37-102

EP.102 Yuno vs. Lichtenauer 

"Teacher!! Wait, the count is my teacher?!" 

"W-what is going on? Junho, did you reincarnate too?" 

"Uh... what is this? If you say Junho... Teacher, do you know about Yuno's past life too?" 

"Hmm? Eliza, you know Junho too? You brat! Did you already go around blabbing to your woman?" 

Yuno was shocked that his respected teacher had reincarnated as Count Lichtenauer, but quickly collected himself and, happy at the reunion, helped Lichtenauer up from the floor and sat him in a chair. 

"Hahaha... So, what happened is..." 

Yuno explained to Count Lichtenauer that he had wished upon a god to be reincarnated, and that the five souls who died in the earthquake that day had all reincarnated together. 

"Wa-wait!! That beautiful woman who came to the gym every day for PT and dated you did you find her?" 

Faced with his respected teacher's question, Yuno clammed up. He couldn't bring himself to say that the woman had reincarnated as his mother, Empress Yuria, and that he was now in love with her. 

"Why are you suddenly quiet? Don't tell me that woman is you, Eliza?" 

"N-no, teacher... that's..." 

Eliza, too, blushed furiously and fell silent, and Lichtenauer thumped his chest in frustration. 

"Why aren't either of you saying anything? Judging by your reactions, you found her, didn't you...?" 

As Lichtenauer eyed Yuno and Eliza sharply, both avoided his gaze, and at that moment, the drawing room door opened. 

"Yuno, Eliza, you were both here. Since I gave up my turn last night, tonight it's my turn to have sex with Yuno first... huh!!" 

"E-Empress?" 

Lichtenauer's body was hidden behind a large chair, so Yuria didn't notice him and spoke as usual, only seeing Yuno and Eliza in front of her. 

"Captain of the Guards? W-what brings you here?" ... "That... that's not the point!! If my ears didn't deceive me, what I just heard... Junho, what is going on? Explain this so I can understand!" 

Lichtenauer glared at Yuno with angry eyes, drew his sword, and the blade began to glow with a fierce killing aura. 

"Teacher! Please wait!!!" 

Seeing Yuria and Yuno so flustered, Eliza stood up and began to explain the situation to Lichtenauer. 

Of course, she glossed over some details, but as she spoke, the rage in Lichtenauer's eyes gradually faded. 

"Hmm... So you're saying Junho went to save the World Tree, but after being affected by the dragon's yin energy, he became insatiably lustful, and Empress, unable to bear it, embraced him? And you, Empress, had already regained your past-life memories, so you didn't have much resistance?" 

"Yes, that's right, teacher. It was so bad that even Catherine and I agreed to share a husband." 

"What? Catherine became Junho's wife too?" 

"Ah... that's a long story, but... yes, that's right." 

Lichtenauer felt his head spinning and his neck stiffening. The lord he had just sworn loyalty to was his cherished disciple from a past life, and the empress he had sworn loyalty to was the reincarnation of the woman his disciple had loved, now in a forbidden relationship with her son. He couldn't believe this reality. 

"Sigh~ Well, you know, life is full of surprises... If there's anything else shocking, please tell me now." 

With a deep sigh, Yuno, Eliza, and Yuria carefully told him that Isabella, Marie, and Cordelia were also Yuno's women, and that even the dragon Yuno had defeated, the former elf queen Kurimu, and the former princess Miruku were also his women. 

"..." 

"Uh... teacher?" 

Yuno cautiously addressed Lichtenauer, who said nothing, but then Lichtenauer drew his longsword again, startling Yuno. 

"Junho, you brat!! Is this what I taught you?!" 

Finally, Lichtenauer's rage exploded, and he attacked Yuno with sword energy. Yuno dodged and had to escape through the window. 

Crash!! 

The window of the lord's drawing room shattered as Yuno fled, but Lichtenauer immediately leapt after him, and the people and guards of Kiese Castle could only watch in shock. 

"Teacher!! Sir Lichtenauer!! Please stop your sword for a moment!!" 

"I didn't raise my disciple to be such a degenerate!! As your teacher, I'll set you straight with my stick!!" 

"That's not a stick, it's a sword!! At least put away the sword energy!!!" 

But Yuno's protests fell on deaf ears, as Lichtenauer was blinded by rage. 

"Junho, you brat!! Take your teacher's stick!! Hyaaa!!" 

Slash, slash 

Lichtenauer was even sending sword energy flying now. Yuno dodged easily, but some sword strikes smashed the roof of the grain warehouse and flew into the sky. 

'Damn! Can't be helped! Someone might get hurt at this rate!' 

Yuno realized he had to subdue Lichtenauer and gathered mana into his fist. 

Boom!!! 

"Junho, you brat!! You dare block your teacher's stick?!" 

As Lichtenauer sent another sword energy, Yuno countered with a fist full of martial energy and closed in on Lichtenauer's guard distance. 

"Come to your senses, please!!" 

Yuno unleashed a barrage of punches filled with martial energy, but even in his rage, Lichtenauer drew a dagger from his waist and deftly parried Yuno's fists. 

Clang clang clang clang 

Despite flesh meeting steel, the sound of metal rang out and sparks flew. Yuno gritted his teeth and pressed in closer. 

"Sorry, teacher!!" 

Pow! 

Finally, Yuno landed a solid punch to Lichtenauer's abdomen, and with a loud impact, Lichtenauer's eyes regained clarity. 

"Ugh! That hurts... Whew~ I'm back to my senses now. Sorry, Junho." 

"Are you finally back? Even if we were born as mother and son, I loved Yuri from the start... teacher?" 

But even after regaining his senses, the sword energy on Lichtenauer's blade only glowed brighter. 

"...I may have taken a hit, but... from now on, things will be different. My lord." 

"Wait a minute! Aren't you back to normal?" 

Now treating Yuno as his lord, Lichtenauer's eyes sparkled with rivalry, and a smile of anticipation for a worthy opponent spread across his face. 

'When did Junho get this strong? One thing's for sure he's way above Eliza, and even above Vice Captain Shupire.' 

Having trained with Shupire, whose skill was considered among the top three in the empire, Lichtenauer was amazed by Yuno's strength. 

But truthfully, Lichtenauer was confident he could defeat three Shupire-level opponents at once, so he wanted to test Yuno's skills. 

"Now, let's go all out, my lord." 

"Damn! I'll go all out too, teacher!!" 

As soon as Yuno kicked off the ground, his body shot forward like lightning, his fist full of martial energy flying at Lichtenauer. 

At the same time, Lichtenauer's sword moved smoothly, deflecting Yuno's punch, and his kick shot toward Yuno's leg. 

"Hup!!" 

But Yuno easily blocked the kick with his thigh, and at the same time, punched upward at Lichtenauer's sword as it came down toward his head. 

Boom! 

Sword energy-filled blade and fist collided with a thunderous boom, and Lichtenauer smiled, sensing victory. 

'As expected... still inexperienced. To take a master's sword head-on like that...' 

Whether martial energy or sword energy, both were manifestations of mana, but their strength depended on years of training, the intensity of practice, and level of enlightenment, so Lichtenauer was sure of his win. 

But his sword was gradually being pushed back by Yuno's fist, and Lichtenauer stared in disbelief at Yuno's fist, which was not only meeting his sword head-on but actually overpowering it. 

'No way... If he had deflected or parried, I'd understand... but in a contest of strength, I'm being pushed...?' 

Lichtenauer had gone all out to show his disciple the difference in skill, so he was dumbfounded. 

But in the end, Yuno knocked away the sword with his fist and then landed a full-powered body slam to Lichtenauer's chest. 

"Ugh!!" 

Yuno's shoulder, packed with force, sent Lichtenauer flying into the broken wall of the grain warehouse. Luckily, the warehouse was full of harvested wheat, so Lichtenauer landed in soft sacks and got up without much injury. 

"Whew... Seriously... Isn't this a bit much? To attack your teacher like you're trying to kill me after decades apart?" 

"Tsk! You should take better care of your lower half. Why do you think I had to go this far?" 

Lichtenauer, dusting off his flour-covered clothes, took Yuno's offered hand and headed back to the manor. 

"By the way, why do you keep switching how you address me? Just relax." 

"...How could I do that, after swearing loyalty as your knight?" 

"...But you seem pretty relaxed now?" 

"Except when we're alone, I'll serve you strictly as my lord." 

"Yeah, do as you like~" 

"You brat!! And if you keep going at it with so many wives every day, you'll waste away! Take it easy!" 

"Hey! Aren't I your lord now? What kind of knight meddles in his lord's private life? Geez..." 

Watching Yuno run ahead, seemingly sulking, Lichtenauer smiled happily. 

'Haha... To be able to push back my full-power sword head-on... You've really become strong, Junho. With a bit more experience, there'll be no one on this continent who can match you....' 

Of course, if he had known Yuno's strength in advance, Lichtenauer was sure he wouldn't have lost so easily, but in any case, Yuno had become strong enough to defeat him off guard, and Lichtenauer was pleased, thinking Yuno was the one who could set the chaotic empire right again. 

'Wait a minute... The Empress, two princesses, and me that's four... So who's the fifth? D-don't tell me it's that crazy wife of mine cheating at home? No way~ If there is a god, he wouldn't make me her husband again in this life, right?' 

Shuddering at the thought of a situation he didn't even want to imagine, Lichtenauer began to ponder what he could do for his disciple and lord, Yuno.