Yuzuriha-san led us to a training ground that was built in a separate building on the estate.
Once inside, a magic circle with a diameter of about thirty meters shone brightly in the center.
Even though I’m not well-versed in magic, I can tell it’s an extremely intricate magic circle.
It undoubtedly cost a hefty sum to create.
“So, this magic circle serves as the arena for our matches. In other words, we’ll be fighting within this magic circle.”
“What kind of effect does this magic circle have?”
“This magic circle has the power to resurrect living beings within it who die. In other words—”
“In other words?”
“No matter how many times you die in combat training within this magic circle, you can come back to life. It’s very convenient.”
“And what happens if we conduct combat training using this magic circle?”
In the end, the fundamental difference between growth in training and growth in actual combat is the presence or absence of the risk of death.
I understand that logic.
No matter how much training you do, there’s always a part that can’t match up to actual combat.
The experience of facing a life-threatening situation forces a leap in ability.
Explosive growth, sometimes called awakening, is always forcibly dragged out by a profoundly serious threat to life.
“That is—very fascinating.”
“It is, isn’t it?”
I see, Yuzuriha-san must be strong.
To deliberately provide a life-threatening situation to induce explosive growth is something that normal people could never do.
No matter how strong you become, if you continue to do such things, you will eventually truly die.
However, with that magic circle, the drawback is resolved.
“Suzuha-kun’s brother understands it well. ──In the world, there are those who think it’s meaningless to keep coming back to life, even if it’s possible.”
“Oh, there are people like that.”
“In that case, I’d like you to experience death once. The survival instinct of a human is not as sweet as you might think. Even if you know in your head that you will [come back to life], when faced with real death, your brain will produce a lot of dopamine, and your life will flash before your eyes. Thanks to that, I have vivid memories from my childhood.”
“Is this fine?”
Thanks to the repeated flashbacks, memories that would normally be forgotten are vivid, or so one might want to say.
“Well then, Suzuha and big brother. Let’s start the training without holding back!”
Initially, I thought I would occasionally join in Suzuha and Yuzuriha-san’s training.
However, the training quickly turned into a real battle, structured as Suzuha and Yuzuriha-san versus me.
Suzuha and Yuzuriha-san teamed up to attack me.
While Suzuha hesitated at first, she quickly adapted and started targeting my vital points relentlessly. I mean, she was seriously aiming only for the exact vital points without any room for error.
And, of course, Yuzuriha-san was a force to be reckoned with.
However, Yuzuriha-san’s strength was about one or two levels higher than Suzuha’s, so she was likely holding back considerably when facing me.
After all, I’m just an amateur, not a knight or anything.
“Big brother! Why can’t my attacks hit you?!”
“Because if they hit, I’d die.”
Even if I can come back to life, I still wouldn’t want to die.
Suzuha’s piercing strikes, roundhouse kicks, palm heels, eye gouges, and occasionally a slap—
all of them were attacks that would guarantee death if they hit properly.
I kept evading those attacks and, when unavoidable, twisted my body to deflect the strikes away from vital points.
Yuzuriha-san, on the other hand, was similar,
but her attacks were even sharper, and there were a few dangerous moments.
However, I somehow managed to avoid them.
I thought if these two used their combination attacks, I might really have died. Well, I will come back to life, but you get the idea.
8 (Duke’s Perspective)
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT LOCALIZERMEERKAT.PAGES.DEV
Upon seeing his daughter, who came to the main room for a report, the Duke involuntarily widened his eyes.
“What’s with that expression, Yuzuriha? You look like a young girl holding back tears, as if you were almost the strongest in humanity, then got completely overwhelmed and defeated by an overwhelmingly powerful opponent, realizing you’re just a small fry. What happened to your dignity and identity, huh?”
“Father… If you understand it that well, please leave me alone…”
“Hit the mark, huh?”
It hit the mark.
Certainly, Yuzuriha didn’t underestimate the strength of Suzuha’s brother.
At least, that wasn’t her intention. However—
“I didn’t think I wouldn’t be able to land a single blow.”
“Not even one?”
“Yes…”
“You fought with the intention of either killing that man or being killed by him, with the determination to die in the battle?”
“Yes…”
“You’re accustomed to that training method from your past. Even so?”
“…I apologize, truly sorry.”
Large tears fell repeatedly from Yuzuriha’s bowed head to the floor.
It was that humiliating.
There was an overwhelming difference in strength, as much as the difference between an adult and a child, or even more.
However.
“But… there were results.”
“Hmm?”
“Through today’s training, I saw and felt the pinnacle of martial arts—no, the extreme of violence, which was previously unimaginable. So, from now on, I can become even stronger.”
“One question though… why is that man so strong?”
To the Duke’s question, wiping her tear-streaked face, Yuzuriha replied,
To be honest, I don’t understand. He’s just absurdly strong.
“I see.”
“So, if it’s okay with my speculative guess…”
“Go on.”
“Even when I asked Suzuha-kun’s brother, it seems he hasn’t done anything beyond typical training. However, what’s different is the massage.”
“Hmm.”
Even if you’re earnestly told that the secret to strength is massage, it’s usually something you’d dismiss with a smile.
But the Duke has received numerous reports from Yuzuriha.
Perhaps that, in itself, is the secret that amazed Yuzuriha, the Killing Goddess who continued to overwhelm countless battlefields with her unparalleled strength.
“It seems that the extraordinary massage he gives to Suzuha-kun is also applied to his own body. Moreover, he uses an even more powerful version exclusively for himself every single day, diligently.”
“Is that the secret to his strength?”
“Most likely.”
Yuzuriha paused for a moment and continued,
“Suzuha-kun’s elder brother has not only natural martial arts talent beyond comparison but, more importantly, his muscles are incredible.”
“He appeared to have a normal muscular physique.”
“No, Father, don’t be deceived by appearances. For example, while I take pride in the flexibility, density, output, and resilience of my muscles, claiming they are easily several times that of an average soldier’s—Suzuha-kun’s elder brother’s muscles surpass mine by far, reaching an extraordinary level.”
“Oh?”
“The difference is like comparing a world-class award-winning beef to some ordinary cattle—no, the gap is even wider.”
“Could such a thing… really exist?”
“I don’t know. That’s the only thing I could come up with.”
“…If such a massage truly exists, it would be a revolution…!”
“Yes, indeed. It would be a revolution in training and the theory of soldier development.”
“It’s not just that. If someone were to get hold of it initially, their power could literally unify the world…”
After exchanging a few more words, the Duke had his daughter leave the room.
In the quiet study, he furrowed his brow in thought.
“A commoner girl and her brother, huh…”
No matter how harshly he spoke face to face, the Duke himself highly valued Yuzuriha’s combat abilities.
Yet, Yuzuriha, who was overwhelmingly advantaged, couldn’t do anything.
It meant that the already top-tier evaluation of Suzuha’s brother needed further upward adjustment.
“Marriage, after all… but, hmm…”
Even from the Duke’s perspective, his daughter Yuzuriha had grown into an unbelievably charming beauty.
Her beauty was comparable to that of an elf.
Her figure was well-developed, especially in the chest area, surpassing even a succubus in excessive growth.
It’s hard to imagine any man not jumping at the chance to marry Yuzuriha and enter the Duke’s family.
However, Arthur, despite being the head of the Duke’s family, was also a doting father.
There might be a reaction against being forced into a political marriage.
He strongly wished for his daughter to freely engage in romance without being burdened by family matters.
Even before that, as a Duke born into a major aristocratic family, he couldn’t easily accept a commoner as his daughter’s marriage partner.
After all, in the list of marriage candidates that the Duke secretly prepared without his daughter’s knowledge, there were rows of royalty and heirs from other countries.
“Well, in any case…”
The Duke muttered, massaging his temples.
“I’ll take full responsibility for making my daughter cry… Kukuku…”
The Duke’s daughter wasn’t just Yuzuriha.
If he returned to the Duke’s territory, there were also second and third daughters, and even within the bloodline, there were many daughters of marriageable age.
Regardless of which daughter he chose to marry off,
bringing Suzuha’s brother into the Duke’s family was already a decided matter.
TL Note : Looks like my friend Gadgetizedpanda made a mistake by submitting this release (I asked him since I am currently busy) on Novelupdates under his group translation instead of under localizer meerkat. Well he did help a little with the translation so it’s technically correct lol…
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