Surviving As The Villain's Childhood Friend

Chapter 27

I stood facing Leniana.Her expression when she saw me was better than I thought.Obviously, I thought she wouldn’t like it.

“There are rumors about the Lady. Lady is a free genius knight who is not bound by convention.”“I, I think it’s a false rumor.”“That’s what I thought at first but… I don’t know.”

Leniana’s eyes lit up.

“Sometimes rumors are mixed with truth.”“Well, I think you misunderstood.”

She looked at me from head to toe. It was scary.

“I’ve been watching you since the first training… And my instinct says that Lady Yuria is an extraordinary character.”

Leniana smiled and laughed.

“Lady, Are you confident that you can beat me?”“….No.”

Can I?

“Then why are you blocking me?”

The smile on Leniana’s face widened.

“Yes we are knights but we can have our own romance.”“Romance?”

I nodded.I spewed out some bullsh*t.

“It’s every knight’s dream to protect a beautiful man.”“…”

The smile disappeared from Leniana’s face.

“I’ve always been waiting for this moment since I was young. The moment when I overcome adversity and save a picture perfect, beautiful man with my own hands.”“Y-Yuria ….”

Roziel stuttered and grabbed my collar from behind.Yeah. What a beautiful sight this was. A pretty boy standing behind me as I protected him.Wow, this was fantasy and romance.

“Roziel. I will protect you.”

I said, holding his hand.Roziel’s face turned red.Whoops. He must have been impressed.

“….The young lord never asked the lady to protect him.”

Leniana threw a fact bomb.

“Furthermore, the young lord is probably stronger than Yuria.”

Her words hurt my conscience lighter than a feather, but I did not lose.

“The strength of swordsmanship is not determined only by the body and skills, right?”“Of course?”“Mentally as well.”“….”

Her expression became rotten.

“Lady Leniana is a very cruel person. What a kind and gentle child our Roziel is. You’re applying for a match all willy-nilly.”“……”

Leniana gave up talking and pointed a sword at me.

“Pick up the sword. I’ll finish it in one go.”“Can’t you let me off the hook a third time?”

I picked up the sword I borrowed from Roziel.It was a relief. The sword he brought was the one he used to play in the forest.‘Because I swung it once.’It would be easier a second time.I calmed my beating heart and looked ahead.It had been a long time since I had a match with someone.‘Maybe it’s a chance to see if I’m really a genius or not.’In any case, Leniana was the next prospect to succeed Count Mienda.Huran called me a genius, and I knew I had talent, but I couldn’t figure out how good it was.‘If you compete with her, you’ll know.’Judging by the high sword, Leniana seemed to intend to use the unique sword technique of the Mienda family.When I saw that, my heart pounded.It was the feeling of freedom and liberation I felt when I first picked up the sword.

“I’ll yield the advance.”

At Leniana’s words, I approached without refusing.My sword suddenly stretched out.Clang. A basic yet sharp attack. But of course it didn’t work out.Tak, the struck sword cut through the air.After I paused for a moment, Leniana frowned slightly and began to attack.The sword came down heavily.‘You’re trying to end it at once.’However, I wouldn’t let it go as Leniana wanted.I responded with ease.So, one after another, I blocked Leniana’s attack.Calmly, with minimal movements.

“…..!”

Leniana widened her eyes in surprise.My body was not suitable for wielding a sword.I hadn’t been trained for years or established a foundation like the children here.I relied solely on my senses.Don’t think deeply, block the sword when it comes, and cut it if you see a gap.That was the only strategy I could use to win.Leniana asked me a question as if she didn’t know that her sword could be blocked.

“Where did you learn that?”“At home.”“Home? I remember that the Zeos family was not famous enough to have a good swordsmanship teacher.”“My mother’s side is the Grenta family.”

Leniana nodded at what I said.Leniana, who turned halfway to the right, pointed the tip of her sword towards me again.

“Grenta. My father said their swordsmanship was weak. He said it was good for attacking because it was soft, but he said there were many gaps.”

She stormed in quickly.I lightly avoided it. Leniana, who watched my movements silently for a while, spoke again.

“But the lady’s swordsmanship is not like that.”“I don’t know.”

I pretended to be innocent and exchanged blows with her. After several goes, Leniana was convinced.

“I don’t know what you mean by Grenta. You’re just swinging your sword as you please.”

Leniana said with a big smile.

“Ah, was it obvious?”“You have no intention of hiding it.”“Hehe.”

Sweat dripped down our faces like rain.After that, we attacked, defended, and avoided each other for a long time.The sharp sword shone sharply as if it would cut our delicate skin at any moment, but there was not even a small scratch on either of our bodies.‘That’s… probably because Leniana and I have similar skills.’Despite my clumsy and messy swordsmanship, Leniana’s attack did not work.This was unexpected for me, too. I couldn’t believe I was this strong.Ha, she said, spitting out a rough breath.

“It’s fun.”

As if it was really surprising, she gave a serious smile.

“Most kids my age would drop out within 10 minutes. But not the lady. It’s great.”“Thank you for the compliment.”“Rather than pushing me, if it seems to be at a disadvantage, I fall back on my own. I can’t predict the next move at all.”As soon as she finished talking, Leniana rushed back to me.At that moment we collided.Leniana’s sword left her hand. At the same time, my sword fell to the ground.

“Haa….”

The sound of unknown breathing split between us.We looked at each other with sweaty faces.Perhaps because I overworked, my palms trembled. My muscles were screaming.It was then that I realized why Mr. Huran didn’t teach me the basics properly, and Mr. Kiles made simple corrections even though he saw me being sloppy.Like Little Devil Blandis.It was my freedom.No one could stop it.

We didn’t speak for a while. Just stared at each other.Much time had passed, it was Leniana who spoke first.

“I wonder what I should do.”“Uh.”“According to Lady’s words, Roziel, who is kind and gentle, can’t keep the title as young master.”

Flinch, I shuddered.

“Our match is a draw. Only with this goal can you protect the young master’s honor.”“….”

Leniana was cruel.

“Yeah, but since you let the enemy’s sword miss, you can count it as if you managed to protect his honor.”“I see.”

Leniana readily agreed without objecting.It was just a light joke to get rid of the silence.Even if we didn’t say much, we could tell what kind of thoughts and feelings each other had.Striking swords with each other was like that.Unlike Blandis, a talented person of my age gave me a lot of things.The fighting spirit that was hidden within me, a small aspiration, the competitive spirit to win, and… what can I call this? Peerhood? Something sticky grew between us.I had a groundless belief that Leniana would never hit me on the back.What was most certain was the fact that Lenia was also feeling the emotions I felt.While she took a breath. Leniana’s gaze finally turned to Roziel, her original goal. I looked at her still nervous.I was really scared that she would fight Roziel, but…There was also a high possibility of asking why we were here.Actually, I was more afraid of this one.‘Nevertheless, Leniana is the daughter of the righteous Mienda family…’If she asked for the truth, I was willing to be honest.‘She would be a great power.’For example, it seemed that she could play a very good villain when we were playing knights. And Leniana was also one of the few people who was not swayed by Roziel Evelian’s beauty.‘Isn’t she perfect as a childhood friend too?’I was thinking about how to cast Leniana as a peacekeeper. She just glanced at me and Roziel, and didn’t open her mouth.It’s just my imagination to see her face mixed with a slight smile, right?

“Can I drink some milk?”

Unfortunately, Leniana didn’t ask anything. It seemed that her interest in us had completely disappeared.‘That’s too bad.’I was thinking of a villain costume for her.Leniana gulped down the milk and sat down.

“It’s tasteless.”

She wiped the sweat from her forehead with her sleeve.

“I’ll do battles with the young master later. I’m tired now.”“As you wish.”

When I sat down, Roziel followed me and sat next to me.He sat next to me and his eyes twinkled to the point of being burdensome.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

He hesitated for a moment to speak, then coughed a few times, ehem ehem, then whispered.

“Yuria… You’re really cool.”“R-really?”

Hmm. I am kind of cool.

“I knew it from the time I played knights in the forest, but Yuria is really good at using swords.”“Just a little bit.”

To be praised by a genius like this. I wasn’t interested in swords, but I couldn’t help but feel good.

“Because I have someone to protect, I think I got stronger.”

I took a lot of preparation and I looked at Roziel with a deep gaze.He blushed at my gaze.I guess he thought I’m really cool.Somehow, I felt proud, so I opened my heart wide and said.

“Hmmmm. A day like this will come one day for Roziel too.”“To me?”“To protect the one you love, holding your sword. That’s pretty common with knights.”“I-I didn’t know.”

What do you mean you don’t know? This was the most basic and important setting when playing the knight.I placed my hand on the back of his hand.

“It’s okay. You may not know But you should know from now on. Someday, Roziel will raise his sword for the one he loves, just like a wonderful knight in a fairy tale.”

Not to hurt someone or destroy the world.I wondered if my teaching worked. Roziel stared at me, blushed, and clenched his fist as if he had promised something.I didn’t know what kind of thoughts came and went in that little head, but looking at his expressions and actions, they must have been positive thoughts.I felt proud.

“You’re doing something funny.”

Leniana, who was sitting across from us, was looking at us with a rotten smile.Ah. I had forgotten about her.

“Hey, would you like to play with us too?”“You just play games?”“It-it’s similar…”“…I’m done. I’ll go back after a little rest, so you two can play together.”

Well. Leniana didn’t look pure enough to go out.

“Then maybe later….”

I wanted to make Roziel a friend.Each person had a different personality and values.I wanted him to meet various human groups. Only then would it be easier to understand humans.

“Wouldn’t it be better to practice swordsmanship than to spend time in a place like this?”“Don’t speak nonsense. Humans need to rest. You have to take a break.”“I can’t believe you’re resting. We’re going to be knights that protect the empire in the future. The knights are for the people of the empire… ““We’re colleagues.”“….Huh.”

I cut her explanation and said it out of nowhere.This was the only word I could think of that could shake an honest and upright knight like her.Colleague.

“Colleagues should communicate not only with swords but also with your heart.”

Wearing a dragon hat and going out for a picnic was of no use to a sense of companionship. Still, it was important to Roziel’s growth process.

“So let’s play together. Yes?”

We had just shared a relationship with swords. And a competitor with close-knit skills can dig deeper into the mind of the other person.

“Really… I don’t know what you mean.”

Leniana’s gaze turned to Roziel. She looked at him with great tension.

“Colleague…”

Leniana smiled at me.

“I don’t think that way.”“What?”“I don’t.”

Leniana looked at me with a little smile.

“Okay. Let’s go together sometime.”“Really?”“However, if you have a few more fights with me.”“As much as you want.”

It wasn’t hard to fight. I also enjoyed the confrontation with her quite a lot.