The Expelled, Oblivious Strongest Boy Saves an S-Rank Beautiful Female Adventurer and Unknowingly Forms a Harem - 13-14

Chapter 13: Liam Signals the Start of the Duel

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“A duel…? Between you and me?”

“Yes. If I win, you must swear to never go near Liam-san again.”

“Wha-What?! Lydia-san, I’m not really—”

“Liam-san, I must kindly ask you to remain silent.”

Lydia-san looked at me with a sharp, commanding gaze that truly exuded her dignity as someone who hailed from a family of knights and also an S-rank adventurer. There was no way I could stand up against Lydia-san when she was this angry. Hence why, I only kept my mouth shut as per Lydia-san’s instruction. 

“If I’m not allowed to go near Liam-kun again if I lose, that means it is only fair if I get something of equal value if I win, right?”

“There’s no need to think about the possibility of you winning since it is impossible for me to lose to someone as frivolous as you, but very well. If you win, I swear I won’t try to interfere again. You are free to get near Liam-san as much as you’d like.”

“That’s all I get if I beat you—”

The red-haired elf woman was saying something, but she paused a bit upon noticing something. 

“The crest on the hilt of your sword… Perhaps it’s from a famous family of knights?”

“I’m impressed you actually recognize it. Yes. This is the emblem of the Astoria family. A noble family of knights and I am Lydia Astoria, a member of that family.”

“Lydia Astoria… If I remember correctly, that means you’re also an S-rank adventurer like me, right?”

“It’s rather insulting to be compared to the likes of you, but since you’re also an S-rank adventurer known as the Great Mage, then I suppose it’s technically true.”

Lydia-san said and the red-haired elf woman shifted her gaze toward me. With a smirk, she looked back at Lydia-san and spoke again.

“I wasn’t too keen on the idea of dueling with someone at first, but it’s not every day you get a chance to fight another S-rank adventurer. Plus, it’s the perfect opportunity to defeat you to pulp you and show Liam-kun how cool I am. And so, I’ll accept your duel.”

“You should know that I’m the one who will impress Liam-san. You will simply suffer a crushing defeat under me.”

“Oh, is that so? Well, since you’re an S-rank adventurer, I’m sure you won’t break just from me throwing a bit of magic spell at you, right?”

“I expect nothing less from you. Since you also call yourself an S-rank adventurer, I believe you are tougher than a mere straw doll too.”

After both of them taunted each other like that, Lydia-san glared at the red-haired elf. her expression turned serious while the red-haired elf’s lips curled into a smirk. Then, Lydia-san turned her attention to the elf woman who was trying to help us enroll into the Magic Academy. 

“I apologize, but is it alright if we borrow a place that could be used for a duel?”

“Ce-Certainly! Right this way…!”

The elf woman looked visibly flustered, probably overwhelmed from the presence of the Great Mage-sama and Lydia-san, who was an S-rank adventurer too. She seemed nervous knowing the two of them would have a duel here. That being said, despite her nervousness, she still led us to a suitable place for a duel. her voice trembled as she spoke. 

“Thi-This is the training ground. Yo-You should be able to use flashy attacks with no problem….”

“Thank you.”

Lydia-san thanked her politely. The elf woman then scooted a bit farther away from Lydia-san and the red-haired elf. She was determined to only watch their duel from a safe distance. I also followed suit. I stood next to her and watched as Lydia-san readied her sword. 

“I’m ready whenever you are. How about you?”

The red haired elf smirked and responded. 

“I’m also ready whenever—Oh! wait!”

The red-haired elf, who had been staring at Lydia-san, suddenly turned her attention to me. She then waved her hand excitedly at me. 

“Liam-kun!~ Cheer for me, okay?~”

“Huh-?!”

I was startled by the sudden beaming smile that she flashed at me. Lydia-san then gritted her teeth as she glared at the red-haired elf.

“You are really an incorrigible person. There’s no way Liam-san would cheer for someone like you. I will make sure you can’t say anything foolish anymore by cutting you down right here and there.”

Upon hearing Lydia-san’s sharp remark, the red-haired elf turned to look at Lydia-san again and said. 

“Hm?~ Well, I guess it’s easy to talk big~”

“Talk big, huh? In that case, I will need to prove that I’m not all talk by cutting you down for real… Liam-san, would you kindly give us the signal for the start of the duel?”

“Huh?! A-Alright!”

Startled by Lydia-san’s sudden request, I raised my hand high and then brought my hand down and exclaimed. 

“Let the duel begin!”

As soon as I said that, Lydia-san quickly closed the distance between her and the red-haired elf, while the elf began casting her magic spell.

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Chapter 14: Liam Intervenes With the Duel

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“Apologize and repent for having the audacity to pat Liam-san’s head!”

Lydia-san yelled as she unleashed a rapid flurry of slashes toward the red-haired elf.

The red-haired elf defended herself with a protective spell and said to Lydia-san. 

“Why should I have to repent just for patting Liam-kun’s head? I mean, his face was so cute when I did it. In fact, just thinking about how adorable he was makes me feel all strange inside…”

The red-haired said as she placed her hands on her flushed cheeks. Seemingly disgusted, Lydia-san in a cold voice. 

“Even though we’re in the middle of a duel… It seems we are truly incompatible. But that carelessness will be your downfall.”

Immediately after she said that, Lydia-san used her exceptional agility to get behind the red-haired elf. She then unleashed another series of powerful slash with her swords, a move known as 【Magic Penetrating Slash】. This was a magic based attack that could be used to penetrate someone’s magic barrier. The red-haired elf turned around just in time as Lydia-san’s slashing attack pierced through her barrier. That being said, even if she were to try to cast another barrier, the 【Magic Penetrating Slash】 would break it immediately. Any offensive magic she had in hand would be much slower than Lydia-san’s sword, especially since Lydia-san’s forte was in her speed. Just when it seemed there was no hope left fo rthe red-haired elf, she suddenly used wind magic to propel herself away from Lydia-san. She managed to distance herself from Lydia-san’s slashing attack. The two faced each other again and the red-haired elf said.

“As expected of a knight from the Astoria family and an S-rank adventurer. You are quite good. At least I know now that you’re not only talking big.”

“Likewise. I’ll acknowledge that you haven’t sullied the name of an S-rank adventurer. At least, if we’re talking about your skills. Can’t say the same about your personality though.”

“Alright! It’s my turn to attack you!”

The red-haired elf last said before she launched a fire magic spell at Lydia-san.

“【Gale Slash】!”

Lydia-san used a wind magic powered slash to cut through the fire and quickly closed the distance by dashing toward the red-haired elf. However, the red-haired elf immediately countered with an ice spell.

“【Flame Slash】!”

Lydia-san sliced through the ice wall with a flame-based slash. For a while, the two of them continued exchanging blows. Both of them were equally strong, neither looked at disadvantage. 

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“So this is a fight between S-rank adventurers…”

I couldn’t help myself from being genuinely mesmerized by watching Lydia-san fighting the red-haired elf. Among all the people I had seen so far, Lydia-san and the red-haired elf were the only people that could come close to Big Sister’s strength. Without any doubt, these two S-rank adventurers were stronger than anyone else I had ever seen. But then, while I was admiring their prowess, the two of them who had been exchanging blows since a while ago, suddenly stopped moving. 

“Hey, I don’t think we’re only going in circles at this rate. How about we both unleashed our most powerful attack and just end it already?”

“Fine by me. I was thinking the same thing, actually.”

After that, the red-haired elf turned to me and exclaimed. 

“Liam-kun! We’re going to get serious now! Please move a bit further away! The person from the Magic Academy too! Scoot a bit further please!”

“Ye-Yes! Understood!”

At the red-haired elf’s urging, I was about to move when I realized the elf woman beside me had turned pale. 

“I-It turned out they haven’t unleashed their full power yet….? That means, if they actually go all out right now… The training grounds will…”

The elf woman stammered while looking at the training grounds. I had been so enthralled by the fight that I hadn’t paid much attention to the state of the training ground. Looking around, I realized that the walls and the floors were pockmarked with holes. There were scorch marks from fire magic and patches of ice from ice magic. Even though the two of them hadn’t been using their full power yet, but the training grounds were already in tatters. If they were to unleash their full power, then… It wasn’t just the training ground. Most probably, the entire Magic Academy would also… 

Anyway, I decided to get the elf woman to move further away for her safety. Then, I turned my attention back to the fight. There, Lydia-san was channeling an enormous amount of magic into her sword. She was shining so brightly, a clear proof of how powerful her magic power was.

“As someone who has sworn to support Liam-san, I definitely can’t allow myself to stumble against someone like you.”

On the other side of the training ground, the red-haired elf had summoned a big magic circle above her. There were three layers of magic circle, each radiating a tremendous amount of magic power.

“I understand better than anyone just how amazing Liam-kun’s magic is. I will not let anything stand in my way to get to know Liam-kun better. For Liam-kun’s sake… I will not back down.”

The two of them were channeling most of their magic power into this single attack. Lydia-san unleashed a powerful sweeping slash attack while the red-haired elf cast a combined magic spell of fire, ice, lightning and wind toward Lydia-san.

And then… 

“【Wind Thunder Dash】.”

In order to stop them from damaging the training ground even further, I took a gamble with this move. I dashed with the speed of lightning to stand between the two attacks. 

“Li-Liam-san?!”

“L-Liam-kun?!”

A second later, I was hit simultaneously by Lydia-san’s slash attack and the red-haired elf’s magic spell.

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