Free Web NovelChapter 13: Magical Talent
Because of Flora’s reaction, the arrogant air they carried, and appearances matching their ages, Priam didn’t need to ask who they were. They were precisely the two youngest children of the clan leader.
As for that girl, she wasn’t stupid. Of course, she knew Priam was holding a spear and swinging it as a training exercise.
However, it was the first time she had ever seen a training method so... extreme and insane.
At least from her perspective, the method made no sense at all. It was too barbaric and excessive. He was simply swinging and striking with the spear recklessly, without the slightest trace of style or technique, and had so little control over his own body that he staggered all over the place. How could something like that be considered training?
"That country bumpkin. He’s working himself to death just to get a little attention," her brother whispered into her ear.
She stared at Priam and thought:
Although the chainmail vest looked large, judging by its condition, it had certainly been made from the cheapest scrap iron available. That meant it couldn’t be as heavy as it appeared.
As for the sandbags, while they looked heavy, the way they swung around when he moved made it obvious that, despite the thick leather covering, they were practically empty.
The boy continued speaking softly into her ear.
"Even if he’s desperate for attention, there should be a limit to his stupidity. Where does he get the audacity to come here and put on a performance like this?"
In truth, the two of them could "understand."
That guy was a country bumpkin from some remote place nobody had ever heard of. He had probably decided to do something like this on his first day after receiving encouragement from his parents.
Without resorting to cheap tricks like this, he would never attract the clan’s attention. But the fact that his attempt was so obviously fake made the whole thing almost funny.
Unfortunately for him, daring to call that girl an idiot wasn’t funny at all. On the contrary, it enraged her.
Recovering her composure, the girl pointed a finger at Priam.
"Apologize!" she demanded, her pale face now stained red with fury, like snow at sunset.
"For what?" Priam asked with the most innocent expression he could fake.
"You dare pretend you don’t know?! Apologize for insulting my intelligence right now!"
Priam felt like laughing; she looked like an angry kitten trying to roar. It was almost cute.
"Fine, sorry about that. Satisfied?"
He apologized with all the enthusiasm of someone apologizing for bumping into a lamppost. The girl, naturally, nearly exploded.
She puffed out her chest, trying to gain every inch of authority possible.
"Bow your head and apologize properly!" she ordered.
"Aren’t we the same age?" Priam asked, keeping his neck perfectly straight with no sign of bowing. "You’re fifteen, I’m fifteen. Where I come from, that means we should be sharing a snack, not bowing to each other. Why would I lower my head to a ’friend’ my own age?"
"There is absolutely no possibility of us being friends, you shameless country bumpkin!" she shouted, outraged.
Priam narrowed his eyes, pretending to be confused.
"We’re not friends? Then why have you been talking to me so casually since you got here? If we’re not close, shouldn’t you be using formal language?"
The girl froze.
The shock on her face was obvious.
As a noble, the daughter of the clan leader, she was supposed to maintain her composure. Yet here she was, arguing in the middle of the courtyard like a spoiled child.
"You show up, don’t understand anything about spears, and then ignore basic etiquette?" Priam continued mercilessly. "What kind of education are they giving people in the main clan these days?"
"Y-you... you insolent fool!" she exclaimed, resorting to the only weapon she knew: absolute indignation.
She stepped forward until she was face-to-face with him, invading his personal space.
"You don’t know your place! Just because your surname is Ylisse, you think you can treat me like this? This isn’t your home, you country boy!"
"I know exactly what the difference is, trust me."
Priam pointed his thumb over his shoulder toward the luxurious mansion in the background.
"That over there is your ’celestial fairy’ home. Mine is... well, somewhere in that direction, past dozens of mountains and a whole lot of dust. Very far from here."
She snorted.
"And even knowing that, you still dare act as if you’re my equal?!"
"I’m not acting. I’m just stating facts."
Priam shrugged.
"You asked what I was doing, and I answered. You demanded an apology, so I gave one. Where exactly is the problem?"
She looked as though she were on the verge of spontaneously combusting.
Unable to find any words, she simply glared at him.
Priam, considering the argument finished, snorted and walked several meters away, returning to his training spot.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" she roared in disbelief.
Priam stopped and glanced over his shoulder, looking bored.
"Going back to training. Pretty obvious, isn’t it?"
"Stop immediately! That’s an order!"
Priam slowly turned around, his expression now completely devoid of humor.
"And who are you to give me orders?"
"I... I’m Shione Ylisse!"
"Nice to meet you, I’m Priam Ylisse. There, introductions done."
He waved his hand as if shooing away a fly.
"Now, if you’ll excuse me..."
Her brother, who had been enjoying the whole show from the sidelines, couldn’t hold it in anymore and burst out laughing at how efficiently his sister was being ignored.
"And I’m Lumiere Ylisse," the boy introduced himself, still laughing. "I like your style, country bumpkin."
Shione shot her brother a murderous glare, took a deep breath, and redirected her fury toward Priam.
"You... there is absolutely no chance I’ll ever get along with you! Never!"
"What a disappointment," Priam commented in the flattest tone he could possibly produce.
"That’s because you keep ignoring my orders!" Shione continued, her voice rising even higher.
"And I’ll keep doing it."
Priam spun the spear.
"I’m not in any position where I have to obey you."
She stomped her foot.
"And on top of that... you’ve insulted me for the last time!" she declared, trembling with rage.
"Wow."
That was Priam’s final reply, accompanied by a smirk that practically said: good luck with that.
Shione’s head felt ready to explode from sheer stubbornness and pride.
Why was she even standing here arguing with this bastard?
As the young daughter of the clan leader, once she gave an order, the other person should obey without protest.
"Sis, sis... are you really going to let this peasant wipe the floor with your dignity?"
Lumiere whispered into her ear, his voice dripping with malicious amusement.
"A duel!"
Shione blurted out, her eyes blazing.
It wasn’t just to satisfy her brother; this was her limit. Priam’s disdain was like salt rubbed into an open wound on her ego. If she didn’t make him swallow those words, Lumiere would remind her about it at every dinner for the next ten years.
"You disrespected me, insulted me, and questioned my bloodline. Therefore, I demand a duel!"
She declared, trying to regain her majestic bearing.
Priam let out a short laugh, genuinely amused by her expression.
He felt a different kind of pleasure from this, seeing a beautiful girl get irritated.
’Now this is living! I feel full of energy!’
He thought euphorically, but quickly changed expressions and took a deep breath.
"What fascinating logic. ’You hurt my feelings, so let’s beat each other up.’ That’s worthy of a children’s literature award. Listen here, ’friend,’ a duel challenge isn’t something you throw into the wind just because your face feels hot."
"Who are you calling a friend?!" she shot back, her voice rising another octave.
"If you don’t want to be friends, that’s fine. But stop saying things you’ll regret and just leave. You’ve annoyed me enough for one day already."
Priam spoke with the casualness of someone shooing away a mosquito.
Shione raised her chin, a triumphant and arrogant smile appearing on her face.
"You’re scared, aren’t you? I knew it. The country bumpkin is all talk, but when the ice starts closing in, he trembles."
Priam narrowed his eyes.
The mockery was still there, but something in his gaze shifted.
"Scared?"
"Obviously! If you’re so afraid of getting beaten up, kneel down and apologize, and maybe I’ll let you go back to your potato farm."
She smiled, savoring her supposed victory.
"And what am I supposed to do if I’m not scared, don’t want to fight, and definitely don’t want to apologize?"
Priam replied, crossing his arms.
"Do you even know what honor is? Didn’t your father teach you how to be a man?"
Shione exploded, completely losing her filter.
"Do you even have two balls between your legs, damn it?!"
There was a full second of absolute silence.
Then Lumiere burst into laughter, doubling over.
"Such vulgarity, little sister! Mother would love to hear that the ’Little Fairy’ has been talking about commoners’ manhood."
Shione instantly turned purple.
Her aristocratic composure had been thrown out the window and run over by a carriage.
She had never experienced anything like this before, nor had she ever met someone like him. Priam had a magical talent for making her lose her composure.
"Shut up!"
She screamed at her brother before turning back toward Priam.
"I take back nothing I said! It’s a harsh phrase, but it suits cowards like you!" ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm
Priam snorted and shook his head.
"Girl, I really don’t want to beat you up. It’s going to be terrible for your pride and for that crystal image of yours. When you’re lying on the ground, etiquette won’t be able to save you."
"You... you insulted me again?!"
Shione couldn’t stand hearing his voice anymore.
With an abrupt motion, she accessed her spatial ring and pulled out a white silk handkerchief.
"Don’t do it," Priam warned, frowning. "A duel isn’t some spoiled child’s game."
The handkerchief was the old code. A formal, cheesy, and final invitation to a duel among nobles. To Shione, it was the only way to shut that insolent mouth.
"You damn coward! Who do you think you are to lecture me?" she shouted while preparing to throw it. "If you’re scared, admit it! Didn’t your parents teach you what dignity is? Do you think any woman will want to marry a cowardly insect like you in the future?"
Priam tilted his head, and his gaze suddenly turned cold.
The weight of her words had finally reached the breaking point.
"Ah... I see."
"This is the last time I’m saying it! Beg for my forgiveness, and then I might—"
"Just throw that damn thing already," Priam interrupted.
While she hesitated, he began untying the leather straps around his wrists and ankles.
*Thud! Thud!*
When the leather straps hit the ground, they kicked up small clouds of dust, revealing a weight far greater than their appearance suggested.
Priam stretched his neck, and the sound of his bones cracking echoed like thunder through the silent courtyard.
"!"
The siblings’ eyes and expressions changed completely, filled with surprise and horror.
’Where have I seen something like this before? I think it was in another anime from Earth? Well, it looks cool.’
Priam thought inwardly before turning toward Shione.
"You wanted a duel, didn’t you? Then throw the handkerchief already before I change my mind."
"...Huh?"
Shione stammered, watching the "country bumpkin" suddenly seem much larger and more dangerous than he had five seconds ago.
"I said throw the handkerchief. I promise I won’t leave a mark on you. After all, that pretty face of yours doesn’t deserve that personality."
Priam said that and then—
*BANG!*
The sandbags on his left arm hit the ground.
Shione’s expression froze and then stiffened when the impact sent another shockwave of dust into the air.
"...You..."
She stammered.
"The handkerchief. Are you going to throw it or not?"
Priam asked coldly.
*BANG!*
The sandbags on his right arm also dropped.
Finally, he removed the chainmail vest and tossed it behind him.
The vest flew quite a distance before crashing into the ground with a thunderous impact far louder than all the previous ones combined.
Shione and Lumiere stared at the scene with their mouths hanging open.
Priam crouched down and started removing the sandbags tied to his legs. Then he sat down and began untying the sandbags attached to the spear.
Shione watched everything with wide eyes when she felt her brother’s eager gaze fixed on her.
The other servants from the annex had also become interested in the commotion coming from the training grounds and gathered around the windows.
Everyone had definitely heard her demanding a duel earlier, and she was still holding the handkerchief.
So...
There was no escape route.
"...I challenge you to a duel!"
She finally shouted, throwing the handkerchief at Priam.
The fluttering handkerchief landed on Priam’s shoulder.
That happened precisely while he was untying the last sandbag hanging from the spear.
"I accept."
He nodded and stood up.
Shione took a deep breath, excited for the first duel of her life.
The moment she tossed the handkerchief aside, her heart began racing with excitement.
That arrogant fool was a sinner who had ignored the clan’s traditions and disrespected her.
How should she punish him?
How should she teach that idiot a lesson so that everyone around could admire her magnificence?
"!"
Her thoughts came to an abrupt halt at that exact moment.
Because the instant Priam stood up, he moved forward like lightning.
He wasn’t holding the spear, as one would expect.
He had only removed the sandbags from it to give her time to think.
But this idiot had chosen this outcome for herself.
Shione snorted and took several steps backward to create distance, but even then, she couldn’t properly react to his movement.
Priam reached her in a single second, stopping only inches away.
Then he extended his hand.
His fingers moved.
And he flicked.
Just a simple finger flick.
But...
That finger flick contained a bit of Ether, obviously.
*Pow!*
It struck directly in the center of her chest.
If Priam had been using a weapon, it would have been a completely fatal blow.
"AHHH!"
**CRACK!**
Immediately after the shrill scream, an extremely loud and sharp sound of shattering ice echoed from her body.
