For Sale. Fallen Lady. Never Used.

Obviously, a duel was not something you could just do whenever you wanted.

If it were, it could be misused in a dark alley, where someone could simply strike another and claim it was a duel.

First, the facts of the duel must be announced, its validity proven, and then it must be held publicly in the presence of witnesses.

People on the Eurelia Continent were as sensitive about their honor as they were about duels, the last bastion to protect it.

Well, aside from that, the rules were somewhat lenient…

But where were we?

We were in an academy that gathered only the talented from across the continent, teaching those in their prime all in one place.

Even the lowest Class C students were geniuses in their hometowns.

Most had strong pride, so friction was inevitable if they lived closely together.

Hence, the academy organized a Duel Committee.

All duels between academy students must go through the committee, and ignoring this leads to sanctions up to expulsion.

In other words, shouting bravely in the marketplace was one thing, but an official duel request required submitting relevant paperwork.

“It seems a bit mundane.”

“Such is life, isn’t it?”

Well, unless it was a real fight on the spot, it had to be this way.

I chuckled and submitted the paperwork I had prepared, along with a crystal ball.

Since the entire alleyway scene was captured, there was no way the duel would be rejected.

…Thinking about it, it felt like I’d filed a complaint.

Now that I think about it, it does seem a bit similar.

“But master, who is Frank Miller? Why did he suddenly appear? Is he really spreading the rumors?”

“Hm? I’m not sure.”

“…Really?”

“But one thing’s for sure, he’s a cultist.”

Carla, who understood without me specifying what kind of cultist she was, widened her eyes.

I didn’t know if he was actually involved in the current rumor.

But if I win the duel, I could request a proper investigation.

If it turns out he was a lackey of the Boiling Silence, the rumors about me would naturally die down.

The moment someone turned the tide with ‘That’s a rumor spread by cultists, you know…’ maybe the atmosphere would change.

For Frank, it’d be quite shocking.

Imagine someone he had never met accusing him of being a cultist.

“Maybe you know him, Carla. He’s a third-year student in the Magic Department.”

“I only knew his name. When I became a senior magician, the professors asked me to give a lecture to the juniors, so I saw his name on the list then… But I can’t really remember his face.”

“That makes sense. Whether it’s a divine power of not being detected or something else, he must be keeping a low profile.”

It would be impossible for even Carla to see through someone who could infiltrate the United Divine Orders.

Faye, who had come to help with the duel application and overheard our conversation, poked me in the side, astonished.

“Junior! Junior! Isn’t that a dangerous thing to say? Accusing someone without proof could backfire on you!”

“Ah, don’t worry. I have my ways. But tell me more about Felop.”

“Felop?”

Faye frowned as if just hearing the name was unpleasant.

I pressed her furrowed brows and nodded.

“Yes. Surely the head of the Crafting Department won’t personally enter the duel? The academy rules require finding a champion among the students, so I’m curious who it’ll be.”

In the past, families or outside mercenaries were used as proxies until student fights turned into family feuds.

Like how students’ weekday outings were restricted, the academy imposed its own limitations on duels.

It started in the academy and ended in the academy.

“…Now that it’s come to this, can’t you just send a proxy, Junior? You have money, right? I’ll forego the next sponsorship. Let’s hire someone. Okay?”

“Hey, if I did that, it would lack impact. This is a kind of warning. The reason I requested a duel and declared it in the marketplace after dragging him out of the alley is for that purpose.”

“Ugh… I have nothing to say to that… But I’m really fine, you know? I just hope you don’t get hurt, Junior.”

“I told you, Senior Faye. This is a kind of warning.”

It was a way to show what would happen if someone messed with me or my people.

I wasn’t a non-combatant like Felop from the Crafting Department to back down. That would just give them something else to chew on.

And that would become a weakness for those around me, not me.

Faced with my firm stance, Faye momentarily showed a stunned expression, then blushed and nodded.

“Uh… If you say it like that, Junior. But if there’s anything you need for the duel, just tell me. I’ll make it for you.”

“Ah! Then make me a Philosopher’s Stone!”

“…Only if it’s something I can make!”

“Then how about a homunculus that looks exactly like you, Senior Faye…?”

“I can’t make that either?! And what would you do with a homunculus that looks exactly like me?!”

“Obviously, I planned to use it as a body pillow and hug it every night.”

“Ah! Wasn’t I your body pillow, Master?!”

Both Faye, who was horrified, and Carla, who was startled, reacted.

Elisha watched them for a moment, then whispered slyly.

“They’re quite cute, aren’t they? Right?”

“Both are older than me, but they are cute indeed. But aren’t you interested? In being my body pillow.”

“Yours? Did you think I would cling to your ankle like Carla?”

Swish!

Elisha, who unfolded her newly bought fan to cover her mouth, smiled softly.

“You promised me last time, didn’t you? That you would take me as your partner someday. With a wife’s position promised, I’m not envious of a body pillow’s role.”

“Huh…”

Such confidence.

I did say that, but wasn’t she believing it a bit too literally?

Of course, I intended to keep that promise…

Anyway, we kept joking and teasing each other for a while.

Faye, looking much more relaxed than before, opened her mouth.

“Felop Brondel is the young lord of the Brondel Count’s family.”

“Eh? Just a count’s family? His attitude seemed like a duke’s son…”

The higher the title didn’t always mean the stronger the family, but there was generally a tendency.

Starting from the count, they were considered high nobility, so the title of a count couldn’t be ignored.

An academy overflowing with higher nobility wasn’t the place to behave openly like a hoodlum.

“Count Brondel is also an excellent alchemist. He’s even the deputy guild leader of the Levantin Empire Alchemy Guild.”

“That’s why he was so arrogant.”

A young lord at home and a deputy guild leader’s son outside?

It made sense that he hadn’t changed since coming to the academy. Most would have fawned over him.

Come to think of it, when one would proceed with Faye’s route, there was content involving the Alchemy Guild.

In summary, the guild that dismissed Faye as invaluable regretted it and became obsessed with her when they saw her producing high-quality equipment.

Then, the guild executive who gave Faye a hard time gets demoted, and that executive was the deputy guild leader.

Wow. All of this connected.

It was a bit surprising, but Faye cautiously continued.

“Anyway, since that’s the case, there will be more than enough champions to stand in for him. Whatever we do, what the academy teaches is how to fight…”

“Fighting inevitably ties you to potions.”

“Yes… Ah! But this time, it’s bad for Felop’s image to have someone fight for him, isn’t it?”

“I get it. The compensation is generous, but it tarnishes one’s reputation, so it’ll be mainly students who need money.”

This was also implemented in H&A. Sometimes, when playing, you have to engage in duels.

For combat roles, you just stand up for yourself, but for non-combat characters, a proxy knight is essential.

If justice was on your side, it was easy to find a character who valued honor. If it was on the opponent’s, it was easy to find one who valued rewards.

Since it was based on money, it was usually divided into nobles and commoners.

Generally, while nobles had a diverse range of jobs, the commoners were overwhelmingly concentrated in the Knight Department.

And they tended to be less skilled.

Predicting and preparing for the opponent’s champion like this was the charm of the duel system.

In the game era, the characters were limited, so you could predict who the opponent might be, but now that it’s real, it’s a bit difficult.

Still, being able to infer even roughly was something.

Of course, with my current abilities, except for extraordinary opponents like Carla or Elisha, I was confident I could win against anyone…

After Felop, I had to duel Frank, and I needed to show an overwhelming performance, so it was good to know.

---

Duel Day.

Seeing Felop’s champion, I couldn’t help but let out a snicker.

“Piece of cake.”

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