Quit being a knight and become a mercenary

58 – Banquet, and Duel (3)

The duel with Paulo was held the day after the banquet.

Currently, I am polishing my sword and checking the condition of my armor in preparation for the duel.

It’s a bit ridiculous that we’re doing this even though we’re not going to war, but what can we do?

A duel is a one-on-one war that ends only when either you die or the other person dies.

In most cases, it is not considered a virtue to take the other person’s life, so there are many cases where it ends by holding a knife to the person’s throat.

Even if you kill your opponent during a duel, you will not be subject to any punishment or responsibility.

After roughly completing the inspection, I knocked on the armor mixed with mithril and sighed with a helpless smile.

“I can’t even count how many times my armor was hit with arrows, maces, and swords during the war. Mithril is really good, but it doesn’t have any scratches! f*ck, I only trust you.”

While I was muttering to myself, someone tapped my shoulder.

“Martin, you son of a b*tch.”

When I looked back, I saw Captain Dalton frowning and smiling bitterly.

“Can you deal with that scum with a foul when you’re not even an expert yet? “I thought it wasn’t a joke when I saw it last time.”

In terms of skill, it is true that I am much weaker than him.

So, not only is there a high probability that I will get screwed, but considering his personality…

‘He’s going to try to kill me, even if it means causing an accident on purpose. No, I’ll just kill you.’

Even so, isn’t it possible for this Mr. Martin to just sit by and watch this bastard who is trying to mess with my woman? That is absolutely unacceptable.

Rather than wait and see, I would rather hang myself from a beam and die.

“Didn’t that bastard touch Senior Karin? So you have to be able to tolerate it.”

Dalton heard that and the corner of his mouth twitched for a moment.

“Is that so? Well, if you leave a bastard who touches a woman you like, will she be a bastard? “He’s just a f*cking bastard.”

Then he tapped my shoulder and said,

“The guys in your platoon over there are worried that their shoulders are sagging, so when you’re done putting on your armor, go out and say something.”

I quickly checked my armor and left the barracks.

Then the guys outside came rushing over, surrounded me, and spoke to me while biting their lips.

“Platoon leader, are you sure it’s okay? “That guy’s level is expert, but you’re not there yet, aren’t you?”

“If something goes wrong, platoon leader, what should we do…”

“Can’t we just say right now that we won’t engage in dog fighting like this? “Didn’t the platoon leader just unilaterally pick a fight?”

If a person of high status challenges a commoner of low status to a duel, the person of low status can never refuse.

Of course, since I’m a mercenary, I could just say f*ck it and refuse…

‘If I win here, my reputation will soar to the sky, and I can make Karin’s body and mind mine as well.’

From noble mtl dot com

So, although it is an unfavorable battle, it is worth risking my neck for.

Even though I’ve made up my mind, listening to their words somehow makes me cringe.

If I hold on to these guys and shed tears, I’ll feel bad because it feels like I’m on my way to death.

So I grinned while pushing them away with both hands.

“Why am I going to die? What about me? Because I’m going to pin that Paulo to the ground and make him cry. “Open your eyes and look carefully!”

Lucia’s fox tail and ears are completely down, and she is staring at me intently.

Then she grabbed my sleeve and pursed her lips and said,

“So, platoon leader. Do you have to win and come back? “Don’t get hurt, just make sure…”

On the battlefield, she is now Lucia and shows more than her share, but when she shows herself like this, she is still a weak girl who needs to be protected.

But unlike at first, now he only shows this weak side to me. Good night.

Lucia was so cute that I stroked her head.

“I’ll come back fine, don’t worry.”

Lucia smiled slightly bitterly and flicked her tail a little.

Meanwhile, Karin just wiggles her fingers while looking at me, but she can’t come closer and she stands far away.

I think she’s probably doing it because she’s sorry that I had to duel with a difficult opponent because of her.

If she can’t come, I’ll have to go.

He walked closer to her with great strides.

“Martin, I’m sorry you made me fight a guy like that…”

As if to interrupt her in the middle of what she was saying, I brought her face closer and spoke as if whispering in her ear.

“I like that senior. Just seeing that damn Paulo look at my senior makes me so angry that I want to gouge my eyes out. So, letting my senior touch me was not something I could do. My stomach was so twisted that I couldn’t stand it. So don’t worry too much.”

When it comes to confessions in novels and dramas, there are people who do it when they are in a somewhat awkward state or who tell the other person to take care of the situation when it is clear that they are not interested.

Some guys worry about confessing to me as soon as I see them, at most for a month or more.

That’s my opinion.

‘Confessions are usually made when you are confident that you will succeed.’

I don’t know if you’re just openly flirting with me by asking me to go to a hotel without saying anything else, but I’m sure that Karin will unconditionally accept my confession at this stage.

Karin blushed like a red ripe apple and nodded her head slightly.

“…… Come back alive. “Because I like you too.”

Then he lightly kissed my cheek.

It was a very light kiss that lasted about 0.1 Seconds, as I had never even dated anyone, let alone been in a relationship…

The feel of moist and soft lips on my cheek was so thrilling.

At that moment, the platoon members got so excited that they whistled and even shouted at the same time, attracting all the attention of the surrounding area and making it very noisy.

Quickly out of embarrassment.

“Then I’ll just leave, senior. “Thank you for your support.”

After being seen off by all of the mercenaries, I moved on and went to the temporarily prepared duel arena.

A normal person would feel scared at the thought of having to risk their life fighting someone stronger than me one-on-one.

I am rather filled with anticipation of winning this fight that everyone is worried about, gaining fame, and getting one step closer to the wealth and harem that I have longed for.

After reincarnating in this world, awakening as an Auror, and fighting with swords, I think my way of thinking has changed like this.

But wouldn’t it be better than becoming a loser before even fighting in a duel that is unfavorable to me?

“Whoa, f*ck…”

After taking a deep breath, I entered the duel arena.

The man in front of him placed his sword on his shoulder and clucked the fingers of his left hand.

“You’re just a mercenary, but you came all this way, prepared to risk your life to fight with Paulo Schwafen. “I give you great praise for that!”

Then he stepped on the ground hard with his right foot, scattering blue aura around him.

An ordinary person would just leave footprints, but when a person who had reached the level of an Auror expert stepped on the ground with all his might, the ground was dug as deep as his thumb.

I don’t think it will happen like that even if a truck passes by.

“So, I highly value your courage and will give you a special opportunity! If you just put down your sword right now, bow to me, apologize, and then go back, I will consider you victorious and send you off safely.”

No matter how lowly I am, insulting my opponent in a duel by saying something like this is crossing the line.

Perhaps that was why the knights surrounding us clicked their tongues and could be heard amidst the muttering.

“I heard that Baron Schwafen’s son was very talented, but I didn’t want his character to be so rotten. No, it’s a lowly thing to insult that mercenary, so even if it’s just that…”

“Isn’t doing something like that in a duel an insult to our empire’s sacred duel culture?”

“Aren’t you a pervert who tries to touch someone else’s woman in the first place? What kind of common sense do you want? It seems that the Baron has given his children a bad education. “His Majesty will not look at it favorably.”

Looking at the reactions of those around me, even if this idiot who only thinks about s*x beats me this time, his reputation will be ruined.

You will miss out on joining the Knights of the Guard, which is an opportunity to turn your life around, and if you try to join another family, you will most likely not be able to be hired as a knight, making it difficult to make a living.

You idiot, if only you were blinded by love and pretended to fight an honorable duel to take Karin away.

‘If I win, I will somehow get over being enlisted as a Royal Guard knight, and I will also get Karin…’

Ah, of course, the mere thought of that guy’s fingers touching Karin makes me vomit, so I have no intention of losing.

Paulo couldn’t read the mood and kept talking nonsense.

“What should we do? “Will he surrender now and even save his life?”

When I heard those words, I thought of an incredible way to use this opportunity to increase my reputation.

I looked up at the sky and made the sign of the cross with one hand.

Then, I put my hands together in a prayer-like posture, looked straight into the guy’s face, and shouted.

“I believe that Deus will definitely grant me victory to punish the Lord for trying to take away from me the woman who pledged her love. So, even though I am humble and lack skills, I will definitely win over you.”

“This lowly, lowly bastard, how dare you insult me by mentioning the name of Deus?”

“Isn’t this an obvious fact for anyone to see? “It wasn’t enough for you to challenge me to a duel to take my woman, Lord Spappen, and now you insult the sacred duel?”

Hearing those words, he hurried towards me, scattering auras.

Then, even though there was no announcement to start the duel, he swung his sword and aimed for my neck.

Because I already had my sword drawn, I was able to block his attack.

It was a very heavy blow… But it wasn’t a wall that couldn’t be overcome at this level.