Chapter 39: DecisionsDay 38

  Sherry nudges me awake. “David, I’m really worried about the hearing.”

  “I can warp, I can defend myself and, most importantly, I have the Cord you made for me. I won’t let my guard down because I don’t completely trust any of them.”

  “Good. Everyone’s waiting downstairs.”

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  “Good morning everybody. The hearing will be held at noon. I don’t want to risk being te so no byrinth today. Also, rather than send all of you off to do other things, it might be better if you come with me. You might notice things I miss.”

  Marcus says, “Sounds like a good pn, Boss.”

  Alina says, “David, we should get you cleaned up. Looking too casual may be seen as an insult.”

  “Hmm, wouldn’t they accuse me of trying to look like a noble?”

  “You’re already half-way there, better to just go for it. Don’t let them look down on you.”

  Theo cautions, “Be careful not to look too fancy, though.”

  “Good point. I’ll go as a perfectly normal Mage with a cape and no sword.”

  “Let’s get started.”

  “Woah, it’s way too early. Um, how about a bath first?”

  Marcus asks somewhat sarcastically, “Boss, do you need us for this part?”

  “Nah, I’m pretty sure we have it covered.”

  A bath for the three of us is even better with proper lighting. Spending time like this is really rexing. Gotta do this more often.

  Eventually, the girls get out to return with supplies to wash and cut my hair, trim and file my nails, shave and oil my face. This full treatment would be way too much on a regur basis, but I have to admit that they really seem to know what they’re doing. With professional experience, Alina was in charge but Sherry could keep up without difficulty.

  It was sort of embarrassing when they even decided to dress me, but I didn’t have the heart to stop them. The gals are having way too much fun with this. As weird as this feels to me, it’s probably standard routine for a lot of nobles. My preferences tend towards undressing but this wasn’t the time for their dress-up doll to attack them.

  Sherry moved my Cord of Substitution to my ankle since she said it didn’t look good on my wrist. The guys came out of hiding and everyone but me dressed in battle gear.

  Still a bit early so we warped a bit deeper in the forest and walked to the castle. As expected, the guards recognized me and led us to a courtyard. Nice weather for the event.

  We stood to the side and watch the guests file in. Most seem to be elven nobles or perhaps wealthy freemen. Few gnce our way and it’s unlikely that they could guess who we were.

  Eventually, the duke, duchess and Gosr arrive. On the other side of the room, I could see Rutina. I guess one of the people with her is her father, the count. Let’s see, hmm, oh, there he is: [1]

  [Count of Selmer][Baldric Nordbrun Anselm][Male, Age: 40][Knight: 21]

  He doesn’t look particurly nasty, zy or creepy. He’s not as slender as most elves so he looks a bit more human, though that’d probably be an unforgivable insult in this crowd.

  Gosr calls for attention and introduces the duke. The duke steps forward and then calls the count and I to the front. There’s considerable murmuring and weird looks directed at both of us. Maybe the count isn’t often seen in public and, of course, practically nothing’s known about me.

  Gosr yells out, “Let the grievance of His Lordship, the Count of Selmer, be heard.”

  The count steps forward and addresses the duke, “My liege, this commoner trespassed upon my nds, agitated my byrinths for sport and sndered my good name before my people. I demand redress.”

  Gosr turns to me, “Lord Moreau, what say you to this?”

  That switch of title sure is causing a stir.

  I mimic the count’s actions and address the duke in a clear voice, “Your Grace, I did not intentionally cross any boundary marked by signage or guard. I did indeed enter one byrinth for the purpose of subjugation, not sport or agitation. I did visit a single vilge though we had no nguage in common. I did not nor could not snder His Lordship’s good name. At no point did I intend any disrespect to His Lordship.”

  Gosr asks, “Does His Lordship wish to withdraw the grievance?”

  With vitriole, “Never.”

  Gosr turns to me, “Will Lord Moreau yield to His Lordship?”

  Respectfully yet clearly, “No, My Lord, I will not.”

  Gosr and the duke confer for a moment.

  Gosr decres, “The charge is of overreach, not of ill intent. Since each man holds his right and neither yields, His Grace decrees that the matter shall be tried by arms. What form does His Lordship seek?”

  The count decres, “To the death!”

  Easy for you to say! Of course the count wants death when it’s no risk to himself.

  Gosr looks to me and I respond, “I wish no harm to anyone who has not harmed me. I petition the court to grant the mercy of combat to yielding.”

  I know that I sound like a total wimp, but I really don’t care. Gosr and the duke talk privately again.

  Gosr announces, “So shall it be. Combat until one yields or is rendered unable to continue. Should death come in the course, no malice is presumed. His Grace’s marshals shall judge when the matter is resolved. Who stands for His Lordship, the Count of Selmer?”

  Surprising the crowd, the count decres, “I will fight by my own hand.”

  What is this idiot doing? More importantly, how will the nobles react after seeing me bash the count into submission?

  Gosr quiets the crowd and decres, “The combat shall be fought under His Grace’s peace, with weapon and armor of their own choosing, until one party yields or is rendered unable to continue, as judged by the presiding marshal. Let the trial be held in this field three days hence, one hour after dawn.”

  As expected, I wasn’t given the option to appoint a champion. It seems that the duke would really have been making a special exception for me so it’s good that we had already discussed it.

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  It seems that we have to wait around for a written statement. Soon, I go up front, show my status card and sign the writ without reading. Illiteracy sucks at times like these. At least I know how to spell my name and have a reasonable signature this time. Just as I turn to leave, Gosr asks me to wait.

  “Lord Moreau, as our ways differ somewhat from yours, stay for a brief meeting after the others leave.”

  “Yes, Lord Captain, thank you for your consideration.”

  Good excuse. Anyone who heard that would probably accept it as reasonable.

  Quietly, to my party, “Sorry, they’ve called me to a meeting. Please stay close and don’t get separated.”

  After the others left, the duke, Gosr and I sat at a table with only my party and some guards in the vicinity.

  “Captain Gosr, I appreciate that you left most of the guards out in the open. It feels more honest.”

  Got just a hint of a smile from him.

  The duke began, “David, why did you visit Rutina after we st spoke?”

  “I wanted to warn her.”

  “Against me?”

  “I advised her to convince her father to join your side. If not that, then she should unambiguously decre support for your side.”

  “What sort of role do you expect to have if Rutina inherits the county?”

  “Absolutely none. I don’t want to be anyone’s vassal.”

  “So, David, are you hoping to join Rutina?”

  “Huh? No, absolutely not. Anyway, such a retionship would be not only foolish but impossible.”

  “So, you’re hoping for a small region to manage on your own.”

  “Nah, that sounds boring. But, if I ever did, it’d be with humans to have some chance for a legacy.” [2]

  “Fine, David, I trust that you didn’t meet Rutina for personal reasons. Still, what you did was reckless. I had already convinced the count not to charge you with endangering his daughter. That would have fallen apart if you had been caught in his castle.”

  “Thanks. I was wondering why that issue didn’t come up.”

  “Yes, David, the count hates you. In fact, you may not be entirely safe if he survives.”

  “Captain Gosr, how should I address His Grace in this conversation?”

  The duke gnces at Gosr and Gosr motions to have the guards move further away. For appearance sake, I had my people move further back as well.

  “OK, David, just keep your voice low.”

  “Are you telling me to eliminate my opponent?”

  “Um.”

  “As I said, I won’t willingly harm an innocent, such as a champion who is just doing his duty. This restriction doesn’t apply the one who issued the challenge. My other rule is that I will not harm a noble unless directed by a higher noble. So, is that what you are telling me to do?”

  “Couldn’t you have just taken the hint gracefully? OK, yes, David, that is exactly what I need you to do.”

  “Understood. Can I get a reward? Maybe something from the treasury?”

  “How can you be so bold?”

  “This is how you need me to be, Your Grace.”

  “Fine, David. If you complete this important task gracefully and with discretion, I’ll reward you with something from the treasury.”

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  I rejoined my party and we walked to the adventurers guild to get a ride to Vale. Hiding my warp skill is bothersome and wasteful. We walked to Vale’s Labyrinth and then warped home.

  “Just give me a moment to change clothes and we’ll go to work.”

  Alina followed me, “I was really surprised to hear the count say that he’d do the fighting. Even if he thinks you’re just a Mage, it’s hard to accept that he’d put himself at risk.”

  “Yes, that was unexpected. I can’t tell if he’s that furious or just a fool.”

  “Maybe he’s pnning something like an ambush. Could he know where we live?”

  “Just renting a house seems to be a local issue so we should be very hard to locate, especially since we seem to live in Vale.”

  “Maybe he’ll try something during the trial like a poisoned weapon, special artifact, hidden Mage?”

  “He can’t use anything I can’t identify. Thanks for the warning and I agree that we should be extra cautious.”

  Sherry briefed us on the next monster, Bitch Butterfly — best not to think about the name. I should attack with wind and avoid fire magic. Also, it has a stun attack. I have a few pills for that, so I’ll pass them around and get more ter.

  We warp to the 16th floor of Curatar’s Labyrinth where we now fight groups of up to five monsters — the floor formu is holding. As before, I bst everything with windstorms. Alina yells out the turns according to the map and we eventually reach the waiting room without getting stunned. Just a short wait and it’s our turn to fight the boss, called Madame Butterfly. All that for a pun? Well, it was pretty good.

  It’s already close to dinner so we warped home. While others prepared dinner, Sherry continued to magically infuse the real Brahim nguage into my brain.

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  “Sherry, let’s continue our talk about item creation.”

  “David, Runesmiths are normally supposed to work on Cords for at least two seasons before moving to Daggers. Then we work on those for at least a couple seasons, and so on. But, somehow, I’m able to do Crystal Fusion long before I should even make my first attempt.”

  “Just like my Mage skills, your smithing skills consume mana, MP. The amount of mana you have depends on your job level. Your level progression is much greater than normal so you can do much more and earlier than usual.”

  “That’s quite a lot to simply accept, but that can wait. Why would I progress faster than usual? What’s so special about me?”

  “Well, you are in the byrinths more than usual and, well, you’re with me. All of my party members will accumute experience much faster than usual — it’s one of my mysterious skills.”

  “Hmm, I don’t know.”

  “OK, I could switch you back to Explorer. After a few days, you’ll see your Item Box expand. You will gain the levels that you believe in much faster than usual.”

  “Are you serious?”

  “If that’s what it takes to convince you, I don’t mind waiting.”

  “No, David, I trust you. What do you want me to do?”

  “Daggers, let’s see, you need kobold knives and leather, right?”

  “Yes, and a Needlewood branch, not that you should have known any of this.”

  “Twigs? No problem, I have a big pile upstairs. Come take a look at our supply closet so you can see what else we’ll need to gather.”

  “So, you’ve been pnning this for a long time?”

  “Yes, almost 30 days. Does that bother you?”

  “Actually, I feel a little relieved knowing that this at least took some time.”

  I handed Sherry the st caterpilr crystal and a Cord with an empty slot. She performed the usual spell with no special fanfare. A Cord of Substitution was created, just as expected.

  “It’d be pretty funny if that one failed, right?”

  For item creation, Sherry would make at least 20 of the same type while making sure she felt OK. If all goes well, she’d move on to the next item. We needed to bance our inventory and for ter items, we’d need drop items from floors we haven’t reached yet. Even with the possibility of deys, it’s a lot better than waiting years for no reason. I just hope I’m not pushing her too hard.

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  [1] His first name isn’t mentioned in the LN. Baldric was chosen as befitting a bold ruler, which he may consider himself to be.[2] According to the LN, humans, elves, etc cannot interbreed. Rather than social commentary, the author probably just wanted his MC to easily avoid inconvenient pregnancies. It is a fantasy world, after all.