Chapter 34
Chapter 34
“I will gо аhеаd and inform Visсоunt Вuttnеr оf the good nеws. I сan alrеady рiсturе thе Visсоunt smiling brightly.”
“Thеn pleаsе travеl sаfеlу.”
“Ugh…! Нyungnim! Lеt’s meеt again sооn! I dоn’t knоw why teаrs keеp coming…!”
А lаrge crowd had gаthеred at the main gatе оf Grodek city.
This wаs bеcausе Brеntе, whо hаd stayed in Grodеk for the раst wеek, had finishеd аll рrepаrations tо return to Eldrida.
“Вut аre yоu rеallу sure yоu don’t need tо cоmе together?”
“I have sоme businеss аlоng the wаy, so it will рrоbаbly takе a littlе lоngеr. Still, I wоn’t bе toо lаtе, so уоu needn’t worry.”
“Haha, understood.”
After bidding farewell to the two, Brente approached Jurente, the lord and Baron of Grodek city, and bowed his head.
“I received the most gracious hospitality over the past week. Thanks to you, I lost track of time while staying in Grodek.”
“Haha! Sir Brente, you spent the entire week at the swordsmanship training ground, didn’t you? Perhaps next time you visit, I can truly offer you gracious hospitality. Ah, and thank you for dealing with the Orc remnants. Please accept this as a gift from me.”
Baron Jurente handed Brente a pouch filled with something.
Since it was from the Baron, it must be filled with Gold Coins.
However, Brente gently extended both hands and politely declined.
“I cannot accept this.”
“Hmm, it is my minimal token of sincerity, so please accept…”
“It is not that I wish to disregard your sincerity, Baron. I mean I cannot accept it because it was Byutek, not I, who dealt with the Orc remnants.”
“Oh ho… So Sir Byutek also defeated Orcs this time?”
“Of course. And he did so very easily.”
“I see. Still, please accept…”
“I must decline. It seems more fitting that this goes to someone else. Then, I shall take my leave.”
Brente bowed his head once more to Jurente and then boarded the carriage.
“Sir Khan, Lady Sharin, and my younger brother Byutek! The road may be perilous, so please be careful. I will see you in a week!”
The people of Grodek city waved at the gradually receding carriage.
The city residents felt deep gratitude, believing that Brente, the Guardian Knight of Eldrida, had stayed in Grodek for a week and dealt with the Orc remnants for them.
How much time had passed?
Just as the carriage carrying Brente was no longer visible, a man pushed through the large crowd and shouted.
“Baron Jurente! I am Zwehl, Leader of the Dandy Mercenary Group! I have come because I have something to tell you, Baron!”
Zwehl was furious to the core, but being before the Baron, he tried his best to suppress his agitation.
“Ah, you came too. What is it you wish to say?”
“I believe you may be unaware, Baron. Did you know that over the past few days, there has been a fellow who suddenly came to our Grodek, impersonated a Knight, and deceived everyone?”
Zwehl deliberately raised his voice so everyone could hear.
Then, the gathered people began to murmur.
“What…? How dare some madman have the audacity to commit such fraud against the Baron?!”
“There’s a fellow with gall that big?”
“If Leader Zwehl’s words are true, we must catch that person immediately and punish them! Tsk…!”
As reactions poured from the people, the atmosphere grew increasingly strange.
Ming, who was hiding within the crowd observing everything, felt her heart burning with anxiety for some reason.
‘Why am I so uneasy? I’m going crazy, really…!’
Was it because she had previously dared to commit fraud against a Mage named Khan?
Or was it because a Knight named Byutek was friends with Khan?
A sense of unease kept rising in Ming’s mind.
“Is that true?”
As the atmosphere grew serious, Jurente also asked Zwehl again with a serious expression.
“Yes, if my words are false, I will gladly accept any punishment! How could I dare to lie to you, Baron, without any fear?!”
“Hmm, do you know who the perpetrator is, the one who impersonated a Knight and committed fraud against me?”
“Of course! And that fellow is shamelessly showing his face right now!”
“What?! Who is it?!”
“It is that fellow right there!”
Zwehl, Leader of the Dandy Mercenary Group, pointed at Byutek, who was standing in front.
“That person impersonated a Knight…?”
“Didn’t Sir Brente say that person dealt with the Orc remnants for him?”
“It seems Leader Zwehl might be mistaken…”
“Wait a moment, but when the Orc horde was exterminated initially, wasn’t Sir Byutek being carried on the back of another Knight…?”
“Now that you mention it, that is a bit strange too…”
Once again, the citizens began to murmur, and public opinion was almost evenly split.
It seemed quite a few citizens had seen Byutek being carried on the back of another Knight when he returned to the city on the day Khan exterminated the Orcs in the western forest.
And Baron Jurente had also witnessed that sight directly.
“Hmm… It seems you are mistaken, Zwehl. Sir Byutek is definitely a member of the Kilpheon Knight Order. I clearly verified the identification plate proving he is from the Kilpheon Knight Order.”
“He must have forged the plate.”
“What? You, such statements are not to be made lightly.”
“Baron! Would I make such a statement without knowing anything? That fellow named Byutek has pathetic skills. How could such a person be a Knight! It’s a show he’s putting on in collusion with a Mage named Khan!”
“What do you mean by that?”
“That fellow named Khan said this on the way back from exterminating the Orcs. He said to keep quiet about today’s events so that the honor of Byutek, a Knight of Kilpheon, wouldn’t be tarnished.”
“Then… did Sir Byutek not defeat a single Orc at that time?”
“Yes, all members of my mercenary group who participated in the Orc subjugation are witnesses as well!”
As Zwehl shouted confidently, Jurente’s mind also began to lean slightly.
And with this much commotion caused, Byutek himself should have stepped forward by now, but strangely, Khan and Byutek were just quietly watching the situation.
But then.
“Byutek, my ears hurt, so handle it quickly yourself.”
“Yes, understood!”
As Khan, who had been silent, spoke a single line, Byutek immediately approached Jurente and Zwehl.
“Baron Jurente, I apologize for the unnecessary commotion because of me.”
“It’s alright. But are the words Zwehl just spoke true?”
“Ah, regarding that part, I will show you right now. Zwehl, was it? I challenge you to a Duel to the Death.”
“……!!”
At the mention of a Duel to the Death, the surroundings instantly fell silent.
Since it was rare for a Knight to challenge someone to a Duel to the Death, everyone looked at Byutek and Zwehl with astonished eyes.
‘This bastard…!’
Zwehl grew even more indignant inside.
‘How dare this bastard with no skills act so arrogantly…!’
He believed Byutek could absolutely not be a Knight.
Zwehl had met numerous Knights throughout his life as a mercenary.
‘He’s a trash-like fellow with pathetic movements to be called a Knight.’
Having confirmed that even his sword-swinging appearance was pitiful, Zwehl was confident.
But for some reason, as he looked at Byutek, the words wouldn’t readily leave his mouth.
He felt an indescribable pressure emanating from Byutek.
‘Since things have come to this, I’ll use the Duel to the Death as a pretext to kill the bastard and then get some money from the Baron.’
After quickly turning things over in his mind, Zwehl looked at Byutek and spoke.
“Haha! Fine, you trash-like bastard…! You keep shamelessly impersonating a Knight and bluffing to the end!”
As Zwehl accepted the Duel to the Death challenge, Jurente spoke up with a flustered voice.
“Do you mean to have the Duel to the Death right here, right now? Zwehl… no, Sir Byutek, you need not go this far.”
Jurente was also a bit confused as things had suddenly escalated like this.
Normally, Knights were treated as lower than Nobles, but Byutek’s case was a slight exception.
A Knight belonging to Kilpheon, a Count’s territory, was treated similarly to a Baron.
And most Nobles showed courtesy to Knights.
If things went this far and it turned out Byutek was indeed a Knight of Kilpheon, Jurente would also be in a bit of a difficult position.
“Sir Jurente, this is a matter solely between me and that fellow, so you needn’t worry. I must properly show that fellow, who dared to tarnish a Knight’s honor without any fear, what the dignity of a Knight truly is.”
“Ahem… If Sir Byutek insists so…”
As Byutek clearly drew the line regarding responsibility, Jurente also said nothing more.
The citizens of Grodek city also watched Byutek and Zwehl with bated breath.
Then, Ming quickly ran over and shouted.
“Sir Zwehl, a Duel to the Death all of a sudden! It’s too dangerous!”
“Ming, you know that fellow is a fake too. I’ll take this chance to completely expose his true nature.”
He planned to use catching the impersonator as a pretext to extract a lot of money after winning the Duel to the Death.
As the Leader of the Dandy Mercenary Group, who held sway in Grodek city, Zwehl had enough influence to make such a request of the Baron.
As the citizens stepped back a few paces each, a natural sparring ground for just Byutek and Zwehl was formed.
Thud. Thud.
Then, Khan slowly approached Byutek.
‘As expected… Since it’s a Duel to the Death, Sir Khan is worried about me too…!’
Even though Khan was usually indifferent, he must be worried about a Duel to the Death, she thought.
Khan, standing beside Byutek, whispered softly in a low voice.
“Byutek, don’t mess around and do it quickly if you’re going to. We need to depart soon too.”
“Ah… Yes. Understood…!”
Byutek felt a bit disappointed, but he understood why Khan said this.
‘With my current skill level… I can defeat a fellow like that with one hand.’
A Mage like Khan would have instantly recognized the difference in skill level between Byutek and Zwehl.
“Are you ready?”
Swoosh!
Byutek, who had drawn his Greatsword and held it in his right hand, looked at Zwehl and shouted.
Seeing Zwehl nod, Byutek spoke leisurely.
“I will use only one hand, so make your move first.”
“You bastard…!!”
A confident attitude, imposing a penalty of using only one hand while simultaneously granting the first move.
Zwehl gritted his teeth tightly and glared at Byutek as if to kill him.
‘I’ll kill you so fast you won’t even be able to react!’
Swoosh!
Zwehl immediately drew the sword at his waist and charged at Byutek at high speed.
Simultaneously, he swung his sword as if thrusting it toward Byutek’s neck.
But.
Swoooooooooosh!!!!
Slice— Slice—
Splaaaaaash!!!!
It was a time brief enough to just close and open one’s eyes.
In that instant, Zwehl’s arms were severed, and he gushed bright red blood.
“Gyaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!”
Zwehl writhed in pain and screamed.
“Reflect on today’s mistake of yours for the rest of your life.”
Whoosh…! Fwip…!
Byutek shook off Zwehl’s blood from his Greatsword and recited.
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I felt pity for Zwehl after this