Checkmate

Translator : Elizabeth

Chapter 34. Checkmate

Ferik was flustered.

In the moment sparks flew as swords clashed, the mercenary bastard's proposal digging into his ear was outside common sense.

Let me join?

Ferik fell into confusion at Danel's voice proposing a partnership, not a threat.

Flustered, Ferik adjusted his grip on the sword, doubting if the words he heard were auditory hallucinations.

'What is this crazy bastard saying right now?'

It was something incomprehensible with Ferik's common sense.

But Danel didn't miss the opponent's agitation and smiled a cynical smile.

"Why pretend you didn't hear. Did you think I wouldn't know what kind of board you guys are setting up here?"

Danel's eyes flashed.

It was a gaze far from knightly nobility or honor.

Unique terrible greed of a mercenary searching corpses in the mud of the battlefield for gold pieces, and tenacity for survival lingered.

Ferik stopped breathing for a moment, suppressed by that overwhelming spirit.

"Don't bullshit. How dare a mere thing like you meddle in the Helmon family's affairs…!"

"Man, picky. Wouldn't be bad if I join though? Anyway, you have no choice."

Ferik barely retorted with a trembling voice.

"Y, you crazy bastard… What on earth are you saying? What do you know!"

The corners of Danel's mouth rose as if tearing.

"Don't know, but I know one thing. That's a profitable job, right?"

"W, what?"

"What else would a mercenary be interested in? Let's go nicely with each other. Honestly, there isn't much gain for me handing over that request form to Veron either. Can't you understand the simple calculation that it's more profitable for me to enter the board you guys set up directly and take a big share?"

Ferik's thinking stopped.

Until now, he only thought about the confrontation between the Helmon family and Ashuhalt, not calculating Danel's personal desire holding the key to this matter.

It was as Danel said.

Even if he hands over the request form to Veron and sets merit, the reward was obvious in the position of a guard for collateral Lorraine.

Rather, holding hands with Helmon was much more practical financially.

"Think well. Anyway, you have no choice."

Danel approached one step slowly, giving physical pressure.

Ferik instinctively took a defensive stance, but his fighting spirit was already broken.

"Take the hand I extend now. Then at least you'll hear praise from Lady Julia for handling the situation competently. Besides, take some bribes with me too. Joining hands with a mercenary is a more profitable business than you think?"

That was a devil's temptation.

No, an undeniable checkmate.

Ferik looked at Danel with shaking pupils. In the place where killing intent left, terrible survival instinct and irresistible greed began to fill up.

Danel didn't miss Ferik's change.

Watching the bastard's facial muscles relax from tension to compromise with Trace, he cheered inwardly.

But as long as the shell called knight's pride remains, he won't be able to declare surrender rashly.

So Danel threw the last move.

"Now, no time. Decide. Want to die a dog's death here by me, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠or join hands with me and become rich? If you refuse, there's no reason for me to keep you alive."

At those words, Ferik's eyebrow twitched.

"Die? Me? By a mere thing like you?"

Danel grinned and twisted his sword.

Creepy sound of metal scratching filled the silence between the two.

"Yeah, you die. Still don't know? Now you can't beat me."

Thick veins rose on Ferik's forehead.

No matter how cornered, he hadn't completely abandoned his pride as a knight.

"Don't bullshit!"

"You'll know if it's bullshit or not when we fight. Ah? Then this will do. If I win, you let me join that board. How about it?"

"What?"

"That way, you'll have an excuse to give Lady Julia too. Like 'He was a much stronger person than thought, and he made a proposal to us'."

Danel's design was perfect.

A strange situation was created for Ferik where losing this duel rather became a safe exit.

Ferik ground his teeth and adjusted his grip on the sword.

Although his mind was shaken, the last obstinacy as a knight that he wouldn't lose at least made him hold out.

"Ha! Fine, try winning then. If you really have that much skill, I'll recommend you to Lady Julia!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Ferik's sword rushed drawing an arc.

This time it was a much faster and more precise attack than before.

But in Danel's eyes, all trajectories were already being read clearly.

Opponent's muscle contraction, movement of gaze, even minute tremor of Aura.

Danel had already engraved all of Ferik's movements and habits in his mind.

Swish—!

Ferik's sword brushed past Danel's collar by a paper-thin margin.

"What!?"

"Told you I see everything."

Danel twisted his body flexibly and dug into Ferik's blind spot.

Ferik tried to retrieve his sword in panic, but Danel had already captured the timing his wrist joint bent.

Clang—!

Clash—!

Continuous impact sounds echoed in the duel arena.

Danel attacked Ferik's weakness with technique rather than strength.

Gap retrieving the sword, moment moving footsteps, gaze moving for attack.

All that were signals telling Danel how Ferik would ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠move next.

'Took longer than expected, but eventually you can't escape my eyes either. Kuk kuk.'

To the eyes of watchers, it must have looked like Danel was barely holding out dodging attacks by a hair's breadth.

But different scenes were seen in the eyes of strong men like Vince or Veron.

'That guy… was hiding his power?'

Strictly speaking, he wasn't hiding power.

In that short engagement, Danel grasped Ferik ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠perfectly and grew in real-time.

Finally, Danel flowed riding Ferik's blade surface and thrust Hayang at his chest.

Tap—

Danel said laughing.

"Ended. How is it? My words are right, right?"

"T, this makes no sense…!"

Ferik gasped for breath looking at the blade casting a shadow on his nape.

Feeling the sensation of blood droplets forming as it slightly dug into his neck, he had no choice but to admit finally.

Monster. And a monster growing in real-time. Danel Ferik saw was such an existence.

"Winner, Danel, guard of Lady Lorraine Ashuhalt!"

The referee's declaration shook the banquet hall.

Heavy silence flowed for a moment.

The shock given by the fact that a knight of a prestigious Northern family lost to a nameless mercenary was immense.

But soon cheers burst out from Lorraine's side.

"W, we won!!"

Lorraine's status rose vertically in an instant.

The fact that she, ignored as Ashuhalt's residue, commanded a talent who defeated Helmon family's elite knight left a strong impression on the nobles.

Arisa ran first and hugged Lorraine.

"Sister!! Amazing!! Was Danel that strong!?"

Vince, who approached following her, also had a blunt expression but gave a short compliment looking at Lorraine.

"Did you have certainty?"

At Vince's question, Lorraine answered with solid eyes.

"No. But I think trusting is also the role of a superior."

At those words, Vince nodded as if admiring.

"Ha, if it were me, I could never have trusted a person like that. Amazing, Lorraine. You have a side better than me."

Vince's smile headed to Lorraine warmly more than ever.

"T, thank you, Brother."

Lorraine made a bewildered expression at Vince's heartfelt praise.

The fact that she was acknowledged by her brother felt like a dream.

"Then we will start the next match!!"

With the referee's shout, people's interest headed to the training ground again.

But Lorraine's gaze was fixed only on one place.

It was Danel trudging up to the banquet hall after finishing the duel.

She ran to Danel not caring even about surrounding gazes.

"Danel!"

Grab—!

Lorraine ran and hugged Danel.

At the sudden body attack, Danel froze with both hands floating awkwardly in the air.

"L, Lady?"

Fortunately, people around were distracted by the next match and didn't care much about their sudden action.

"A, are you okay? No place hurt, right? Oh my! Bleeding here! Let's go to the infirmary right now!"

At Lorraine's fuss, Danel smirked.

"I'm fine. Not that serious. This much blood is a wound that heals if you apply saliva."

"S, saliva?"

"Yes, will the Lady apply it for me?"

At Danel's mischievous joke, Lorraine's face turned beet red and she stepped back.

"M, my saliva!?"

Seeing such Lorraine, Danel giggled.

"Just kidding."

Danel smiled softly and eventually patted her shoulder lightly.

"Rather than that, isn't over there first?"

The place Danel's gaze headed was Julia Helmon.

In front of her, Ferik was reporting something with his head bowed, and soon Julia's expression was dyed with astonishment and suspicion.

Danel turned his head slightly and made eye contact with Julia.

And showed a very faint fishy smile on his lips that only ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠she could recognize.

'Now, what decision will you make? Lady Julia?'