CH 30.2

Stomping Duel (3)

I woke him up earlier than planned because he seemed to be having some kind of creepy fantasy.

A was currently buried in the ground from the neck down. Just as I thought, the Magic Armor dispersed when his magic power got used up… It is an amusing spell, so I’m going to learn it from Alicia. Oops, let’s confirm the current situation first.

There are no signs of enemies around, or rather, his cronies spat out and left. I’m not sure about their treatment of A, but I guess they have their own relationships. I’m not losing any of my magic power. I feel like I have not used any at all, no matter how much I actually used.

But later, if I don’t carefully apply Heal, the moment the Full Boost wears off, several bones in my body will break, so I want A to quickly get down on his knees and leave.

“I wonder when he will wake up…”

I poked him lightly with a fallen tree branch…no response. And there was no one to interject my poking either.

“Young lady?”

“Hii!!”

Suddenly, an arm reached out from behind me, grabbed my head, and turned me around forcefully.

The person standing there was, of course, Alicia. Maybe it is my death anniversary today, after all…

“Do you have something to say to me?”

“As I thought, I do have the qualifications to be the strongest.”

I made a joke and the back of my head started to creak. Hey! Don’t lift me up!!

“Are you kidding me? You must have been raised the wrong way, after all. A full-fledged lady doesn’t fight a duel, take a revenge, and then bury them alive. Just how much free do you have to be? Calm down a little… no, please cure that temper of yours.”

“You know, if it was a noble from Arland who insulted you, I would hunt him down until he was stripped of his nobility. Defeating him in a duel is nothing compared to that. He’s the second son of a Viscount family anyway, at worst, he will become a commoner in the future, right?”

Alicia was smiling… but her eyes were not. In fact, her eyes were stabbing me.

I’m still in the midst of a Full Boost, so I’m going to use my excess physical strength to shake Alicia off!! Hmph, I puffed out my chest. My pride would be hurt if I surrendered here. I will not allow anyone to insult my maid without my permission (I will get angry with Alicia if she’s at fault, though). However, there was something that suddenly started bothering me.

“How can you move?”

“Young lady, you forgot about me, so the magic shackles loosened. I can escape on my own if there’s even the slightest chance, and I wasn’t sure what would happen to you if I left you alone. Of course, the duel is now over… well, you won, though.”

Alicia crouched down, her eyes locked on mine. I didn’t change my posture, so my chest was still puffed out, but my heart somehow started to shake.

As it is, the fighting spirit in me would be cut off, so I did my best to muster courage, but I, who is a soft person who is conscious of my situation, could not win.

“… I won’t apologize…”

“Hoho, so you know what you did wrong but won’t apologize? Do you understand how dangerous what you did was? One wrong step, and you would be on the road to sla*ery. You need to learn a little self-control, Young lady.”

I’m sure there was a ghost of a dragon behind the smiling Alicia. I couldn’t stop my body from trembling.

Although I was shaking, my heart was not broken yet. I can still do it… I might even be able to postpone the punishment for a week or so.

“I’m not quitting until I get this kid on his knees.”

“You are still saying that? I’m already used to it, so there’s no need to.”

“I cannot forgive it.”

I’m not going to change my mind about this. I will leave the arguing for later.

“Now, obediently admit defeat and get down on your knees before Alicia. If you don’t, I won’t stop you from running away, but please take into account that you were the one who asked for the duel in the first place. You can’t complain about being mocked later if you run away.”

I’m the one who challenged him to a duel this time, but it’s clear that he was the one who started it, so there aren’t any nobles he could hide behind. As long as you accept the duel, you have to keep your word. In fact, he can run away if he wants because I don’t have the ability to legally restrain him, but he would be mocked to the point where staining his family’s name wouldn’t be the end. If you feel like you are going to lose, just don’t accept the duel.

“… What did you do to me?”

It seems that he does not understand his situation. As I recall, Nightmare can make you confused and stunned after it is released.

“I just made you see an illusion. I won because you were defenseless during that time. Or would you like me to bury you deeper?”

I tilted my head lightly.

“… I see, I lost again… I apologize.”

He didn’t get down on his knees, but he did apologize, so I guess that’s good enough. I immediately deactivate the magic and took A out.

If I don’t Heal soon, there will be an unsightly situation… I mean, I’m already feeling powerless just standing in place. I will have to ask Alicia for help… oh no… I ignored her, and she is very angry with me. I really want to avoid collapsing in front of a crowd of people like this… as for Coote… not good. He was holding the head of the unmoving Salamander in his mouth and carrying it behind the building. He’s acting so instinctive, he won’t be able to understand a word I say right now.

“Alicia, help. I’m at my limit… I don’t think I’m fit for physical activities, after all.”

I couldn’t stop sweating. I started to ache all over my body. I’m not sure if Alicia realized that I was in bad shape or not, but she quietly picked me up and held me in her arms… That’s why I hate princess hugs. I’m not sure what to make of it. If you are going to carry me, cat-grabbing is still the way to go.

(Please endure it. Why did you let it go this far? Are you a masochist?)

(I didn’t want to use healing magic in public, so I wanted to end it early, but you got in the way.)

(Please don’t blame others like this. Is your magic power alright? I have brought some potions with me, so I can use those on you if the worst happens.)

(My magic power is almost completely recovered. It didn’t decrease at all for some reason.)

Thanks to my mysterious constitution, my magic power was fine, but I’m not sure if I could use magic in my current state, so I’m going to take all the assistance I can.

A was shivering and shaking. His eyes looked troubled. But then he came running towards me with a sword (most of the blade was missing because it was broken during the burying stage).

“How could I lose to someone like you!”

Ah, I can’t avoid it. However, Alicia turned her back to shield me, so I had to do something… I was fading in and out of consciousness. I tried to put my arm out in the path of the cut to at least reduce the damage Alicia received, but the sword never reached me.

“I hope you don’t bully my precious little sister too much.”

My Elder brother, who had caught A’s sword with his battered and chipped blade, moved into my field of vision. Then I lost my consciousness.

“W-hey! Young lady!? Hang on in there.”