Unhurriedly, Josh and Elaria strolled into the village chief’s room. Noting the disarray in the room with papers strewn all around it, Josh held up the papers and looked into the village chief’s eyes. Then turned towards Leo. “Leo, it seems that the numbers don’t add up.”
Well, not anymore.
Flabbergasted, Leo erupted. “Milord, that’s impossible.” He stepped in front of the village chief, arms reaching out. “Might I check these papers for myself, Milord?”
Josh sighed. “I’m not asking for advice, Leo. I’m saying that there is a dozen of gold coins missing from our coffers, and the man behind you is to be punished,“ he turned towards Elaria. “Magus Elaria, what is the punishment befitting of a servant robbing his Lord?”
“Execution, Ward Josh.” Emotionlessly, Elaria replied.
Wellll.
Let’s not go that far. Not yet, at least. We don’t even know for sure if this man is guilty of something more than just being a scum of a human being.
After hearing the verdict from Elaria, the village chief pushed himself forward and fell on his knees, sweat on his face. “Milord, Can I plead my ca- “
“You might not.” Josh interrupted him.
“Preposterous, Milord, I demand a trial of combat.” Leo, in turn, interrupted Josh.
Josh laughed. “Are you not on the wrong side here?” he asked.
Leo bowed. “Forgive me, Milord.” He pointed to Elaria. “I believe this long-eared vulture spun her treacherous web of lies which misled you, Milord.”
Josh facepalmed while laughing and turned to his mentor questioningly.
“I, Magus of 4th circle Elaria Kryos, Accept thy demand of trial by combat as a proxy of Baron Josh Brookes. By the right of the challenged, we will decide on place and time. If we are the ones to win, Village Chief Gaius shall be executed and the unloyal steward punished. In the situation where a former Expert Knight, Leonitas Phoberos, is to be victorious, I will resign from my position as the guide and mentor of the Lord and leave Daim Barony territory without any questions. Are these terms acceptable to you?” Emotionlessly as ever, she asked.
A sliver of hope that appeared on the village chief’s face seemed to disappear when he heard that Leo’s opponent was to be a magus of the 4th circle.
“They are not,” Josh added to the conversation. “You forget we are on the same side. No one except the village chief shall be exalted or punished over some gold coins; if Leo were to win, the Village chief shall be forgiven and given a proper compensation; if he were to lose, as I’m a merciful Lord, the village chief shall be indentured rather then executed and his debt sold off to a neighboring noble. The duel shall take place tomorrow at the earliest dawn in the Daim Manor. I will not have no as an answer.” Being tired from the whole bullshit this day thrown at him, Josh stated.
That’s the best I could think of, with no one ending up dead.
Leo grudgingly accepted the new terms. Meanwhile, Elaria seemed to have no issue at all with them. As for the chief, he couldn’t stop thanking his Lord for being just and merciful.
As they were traveling back to Manor, Elaria commented. “It seems your little outburst from before that burned a couple of months of your life span came with upsides; it unblocked your mana meridians. We will be able to train sooner than expected.”
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
“When can we start?” Excitingly, Josh asked.
“I have a duel tomorrow, as you know, so the day after tomorrow should be a safe bet.” Lacking the excitement, she replied.
Josh clenched his fist in an excited expression.
You are about to be a wizard Josh.
***
The first light of dawn crept over the horizon, casting a slight glow on the small crowd gathered behind the manor for the upcoming duel to decide the fate of the village chief and his family of twelve.
Elaria, adorned in her sky-colored magus robes, stood on one end of a makeshift ring. Gripping a crooked staff whose base was white and on the end of it was a blue gem embedded as its tip.
Leo stood on the other side of the makeshift ring. He was in full chainmail covered by a leather surcoat, and on top of it was the Daim family crest: a majestic fox that was resting in blue and red background. His sword was no masterpiece, but it was still a decent sky steel longsword.
Josh stood in the middle of them. “If both of the combatants are ready, we shall start,” he stated.
I’m actually curious how strong Elaria is.
“By the grace of Goddess Sol, and in the name of my Lord, I swear to fight honorably and faithfully,” Leo swore his oath.
“By the grace of Goddess Terra, I shall fight with honor and accept the judgment of duel fairly,” Elaria swore her oath.
“By the grace of Gods, a duel of honor until one is incapable of fighting or leaves the ring, shall commence as soon as I leave the ring,” Josh stated, walking away from the ring.
This morning, I spent two hours studying all the traditions of duels. Why did they have to make them so complicated?
As soon as Josh exited the ring, Leo sprung unto the action, unsheathed his blade, and burst forward with a humanly impossible speed towards Elaria.
Elaria didn’t seem as surprised by Leo's speed as Josh was. She was quick to retaliate. A quick tap of her staff on the ground froze it, forcing Leo to jump over the frozen ground.
But it seemed being in the air against a mage was no good either as after a wave of Elaria’s left hand, tiny, thin but nonetheless sharp and dangerous ice needles started to gather above Leo and as if to make matters worse, an ice javelin big enough to end an elephant was forming from the tip of her staff.
Leo, feeling that only demise awaited him if he finished his jump, he gathered his mana to his left hand and punched the air with as much force as possible. He landed on the slippery ground and initiated a roll to his sword-free hand to dodge the javelin.
Elaria, with a slight smile, went into a relaxed posture, not following up on her attacks.
Amazing, I feel like we have this in the bag.
“What is a battle mage like you doing as a mere guide!” Leo shouted, his voice out of breath.
Though Elaria seemed to be in no mood to chat, she struck her staff to the ground, releasing out a pulse of mana in a wide radius that even Josh, as inexperienced as he was, managed to feel.
It seemed the world was freezing, and a clear panic appeared on Leo’s face as he burst forward, enclosed in the light blue of the mana, his armor already full of frost marks. His breaths exhaled visible puff.
Fuck he got close.
He was just a step short of reaching Elaria as the whole world of ice collapsed on top of him, and he himself collapsed with it, still clutching his sword.
That’s it?
Elaria stepped forward to Leo’s unconscious body. “A warless knight who lost his domain to age dares to challenge me,” she spat on him. “A fool. That’s who you are.” She whispered.
Josh still stood flabbergasted, looking back and forth between the unconscious body of Leo and the gracefully standing Elaria.
She’s a monster… I love it.
He dashed forward to declare the result. “By the right granted to me by gods, I, Josh Brookes, the rightful Baron of Daim Barony, declare Elaria Kryos, victorious,” he shouted.
The aftermath of battle seemed to finally dawn for the crowd as the eerie silence erupted into cries of desperation for what their future would hold.
“Lady Elaria, congratulations on your victory,” Josh said softly to his mentor, ensuring no one else heard what he was saying. “But is he alive?”
“Sadly, he is,” she sighed. “He’s experiencing mana overload from having a domain collapsed onto him.”
“A domain?” Josh asked.
“It’s what differs between a 3rd circle mana user and a 4th circle, whether it be a domain of swords or an ice world like mine. A person without a domain can’t fight a person with a domain,” she taught him. “Anyways, I’m tired, I will be heading back inside.”
“As you wish, Lady Elaria.”
Josh spoke to the guard about the village chief's aftermath and how a merchant was about to take them and bring them to a neighboring baron. He started running after Elaria to catch up to her and ask about their lessons before suddenly stopping as realization dawned on his face.
Wait.
Did I just sell thirteen people to slavery for a mere six gold coins?