Episode 21.4

After saying he got a proposition, the earl ordered the appraiser to leave the room which he did after bowing at the earl.

Once the door had been completely shut, the earl continued.

"As a grace item that emerged in our Dungeon Golbul, this <Dagger of Harut> is a prestigious item of our house. As such, it is only right for it to be a heirloom to our house"

"Looks like Vouka town lord lied to me."

"What"

It was the second son Henjitt who made the sound.

"I told him that I had no intention of selling or presenting this dagger when he came to me saying Golbul town lord wanted the dagger. Vouka town lord told me he would communicate my stance to you, and begged me to let you see the dagger at least. So that was a lie."

"Do not be hasty, adventurer Lecan. Vouka town lord, Crimus Ulban has indeed communicated your unwillingness to sell the dagger to our house. This is no business talk. Oh, right right."

The earl looked at a chamberlain standing next to the door.

"Bring that here."

The chamberlain bowed deeply and left the room before quickly returning along with a young chamberlain carrying a tray.

An elegant leather bag is on top of the tray.

"This is your reward for conquering our dungeon twice. Accept it."

Judging from the bulge of the bag, there must be gold coins inside.

However, the amount is definitely far from a hundred.

In other word, the earl put <Dagger of Harut>'s value below one white gold coin.

"I've got my reward already. In the form of liquor and food. Your eldest son, Tomaj personally oversaw it even. I don't need any more reward."

The chamberlain looked confused.

The earl was going to say something, but Lecan spoke again.

"Earl. You have confirmed the dagger I brought was <Dagger of Harut>."

"Indeed."

"You have also confirmed it is an item that emerged in Dungeon Golbul."

"Indeed."

Lecan swiftly took the dagger on top of the table, put it away in <Storage> and stood up.

'Ah', several people said that.

"That means the matter Vouka town lord asked me is over and done with. I'm going home."

Lecan took a step forward.

"S-stop right there!"

The earl tried to stop Lecan with an awfully shrill voice.

An even shriller voice stopped Lecan.

"Lecan! Go on and go home! But first, return <Dagger of Harut> to us!"

<TLN: Catch the latest updates and edits at Sousetsuka.com >

It's the earl's second son, Henjitt Douga.

Lecan was positioned just right to look down on Henjitt.

"Return?"

"Yeah. You promised me before you went in our dungeon. That you'd present everything you got there to the earl family. Isn't that right, Doug!"

"Eh"

Doug who was standing by the wall couldn't respond to the sudden call.

"Speak clearly, Doug!"

"E-err. Back then..."

"Quit your farce, Henjitt."

The look on the knight assigned to Henjitt changed with Lecan's words.

"Y-you bastard! Henjitt-sama--"

'Glint', Lecan's right eye opened, glaring at the knight.

The knight completely froze up in fear.

"Henjitt. I see you have a bad memory. You told me to put the items I got in the dungeon at the auction. I did not respond to that. You were ignored. Besides, <Dagger of Harut> didn't drop back then. It was a golden potion. To begin with."

Lecan's sharp glare looked down on Henjit as he continued on.

"Third act of Article 28 of the Kingdom Laws. <Ownership of every items possessed by those who come out of a dungeon is on him, her or them>. Everything I got in dungeons is my property. I take the final say whether to sell them or not. Does Golbul House not know of Kingdom Laws. Or you know but you choose to violate Kingdom Laws and attempts to snatch adventurers' property through sophistries!"

Once he declared that, Lecan thought that he might have said too much. And yet, Tomaj responded in a way that went over Lecan's expectations.

"Lecan-dono. I cannot overlook the slander you accuse our house of. I challenge you to a duel."

"Hou."

"Tomaj!"

"Aniue!"

The earl and Henjitt looked at Tomaj in shock.

"Unfortunately, I cannot go myself due to my position. You will have to excuse me sending a proxy in my stead."

Lecan was pleased with Tomaj challenging him.

Fighting by sitting around and clashing words is far from Lecan's specialty. He had been feeling very irritated since the beginning, he was about to reach boiling point there.

Thus he involuntarily grinned when he heard the word 'duel'. That's Lecan's specialty.

"What kind of duel? Is it one with some shady umpire that's gonna decide your proxy's victory regardless of how the duel goes?"

"If you're going that far, it will be a duel to death then. A one-on-one duel, the one who lives in the end is the victor. The winner takes all belongings the loser has."

Lecan grinned even harder.

"Hou, that's interesting. Meaning you'll get <Dagger of Harut> if I die huh?"

"That's right."

"What do I get if your proxy dies?"

"You get everything the proxy has."

"Not enough. I don't know if that proxy guy's even got things I want."

"What more do you wish."

"Right. I'll have an apology letter from Earl Golbul."

"What"

"Is that not only right? You asked for this duel because I pointed out how House of Earl Golbul violated the Kingdom Laws, did you not? Then my victory will be the prove that I'm right."

"Mu. That is true."

"Earl Golbul shall write an apology letter to Vouka town lord, apologizing for violating Kingdom Laws, and attempting to unjustly extort property of a gold rank adventurer of Vouka."

"W-what? Why must father apologize to Vouka town lord."

"Are you dumb. I've come here to show <Dagger of Harut> to Earl Golbul as requested by Vouka town lord, Golbul knights under Earl Golbul name violated my right as a gold rank adventurer of Vouka town. What is there to ask other than an apology from Earl Golbul to Vouka town lord."

Lecan talked while thinking his narrative was pushing it, but he started thinking that it was actually quite reasonable as he spoke the words.

It's at least more sound than Henjitt's unilateral complaints to Lecan, and Tomaj's logic in trying to settle this with a duel.

"Tomaj. Who is, this proxy?"

The earl asked with a low voice. Low yet still sounding somewhat shrill.

"We have Bargos on standby. However--"

"Most excellent. Adventurer Lecan. Do not forget the terms we both have agreed upon."

"Yea. Then let us begin."

Tomaj sounded flustered as he saw Lecan walking toward the door.

"Eh? No uh, we need to prepare for the location first, and also gather people that will be present there. The duel is for tomorrow or the day after."

"Quit messing around."

"What"

"I'm not staying a night in this town. The duel is to be held today."

"No, but, the witnesses--"

"You and Earl Golbul are enough as witnesses. Either of the two has to die anyway right?"

"Y-yeah. Then at least please have lunch. We'll get things ready in the meanwhile."

That's a welcome offer. Lecan was starving.

At any rate, laughter could be seen in Earl Golbul's and Henjitt's eyes.

It might be their trust on that Bargos guy, or perhaps they're plotting something.

Doesn't really matter either way.

It would have been bad if they kept clashing words then. Who knows what kind of pitfall Lecan could fall into.

If it's a duel, he'll just break through it no matter what traps await.

He can't thank Tomaj enough for suggesting such a lovely way to settle the matter.