I Will Buy Divine Power With Money! - Chapter 119

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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“Y-Your Grace….”

You fight. I’ll watch.

When our eyes met as I sat arrogantly, Lloyd’s face turned red and blue with embarrassment.

“B-but even so, isn’t this a bit much? If she gets hurt being so close….”

Oh, how amusing to hear such words from someone who has never once worried about Ordel.

Look at that face trembling while forcing a fake smile.

“I didn’t know you’d show such concern.”

Rute, standing opposite Lloyd, laughed.

Unlike Lloyd, his face was full of natural mockery.

“I’m curious if this is genuine concern, but let’s set that aside for now.”

“…Pardon?”

“Anyway, with your strength, you won’t be able to break through the defenses of the one beside the Holy Maiden, so there’s no need for useless worry.”

Indeed, even if Lloyd swung his sword right in front of him, he wouldn’t be able to leave a scratch on Seth.

“I-I see.”

Though it was an obvious fact, Lloyd seemed to take those words as an insult, his face convulsing even more.

The admiring gaze he had been directing at Rute disappeared completely, replaced only by anger.

“Then please go easy on me.”

Lloyd gritted his teeth and roughly drew his sword.

At that sight, Rute smiled prettily.

“I wonder if you’ll actually learn anything at all.”

My, what eloquence.

Still, since his opponent is Lloyd, it feels refreshing rather than annoying.

“How can you say such…!”

“Don’t worry. Whatever your skill level, I’ll do my best. I hope you can learn even a speck from my sword.”

Rute extended his hand.

Gray mana mixed with a hint of gold rippled in the air.

From beyond a magic circle inscribed with incomprehensible geometric patterns, Rute drew his sword.

Lloyd’s sword was so ornate it seemed like it might be ceremonial.

In contrast, Rute’s sword was a beautiful black blade with no gems embedded, both blade and hilt completely black.

The only decoration was gray patterns carved into the blade, but that made it stand out even more.

“To see that sword in person. That alone makes this duel worth watching.”

As I stared blankly at the sword that looked like a work of art, Victoria beside me burst into admiration.

“Really?”

“Yes, it’s a very famous sword. It’s a sword that every swordsman on the continent hopes to see at least once.”

“That sword is made by mixing iron and magic stones, making it extremely precious. The fact that it has such a deep black color means the proportion of magic stones is very high.”

“Magic stones?”

I was stunned by Seth’s explanation that followed.

Magic stones are the most precious material in this world after sacred stones that contain divine power.

Having just one magic stone mine would be enough to feed generations, but they ground it up to make a sword?

And in such large quantities that Seth would acknowledge it?

So this is how the truly wealthy spend their money….

“It’s nothing special to Duke Siery. He’s known to own at least three magic stone mines.”

“….”

Three? And not just three, but at least three?

I glanced at Yuri Polton standing nearby.

Having heard our entire conversation, an awkward smile appeared on his face.

“W-well, that’s not wrong, but….”

Wow, so he really has more than three. This is why Rute is called the owner of the Western Mines.

At that level, 10 billion wouldn’t even be considered money, would it?

1 billion might be like tissue paper for blowing his nose.

Should I really just close my eyes and borrow from Rute?

“Holy Maiden, we’re starting.”

At Seth’s words, I postponed my intense internal conflict and turned my head.

From the moment he gripped his sword, Rute’s atmosphere completely changed.

The relaxed and leisurely atmosphere that sometimes made it hard to tell if he was a duke or a playboy was gone, and only a cold swordsman remained.

Lloyd, who had been glaring fiercely at Rute, was completely intimidated just by facing him.

“I’ll let you have the first move.”

“…Guh.”

“If you don’t come, I’ll have no choice but to go first.”

Perhaps finding that more frightening, Lloyd gritted his teeth and charged forward with a vigorous battle cry.

“Hah!”

The moment his sword thrust forward accurately, Rute lightly pushed his blade.

Swish! Thud.

“Huh?”

At the same time, Lloyd’s sword slipped from his hands and clattered to the ground.

The spectators murmured at the sight of him dropping his sword even though Rute hadn’t really counterattacked.

It looked as if Lloyd had made a pathetic mistake due to insufficient grip strength.

He looked even more foolish as he alternated between staring at the fallen sword and his empty hand with a stupid expression.

“I had some expectations since you boasted about having talent, but this is all? How can a swordsman drop his sword?”

Rute clicked his tongue from above Lloyd’s head.

Wow, amazing. I can’t help but be impressed.

“Just now, His Grace lightly pushed Lloyd’s sword with the flat of his blade, right?”

“Yes, you saw correctly.”

“Is Lloyd an idiot for dropping his sword, or is His Grace just that skilled?”

“Both.”

Seth answered cleanly.

“No matter how overwhelming His Grace is, to drop it so easily. I wonder how someone with that level of skill could confidently proclaim he had talent.”

“Pfft!”

I couldn’t help but laugh at the merciless evaluation.

Wow, Seth can be so cutting with his words.

Well, he probably has a lot of pent-up feelings about the Count’s family too.

“Since I promised to teach you, I’ll allow you time to pick up your sword.”

Rute’s mockery fell upon Lloyd, who was staring stupidly at his empty palm.

I could clearly see Lloyd’s face turning bright red even from here.

“…Thank you.”

I thought he would give up and run away, but surprisingly, Lloyd grabbed the fallen sword again.

He gripped it tightly as if he would never drop it again, but….

What’s about to unfold is crystal clear.

Lloyd swung his sword again.

Though his movements were much faster than before, even I, who knew nothing about swords, could see his posture was more disheveled.

So how serious must it look to Rute’s eyes?

“Speed isn’t everything.”

“Gah!”

Rute moved one step to dodge lightly, then struck Lloyd’s back of the knee with the flat of his blade.

As Lloyd fell with a short scream, this time the sword flew toward the back of his hand.

Thwack!

“Ahhh!”

Once again, Lloyd dropped his sword.

“Even if your hand gets cut off, you must never drop your sword. You need more training.”

Rute clicked his tongue as if he found it pathetic.

But honestly, even from my perspective, it’s a bit….

“It didn’t seem like he was hitting that hard though….”

Even if I don’t know swords, I’m quite knowledgeable about striking techniques.

“You observed well. The Duke is barely using any strength right now.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yes. He’s just hitting vital points.”

“…Huh?”

Vital points? Really…?

The distance was a bit far so I couldn’t see that properly, but I see. Lute is being serious right now.

“Nothing will break or bleed, but the pain will last for a while. Since the Duke doesn’t seem like he’ll end it here, it’ll go on even longer.”

“Oh….”

I turned my gaze back to the training ground.

Meanwhile, Lute was still diligently beating up, no, teaching Lloyd.

“Who swings a sword with their wrist? Are your shoulders just decorations?”

“Aaah!”

“Your side is wide open. Are you showing it off so eagerly because you want to get cut?”

“Uaah!”

“Why are you sticking your butt out so disgustingly?”

“Uhk!”

Lute kicked Lloyd’s butt with his booted foot.

At this point, it doesn’t seem like he’s teaching swordsmanship but just venting his frustrations.

When I glanced around, the spectators’ faces were growing darker by the moment.

What they had hoped for was probably a tearfully beautiful duel between the Duke and the Count’s heir, but all that flowed through the training ground were Lloyd’s screams mixed with tears of blood.

With the opponent being that Lute Sieri, they should have expected what they expected. Tsk tsk.

“Bend your knees. Do you want them shattered?”

“Aaaaah!”

Like that, among the spectators who had fallen silent as if cold water had been poured on them, only Lloyd’s screams echoed for a long while.

Thanks to Lute preparing a chair in a good spot beforehand, I was able to watch every single moment of that entire spectacle without missing anything.

Ordel should have seen this scene too.

That was my only regret.

* * *

“You worked hard, Duke.”

The duel finally ended only after Lloyd collapsed, unable to move any longer.

After the unconscious Lloyd was carried away, I handed cool water to Lute, who hadn’t shed a single drop of sweat.

“I did work hard. Controlling my strength so he wouldn’t die was also work.”

“So you were at least thinking about not killing him.”

“Of course. How could I let him die comfortably?”

Lute’s face turned fierce as he drank the water.

Why is Lute burning with such vengeance when he has no particular grudge against the Count’s family?

Looking at it, he seems to have more complaints than I do.

“Ahem, Duke!”

I was looking at Lute with bewilderment when Yoanna, who I thought would naturally have followed her brother, suddenly interjected.

She was even sparkling her eyes more than ever toward Lute, who had turned Lloyd into a bloody mess.

Does she want to act like this when her own brother was carried away in such a miserable state…?

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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