Volume 1 Chapter 16 Genderbend Female Knight, Making The Target Come To Understand
"Gustavo Di Retonto, let's have a duel."
"...What?"
Eleonora, who had been about to challenge Gustavo to a duel yet again, was instead challenged by him. This left her confused. She had laughed off his previous challenges and easily defeated him. Now, he was the one proposing a duel—what kind of change of heart could this be? However, if he still intended to fight, she had no objections.
"If I lose, I'll stop attending the First Knight Training Course, but if I win, stop mentioning my name in front of Lady Clarissa."
"Why would Clarissa come into this?"
"...I'm doing this to make you understand that."
Eleonora said this and headed to the training ground with Gustavo. The event was considered a major spectacle, and many spectators began to gather.
"Is there anyone betting on Gustavo to win? The odds are now 25 to 1."
"Ms. Eleonora will probably win again today, so it's not a real bet."
Amid the noisy crowd, some started placing bets, but the odds were heavily stacked, and only a few participated. Among the spectators, both young ladies, Vittoria and Clarissa, watched with worried expressions.
"So, are you going to use a longsword again today?"
"No, today it's fists."
"Huh?"
Seeing Eleonora clench her fists tightly and hold them in front of her face, Gustavo blushed.
"You... how far are you going to make fun of me?"
"Well, at first I thought of making it a duel format too. But since it seems you don't care about Lady Clarissa at all, I decided to change it from a duel to a punishment."
Hearing those words, Gustavo also tightly closed his fists in front of his face, preparing himself as if walling himself off. He knew that in a physical fight, Eleonora's muscles would be a threat—even a child could understand that—so he decided to focus on defense.
(With those muscles, if I take a proper hit or get punched, I'll be at a disadvantage...)
However, he couldn't think of what would be an effective blow. Basically, the opponent was stronger than him, beyond the difference in gender. If he couldn't come up with a development that would be advantageous, he could easily predict that his cheekbones would be dented again.
"Well then, shall we begin?"
As soon as she said that, Eleonora threw a right straight at Gustavo's jaw. A left hook followed, pursuing Gustavo as he dodged the fist by swaying back. He somehow managed to clench his right arm and take a guard stance, but a tremendous impact ran through his body, and at the same time, he was about to cry out in pain.
(What brute force every time! Men are like trash!)
A clenched left body blow aimed at Eleonora's liver—the so-called liver blow—struck it powerfully. But the moment it slammed into his hardened abs, Gustavo regretted it.
(It feels like the bones in my hand are going to break! How much do you have to train to get this hard!?)
The moment he thought this, he realized he had almost no chance of winning. He thought about what to do but was sure he would lose if he continued like this.
"The aim is pretty good; you seem to be doing grappling to some extent."
"...It's natural for a warrior to prepare to fight even with bare hands."
"Haha, there are people like that in our place too."
He had no chance of winning with fists and probably wouldn't be able to damage those log-like thighs even if he kicked. Was there anything, anything...
───Use everything you can; you become like that because you are only using both hands honestly.
(Use everything you can..., but is that right as a knight?)
Gustavo glared at Eleonora's face. Her expression, full of confidence, as if to say, "What are you going to do next?" was really annoying.
(────Damn it! Pride is out of the question this time! If I can win against this guy, that's all that matters!)
He suddenly noticed the amulet (talisman) hanging around his neck, sent by his fiancée.
(Sorry, Clarissa!)
With a snap, he broke the string and threw it at Eleonora. At the same time, he ran, aiming to somehow get behind her.
"This is────"
Gustavo, who passed by Eleonora after catching the talisman that was involuntarily thrown, turned around and flew toward her back after confirming what had been thrown.
"With this!"
Wrapping his legs around her torso and his arms around her neck, he squeezed her neck with all his might. Like many others, her neck muscles were also well-developed, but he judged that it was better than hitting steel-like abs. He resolved that no matter how much she struggled, he would absolutely not loosen his grip.
In that instant, he felt a gentle floating sensation.
(No way, is this guy!)
The moment Eleonora's hair and the ceiling came into view, Gustavo realized what was about to happen, but he had no time to prepare for it. While jumping as if falling backward, the two fell, with Gustavo on the bottom and Eleonora's weight sandwiching him between the ground and her body, like a filling.
"Gah!?"
Eleonora swiftly stood up after shaking off Gustavo, who had hit his head from the impact of the fall and briefly lost consciousness. She looked down at him.
"Use everything available; it seems you remembered that, but if you understood that close combat is disadvantageous, it would have been better to run and grab the sword hanging on the weapon rack than taking the back position."
Saying this, Eleonora lifted her right foot and stomped down fiercely, aiming at Gustavo's stomach.
"Guh!!"
Over and over, she stamped down powerfully, making Gustavo groan in pain each time.
"You know! I told you to use everything you can, but consider how Lady Clarissa, who sent the talisman out of her concern for your safety, feels about it being discarded! She prayed for your safety, and you threw it away—that's the same as saying you don't need her prayers!"
It's heinous enough to just listen to—a person who advises and then acts on their own words—but given that Gustavo also trampled on her pure-hearted feelings, it's probably a 6:4 responsibility split.
At the moment she stomped about ten more times, Clarissa jumped out from among the spectators.
"Please..., please stop, Lord Kamitafira!"
With a swift movement, Clarissa pounced on Gustavo and glared sharply at Eleonora.
"Do you really need to hurt him this much? You're unilaterally kicking him without giving him time to talk!"
"Lady Clarissa, it's common for you to die without leaving a will on the battlefield. It would be best to let you experience it while you're still injured."
After hearing Eleonora's words, Gustavo grabbed Clarissa's shoulder, still trying to say something.
"Clarissa..., it's good. I was weak, that's all... Kamitafira-knight, I apologize for the rudeness I've had up until now. Honestly..., I guess there was jealousy towards you."
"What is it? Usually, the difference in status is not involved. There's no need to worry about it, but rather the only thing that makes your fiancée feel better."
Eleonora sighed and stepped toward the exit. In front of her, the students, who were the audience, also stepped back and gave in, like the sea that had blocked the way before the saint and opened up by miracles.
"I'm going to be a low-ranking lord after graduation anyway."
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