Episode 14. Declaration of war (9)
“Where are you going?”
Two knights waiting in the hallway block my way.
They were men who looked at least twenty centimeters taller than me. He looked even more bloated when he was wearing armor. And usually, those who had this level of breadsticks were knights who competed for the top rank in the knights’ order.
It was okay to interpret that placing such knights in the corridor of our personal space meant that the crown prince would use the knights to spy on us.
“…… Go see Urca. Get out of the way.”
“When His Majesty the Emperor arrives at the arena, the duel will begin soon. For the stability of the player, please be considerate of visits—”
“I said I was going now.”
[Activates the skill 「Living」.]
When I open my eyes, the knights startle. His expression becomes contorted and his breathing becomes disturbed. It was suffering from the pressure of life.
“But… ….”
“Or do you want to duel with me before you see Urca and Soro duel? If so, accept it.”
Please! Please just get out of the way! Be afraid to live!
As I laid my hand on revenge, the knights hurriedly retreated. Be wary with your hand on the sword. In the process of exchanging glances, a bloody tension lingers between us.
“If you just get out of the way, nothing will happen.”
The two knights looked at each other and slowly removed their hands from their swords. It was through bluff.
“Okay. Well, just for a moment. Prolonged time will be considered cheating.”
No, not even during a duel. They say they’re going to meet some of our players, but why are you being so picky?
“Anyway.”
I released the handle of my sword as I relaxed. He pushed the knights and passed them.
The two knights followed me to the waiting room where Urca was, probably trying to spy on me.
Smart.
I stood in front of the door and knocked.
“Oh, four!”
A cracked voice came from inside. Opened the door slowly. Inside, Urca with a distraught face was sitting with her hands clasped.
“Prause?”
I glanced at the knights behind me, then quickly went inside and closed the door. I forgot to lock it too.
“Prause, why are you locking the door?”
“Are you going to invade other people’s privacy? You mean you don’t have a lover.”
“No, what does this have to do with not having a lover… ….”
“Poo Sup!”
“What are you laughing at again?”
I sat on the chair across from Urca while listening to the two knights scuffle outside.
“How is your condition?”
“…… Are you okay. Are you here because you’re worried? As expected, Prause is kind~”
I came not because I was worried, but because I was anxious. They gave me weapons and helped me with training, but it would be difficult if I lost.
I’d rather be misunderstood that I won by cheating. The fact that he won could be useful in many ways.
But if I lost, it would really be a no-brainer, and everything could go to waste.
“That… ….”
“Isn’t it bad?”
“It’s not a bad thing. No muscle pain, enough mana. I feel good thanks to resting all day yesterday.”
Urka laughed, clenching her fists. Forcibly raises the corners of the mouth. She watched closely, and saw a slight trembling. Besides, her eyes aren’t smiling at all. Are you nervous?
I handed her a bottle of lavender tea from her market. She had it in advance just in case.
“Lavender tea. It’s cooled down a bit, but it’ll ease the tension.”
“Oh, yes.”
She gazes down at her water bottle and carefully puts it to her mouth and drinks. Every time the lavender car passes, the uldae moves.
As I was quietly watching it, I remembered something I forgot to say.
“Oh, come to think of it, I was talking about that, is it okay?”
“Poo Sup!”
Squirts out water while drinking. The splashing water splashed onto my face and clothes.
“Coke! Prout… Coke! Sorry Coke! Sun!”
I wiped her face with her sleeve and stopped her from jumping up. But since she made such a s*x appeal a few days ago, does she care about trivial things like indirect kissing?
“No. It’s okay, calm down.”
“Huh. Ha ha Whoa…….”
After safely overcoming the crisis, she caught her breath and calmed herself down.
“Go, what are you talking about all of a sudden, really!”
“Isn’t she reacting as if she were an innocent girl to a topic you already know?”
“For the Beast Tribe, thirties are the age when they have just reached adulthood. Don’t count it like a human’s age.”
I heard that the lifespan of beastmen is two to three times that of humans. If I had to count it, it would be about fifteen.
…… Fifteen? Are you real?
I was shocked at the thought of being fifteen, but that was the standard for a prisoner. By human standards, he was an adult.
“But haven’t you lived with humans since you were little? Do you know everything you know?”
“Noisy!”
“…… Are you ashamed of kissing me?”
“That is different from this! You idiot!!”
Stupid. It was more of a feeling of sympathy than shock. Is it because you’ve only heard so many curse words?
“…… Anyway, looking at that, it seems that the tension has been relieved fortunately.”
“Oh?”
While Urca looked at me bewildered, I got up from her seat and approached her. She took off her red jeweled necklace in front of Urca. And she put it around her neck.
The necklace Ignis lost.
As the name suggests, it went to the owner. Although, of course, she is its contractor.
“That will keep you from the chill. I want that to be returned after this duel is over. Because it’s important.”
“What is this?”
She studied the jewelry around her own neck and said quietly.
“Somehow, I feel familiar… …. It’s definitely the first time I’ve seen it.”
It’s because the owner of that necklace belongs to the spirit you contracted with.
“Getting used to it means being easy to handle. There is no special skill, but there is nothing like it to counter the ice attribute.”
“Same thing with Flam…… Why are you lending me these nice things?”
“This couple is the first step towards the dream you want to achieve and the reality I have to achieve. Investing is natural.”
“I see… ….”
Urca touches a red jewel.
Are my words burdensome? His expression hardened slightly.
“I won’t say don’t be burdened. Because the few opportunities given to us have come now. It’s up to you to seize that opportunity.”
“Yes. I know.”
“It’s good to know.”
I looked impatiently at Urca’s hand caressing her jewelry. Do you think now is a good time?
If the premise of liking is clear, there’s no way she’ll get angry no matter what I do. She’s more likely to like it.
Urkani, who even made a s*x appeal to me right away, was sure to be pleased with even the slightest expression of affection.
I calmly chose my breath. So as not to frighten her, he slowly reached out her hand and laid it on top of hers. Then he flinched and opened his eyes wide and looked at me.
“P-P-P-PRAUS?!”
Looking at my face and her hand over and over again, her face is getting more and more blush. His expression collapsed, and the corners of his mouth trembled.
“It’s okay. Everything will be fine.”
“Ugh… ….”
Eventually, Urca lowered her head and folded her ears.
She watched her actions and tilted her head.
What is this reaction?
He came to me a few days ago at night, asked for a massage and even kissed me. Are you the type to be okay if you do it yourself and be embarrassed if the other person does it?
Even if I knew about the setting in the game, I lacked information about the opposite s*x relationship, so these reactions were fresh to me.
Anyway, since the main characters of the game are female, there was no choice but to have a few romance elements, and the genre of the game was also an action fantasy, so whenever I saw something like this, I wondered if there was a setting behind the game that I didn’t know about.
“Urca?”
“Eh, huh?!”
“Are you okay?”
“Gwa, it’s okay. Huh. Are you okay!”
I did it intentionally, but I didn’t expect such an innocent reaction. To be honest, it was kind of cute.
“Yes. Let’s not let Thoreau ignore the Beasts again.”
“…… Huh! Of course! I’ll give you a proper shot so that you don’t ignore the Beasts again!”
I held her hand once and let it go.
“Then I will go, so be sure to win. Cheer up.”
“Watch me.”
He nodded as he looked into her determined eyes.
Okay, well motivated.
* * *
[Come on! The official duel will begin soon, so please be patient! And before the duel begins, His Majesty the Emperor says he has something to say, so please refrain from making noise!]
Someone’s voice echoed through the loudspeaker in the arena.
The fact that His Majesty is going personally means that he is certain of Thoreau’s victory, doesn’t it?
But what will you do if Urca wins the duel?
[Now! His Majesty the Emperor of Lufen Aether Pretium!]
With the loud sound of the loudspeaker, the barrier on the top floor was lifted, and Lufen, wearing a golden uniform proudly displaying a phoenix pattern, was loftily looking down at the people.
The barriers to our personal space are also disappearing. By the time I saw the nobles one by one in the private space opposite, I noticed that the emperor was watching us.
“…… Master, that grandfather is staring at us. What should I do?”
Tina gasps her snort, revealing her displeasure.
Grandpa…….
Although she is old enough to be called Grandpa, Tina is probably the only human who calls the emperor Grandpa. Because there are no three generations in the imperial family yet.
I looked to the side of her after telling Tina to just ignore her. Duke Tori and Se-ri just bowed their heads, not knowing what to do with the emperor’s gaze. It seems that the emperor is still difficult for the two of them.
[Your Majesty, can you tell me something?]
A man wearing stylish clothes holding a loudspeaker holds out the loudspeaker to Lufen with both hands. Lufen accepts it and takes a step forward.
[I am also just a person who came to enjoy today’s duel. So don’t look at me Enjoy this duel freely to your heart’s content.]
From noble mtl dot com
Wow!
As if responding to the emperor’s words, cheers spread from the audience.
[However, I don’t think the people of the empire will be thrilled by just enjoying words, so I prepared an event.]
At the story of an event, the shouts change to a roar.
Since the S-class duel was one of the variables that didn’t exist in the game, it was hard to get a sense of what the emperor’s spontaneous event was.
[Everyone must have received small pieces of paper while paying the admission fee. The paper is the one provided to guess who will win this duel. Before the duel begins, write down the name of either Thoreau or Urca and submit it to the knight in front of you. If you hit the winner in this duel, I will give you ten times the price of admission.]
Everyone cheers at his words.
It is understandable that those who came to see the duel shouted because they had a chance to win money while watching the fight between the S-class, the best fighters in the empire.
[It’s a great opportunity to watch the duel and get money, so I hope everyone makes good choices. By the way, I bet Thoreau.]
He grins as he lifts up the paper. I hand it over to the knight next to me.
Aha. Will you put pressure on me from the start?
Those who think nothing of it will think that the target the emperor pointed out has a nearly 100% chance of winning, so most of the spectators will take the side. Not knowing anything about Thoreau.
If Urca tries to win in a situation where the vote goes to Thoreau, the audience will become Urca’s ‘enemy’.
Not only that, but perhaps a sense of hostility towards Urca could have arisen after the duel.
For the common people, money was blood, time, and life. Since Urca was depriving her of any chance of getting it, she was likely to vent her resentment on her.
Anyway, the old man did some trivial tricks and fell asleep.
While I was clicking my tongue inside, a white-haired woman confidently appeared from the entrance to the arena. Thunderous applause echoes across the arena sky.
“I took a picture of you! Soro!!”
Following someone’s shout, other spectators also shout the name Thoreau. Each time her own name sounded in her ear, her walk along the path became lighthearted.
Then Urca, a pink-haired cat, takes a leisurely but powerful step from the other side. Seeing that, she already starts to boo.
Starting with a shout to get out of here, the slave talks about what he is doing here.
Until now, they knew how many monsters Urca had killed to save the people of the empire, but turned a blind eye.
“Urca… ….”
We looked down at Urca. Urca looks up at us too. Because it was before the barrier was formed, it was possible to see each other.
She raises her fist high in our direction, as if she doesn’t mind the boos around her.
“I’ll definitely win, right?”
“…… Is that so?”
Tina turned to me and said. I slowly put my arm out in front of her. As if responding to her fist.
Seeing that, Urca turned her back without hesitation and calmly proceeded to the arena. By the time she is looking at it, the figures of the aristocrats opposite her disappear. It seemed that the barrier had spread again in his personal space.
I can’t intervene now.
That’s how it seemed to inform me.
I did everything I could. So.
Win and come back, Urca.