The Show is Over

The fight continued to rage onward without a clear winner on sight. Presumably, there was a stalemate in skill between them that is not going to create a difference until something else introduces itself into the fight. I am starting to notice Red Hair is throwing more doubtful attacks at his opponent.

Blue Hair begins to increase the frequency of his strikes; however, he has introduced faints into his movements. He begins with a strike straight from the bottom and changes trajectory to a diagonal strike. Although these hits do not land, Red Hair seems especially more wary about Blue Hair's movement.

I'm not sure this will be the end though...

"Amazing, Sir Joseph Is gaining the lead here! *ahem* I mean, his attacks have become harder to defend against.", said Alina with an almost blushed face.

"Indeed, Joseph has decided to implement faints in his attacks. Although, he is misleading Alya, she is responding well to the changing trajectories, truly one of my soldiers!"

Captain declared his statement with a fist bump to his chest.

'Both of them are you soldiers...'

Even if the pride is unjustified, Red Hair is controlling the situation decently well. Her face tells another story though, but I have always believed that no one throws their aces all at one. Blue Hair has revealed two of its advantages to his opponent and has yet to turn the tides for a definite win.

Even if Blue Hair's style of fighting is favorably more to my liking, nothing dictates that It's a strong method of fighting. Yeah, mobility and technique are important, but there are multiple factors to consider before deciding its effectiveness. If their attempts to turn the tide remained inefficient, then my confidence would only grow at their deficit.

'I would determine at this point that their strength would be unable to defeat anything I would be hiding.'

The captain noticed my intense stare into the sparring partners and raised a question towards me,

"Master, who do you think will win?",

Alina seemed to also be interested, she turned towards my side to catch my answer. Although he said this with an innocent playful tone, my answer was not filled with uncertainty.

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Although, this spar was unexpected, it's my job to expect the unexpected.... or else Captain Darg would surely hand out his punishment like candy. What was truly surprising is that the request had come from Young Master Aless of Luna. Aside from his status in this villa, and more importantly this kingdom, why would a 4-year-old want to be present in a fight?

Ugh I must push these questions for later, right now this annoying low-trash pirate must lose. I didn't arrive at this prestigious place as a personal levy for future Duke Aless of Luna to let some out-of-nowhere piece of filth defeat me in front of two important figures.

His attacks have become more ferocious and even using dirty tricks like faints to undermine my strength.

"Tch"

My strength and reflexes have been enough to ridicule him, but I might need to start picking up my pace. He doesn't seem to be that big of a threat either way so finishing this fight won't be a problem.

'That is not my goal, I want this dog to be humiliated in front of everyone!'

He has been having this cool look this whole time, I'm going to remove that look on his face! Just because I'm not allowed to use magic doesn't mean I can't drag his face across the mat.

The millisecond I figured out the true trajectory of his strike I changed my grip and used my other hand to hold the flat face of the sword, once deflected I turned to hit him with the pommel of the long sword. He stumbled backwards taken aback by the sudden change in fighting style.

'Heh, you are nothing, but a crime infested wretch.'

In this change, I stopped keeping my distance, using more and more close-combat attacks that he kept struggling to block. His mobility became worthless once I matched mine with his, and his technical skill obsolete at the inability to use his sword.

After using the wooden sword to hit him bluntly in between his chest that was done after his sword was deflected away, it decided his fate.

He stumbled back and hit the ground, signaling victory to my performance.

'Lucky...'

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Almost as if following my commands, Red Hair defeated Blue Hair.

"Yay! Master Aless was correct! ~"

"Indeed"

After Alina's attempt to fill my non-existent childhood with joy, and the captain's suspiciously lack-luster response, Alina questioned the result.

"This outcome was so unexpectedly sudden! ~"

"Yes, Alya demonstrated her true abilities, and although Joseph is good in his own right, there Is still ways for him to improve his non-magic abilities."

'So, this fight prohibited magic huh'

"They weren't allowed to use magic? ~"

"Correct, Rule set A is used to practice our natural strength. It would have to been taken outside if magic were to be used. Besides, it would also be best for Master Aless not to be present. When we use Rule set B, were magic is allowed, we always have a healer, if you know what I mean."

'WHAT?! NO! SHOW ME THE MAGIC! Besides! Anyone could tell what you mean you fuc-'

"I see, Well I'm glad that you were more considerate of the Young Master."

'Considerate my as-'

"As always, it was interesting having the Young Master see the soldiers. It's a good morale boost for them. RIGHT, YOUU MAGGOTS?"

In unison they responded "YES SIR! WE ARE HONORED TO SERVED MASTER ALESS".

Fanatic bunch.

"Well, it's great to hear that Young Master Aless is getting the recognition he deserves."

"Yes, and my hopes are that he shows more interest into fighting, always helps when you are strong."

"Ugh, Young Master will be the most Intelligent individual in the kingdom. He is not in need of muscle to carry his word with fists..."

"Yes, of course Miss Alina. Well, I hope that this was satisfactory."

The captain turned to look at me waiting for my response, and I nodded to show my satisfaction. With the whole power that these tiny hands grant me, I would have punched him for trying to be considerate. Seeing magic in combat would have been able to give me a clue to how impactful it is in fights and the level of ability that soldiers have.

On the good side, I got a grasp at the somewhat level of strength that the residents of this world can achieve. Although the fight was not to the death, I could tell that those exchanges carried a heavy punch. If they would have hit my previous adult body, I would have been done for. You could tell by the air was shifted by each of their attacks, they were no mere swings of the sword.

The Red Hair seemed to be a formidable soldier, and the Blue Hair had the potential to be one. I noticed throughout the fight that Red Hair kept shifting through emotions which was...

'unnecessary'

Her win was well deserved, yet I had hoped that guy would have been a bit stronger. He is a flower that has yet to bloom, damn I wish I had remembered his name... Oh well.

Alina gave her farewell and mine, and as usual directed me to my room to end my day, one of these days I will get to go out late...

Alina also seemed to be a little interested in the fight, even if she fervently seemed to be opposed to it.

Something I'm interested in is the forces that are in the residence, but unfortunately all I can do is wait. At least if I don't want to freak anyone out by asking about the secretly deployed soldiers and if they are other special forces active.

I DONT WANT TO BE A CHILD ANYMORE!!!

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After I finished training with the soldiers after the spar, I decided to head towards my office in the residence. I entered and immediately reached to sit in my chair, I leaned back and lifted and let my head fall to rest. With my view being filled by the ceiling, I spaced out.

I had called for Joseph to come into my office to discuss the events of the spar, get a grasp of how he felt. He was a new addition to Master Aless's personal levy, although we are being mostly used by his regent, Duke Ezekiel.

When he had first offered to rule on behalf of the young master, I was completely opposed to the idea that this ruthless duke would order us around as his pawns. So far, he hasn't used us to act as his underlings to do his dirty work but seeing him influence the young master... it seems like he will.

A knock on the door strayed me from my thoughts,

"Enter"

Listening to my command the door opened revealing a figure that represented the combatant that had lost the earlier fight.

"Joseph, please sit"

He made his way to his seat in front of me, of course, not because he wanted to. I wasn't going to reprimand him; I was inquiring about the consequences of that loss. He was a recruit that was recommended by Duke Ezekiel to join our forces. Although I raised concerns that this would not be seen as a friendly decision by the rest of the guys, he insisted on having him with us.

Even though I opposed this decision, he is still a soldier in my command, and it is my responsibility to take care of the defenders of this Dukedom. His background obviously earned disrespect from the rest of the soldiers and especially from my second in command. I had chosen them to spar with each other with intent to allow him to gain some ground, but it seems to have the opposite effect.

"I'm sorry to have chosen you."

I immediately apologized, I never intended for him to lose. I was told that he had amounted experience that made him into a great fighter that rivaled the strongest under my command.

"Please don't apologize, she was a strong opponent. I was no match for her so naturally I lost."

"Yes, however, I have put you in a worse situation than you needed to be in."

"Quite the contrary sir, even if I could win, they would have had a greater anger towards me for beating the second person they respect the most."

He was right... this stupid title and noble affiliation, my soldiers were being ignorant. Although he had a troubled past, I knew that it was out of necessity to survive. I had a personal talk with him before he had officially joined with the rest, I was curious. For someone like Duke Ezekiel to recommend him, there was some power in that. His expectation was quite high about the amount of talent that someone needed.

"Alright. Well, this was your first time seeing the Young Master, he is the person you must dedicate yourself to. I understand this is quite a shift from your previous life, but I need you to adjust fast. You might be able to fit in more if you do."

"I understand."

"You're dismissed."

Joseph stood up from his seat and exited the room.

Today was interesting, I wasn't ever expecting the Young Master to have such an early interest in fighting. At such a young age, I'm wondering what he was thinking.

The way he said that Alya was going to win gave me chills on my spine. He sounded so certain, but maybe he is just that way from going through something so traumatizing.

"Eh, I'm just overthinking."