hallway.
"Yes."
The half-elf maid standing beside me, Lynette, answered with her usual expressionless face.
"Of course, you still needed to be careful not to injure the people around you in the first test. But what we meant by holding back was for the second test's mock battle against other people."
"Sigh. What the heck... I wasted all that effort worrying."
I sighed and sank onto a long bench.
Now that I thought about it, there was no need to hold back against a slime bag.
As I reflected on that, a voice called out.
"Hey, you there, commoner!!"
It was a child's voice that had not yet changed.
"Hmm? Oh, you're the prodigy kid from the earlier test."
"I am Prodigy Freid Dilmutt!!"
The speaker was a boy in an annoyingly luxurious copper-red robe.
"So what do you want? Did you lose your mom?"
"Do not mock me! I... I was supposed to show off my genius in that test and become the talk of the guild! But you used dirty tricks to..."
Dirty tricks? I just casually kicked the slime bag...
Ah, the prodigy (provisional) kid started crying.
"Hey, you!!"
Now a girl's voice came.
She appeared in a dress with silver decorations and golden vertical curls—an outfit screaming "noble lady." She looked about Lynette's age. She was a striking beauty with sharp, strong-willed eyes.
"You have some nerve making my little brother cry."
Huh? Am I the bad guy here?
And "little brother"?
"Uh, are you this kid's big sister?"
"Yes, I am Angelica. The second daughter of the Dilmutt family."
"Waaah, big sister!!"
The prodigy kid dove into Angelica's chest. Her face was pretty, but... her chest was disappointingly flat. It reminded me of the washboard I used during my solo living days.
"That middle-aged guy over there bullied me!!"
"Excuse me, I am still in my late twenties!!"
My soul's protest was ignored. She crouched and patted Freid's head. The washboard... no, Angelica.
"Oh dear, oh dear. How terrible. My adorable Freid-chan bullied by such a middle-aged man..."
"I said late twenties!! And I did not bully him—"
"Silence!!!!"
Angelica's scream pierced my ears like a ringing bell.
"My sweet Freid-chan says it, so you must be guilty."
That was witch-trial-level nonsense, the kind that ended in naked escapes.
Angelica stood gracefully and threw the white glove from her right hand at me.
"I challenge you to a duel!!"
"Ah, such a freshly washed white glove. Noble young ladies might not know, but laundry is actually pretty tough."
Back when I lived alone, coming home exhausted from work to a pile of laundry felt... kind of sad and painful.
I picked up the fallen glove and brushed off the dirt.
Lynette spoke in her calm voice beside me.
"Rick-sama... Picking that up means you accept the duel."
"Ah, crap."
"Heh heh heh... You picked it up. In the Philheim Kingdom style of dueling, both sides can set one condition. My condition is 'the loser becomes the winner's servant until death!!' Second-Class Knight Angelica Dilmutt will punish this lowlife!!!"
At the Central Guild Branch exam venue, I was led to one of the empty arenas.
"Sigh. Got picked on at reception too. Maybe I really am cursed by number 4242..."
I looked down and sighed. If I failed, the party members' "love training" times three awaited. I wanted to focus on the exam.
"Oh ho ho ho ho! I will thoroughly discipline you!!"
"Go get him, big sister Angelica!!"
In contrast to me, the Dilmutt siblings were full of energy. Youth is nice. You old guys are blinding.
"But this got troublesome."
"Yes, it did."
Lynette, who had followed, nodded calmly.
"That Angelica is a Second-Class Knight in the Royal Knights, right? She's pretty strong?"
Lynette spoke in her usual flat tone.
"The Royal Knights handle the kingdom's security police. Second-Class is just below First-Class, the highest rank. There is also the Special-Class title given to only eight legendary knights, but it does not affect internal ranking directly. By structure alone, Second-Class is second from the top. In adventurer terms, at least B-rank level. Nothing special, really."
"No, no, that's plenty strong!!"
"Please hold back properly, Rick-sama."
"Hold back? She's way above me! I'm just a fresh F-rank who only became an adventurer recently!!"
Lynette took my hand and spoke.
"Are you anxious?"
"More like worried if I'll make it back alive..."
"Rick-sama. Remember your two years of training."
"...Those two years. They were hard, tough, and sometimes felt like dying."
...
"...I don't... want to die..."
Whoa!! Close call. I almost went to a bad place.
"How do you feel?"
"My condition just dropped to rock bottom."
"But your tension eased, right?"
"..."
I looked at Lynette's face.
She gave a small smile. Cute. I want to marry her.
Yeah. In the first test, everyone was shocked by my attacks. I must be decently strong!!
I gave a small laugh.
"Heh, I'll be right back."
"Yes, take care, Rick-sama."
"Are you ready~?"
Angelica drew her sword from her waist.
"Hoo."
She was a Second-Class Knight. I did not know how far I could go, but I would do my best.
"Heh heh heh. Your face changed from earlier. But you are still just an F-rank adventurer... I will go easy on you. Enough to keep you from dying!!"
Energy began to swirl around Angelica.
"Reinforcement magic on a swordsman type. Different from her brother. Makes sense for a knight."
Magic was an adventurer's sword, armor, and healing potion—indispensable. There were three main types.
Realm Binding Magic affected natural phenomena. It often had wide range and high power. Types included fire, wind, water, lightning, and so on.
Reinforcement Magic used one's own magic to strengthen the body or weapon. It was the simplest, yet highly effective in close combat.
Divine Magic invoked divine blessings. It included healing, turning undead, dispelling curses, exorcism, and similar.
Most adventurers specialized in one of these three and used the others as support to build their style. The Royal Knights mostly specialized in Reinforcement Magic.
Magic gathered in Angelica's plump legs, wrapped in white knee socks.
"Can you keep up with my speed? Here I go! 'Instant Step'!!"
Angelica kicked off the ground.
The next instant, the pillar behind me was sliced by her sword.
I stood frozen in place.
"What...?"
"I went a little slow as a greeting, but it was too fast for an F-rank like you."
"Hahahahaha! See that, commoner? Big sister is 'Flash Angelica,' one of the knights famous even among First-Class for her speed. Even basic Reinforcement Magic 'Instant Step' is nearly impossible to track with the eyes!"
Freid boasted as if it were his own achievement.
Magic gathered in Angelica's legs again.
"Oh ho ho. You have been too shocked to speak from earlier."
She was right. I stood dazed.
"But next time I will not miss on purpose! 'Instant Step'!!"
Angelica accelerated.
(Yeah, as expected.)
I watched her movement clearly while standing stunned.
(Too... slow. Way slower than my normal running...)
The so-called "Flash" knight's movement, supposedly renowned for speed, was slow motion compared to what I had seen before.
"Rick-sama!!"
"Ah, crap. Gotta dodge."
At Lynette's voice, I casually leaned aside to avoid Angelica's charging thrust.
Yeah, I might really be strong.
Meanwhile, Angelica's face twisted in shock.
(Dodged? And it looked like he completely read my movement...)
No, impossible. Only a handful of First-Class Knights could react to her speed properly. Proof was that this man had not reacted at all earlier.
"That was just luck! You happened to move in the right direction!!"
She braked hard with her right foot and changed direction.
"This time no fluke!"
She kicked off again, accelerating and thrusting her sword at Rick.
But the man in front dodged perfectly to the left, matching her movement.
(Damn, he really...)
At that moment.
Perhaps overlooked by the arena staff.
Angelica tripped over a stone hidden in the sand and fell spectacularly.
"Eh!? Kyaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!"
It was beyond "ouch" or panty flash. With the momentum from 'Instant Step,' she spun wildly and slammed headfirst into the arena wall. She barely kept hold of her sword—pride as a knight.
But this accident caused an unexpected misunderstanding.
(Yeah, too slow. Do knights not train speed much? For a Second-Class Knight to be this...)
I might really be pretty strong. Confidence is kicking in!!
I read Angelica's direction change and thrust, ready to casually lean right to dodge.
But the next instant.
Her body moved in an unexpected way.
"Kiyaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!"
"!?"
With a super intense shout, she kicked off with 'Instant Step' momentum, leaped up, and spun vertically like a giant wheel while unleashing continuous slashes.
It was swordsmanship I had never seen.
Formless and irregular, bold yet delicate. I had learned various martial arts from party members, but none matched this original technique.
"Kuh!!"
But I dodged it by a hair. My jacket was slashed diagonally. If it had hit fully, it might have been serious damage... Thanks to the party's insane training.
"Th-That terrifying ultimate sword... As expected of a Second-Class Knight... Strong!!!"