It Seems the Demon King Has Returned to a World Where Gender Roles Are Reversed - Chapter 53

 Chapter 53 :

Seria’s aura began to swell even more intensely.  

As a result, Hazel and the other girls, who had initially been ready to confront her with their own momentum, could only swallow hard and click their tongues in frustration.  

And for good reason standing before them was Seria Branzberg.  

She was the strongest first-year student… or rather, the unparalleled genius, a being considered beyond ordinary standards.  

Born with an absurdly immense magical power, she was capable of effortlessly controlling and manipulating Longsword-class golems as a mere first-year.  

Her astonishing talent left the military academy at a loss, unable to find a suitable mentor for her, leading them to report her to the royal court.  

Even Karen Steiner, the kingdom’s great knight who took on the role of her mentor, acknowledged her talent and stepped down from her position as White Knight to guide Seria as the next in line.  

Though she became a target of jealousy, and some belittled her as merely possessing vast magical power, her talent was undeniable.  

The immense magical power within her was an undeniable truth, no matter how much anyone tried to ignore it.  

And this magical power directly translated to physical enhancement.  

In other words, the more magical power one possessed, the stronger their physical body became. The amount of magical power Seria currently held was so vast that even if everyone present combined their magical power, it wouldn’t come close to hers.  

In this situation, if Seria got serious, there was no one here capable of overpowering her through sheer strength.  

“…”  

Gazing at Seria, who stood silently radiating fury with her gleaming eyes, Ragna couldn’t help but swallow hard.  

Her presence made him realize once again:  

It was impossible for him to defeat her or Karen in a direct confrontation.  

This realization came from observing their sparring sessions at the Steiner estate, conducted under the guise of “training.”  

Until recently, he had thought that even in dangerous situations, he could rely on his magic… or so he had underestimated them.  

But witnessing the two of them fight with full force, Ragna understood that his own power was still incomplete. In a situation where he couldn’t use magic for instance, if he were deprived of the chance to cast spells he would have no hope of defeating them.  

“…”  

“…Tch.”  

Hazel clicked her tongue lightly at Seria’s menacing aura. In an instant, the atmosphere shifted.  

Just moments ago, Hazel and her two companions had been pressuring Ragna, but now they found themselves cornered and intimidated by Seria alone.  

Seria, clenching her fists, looked ready to charge forward at any moment.  

Such a sight was unimaginable under normal circumstances, likely because someone had touched her reverse scale. And what that reverse scale was needed no explanation.  

“…”  

Even so, Seria’s current state was so intense that even Ragna hesitated to approach her.  

It was like staring at a blazing pile of straw, with no choice but to watch.  

In this situation, it was Anita who stepped in to extinguish the flames.  

“Hey, hey, calm down, Seria.”  

*Pat pat.* Taking advantage of their height difference, Anita gently patted Seria’s head.  

“…”  

“I get that you’re angry, but causing a scene here won’t solve anything. It might even make things worse.”  

“…But—”  

“No ‘buts.’ Let me handle this for now. Cool your head. Honestly, if you go all out, things will get way out of hand.”  

“…”  

Though Seria frowned, clearly displeased, she eventually nodded in agreement. She reined in her menacing aura and unclenched her fists.  

*Phew.*  

Most of those watching let out sighs of relief.  

The bomb on the verge of exploding had finally been defused.  

Anita, observing the scene with amusement, spoke up.  

“So, what now, Hazel? You’re not seriously planning to keep this up, are you?”  

“…”  

Hazel grimaced at Anita’s words and glared at Ragna.  

“…”  

Ragna met her gaze head-on. Yielding in this situation could lead to even bigger problems down the line.  

It was better to stand his ground to the end.  

Besides, he still had an ace up his sleeve. With that in mind, even someone like Hazel wouldn’t be able to take him down easily.  

With that thought, Ragna chose to confront Hazel head-on.  

As the two continued to glare at each other, Anita sighed.  

“Ugh, this is getting ridiculous. Don’t you think it’s time to call it quits?”  

“You really thought this would be resolved so easily? You, of all people, should know how stubborn the Granstig family is,” Liliana remarked.  

“Well, sure, but we can’t just let this drag on. We need to settle it somehow…”  

*Hmm…* Anita pondered for a moment, deep in thought. Then, suddenly—  

“Ah, right!”  

*Smack.* She slapped her fist into her palm, as if struck by a brilliant idea, and turned to Hazel.  

“Hey, Hazel.”  

“…What is it?”  

“You want to settle things with Ragna here, right? To restore your wounded pride from that day.”  

“…”  

“But don’t you think it’s kind of pathetic to gang up on a guy who’s never even held a sword, making a big fuss like this? If you’re from the prestigious Granstig family, you should face him openly and settle it properly.”  

“…I don’t follow.”  

“It’s simple. A duel. Stop scheming in the shadows and settle it with a proper duel. I’ll even help arrange it.”  

“…”  

Hazel frowned at the suggestion, as if wondering why she should bother with a duel. But Liliana nodded, intrigued, and added,  

“That’s an interesting idea. I forgot because Ragna’s a man, but he definitely meets the conditions for a duel.”  

“…What are you talking about?” Ragna asked, catching on and switching to polite speech. Liliana explained, nodding.  

“Well, normally, men can’t be parties to a duel. They’re considered too weak, so they aren’t granted that right. The same goes for male knights we can’t risk losing valuable male knights over something trivial, and there’s always the chance someone might use a duel to eliminate a rival family’s male knight.”  

“…”  

“But there’s an exception. If a man has acted as a representative of his family at least once, he’s recognized as a full member of that family. And in your case, Ragna, you’ve done that once before.”  

“…You mean?”  

“The incident involving Seria. And it’s connected to Lady Hazel here as well.”  

“…”  

Typically, men born into a family aren’t recognized as full members and thus have no authority.  

The same applies to women who haven’t undergone their coming-of-age ceremony.  

In the old days, when people fought for survival against magical beasts, those who hadn’t reached adulthood or couldn’t act independently weren’t treated as full individuals a custom from that era.  

However, there’s an exception where such rights are granted: when someone has acted publicly as a representative of their family, even just once.  

For example, when someone like Ragna acts as the family’s representative at an event or is introduced as a family member at a party.  

In such cases, they’re recognized not just as part of the family but as a full-fledged member.  

“…So that’s how it works.”  

“What, you didn’t know? Well, even so, it’s true that you acted on Lady Karen’s behalf at that event. And it’s undeniable that Lady Karen acknowledged it. That means your rights as a member of the Steiner family are fully recognized. Who knows, you might even be able to claim inheritance rights.”  

“…”  

Ragna had only stepped in to resolve Seria’s issue.  

He hadn’t imagined it would lead to something like this.  

“Ha…”  

Ragna let out a light sigh.  

Karen probably didn’t know about this either. She was quite flustered back then, focused entirely on resolving Seria’s issue, and likely didn’t notice the implications.  

If he subtly brought this up to her, how would she react?  

Ragna suddenly recalled that day when Karen, brimming with confidence, declared she’d take responsibility for Seria only to nearly choke in panic when she learned Seria was staying in her room.  

He sighed again.  

“…What? Are you mocking me?”  

“…Oh, sorry. I was just thinking about something else.”  

Ragna’s honest apology, but his choice of words wasn’t ideal.  

“To ignore me in this situation and think about something else… you’ve got some guts.”  

It seemed being ignored was Hazel’s own reverse scale. Her delicate brow furrowed, her eyebrows forming an angry arch as she shouted.  

“Fine. I’ll accept your proposal for a duel.”  

“…Oh?”  

Pleased that things were going as planned, Anita nodded with a satisfied smile. But just as she was about to speak, Hazel interrupted.  

“But there’s a condition.”  

“A condition?”  

“Yes. I’ll decide the method of the duel.”  

“…”  

Anita and Liliana frowned, their eyes narrowing with suspicion about what Hazel was scheming.  

“No need to be so wary. I’m not some demon. I’ll ensure the duel is conducted fairly.”  

Hazel’s confident declaration. Ragna was the one to respond.  

“So, after this one duel, this matter is settled?”  

“Wait, Ragna! Don’t just accept it like—”  

“Yes, exactly. I swear on the name of the Granstig family.”  

“Fine. I’ll accept. What’s the method of the duel?”  

Ragna nodded readily.  

Hazel flashed a triumphant smile and pointed at him, declaring,  

“You came to the military academy to become a knight. In that case, there’s only one fitting method for the duel. A one-on-one golem arena match.”  

“…”  

“…”  

“…”  

Everyone was stunned by the proposal.  

A golem arena? Was she serious? It was an absurd challenge. Sure, Hazel wasn’t exactly experienced with golems, but she had far more experience than Ragna. He had only recently discovered his abilities and enrolled in the academy he likely had no experience handling golems.  

Anita, Liliana, and Seria were about to urge Ragna to reject the proposal immediately.  

But before they could, Ragna cut them off and said,  

“Fine. I accept.”  

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Translated by Reversalnovel.web.id