The Beer Tasting Duel
"A duel?" John Domino stared at me with a puzzled expression.
"Yes. Since we're both making and selling beer anyway... I also want an objective evaluation of my work." I told him.
Domino looked at me like he was trying to figure out why I was suddenly doing this.
"Plus your brewery is huge, right, Mr. Domino? I'm genuinely curious what a beer made with real commitment from a large-scale operation would taste like." I said, flashing a bright smile.
"Hmph. Are you scheming something?" Domino asked, eyeing me with clear suspicion.
But let's see if you can still go through with it after hearing the rest.
"If you win the duel, I'll hand over the recipe for the beer I created."
"What?" Domino said, visibly rattled.
I shrugged at him.
"I'm completely serious."
"Then what exactly am I supposed to wager?"
"You don't have to wager anything at all."
"What?" From Domino's perspective, the statement was so ridiculous it bordered on insulting. His eyes widened as he asked me again.
"If you win, Mr. Domino, I'll give you every single beer recipe I've created so far and every one I'll make from now on."
"But if you win, I don't have to give you anything?"
"Exactly."
After hearing my answer, Domino started turning things over in his head, clearly wondering what kind of trick I was pulling. How did I know? It was written all over his face.
"What are you plotting?" he asked once he'd finished thinking.
"Plotting?"
"The conditions are far too favorable for me. No contract in the world benefits only one side."
"You know your business well."
"I'm a businessman, after all."
"Hmm..." I deliberately struck an exaggerated thinking pose and dragged the moment out. Then I delivered the final line that would absolutely hook him.
"How about this? On top of the previous conditions, you get to select every single judge yourself."
"What?"
"So how does that sound? I purely want my beer evaluated. Nothing more, nothing less, so it doesn't matter to me."
"..."
"Hmm... Let's hold the event fifteen days from today. That should be more than enough time for the beer to finish brewing. What do you think?"
I extended my hand toward him.
Domino thought for a moment, then smiled and clasped it.
"Fine. Let's do it."
"Wise decision."
I shook hands with the plump man.
"Human... have you lost your mind?" The dragon girl who had been listening from afar asked the moment I returned to the shop.
"It was pretty far away. You actually heard all that?"
"Don't underestimate a dragon's hearing. Anyway, have you really lost your mind?"
"There it should have ended with 'nya,' not 'da.'"
"I don't want to be lectured by a crazy human. Those are conditions even a dragon wouldn't accept for a duel."
"What kind of conditions are we talking about?" Coriander, who had seen us talking from a distance, walked over and asked.
"The human's gone crazy. He promised to give all his secret recipes to that fat human."
"Hmm... and what did you get in return? At least borrow a brewing machine?"
"No. Even if the fat human loses, he suffers zero loss."
"Huh?" Coriander looked utterly confused. If this were a manga, a giant question mark would have popped up over her head.
"That's all? You even told him he could pick all the judges himself."
"Yeah...?"
"That's why I said even a dragon wouldn't agree to it. The human has finally snapped."
"No beer?"
"I think even I might go a little crazy!" I said, lightly threatening the girl by withholding beer.
However.
"Have you gone mad?"
Coriander's palm slammed into my back.
Tsk. That actually hurt.
"Ow!"
"This guy's lost it! What the hell were you thinking, offering terms like that!"
"Ow! Stop hitting me!"
"You need to be hit!"
It took ten solid smacks on my back before I finally escaped Coriander's clutches.
"Ugh... that hurts... I told you not to worry."
"How can I not worry when you pull something like this? Do you even have a plan?" Coriander asked.
I smiled at her question.
"I have the greatest plan of all."
"What is it?"
"No plan whatsoever."
Her palm struck my back again.
"Ow! I was joking! Stop hitting me!"
Tsk. I'm definitely going to bruise.
"That guy... What is he thinking?"
Late that evening, I sat alone in my office and pondered. The conditions the young man had proposed weren't bad. No, they were so overwhelmingly advantageous that it made me uneasy, like it had to be a scam.
But who was I? The owner of the largest brewery in the city of Heinen. I was John Domino.
A duel proposed by some kid I couldn't even tell was beneficial or not would be easy for me to win.
With that thought, I began conceptualizing a new beer.
"The style he suggested was definitely one that hadn't existed before..."
Easy. Far too easy.
Thinking that, I opened the office door.
"Hmm... For starters, I'll add a barley flavor like the last one."
I took out the barley I'd stored in a barrel. It had been sitting there for weeks after a casual purchase, so it gave off a strange smell, but I ignored it. It's not like I was drinking it. And there was no way I'd lose to a novice like him.
I decided on the ingredients for the beer.
"Ah, but... just to be safe, I should prepare some insurance..."
I called my secretary.
"Yes! Boss, what can I do for you..."
"Send letters and money to the people I'll be calling later."
"What should the content say?"
"Tell them that in exchange for serving as judges in this duel, they are to announce the results in my favor."
"Yes... um... but won't that get discovered?"
"They're the judges that guy told me to select myself. If I say I'll choose them, what can he possibly do about it?"
"Ah... I see. Understood."
The secretary bowed and left.
You amateur. I'll make you regret underestimating John Domino.
The day of the duel.
It was originally supposed to be held in the village square, but the rumors had spread so wildly over the fifteen days that the square could no longer hold everyone. With no other choice, Domino and I set up in a wide clearing outside the village walls.
"Hmm... It's time. Shall we begin?"
"Let's."
After confirming, I nodded to the guide preparing in the distance. Thankfully the guide had volunteered to serve as emcee, which made the event run more smoothly. On top of that, Hart and his colleagues along with their siblings were helping control the crowd, so I felt completely at ease. At the very least, there wouldn't be any accidents.
Adventurer Bel vs. John Domino of Domino Brewery
Both sides will present their original beers for judging.
"A beer tasting duel, huh..."
The audience buzzed with a mix of curiosity and interest as applause rang out.
"Next, I will introduce the judges for this duel."
The guide began introducing the five judges seated to one side, one by one.
"Mr. Rishport from Rishport Brewery."
"I will judge fairly."
"Mr. Crainstein, who grows hops on the village outskirts..."
The pattern repeated: the guide introduced each judge, and each judge stood and spoke a few words.
Anyone in the know would recognize them. Every single one had deep ties to Domino Brewery.
They had clearly come prepared to win.
Some spectators seemed to realize the same thing I did, because a low murmur began to spread through the crowd.
Some suspected, some didn't, but that was enough. No matter how small the stone thrown into a lake, ripples are inevitable the moment it hits the water. This small seed of doubt would soon become my strength.
And I had another reason for confidence.
"Now that the introductions are complete... we will begin the duel—"
"Ah, one moment please!"
I interrupted the guide and walked over, addressing the audience.
"Sorry for cutting in. There's just one thing I want to make completely clear before we start."
My sudden interruption caused the audience to murmur again.
"What's this now?"
"What does he want to clarify?"
"Why is he doing this?"
Even Domino, standing beside me, spoke up.
"What is this? This wasn't mentioned before."
I gave him a warm smile.
"True. But wouldn't it be better for you to receive a completely fair evaluation as well, Mr. Domino?"
"Hmm..."
"And if the masterpiece you created is truly that impressive, you'll win easily. This way you get to promote it all at once."
"Well... that's true..."
After a brief hesitation, Domino gestured as if to say do as you please.
"Thank you."
I thought to myself, Got him.
Turning back to the audience, I continued.
"There are five judges in total... Earlier you all said you would judge fairly and without falsehood, correct?"
"We did," the owner of Rishport Brewery, who was closest to me, answered.
"Good. Then there's no problem. In fact, this will be better for the judges as well."
"What does that mean?"
In front of the confused judges, audience, and Domino, I cupped my hands around my mouth and faced the forest. I took a deep breath and shouted at the top of my lungs.
"Yongyong!"
At that moment, a huge vibration rolled through the area and flocks of birds exploded out of the forest. A gigantic shadow detached from the trees and moved toward us.
It was a dragon.
"D-dragon?"
"It's a dragon!"
"Why is a dragon here?"
While the audience panicked, the dragon who had flown from the forest at incredible speed landed gracefully beside me. Of course, even a light landing still sent a noticeable tremor through the ground.
"It's fine. Everyone please stay calm. She's my friend." I said, reaching up to stroke the dragon's head.
"How many times have I told you not to call me Yongyong, human."
"Your real name is forty-two characters long. I can't memorize that."
While we talked, the spectators who had fled because of the dragon slowly returned out of curiosity. Some people even came running from inside the village after spotting her.
"Calm down, she doesn't eat people."
A few guards rushed over as well, but Hart stopped them each time, preventing any fights from breaking out.
"Ahem!" Domino cleared his throat after listening to our exchange and called out to me. "So why exactly did you call a dragon? Are you making her a judge too?"
I scratched my head.
"No, that's not it. Mr. Domino, are you familiar with Dragon Words?"
"Of course. It's the power that infuses magic into one's voice to turn spoken commands into reality, correct?"
"You know it well. So I'm going to ask my friend Yongyong here for one small favor using Dragon Words."
"And what would that be?"
"What else?"
I paused for a moment, then spoke.
"I'm going to have her use Dragon Words to make sure no one here can tell a lie."
I smiled brightly.