Sparks flew each time their swords clashed.

Erika’s sword became more cautious as she received Ion’s attacks with his full strength.

Ion was attacking so desperately that she worried blood might be drawn if she wasn’t careful.

Erika didn’t want to hurt Ion, who had put up a large sum of money despite his difficult financial situation due to his twisted relationship with Gerick.

Though she had no particular relationship with him, she roughly knew how hard he worked despite his difficult circumstances.

Erika believed Ion’s diligence and passion for life deserved respect.

Although she had no choice but to defeat Ion now, she hoped he wouldn’t give up on his life.

“Ah.”

While momentarily distracted, Ion charged in with aura surrounding his sword.

Erika instinctively wrapped her sword in aura and met Ion’s sword head-on.

Clang.

Ion’s sword was helplessly cut by Erika’s aura and fell to the ground.

Erika looked at Ion with an “oops” feeling.

The price of swords used by aura users was not insignificant.

If one wasn’t just using it temporarily, they would empty their pockets or even go into debt to purchase a good sword.

Moreover, finding a sword that matched one’s swordsmanship style wasn’t easy.

Though she didn’t know the quality of Ion’s sword, it certainly wasn’t cheap.

Ion picked up the cleanly cut sword fragment and traced the cross-section with his finger.

“Your skills are as impressive as the rumors say?”

“……Are you okay?”

“No, I’m not. Do you know how much this sword costs? And it’s not something I can get just anywhere!”

“Who told you to charge in so recklessly?”

“If I didn’t do that, could I even touch a strand of your hair? I had to defeat you no matter what!”

“Try a hundred times, and see if you can beat me.”

“Hmph. If I try a hundred times, we’ll see whether I can win or not.”

Peter, who had been watching their argument, awkwardly raised his hand to declare Erika the winner.

Despite the obvious result, a celebration erupted in the stands.

Ion walked quickly to Gerick, who was drunk on victory.

“Twenty thousand gold.”

“What?”

“I’ll bet twenty thousand gold on the next match.”

“Are you serious? Do you even have money?”

Ion left the arena, ignoring Gerick’s mockery.

Erika approached Gerick slowly and sighed deeply.

“Do we have to do this again?”

Gerick laughed awkwardly and avoided Erika’s gaze.

※※※

The matches between Ion and Erika grew increasingly heated.

Though they couldn’t be held daily, Ion kept doubling the stakes, raising the ante.

Clang, clang!

“Do you really have to go this far?”

“I clearly said I’d continue until I win.”

Ion pushed away Erika’s sword and regained his balance.

The more they crossed swords, the more he realized how formidable Erika’s swordsmanship was.

Just how strong was she?

Even Erika occasionally seemed annoyed by Ion’s relentless attacks and would drive her sword mercilessly.

Each time this happened, Ion’s heart overflowed with joy.

It felt like he had made Erika reveal a little of what she was trying to hide.

As if he had glimpsed something inside her that no one else could see.

“Wake up. That day will never come. Do you know how many of your swords I’ve cut already?”

“You know what? Your hair is getting messier bit by bit.”

No matter how intensely Ion fought with Erika, her appearance had never been disheveled.

Even her hair, tied up for the match, maintained its neat appearance as at the beginning.

However, as the matches continued—or rather, as Ion charged at her like a madman—Erika’s clothes and hair inevitably became somewhat disheveled.

This meant she had to move a lot more to counter Ion’s sword.

Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang, clang, clang.

“What do you gain by going this far?”

“I’m not trying to gain anything. I simply don’t want to give up.”

“Why not use this determination to change your life? Instead of wasting your life picking fights with me.”

“I’ll handle my own life. You just focus on fighting properly.”

Ion’s sword pierced toward Erika’s shoulder.

While blocking Ion’s sword, Erika thought she needed to teach him a lesson.

She hadn’t intended to go this far in a casual sparring match, but this stubborn man seemed to have no intention of ending the fight.

‘I need to make sure he never thinks of challenging me again.’

Erika’s sword began to move more sharply.

She separately manipulated her aura to create a sphere.

Erika stepped back from Ion and struck the sphere hard with the flat of her blade.

The sphere instantly flew and struck Ion’s wrist.

“Urgh.”

“Stop messing around. This is a warning.”

Ion’s wrist dangled, broken.

Though Erika felt sorry inside, she deliberately delivered a cold rebuke before turning away.

A mage rushed over to treat Ion’s wrist, but the diagnosis was that he wouldn’t be able to hold a sword for a while due to how cleanly the bone had broken.

Ion carefully cradled his wrist, which was splinted and tightly wrapped in bandages.

Then he shouted toward Erika, who was quickly disappearing.

“I’ll get my revenge!”

Erika shook her head as if thoroughly fed up.

Ion secretly watched her retreating figure and swallowed his laughter.

‘You think I won’t challenge you again after getting injured like this? Erika, you don’t know me, but I know you. You’ll never be able to ignore me from now on.’

※※※

Ion grabbed his distributed meal and sat down opposite Erika, who was already eating.

“Hey, who said you could sit here? Get lost!”

Gerick, sitting beside Erika, threw a fit, but Ion paid no attention.

Ion ostentatiously placed his right hand, tightly wrapped in bandages, on the table and began eating with his left hand.

Erika stopped eating and stared at Ion.

Ion spoke to Erika while eating.

“How does it look to you? Do you think it’s getting better? When do you think I’ll be able to face you again? Hmm?”

Erika stuffed food into her mouth with her fork, her face boiling with anger.

She felt that he wasn’t the type to give up so easily.

So what should she do?

“I didn’t want to be like Gerick and treat you as an enemy, but if you keep this up, from now on, you and I are enemies.”

It was strange.

Ion’s heart should have been torn apart by Erika’s declaration, but instead, excitement surged within him.

He felt like dancing because a “relationship” had finally been established with Erika.

‘I must be crazy.’

Ion couldn’t understand himself.

What kind of absurd idea was it to want to be Erika’s enemy if he couldn’t be her friend?

Hiding his true feelings, Ion simply nodded at Erika’s words.

“Erika, you made the right decision. There’s absolutely no need to be close to someone like Ion. You really are perfectly my person, aren’t you? Hahaha.”

It was extremely irritating to hear Gerick spouting nonsense beside them, interpreting Erika’s words in his favor.

However, no matter how long Ion waited, nothing happened that might break the relationship between Gerick and Erika.

Ion silently finished his meal, then stood up and said:

“I didn’t want to become your enemy, but that’s unfortunate. Still, I won’t decline.”

For now, he decided to be satisfied that Erika had started paying attention to him.

Now that they were enemies, Erika would never face him half-heartedly again.

She would have to deal with him while thinking about how to make him suffer more, how to humiliate him more, how to cause him more pain.

He had become someone clearly distinguished from the countless others who admired Erika.

※※※

Even without Erika’s declaration, Ion and Erika were destined to become enemies.

The imperial succession competition had begun.

As Gerick’s personal guard commander, Erika had to protect his side while thoroughly trying to crush Ion as a competitor.

Ion likewise had to draw his sword against Erika, who stood like an iron wall protecting Gerick.

“Which part should I break this time?”

The only way to stop Ion’s relentless attacks was to break one of his limbs, whether arm or leg.

Erika now asked Ion with a smirk, free from any pangs of conscience, and Ion simply shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly, charging at Erika until something broke.

As Ion’s skills improved significantly, the fights with Erika became increasingly exciting.