Cecilia was the one who immediately reacted to Zack’s mentioning “duel”.
She stood up from her seat and said with such force as if she was about to hit the table.
[What are you talking about!? We’re having an important conversation during dinner. Even if it’s my brother’s order, I can’t let him do as he wants.]
The knights bowed deeply towards Cecilia. Then, Zack said while giving me a look.
[It’s Cecilia-sama who’s doing as you want. Normally, only elves are allowed to enter elven town. And he’s different from us.][That’s…]
[Lord Georg has prepared this duel with him in mind. He admonished the other elves, saying that if he could fight and win against the elf knights, then at least he deserves to stay here.]
[But, anyone can lose their life in a duel. He is MY guest.]
[It is exactly why. In order for everyone to welcome him as an official elf guest, he needs that qualification.]
[Kuh.]
I got the gist of it from what they’re talking about. I’m indeed inside the elf town, but I’m still considered as an outsider.
To qualify, I must win a duel arranged by Georg. I take another look at my opponent, Zack. He had a long sword hanging on his waist, and his arms were well trained to the point where he could swing the heavy sword freely. Given his tall and slender body, one can expect him to be quick in his movements. Judging by the roughness of his palms, it seems that he has put a lot of effort into training his sword.Intuitively, I knew that Zack was a strong swordsman.
[You have crossed the sea despite the sea serpent. Surely you will agree to duel me?]
[As if I have any right to decline.]
[Good, you know your place.]
Cecilia seemed to intend to interfere, but I gestured to her to stop, and asked Zack.
[When will the duel take place?]
[The ceremony is taking place as we speak.]
[It’s too sudden!]
They probably didn’t want to give Cecilia time to interfere.
If it’s all decided behind the scenes, there’s no way for me to escape now.
[Okay. Where should I go?]
[That’s why we came to pick you up.]
After saying that, the three elven knights left the bar.
Cecilia and I, who were left behind, looked at each other.
[It’s too dangerous.]
[But if I don’t go, Cecilia’s position will be in jeopardy]
It’s fine if it’s just me being ostracized. But, what if the true purpose was to exclude Cecilia?
Even if I, a wanderer, set out from here to the world outside the wall, I could always return to where I washed up on the beach.
Cecilia is not the same as me. She may lose entry to the important place where she was born and raised.
To me, losing a place to return to… seemed very frightening.
My goal is to find Roxy and return to the Royal Capital Seyfert, where Aaron is waiting. If I lose my place to return to, I will be lost in this foreign world.
I would like to avoid at all costs the fact that Cecilia took care of me as an opportunity for others to degrade her.
[Let’s go, follow me.]
Zack called out to me from the exit of the bar.
I grabbed the black sword Greed and chased after him. Cecilia also followed behind me.
[I’ll go too. I have to keep an eye on my nii-san to make sure he doesn’t do something cowardly.]
[You don’t trust your nii-san at all, do you?]
[Right now, my onii-san is betraying my trust.]
It’s sad that things have continued to develop to the point where siblings hate each other.
Well…I don’t think I can say that about other people either. I still can’t come to terms with my other self. You could say that he and I are brothers in a sense. I don’t know which one is the older brother and which one is the younger brother, but I don’t feel like we can get along.
In that sense, Cecilia and I may be a little similar.
[Come quickly.]
Apparently impatient, Zack spoke out in a strong voice.
When I left the bar, I saw there were two elven knights on either side of him.
[I’m not running away.]
[Just in case. If you somehow miss the duel, I won’t be able to face Georg-sama.]
The elf knights seemed to be highly loyal to Georg.
[You guys are like Georg’s personal guard?]
[Indeed we are.]
We’re walking toward…the main street.
I could hear the lively voices of the elves. It seemed noisier than when I passed by to visit the bar.
Cecilia seemed to feel the same way.
[Zack! The place where the duel will take place…I can’t believe it.]
[As you can see.]
Elves surprisingly seem to like flashy things. It’s a world closed in by walls after all.
There doesn’t seem to be any kind of entertainment.
I wonder if that’s why…a crowd had gathered around the plaza in the center of the main street.
[It’s not a show.]
Cecilia protested, in consideration for me. But Georg wouldn’t relent.
[What are you talking about, Cecilia? This is a ritual to accept Fate Barbatos into the elven city.]
[A ritual?]
[It’s like a reincarnation ceremony. But, this time it’s the other way around.]
The opposite of the Reincarnation Ceremony… the Reincarnation Ceremony is expelling someone from the Great Wall.
So, this duel is to be accepted into the Great Wall?
[If there are so many people watching, there will be more power in the duel, right?]
[If I win, no one will complain.]
[Right. That’s the intention.]
[…Fate.]
Cecilia was looking at me worriedly.
I slowly made my way to the center of the empty plaza.
But, my opponent wasn’t there yet.
[Who will be my partner?]
[Not us.]
[What do you mean?]
Georg looked at Zack with a fearless smile on his face.
He bowed deeply and pointed his hand toward the square.
[No way…nii-san. There’s no way…he can’t win.]
[No, if he’s the real deal, he can win. He’s the one who came from the sacred land across the sea. Now, show me your true power.]
What! ? Something is about to be born, emitting light around it.
This is different from the spirit arts that Cecilia used.
A power swirled before my eyes that made me feel a tingling sensation on my skin.
Zack raised his voice loudly.
[Fate Barbatos. My spirit beast Belial will be your opponent.]
It has a cow-like head with two large horns. Its body had human-like limbs and was covered in thick black fur.
It’s more than twice my size and has a muscular body.
If I were to receive the fist thrown from that log-like arm, my body would probably fall apart.
Then, after the spirit beast Belial appeared, the surrounding temperature dropped further. I was starting to breathe white mist.
I pulled out the broken black sword Greed from its sheath.
The spirit beast Belial stood calmly in front of me. The sweat dripping from my forehead turned into ice and fell to the ground.
Georg kept an eye on both me and the spirit beast Belial.
Then, he looked shocked at me stubbornly using a broken black sword.
[Don’t cut corners, Zack.]
[Understood, Georg-sama.]
In the crowd of elves, seeing me and the spirit beast Belial, various words were exchanged.
Some said that there is no way a living body can defeat a spirit beast. Another said that foreign objects are not desirable in the elf world.
There was no one who offered friendly words to me other than Cecilia.
It’s only natural… people often find something they don’t know of as creepy.
That’s why this duel should have meaning for the future.
Once it was quiet, Georg announced the start of the duel.
[If you want us to recognize you, just win the battle.]
