Hearing King Rose's words, Kondo, Shin, and Label froze in shock. Kondo couldn't even process what he had just heard.
"W-What are you saying, King Rose? How can I possibly get married?"
He glanced toward Kim, only to see her lowering her head shyly. Kondo felt like a disaster had suddenly dropped onto his head.
"But Your Majesty… I'm still a kid."
King Rose simply smiled.
"In monster society, it's normal for children to be engaged at a young age."
Kondo immediately tried searching for excuses.
"But among humans, we can't marry until we become adults."
"Hm… is that so?" King Rose rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Then we can simply wait until you grow up. An engagement should be enough for now."
Then he suddenly narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Or… do you dislike my daughter?"
Kondo instantly panicked.
"N-No, it's not like that!"
He looked at Kim again.
"I mean… Kim is cute and all, but can a human and a monster even marry?"
King Rose proudly crossed his arms.
"Of course they can. It has happened before in the past. There is no problem with it."
At this point, Kondo's mind had completely stopped working. He looked toward Shin for help.
But Shin was sitting quietly with her head lowered.
(What is happening…? That monster girl actually wants to marry Kondo? No… I can't let this happen. I need to think of something quickly.)
Just then, Kint suddenly spoke up cheerfully.
"Kondo, just say yes! Then I'll get to see you every day!"
Kondo stared at him in disbelief.
(What are you saying, Kint!? You're willing to marry your sister off just so you can hang out with me!?)
"But Kint, shouldn't you be trying to stop this?"
Kint simply smiled.
"You know, nobody in this house can go against Kim's decisions. Not me, not Mom, not even Dad."
Still refusing to give up, Kondo quickly asked,
"There has to be some way to refuse this, right?"
"There is," Kint answered immediately.
The moment Shin and Kondo heard that, both of them reacted at once.
"Tell us!"
Kint grinned.
"You just have to defeat me in a sword fight."
Before Kondo could even respond, Shin suddenly stood up.
"Yes! Kondo will fight you and win. Then you'll have to take back this marriage idea."
Kondo looked at her like she had gone insane.
"What are you saying, Shin? There's no way I can beat him."
Shin calmly placed a hand on his shoulder.
"You have to."
"But—"
"No buts. You're winning this."
Kondo had no response left.
Meanwhile, Kint gave him a thumbs up.
"Don't worry, Kondo. I'll defeat you properly."
Kondo almost collapsed hearing that.
"Kint… are you sure there's no other option?"
"Nope," Kint replied casually. "Besides, why are you so worried? You're only marrying my sister."
Kondo immediately defended himself.
"You're not understanding! I'm just a school kid! How am I supposed to get married!?"
The moment Kint heard the word school, his eyes suddenly sparkled.
"Wait… did you just say school?"
Kondo blinked.
"Yeah… why?"
Kint excitedly leaned forward.
"You know, Kim and I are coming to study at Levianth School soon!"
Kondo, Shin, and Label all stared at him in disbelief.
"WHAT!?" Kondo shouted. "But I heard only humans can study there!"
King Rose proudly puffed out his chest.
"That's normally true. However, civilized monsters are also allowed to enroll. The entrance tests made for monsters are extremely difficult… but both my son and daughter passed them."
He burst into laughter proudly.
Kondo slowly lowered his head.
(This problem really plans to follow me forever…)
King Rose continued,
"I want Kint to become the next king of the ogres someday. That's why I want him to learn more about the outside world and help our people progress further."
Kint suddenly stood up.
"Then let's go, Kondo. No point delaying the duel."
Kondo also got up with a defeated expression.
"...Yeah. Let's go."
Kint walked out of the room, while Kondo followed behind him. The others soon followed as well.
As they walked, Label noticed Shin smiling faintly.
"Shin… why are you smiling?"
Shin immediately got startled.
"H-Huh!? I'm not smiling! Besides… wherever Kondo goes, trouble always follows him."
Label quietly nodded in agreement.
After everything they had experienced, she had already realized it too.
Wherever Kondo went… chaos somehow followed behind him.
As everyone walked through the halls, Kondo suddenly stopped in front of an old painting hanging on the wall.
The painting was faded and blurry. It showed a gigantic tree, though most of the details had nearly disappeared with time.
Kondo stared at it curiously.
"What is this painting? And why is it so damaged?"
King Rose answered calmly.
"This painting depicts the Monster King and the Human Hero… from the time they once stood together."
Kondo frowned slightly.
"But this only looks like a tree. There's no hero or monster king in it. And besides… weren't monsters always divided by species? I thought they hated working together."
King Rose nodded slowly.
"That's true now. But long ago… one ruler united all monsters together."
He looked at the painting quietly.
"And this isn't the original painting either."
Kondo's curiosity instantly deepened.
"Then where's the original?"
King Rose stepped closer and gently placed his hand on the faded artwork.
"I don't know. This copy has been passed down from generation to generation for over a thousand years."
His expression grew distant.
"But even now… I still don't understand what message our ancestors were trying to leave behind."
Kondo's eyes sparkled after hearing the story.
A thousand-year-old mystery…
A united monster kingdom…
A hero and monster king standing together…
The excitement practically overflowed from his face.
King Rose noticed immediately and smiled.
"If you want to learn more, Kondo… why not stay here for tonight?"
The stars instantly vanished from Kondo's eyes.
"No thanks. Let's just go already, Kint."
Kint laughed and continued walking.
Soon everyone arrived at a massive circular field that resembled a training ground.
Monsters filled the area everywhere.
Some practiced swordsmanship.
Some wrestled.
Others trained in archery beneath towering trees surrounding the arena.
The moment Kint and Kondo stepped into the circular arena, every monster in the training ground stopped what they were doing and turned toward them.
Kint walked calmly to one side of the field while Kondo stood opposite him.
The surrounding monsters quickly realized what was happening.
"Look! Prince Kint is going to spar!"
Another monster frowned after noticing Kondo.
"But who's his opponent? Isn't that just a human child?"
Soon whispers spread everywhere.
"There's no way a human kid can stand against Prince Kint."
One by one, monsters gathered around the arena to watch.
King Rose raised a hand toward a nearby guard. The monster immediately tossed a sword toward Kint.
Kint caught it effortlessly.
Another sword was thrown toward Kondo—
—but he completely fumbled the catch and dropped it onto the ground.
The entire crowd burst into laughter.
"He can't even catch a sword properly!"
"And he thinks he can fight Prince Kint?"
Kondo himself didn't seem bothered by the mocking.
Shin, however, looked furious hearing everyone laugh at him.
Nearby, Queen Melonda quietly asked Kim,
"Do you truly like this boy?"
Kim looked toward her mother before turning her gaze back to Kondo.
"To you, he may seem like an ordinary human…"
A soft smile appeared on her face.
"But to me… he's no different from a hero."
Queen Melonda couldn't fully understand her daughter's feelings.
"But if he loses here," she said calmly, "won't he simply look pathetic? Even then… will you still choose him?"
Kim's expression didn't change.
"I don't care whether he wins or loses. And I don't care what others think either."
She watched Kondo quietly.
"I just want him to be happy beside me."
Shin overheard those words from the side and immediately frowned.
(Who does this girl think she is…?)
Then she suddenly shouted toward the arena.
"KONDO! You have to win this match!"
Kondo turned toward her with dead eyes.
(This girl is seriously trying to get me killed…)
He picked up the fallen sword and pointed it toward Kint.
Kint smiled brightly.
"Then let's begin!"
The very next instant—
Kint vanished from his spot.
In a single step, he appeared right in front of Kondo and swung his sword downward.
CLANG!
Kondo barely managed to block the strike.
(He's insanely fast… and strong too!)
Kint immediately followed up with another attack.
Then another.
Then another.
A relentless storm of strikes rained down upon Kondo without pause.
Kondo could barely keep up, desperately focusing only on defense.
But Kint's attacks were both heavy and incredibly fast, forcing Kondo backward little by little.
The monsters watching from outside the arena erupted into cheers for their prince.
Even more monsters from distant parts of the training ground started gathering around to watch the match.
Meanwhile, a handsome monster warrior practicing nearby heard the commotion.
Curious, he looked toward the crowd.
Another monster happened to run past him toward the arena.
He stopped the monster and asked,
"What's going on over there?"
The monster immediately replied,
"Commander Agru! Prince Kint is fighting a human boy. I'm heading over to watch too."
After saying that, the monster rushed off.
Agru narrowed his eyes thoughtfully before heading toward the arena himself.
Pushing through the crowd, he eventually reached King Rose.
"Your Majesty… what exactly is happening here?"
King Rose laughed casually.
"Nothing much. My son is merely having a match with his future brother-in-law."
Agru blinked.
"Brother-in-law…? Since when?"
"Just now," King Rose answered proudly. "Now watch the match."
Agru turned his attention back toward the battlefield.
Sweat had already started dripping down Kondo's face as he struggled against Kint's endless attacks.
Kondo barely dodged and blocked strike after strike, yet Kint gave him absolutely no opening to counterattack.
Every swing targeted a vital point with frightening precision.
But slowly…
Kondo began adapting.
His sword started moving more smoothly.
His blocks became cleaner.
He had started reading Kint's attack patterns.
Kint noticed immediately.
A grin spread across his face.
With one final slash, he leaped backward.
"Just as I expected, Kondo," he said excitedly. "You can already understand my attack patterns."
His smile widened.
"In that case… I guess I'll have to use more power."
Kondo's expression froze.
(More power!? What do you mean MORE!?)
Kint slowly held his sword horizontally before closing his eyes.
Then, using his left hand, he slid his palm from the sword's hilt all the way to its tip.
As his hand moved—
flames began appearing across the blade.
The fire spread further and further until the entire sword became engulfed in blazing flames.
It looked as though the weapon itself had turned into pure fire.
Even the small horns on Kint's head ignited with faint flames.
Kondo's face immediately paled.
(How am I supposed to fight THAT!? This is cheating!)
Outside the arena, even Shin panicked.
"That's cheating! How is Kondo supposed to fight against that!?"
But there was nothing she could do except watch.
Label also looked worried.
"Kint can already control fire this well at such a young age…"
Kint casually swung his flaming sword.
A wave of fire shot through the air toward Kondo.
Kondo barely dodged in time as the flames exploded behind him near the feet of several monsters.
"Hah… that was close!"
Kondo instinctively looked backward—
—but suddenly sensed danger right beside him.
He quickly turned around.
Kint was already in front of him again.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
Their swords collided repeatedly as Kint accelerated his attacks even further.
Each strike felt heavier than before.
(Does he think I'm some kind of monster too!?) Kondo thought desperately. (I can't keep blocking attacks like these forever!)
Finally, Kondo shouted,
"Kint! I surrender!"
But strangely—
Kint looked disappointed instead.
"No, Kondo. Not yet."
His fiery eyes stared directly at him.
"I know you're strong. I don't want to win against someone who isn't fighting seriously."
Kondo nearly wanted to cry hearing that.
At this point, he had no choice left except to continue fighting.
Desperately, he searched for a way to win.
Then suddenly—
an idea appeared in his head.
(I just need to keep blocking until his stamina runs out! Then I can win!)
Kint continued attacking nonstop while the surrounding monsters laughed seeing Kondo only dodge and defend without counterattacking once.
Even so, Kondo knew he couldn't keep this up forever.
Suddenly, Kint changed the rhythm of his attacks.
SLASH!
Two burning scratches appeared across Kondo's body.
"Hot! HOT!"
Outside the arena, Agru's expression became serious.
"Your Majesty… I think we should stop this match."
King Rose glanced toward him.
"And why is that?"
Agru answered carefully,
"Prince Kint's swordsmanship is exceptional, and his control over flames has improved greatly…"
His eyes narrowed toward the arena.
"But if those flames continue growing stronger, his mental balance could become unstable."
King Rose chuckled.
"Yes, you're right."
He continued watching Kint closely.
"Normally, even Kint's weakest flames are enough to make opponents surrender."
A smile slowly appeared on his face.
"But Kondo is still standing."
His gaze sharpened.
"That means he's far stronger than ordinary humans. Through this fight, Kint may gain even greater control over his flames…"
"…and I might also learn something interesting about Kondo."
Agru looked slightly surprised hearing that.
Nearby, Queen Melonda silently continued watching the battle as well.
Meanwhile, Shin and Label had become extremely worried.
Neither of them had imagined Kint would be this powerful.
Kondo was barely surviving.
(At this rate… I'm going to collapse before Kint does…)
Breathing heavily, Kondo quickly jumped backward and stretched his hand forward.
He tried casting magic.
"O god of the sea who grants life through water… Water Arrow!"
Kint stopped attacking for a moment and watched curiously.
Nothing happened.
Silence filled the arena.
Kondo immediately felt embarrassed.
But before he could recover—
Kint suddenly swung his sword toward Kondo's legs.
Kondo barely blocked it in time.
Then Kint instantly raised his sword overhead with both hands, preparing a full-powered strike.
Kondo was too close to properly dodge.
With almost no time left to react, he tilted his sword above his head—
one hand gripping the hilt,
the other holding the blade's far end—
trying desperately to reduce the impact.
At that moment, Kondo truly thought he was finished.
Kint brought the flaming sword down with all his strength.
BOOOOM!!
The instant the swords collided—
thick smoke exploded across the arena.
So much smoke spread outward that nobody could even see the two fighters anymore.
The entire crowd stared in confusion.
"Where did all that smoke come from!?"
But Agru, whose eyes had remained fixed on the battlefield the entire time, suddenly narrowed his gaze.
"…That isn't smoke."