Copy Skills with Affinity! - Chapter 26

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Natty

◈ Copy Skills with Affinity! ◈

Chapter 26: Confrontation

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Crystal balls might seem obsolete in an age when radios and telephones had become widespread, but magical tools like these still had their uses because they could not be tracked.

The crystal ball known as Clairvoyance, which the Prince and the Minister of Administration were watching, was likely one such tool.

"What will you do, Your Highness?"

Rad spoke as he chewed on some nuts he had found somewhere.

The fact that he was watching Deathwish get ganged up on by several knights like this said plenty about his personality.

The crystal ball showed Aiden stepping forward with Katia behind him.

"I didn't expect Lionheart's husband to get involved. This has become troublesome."

For someone calling the situation troublesome, he sounded remarkably relaxed.

The Prince, who had been watching with his chin propped on one hand, gave him a sidelong look.

"You sound as though you expected this."

"No. The situation itself is outside my expectations."

Rad leaned back in his chair at ease.

"I thought Deathwish would kill at least half the men we sent. Her resistance is far milder than expected."

"......"

"We need a pretext before we can make a political move, but this has ruined it. Even I didn't expect this."

The Prince's eyes narrowed.

The people Rad meant by "kill" were the group of knights currently attacking Katia.

He had sent them himself, yet he sounded deeply disappointed that there had been no casualties. As though he had sent them expecting that outcome from the beginning.

"You're more of a venomous snake than a strategist, Rad."

"I appreciate the compliment, but no matter how capable a strategist may be, they don't hold the authority to decide."

Rad smiled faintly as he continued.

"The decision is yours, Your Highness. I only present the methods."

"......"

"So tell me. What will you do about Lionheart's husband?"

"Let's hear your recommendation first."

"Hit him."

The Prince stared at him in disbelief.

"...... If something goes wrong with Lionheart's husband himself, we'll have no way to handle the aftermath."

"Will we?"

"You analyzed him yourself. That man's command of abilities is bizarrely excellent, but his combat skills are below even a beginner's level. They're terrible."

And several knights were far too much force to send against someone who should not be harmed, even as a joke.

"It should be fine as long as he isn't hurt too badly. He doesn't look like someone who'll go down easily, either."

"Based on what?"

"We used something as difficult to obtain as Suppression Pillars for this plan, yet that man ruined the whole thing."

For all he knew.

Judging by the atmosphere, that man was also why Deathwish had become so gentle.

They had even used the rare ability of sorcery specifically to prevent anyone from pursuing her, yet he had come after her alone.

The two reasons the plan Rad had devised had been warped from its foundation both stemmed from that man.

Without a doubt.

He was hiding something beyond what was visible.

"...... Are you saying we should be wary because he could get in the way? Enough to threaten our great undertaking?"

"Not at that stage yet."

His firm conclusion fell flatly.

"In my personal opinion, that man is a con artist."

That was all Rad thought Aiden Kellermain was.

Ordinary. Someone trying to be ordinary. Someone who had never done anything rough. Someone rarely caught up in fights.

An ordinary man who had only ended up in that position through luck.

"Then that doesn't add up. Why pay that much attention to an ordinary con artist?"

"Because there's a strong chance we'll need to pay attention to him from now on."

As he spoke, Rad's blue gaze remained fixed on Aiden inside the crystal ball.

"For someone who has lived an ordinary life, he handles rather more power than he deserves."

Blue light with a strange gleam filled his irises as it carefully swept across Aiden's face.

"Several knights should be impossible for him to defeat...... but perhaps he can at least show us something entertaining?"

▣

'Fight?'

Sir Levant checked the order coming through the communicator in confusion.

Sir Levant understood well enough that attacking people around them was one thing, but directly attacking Lionheart and her husband carried enormous risks.

The information had already come in. Sir Levant knew roughly how strong their opponent was.

'Definitely...'

A wielder of multiple abilities. A threatening and powerful trait.

The abilities flowing around that body right now were certainly immensely powerful.

But.

'His combat experience is shallow.'

Sir Levant had already heard leaked information about the fighting this man had done at the Plains Coalition exchange ceremony.

He wielded mysterious powers, but his skill in using them was utterly crude. Anyone who had honed combat techniques even once would agree.

With that in mind.

"We have no intention of killing you. So don't resist needlessly."

Sir Levant took a bead-shaped magical artifact from his robes and crushed it as he spoke.

Translucent waves spread in every direction. Every ability within their range visibly weakened.

The knights' Ki, the Divine Power within Katia's body, and every kind of ability Aiden was giving off. All of it.

"......"

Aiden's eyes narrowed.

His fighting style fundamentally relied on high-output abilities. They had not vanished completely, but merely having their power reduced was a tremendous penalty.

The knights, on the other hand, retained the combat techniques they had cultivated over their entire lives even if their Ki had weakened somewhat.

The artifact had likely been brought to target Katia, but its effect applied equally to Aiden.

"Neither of us will come out well if we fight. Stay still."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. As I said before, we don't intend to kill you."

They only needed to injure him somewhat, beat him thoroughly, and drive him away.

If he had any sense, he would not charge several knights when his greatest strength had been weakened.

"Don't assume being Lionheart's husband guarantees your safety. Officially, we don't exist. Nothing that happens here exists either."

"You people sure talk a lot for a group swinging swords at someone who wasn't even resisting."

"...... This is necessary."

"I'm sure it is."

The moment Aiden heard that, he calmly drew his sword.

"Then do the same to me, since it's so necessary."

Katia, who had been sitting quietly behind him until now, widened her eyes.

"Wait, if you do that-!"

"It's fine."

There was not even a trace of his usual easygoing softness beneath those words.

He was resolute.

No, he was filled with rage.

Rage driven by the conviction that, at the very least, he had to crush these bastards' heads here and now.

"What do you think I train, temper myself, and work my ass off gathering strength for?"

Thinking about it, it was obvious.

Gathering power for the Main Quest, growing stronger, copying skills, all of that was fine.

But why was he building up power in the first place?

"To beat bastards like these."

Whoever the enemy was, whoever stood behind them, whatever their purpose.

Family, friends, relatives......

It was to protect the people within Aiden's circle.

"What's the point of having friends otherwise?"

"W-what......?"

"Leave it to someone else sometimes."

As Katia's eyes widened again, Sir Levant let out a disbelieving snort. He looked completely certain Aiden could not possibly be a match for them.

Sir Levant jerked his chin toward the nearest knight.

"You know the order. Don't kill him."

Without abilities, the man was as good as a corpse. There was no need to be tense. They only needed to subdue him.

"Yes."

The people nearby lazily raised their swords as well.

They clearly shared the belief that this much force against someone like him was obvious overkill.

Then the knights launched themselves forward all at once. A combined attack with the force of a roaring landslide rushed in from every direction.

And then.

"......?"

That was when they felt something strange.

Anyone would have felt it. The sight of Aiden standing there without making a single move was impossible to understand.

He stood tall as though nailed to that spot.

As though it was perfectly fine.

Even with their abilities suppressed, the movements of knights who had devoted their lives to honing combat techniques easily exceeded human limits.

Attacks no ordinary person's eyes could possibly follow flew at him from every direction.

Yet.

Aiden's gaze.

The eyes of a man said to have no combat experience at all.

Tracked every sword path tangled together like a bundle of thread.

"......!"

A chill ran through Sir Levant's body.

Then.

"You said everything that happens here does not exist. So conversely-"

As he spoke.

"-it means it doesn't matter what happens to you, does it?"

The knights charging him were flung in every direction in an instant.

The people rushing at him scattered and fell like scraps of cardboard caught in the wind.

"......"

In the silence that filled the area, Sir Levant blinked blankly while still sprawled on the ground.

The physical blow had hurt, but the mental shock was far greater.

'...... What was that?'

This many knights.

Subdued by one person in a single moment.

It was an outcome that could not be explained without an overwhelming gap in capability.

'Give me a fucking break......!'

Sir Levant gritted his teeth and got to his feet.

Sir Levant had never suffered such humiliation even as an apprentice knight.

This had happened because they had let their guard down. If they coordinated properly once more, there was no way their opponent could prepare for it.

That should have been the case.

But strangely.

"You said it earlier, didn't you? That you weren't going to kill me."

Looking at the man standing there with lowered eyes.

That certainty somehow began to drain away.

"Since you were considerate, I'll return the favor. I won't kill you."

"...... Don't get too cocky-"

"But there is something I know from experience."

Aiden muttered with unfocused eyes.

It was the expression that naturally came when his reason blurred from recalling terrible memories.

"There are far more ways to get hurt so badly that death would be better than you people imagine."

Mostly because of Meyer. Mostly in dreams.

If one kept getting beaten until death came, they were bound to suffer injuries so bad they would beg to be killed instead.

At least in that field, Aiden could be called a star instructor......

"So I'll teach each of you one. Otherwise, it just isn't fair."

The moment those words fell, the knights recoiled.

The air seemed to change in an instant.

Seeing that, Sir Levant realized instinctively that the assessments Sir Levant had heard, what Sir Levant had actually seen, and the opinions everyone present held of that man all had to be discarded in real time.

What was this about shallow combat experience? Crude technique?

'Give me a fucking break......!'

The person before them now carried the viciousness only a veteran who had crossed the boundary of life and death countless times could give off.

Pressure so brutal that one could believe he had experienced death firsthand countless times......!

"Urgh......!"

Unable to withstand that pressure any longer, someone sprang forward, and the battle began again.

The Imperial Knight Order placed the highest priority on moving as one body in group combat, forming flawless coordination.

It was not simply a matter of attacking at the same time. It was an encirclement that covered every angle without a gap to ensure they hunted their target.

But this time, too.

-!!

As the sword's path swept through the air once, the bodies of the knights forming the encirclement collapsed together.

"W-what was that?"

"How did he do that?!"

The technique was so mysterious that those words escaped them despite the battle still being underway. Yet the person who had performed that feat casually moved on to his next motion.

"I really would be pissed off if I couldn't shine in a moment like this......"

He clenched his teeth and muttered with vacant eyes as he swung his sword.

The feeling he desperately held while using the combat techniques he needed right now was obvious.

How much had he suffered to be able to shine at times like this?

How many horrific things had Mayer put him through?

Helplessness, pain, despair, resignation that no matter what he did, he could not escape the pain......!

So......!

"You all get a taste too......!"

"......"

"It's unfair if only I have to suffer......!"

"......"

It was resentment aimed slightly off target.

▣

As the knights caught in his directionless rage screamed and were torn apart, the Prince and Rad stared at the crystal ball, both at a loss for words.

"...... Shall I be honest?"

For once, Rad's smile had vanished. He tapped the crystal ball as he spoke in a subdued voice.

It showed Aiden swinging his sword with unfocused eyes.

Yet despite his somewhat deflated appearance.

The results unfolding before them were enough to leave them stunned.

"This is the sort of thing only a veteran who has spent more than ten years on a battlefield could do, isn't it? Overwhelming knights in a one-against-many fight?"

"...... A veteran with an absurd, absurd, absurd abundance of talent and experience."

The Prince added that explanation as he held his forehead.

In truth, even a veteran blessed with talent and experience might not be capable of this.

The Prince himself was a swordsman considered a genius in the Imperial Capital, which was why he could analyze this scene so well.

More precisely.

Why it was so absurd.

"...... He's copying them outright."

"What do you mean?"

"Aiden is copying the movements of everyone there."

Rad fell silent for a moment.

He could not fully understand what the Prince had just said.

"What does that even mean?"

"The techniques he uses keep changing, so I can't say for certain, but......"

The Prince continued in a dizzy voice.

Another group of knights who had tried to bring Aiden down through coordination had just fallen like autumn leaves.

"His footwork is Wind Talker, a sword form created by the Storm Knight......"

Footsteps as light as a spring breeze.

The freely twisting direction of his body disrupted the paths of every attack coming at him.

"His lower body uses Floating Grass, which the Spring Wanderer often used......"

A soft shift in his center of gravity like swaying grass combined with the spring breeze to create dazzling movement.

"The paths in his sword strikes are Half Moon, created by the Dusk Assassin......"

Simple and straightforward, yet swift to recover and heavy, straight-line sword strikes.

"...... He's using all of those at once."

"I understand those techniques exist, but what do you mean he copied them-"

"Those are the techniques used by the knights there."

"...... What?"

"Once someone becomes an Imperial knight, it isn't even surprising for them to have learned different systems of swordsmanship. A school is built by establishing theory, honing it in actual combat, and blending in one's own experience."

And so.

Even if people used the same technique, the ways they employed it varied immensely. That was why everyone left traces like fingerprints even when they learned the same swordsmanship.

Movements that could be called secret arts, containing their lives as swordsmen, combat experience, theories, and know-how.

"He's stealing all of it. In a single moment."

And yet.

The techniques Aiden was using right now.

Were all movements the knights attacking him had used.

Without any effort at all.

Through Analysis, he copied the achievements they had built over their entire lives.

...... It made no sense. No matter what technique he used, how could something like that be possible?

And.

The most absurd part lay elsewhere.

Even if he was displaying such mysterious combat techniques, it still did not fully explain the miracle he was performing against the knights.

Was Aiden physically much stronger than them? Faster? More impressive?

No. His abilities supported his body, but even considering that, it would be fair to call him weak.

In terms of physical ability alone, even one of those knights could handle a whole truckload of men like Aiden.

Then why could those knights not so much as touch a hair on Aiden's head while being beaten one-sidedly?

'...... How?'

The Prince studied Aiden's movements with eyes that looked close to losing his soul.

'Every choice is right?'

In battle, at crossroads where life and death were determined by judgments made in fractions of a second, every decision that man made was right.

He claimed the paths his enemies' swords would take and avoided them. He knocked away attacks that came in combined strikes. He twisted, moved, counterattacked, subdued them-

Each time, in every moment, he chose without hesitation the most efficient movement possible. Every moment, he seized only the shortest path toward victory.

'-No.'

As he carefully watched Aiden's movements, the Prince immediately revised that impression.

There was no aggressive drive toward victory.

Rather.

Something far more desperate.

'Not victory. Survival.'

Aiden Kellermain.

He was not fighting to win. He was fighting by avoiding every possible choice that led to death.

As though he had already experienced it.

As though his entire body had already learned that he would die if he did not fight this way.

The fear of pain remembered by his nerves, carved into his muscles, and branded upon his soul made him instinctively choose those movements.

"......"

What kind of past had that man lived through to approach combat like this?

The Prince closed his eyes, unable to speak for a moment.

"......"

Then he pressed his fingers against his temple with his eyes closed.

"...... Rad."

"Yes."

"When you investigated that man, nothing came up, did it?"

"...... That's right."

"Investigate him again."

"......"

"He can't possibly be an ordinary con artist. Never. There's a strong chance he was trained from childhood to the point of shaving bone and tearing flesh."

"...... My intelligence gathering has never been wrong."

"Then this is the first time. It's an order. Start over and dig up everything from beginning to end."

This time, it was Rad's turn to fall silent.

As he tapped his chin and thought with a rare serious expression, the Prince watched the inside of the crystal ball with lowered eyes.

'...... Where the hell did this man come from?'

The emotion in his gaze was too complicated even for him to explain.

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