Chapter 22…
Silence.
No one dared to utter a sound.
No one—except one man.
Dante.
“Haa—, haa—, haa—.”
His ragged breathing echoed through the vast arena.
He looked so exhausted that it wouldn’t have been strange if he collapsed at any moment.
And yet, Dante stood straight, his gaze fixed ahead.
At the Sword Empress, Isabella.
‘I reached her!’
At the very last moment, Dante’s sword—empowered by his awakened trait—had touched her.
It had left only the faintest of marks.
Just a scratch, nothing more.
A wound so small that even without treatment, it would naturally heal within a day or two.
But that wasn’t what mattered.
‘My sword… reached her.’
Her name reverberated across the continent. Her sword encompassed the world.
Thus, she was called the Sword Empress.
And Dante’s blade had managed to scratch the body of such a transcendent being.
That fact alone was enough to shake not just the Empire, but all the surrounding kingdoms.
“I was mistaken.”
At last, Isabella’s lips parted.
Her eyes, which had been lowered toward her chest, now turned to Dante.
“Did I tell you to try to stop me?”
She had.
Dante slowly nodded.
A faint, dry laugh slipped from Isabella.
“Forget I ever said that.”
She should never have uttered such words.
She should have asked to cross swords with him on equal terms.
Because Dante deserved that much.
She had thought him arrogant…
But—
“The arrogant one was me.”
To fail to recognize someone who stood unfazed even before such an extraordinary existence…
If she could, she would turn back time.
So that, with all sincerity, she could cross blades with Dante until her strength gave out.
But it was far too late now.
Everyone here had witnessed the result of this duel with their own eyes.
“The victory is yours. It is my complete defeat.”
Isabella admitted her loss.
Of course, had she fought with her full strength, Dante would have been killed before swinging even once.
But what of it?
Under the same conditions—
With the same mana—
Within the same span of time—
Her strike had been parried.
While Dante’s blade had reached her.
That difference alone decided victory and defeat.
“…I thank you for your teaching.”
Still panting, Dante steadied his breath and bowed respectfully to her.
“Do you wish for anything? Since you’ve broken my sword, I’d like to give you a reward fitting for it.”
“Broken your sword? That’s far too much. I could never.”
Dante waved his hands, flustered.
Though he had barely pierced through her guard, he knew better than anyone that it wasn’t a true victory.
He knew all too well the vast gulf that still existed between them.
To say he had broken her sword was absurd.
At his embarrassed reaction, Isabella smiled faintly.
“Regardless, the fact remains that you defeated me.”
That alone was enough.
“I want to repay the genius who humbled my arrogance, so please, don’t refuse.”
She repeated her offer.
After a moment of hesitation, Dante cautiously spoke.
“May I follow Your Highness the Sword Empress to the Principality?”
The reason he had left his family—
It was all for the sake of asking this one question.
“…To the Principality?”
Isabella’s eyes widened.
It was a request she hadn’t even considered.
“That may be… difficult.”
She wore an apologetic expression.
“Normally, I would have granted it without hesitation. But the timing isn’t good.”
“Because of the crisis approaching the Principality?”
Isabella was startled once again.
That information should have been top secret.
Even as Zenon’s heir, he shouldn’t have known.
And yet he had spoken of it so naturally.
Though he had diverted his words to avoid the crowd’s ears, it was clear he knew of the coming Monster Wave.
“That’s right.”
She wondered how he knew but gave no sign of it, only shaking her head.
“Unfortunately, your visit to the Principality will have to wait until later—”
“I don’t want to be a flower in a greenhouse.”
Dante’s firm voice cut her off.
“My dream is to reach the very end of the sword. For that, I’m prepared to face any danger.”
Even if it was the deadly Monster Wave.
“So you’re saying, coming to the Principality isn’t just for a visit.”
“That’s right.”
He was declaring his intent to join the war against the monsters.
At an age when most children still clung to their parents…
Of course, Isabella had intended to refuse.
But she couldn’t.
Because she saw the burning determination in Dante’s eyes.
“To Your Highness, I must still look like a child.”
‘Damn…’
She had only just acknowledged him—not as a boy, but as a swordsman.
She had even apologized for failing to recognize him.
And yet here she was, making the same mistake again.
“I trust you won’t be one to go back on your word.”
The words she had carelessly spoken now returned to her like a boomerang.
If she had known this would happen, she never would have mentioned a reward.
Isabella turned her head with a troubled expression.
She saw the Emperor’s face, still stunned into silence.
“Why don’t you ask His Majesty? If he grants permission, then I won’t oppose you further.”
She pushed the decision onto the Emperor.
“Hm?”
Her sudden words snapped him back to his senses.
“Heh—.”
After a moment of thought, he looked at Isabella with the eyes of a grandfather toward a bold granddaughter.
As though surprised she had dumped the problem on him.
“What should we do, then?”
She had expected the Emperor to say no, of course.
Dante was Zenon’s heir, the future sword of the Empire.
He had just proven his worth in this very duel.
There was no way they would send someone like him to a place as perilous as the Principality.
It would be more natural to enroll him immediately into the Imperial Knights’ academy.
And yet…
Isabella had underestimated the Emperor’s resolve.
“What a commendable thought.”
“…What?”
Her eyes widened.
The very man who should have opposed it was instead giving words close to permission.
How could she not be shocked?
“A true sword of the Empire must be tempered in blood. Though the boy is young, he has already grasped that truth. As Emperor, I cannot make the folly of suppressing such resolve.”
“Y-Your Majesty!”
Isabella tried to reverse his decision, but it was too late.
“Dante Aquites. I grant your wish.”
Thus, Dante’s journey to the Principality was decided.
