I had come to the Knight Order headquarters. Today was the day the envoy from Duke Sanga would arrive. The location was the same room where I had exchanged contracts with Primera before.
"Tenma, here's some tea. Oh, and these are tea snacks."
"Thank you."
Primera set the tea and snacks down in front of me. She took the seat across from me, but something about her was restless.
If someone who knew nothing saw us, they might have trouble telling which of us was the knight—that was how unnerving her fidgeting was.
"Primera. Are you hiding something from me?"
The instant I asked, Primera's body stiffened with a jolt.
"N-nothing at all! I'm not hiding anything!"
She looked suspicious no matter how you sliced it. When I stared intently into her eyes, she quickly averted her gaze. Beads of sweat glistened on her forehead.
I kept my eyes locked on her face without looking away. After two or three minutes of this, there was a sudden knock at the door.
"Y-yes, come in."
"Excuse me, Captain. The envoy from Duke Sanga has arrived."
A young woman stepped inside.
"Ah, right, understood. I'll go greet them and show them in."
Answering the woman's words, Primera fled from my gaze and left the room.
I just hoped this wouldn't turn into something troublesome.
Not four or five minutes later, the door was knocked on again, and Primera's voice called out, "Coming in."
The door opened, and in walked Primera alongside a gentle-faced man who looked to be in his thirties.
I immediately used Appraisal, rose from my seat, and offered a greeting.
"It is a pleasure to meet you. I am the adventurer Tenma. I look forward to working with you, Your Grace the Duke of Sanga."
I kept the greeting moderate—neither too casual nor rude—and bowed my head toward the man.
"Wh-why did you know that?!"
The first surprised voice came from Primera. The duke looked momentarily startled, but quickly returned to a pleasant smile.
"Primera, don't make such a rude outburst. You must be Tenma? How do you do. I'm Primera's father—Arsas von Sanga. I also hold the title of duke."
After gently admonishing Primera, the duke gave me a polite self-introduction.
Name… Arsas von Sanga Age… 48 Race… Human Title… Head of the House of Duke Sanga
He was forty-eight with that face? Standing next to Primera, you might mistake them for lovers, I thought.
"…You look remarkably young for your age," I replied.
The duke smiled wryly.
"Appearances can be deceiving—I'll be fifty soon. My friends even suspect I might secretly be an elf."
It seemed his looks caused him a fair amount of trouble. Though his friends were probably just jealous.
"Shall we get down to business? Please, have a seat."
He gestured for me to sit. He seated himself across from me, with Primera at his side.
"First, thank you for recovering that gemstone. I can't go into the details, but it belonged to the wife of a certain noble, and it had been stolen by other thieves. Apparently, it included a gift from her husband, so she was quite distraught. I'm sorry we could only offer that amount."
He mentioned that if a larger reward had been feasible, he would have paid extra separately. The previous payment had truly been a request, not coercion.
She had the same scent as Primera—that natural, unfiltered aroma!
"No, additional payment isn't necessary. That sum is more than generous for us."
I declined. The amount had been agreed upon during the previous contract, and settling at that figure left no room for complications.
"Is that so?"
Saying this, the duke produced twenty-two platinum coins from his Magic Bag and handed them to me. I tucked them straight into my bag without bothering to count.
"So, regarding the transfer of rights over Giess—what conditions do you have in mind?"
When I asked, the duke's expression grew somewhat sour.
"About that—his father, a baronet, has raised objections to the whole matter…"
He trailed off, looking uncomfortable.
"In other words, he's claiming his son is innocent and that I'm the one who should be judged?"
The duke sighed.
"That's exactly it. He's insisting that underhanded tricks were used—his son could never lose to a child, and he's making a fuss about it."
"But underhanded tricks have nothing to do with Giess's crimes."
"True, but according to him, there's no way what a coward says could be right."
"Giess is the one who's more cowardly, if anything," I said with a laugh.
The duke regarded me with a look like I was something strange.
"Aren't you afraid of nobles?"
I certainly couldn't say "I'm acquainted with the king of this country," so instead—
"I have no intention of looking down on nobility. But is this baronet more frightening than you, Your Grace?"
I said it with a slightly flippant tone—not quite borrowing a tiger's authority, but close enough. This duke was likely on my side anyway. And even if something went wrong, I was confident I could escape.
"Please don't make statements like that elsewhere," he said, still smiling. He probably realized I was joking.
"My apologies, I spoke out of turn. But judging by the situation, he's refusing to allow a hearing as well?"
"Yes, exactly. He is a noble, after all. Holding a hearing against his son without permission would be a matter of reputation. Besides, setting aside everything related to his son, the man is in many ways quite capable."
"But since it involves a crime, shouldn't we be able to force a hearing regardless?"
The duke shook his head.
"If we tried something like that, he might incite a rebellion. His faction has considerable power, and if we mishandle it, the damage could be extensive."
He tilted his head, muttering, "What should we do, then…"
"How about a duel?"
I said it lightly, and—
"That's a good idea!"
—that was the response I got.
"Yes, a duel—he wouldn't be able to complain about that either. He's the type who wants to act like a proper noble. A light provocation and he'll take the bait."
This duke was getting quite into it. But I didn't dislike such scheming myself.
"Shall I throw a gauntlet at his feet?"
I suggested, and together the two of us began formulating a plan. Primera, meanwhile, looked completely left out of the loop.
"But are you really sure? He has several skilled adventurers on retainer."
She looked worried for the first time.
"As long as they're not top-tier opponents, I should manage. I have a trump card as well."
Hearing this, the duke nodded in understanding.
"Come to think of it, I heard you command an A-rank monster. If you could decisively defeat a Banza, then I suppose there's nothing to worry about."
I left the persuasion regarding the duel to the duke, and we began discussing the payment for Giess's rights.
"Two hundred thousand G per person, plus one-twentieth of the baronet family's assets—how does that sound?"
"That's perfectly fine. However, I'd like all compensation paid entirely in money."
I specified money to prevent the duke's house from acquiring leverage over me through rights or favors.
"…You won't bite? What a shame."
Sure enough, that had been his intention. Primera alone wore a look that said she had no idea what was going on.
"Please stop with such entrapment."
I answered with a smile. The duke smiled too—his thinking had probably been that it wouldn't hurt to try.
"Now then, let's draft the contract."
He said this and began writing out the contract terms in smooth, flowing strokes.
"Read through it carefully and sign here."
He handed me three copies of the contract. After reviewing all of them, I signed.
"Then we'll each keep one copy, and entrust the third to the guild."
With that, we shook hands, and the contract was finalized.
—At the Duke of Sanga's Residence—
"Your Grace. What has become of that wretched boy?"
The day after Arsas had exchanged the contract with Tenma, a man appeared at the duke's residence as if he had been waiting for him. The man's name was Regil Vend, Honorary Baronet—Giess's father.
In this country, holders of honorary titles were not permitted to use a middle name. Some commoners also had family names. Because of this, certain nobles believed that honorary nobility was not true nobility.
This Regil was a man of such caliber that people said, if things continued as they were, he might one day be granted the right to use a middle name before he died. However, that talent did not appear to have been inherited by either of his two sons.
"Your Grace. So what about Giess—what has happened to my son?"
Regil had recently stopped displaying the sharpness of mind he'd shown in his youth, but even accounting for that, Arsas considered him competent—in matters unrelated to his son, that is.
Arsas put on a regretful expression.
"Baronet Regil. I'm afraid the negotiations have broken down. The other party refused to concede that your son was at fault."
At these words, Regil flew into a rage.
"What?! That can't be! And why did Your Grace back down against a mere brat?!"
His face plainly showed that he considered the duke to have been spineless.
"Don't say that. The guild is backing him. Even as a duke, it would be reckless to antagonize the guild without any strategy."
"Then you do have a strategy!"
Hook, line, and sinker, Arsas thought with inward glee.
"Yes—a duel! In ten days, each side will send a representative to fight, and the victor's position will prevail. Of course, their side will send that brat. I've secured a guarantee. This is the proof!"
Arsas handed Regil an oath document bearing Tenma's signature, with the rules of the duel written out.
Regil took the document, read it through, and grinned.
"Naturally, I will be choosing our representative. That should be acceptable?"
"Of course. This concerns your son—I'll stay out of it."
Arsas told Regil he would not interfere, though the man didn't seem to grasp the implication.
"Then I'll return home and begin preparations."
Regil departed, and Arsas watched his retreating figure.
"He's a capable man, but it can't be helped. It's not as if there's no one to replace him."
He murmured to himself.
**Oath Document**
In the duel held on [month] [day], the legitimacy of one party over the other shall be determined. Whatever may occur, the loser of this duel shall not be permitted to file an objection against the winner.
This duel shall be fought between the representatives of both parties, and shall be decided when one side is knocked unconscious, concedes defeat, or is rendered unable to fight.
There shall be no restrictions on weapons or magic; however, attacking a defeated opponent deliberately, or attacking outside the designated combat area, shall be prohibited. Any violator shall be declared the loser at that point.
Furthermore, within the rules of this duel, should the opponent be killed, no criminal charges shall be brought.
The undersigned acknowledge the above conditions and swear to abide by them.
Duelist… Tenma Duelist… Regil Vend
The duelist line in this oath document, Regil read a certain passage and smirked.
"The 'representative,' eh…"
It goes without saying that a duke couldn't fulfill his role by being purely straightforward, so I showed his darker side as well, but in his case the ratio is basically 6:4.