Volume 2 Chapter 16 Princess Knight
"I gotta give ya credit for not chickening out and running away, but seriously, have you really gotten stronger? Every time we crossed paths in the castle, you were shaking in your boots. You look just like that coward from back then."
Nemophila doesn't even flinch at the provocation.
She just stands there like a doll.
She used to show fear whenever he teased her, but it seems like a month has changed her mindset.
Honestly, it's kinda boring now that there's no fun in teasing her.
(...Huh?)
Hollis looks at Nemophila standing in front of him and feels a strange sense of discomfort.
They're supposed to be having a duel for the right to the throne.
Yet, she wasn't holding anything she should have.
"You planning to fight me unarmed?"
"..."
"How the hell are you gonna fight me without a sword or spear? And what about that big shield you used to treasure like a charm? Did you forget it somewhere?"
According to the rules of the succession battle, bringing weapons and tools is allowed.
And Nemophila's job class isn't one that uses magic to attack.
So, she should be relying on weapons and tools, but she's just wearing a light dress.
How's she supposed to fight me like this? Not even wearing armor is seriously weird.
If she had at least a shield, he could understand, but...
As he asks this simple question, Nemophila finally speaks up.
"I don't need a sword. And that shield is a precious gift from Kikrys, so I'm just displaying it in my room right now."
"...Are you kidding me?"
Looks like she's really planning to fight him unarmed.
He has no idea what she's thinking, but if that's how she wants to play it, fine by him.
If she ends up regretting her lack of preparation, that's on her.
"Well, whatever. Just don't go getting all scared when the fight starts, alright? And if you turn this into some boring mock battle..."
Hollis pulls out a small box from his pocket, readying it as he speaks.
"I'm tellin' ya, just like I said, I'm gonna smash you and that rundown place called Nurturer without mercy."
This is a precious space to show power to the upper class.
He can't let this valuable opportunity get ruined, even if he's unarmed or whatever.
After saying that like a threat, Nemophila finally starts to move.
With nothing in her hands, she spreads her empty right hand and positions it in front of her.
Capucine, confirming both are ready, shouts with a voice that echoes through the courtyard.
"Alright then... let's get started!"
The first match of the royal succession battle,.
Hollis vs. Nemophila, has now begun.
In an instant, Hollis makes her move.
"[Call]──[Gridman: Sand Knight]!"
A knight made of sand bursts out from the box.
As she pulls out one of the Command monsters, gasps of admiration rise from the crowd.
"That's the commanded monster of the Box Garden Master!"
"Haha! Just seeing this makes it worth coming here!"
Hollis laughs, hearing the audience's excitement.
"One of these is more than enough for you!"
Responding to her master's voice, Gridman: Sand Knight charges at Nemophila.
With its body wrapped in sand armor, it slams into her with all its might.
The weight of Gridman: Sand Knight is equivalent to that of a whole carriage.
If that monster hits her with such force, serious injury is inevitable.
Especially since Nemophila doesn't have a shield or armor, and her level probably isn't even that high.
(You weak, cowardly fool, regret comin' here without any prep...!)
This one hit will decide the match.
At least, that's what he thought...
"[Barrier: Protection]."
Nemophila quietly chants while keeping her right hand poised.
In an instant, something like a "translucent membrane" unfolds around her.
It changes shape like a sphere, completely enveloping Nemophila.
In a moment, Sand Knight's body crashes violently against that translucent Barrier.
A tremendous shockwave travels through the ground, flowing right to our feet, but...
Nemophila stands her ground, not moving an inch, stopping Sand Knight with the Barrier.
"..."
Hollis is left speechless by the unexpected sight.
That's the 'Barrier magic' that the Princess Knight job class can use.
It wraps the target in a magic Barrier, protecting them from all harmful intent.
Sure, with that, she might be able to block monster attacks without using a shield or armor, but...
(Wh-what's going on...? If my memory serves me right, the "durability" of that Barrier should be determined by the user's "Resilience" value...)
Nemophila, who's been sickly and never expected much from her family since childhood, has hardly done any monster hunting.
She's a coward whose job class level has been stuck at "1," and her Barrier magic is completely useless.
So how is she able to withstand Sand Knight's charge without even flinching?.
(Something's off here...)
For a normal person, that hit would've sent them flying out of the courtyard, and it'd be strange if they weren't seriously injured.
There's no way someone like Nemophila could stop that kind of attack.
Hollis narrowed his eyes, suspiciously glaring at her.
"Did she just withstand an attack from a Box Garden Master's monster...?"
"She's a lot different from the princess I heard about..."
Having blocked his attack, it seemed the spectators also felt something was off about Nemophila.
At the same time, their gazes gradually began to gather on her.
Realizing this was bad, Hollis quickly spoke up to cut the tension.
"Hah! Looks like you've gotten a bit better at fighting this past month. But don't get cocky just because you blocked one attack."
Right after that, he readied his box again.
Sand Knight is just a warm-up monster.
The real deal starts from here.
"[Call]──[Bearclops]──[Thunder Crow]!"
This time, a big one-eyed bear and a crow imbued with lightning burst out of the box.
The Box Garden Master can call a total of 3 monsters at once.
Hollis added even more powerful monsters to the battlefield alongside Sand Knight.
In an instant, gasps of surprise filled the air.
"Those are monsters with a Rank 1 difficulty for hunting!"
"Did he command even those monsters!?"
Just as they said, the monsters that were just summoned are indeed creatures recommended for hunting at Rank 1.
Naturally, they are monsters that are quite difficult to capture, and Hollis only calls them out in critical moments.
He's gonna figure out what kind of trick she used to block Sand Knight's initial attack.
"Go! Attack Nemophila!"
It seemed a bit excessive, but since the attention of the crowd was shifting towards Nemophila, he thought this was the best move.
In fact, many nobles watching the inheritance battle from the second floor were very interested in the monsters Hollis had summoned.
The 3 monsters lunged at Nemophila all at once, and the audience was getting really hyped.
But...
"..."
The attacks from those monsters never reached Nemophila.
All of Hollis's proud monsters' attacks were blocked by a Barrier.
Even when the one-eyed bear swung its log-like arms to hit, not a single crack appeared in the magic Barrier.
When the Thunder Crow rained down lightning from the sky, it was all thwarted by Barrier magic.
The third princess, rumored to lack talent, stood there coolly, completely nullifying the fierce assault from the Rank 1 monsters.
The spectators around her were left in stunned silence at the incredible sight.
Hollis was just as stunned.
(Wait, is that really Nemophila? Those attacks from Bearclops and Hoodluffler don't seem to be doing anything at all...)
Gridman: Sand Knight's attack alone would be one thing, but these two are monsters that a Rank 1 adventurer shouldn't be facing.
In that moment, Hollis was convinced that there was some kind of trick at play.
He took a moment to calm himself and analyze the situation.
That girl's job class is Princess Knight.
Her level has been stuck at 1 this whole time.
She only started serious training about 2 months ago.
There's no way she could have grown that much in such a hopelessly short time.
Therefore, her Barrier magic shouldn't be worth anything, but the Barrier she's wrapped in boasts incredible durability.
(...I thought she was unarmed, but I see how it is.)
Hollis reached a conclusion.
Even if she didn't level up to increase her Resilience, there are ways to enhance the effects of Barrier magic.
She's probably hiding some kind of "magic tool" in her pocket.
If it's a masterpiece crafted by someone with a job class related to craftsmanship, it could definitely boost the effects of Barrier magic with some special "magic effect."
...No, if that's not the case, then it's just plain weird!
"Haha! Looks like you were saved by a tool, Nemophila! For a plan you came up with in a month, it's not half bad!"
Convinced that Nemophila was relying on a magic tool, Hollis relentlessly criticized him.
With a confident grin, he shot a sharp glare.
"But that resistance ends here!"
Having seen through everything, Hollis said "[Regression]" and sent the 3 monsters back to the box garden.
Then, he firmly restructured the box again.
Sure, that Barrier magic is a pain, but he has ways to break through it too.
And no matter how strong the Barrier is, if they can't attack him, there's no way we're losing.
Let's think of this as a once-in-a-lifetime chance to show my full power.
"This here is my special (original) creation!"
With Crocus watching, he didn't want reveal too much of his hand.
But to make it clear to everyone that he's the one worthy of being the king of this little world, Hollis decided to go all out.
"[Call]──[Neo Cerberus]!"
At Hollis's call, a new monster emerged from the box.
It was a terrifying black wolf with 8 heads.
"W-What the heck is that monster?!"
Just as he planned, everyone around gasped in shock.
And it's no wonder, since this is a monster that hasn't been revealed to the public yet.
No, it's more than that; there's no way anyone here has seen a monster of this kind before.
It's an unknown species that nobody has ever laid eyes on.
The reason Hollis owned such a monster is thanks to his special "skill".
(A hybrid of 'Yamata Orochi' and 'Cerberus.' You don't get many chances to show this off publicly.)
If the monster you're commanding dies, part of its soul is stored in the box garden as a 'soul fragment.' By combining 2 soul fragments, you can create a unique monster that inherits the traits of both.
This inhumane and unique ability──'hybridization'──is only allowed for the Box Garden Master.
The monsters created through this hybridization are so powerful that they can't be called alongside other monsters.
That's why Hollis pulled back the 3 monsters he had summoned and called forth 'Neo Cerberus' again.
And then...
"[Conversion]!"
When Hollis shouted that, the black wolf with 8 heads howled and emitted light.
In an instant, the wolf transformed into a mass of light and moved toward Hollis, gradually changing shape.
Eventually, a "jet-black longsword" appeared in Hollis's hands.
Command magic's ultimate technique──'Conversion]'.
You can transform the monster you're commanding into your own "weapon".
Because of that, the skills and physical abilities of that monster now reside within the body of the wielder, Hollis.
As he brandishes the sword of Neo Cerberus, an incredible aura radiates from his entire being, causing the surrounding spectators to let out even small screams.
"I'm gonna end this in one hit...!"
Hollis, who has inherited the ability of Neo Cerberus, wears a creepy smile.
He swings up the black sword of Neo Cerberus to destroy the barrier that Nemophila has deployed, aiming to slice through her body along with that annoying barrier!.
"Cry out, Nemophilaa!"
In the blink of an eye, he closes in on Nemophila, bringing down the raised black sword with all his might.
──It's gonna hit!
In that moment of certainty...
A sight that made Hollis doubt his eyes suddenly appeared before him.
Nemophila, standing right in front of him, unbelievably... deactivated the barrier she had set up.
"──What!?"
Instead, she readies her "left arm" like a shield.
In that instant──
*Bang!*
"...Huh?"
The sensation that reached both of Hollis's hands was unlike anything he'd ever felt from cutting a human.
This was supposed to be his strongest strike, swung with all his might.
Yet, incredibly, it was completely stopped by Nemophila's bare "left arm.".
"What... what the hell... is that...?"
It was hard.
Just utterly... hard.
It didn't budge at all.
It felt like time had stopped; the sword wouldn't move forward.
If this had been blocked by Barrier magic, he could at least understand that.
But the force of his full-powered strike was halted by the ordinary arm of a woman.
Why did Nemophila deactivate her Barrier magic at the last moment?
"..."
Realizing the reason immediately, Hollis's face turned pale.
Nemophila deliberately released the Barrier to make it clear just how overwhelming the difference in power was.
To show that it didn't even need Barrier magic to block our strongest attack.
It wanted to make it clear that it wasn't relying on the power of magical tools; everything up to this point was purely its own strength──thanks to an astonishingly high "Resilience" value.
In fact, Hollis felt a deep sense of despair from the sensation in both hands.
It felt as if he was striking a massive tree that had lived for thousands of years; this thing was just... too damn hard.
"Well, isn't that enough already, Elder Brother Hollis?"
"..."
That sickly, timid Nemophila, who used to tremble every time she looked at herself...
That foolish little sister who only saw him as a stepping stone until she became queen... was now looking down at him with a gaze full of pity.
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