Chapter 142 – My Uppercut for Your Sake (10)I can only a.s.sume that my body moved by itself because of the uncomfortable feeling I felt in the back of my nostrils.
Almost unconsciously, I twisted my body to the right and avoided the plummeting ma.s.s of wind that pa.s.sed beside me by the skin of my teeth.
“… Hah?”
The one who was most surprised was, of all people, me.
For a moment, I was eye to eye with Atol, who looked at me sideways with astonishment in his eyes.
I"m sure he didn"t think I could avoid it.
His eyes were wide open, perhaps because he had missed out on certain victory.
Because there was no impact from the rear-end collision that should have come, the trajectory of the collision has deviated greatly from its original position.
The time between me and Atol flowed as if in slow motion.
“Aah! Guh!”
Time regained its normal flow.
After bouncing several times on the ring mat at breakneck speed, Atol bounced off the ropes gasping.
I watched that, dumbfounded.
“… Eh?”
What just happened?
How could I have avoided an attack of that speed?
I was half-heartedly trying to counter, even though it was absolutely impossible.
“Kuh! Kunpei! Stop s.p.a.cing out!”
“Ah? Ah!”
The angry voice of my father standing at the ringside brought me back to my senses.
I put all my energy into my wobbly body and ran as fast as I could towards the collapsed Atol.
“Ah, Atol-sama!”
“Your Highness?”
Kayone and Utai"s voices echoed in the ring.
Their voices, laced with worry and surprise, was urgent.
“Guuuuh!”
Atol, who was supposed to have slammed his entire body hard into the mat, groaned as he stood up.
I honestly thought it was amazing.
That was not the kind of damage that you can shake off with just willpower alone.
But Atol stood up.
Why? What is driving you?
How can you, a self-deprecating, abject, helplessly negative person, stand up with that kind of damage?
“Ahhhhhhhhhhh!”
With a shout, I clenched my fists and readied myself, turning all the remaining air in my lungs into fighting spirit.
I was defeated by his spirit.
It was because I felt that way when I saw Atol.
“G-guh! I can"t lose!”
Atol bellowed determinedly.
There was no sense of negative thoughts in his voice, which was so strong that even the air seemed to vibrate.
Despite the blood spewing out of his mouth and the cruel red stain on his white wings, his fighting spirit had not been broken in the least.
He readied his fists, glared at me, and moved his heavy legs as best he could to face me.
“Aaaaaaaah!”
I was the one who made the first move.
My fist struck Atol"s face.
The upper half of Atol"s body was blown back by the blow. But he endured, and his fist immediately struck my right cheek in a counterattack.
My vision flickered white.
Barely grasping onto my blurry consciousness, I put all the strength I could into my waist and upper body and clenched my right fist again.
“Aaaaahhhhhh!”
“Ooooohhhh!”
Our spirits collided.
When I punched him in the face, he punched me in the stomach.
The pain almost took over, and I hung on to my consciousnesses, my will to not fall over overwhelmed my body.
“Guaah!”
“Hmph!”
Face, stomach, arms.
Face, torso, face.
The exchange of fists between me and Atol was like a turn-based battle in a video game.
I couldn"t even do my footwork properly.
We confronted each other with only willpower, and we exchanged blows with tenacity and persistence.
His puffed up face was so cruel to look at that I couldn"t help but wonder why Atol hadn"t collapsed yet.
But I"m sure he feels the same way, because I can"t even feel my face anymore.
If you don"t go down, I can"t go down, and the two beasts exchanged fists on top of the ring.
“Guh…”
“Gah…”
How long have we been hitting each other?
I don"t even know what time it is anymore.
The only sounds in both ears were the faint exhalations of me and Atol, and the unidentifiable screams coming from outside the ring.
Our fists were slowly losing strength, and we"ve lost all momentum.
Because I lost consciousness here and there, the scene changes immediately like a flip book.
I got hit, woke up, hit him, then got hit again.
The only thing that my noisy thoughts can lead me to, is to hit the man in front of me as many times as I can.
“Guaah…”
My right fist caught Atol"s left cheek, there was no power left.
Off balance, Atol clung to the ropes and put his left knee on the mat while holding his trembling right leg.
My mouth was full of blood, but I couldn"t stop being thirsty.
I felt a dull ache in my chest from breathing so heavily.
Still, I looked down at Atol, trying hard not to lower my raised fist.
“Guha… gah… haa… even I, understand…”
Perhaps unable to support himself anymore, Atol, who kept his head down, muttered.
He couldn"t give up and his right hand that gripped the rope was trembling, as if he was frustrated that he couldn"t even stand up.
I didn"t reply to his words, and just stared at him in silence.
No, it"s more accurate to say that I don"t have the strength left to reply.
“The reason why father lowered my right to the throne is to praise my younger brother Setol"s contribution to the country… My Dailan, who is pushing for modernization, can not afford to disparage those who have done excellent work… Even if father does not want it, those around will not allow it… For me who hasn"t accomplished anything, I don"t have the right to criticize it… It"s no wonder… In order to become the "Sea Dragon"s servant", I only looked at myself. I didn"t think about it. So I"ve never hated father. I understand that…”
I couldn"t see his face, so I didn"t know what kind of expression he had on his face.
But his voice was firm, and I knew that he was speaking from his heart.
Glancing above Atol"s head, I saw Kayone, who had moved over some time ago, looking down at him with a pale face and a worried expression.
The tears in the corners of her eyes and the bite marks around her mouth were painful to look at.
The thin tanned hand clasped in front of her face was probably a sign of her heart that wanted to reach out to him, but hesitated to do so.
Utai had her hand on her back to support her.
“I know that he chose this town to study in because he was concerned about my overly sensitive skin… I have never hated or disliked father… He is a splendid king. I respect my father. Of course, I love my brothers, too…”
“Atol-sama… It"s okay, that"s enough.”
I guess she couldn"t take it anymore while listening to him.
Kayone collapsed while spilling tears, as if trying to cling to Atol"s back through the ropes.
“K-Kayo-san, hang in there.”
Utai"s voice lacked its usual energy.
The way she spoke to Kayone in a faint voice was very unreliable.
“So for me, all I needed was Kayone… Kayone has supported me since I was young, and that"s why I"ve never given up.”
“Atol-sama… Atol-sama?”
Kayone, her face contorted into a crumpled mess of tears, touched Atol"s back through the gap in the ropes.
Slowly, as if touching a fragile object. With great care.
“To me, her existence is already irreplaceable…”
I know. I"ve known that for a long time.
Because whether you were in the cla.s.sroom or not, you never tried to look anyone in the eye except Kayone.
Even when you acted bluntly and disinterestedly, your gaze always found Kayone.
“Of course I want you by my side… Ah, I love you… I love you so much! I can never thank you enough, I"ve lived my whole life with Kayone"s support!”
“… So you can say it honestly, you idiot.”
If you"d been like that from the beginning, we wouldn"t have gotten into this mess.
“But…! But!”
Putting all his strength into his unreliable legs, Atol stood up.
Ah, that"s right.
Unless there was a reason, he would not be able to fight with such a strong will.
I clenched my fists again.
The end is near.
“That"s why! I"m no good! My existence! I"ll get in the way of her future! Do you know how amazing it is to be able to use medium-level healing magic at that age? That much skill and ability at that age! Do you know how much happiness it will bring her?”
His voice was squeezed out as if he were trying to convince himself.
I"m sure there"s something inside you that you haven"t fully understood yet, and that"s why you can"t even control yourself well.
You don"t have to be so much like me, you know.
“The reason why older brother who"s in Tokyo is keeping Kayo away is because Francion"s royal family is pressing her for marriage!”
“… Eh?”
Kayone who was still crying, widened her eyes.
“Atol-sama?”
Wait a minute, it seems like there"s some new information.
From the looks of it, it"s something she didn"t know about either?
I"m pretty sure that Francion is the demon country that"s famous for exporting the language spheres, right?
“I was persuaded by the elders of Inteira before I came to this country that Kayo had a good match through my brother"s diplomatic channels! For Kayo"s sake, and for Dailan"s sake! They wanted me to break off my engagement to her! My brother rebuked the elders and the matter was dropped at that time! But even now, my brother reports to me regularly that he is still being approached by people who are very persistent!”
Huh?
Isn"t this a little different from Kayone"s story?
Didn"t she say that her grandfather lied to you and tried to get you to break off the engagement?
“Francion is the largest country of the demon race! Marrying into its royal family is like a lifetime promise for Kayo"s future! She"s wouldn"t just be the wife of someone like me, who"s only royalty in name! You"ll be joining the royal family of a great country, with status, honor, and prestigious history! It would be ridiculous to even compare the two!”
“But, eh? My father and mother never said a word about that…”
The bewildered Kayone was fl.u.s.tered and upset.
It"s true.
Francion is a country that even someone like me knows the name of.
The royalty of that country must have a status comparable to that name.
“It"s something that brother has officially turned down! The Inteira family didn"t want the story to spread, so they only told the Council of Elders and a few others! Not even to Kayone herself!”
Oh, I get it now.
It"s all connected.
He"s so twisted, isn"t he?
It"s just like Kayone, isn"t it?
She cared so much for the other person that she left herself behind.
Just like Kayone couldn"t stop her foul-mouth because it would make Atol feel better.
He compared his position with the royalty of Francion and chose Kayone"s future.
Wow, what a well-matched couple.
Self-sacrifice at its finest!
“Aren"t you just an idiot! You idiot! Idiot!”
“You!”
This guy is really no good!
He"s too much like me.
“Ready? As someone who"s been there, let me tell you! So clean you ears and listen with grat.i.tude!”
Yes, that was something that happened in early spring.
When Jaja and Nana were born and came with Aoi to live with us.
That was the time when Yule attacked. I, we are making the exact same mistake.
“It"s something that involves the both of you! So, talk it out!”
Don"t let Aoi think alone.
Don"t let me think alone.
I"m an idiot and Aoi doesn"t know anything about the world.
If two people like that tried to find the answer separately, there was no way they could find it.
“Talk it out! Be upfront about everything! That"s when you have to start worrying! That"s the starting point! Right! Aoi!”
I looked at Aoi who was outside the ring.
“Y-yes! Hardship is! It"s something we overcome together!”
Aoi nodded her head so vigorously that it looked like her head was going to fall off, and she looked somewhat happy.
“What are you being so self-important for!”
“Well then! Did you even ask Kayone how she feels?”
That"s where you"re wrong.
“Kayone! This guy and that Francion guy who you don"t even know! Which one do you want?”
“That"s! It will always be Atol-sama, of course! Please don"t mock me!”
No, why did you get angry at me?
“Kayo! But…”
“I! I"ve made up my mind since I was a child to be with Atol-sama!”
Kayone spoke over the prince"s angry voice and looked straight into Atol"s eyes.
“I love you! I admire you! The only reason I learned healing magic was for your skin! I don"t care about anyone else!”
It was a straightforward confession.
Somehow, the atmosphere was pink before I realized it!
The seriousness that had been there earlier is missing!
“No matter what you think or do, I will never leave your side! Never!”
“Y-you…”
You"ve lost.
It"s a complete defeat for Atol.
“Well now! Atol! Let"s put an end to this! This was a travesty to the end, a lovable farce!”
I feel like I"m getting my strength back.
I"m sure it"s because we"ve resolved a lot of complicated mysteries and I feel refreshed!
But in the end, I still have something to say.
“W-wait! Hold on a second!”
“This is a very pointless incident that happened because you and Kayone were going around in circles. So let"s forgive everything with this one hit.”
I took a step toward Atol, who was in an embarra.s.sing panic.
“But as expected, I still can"t forgive you for dragging me, Aoi, and my daughters into this.”
I took a forceful step forward and smashed my right fist and left palm together, making a fearless smile.
“So let me tell you something.”
With every muscle in my body pulsating, I pulled back my right fist.
Atol, who had lost all strength in his body through the series of events, staggered back.
“We"ve decided that we"re going to work hard and do our best for our normal lives, for Jaja and Nana"s happiness. That thought, that determination, is not something half-hearted!”
My fist that was drawn to the limit made a creaking sound like a drawn bow.
This fist contained something from me and Aoi and everyone else in my family.
It also contains the feelings of Rouge, Mik.u.ma, Officer Doggy and Yuri-san.
That"s why this. .h.i.t is super heavy.
“So from now on!”
“Wait!”
I took a big step with my right foot and released it.
“Mine! And Aoi"s!”
I swung my fist at the sky with all my strength from down below.
“Don"t get in the way of our resolve!”
“Buhaa!”
What do you think? It works, right?
Me and Atol.
The stupid, clumsy, helpless us.
It"s an all-out uppercut to discourage the kind of smiling idiot you can"t really hate.