Chapter 40: PreparationDay 39

  I woke to find Alina staring at me.

  “David, do you like Rutina?”

  “Not romantically.”

  “You know that elves typically mate for life, right?”

  “Alina, the duke already interrogated me. Just trust me, OK?”

  “OK, but how are you able to resist her?”

  “Easily. She’s too young, a noble, and I’ve already got you.”

  “Yes, and Sherry too.”

  “Yes, I’m happy to have Sherry too.”

  “David, will you send me away if you get a wife?”

  “No, keeping you would have to be part of the agreement, though some compromises might be necessary.”

  We went down to breakfast while Alina rattled off a list of things she would or would not be willing to give up to my future wife.

  “Good morning, everyone. The first bit of news is that there’s a chance that the count will attempt a sneak attack. Our common practice of warping directly to and from byrinths eliminates most of the risk. For now, we should avoid going out alone, even for shopping. We’ll also stay away from Vale — anyone looking for us would look there first.”

  After breakfast, Sherry told us that the next floor will have a fish monster called Mabream, which spits water. It resists water magic and is weak to earth magic. I’m just happy to have something we can hit.

  Rather than take off right away, I asked Theo and Marcus to help me practice for the duel. My guess is that the count will fight a bit like Marcus and Theo helped with techniques to counter that, even if it felt a little creepy to have him show how best to fight Marcus. I just hope that his ideas were ‘spontaneous’.

  Rather than a sword, I decided to use the staff I bought a long time ago — well, long ago in retion to the short time I’ve been here. I practiced with it a bit before, though never used it in a real battle. When fighting against Marcus, I got to use my old sports experience more directly than I do with a sword. This really will be a better weapon for me, especially so I won’t have to expose my holy sword.

  I still couldn’t properly defend myself against Theo — he was just too fast and skilled. The good part of going against him was to help judge when I needed to take some distance. To properly duel against someone like Theo, I’d need to augment my strikes with magic and start much further away.

  Meanwhile, Alina started helping Sherry with some basic sword practice. It’s hard to see Sherry becoming an agile fighter. Instead, I saw how she’d probably be good with a shield. A sword won’t give her enough reach so she should keep the spear. Sherry’s great strength could be better utilized than just a few pokes when it’s safe and a shield will let her take more risks. A better equipped Sherry would be good for boss fights, especially now that the bosses have attendants.

  After our short practice session, I decided to try using the staff in the byrinth. We entered Curatar’s 17th floor with map in hand to fight the fish-monsters and remaining flying bugs. We still mostly relied on my magic for the damage but the blocking was certainly needed. I could recover MP with Durandal, but it was a bother to keep switching between staff and sword.

  We ended up getting quite a haul of fish fillets as monster drops. They won’t go bad in our Item Boxes so my pn to go fishing has completely lost its practical justification.

  Partway through, we went home for a lunch break. While the others were taking care of some light chores, I quickly breaded and fried some of the fish. Despite not being used to a lunch break, everyone certainly ate well. We used Alina’s usual mustard sauce in pce of tartar, which would be too bothersome to make and impossible to preserve. [1] The fish would have been even better with fries. I should search the exotic markets in the capital more carefully or just get used to the substitutes like fried bread.

  After a little rest, we went back to finish the 17th floor. We got more fish along the way and even a chunk of tuna from the boss — maybe I really should make some mayo for a nice tuna sandwich. Otherwise, I don’t have any sushi skills and haven’t seen seaweed for sale, let alone in rolling form. Probably safer to see if any of the others know what to do with the tuna.

  Damn, now I’m getting hungry. Well, we were supposed to take long afternoon breaks anyway. I took us home and announced a longer break. Of course, I checked the house and grounds carefully for anyone lying in wait before I could rex.

  After a light dinner, we went to Vale’s 3rd to collect kobold knives, rare though they were. Of course, we made certain not to leave the byrinth through the front. I wasn’t particurly concerned inside this byrinth since if the count could send raiding parties, he wouldn’t be in this situation. Well, we stayed away from the few other parties we heard, just in case.

  Back home, Sherry made her first Dagger. The visuals were certainly more spectacur than with Cords. Afterwards, she almost looked disappointed that it worked. Probably even worse that she didn’t feel weak. I made sure to comfort her for the shame of her success.

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  Day 40

  I’m so happy to see how happy Sherry looks. At times like this, I have doubts that she’ll ever want to leave. Of course, that’s better for me but how can manage to keep my ego in check with the loving Alina and Sherry at my side? Even the upcoming duel is more bothersome than worrisome. Will I still be humble after I get advanced jobs? Well, to be perfectly honest, I wasn’t all that humble before. Maybe magnanimous would be a reasonable compromise.

  Ugh, that was a cold sp of reality. Having the hubris to think of myself as being so great, so noble. Such BS reminds me to not drop my guard — I’m not invulnerable. Getting knocked unconscious would render my Cord of Substitution and other defenses meaningless. Hmm, let’s at least do something about that.

  “Sherry, can a Shrub Crystal be applied to armor to protect against stunning?”

  “Yes, it can be applied to a weapon to attack or armor to defend. Combining with a kobold crystal enhances the effect, though that seems to be uncommon.”

  “I have one and would like you to fuse it to my armor before the duel. Eventually, I’d like protection against sleep and petrification too.”

  “That sounds like a wonderful pn, David. Let’s do it right now!”

  “Don’t you need to wait till nighttime or at least have breakfast first?”

  “No, this is too important.”

  I’m certainly not going to compin so I quickly fetched my dragon-leather armor and a Shrub Crystal. On reflection, I decided to go for the gold-tier and pulled out a Kobold Crystal as well. A minute ter, I had my armor of Free Action. The two of us proudly walked down to breakfast. The rest of the party probably assumed a different expnation. Meh, that’s fine too. No shame there.

  We had another practice sparring session. I got more comfortable with the staff and concentrated on lighter, quicker strikes rather than going all out. Following my suggestion, Sherry practiced with a shield and spear (pointed in the reverse direction for safety). She started out with a small shield to get used to the combination and because that’s the only spare shield we had at home.

  We ended up going for a longer practice this time but it felt useful. While getting ready for the byrinth, Sherry informed us that the new monster is a Pig-Hog — I’d just call it a ‘pig’ but whatever. As expected, the pig likes dirt (earth magic) and can charge. Unexpectedly, it’s sensitive to water magic — is it too short or just hates to be clean?

  With this te start, we didn’t quite finish the pig floor before stopping for dinner. Somehow, we were inspired to have pork ribs (from monster drops). I was thankful that it didn’t come from an anthropomorphic orc. A lot of mangas and anime justify eating orc because it tastes good — retable but I’d rather avoid that dilemma.

  After resting, we went back to complete the 18th floor. The boss, a Pick-Hog, was probably the justification for the silly name of the base monster. Its front legs were sharp and sort of drill-shaped — a bit like picks, I guess. What a silly world this is. Too bad I can’t share the joke though I guess the manga has progressed since I left so maybe it’s already known. I’m pretty sure the light novel covers a much longer period than I’ve been here. It’d be fun to compare.

  We ended the day with baths. I didn’t need to be too fancy tomorrow, but a basic level of cleanliness should be expected. In fact, looking more normal than noble could help sell the image of a dungeon diver. As ridiculous as it sounds, image may help convince the audience that I’m just defending myself and not challenging the nobles per se.

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  Day 41

  I certainly didn’t need a clean shave before a duel, or so I thought. I stopped the pit-crew short of giving me a full overhaul since we really didn’t have the time. I wore my enhanced dragon-leather armor and hardened-leather gear. As pnned, I would use my staff, though Durandal was just a reset away — my cover isn’t more important than my life.

  I kept my basic three jobs and pushed the rest of my bonus points into agility and strength. Probably should have tested this a couple days ago. I went out for a little while practice on my own and felt that it wasn’t all that dramatic of a difference.

  When I came back in, I found that Sherry had lost weight, in the form of a major haircut. Evidently, Alina had convinced her. Sherry looked at me, nervously waiting for a reaction. I went with my first, honest feeling.

  “That looks great, Sherry. Your old style was nice, but this frames your face better. Alina did a good job.”

  OK, the details were just something I remember overhearing on a morning talk show. Regardless, I did like the change and Sherry seemed happy. I won’t dwell on what I might’ve said if it’d looked bad.

  Not long before the specified time, I warped us to the forest outside Bode. Using the adventures guild seemed like too much of an invitation for ambush or even redirection by a rogue Adventurer. Paranoid or just prepared?

  This event attracted a much bigger crowd than the hearing and it wasn’t just nobles in attendance. We walked in along with the main crowd with no one paying us any special attention. We looked like any other attendees.

  When Gosr saw me, he sent a knight to escort me to my spot on the small field. The count soon arrived with a bit of fan-fair and was escorted to his spot. We were briefly inspected, though I can’t imagine what they’d be looking for. We were allowed to bring our own weapons and armor after all, but maybe it was to check for an Orb of Self Destruction or just some old tradition. Of course, our Status Cards were checked.

  The count came fully decked out in steel mail armor and a medium shield. Technically, I should be allowed to take his stuff after I win, but there’s no way in hell I would start stripping a dead noble in front of an audience. What I found interesting was the count’s Damascus-steel Messer of Stunning. Ha! Got ya, sucker! I can defend against stunning. I don’t know if Messer means anything special but it’s a rge, one-handed sword. [2]

  Gosr then stepped into the middle and read the writ: “By decree of His Grace, the Duke of Harz, judgment by arms is to be held this day between His Lordship, the Count of Selmer and Lord Moreau, freeman. Each answers in his own person. Combat shall be fought with weapons and armor of their own choosing until one party yields or is rendered unable to continue, as judged by the presiding marshal.”

  The audience was silent during this procmation. I forgot to ask about this part of the ceremony so I just stood there trying to look stoic, which was my defense against looking like a fool. Gosr pulled out some insignia, presumably the duke’s, and made us swear to be honorable or whatever. In this environment, it seemed odd that no god or gods were invoked.

  Gosr then asked, “Your Lordship, do you stand ready to prove your cause?”

  “Ready.”

  Gosr turned to me and I rudely interrupted him, “Lord Marshal, I fear for the safety of the person lying much too close to the battlefield.”

  Gosr seemed irritated at the breach of protocol, but sent knights to investigate the spot where I pointed. Soon, a Mage got dragged away, while the count merely looked away absent-mindedly.

  I couldn’t quite hear their individual voices, but the crowd seemed full of questions. It’d be hard not to conclude that the count attempted to cheat. That Mage probably won’t be able to talk her way out of it, assuming she’d be given a chance to speak at all. She didn’t look like an elf so maybe she was a rogue Mage from a fallen house. Well, doesn’t matter now.

  When the knights returned, Gosr announced, “Lord Moreau, very good of you to be concerned for the safety of the public. Now, do you stand ready?”

  “Yes, Lord Marshal, I am ready.”

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  [1] Mayonnaise preparation in the LN is iffy at best. Might get lucky with raw eggs, but there’s no way it’d become safer after sitting a couple days without refrigeration. With no ill effects reported, I guess they could eat just about anything.[2] Nah, it’s just a German word for knife. Messer was a very popur sword for use with a small shield, though a bit pin for a noble.