I Possessed The Villain’s Childhood Friend

15 – Dance Contest Finals – 1

“Hello, Ike.”

“Before, ha?”

The waiting room before the finals.

It was a place where only the finalists could enter.

But why is the crown prince here?

“Why is Your Highness here?”

This is not the archipelago of Orceon, but the dukedom of Heros.

Of course, I’m not saying he can’t come to Heros, but at least this place….

“What are you talking about, Ike.”

The prince took something out of his bosom.

It was a mask and a blue wig.

And the prince put them on slowly.

“I am your final opponent. Leon of Aegis Astraia. It’s A.A.L.”

Looks good. And the voice changed.

Standing in front of me was my opponent in the finals, the masked man.

“Even if I say the mask, I hated the wig because it was too stuffy, but I had no choice but to hide this hair color. If you go out with only your face covered, won’t you get caught soon?”

It was natural.

Brilliant golden hair is the symbol of the imperial family.

“But thanks to this, I was able to fool everyone and make it to the finals. It was worthwhile to prepare.”

“… I understand that unauthorized magic tools cannot be used.”

“Of course I got permission. To begin with, the wig is just an ordinary wig, and the mask has no effect other than changing the voice. A dance competition is a stage for purely examining one’s skills. It’s easy to get permission if it’s not something that can affect the match.”

In other words, the organizers knew that the masked man was the crown prince.

I’m sure Reina knew that too.

She just didn’t teach for fairness.

‘I heard when Duke Ados came three days ago that you were also going to participate in that tournament?’

‘It won’t be easy.’

No, the information was sufficient.

It’s just that I didn’t notice.

“By the way, Ike, I never thought you would make it to the finals.”

The prince took off the mask and wig and put them back in his bosom, then continued his words.

“Of course, I really wanted to fight you too, but when I remembered what I saw at the ball or during the preliminaries, of course I believed Miss Helen would win.”

“… Is that so.”

“Because Miss Helen was always overwhelming from the beginning to the middle of the match.”

In fact, if Helen wasn’t a character in the original story, she would have been a losing match.

“I was fascinated throughout the game. Anyone can see the advantage is Miss Helen. In addition, when you look at her disparate fighting style, ordinary people, especially aspiring knights, are close to impossible to deal with.”

… And cold sweat began to flow from her forehead.

“In addition, the Duke of Axus and Count Oberon do not have a particularly close relationship. Ike, you have no ties to Miss Helen either. In addition, this is her first appearance in a dance competition.”

“That….”

“But you are not embarrassed. I felt confident that I could win unconditionally right from the start. Well, I think that attitude is good.”

The prince’s words continued without interruption.

“When she is at a disadvantage, she does not shrink at all, and after leading her in the direction you designed, she finally wins by stabbing her weakness.”

“Are you saying there is something wrong with my victory?”

“That can’t be. I’m surprised. Few people exceed my expectations. Others say you barely came from behind, but you’re not. From the beginning, the flow of that fight was all created by you. I read all of Miss Helen’s actions. Yes, as if you knew the whole future.”

I stopped breathing for a moment.

I thought that maybe the crown prince was also a possessor.

But fortunately, it didn’t seem like that.

“I realized after the match that I underestimated you too much. I’ve heard a lot about what kind of person you are, but I’ve only seen a few snippets and judged you. It must also mean that I am far away.”

From the prince’s eyes and manner of speech, there was no feeling of suspicion or gazing at me.

Looks like pure and sincere admiration.

“That’s why I want you to have a good match with me.”

In other words, that’s genius.

The prince was a superman who could predict the correct answer with just a little bit of information and atmosphere.

“Thank you, Ike. I’ll be looking forward to it.”

And he was the strongest enemy I would ever face.

★

“God bless Eos!”

The referee’s declaration echoed throughout the hall.

The prince was wearing a mask and a wig, just like in the match so far, as if he had no intention of revealing his true identity until the end.

There he was, without a shield, holding only a one-handed sword in his right hand.

He wasn’t particularly embarrassed.

Because the fighting method of the prince was like that in the original work.

Ordinary knights subdue the enemy with overwhelming physical abilities.

Even if they use magic, they don’t use anything other than very basic things.

However, the crown prince was a monster who even used the explosive power of attribute magic.

The empty left hand was for easy use of magic.

Fortunately, the use of magic was implicitly forbidden in the dance competition.

Because there are other competitions for wizards who walk in magic.

In other words, I thought that I could win if I aimed for this gap.

“Thank you very much.”

After exchanging formal greetings, it was the prince who moved first.

“Suck!”

However, anticipating that move, I immediately raised my sword and blocked the attack.

“Oh.”

There was a bit of surprise in the prince’s voice.

In this dance competition, all of them won with this blow.

And this is the only information I know.

The prince unconditionally first drops the sword from above his opponent’s head.

“Worth it.”

In the preliminaries, I really only managed to block it, but it was no different from defeat.

But now I don’t think it’s that hard.

I could see the movement of the sword, and felt the power much lighter.

“As expected, this is not enough.”

When the first move was blocked, the prince immediately stepped back.

And I rushed at the same time.

There is no information anyway.

Even in the original work, the crown prince’s weakness is not described much.

Even that weakness was a part that I couldn’t dig into now.

But if you are frightened by that fact and only think about defense, you will only be slowly eaten away.

Then I step in first and restrict his movements.

That was the only winning formula available now.

“Of course it will come out that way.”

One-handed swords and two-handed swords are heavier, faster, and can attack from various directions, so two-handed swords are advantageous.

And there was no way the prince was unaware of that fact.

“I expected it.”

Surprisingly, what he chose was a head-to-head match.

I was taken aback, but I had no intention of backing down.

In this case, the advantage was this side, and I was aiming for this from the beginning.

In a situation where everything is going according to the number of goals, my heart is starting to gain confidence little by little.

“… Why.”

Why did this happen?

Currently, the prince is unable to use his own magic.

My goal of using it to limit movement and induce a head-to-head match was clearly working.

After that, I thought I’d be able to use the difference in weapons to slowly gnaw them away.

But there was one thing I crucially overlooked.

Obviously.

Yes. It was clearly an advantage.

I slowly pressed the prince to the corner of the arena, and his radius became more and more limited.

If we keep going like this, we can win.

It was not unreasonable for me to think so.

“Let’s go a little faster.”

And the thing that turned the situation upside down was the beginning of the prince’s words.

I swung the sword, and in an instant a wound formed on my left arm.

It was very shallow, but the blood flowed out clearly.

“Huh?”

It wasn’t so fast that I couldn’t see it.

But when I swing my sword once, his sword moves twice.

The difference in attack speed was overturned.

Of course, I didn’t intend to give up that much.

No matter how much you lose speed, in the end, this side has the advantage.

In the first place, I didn’t even have the stupid idea that it would always be advantageous to the crown prince.

When I swing the sword from the right side, the action increases because the prince has to move his arm in reverse.

Increased movement means that there will soon be gaps.

If you dig into those parts, it’s still worth doing.

I can take a few wounds.

“As expected, it is annoying.”

But at the same time as he said that, the prince showed a technique that I couldn’t understand.

I continued to attack and defend by passing the sword I had just been holding in my right hand to my left hand.

When I tried to dig into that part as quickly as possible, I passed it back to my right hand.

Even there was no gap between them.

That’s how the gap disappeared.

Yes. Something I had been utterly overlooking.

The Crown Prince was not an ordinary genius.

He was the greatest genius in the long history of the Astraian Empire.

That’s how the wounds gradually piled up all over his body.

Fortunately, all of the fatal injuries were prevented, and only a little blood flowed thanks to the arena’s barrier.

However, that bit of blood piled up and piled up, gradually taking away my stamina.

My breathing became rough due to the accumulated fatigue.

“Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha.”

There was not a single advantage already, and everything was reversed.

Even if I swung the sword with all my might right now, the prince would strike me back very lightly.

“Ike. Give up There is no chance of winning.”

As I was out of breath, the prince urged me to surrender.

But I gritted my teeth and responded with a smile.

“I like the fighting spirit to fight to the end, but I didn’t want to see such simple eyes. I wanted to fight with you, who has the certainty of winning unconditionally, and induces the opponent with that flow. I have no hobby of bullying the weak.”

The prince lowered his head as if he was sincerely disappointed.

“Let’s finish this soon. You are no longer having fun.”

Then I slowly got into my stance.

Lower your center of gravity and pull the sword in your right hand back like a bow.

The intention of the posture was clear.

“I happened to see a great move the other day. That person was a move to protect someone, but.”

A stab that flies at extreme speed.

I took a slow stop to block the attack.

“It’s over, Ike.”

The moment the prince slowly lifted his feet off the ground, his vision reversed.

“Keugh… !”

I thought he must have swung his sword to block it.

But when I came to my senses, I found myself stuck in the corner of the arena.

“Damn it.”

I saw a clear blue sky.

As I slowly turned my head, I saw the prince standing at the end of the arena.

It’s filthy strong.

Such dissatisfaction rose to the top of my throat.

I couldn’t hear the voice expected of me from the audience.

An atmosphere of wanting me to quickly surrender prevailed in the hall.

“… Well, if it were me, I would think so.”

The prince was fine overall, with only a few minor injuries.

But my body is already in a mess.

If it hadn’t been for the field’s barrier, I wouldn’t have collapsed from excessive bleeding.

It will be a one-sided game with no odds for anyone to see, and painful for the viewer.

But I had no intention of admitting that I had lost.

“It’s not over yet.”

I got up slowly and spat out the blood that was in my mouth.

From the audience, I heard a little bit of criticism saying that I was an idiot who didn’t even know how to give up.

But I lightly dismissed those accusations.

“Ike. You are already at your limit There is no point in fighting further here.”

The prince again urged him to give up.

But I lightly ignored the invitation.

“You are weak. Not even the fun I wanted. Maybe what I saw when I was fighting Miss Helen was my mistake….”

“It’s noisy.”

“What?”

“Noisy. As I said to Miss Helen the other day, the knight’s enemy will not be defeated by words.”

“I think knowing how to give up is also a virtue.”

“But I can’t lose right now.

I turned my eyes to the audience.

There was Raina looking at me with a sad expression.

Knowing that the masked man was the crown prince, I thought a lot before the match started.

Your opponent is the greatest genius in the history of the Empire.

I am the person who should connect with Reina in the future.

Wouldn’t it be okay to just do it in moderation and give up?

But Reina said she wanted my win.

From nob le mt l dot com

Perhaps even knowing that the opponent was the crown prince.

So I couldn’t give up.

I can do it if you want.

That’s why I’m working hard now.

And most of all, thinking about it again, I was dumbfounded.

Isn’t it?

Reina truly loves the crown prince.

Unless the crown prince is a bad person.

I have no complaints about the fact that I’m trying to connect Reina and the crown prince.

But.

However, the prince had already abandoned Reina once.

Ignoring Reina’s heart, she chose her heroine.

Even if it’s a memory they don’t have, he didn’t want to go over it quietly.

Yes.

This is a one-sided resentment.

So for now, I didn’t want to lose to you.

That guy, the crown prince, Leon. I wanted to give you a big shot.

The only thing I didn’t give up was just that level of misunderstanding.

“And most of all, it’s starting to show.”

I slowly smiled fiercely at Leon.