Mobuseka Volume 12 Chapter 15

This is MTL. So, I cannot guarantee that the translation 100% contextually accurate or appropriate.

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Chapter 15 "Duel of Five Against One"

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Part 1

When Ange comes to the royal palace, she is approached by a woman.

Her name is [Claris Fia Atlee].

She is the daughter of Count Atlee, a school alumnus who also has a close relationship with Ange.

As she comes up beside Ange, who is walking down the hallway at a brisk pace, she converses with her in a friendly manner.

"It's been a while, Angelica. It seems you've made a lot of allies. Is your purpose for coming to the palace to usurp the throne?"

Ange was calm in the face of Claris's dangerous remarks.

She turns her gaze only to Claris, but does not stop her feet.

"I'm going to see the Queen now. If you have no other business, you'd better go away. The palace will be noisy."

"Sorry, but I'm helping Otou-sama with his work right now. This is my workplace."

"At this timing? What are you thinking?"

"I wonder? More importantly, how is Leon-kun doing?"

At Claris's implied tone, Ange narrowed her gaze and expressed her displeasure.

"What does that mean?"

"No deep meaning. ——The Queen is waiting."

After saying so, Claris leaves Ange.

When Ange came to the front of the Queen's room, the guards who saw her face saluted her and then opened the door.

It looks like Milene is really waiting for her.

"Excuse me."

Milene is in her room —— her office, processing a large amount of paperwork.

When Ange came, she stopped her hand, exhaled a breath, and smiled.

When the door is closed, Milene speaks.

"After all this time, you're moving so aggressively. Do you want this country now?"

To Milene's frank question, Ange replies without hesitation.

"Yes. That's why I came."

"You really have some nerve coming in here all by yourself."

Milene giggles when she sees Ange, but suddenly her expression tightens.

"Do you know what the Empire wants?"

"It's Leon's head."

"They also want us to become a vassal state. There are so many detailed conditions, it's sickening."

"Are you going to fight, then?"

Asked by Ange, Milene says calmly.

"It's impossible. The kingdom is so exhausted now that it would collapse immediately if there was a war. There is a movement to sell Leon to the Empire to ensure their safety."

"Give me a list of traitors later."

To the imposing Ange, Milene asks a mean question.

"You act like a Queen. No, is it Her Majesty the Queen? Are you going to replace his unreliability and become king yourself?"

Ange gives a provocative smile at the question.

"If Leon desires, I will make that dream come true. But even though I look like this, I yearn to be in a position to support my husband. I don't want to do anything that Leon doesn't want to do."

Milene is about to say something, shakes her head, and then returns to the subject.

"——I'm working on the list. I'll have it ready for you later."

"I appreciate it."

When the conversation comes to a close, Ange says to Milene, nonchalantly.

"Ask King Roland to abdicate."

Hearing that, Milene is not upset, but rather bewildered in front of Ange.

"You are forcing His Majesty to abdicate. Are we, the royal family, to be executed as a demonstration?"

"Please do not tease me. I ask you to abdicate the throne peacefully. I assure your safety and that of the other royals as well."

Hearing Ange's decision, Milene's eyes narrowed and her face turned into that of a statesman.

"You are not being ruthless enough. If you let us royalty go unchecked, we will become a problem later on. Maybe some of the nobles will start supporting us and become independent."

Some nobles will declare their independence, saying they will not recognize the new king.

Ange had expected it, but she didn't care.

"If they could pick a fight with Leon and win, that would be one way."

Hearing Ange's reply, Milene looks a little envious.

However, she seemed somewhat pleased with her daughter's growth.

She is pleased that the apprentice girl she once took care of has come back as a fine young woman.

"I am happy that you have grown up splendidly. My decision to make you my successor was not a mistake. Well, the result was a mistake, though."

With her engagement to Julius, it was decided that Ange would become the future queen.

For that reason, Milene has also raised her with care, but it was ruined by her son, Julius.

She seems to regret that.

"I have grown so much because I am by Leon's side. –Milene-sama, thank you so much for all you have done for me."

Milene says to Ange, who bows her head.

"It's too early to say thank you. There are still others who are more formidable than I am. ——His Majesty is waiting for you in the audience chamber."

"An audience chamber?"

It was as if he was waiting for her to come.

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Part 2

When I go out of the cave, Daniel and Raymond talk to me.

"Leon, what's wrong!? Why don't you come to the school!"

"It's not like you. Besides, the Empire is coming to wage war. Without Leon, we're all in trouble."

They talk to me and I ask them why they are here.

"Are you guys the ones who brought those five?"

Daniel's gaze wandered as I glared at him.

"Aa, they asked us to take the airship out. They said they were going to pick you up, and I said, "Okay, then". More importantly, why the hell are you dueling!"

Turning around, those five people also come out of the cave.

I say it as if I'm going to spit it out.

"I don't know. Look, stay away or you'll get caught in it."

The two of them disappear into the forest while worrying about me.

As I watch them, I complain to Luxion.

"The rain hasn't stopped. I can't count on your weather forecast."

[Not much time has passed. It's within acceptable limits.]

He's a partner who doesn't talk less.

In the rain, the five who came before me lined up side by side.

I check the rules.

"Apparently you haven't learned anything since first grade. You can't even learn how to challenge me to a duel with armor?"

The five came to me with the same conditions as when I became the representative of the duel to save Ange —— the same situation as that time.

Julius looks at me and looks somewhat sad.

"If we win, we will take you back to the royal capital."

I, who was not going to lose, told them the terms in case of my victory.

"If I win, you guys can go back to the royal capital and play with Marie quietly. You can rest assured. I'll give you an allowance, so you can play for a while."

Julius laughed at my joke.

"That's good. Win or lose, there is only benefit."

The way Julius said it so clearly in the rain made me think that as expected from a beautiful prince.

Jealousy welled up in me —— or not.

In the first place, jealousy towards handsome guys is communication among friends.

"I'm going to beat you to a pulp over that not so handsome face of yours. Luxion, bring out Arroganz."

Still, the only thing that came out of my mouth was words that sounded like a little jealousy.

[Understood.]

When Luxion replied, Arroganz slowly descended from above, perhaps on standby beforehand.

Arroganz, who lands on the rain-soaked, muddy ground, is more massive in physique than before.

It is the result of Luxion's continued improvements in anticipation of the battle with Arcadia.

I convinced the five idiots to back down in front of Arroganz.

"Arroganz of today are not the Arroganz you know. I beat you guys to a pulp in the first year, remember? You shouldn't expect the same performance as then."

When I said something that intentionally scratched old wounds, Chris took off his glasses.

"I've seen it up close and I understand it. I'm glad to see that your strength is improving."

—— I was angry at his tough attitude.

If they had just backed off, there would have been less trouble.

"So? Where is your armor? Don't tell me you're not prepared even though you've asked for a duel?"

As I was thinking that such a development was possible, five armors came down from the sky.

At the sight of the familiar armor, I open my eyes and look at Luxion.

"Did you bring in their armor?"

[These five aircraft have also been refurbished.]

"Luxion, what are you thinking?"

[It was Master who accepted the duel. Since your opponent did not have armor, I prepared it.]

What are you thinking? It's impossible for these guys to beat me.

To begin with, the performance of Arroganz has been pushed to its limits.

Because I was the one who wanted to be strong enough to fight the perfect magic knight.

As a result, it has been difficult for me to maneuver, but I have covered that with training and drugs.

If I don't do that, I won't be able to use Arroganz now.

When I look at Julius and the others, they are getting into the armors that came down.

All of them are armors prepared by Luxion.

Armors that five idiots have ridden in and supported me many times.

Jilk looks at me and smiles.

"I appreciate your kindness."

Saying so, he closed the cockpit hatch.

The green armor, which had been standing on its knees, slowly stood up.

They all got in, stood up and waited for me.

Julius, in his white armor, presses me to hurry up.

"Aren't you going to get in?"

"——I'll make you regret it."

Somehow, Julius and the others are becoming increasingly irritated.

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Part 3

Inside the cockpit.

When the hatch is closed, a monitor is activated to show the surrounding scenery.

The rain-soaked forests had the worst ground conditions.

The surrounding area is overgrown with trees, making it difficult to move around.

Luxion's figure is in place near my right shoulder.

"Why are you helping them? Have you forgotten the policy of not getting them involved?"

[I haven't forgotten.]

"If so..."

[More importantly, Julius and the others are waiting.]

After letting out a sigh, I looked at the five armors on the screen.

Looking at it this way reminds me of the first-year dueling commotion.

The coloring was the same, but the weapons were also made to resemble the original, so there was a resemblance.

By appearance alone, it looks like it has grown, and in fact, if it were only armor, its performance would be adequate.

——Except the inside.

"Now, who do you want me to fight with?"

Brad giggles when I ask about who will be the first to get beat up by me.

"Oya? When did we ever challenge you to a one-on-one duel?"

"An?"

We were talking through an external mic, and they even moved their armor to match the conversation.

I raise my eyebrows at his gesture of shaking his head.

Chris, riding in blue armor, proudly declares.

"We will fight you with five against one!"

The fact that he says these pathetic lines with such bravado is disheartening.

"Don't you have any pride?"

As before, I try to provoke their pride to change the terms, but Greg's red armor points the finger at Arroganz.

"You're strong! You're a strong person that I've recognized, so there's no problem!"

"Don't be kidding, you bastards."

As I pull my cheeks back, Jilk now deliberately reminds me of my past words.

"I should have dealt with all five of them together —— I believe that's what Leon-kun once said, wasn't it?"

"So you're saying I should fight with the five of you?"

Interrupting my conversation with Jilk is Julius, who gives off the vibe that he doesn't seem to get the joke.

"It’s to win against you. We will definitely take you home."

It seems that further discussion is pointless.

Everyone has their weapons ready, and I clutch the control stick.

"Try it, you idiots!"

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Part 4

Julius breaks out in a cold sweat before the strengthened Arroganz.

He could feel the spirit of Leon's anger spreading through his armor.

"Come seriously. Don't think we'll always be the same as we were back then!"

The truth is, he was scared.

They know that the armor called Arroganz is a non-standard monster that exceeds their expectations.

He has been by Leon's side and has been watching him for a long time.

As Julius steps forward with his shield at the ready, Jilk's armor soars into the sky behind him.

"I'll cover the top! So you guys, when there is such a chance——!?"

Attacking the flying armor of Jilk was a group of small missiles fired from the backpack containers of Arroganz.

It has a tracking function and follows Jilk around.

Leon, watching Jilk on the run, was laughing like a villain.

"It's less powerful, but it hurts when it hits, so watch out! See, I'm going to launch some more of these!"

In an instant, Jilk's move is prevented, and now Greg and Chris's armor turns to the left and right of Arroganz to attack at the same time.

Greg's thrusting spear strikes.

Chris cutting straight down with a sword that swings down from overhead.

If they attack on both sides at the same time, it is difficult to deal with them, even for Arroganz.

That's what they thought, but Arroganz catches their attack with both of his arms.

"That's a performance I really hate!"

"Then just keep attacking! Don't give Leon a chance to fight back, Greg!"

"Sure!"

As the two attacked one after the other, Arroganz used the armored planks of his arms to block their attacks.

Julius nodded slightly as Brad went around behind Arroganz.

"I don't expect it to be easy from the start. Brad!"

As he calls out, Brad's purple armor fires the spear that was mounted on his back.

Six Spears soared through the air and launched an optical weapon attack against Arroganz.

The surface heats up and turns red, but since it is tuned for mock battles, it cannot do much damage to the airframe.

Before they knew it, both Greg and Chris were backing away and avoiding each other's attacks.

Brad says he's getting a better response.

"Even Arroganz can't do anything against attacks from all sides, right? You should have checked the rules in advance, Leon!"

Leon laughed at Brad's words.

"Do you really think that you guys can do it and Arroganz can't!"

Drones with firearms were then shot out of the container.

A small, maneuverable type, it begins chasing around Spear, which can be controlled by Brad's remote control.

Arroganz, soon released from the concentrated bombardment, comes crashing down on Julius' armor as he holds up his shield.

"Guh!?"

Julius' armor manages to hold its ground, but the difference in power pushes him back down.

Using Julius' armor as a shield, Arroganz was pushing through the forest.

Trees are ripped down and paths are built through the forest.

"Did you seriously intend to beat me at this level?"

Mocking Leon's voice made Julius furious.

"We will never again play a match we can't win. That's what you taught me!"

As the white armor gradually increases in power, it attempts to resist Arroganz.

"It's no use. You can't beat Arroganz."

"If it was just me, I wouldn't win, but now I'm not alone!"

At that moment, Arroganz was hit by a rifle from overhead.

When a paint bullet hits the backpack container, it splashes green paint.

Looking up at the sky, there was the figure of Jilk's armor holding a rifle in one hand despite being hit by a bullet.

"You let your guard down, Leon-kun."

Soon after, Jilk's armor, surrounded by drones, is attacked —— and an electronic voice informs everyone's cockpit of the situation.

[Jilk aircraft, judged to be incapable of continuing battle. It will cease to function.]

Slowly descending to the ground, Jilk's armor stopped moving as his aircraft locked up, preventing him from participating in the battle.

"Are you okay, Jilk?"

Julius calls out to him, and Jilk sounds frustrated.

Earlier, he had shown some leeway, but apparently his true intentions were different.

"My apologies. I actually aimed for the head, but the damage assessment only allowed me to use one arm and I missed the target."

"No, thanks to you I was saved."

Jilk was unable to fight, but instead succeeded in destroying the backpack containers of Arroganz.

When Arroganz purges the backpack, the container falls to the ground.

[Arroganz, container destroyed and purged.]

Leon does not seem to be satisfied with Luxion's decision.

"I don't think the last attack will destroy the entire contents of the containers!"

[No, the container took a direct hit and was rendered unusable. It also had to be purged during the actual battle.]

"Damn it!"

Seeing that Leon's attention has been diverted, Julius moves away from Arroganz and readies his weapon.

"Now you can't use your weapon!"

Two cannons prepared on both shoulders fire when aimed at Arroganz.

When the shell was fired, it hit Arroganz and caused an explosion.

He had heard that the power level was controlled, but the explosion in front of him would have made a normal human being hesitate to attack next.

But Julius keeps shooting.

"I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to push through!"

This is because he does not believe that an attack of this magnitude can destroy Arroganz.

In fact, it is only a flashy explosion and its power is low.

Even if the bullet lands, it will only generate black smoke.

He repeatedly pulled the trigger on the control stick, and each time he did so, an explosion occurred in front of him.

The red light of the twin-eyes shines through the smoke generated by the explosion.

"Is this still not good enough?"

When Julius said that, Arroganz burst out of the smoke.

If the current impact does not declare a functional shutdown, Luxion must have determined that the armor of Arroganz can withstand the previous attack.

Julius uses his shield to prevent Arroganz from attacking him as he reaches out with his right hand.

However, he immediately had a bad feeling about it and abandoned his shield and flew backward.

Immediately after, the shield is blown away by Arroganz.

As Arroganz slowly rises into the sky, it looks up to the heavens as if to shout.

"Don't get carried away, you small fry!!"

At Leon's roar, Julius felt a cold sweat run down his cheeks.

"It's still four against one. It's not over, Leon!"

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Part 5

Every one of these guys really irritates me.

What's so bad about me?

Why don't you be quiet when I'm going to clean everything up for you?

With the loss of the backpack containers, Arroganz was limited to its arms as a means of attack.

As Arroganz soared into the sky, three of Brad's remaining spears attacked me.

"You're scurrying around like a fly."

As I moved my eyes and watched Spear's movements, this time Greg and Chris's armor rose into the sky.

Julius also moves up and closes in on Arroganz.

Greg and Chris come charging into Arroganz, ready to take friendly fire.

"You got time to look elsewhere? Then I'll take you down myself!"

Greg's armor, with its spear, throws a series of sharp thrusts.

"I will not let the work of Jilk go to waste!"

Chris's armor, which comes at me with two swords in a two-fisted attack, unleashes one slash after another.

Thanks to the constant barrage of strikes from both of them, I had Arroganz in a defensive position.

In the meantime, Julius' armor comes up and joins the attack.

Matching Julius' armor with the sword in his right hand, Greg and Chris changed positions.

"What's the matter, Leon? I thought you were going to take us down easily. Only Jilk has fallen!"

Brad's armor, which was controlling the spear, was aiming at me from a short distance with a rifle.

"You can't run away anymore. We're going to push through and win!"

Arroganz is surrounded and in a desperate situation——but I don't think I'll lose.

"Don't make me say it again, Brad, you're losers for life."

Looking into his eyes, he moves the control stick in small movements and adjusts the foot pedals by millimeters.

Arroganz forcefully extended his arm and caught Chris's armor —— and threw it directly at Greg.

"Uwaaaa!!"

"Chris, quickly get back on your feet!"

Just as the two machines collided in mid-air, Arroganz grabbed them with both hands.

"This is the end. Impact."

Just declaring, Arroganz didn't actually release the impact.

However, Luxion's judgment soon comes in.

[Greg and Chris, both confirmed flight function was damaged. They're going to fall to the ground.]

"Fall to the ground together!"

Brad's armor held up his rifle and aimed at Arroganz.

"If so, I'll just be the shooter."

Brad's armor sniped at me with a rifle, but unlike Jilk, his aim was not as good.

Also, with the container detached, Arroganz is lighter.

Until now, without the containers, it has been slowing down and moving sluggishly, but it has now been refurbished to achieve a reasonable speed.

Dodging bullets, I headed toward Brad.

Julius chases after Arroganz, but he has already shot out his cannon shells, so he has lost his long-range means of attack.

"Run, Brad!"

Brad was told by Julius to run away, but he seemed to have naively thought that he could turn the tables by hitting me with even a single shot with his rifle.

"I'm going to take down Leon. I promised I would bring him home!"

Brad shoots while flying around, but his movements are not as good as Jilk's.

"You should have run away, Brad!"

Arroganz catches up and grabs Brad's armor with both hands.

As it is, I pull the trigger on the control stick, and Luxion makes the decision.

[Brad's machine is unable to fight.]

"! I was so close."

I hear Brad's frustration with the outcome and I abuse him in the cockpit.

"One against five like this? That makes only one man left, Prince-sama!"

When I turned around, I saw Julius' armor holding a sword with both hands.

The cannon on his back is purged, and the lighter armor of Julius is slashing at me.

"Still, I —— I can't lose to you!"

"You should have realized that by now. Your armor was hastily made by Luxion. It's not custom-made like Arroganz. Don't underestimate the difference in performance."

A large gap in performance exists between the armor of Arroganz and the armor of the five idiots.

Arroganz was overwhelmingly superior in performance.

The one-to-five situation was somewhat unfavorable, but still strong enough to win.

When Arroganz strikes Julius' armor with his fist, the sword prevents it.

However, the sword that was hit had taken more damage.

The blade cracks and falls to pieces.

"Now surrender. Or will you use your position as a prince to command me? "Please lose to me" try say it!"

He would never admit it when told, but Julius doesn't seem to have thought about it from the beginning either.

"It reminds me of the first year."

"Hahn?"

"At the time, we never imagined we'd lose to you."

"Because of that, you humiliated yourselves in front of the public. You people are the ones who never really grow up!"

"Guh!"

Arroganz's fist struck Julius' armor head, knocking him to the ground.

Since Luxion does not tell me that it is going to stop functioning, I go down to the ground with Arroganz.

Julius' tattered armor was barely standing on the ground.

I think we already have a winner here.

"Give up. You can't beat me forever. Just go home and wait until the war is over with Marie."

When I say that, Julius becomes furious.

"Don't be kidding! I've been hearing that for a while now, who do you think you are?"

I guess they are angry at my high and mighty attitude.

If they are outraged because I act that way, I can call it a success.

"I'm a Grand Duke now! You're holding your head high, prince with no rights to succession!"

I let Arroganz spread its hands and showed them that I could take him down at any time, and that I could afford to do so.

"I'm not talking about positions. You are going to fight the Empire alone, aren't you?"

"You're right. Cause you guys are just slowing me down."

Julius seems to have some thoughts about my words.

"Indeed, we are unreliable. But we want to help you."

—— It pisses me off.

"There is also the reason because Marie asked us to help you, but we want to help you."

—— It is repugnant.

"You don't have to carry it all by yourself. We will also fight for you."

—— I'm so angry at you guys.

Before I knew it, Arroganz was quickly approaching Julius' armor.

As it is, he raises his right fist and swings it down with all his might.

Julius' armor, which was blown away, slammed into a tree behind him and sat down.

"What are you going to do for me? You can only say that when you're stronger than me. You guys are really in the way. You're always causing me trouble."

I can't even spare the time to do this.

Why can't they leave me alone when every second matters?

Julius' armor still stands up and walks toward me.

"——Marie has bowed her head to us crying for you."

Before I knew it, my eyes were wide open.

What does it matter that my little sister cried?

Why does my chest ache as if it were tightening, even though I think so?

"What's wrong with that? Because if the financial resources are gone, there will be trouble, right?"

"Marie shed tears for you. I will not allow anyone to deny that —— not even you."

Julius' armor comes in front of Arroganz.

"So, fighting for the woman you love? You really are a bunch of happy-go-lucky people! Go down and be comforted by your beloved Marie!"

It was the moment when Arroganz was about to slam his fist into Julius' armor.

With a clunk, the aircraft receives a strange shock.

Something dragging my feet? I quickly checked my feet and there they were, Greg and Chris in armor.

Each of them clings to both legs of Arroganz.

Come to think of it, it hasn't been announced that they're no longer capable of operating.

After clenching my back teeth, I punched Greg and Chris in their armor.

"You're pathetic! Did you think you could beat Arroganz with only five of you? Your vision is shallow!"

No matter how many beatings he takes, Greg's armor never lets go.

"I've been listening to you for a while now and you're just saying Arroganz, Arroganz, shut up. You're not even a little bit proud of yourself because you realize that you're losing to us?"

I was furious with Greg for agitating me.

—— I understand that best.

Chris had thrown the sword he was holding to Julius' feet.

"You went silent, huh? I think we hit the mark, Greg. You're getting pretty good at talking, too. I envy you, because I'm not a very good talker.'

"Ha! I'll take that as a compliment."

They are getting excited, ignoring me.

But in the end, it's pointless.

"Is that all you want to say?"

Arroganz grabbed each of the two machines and then went on to generate an impact-shockwave that stunned them both.

I threw the two machines I lifted, and in the meantime, Julius picked up Chris's sword and held it ready.

"You two are right. I am not strong. It's Luxion and Arroganz that are strong. But what's the point? You are down and I am standing —— I am the winner."

I should have won, but I'm not happy at all today.

I realize the reasons why I'm not having fun, and why I'm so frustrated.

Because these guys challenged me to a duel for me.

To be precise, it's for Marie, but there must be a slight desire to bring me back.

The reason for my irritation is —— that they hit the bull's-eye.

If I hadn't gotten Luxion, Livia might have gotten him and built a peaceful world.

It's only a possibility, but it would have been a much better future than I am the one who get him.

In the end, I didn't deserve Luxion either.

As I stand there, Julius is laughing.

"You feel like you've won, even though it's not over yet? By the way, you are so gloomy. If it was you before, you'd have opened your mouth to Greg's taunts and retorted ten times over."

"Shut up."

"I didn't know that your complex was that you couldn't beat us in bare combat. From now on, I will fight you without armor, but in the flesh. You're the one who will be crawling on the ground, Leon."

"——Shut up."

"When someone tells you to shut up, do you just go along with it? You're the one who takes advantage of them when they show weakness, aren't you? You're the one who broke their hearts and made it impossible for them to get back up again."

"Who do you really think —— you're doing this for!"

Arroganz took a big step forward and stretched out his hand to Julius' armor.

But something is fired from all sides.

They were connected by wires and restrained Arroganz.

Arroganz loses his position and slips and falls in the mud.

"What happened?"

A quick check of the surroundings revealed four people exiting the cockpit and holding bowguns at the ready.

They are getting out of their armor and coming out to the duel in the flesh.

All four of them must have known that this was a dangerous act, but they went outside to restrain Arroganz, even if only slightly.

But this is against the rules.

"They're acting so cowardly. Luxion, they got foul play, so they lost."

[—— It is not acceptable]

"Hah!?"

[There is no rule in the rules of dueling that says you must not go out and fight in the flesh. Therefore, this duel will continue.]

I'm finally convinced by Luxion's behavior, which doesn't accept my statement.

"Now that I think about it, you're not cooperating, are you betraying me? You're the one who told them about this place."

[Do you have time for chitchat?]

Looking ahead, Julius' armor swung down on his sword.

As the impact is felt on Arroganz, Luxion warns.

[If it were a real battle, the current attack would have caused negligible damage to Arroganz. I will downgrade the performance.]

Arroganz's power decreases and his movements become slower.

"No way I'll lose on this level."

Arroganz rips the wires apart and strikes Julius' armor.

The sword he received from Chris was shattered as I caught it.

Julius' armor slammed his fist into Arroganz, and the impact shook the cockpit.

"!?"

"We have trained over and over again to beat you. We've had a different amount of time to prepare than you."

I am honestly impressed by the five idiots who made up for the difference in performance by working together.

"Use your time wisely, idioot!!"

"It was a very meaningful time!!"

As it is, Arroganz and Julius' armor begin a fistfight.

Unable to settle due to lack of power, Julius' armor is in tatters.

——But Julius does not fall down.

"You've been complaining for a while now! What are you guys dissatisfied with!"

Arroganz kicked up Julius' armor.

"Hah! I'm dissatisfied with everything. I hate you for being so high and mighty and looking like you know everything!"

When Julius's armor hit with his left arm, it was defeated by Arroganz's armor and shattered.

"It's you guys who don't know anything."

Arroganz grabbed the right arm of Julius' armor and tried to tear it to shreds, but the lack of power only stretched the joint and destroyed it.

"You guys don't need to know anything."

With his arms, Arroganz destroys Julius' armor.

"I'll put an end to all this. You want to live happily with Marie, don't you? Then——"

Arroganz with both hands together raised and swung down on Julius's armor.

"You just have to shut up and be protected by me!!"

——I'll get it all done for you —— It's that simple, right?

I adjust my disordered breathing in front of Julius' fallen down armor.

[——Julius' machine has stopped functioning.]

"That's the end of it."

[No, it's a tie.]

"Hahn?"

It was the moment I thought it was over.

A paint bullet hit the cockpit and turned Arroganz green.

Luxion makes the judgment.

[Since it was before Arroganz was declared the winner, I consider the previous attack to be valid. Therefore, the result of this duel is a draw.]

"D-Don't kidding me!"

At Luxion's decision, Arroganz stopped moving, so the hatch opened and we went outside.

In the forest, it seems that Jilk and the others brought out their armor rifles, aimed them manually, and fired them.

Four men carried rifles used by the armor, aimed and fired during the battle.

How reckless do they have to be?

The four of them sit on the ground, exhausted, looking at me with refreshing smiles.

"——You idiot bastards."

Why are you trying to beat me? Why are you trying to get yourself involved?

Is it because Marie asked you to? Then stay by Marie's side.

As I stand there in the rain, Julius crawls out of the cockpit and comes toward me.

"Leon, do you want to continue?"

"Very well, Prince. I was hoping to beat the crap out of that not so handsome face of yours."

I run out and punch him in the cheek, and Julius hits me back.

Julius' fist hit my left cheek.

"What a coincidence. I wanted to punch you in the face too!"

"——You bastard who grills skewersss!"

"That's a compliment for me!"

After slamming a single hit into Julius' body, I grabbed him by the hair and slammed him with a knee kick to the abdomen.

Training and drugs were having an effect.

And yet, Julius keeps coming back.

It is a power that I acquired after putting considerable strain on my body, albeit for a short period of time.

—— And yet, I can't beat Julius?

With my body slamming into Julius' waist, I slipped off my feet and into a hug.

"What the hell is wrong with you guys? All you do is get in my way, what's the fun in that!?"

Julius doesn't answer my question, he throws me off and rolls me to the ground and mounts me.

I immediately guarded my head with both hands to protect it, but Julius slammed his fists repeatedly with both hands.

"Who said anything about fun? We're just pissed at you!"

"Aa, I see. You must hate me a lot."

"You're wrong! We wanted you —— to rely on us."

When the blows stopped and I looked closely at Julius' face, he was crying.

Tears mixed with rain fall down my cheeks.

"Not because Marie asked us to. Why didn't you ask for our help? We've helped you many times before."

Why is this guy crying? Strangely, I felt calm and my mouth was moving before I thought.

"—— I don't want to get you guys involved."

"We're involved in this! You're the one who dragged us around and made us scratch and claw all over the place. Now ——  Don't say that."

Jilk, Greg, Chris, Brad —— four guys were coming around us.

They don't join in, they just look at us and cry.

Jilk looked up at the sky and Greg held his eyes.

Chris takes off his glasses and covers his face with his hand.

Brad —— his nose was red and he was sniffling.

I shake my head slowly.

"I know you guys don't like me either. That's why it must be annoying to be asked to follow me into a fight that could get you killed. Am I wrong?"

I knew they would refuse anyway. —— No, it's wrong.

If possible, I didn't want them involved.

I wanted these guys to stay by Marie's side.

Julius grabs me by the chest.

"We consider you a friend. You're an irreplaceable friend. Whether you hate me or not, but I still think of you that way. So, rely on us —— please."

The sun's rays were coming through the thick cloud-covered sky.

Before I knew it, the rain had stopped and the skies were clearing.

Did Luxion's weather forecast turn out to be right —— I've apparently become comfortable enough with my mind to think about such things absentmindedly.

I never thought I would see the day when even these guys would ask me to rely on them.

But I feel somewhat better now.

It was actually a one-on-six duel, but I felt that the burden on my heart had been lifted and lightened.

The place where I was hit hurts, my body is a wreck, and anyway, I can say that the situation is the worst I've ever experienced.

I found myself accepting the results of this duel(?).

"It's my loss now, I'll take it."