Chapter 64

Chapter 64

It was an almost perfect surprise attack . The weapon’s swing was sharp, too, making it hard to defend against it, let alone avoid it . That’s what Harold concluded before the blow reached him .

What’s with that? If it’s at this level then―― .

Though from anyone else’s point of view, avoiding this would have been problematic, for Harold, it was so slow it could make him yawn .

All he did was take a sort of dance step and move back the right half of his body . And yet, the opponent’s weapon only sliced air .

Looking at it more closely, the assailant’s weapon was a wooden sword . Although it was powerful, it didn’t have much potential for killing, and judging from the slash’s power, Harold felt it was no threat to him .

The opponent who had raised the sword above his head and attacked the air had dangerously exposed himself, making it easy to neutralize and restrain him . He was falling forward, and in his current stance, he could only see Harold’s foot .

That was because Harold kicked the man’s hands, which were holding the sword, with his left foot . The assailant sword flipped and flew away while he let out a loud groan of pain . He reflexively raised his face that was distorted from anguish .

He seemed to be around fifty years old, but his stern features and his Lincolnic beard probably made him look older than he really was . Well, knowing the opponent’s age isn’t going to be of much use here, thinking that, Harold continued his pursuit of the man .

Harold pulled back his kicking foot like a pendulum, and struck the opponent’s shoulder with his heel . Even though Harold adjusted his strength, it should still have been painful, yet the man, with his robust muscles, managed to resist . But as a price for that, his muscles became momentarily stiff .

Though he felt some admiration for that surprising strength, Harold used his left leg, that was on the man’s shoulder, as a fulcrum and somersaulted in the back to catch the sword that he had kicked up . He adjusted his posture in the air and slightly leveled it down as he swung the wooden sword downward .

The man, who finally got rid of his muscles’ stiffening, crossed both of his arms over his head in an attempt to defend himself . Still, if he blocks this attack, his arms will get smashed . While Harold had that thought, the wooden sword’s slash met with a solid resistance and was stopped in its track as a metallic clank resounded .

Through the gaps in the man’s now thorn clothes, a brilliant material could be seen . It seemed like there was sort of gauntlet concealed in his cuff, like a ninja . Perhaps that battle style was what suited the man better despite his robust build .

However, even though he blocked the blow, the impact was still there . Unable to bear it, the assailant tried to retreat as his guard had been broken, but Harold kept pursuing him, not giving him a chance to escape . As he grabbed his neck and pulled him towards himself, Harold hit his knee into the man’s abdomen .

【”Ugaah!”】

The man spit out a muffled voice mixed with saliva . While thinking that was flithy, Harold caught the man’s right wrist with his left hand, and his head with his right hand and, using his innate speed as a propulsive power, he drove the man into a wall .

Boom! A terrific noise resounded .

That was a decisive blow . The man, whose whole body was stuck on the wall, clearly showed no resistance, and when Harold let go of him just to check, the man slowly slipped down from the wall and only the white of his eyes was showing . The wall behind him was caved in, and there were some cracks on it as well . No matter how tough he seemed, he wasn’t able to resist that blow .

However, although he had repelled the assailant, Harold still had one simple question .

【”Who’s this guy?”】

In the banquet hall that had turned completely silent for some reason, the one to answer was Itsuki .

【”…… That man is Aurelian Berlioz . The current head of the Berlioz family . ”】

【”……”】

Harold was at a loss . Not only the assailant was actually the current head of the Berlioz family, but Harold had also mercilessly beaten down that very same family head .

However, if what Itsuki said was true, that gave rise to another question .

【”Oh, in other words, that completely savage display just now was the Berlioz family’s way of welcoming their guests?”】

Although Harold knew that there was no use questioning the attack if his identity had been exposed, he had to try asking for the sake of his safety during his stay . While he was preoccupied with that, his usual sarcasm manifested itself, to his dismay .

【”Excuse us for letting you face that dangerous situation . Please let me say I’m sorry in my foolish husband’s stead, I cannot apologize enough . ”】

Saying so while lowering her head, completely unperturbed by Harold’s sarcasm, was an intellectual-looking mature woman, who was a perfect fit for the word “madam” . She seemed to be Aurelian’s wife, as she had pointed at him while calling him her “foolish husband” .

Next to her was a woman with light blue hair who appeared to be in her twenties, and then, clinging to the madam’s waist in vigilance was a young girl who seemed to be wary of Harold . Perhaps one of them was… Or rather, surely the former was Itsuki’s marriage partner . Harold tried not to think of the possibility of it being the latter .

The three of them showed no sign of being worried about Aurelian, as if it didn’t matter what happened to him . It was pretty pitiful for the central pillar of the family .

After that, Erica, who was the party’s healer in the game, used recovery magic to heal Aurelian . It seemed like she had grown up in more ways than one . While looking at Erica conjuring her spell, Harold was in such great delight that he couldn’t help but let out an【”Oh… . . ”】of admiration .

Incidentally, Aurelian’s first words when he came back to his senses were【”To lead me by the nose so easily, I like that!”】 . Which went to show that Harold made a good impression on Aurelian’s muscle-brain .

According to him, his assault was just a way to ascertain the abilities of a promising young man . Naturally, Itsuki had been attacked before as well, and it seemed like he had dealt with it splendidly . That was likely how things had progressed up to Itsuki’s marriage with Sylvie .

Even though Harold was more of the opinion that the man was just being a nuisance .

Currently, everyone was having lunch around a round table following the suggestion【”Shall we have lunch at last?”】made by Silvi, who was indeed Itsuki’s marriage partner, as Harold expected . There wasn’t that much food for lunch since the meals for the celebration that would start in the evening were being prepared .

Having overcome the hurdle of the first self-introduction, Harold tried to somehow sink into the atmosphere, but that was not counting on Aurelian, who was on his left, and Itsuki, on his right, who made it complicated for Harold to be left out .

【”However, I didn’t think you had a friend like Lord, Itsuki . ”】

Said Aurelian while stroking his Lincolnic beard that seemed to be his pride . Though Harold was calling it Lincolnic, there was no Lincoln in this world, but he didn’t know what else to call it .

【”Is it that surprising?”】

【”Well, rather than that, nowadays, the young ones tend to be weaklings . So I really appreciate seeing two strong young men full of spirit like you and Lord . ”】

【”Thank you very much . ”】

【”……”】

With a smile, Itsuki thanked Aurelian who was nodding to himself . As for Harold, he stayed silent as if this way unrelated to him . Aurelian had apparently assessed that Harold was full of spirit from that one interaction with him . Harold had a hard time understanding how that muscle-brain’s train of thoughts worked .

【”I can get my mind behind Itsuki’s strength as the Sumeragi family has a lineage of fighters, but does the same apply to your family, Lord-san?”】

However, his voiceless resistance was useless with Aurelian’s wife, Brigitte, who asked him a question that he could not answer to with his mouth closed .

Knowing that Itsuki would intervene if needed, Harold steeled himself .

【”It has nothing to do with my family . It’s my own talent . ”】

He meant to say it came from his efforts in his training, but the word “efforts” was turned into “talent” when it came out of his mouth, as one would expect from the arrogant Harold Stokes . Well, talent was quite a fitting term as he had a highly powerful body that would grow stronger and sooner than an average person’s body, even if he did the exact same training as them .

The troublesome part however was that the word “talent” had not escaped from Aurelian’s attention .

【”Talent, you say! Lord, how long have you been wielding a sword?”】

【”For eight years . ”】

【”From when you were ten, then? That’s pretty late compared to the other strong people I know . So calling your strength a talent is no lie . ”】

【”Naturally . ”】

【”By the way, what kind of training did you do back then?”】

【”Yeah, I’d like to ask that, too . ”】

Itsuki took advantage of the conversation . Looking at Silvie and Brigitte, they seemed to be interested as well . As for Noelia, the third female of the Berlioz family, she seemed to be indifferent, as she was next to Erica, playing with her and keeping her busy . Harold wished she would stay like that for the next three days . That would greatly reduce his work and hardships .

【”I didn’t do anything special . I’d just swing my sword when I had some free time and hunt monsters . ”】(Harold)

【”He used to do lots of reckless things before and he’d become all worn-out . One time I was really surprised as he just showed up with a broken bone . ”】(Itsuki)

【”Oh my, that must have been rough . ”】(Brigitte)

【”Sounds painful… . ”】(Sylvie)

【”I used to go through the same kind of reckless and absurd ventures back in the days . I think Lord and I will really get along!”】(Aurelian)

Nope, not gonna happen, Harold was thinking in his mind . Though Harold had nothing against hot-blooded people, he preferred to keep his distance from Aurelian as he was way too extreme for him .

【”However, it’s indeed not a special training . You said you did it in your free time, but how long was that?”】

When Aurelian asked that, Harold recalled the time when his consciousness came to this world . Though there were various things he had to do and think about, he was just a child therefore he was free most of the time .

He did that training driven by the obsession that he had to be strong for his future, and it also served as a way to let out the stress and anxiety from the many problems he had to face . Moreover, his enjoyment from being able to actually use the game’s skills played a large part in motivating him .

Anyhow, even though he didn’t have the same unlimited supply of stamina at the time as he did now, from his memory, he spent literally all of his spare time training back then .

【”I didn’t have a clearly defined schedule, but usually it was about ten hours a day, I guess?”】

【”【”【”【”【”…… What?”】”】”】”】”】

That was everyone’s reaction except for Noelia . It seemed like Erica had been listening in as well while she looked after Noelia .

Hold on, shouldn’t Erica have found out about this when she was staying at the Stokes’ mansion? Although Harold thoughtthat, at the time, Erica had basically just been staying indoors, and Harold was also hiding his training since he was mindful of the public eye . When he thought about it, even if someone happened to see him, there would have been no one eccentric enough to watch him train for ten hours straight .

【”Ten… . Ten hours? Out of twenty-four hours?”】

【”I’m pretty sure that’s how days work, yeah . ”】

Despiteh is blunt answer, Harold could understand Itsuki’s confusion . Even Harold would think of a person who trained ten hours a day as being insane .

However, had absolute reasons why he had to get strong: so as to straighten his abilities, make his body able to swing the sword as long as he liked, and above all, so as to push death away . That was why he could achieve such a feat .

He wondered what kind of reactions he would get if he told them that now, his training time had ranked up and would last 12 hours a day on average . Harold just had way too much time to spare when he didn’t get any tasks from Justus .

【”Apparently, there is a difference between our definition of the word “special” and Lord’s . ”】

【”If you think that, it just means your abilities are limited, bastard . “】(※ “No, that’s not how it is” is what Harold meant to say)

The air all around them froze down . Harold had called the head of the family a bastard right to his face .

Aurelian’s shoulders were trembling . And then, he slowly stood up, looked up to the sky and shouted .

【”Shame on me! Just because I can’t do it, I drew the conclusion that it’s impossible to do, how narrow-minded of me . It would be extremely foolish of me not to pick a prodigy like Lord!”】

He was not angry . Harold couldn’t help but admit that he had underestimated that muscles for brains’ “strength equals a person’s worth” thinking process .

However, that didn’t change the fact that situation was extremely troublesome .

And so, Aurelian, who was shouting a lot for a while, regained his calm . He then used his rugged hands to grab Harold’s shoulders, and asked him with a serious look on his face .

【”Lord, won’t you take Noelia as your wife?”】

【”Looks like there is something seriously wrong with your head . ”】

Even though Harold had answered by reflex to those words that were beyond his mind, he didn’t think he was in the wrong . For him, the wrong thing was whatever was going in Aurelian’s head . Harold just couldn’t understand the mindset of a person who had muscles for brains .

Noelia, who was eight years old and was suddenly going to be pushed into a marriage, also raised her voice in protest .

【”I don’t want to become Lord’s wife! It’s scary!”】

【”I’m the one who should say that, like hell I’d want this . Getting married to children is no hobby of mine . ”】

【”Don’t worry . She might be too young right now, but I guarantee you that, in ten years, she’ll turn into a beautiful woman . ”】

Noelia was certainly a beautiful girl, taking Silvie and Brigitte as a precedent, Noelia would likely become a beautiful lady in the future .

However, that was not what Harold was referring to when he said he didn’t want this . And he was starting to feel more and more irritated .

【”If you want, I’ll arrange a room for you in the mansion, then with Noelia you can… . ”】

【”…Shut up . ”】

【”You don’t have to worry about convincing your family . I’ll take care of it . ”】

【”Shut up . ”】

【”You’ll even get to be Itsuki’s brother, that’s not bad if you……”】

【”I told you to shut the hell up! I have―― !”】

As Harold faced Aurelian who was joyfully offering to engage his daughter to him, his blood instantaneously rose to his head . For a moment, he was enraged .

However, even if it was short-lived, that rage was proportionally strong . Everyone was overpowered by Harold’s anger .

Even Harold himself was at a loss for words once he got back to his senses, after standing and shouting . And it wasn’t because he let his feelings take control of him for a moment .

He was shocked, and perhaps even depressed, because of the words that almost came out of his mouth .

―― I have Erica .

Before he noticed, his eyes had turned towards Erica . And Erica’s eyes met with Harold’s as well .

She’s my natural enemy . I just can’t deal with her . That’s why her eyes make my mind so restless . Harold was desperately trying to rationalize the situation .

【”Ugh, I feel sick . ”】

While everyone was shocked still, Harold averted his eyes and went to escape from the banquet hall with those sharp parting words .

In any case, right now, he needed some time and space to calm himself down .