Episode 14. Declaration of War (8)
Time passed quickly and the day of the official duel arrived.
Our party came over to Pretium by teleport.
Immediately moved to the official arena outside Pretium. On the way, Tina and Phoenix said they wanted to eat something delicious from Pretium, so they had to stop by the market.
With food in his mouth, he got on the wagon and arrived in front of the arena.
A banner with the words ‘First S-class duel!’ Was hung in the arena building. And in front of the arena was crowded with countless people.
Since this will be the first S-class battle, is it natural that people are interested? Besides, duels like this are also used as large-scale gambling events.
“This is the carriage that His Highness, Duke of Aus is riding! Please move out of the way so I can pass!”
Citizens hurriedly open the road at the call of the coachman. The carriage started slowly again.
“It seems that a lot of people watch official duels.”
I pulled up the tent and muttered as I watched the crowd.
“Your duel was informal, so you might not have known about it. This is the first duel between S-classes since S-class came out. Needless to say, it’s S-class versus S-class. It’s understandable that a lot of people are interested.”
Tori, who sat across from me, answered. I sipped the lavender tea I bought from the market and licked my lips.
From noble mtl dot com
“So, who do you think will win Prause, who is very good at predicting? Soro, being the youngest to become S-class, is not enough, and I heard that he is strong enough to rival the magic guild leader, do you think he has a chance?”
“…… The odds were made. Now, it must be up to Urca to do it.”
I said, looking at Urca looking over the noisy warriors.
I did everything I could. Now all I had to do was wait and see the results.
If I can’t do it even after doing this, Urca isn’t a useful card for me.
At that time, you just have to give up. It was a story that if the first step was wrong, it would be enough to take the second step well.
The carriage stopped in front of the back door of the arena.
Since the back door of the arena was made for the convenience of nobles and access to private seats, it was thoroughly controlled by knights.
We got off the carriage while Tori paid the driver.
We were able to enter the arena only after going through strict checks by the Imperial Knights waiting at the back door. It bothered me that the knights were wary of us right before entering, but there was nothing we could do.
As I was walking along the road following the guide, a short-cut woman was standing in front of a fork in the road with her hand on her waist. And next to Thoreau, a man with the same gray hair was looking at us displeasedly with his arms crossed.
Since there is only one man by Thoreau’s side, that man must be Thoreau’s younger brother Terre.
There was a setting that Terr took care of his older sister, Soro, even though he was annoying. This started with the mindset that she lost her parents when she was young and had to take care of her immature older sister.
For that reason, when Thoreau got caught up in something, Terre usually followed him around.
And that setting was implemented as Terre’s intrusion pattern in the second phase of the Soro subjugation in the game.
In this case, since it was a formal duel, Terre wouldn’t intrude, but I thought to be vigilant with the number and possibility of cases.
“…… Damn sister Do we really have to escalate the situation like this?”
“I should have organized the hierarchy at least once.”
Thoreau responds to Ter by loosening her wrists. He sighed as if he couldn’t help it.
“See you in a little while, Urca. I’ll make you squirm in front of a lot of people. I’ll trample on all that pride you have. I am determined.”
Soro smiles while pointing at Urca who was behind me. It’s arrogant.
I felt relieved to see that expression collapse in front of Urca today.
“…… Do you think it will be you who gets that pride trampled on? Thoreau.”
“You, I will make you a human. Cut off the two ears on its head and the thin tail on its hip.”
“If you can, try it. I’m going to burn all of that short hair like the boyfriend’s.”
It’s already a huge war of nerves.
We exchanged blows one by one, but it was Urca who won the war of nerves.
“It’s a man…… ? On the subject of this damn b*tch…… !”
“I am not a dog. It’s an idiot.”
Thoro’s forehead has blood vessels. She hates being called a man, so she can’t hold back her anger and tries to approach Urca. But Terr immediately intervened and stopped him.
“Fighting is in a duel. I’ll see you in a bit. Everyone.”
Ther is dragging Thoreau. Thoreau did not take his eyes off Urca even as he was being dragged away by Ter.
“I’ll cripple you, arm or leg, in a duel!”
Let’s put a bloody bluff to the end.
“Leave this.”
Soro slashes Ter’s hand and walks leisurely on his feet. Ter smiled bitterly and raised his hands. I took advantage of that opportunity to talk to Terre.
“Ther.”
“…… Do you know me?”
A white-haired man turns to me.
He has a huge reputation as an S-class, but he is not active externally, and he does not spare people he meets in the shadows.
That’s why not many people knew him in detail. Even if I knew, it was only his white hair and name.
“…… Don’t even think about interfering.”
“Interrupting?”
“I just say it. Just… ….”
‘It doesn’t mean much.’
“I’m giving you a sneaky warning.”
Warning isn’t a meaningless word, is it?
Every time you talk to a strong person, you talk like this, so a fight breaks out. Cancel right away!
“Warning? Did you just warn me?”
Terr, who is looking straight at me, widens his eyes and shows hostility. Look See how upset you are
“You must be quite confident in your own strength to warn me even though you know my name? Or do you want to fight for yourself instead of just warning me?”
‘Oh, until the fight. It was just something I said. Heh heh heh.’
“You are so conceited. He alone will one day hold you back.”
“How about grabbing that ankle now? “Middle-“
Paak!
Terr was about to reach out to me when someone struck him in the head. The hand that was about to reach me went to his head.
“Ah! It hurts, sister!”
“Today I am the main character. Don’t draw my attention by fighting needlessly.”
It was a really absurd reason. After hearing the reason, Ter frowned. He didn’t seem to like the reason he hit him.
“Ha ha. She’s a really annoying sister.”
“Hey! It’s okay, so come quickly. I have to show my face to His Majesty the Emperor.”
“I got it. And what is a face, what is a face. Call it a face.”
Terra, who reluctantly answered as she saw her sister walking first, looked back at me.
“You are lucky. Well, you’ll be fighting me soon. I promise that time.”
Who is the lucky one?
If Terre had used the skill, the warriors behind me would have reacted immediately.
Of course, from the moment I was mentioned, Tina and Iris had not let go of their swords, and Maria had finished implementing her magic.
If the fight continued like this, Terre would surely be ‘dead’. Even if he is outstanding among the S-class, he is not yet in a perfect form, and he does not reach the heroes.
“Then see you later, Prause.”
“You know me too.”
“Yes. Could it be that you don’t know You are my number one priority to get rid of.”
…… Are you real? Wow, that’s f*cked up.
Being photographed by Baek Gwang-jo means that the emperor is against me.
Suddenly, I am afraid of remorse.
I thought that pushing Se-Ri would lead to this kind of result, but hearing it in person made me feel as if I had been sentenced to death.
“Then let’s go. See you later.”
It was only after the white-haired brother and sister disappeared that the heightened tension eased.
And the guide who was watching from the back quietly asked, “May I continue?” Asked. I just nodded to him.
* * *
Since Urca is a player in this duel, he said that he would let them take a break in the waiting room separately, and they parted ways.
The party follows the guide and enters the bleachers. Thanks to Tori, they were considered honored guests and were given a private space above the bleachers used by commoners.
The front of the space was open to allow viewing. It was invisible from the outside, but a barrier was formed so that the inside could see the outside.
And there stood a man with golden hair. At first glance, he was wearing clothes and a cloak that looked like he would have woken up.
“Your Highness the Crown Prince?”
“…… Are you here?”
He turns around and sees us. Now, just looking at your face makes me angry. Did you pick our tax collector?!
“Yes. I don’t think I’ve seen you for a long time, how are you?”
Tori bows his head politely.
“Stop formality like that. Although it is said to be between the prince and the duke, aren’t we in a ‘hostile relationship’?”
“… ….”
Tori stayed still with his head down, swallowing dry saliva.
Is the reason you came here to notice us? It seems that he really is a prince with nothing to do.
“If you came here to say that, I know everything, so don’t worry and go, right?”
I intervened in the end.
“The reason I ended up like this with Duke Aus is because of you. Stay crushed.”
“Is this really my fault? If His Highness, His Majesty Chris, had second thoughts about slavery, would the Duke of Tory have sided with me? It’s not about abolishing slavery. It’s just mitigating.”
I shook my head leisurely.
“But you were adamantly against it. At that point, the story that it was because of me is not right. It was just something that would happen one day.”
“You don’t lose a word. Seri Do you think so too? The fundamental reason for the rift between me and the nobles was after you coveted the position of emperor, right?”
Seri, who had been quiet since coming to Pretium, lowered her head when she was mentioned and took a deep breath.
She, who had her head down for a while, raised her head. As if she was prepared for something, she revealed her sharp and cold eyes as she did during the noble meeting.
“What can I do? Was that crack already there? Isn’t the fact that he didn’t notice that proof that Chris’ brother is ‘incompetent’?”
“Se-Ri, you bastard…… !”
Chris clenches her fist at Se-Ri’s sarcasm.
“As Prause said, if my brother had tried to go the right way, I would have been on his side too. But my older brother had none of that. Rather, he was using me to consolidate the succession of the imperial family.”
“To think that the princess and the duke were swayed by just one commoner. It’s ridiculous.”
“Foot. Do you think we are the ones who are really being swayed?”
The low self-esteem that she showed in her duchess was teasing Chris as if it were her acting. Fortunately, she didn’t seem to be concerned. Fortunately, she recovered quickly.
“…… Dressing like that in a place like this? If you become emperor, the status of the imperial family will fall to the ground.”
Se-Ri laughed at the sudden remark. Seri examined her own attire and gave her a relaxed smile.
“How are you dressed? It’s just pretty.”
Her outfit was not a dress. She was wearing a formal, but not flashy, neatly designed sweater and long skirt.
“And I am not the main character today, right? You can’t be the main character in every situation. That’s greed, Brother Chris.”
“A b*tchy b*tch… ….”
“About that. So what are you here to do?”
I cut the conversation between the two. It was because if I didn’t cut it, it seemed that we would continue to quarrel, let alone listen to the purpose of visiting this place.
“…… This duel is a duel that breaks the sanctions. Because of the demons that continue to threaten the empire, duels between S-ranks were strictly forbidden. You know that well, right?”
“Yes.”
“That’s why His Majesty the Emperor will visit this arena to observe this duel.”
“So?”
“Therefore, if there is any misconduct or behavior that could cause problems, I will punish you severely. This is the order of His Majesty the Emperor, not mine.”
It’s negative…….
This means, according to one’s thoughts, ‘Urca can never defeat Thoreau. So, if Urca wins, he must have cheated.”
Simply put, it meant that even when you won honestly, you might end up thinking you won unfairly.
In fact, nobles who knew Baek Gwang-jo’s achievements and the strength of Soro and Ter siblings tended to view the two as absolutes, almost blindly.
As long as there was a high possibility that the tendency would raise an objection by looking at the result of the duel, I had to point it out at least once.
“We have no intention of cheating.”
“You will know that when you see it.”
“Couldn’t it be that you’re judging that Urca committed infidelity just because she won?”
“…… Can it be how can i win how come?”
The nuance is very unpleasant.
“Then see you later after the duel is over. His Majesty the Emperor said that he would personally meet Duke Aus and tax collectors after the duel. After the duel, come to His Majesty’s residence.”
With those words, he finally opens the door and walks out. Until the door closed by itself, I quietly looked at the door the prince had left.
“Prause, are you okay?”
“…… No, it’s not okay at all.”
“What can I do?”
Tori and Seri look worried. The warriors and the two spirit kings remained silent in a serious atmosphere. I was waiting for my decision.
From noble mtl dot com
“Whatever. We don’t have a choice. Win or lose, no matter how they react, we just want Urca to win.”
Anyway, I should give Urca one more thing so that she can win.
“…… I will go see Urca for a while and then come back.”
“I will go with you, Master.”
“I will go alone.”
I was very grateful to Iris for stepping out and telling me, but it was better for me to go alone now.
“I’ll be right back, so stay put.”
From now on, I intend to use Urca’s feelings to eat.