Chapter 13 – You Were Completely Defeated by an Overwhelmingly Powerful Opponent, Unable to Do Anything, and Your Main Support Pillar, Which Kept Your Spirits Up, Was Shattered Into Pieces. You’re Acting Like a Little Girl Trying to Hold Back Tears (The Duke’s POV)
(T/N: What a title, lmao)
When the Duke saw his daughter visiting the study of the head of the family to give a report, he was taken aback…
“—What’s wrong, Yuzuriha? It’s like you were so full of yourself, thinking you were the strongest human on earth, but then you were completely defeated by an overwhelmingly powerful opponent, unable to do anything, and your main support pillar, which kept your spirits up, was shattered into pieces. You’re acting like a little girl trying to hold back tears.”
“Father… If you know so much, please leave it be…”
“I hit the nail on the head, huh…”
The Duke was right.
Of course, Yuzuriha did not underestimate the strength of Suzuha’s older brother.
At least that was her intention. But—
“I didn’t even think that I wouldn’t be able to land a single blow, let alone kill him.”
“Not even a blow?”
“Yes…”
“Even when you fought with the intention of either killing that man or being killed by him, with the determination to die?”
“Yes…”
“You’ve been used to that training method for a long time. And yet…”
“Yes…”
“You’re a disgrace. You’ve disgraced the name of our duke family.”
“…I’m very sorry…”
Large tears fell repeatedly from Yuzuriha’s downcast head onto the floor.
It was such a humiliation.
The difference in ability was overwhelming—as great or greater than the difference between an adult and a child.
However…
“However…results have been achieved.”
“Hmm?”
“During today’s training, I saw and felt the pinnacle of martial arts—No, the ultimate expression of violence—Something I couldn’t even imagine before. So from now on, I can make myself even stronger.”
“One question… Why is that man so strong?”
At her father, the Duke’s question, Yuzuriha wiped her tear-stained face.
“I honestly don’t understand it. He’s just unreasonably strong.”
“Is that so?”
“But I have a guess if Father is willing.”
“I’ll listen.”
“When I spoke to Suzuha-kun’s older brother, he didn’t seem to be doing anything more than general training—The only difference is the massage.”
“Hmm.”
“That exquisite massage that he provides Suzuha-kun, it seems that he’s also applying it to himself. Moreover, he uses a more powerful version that’s exclusively for himself every single day, with great care.”
“Is that the secret of his strength?”
“Probably so.”
Yuzuriha cut off her words at once.
“Suzuha-kun’s older brother has a natural martial arts sense, but more than that, his muscles are amazing.”
“But he was a normal, muscular young man in appearance.”
“Don’t be fooled. For instance, I have confidence that my muscles surpass those of ordinary soldiers in terms of flexibility, density, output, toughness, and so on by dozens of times, but—Suzuha-kun’s older brother’s muscles are far superior to mine, with a superlative quality. It’s like the difference between the top-rated beef that won the Best in Show award at a prestigious beef competition and some ordinary beef.”
“Such a thing… Is it even possible?”
“I don’t know for sure. However, it has been said that Suzuha-kun’s older brother incorporates magical power into his massages, so there may be an effect from that as well.”
“…If such a massage really existed, it would be a true revolution…!”
“Yes, that’s right. It would be a revolution in training and in the theory of soldier training.”
“Not only that. If we get it first, we will have a force multiplier that will literally unify the world…”
After a few more words, the Duke dismissed his daughter.
In his quiet study, he folded his arms and thought, wrinkling his brow.
“A little commoner girl and her older brother, huh…”
No matter how harshly he speaks to her daughter’s face, the Duke highly values Yuzuriha’s combat power.
Despite being in an extremely advantageous situation, Yuzuriha was unable to keep up and couldn’t even put up a fight.
That meant there was a need to further revise upwards the already high evaluation of Suzuha’s older brother.
“I guess marriage is the only way… But, still…”
From the Duke’s point of view, Yuzuriha has grown into an incredibly attractive and beautiful girl.
Her beauty is truly elf-like.
Her physique is well-proportioned with defined muscles, and her chest development is excessively large to the point of surpassing even a succubus.
The Duke couldn’t imagine a man not jumping at the chance to marry Yuzuriha and join his family.
However, Arthur is not only the head of the duke family but also a doting father.
That might be a reaction to the political marriage he was forced into.
He strongly wished for his daughter to be free to pursue her own romantic interests, regardless of their family’s circumstances.
And as a born aristocrat and a Duke, it’s inevitable that he finds it hard to accept a commoner as a son-in-law
After all, the list of potential suitors secretly made by the Duke for his daughter includes a long row of high-ranking nobles, including royalty and crown princes from other countries.
“…Well, anyway…”
The Duke rubbed his temples and muttered.
“Let’s have him take full responsibility for making my daughter cry… Kukuku…”
The Duke has more than one daughter; Yuzuriha is not his only daughter.
If he were to return to his estate, he would find not only his second daughter but also his third daughter. Furthermore, he has many female relatives of marriageable age.
Leaving aside which of them he will marry off…
In any case, it was already decided that Suzuha’s older brother will be taken into the Duke’s family.
