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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: Anix's Provocation
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"W-What kind of taste is that?"
The murmurs spread through the crowd in the meantime.
People who had seen Krash's kick were gathering, curious about what was happening.
The boy wore a flustered expression.
He had lashed out in a burst of anger for a moment.
But he knew deep down that what he'd done wasn't right.
"I-I was just following Princess Claudia's orders!"
Perhaps feeling the pressure of the situation due to his young age, he blurted out the name of the one who had given the command.
The murmurs stopped dead at that instant.
The noble children began to back away, hushing each other.
Krash mulled over the name before recalling who it belonged to.
'Claudia Staron.'
It was the name of the Staron Kingdom's second princess.
Why would the princess summon Bianca?
"Princess Claudia told me to bring Miss Bianca to her seat, and I was trying to do just that. But Miss Bianca kept refusing, so I had no choice but to drag her along! It's a royal command!"
Royal command, my ass.
A mere princess didn't have that kind of authority.
But refusing a princess's request wasn't a good look for any noble.
Especially among the female nobles—it was even worse there.
'But why Bianca of all people?'
Bianca was the youngest daughter of Hardenharts, the overlords of the North.
Yet due to her curse, her reputation among the nobles was low.
There were plenty of disdainful looks aimed her way, in fact.
Why would a princess who loved surrounding herself with loyal retainers call someone like that?
It just didn't add up.
Then a memory from the past flashed through Krash's mind.
'Anix.'
The eldest son of the Graiza family, called the Wooden Bow.
Krash's brow furrowed the moment he thought of him.
Because Anix was the one the second princess, Claudia, had her heart set on.
In time, thanks to Claudia's fervent pursuit, the two even ended up married.
But Anix had one major flaw.
'I remember now. That bastard was obsessed with my sister.'
At the Star Sanctuary, Anix had clashed with Charlotte and been utterly crushed.
A genius who had always triumphed in the Graiza family, he couldn't lay a finger on her before shattering.
His pride had been completely demolished.
The problem was that his broken pride had twisted in the wrong direction.
Anix hated and loathed Charlotte.
It was only natural—she had shattered his genius.
Yet at the same time, he admired her strength.
As a fellow genius, he wanted to be like her.
In the end, that evolved into a twisted love-hate over time.
And now, it seemed the sparks from that fire had flown to Krash and Bianca.
'He thought if he had her bring Bianca, I might come along too.'
He couldn't touch Charlotte.
So he was trying to poke at her little brother instead.
"Hah."
Krash let out an exasperated breath as he slowly swept back his bangs.
It was a habit he had when anger bubbled up.
'Does that mean he can mess with Bianca?'
As raw fury leaked from Krash's eyes, the noble boy flinched.
Then, as if his pride stung at having been intimidated by Krash's glare even for a second, he scowled fiercely.
No matter that Krash was a direct descendant of the Valheim family—he was still younger.
More than that, he was the half-baked Valheim.
The rumors said the Valheims had disowned him, and everyone knew it now.
They'd held back out of consideration for the Valheim name.
But Krash himself was just a powerless punk.
"Y-You—!"
"What?"
"N-Never mind."
The boy started to shout but trailed off when Krash shot back sharply.
Krash's fierce glare had deflated him for no reason.
"I'll go."
The moment Krash said he'd go, the boy looked up.
Failing the princess's order would surely get him booted from her circle of loyalists.
So when he brightened at that, Krash's next words threw him off.
"But instead of going to Princess Claudia, it'll be to Anix."
"W-Why Anix?"
Krash clicked his tongue at the self-proclaimed loyalist.
"You serve the princess, and you don't even know who asked her to give that order? Man, you've got no eye for talent."
No wonder he was bewitched by a guy like Anix.
As the boy realized Krash was insulting him and his face started to redden, Krash grabbed Bianca's hand.
Then he began walking off with her.
He figured leaving the kid alone would just attract more flies.
Suddenly, something occurred to Krash.
"Bianca."
"Yes?"
"Even so, it was a princess's command. Why didn't you go?"
Bianca was smart beyond her years, but she was only twelve.
Krash could grasp the situation because he was a regressor who knew everything.
Bianca had no idea how he and Anix were connected.
So why had she defied the princess's order?
"Because you told me to wait here for you, Krash."
Krash blinked once.
She was saying she'd prioritized his words over the princess's?
He stared at her blank expression for a moment before reaching out with his other hand to pat her head.
"Good girl."
You had to praise obedience, after all.
Her small head bobbed side to side with his hand.
Krash couldn't help but chuckle a little as he pulled away.
The foul mood from moments ago had eased somewhat.
Now that his spirits were lifted...
Time to settle things with Anix early.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Anix wasn't far from the main party hall.
The party had been going on for a while, so the noble children were mostly off enjoying their own time.
As such, Anix was out on a terrace overlooking the gardens.
The moment Krash arrived at the terrace entrance, he came face-to-face with a familiar face.
A boy with tiger-like markings etched into his skin.
Ballak Hogma.
Anix's subordinate, standing guard at the terrace door.
The moment he spotted Krash, his cat-like eyes sparkled.
"Hey! Hi! Nice to see you!"
Krash stared blankly at the overly friendly greeting.
Ballak was a swordsman who wielded two blades with effortless freedom.
His skills were solid, but his personality had a few issues.
If you had to describe him...
An unpredictable explosive.
He was the tricky kind of guy who was a pain to deal with.
Bouncing all over the place, impossible to read his thoughts—Ballak was one of a kind.
"I'm here to see Anix."
That's why Krash wanted to pass without engaging.
Dealing with Ballak was a headache.
"Yeah! Anix said to let you in if you came!"
Fortunately, Anix had given the order in advance.
"Alright, then."
"But no!"
As Krash reached for the door handle, Ballak blocked the way.
Only a year older, their eye levels matched perfectly.
Ballak's grinning face was right there.
"I'm interested in you too, Krash!"
"Not interested in guys."
"Huh? Gotta be a girl then?"
Ballak tilted his head, not getting it.
Krash felt a vein throb in his forehead.
"So?"
"Let's fight!"
He'd half-expected this.
Back when Charlotte visited the Star Sanctuary, Ballak had charged in without fear, begging for a fight—a total battle maniac.
Of course, he'd been crushed, but unlike Anix, he didn't obsess over defeat.
He just loved the fight itself.
So it was natural for his battle lust to flare up against Krash, another Valheim like Charlotte.
"This is the Star Sanctuary. Fighting's forbidden."
"But you fought Charlotte! I wanna fight you too! You look weaker, though."
Comparing him to the pinnacle of Staron like that.
Krash pondered briefly.
Should he just ignore Ballak and open the door?
But knowing Ballak's personality, he wouldn't step aside easily.
And it wasn't like Ballak was weak.
'Expert level, same as me.'
Ballak had a slight edge in realm.
But his real issue was his innate battle sense.
That unpredictable nature carried over perfectly into combat, and thanks to it, he'd lasted longest against Charlotte.
Three seconds longer than Anix, anyway.
'I need to meet Anix, not fight this guy.'
But Ballak's eyes said he wouldn't let go.
"Fine."
Krash accepted in the end.
"Whoa, thanks!"
Whoosh!
Krash threw a punch straight at the grateful Ballak.
Filled with aura, the fist reached Ballak's nose—then Ballak jerked his head back with astonishing reflexes.
Bending at the waist until his head nearly touched the ground, his flexibility was jaw-dropping.
But before Ballak could snap back with a rebound, Krash swept his leg.
Thud!
Ballak floated lightly into the air from the leg strike.
Krash's elbow followed, slamming into his gut.
Bam!
Ballak sprawled on the floor after the hit.
As Krash looked down silently, Ballak sprang up with a backflip.
He'd crossed his arms over his stomach in defense during it all, and now his eyes began to sparkle.
"No mercy, huh?"
"You wanted to fight."
Krash cracked his neck side to side.
Krash was a half-baked talent.
Compared to the Generation of the Sky, his skills were pathetic—enough to shuttle curses around.
Yet he'd survived to the end.
Not just by staying out of the front lines.
He'd thrashed desperately to live, scraping together a sliver of martial prowess.
Enough that he wouldn't get beaten by random kids, at least.
Of course, by adulthood, their talents would outpace him.
But that meant he wouldn't lose now.
"Great! Awesome! Let's keep going! Lemme grab my swords!"
"Sure. But I don't think we need to."
As Ballak shouted excitedly, Krash replied coldly.
Ballak didn't grasp the meaning—until blood suddenly gushed from his nose.
"Huh?"
The moment he voiced his confusion, his eyes rolled back, and he collapsed flat.
Krash dusted his hands off as he looked at Ballak, and Bianca tilted her head.
"What did you do?"
"Secret art."
The name of the art?
Inch Strength.
The secret art devised by the Valheim family's former half-baked talent: maximum destructive power from the shortest distance.
It was the one technique Krash had learned from the secret library of the Green Pine Pavilion before it burned.
Thanks to this art, he'd crossed death's door countless times.
His most reliable one.
"It has a lot of conditions to activate."
But if met, it pierced armor to strike internals regardless.
When Krash's elbow hit Ballak, he'd already unleashed Inch Strength.
Even blocked by his arms, the shock transmitted inside, shaking Ballak's organs.
"Ugh... grrr."
Ballak twitched a few times from the Inch Strength but couldn't rise.
He might have blocked internally with aura, but bare body against it? Predictable.
Leaving Ballak behind, Krash opened the terrace door.
There, leaning on the railing, stood a man and a tall woman.
The man was the Wooden Bow, Anix Graiza.
The woman was Elfin Emilia, Ballak's fellow subordinate.
Elfin glanced at Krash, then walked past to Ballak.
As Krash stepped aside easily, Anix smiled faintly with his drooping eyes.
"Dropping Ballak like that. Impressive."
This guy had known Ballak would pick a fight and stationed him anyway.
What a black-hearted bastard, Krash thought, glaring at him.
"I figured you were using Princess Claudia to summon Bianca and lure me out. So I came myself."
"You caught on that far?"
Anix looked genuinely surprised.
He stroked his chin thoughtfully.
"You're nothing like the rumors. Weird. Are they wrong?"
"If it's about me being half-baked, that's true."
Krash had no intention of denying the past rumors.
He didn't care about them anyway.
The world's end was coming, one even the Generation of the Sky couldn't stop.
Worrying about rumors? Better to get stronger.
"But if you get beat by me today, those rumors might change a bit."
Still, he knew better than anyone: get stronger, and rumors shift naturally.
And Anix was just the guy to help with that.
'I'm taking his skill.'
Another member of the Generation of the Sky.
On Krash's target list.