Battle Race in the Fantasy World

EP.114 Not Enough Effort! Not Enough!!

On the way back to the academy after leaving the imperial palace.

Kyle sighed deeply as he recalled the events that had just transpired.

Those bastards who dared to try and become stronger through drugs instead of through noble effort.

They said they would capture all of them and lock them up in the imperial prison, but some of them got away.

The reason given for letting them escape was utterly unacceptable.

“…Shit.”

It feels like his mood has just been ruined for no reason. Stress is bubbling up rapidly.

After trusting them, all they have to say is ‘We couldn’t stop them because of monsters.’

‘It’s a good thing it was me. If my brother or sister had heard this, they would have hit someone first.’

Leo and Lea are absolutely not violent by nature.

Though they’re said to be extremely strong, they don’t throw that strength around recklessly.

Nevertheless, if they had heard this news, they would have raised their fists.

The situation is already infuriating enough, but now the Emperor is suddenly trying to put a positive spin on things.

The Raiders were in the west, so Jonathan headed west.

So if those Raiders go south, will Jonathan go south too? That’s the gist of it.

No matter how buff your muscles are, your brain isn’t a muscle, period.

As a fellow human, of course Jonathan is capable of thinking.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t be in a position to lead those people.

They personally took care of the troublesome Power Raiders with their own hands.

The rest were supposed to be handled by the Empire and the Alliance, so they trusted them and went home, but…

After letting all of them escape, they have the nerve to say, ‘They went south, so please go south and catch them!’?

As if they’d quietly go south and catch those guys for them.

Even if they did go to catch them, they’d first make sure to show the Alliance and the Empire just how disappointed they are.

And everyone already knows exactly how that disappointment would be expressed.

“You really worked hard today.”

The man riding in the carriage cautiously speaks up.

He had wondered if Yurika might be accompanying him on the way back too.

Fortunately, this time someone else was accompanying him instead of her.

‘More comfortable than Princess Yurika… my ass. This is even more uncomfortable.’

It would have been more comfortable if they had just assigned an imperial knight or a special operations agent.

The man currently riding in the carriage, accompanying him simply for the sake of seeing him off, is Logan Stefan.

That’s right. The Emperor had assigned one of the Empire’s Top 10 just to see him off.

At least Yurika was similar in age. But Logan is not.

While the exact age is unclear, he’s definitely over 40. That much is certain.

There’s nothing more awkward than being spoken to so formally by someone like that.

“Um, may I ask you one question?”

Questions are fine, but couldn’t you just speak more casually?

It’s really uncomfortable hearing that from someone who could be my uncle.

“Yes, please ask anything.”

“Perhaps… I mean, perhaps… Is there any chance that Jonathan might come to the Empire again because of this incident…?”

Why is he suddenly asking such a question? Kyle wondered for a moment.

Come to think of it, this man called Logan Stefan had visited Jonathan several times.

One of the Empire’s Top 10 wouldn’t have gone there just out of boredom.

If such a powerful person had visited, the people of his hometown wouldn’t have let him leave easily.

Upon closer inspection, his expression is constantly tinged with a sense of weariness.

That’s exactly it. That expression is one that someone who has been through a ordeal would make.

And well, it’s obvious what kind of ordeal he went through, without even having to see it.

“That won’t be happening.”

“Really?!”

Aren’t you a bit too happy about that? Jonathan might feel hurt if they heard this.

This makes me want to say, ‘Actually, they might come after all.’

“Yes. They probably won’t move for any reason for a while.”

At this time of year, a very festive celebration takes place in Jonathan.

And for the monsters living in the surrounding areas, it’s like a terrifying disaster movie.

It’s called the ‘Hunting Festival,’ where they hunt monsters for three days, and here’s one important point.

Monsters must be caught barehanded. No tools are allowed.

And weak ones are excluded. They must catch only strong monsters.

This is how they gauge their level of training.

Moreover, if there are any deficiencies, they focus on intensively training those areas.

It’s a hunting festival and at the same time, a self-evaluation event.

‘So who from the hometown would want to move at a time like this?’

Perhaps the reason Leo and Lea rushed back was also because of the Hunting Festival.

When he mentioned that he had faced an ogre barehanded last time, a competitive fire had burned in their eyes.

They’ll surely say, ‘Kyle! Your brother! Your sister! Caught an ogre with one hand!’ when they return.

“I’m so relieved. Really, I’m so relieved.”

Logan, oblivious to all this, repeated those words several times with a relieved expression.

It was very clear how much he had suffered during his visit to Jonathan.

===

**

===

Kyle went with a happy heart and ended up stepping in shit.

Grumbling, he headed straight for the indoor training grounds.

When you’re this irritated, working out is definitely the best way to blow off steam!

“Kyle.”

The moment he opened the door and stepped in, Kyle’s face contorted once again.

He wondered who could be working out at this late hour, and it was none other than Ian.

Moreover, Leto was next to him, grunting as he did barbell deadlifts.

“…What are you doing at this late hour?”

“We were working out.”

Hmm, there’s certainly no sign of slacking off.

The muscles that are actively twitching indicate they’re definitely not in a rested state.

Even Leto, though the weight isn’t much, is at least maintaining proper form.

“Not bad. It’s good to see you working hard.”

Jonathan becomes infinitely merciful towards those who put in effort, those who exercise.

Kyle, too, couldn’t escape this Jonathan principle.

“Kyle. I have a favor to ask.”

It’s obvious what he’s going to ask. He’s probably going to request another sparring match.

Normally, Kyle would have told him to stop messing around and just focus on his workout.

Saying something like, “You’re still below par, what are you talking about sparring?”

But today, for some reason, he didn’t feel that way.

Rather, he wanted to grant Ian’s request. After all, he has been working hard lately.

Plus, Kyle’s in a pretty bad mood today, and he kind of wants to blow off some steam.

‘He’s the protagonist anyway, so his growth rate must be insane. If we make it close to a real fight, who knows?’

Right. He can’t keep ignoring him forever.

He is the novel’s protagonist after all, so it wouldn’t be bad to give him some proper treatment for once.

“Alright. Let’s have a match today.”

“I’m having trouble with my squat balance… What?”

What Ian actually wanted to ask about was his barbell squat form.

So the sudden response suggesting a sparring match was quite surprising.

“Wait, Kyle. Are you serious? You’re really going to spar with me?”

“If you don’t want to, forget it.”

“No! I absolutely want to. We can do it right now.”

And so, Kyle and Ian’s sparring match was suddenly arranged.

Due to the abruptness of the decision, Ian ended up holding a wooden sword instead of a real one.

But neither of them made any additional comments about that aspect.

After all, once you reach a certain level, even a tree branch can become as sharp as a sword.

“Let’s do this, Ian. Your victory condition is if that wooden sword touches my body.”

From the listener’s perspective, it was an extremely pride-wounding condition.

If it were the old Ian, he would have foamed at the mouth, unable to accept such terms.

But the current Ian was different. He showed no resistance at all.

In just a month, the person had completely changed.

“And the defeat condition?”

He even asks about the defeat condition with an indifferent expression.

“The moment you yourself think you’ve lost.”

“Okay. Let’s do that.”

As soon as the words ended, Ian thrust his sword forward.

It was a lightning-fast strike. Even Leto, who was watching from the side, stood up in surprise.

But Kyle, who actually faced the attack, simply twisted his body slightly to avoid it.

Thud-.

“Ugh!”

Instead, Ian was hit by Kyle’s counterattack and stepped back.

It was barely even a counterattack. Kyle had just lightly punched him.

Nevertheless, the impact seemed quite significant as Ian was touching his chest area.

“It’s not over, right?”

“Of course not.”

This time, it’s a slashing attack. The wooden sword is swung diagonally from top to bottom.

Even though it’s a wooden sword, there’s a palpable sense of something eerie in its path.

Even Leto, who doesn’t know much about swords, felt that energy.

The problem is, there’s something even more terrifying than that eerie attack.

Thwack!-

Kyle strikes the wooden sword, which could easily pass for a blunt weapon, with his bare hand.

He accurately hits the blade, dispersing the energy that was gathering.

As a result, Ian’s sword, having lost more than half its power, wobbles and gets tangled in mid-air.

“Ngh.”

Ian groans as he pulls back his sword and observes Kyle.

He knew it, but there really is no opening. Even if there was, he couldn’t do anything about it.

Kyle knows too precisely. He’s reading every single thing about Ian.

“Again.”

As Kyle gestures with his hand, Leto, who’s been watching the situation, gets a worried look in his eyes.

If there’s one thing he’s learned while working out with Ian recently, it’s that Ian is a person with great pride in his abilities and a strong sense of self-esteem.

People like this typically can’t stand it when those things are insulted.

And Kyle’s gesture could easily be taken as such an insult.

“…”

However, for some reason, Ian seemed unbothered.

There was a coolness in his sunken eyes, but it wasn’t anger.

Whoosh!-

Ian, having planted his feet, launches another strike.

It’s faster than before. More powerful. And, sharper!

Even if it’s not a real sword, even if it’s just a wooden sword.

It’s still dangerous. It’s at a level where it could easily be used as a lethal weapon.

Seeing it fly so dangerously, Leto unconsciously stood up once again.

Crack!-

But the next scene that unfolded was Ian sprawled out on the ground.

With a thud, Ian collapsed.

Looking at the protagonist, Kyle was in the midst of an internal struggle.

“…”

He’s conflicted. Really conflicted. Should he say these words or not?

If he says it, he’ll feel like a real jerk, but if he doesn’t, it’s going to drive him crazy.

‘Now I understand why they always say this in shounen manga.’

He finally understands the feelings of those characters who said these words.

It wasn’t about trying to look cool or showing off how great they were.

It was just that they were so dumbfounded. These words seemed to come out naturally.

Finally making up his mind, Kyle clicked his tongue and opened his mouth.

“Too slow.”