Chapter 31
Chapter 31
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 30
Chapter Title: Meteorite Dispute
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After spending a night at Illen Fortress, the expedition headed south toward the meteorite.
The group had grown larger with the addition of Castle Lord Ludas and the squires and soldiers under his command. Including the wagons to transport the extracted black star iron and the cargo lizards to pull them, their pace had slowed to a crawl.
To make matters worse, it happened to be raining, turning the ground into a muddy quagmire that dragged their already sluggish speed to an even slower crawl.
Everyone had thrown cloaks over themselves to fend off the downpour, but the rain was coming down so hard that it was a struggle to endure even with that.
Arsen watched the rainwater cascade down Eloise's black robe in front of him.
The drops slid off without seeping in at all, as if the robe weren't cloth but metal.
"Magic really is convenient."
"Want me to cast it on you too?"
"My armor keeps the rain out anyway. Still, this constant rain is going to be a problem..."
Thanks to the rising humidity, he could see white breath puffing out.
With winter not far off and rain pouring down besides, the temperature had dropped low enough that he could hear some soldiers chattering their teeth.
"Not cold?"
"I'm fine. I've got cold-resistance magic on. You, Sen?"
"I'm good, obviously. Knights probably won't have any issues... It's the soldiers who are the problem."
The one silver lining was that no magic beasts were showing up.
They should have run into three or four by now after a few hours of marching, but the rain was muffling sight, sound, and smell alike, letting them proceed without any clashes.
These were all seasoned folks used to operating outdoors, so despite the harsh conditions, the march continued without a single dropout.
Some time later, Palato up at the front raised a hand, halting the column.
Palato's face was tense and hardened.
Ramun, in the center, approached him and asked,
"What's the matter, Palato?"
"Looks like we're a step too late, Ramun."
"What do you see?"
"Southerners. They've already started mining."
Palato's eyes pierced through the pouring rain and mist to the distance beyond.
It wasn't perfectly clear, but he could make out a massive rock and the people surrounding it.
"How many enemies? How many knights?"
"Knights... probably eight. Unless there's one that's unusually short, that's about it. Otherwise, around fifty more. They've brought a hefty force."
"That's tricky."
They had nine knights, but lacked squires and soldiers.
A knight could slaughter squires solo without issue, but interruptions during knight-on-knight combat could prove fatally disruptive.
A knight was still just a human with one head and two arms, after all.
Retreating now felt like too much of a waste, but attacking meant facing an opponent too strong.
As Ramun pondered, Palato sighed.
"Damn, looks like they've spotted us too. They're forming up."
"One of them has a similar skill to yours?"
"Probably."
The distance was too great for any element of surprise.
Ramun let out a deep sigh and issued orders.
"Alright, advance for now. Let's see if we can talk it out."
Hearing that much, Arsen sat Jin down and tapped Eloise on the back.
"Huh, what?"
"Time to get down and stand with the soldiers. You're too conspicuous right by me."
The knights riding Jin were already standout figures in the expedition, and having one with a black-robed girl sitting in front would draw eyes from anyone but a fool.
Anyone paying close attention to Eloise would sense she was a mage right away.
Arsen hadn't forgotten Luden's advice.
"Got it."
Eloise hopped off Jin without protest and walked into the cluster of nearby soldiers.
He saw the soldiers shudder and backpedal, but Eloise didn't change expression, merely scoffing lightly.
In their midst, Arsen pointed out two particularly tall soldiers.
"You, the big blond hunk, and the freckled one. You two, shield the lady well. Keep her out of sight from those guys over there."
"Uh, y-yes sir..."
The pointed-out soldiers looked momentarily flustered, but a sharp click of Arsen's tongue had them snap to attention, stepping in front of Eloise.
Both towered well over 180 cm with broad shoulders and muscular builds. Eloise was tall for a woman, but hidden behind them, she vanished completely.
Their large frames meant they were both shield bearers with hefty shields, perfect for bodyguard duty if things went south.
Arsen grinned in satisfaction at the two standing guard with uneasy expressions.
"Good. Keep it up."
* * *
Only after closing to within tens of meters through the raindrops did Arsen get his first look at Atar territory's forces.
Like Belluan's squires, theirs wore leather armor, but unlike Belluan's dark tones, they favored light, pale colors.
The mounts the presumed squires rode resembled wolves, unlike Belluan's oil lizards—spikes on the front leg joints and thin, long tails were the hallmarks.
The knights' armor and Jin looked different too.
While Belluan knights wore black star iron head to toe, Atar's armor incorporated magic beast bones in spots to conserve metal.
Belluan's Jin evoked four-legged raptors, but Atar's were grotesque hybrids with wolf bodies and snake heads.
'What do you even call that? Wolf-snake?'
As Belluan's forces approached, a helmetless knight from Atar rode out on his Jin.
Around thirty, he had a square face and dark brown hair tied in a ponytail.
The knight asked in a polite yet mocking tone.
His accent was rougher and thicker than Belluan's.
"Brothers from the north! I'm Batayan, son of Ilmen, knight of Atar. What brings you here?"
"Since when did this become Atar territory? Shouldn't you explain first why you're brazenly stealing the meteorite that fell in our domain—and what gives you the right?"
Batayan burst into laughter at Ramun's icy retort, as if he'd heard a joke.
The other knights bristled at the rudeness, hands on weapons, but Ramun raised a hand like he had eyes in the back of his head, stopping them.
Ramun stared him down with frostbite-cold intensity, expression unchanged, until Batayan's laughter finally petered out.
"What's so funny?"
"Anyone can see we got here first. The thief calls the owner a thief—how could I not laugh? Since when have you claimed the area south of the fortress? The castle lord here says he hasn't seen your faces around here in the past ten years. Doesn't a lord need to show up at least once a year to call it his land?"
Ramun turned to look at Ludas at Batayan's words.
This sector was one the Illen Fortress castle lord was supposed to patrol regularly; they would've crossed paths otherwise.
Ludas quickly shouted in response.
"I-I patrol this area all the time, but I've never seen those guys! They're lying!"
Batayan snorted and jerked his chin backward; another knight slowly rode forward on his Jin.
The advancing knight sneered as he asked,
"What's the most common magic beast around here? Ever spotted non-magic beasts in the area? How many bandit dens nearby?"
"Uh? Er... wait a sec."
Ramun sighed quietly at Ludas's flustered fumbling.
Pushing further would lack justification with Ludas acting the fool.
So he swiftly changed tack, attacking from another angle.
"By the agreement between Belluan and Atar, our territory extends to the southern Excen Gorge. Your estate lord Essenta signed it himself sixty years ago."
"Regrettably, our estate lord's house changed fifteen years back. Even if your claim's true, we have no intention of honoring it."
"Take the seat, ditch the contracts? Even kids at make-believe don't play that way. Makes me doubt if you know what honor is."
"When you seize another's wealth, do you inherit their debts too? Our current lord didn't inherit the seat—he wrested it from the weak prior lord. And our lord has declared this our territory."
Ramun's face veins bulged at Batayan's unyielding retorts.
His expression stayed neutral, but anyone could tell he was furious.
Palato patted Ramun's shoulder from behind and shook his head; Ramun sighed and stepped back a few paces.
Palato asked in a calm, serene tone.
"Let's be frank. What do you want? A clash wouldn't please you either."
"Are you calling me a coward?"
"No intent to insult. You look plenty brave and strong—a true knight. That's why mutual combat would cost both sides dearly. We're all human, aren't we? A knight's strength belongs against magic beasts and bandits, not kin. Better to talk and find common ground, no?"
"Well..."
Batayan had been hardline against Ramun, but Palato's unflappable kindness deflated him somewhat.
To that, Palato cooed like soothing a child.
"Get off your Jin for now. Sit and talk calmly. Sound good?"
"Uh... sure. Let's."
Batayan hesitated but nodded as Palato dismounted first, then followed suit.
Right behind them, Ramun and an Atar knight stayed mounted on their Jin, poised against threats, as the two began conversing.
Unlike Ramun's hardline ownership claim, Palato acknowledged Atar's position to a degree while stressing Belluan couldn't yield here, gently steering toward a reasonable compromise short of all-out clash.
Once talks of explanation, demands, and negotiation wrapped and Palato returned, Ramun grilled Ludas sharply.
"Explain yourself, Sir Ludas. Never seen Atar folk? They're already here mining, and you don't even know the local magic beasts—that screams you skipped southern patrols."
"I... sorry. Time ran short helping elsewhere."
"More like no time between boozing and sleeping. No need for excuses."
Normally skipping patrols to goof off, they'd only rushed here after spotting the meteorite fall and reported it—obvious.
Ramun cut off Ludas's lame excuse coldly and sighed.
A knight watching asked Palato and Ramun,
"So, what happened? We retreating?"
"They proposed a duel. Five knights each side, one-on-one. Winner-take-meteorite."
"Will they honor it?"
"Better than outright clash, no? If our knights disable or kill theirs in duels, that's advantage enough."
The knights nodded at Palato's words.
Belluan had more knights overall, so it seemed unfavorable at first glance, but theirs were all duel masters assembled for human combat.
Ideal to claim the meteorite bloodlessly, but even if not, victory duels killing foes still profited.
Ramun addressed the knights.
"Let's hear opinions."
"Agreed."
"Me too."
"Send me out, I'm confident."
As knights voiced eager support, Arsen hung back silently.
Seeing it, Ramun nodded and declared.
"Alright, we accept the duel. First: Sir Amund. Second: Sir Latina. Third: Sir Palato. Fourth: Sir Arsen. Fifth: me."
"Me?"
"Our territory's second-best fighter after me."
Arsen nodded mutely at Ramun's matter-of-fact praise. It was true.
They'd start in one hour, so the dueling knights—and even non-duelists—began drawing and tending their weapons.