TYMKM 06

Chapter 06

“Your final opponent is Kanne.”

The man spoke in a curt, prickly voice, pointing toward the flirtatious Kanne with his chin.

The man who had been singled out smiled with his narrow, well-shaped eyes.

“That means you want me to fight and come back with that attitude, right?”

Kanne folded his arms tightly and sneered before pretending to whisper into Lord Pharoa’s ear.

“But before that, he’ll have to beat Yarmuk.”

Kanne said it as though there was no chance of that happening, but Chironéia boldly raised a fist toward the sky.

Then he finally kicked his horse in the flank and set it into motion.

“That cheeky little bastard.”

Kanne muttered incredulously, while Nick watched the small back of his subordinate disappear into the distance.

Just don’t get hurt and come back.

That was what he honestly thought.

“Ah, honestly, this is terribly boring.”

Kanne complained with his hands clasped behind his back, wearing a bored expression.

“This is no different from fighting in our own backyard. I’ll probably end up fighting someone I know in the next match, and then someone I know again in the one after that.”

“That only means our young bachelor knights are exceptionally skilled.”

One of the older knights said proudly.

Then someone began disparaging Xylus in a petty voice.

“Speaking of which, just look at that slick face of his. I’m sure the bastard spends more time polishing his own face than his armor.”

The middle-aged men, their appearances bluntly sculpted by war, looked askance at Xylus, who resembled a single white rose.

“Just because he wraps himself in armor as gaudy as a clown’s and prances around a little with a blunted lance doesn’t mean he knows anything about war.”

Xylus was a knight unfinished by peace.

He had no experience of war, nor any borders to defend.

Their only duty was to travel the world, being treated as honored guests under the pretext of guarding it during the daytime.

“Protecting a world after the moon has waned? Why not just say they spend every night attending to the holy maidens in their beds?”

The men behind him snickered.

Their lord remained silent.

Then, apparently conscious of his pious presence, someone nudged the others in the ribs.

It was a silent warning to shut their unruly mouths.

“Don’t you know that among young knights these days, grooming is considered a virtue for the sake of ladies? So perhaps we shouldn’t criticize him quite so harshly….”

Lord Pharoa was more devout than he appeared, so it was best to refrain from insulting the moon and stars in his presence.

Everyone cautiously watched his reaction.

Yet the man himself remained silent inside his expressionless helmet, making it impossible to tell whether he had even been listening.

Watching the situation unfold, Kanne whistled and pushed his way out of the tent.

Jealousy from ugly bastards really is an ugly thing. If they’re so offended, they should’ve dedicated themselves to the goddess too.

He thought spending time sitting around with men was the biggest waste of time in the world.

So he went looking for someone more pleasant to talk to.

He did not dare approach too close to the VIP seating area, so commoner women were the obvious choice.

Before long, he spotted an attractive woman who stood out among the spectators.

“Hello, pretty blonde.”

Kanne stole the woman’s attention away from Chironéia.

She had been staring at Chironéia with surprised eyes.

More precisely, she seemed curious about the horse he was riding.

“Never seen a mountain horse before?”

“A mountain horse?”

“Yeah, a mountain horse. Huge, isn’t it? They’re a native breed of Loudhill.”

Or perhaps they were a breed that had been improved?

Kanne muttered uncertainly as he leaned against the railing.

The woman Kanne had spoken to was Sera.

Beside her, Lanram listened to his words and looked again at the horse Chironéia was riding.

Just as the man had said, it was an enormous, magnificent animal.

It was so large that the man sitting on top of it looked relatively thin by comparison.

Its build and height seemed to be roughly one and a half times that of an ordinary horse.

Sera replied in the somewhat dazed, rustic manner typical of a seaside country girl.

“I thought horses were supposed to run across grasslands.”

“That’s what makes these horses special. They can run through high mountains without hesitation. A mountain horse charging down a slope is something else…. It reminds you of a giant elk. Do you know what an elk is?”

Lanram did not know what an elk was, but she knew what an elephant was.

The horse gave her much the same overwhelming feeling she had experienced the first time she saw one.

The mountain horse had an exceptionally long, thick mane, and similar hair grew around its lower legs and hooves.

It looked almost as though it were wearing boots.

Up close, it was even a little cute.

Lanram was quickly captivated by the magnificent animal.

“Have you ever been to Loudhill? Probably not. I’m from there.”

The man pointed at himself and gave her a sly smile.

He wanted to attract Sera’s attention, but Lanram found herself paying more attention to him than Sera did.

The stranger wore a gray surcoat.

It was the same color and bore the same emblem as the knights of the Iron Steed competing in the tournament.

An enormous mountain horse rearing up on its hind legs was embroidered upon it.

The stranger cast a bored glance toward the arena before steering the conversation back to himself.

“My name is Kanne. Did you see my match?”

“You competed too? I don’t know. We just got here.”

“We?”

Only then did Kanne’s gaze fall upon Lanram as well.

His expression suggested that he had just noticed there was another woman here.

He gave her a smooth, shameless smile.

“Hello.”

“I’m Sera. This is Lanram.”

“Rangrang?”

It was a strange pronunciation, but Lanram did not feel it was worth correcting him and simply looked away.

It was rare for anyone to understand her name correctly on the first try.

He’s incredibly tall.

It was difficult not to notice a handsome man with such a tall, striking build.

For some reason, merely making eye contact with him made her feel embarrassed and self-conscious, so she deliberately pretended not to pay him any attention.

Kanne seemed even more intrigued by the foreign girl who had turned her head away.

He leaned toward Lanram and spoke.

“Then I suppose you haven’t heard that one either?”

Sera assumed he was speaking to her and answered.

“Heard what?”

“That men from Loudhill are as big and sturdy down there as mountain horses.”

“Down there?”

“Your thighs.”

The man slapped his own armored thigh as he said it.

When Lanram met his eyes, she became certain that there did not mean there.

It was an obvious and shameless joke.

But he was handsome enough to get away with it.

The knight gave her a light smile, and Lanram decided she did not dislike the feeling it gave her.

While Kanne was busy flirting with women indiscriminately, the Garding Knight and the Iron Steed knight adjusted their shields and raised their lances.

Inside his armor, Chironéia looked as stoic as his well-mannered warhorse.

Meanwhile, the helmet Xylus wore over his handsome face shone so brilliantly white that it almost seemed blue.

Both of them looked impressive.

Lanram found herself facing the utterly pointless dilemma of deciding which one she should cheer for.

Once both knights were fully prepared on the track, the announcer blew his trumpet.

The instant the signal was given, they spurred their horses forward.

The two charged toward each other at full speed.

Breaking the shaft of an opponent’s lance earned one point, while knocking him from his horse meant an immediate victory.

So each man had only one thought: strike his opponent with everything he had.

From the eastern and western ends of the arena, the two knights raced toward each other.

At last, they met in the center and struck their opponents almost simultaneously.

Chironéia staggered for a moment, but that was all.

Neither man fell from his horse.

Neither missed his target.

With a harsh cracking sound, the wood splintered.

Both men had broken their lances cleanly without making a mistake, and the first round ended in a draw.

A complicated murmur swept through the crowd, filled with neither the joy of victory nor the disappointment of defeat.

“Wow.”

Kanne, meanwhile, offered a brief, utterly unenthusiastic exclamation of admiration.

“Which side did you two bet on?”

“We didn’t bet any money. We’re just watching.”

“Then how about a wager with me? Which side would you choose?”

When neither woman immediately answered and both hesitated, the man simply chose his preferred side for them.

“Then I’ll bet on our boy. You ladies bet on the Garding Knight. If I win, how about one of you goes on a date with me?”

“What kind of half-hearted invitation is that?”

Sera snorted incredulously.

“Or both of you at once? I’d be fine with that too.”

Kanne made a suggestive squeezing motion with both hands and grinned lecherously.

He was quite the frivolous man.

Or perhaps he simply threw out whatever came to mind with an if you’re interested, great; if not, whatever attitude.

The fact that everyone was willing to put up with such shameless nonsense was undoubtedly thanks to his tall frame and handsome face.