~CHAPTER 43~
“I arrived right on time.”
Illay appeared with a relaxed attitude.
For someone taking part in a duel trial, his casual clothes looked too ordinary, but well…
He wore a sword at his waist that didn’t match his outfit at all.
“Are you planning to fight with swordsmanship?”
“Swordsmanship is the basis of a duel trial.”
“But…”
Illay’s main strength was magic, which was natural for a demon.
Fire magic powerful enough to turn a village into a sea of flames.
A duel trial sounded formal, but in reality it was nothing more than a one-on-one brawl where anything went, so the method of fighting wasn’t restricted.
So of course I thought Illay would fight with magic…
Noticing my doubt, Illay spoke in a calm voice.
“If rumors spread that a member of the Fabrein family is a mage, it will be troublesome.”
Well… that was true.
Being in a small count family with no influence was perfect for hiding one’s identity.
If people started saying he had mage blood, it would only cause trouble.
Sian, massaging the space between his brows as if tired, turned his gaze toward the iron bars.
The sound of hooves grew closer, and soon a figure appeared before us.
The lord wasn’t alone.
Rather…
‘A carriage?’
The lord didn’t step out, perhaps sitting inside, and knights on horseback surrounded it tightly, creating an imposing sight.
Not that anyone here would be intimidated by something like that.
Especially the man riding at the very front…
‘He looks more like a mercenary than a knight.’
Most knights, being nobles, maintained balanced posture and dignified bearing, whereas that man had a burly frame and kept glaring around.
Even his clothes were of noticeably poor quality.
They said they would bring a witness from the knights present that day.
‘The reason they brought someone like that is obvious.’
I let out a shallow sigh at a situation that wasn’t surprising at all.
“Are you worried?”
“Huh?”
Hearing my sigh, Illay asked me.
“I suppose you could be worried since you’ve never seen me fight.”
No… I’ve seen it plenty.
Granted, the current loop hadn’t been going for long, so he probably thought he’d never shown his strength in front of me.
Did he think I was worried about this duel trial because I had never seen him fight?
‘If anything, I’m not worried enough.’
I was about to shake my head when Illay leaned down and pulled my hand toward him.
“…!”
“Serena, I will dedicate this victory to you.”
I… I thought he was going to kiss me.
Instead of kissing me as I expected, Illay brought my hand to his forehead.
I stared at him, unable to hide my surprise.
He looked up at me with a serious expression.
“R-right. I trust you.”
“Yes.”
With a small smile, Illay released my hand and straightened his posture.
‘That startled me.’
I knew Illay wasn’t the type to do something like that, so why did I think he would, even for a moment?
Maybe because it was the first time in all loops he’d greeted me this way.
As I awkwardly rubbed the back of my neck, the carriage carrying the lord arrived in front of the iron gate.
“You’re all outside already.”
As expected, the lord had a sloppy bandage wrapped around his ankle.
Whether he knew how to use the crutch tucked at his side was doubtful.
When he insisted he could get off the carriage alone and then stepped on the bandaged foot, I almost laughed.
“Ahem! As you can see, I am injured. So I must appoint a representative.”
Everyone here could tell he wasn’t actually hurt, yet he kept acting like a patient.
“You also brought a representative, so you have no complaints.”
“Ah, yes…”
The moment they brought that hulking mercenary, it was obvious he would be the substitute fighter.
Sending that mercenary against Illay wouldn’t make him lose anyway.
I simply nodded.
Perhaps expecting me to object, the one who seemed startled was the lord’s side instead.
“W-well, at least you’re straightforward.”
He spoke awkwardly, then hobbled aside with his crutch, and the mercenary stepped forward as the appointed representative.
He stood in front of Illay.
“Do you know many people die in duel trials?”
“Do I need to know?”
The mercenary frowned when Illay didn’t flinch at his attempt at intimidation.
“Let’s see how long you can keep that high and mighty attitude.”
I saw it clearly.
At the mercenary’s gritted-teeth voice, Illay began to tremble.
But I could guarantee this wasn’t fear…
‘Oh no, this is bad.’
He was seriously angry.
Even if it was a brawl, fighting in front of the crowded gate was inconvenient.
So we moved locations.
The training ground where Sian practiced swordsmanship every morning was suitable.
In the spacious arena, Illay and the mercenary stood facing each other.
“Name?”
The mercenary asked arrogantly.
Illay laughed as if dumbfounded but still answered politely.
“Illay Fabrein.”
“Right, I am—”
“You don’t need to tell me.”
But his politeness only went as far as answering questions.
“I don’t care about the name of someone who’ll soon die. You should at least know who kills you, so I answered. But your name is unnecessary.”
A twisted grin lifted one corner of his mouth.
The mercenary’s face flushed with anger.
“Arrogant brat. You’ll regret it.”
“We’ll see.”
Sian and the knight serving as witnesses moved to a place where they could see clearly.
“Then let’s start the duel. Sir.”
“Ah, yes! I’ll give the starting signal.”
Following Sian’s nod, the lord’s witness stepped forward, and both fighters took their stances.
It was my first time seeing Illay handle a sword, but his posture was surprisingly good.
“St… art!”
It seemed the knight had never acted as a duel witness before, because his starting shout was painfully clumsy.
But the duel had begun regardless.
Illay glanced at him briefly, then dashed forward in a swift leap.
“…!”
The mercenary looked startled as Illay closed the distance in an instant.
Then—
Boom!
“A bomb…?”
Did he just set off a bomb?
I wasn’t the only one shocked.
Sian, the knight, and Zahar all widened their eyes, trying to figure out what had just happened.
Only the lord and the mercenary who triggered it were unfazed.
Dust exploded everywhere, making it hard to see either of them.
I could barely make out the mercenary’s standing silhouette, but Illay, who took the blast directly, was completely hidden.
“That’s a magic bomb… can he use that in a duel trial?”
“Why not? A duel trial only requires victory!”
The lord scoffed at Zahar’s muttering.
He had no intention of fighting fairly from the beginning and planned to use the magic bomb from the start.
‘That explosion was pretty strong…’
A normal human hit directly would be dead or at least severely injured.
Illay was tougher than most humans, so he probably wasn’t THAT bad…
But he was caught off guard, and the power was significant, so it was impossible not to worry.
Worse, there had been no sound from him at all.
“You’d better get on your knees and apologize.”
As time passed, the lord grew smug and started poking comments at me.
Given his attitude, he looked moments away from poking me with his decorative crutch.
Zahar must’ve thought the same, because he shifted to stand between us.
‘He’ll be fine. He has to be fine.’
He was a demon noble, after all.
He had to be fine.
I bit my lower lip lightly.
And a moment later, the dust finally settled.
