Who is Worthy of Being King?

“…How did this happen?”

—I was now inside the Duel Arena, a sword at my hip.

I wanted to question why there was a dangerous place like a Duel Arena inside the Academy, but considering that duels were common among nobles, and most students were nobles, maybe it wasn’t that strange. Besides, this was the world of a fantasy novel, after all.

“…So, three against one is really fine with you?” Ivan asked, confirming the arrangement.

In front of me stood Ivan, Matthias, and Rowen, all armed with their respective weapons. Ivan had a one-handed sword. Matthias had a long-handled spear. Rowen had a massive battle-ax. All three were armed with what was likely their most favored weapon.

“Yeah, that’s fine.” I couldn’t back down now. I couldn’t betray my wife’s expectations.

—Now. Why did I suddenly end up in a sweaty duel with three guys?

The story goes back a bit—

▲ ▲ ▲

“The only person worthy of being the King of this class is my husband, Alban Odrant.”

“Huh…?” I was momentarily speechless at Letitia’s declaration.

“Alban Odrant…?” Matthias and every other classmate’s eyes were on me.

I’m not sure what to say to all this attention. All I wanted was to graduate without being ruined. Letitia, why did you nominate me? Seriously?

“Pff… Hahahaha!” Just then, Ivan burst into loud laughter. “Baron Odrant, the one who is notorious for being the absolute worst, is worthy of being the King!? That’s a masterpiece!”

“…” Letitia glared at him with a chilling intensity. Her eyes were terrifying, even to me, her husband.

“Good grief. Did he completely win you over after helping you get revenge on Duke Bertoli? Even if you’ve fallen, you’re still a Duke’s daughter. You should recommend someone more suitable for your station, even if he is your husband.”

Huh? Wait, that last comment really pissed me off. We might be of different ranks, but his words made it sound like we were completely unsuitable as a couple, too. That’s too much.

Fine, if you want a fight, I’d be happy to give you one— I thought, standing up from my seat, but Letitia was faster.

She strode right up to Ivan and forcefully grabbed the lapels of his uniform.

“Ugh…! What—!?” Ivan gasped.

“Retract that,” she commanded.

“W-What…?”

“I said retract it. I will absolutely not permit an insult to my husband. Alban is not the worst Baron.”

—The sheer intensity was overwhelming. Her voice and gaze were so terrifying they could freeze your spine, like a blade of ice pressed against your throat. Even I, her husband, would tremble. A true display of the Villainous Lady’s might… though she’d probably get angry if I called her that.

“If you refuse to retract that, then…”

“I-I’m sorry, I went too far. I retract it…” Ivan conceded quickly.

“Good.” She released Ivan’s lapels and calmly returned to her seat as if nothing had happened.

…Letitia really is incredible. Her nerve might be even greater than mine. But I thought Ivan backed down too easily. Was he a coward, after all?

“Um… can I say something too?” Leonil raised his hand after a brief silence. “This isn’t getting anywhere. So, how about we just—”

▲ ▲ ▲

—So, the consensus became: Let’s just decide who the strongest is first. We could figure out the rest later.

Well, submitting to a weakling would be humiliating. And Strong = Great was a simple, clear standard. While mere strength was inadequate, it was better than the situation where “the conference dances, but the conference does not move forward.”

So, Leonil’s suggestion was reasonable, but…

‘Then Alban is definitely the strongest. He probably wouldn’t lose even three-on-one.’ Letitia’s one sentence resulted in me actually having to fight three against one.

What a pain in the ass… But I couldn’t betray my wife’s expectations…

By the way, the women students, including Letitia, and Leonil were watching from a distance. Instructor Paula would act as the judge for the duel’s result.

“This Duel Arena has a special magic circle inscribed on it, so you won’t feel pain or die from attacks! So, fight to the death with all your might!” Instructor Paula was oddly cheerful.

Wait, the Duel Arena is that convenient? I wish that incompetent examiner Bastian had used this place. Ah, but then he probably couldn’t have abused me. Serves him right that he got abused instead.

“However, if a death blow is registered, you will be immobilized! You will be considered defeated at that point, so be careful!”

Matthias shouldered his long-handled spear. “Hey, Alban Odrant. Just so you know, I won’t hold back.”

“Yeah, fine by me.”

“Wait, let me fight him first. A duel is only honorable when it’s one-on-one,” Rowen, the muscular man, demanded, valuing the tradition of combat.

But—

“Hah… I’m just too lazy for that.”

“What?”

“One-on-one or three-on-one, just get on with it already. There’s zero chance you pathetic scrubs can beat me anyway.”

—I could tell with one glance at their movements. Not a single one of them was a match for Sebas. I wasn’t saying this because I considered myself a villain and was trying to mock them. There was simply too vast a difference in skill. They just look like vermin.

“…………You’ve got a lot of nerve,” Rowen growled, gripping his battle-ax, his pride clearly wounded by my words. Ivan and Matthias were also clearly infuriated, completely ready to fight.

“Then—Begin!” Instructor Paula declared the start of the duel.

Immediately—the three of them attacked at once. The killing intent is fine, I suppose. But their movements were chaotic. Ugh, how boring—

“Haaa!”

“Sei!”

“Dorya!”

The three men’s attacks were launched at the spot where I was standing.

—Well, I wasn’t there anymore.

“Wh—!?”

“H-He disappeared…!?”

“What, where did he—!”

They hadn’t even seen me move out of the way. Well, can’t be helped. Now—die.

“First one down.” I landed lightly behind Rowen and swung my sword, aiming to cleave his neck.

“Guh… gah…!?”

“Too bad! Rowen Sterajian is Dead!”

The duel had begun just seconds ago. Ivan and Matthias couldn’t hide their surprise.

“H-Huh…?”

“H-Hey, no way…! Is that a cheat!?”

“Do you think I’d resort to such underhanded tactics against people like you?”

“Y-You… you bastard…!” Ivan and Matthias charged again. Their momentum is good. But… fear was seeping into their blades.

“Two down.” I dodged their attack and, in passing, struck a blow across Matthias’s abdomen.

“Gwoh…!“

“Matthias Wolf is Dead! Only Ivan-kun remains!”

“C-C-Crap…!” Ivan, completely panicked, thrust his one-handed sword in front of him, placing his other hand on the blade.

“—〈Aqua Whip〉!” He cast a Water attribute spell. The blade of his one-handed sword was instantly enveloped in water, which then began to whip like a lash.

“Oh, you can already use magic?”

“I’m a member of the Scottish Ducal family, so of course I can do this much!”

“Is that so?”

“Take this—!” Ivan swung his one-handed sword, and the water whip extended rapidly, lunging at me like a snake. He must have figured he could attack me from outside my range.

“Child’s play.” I easily evaded the water whip and closed the distance to Ivan in an instant.

“Hmph…!” Ivan yelped.

“Three down.” I swung my blade, aiming to bisect Ivan’s torso from shoulder to flank.

“Ivan Scottish is Dead! This duel—Alban Odrant wins!” Instructor Paula, the judge, declared.

Ah, finally done. Letitia, praise me.

I walked toward her, and Letitia greeted me with a gentle smile. “Well done, Alban. As expected.”

“Thanks. But you could praise me a little more, you know?”

“That’s for when we get back to our room. By the way,” Letitia turned and looked at the female students behind her. “Would any of you like to cross blades with Alban?” she asked with a soft chuckle.

The women shook their heads vigorously in unison.

“N-No way! W-We can’t fight a monster like that!” Ester, especially, was completely pale, looking at me as if I were something inhuman.

Please don’t be so scared. We’re not going to die while we’re in this Duel Arena. Still, this is embarrassing. Being looked at like that… makes me feel proud as a villain, you know? Ah-ha-ha—!

“…Please.”

Huh? Just then, one of the men muttered.

It was Leonil.

“…After watching that fight, I just felt a compelling need to test my own skill.”