Chapter 17: Bonyard (4)
Chapter 17: Bonyard (4)
Panis sighed to himself.
"What would become of the city's reputation if a bloodbath broke out among the knights we ourselves invited? And what if the Piranyan family sought blood price?"
"Send all the bills to me. Be it dishonor or the sword of vengeance, I'll answer for it all."
Karas spoke coolly.
They had invited him despite knowing how willful he was because his skill made it worth the risk. But Panis had not expected trouble on the very first day.
"I will do my best to smooth this over somehow. I beg you, please exercise restraint going forward."
"Thank you. I'll make an effort."
The office door swung wide open.
"Oh!"
"You...!"
Eugene looked amused; Karas looked startled. Sure enough, Karas was the same Samurian who had caused the commotion in the tavern two days earlier.
"So we meet again. Good to see you."
"So you were an invited knight as well. I had a feeling you would be."
Karas rubbed the back of his head as though the bump from that day were still there.
Judging by the temperament he had shown at the tavern, Eugene had expected him to start a brawl right away, but surprisingly, there seemed to be no lingering resentment.
Instead, competitive spirit—and even stronger curiosity—sparkled in his eyes.
"I was invited and arrived two days ago. I'm Eugene Meyer. May I call you Sir Karas?"
Karas quietly studied the genial Eugene, then took a step back and dipped his head.
"I was sorry about the other day."
"What exactly are you sorry for?"
"So many little things, I hardly know where to begin."
Stroking his stubble-roughened chin, Karas spoke.
"Calling you a coward at the tavern, not believing you when you said you had meant to step in, raising my fists and behaving rudely — all of it."
"As for that, I've already forgotten it. It was rough, but there was no ill intent behind it. Those thugs were an eyesore to me too."
Eugene thought back to Marcus and his party.
"The dhampirs I met not long ago were quite gentlemanly. I suppose it really does depend on the person."
"Gentlemanly dhampirs? That's a new one."
Karas wore an expression of sheer disbelief.
Realizing the atmosphere outside was unusual, Panis came out. Dressed in silks and well-padded with flesh, he fit the stereotypical image of a wealthy merchant.
He was taken aback when he saw the two knights in conversation.
"Were the two of you acquainted?"
Sorin had already briefed him, so Panis recognized Eugene at once. A knight traveling with a tall beastkin woman with such a distinctive tail was hardly common.
"We had a bit of a run-in. Nothing unpleasant, and it won't interfere with our stay, so you may rest easy, Chief Magistrate."
Unlike with Sorin, this was one of the city's officials, so Eugene used polite speech.
"That is a relief."
Panis liked the courtesy of the knight he was meeting for the first time. A Chief Magistrate of Bonyard was not socially beneath a free knight, but hearing one speak to him this respectfully was almost unheard of.
"Allow me to introduce myself properly. I am Panis, Chief Magistrate of Bonyard. Sir Eugene, thank you sincerely for accepting our invitation and coming all this way."
Despite the title of Chief Magistrate, Panis was not particularly skilled at fighting or commanding troops.
A free city's defense consisted of maintaining a modest permanent guard and hiring mercenaries whenever more force was needed. That meant a Chief Magistrate needed a different set of talents.
Recruitment and hospitality. Those were the abilities that truly mattered.
He had to gather capable mercenary companies and knights, negotiate their compensation at a reasonable price, and keep them content enough not to cause trouble.
"The timing is excellent. If neither of you minds, might I offer you hospitality elsewhere?"
If the two strongest assets Bonyard had secured already knew each other, that was excellent news. Panis knew how to turn good fortune like that into an even greater advantage.
Eugene had a quick sense for such things too. Was this not an opportunity to eat and drink for free?
"I could hardly refuse the Chief Magistrate's hospitality."
"Thank you!"
"Will Sir Karas join us? It seems we'll be seeing a good deal of each other for a while."
And if he could put the Chief Magistrate in his debt on top of that, all the better.
"My earlier apology was insufficient. I'll have to drink a penalty cup at the very least."
Karas also dropped the prickly attitude he had shown Panis and nodded.
'Hooray!'
The horribly tangled knot had come undone in a single stroke. For the first time in a long while, the exhausted Chief Magistrate's face brightened.
Panis was considered a magnate within Bonyard's alcohol trade. His current position, too, had been attained through the connections, wealth, and information network he had built there.
Any man became a chatterbox once drink was involved. In the spiderweb of city interests, such information became a formidable weapon.
"Have a cup."
A beautiful woman smiled warmly as she poured wine into Karas's cup.
She wore the traditional dress of women from the hot southern regions, though this version was more lavishly decorated and more revealing.
Clear Samur wine and snacks were laid upon the black marble table.
"The liquor here is passable, but it's nothing compared to that of my homeland."
Karas, who had missed the taste of home, emptied his cup in one go.
"I've hosted more knights than I can count while serving as this city's Chief Magistrate, but I've never felt as reassured as I do today."
As Panis smiled and rubbed his hands together, his plump cheeks wobbled along.
"The food is somewhat exotic, so I was not sure whether it would suit your palate, Sir Eugene."
Panis watched Eugene's reaction, worried that he had leaned too heavily into Samur cuisine.
Unlike the well-mannered Eugene, Karas was the uncontrollable type, and he was keen to placate him as much as possible.
"Not at all. Everything is fresh and interesting. I actually prefer trying unfamiliar dishes to eating the same things I already know."
"Just as generous as I'd heard!"
Fortunately, Eugene had no complaints whatsoever.
'This tastes a bit like sake, doesn't it?'
He was in a fine mood himself, savoring the clear wine for the first time in ages.
"You sure called in a great many knights from all over, didn't you?"
Karas said.
"The situation forced our hand. Renowned knights like the two of you might have refused our invitation, after all."
"I understand why, but you should have screened out the Barsian trash. I won't tolerate a praise song for Piranyan being sung in a fine city like this."
Karas popped a date into his mouth and chewed.
"The hospitality is appreciated, but I would like you to be frank with me now. I understand that the city is in danger. What exactly do you want from me? Seeing Sir Karas here gives me a rough idea."
At Eugene's question, Panis gulped. The inevitable moment had arrived.
"Not long ago, the nobles of Gord sent an ultimatum."
The explanation that followed was just as Eugene had surmised.
The Kingdom of Gord was a nation that occupied the western part of the continent.
Gord had originally been known as a land of merchants, until raiders from the sea began eating away at the country piece by piece.
As this continued for a long time, at some point their bloodlines mingled so thoroughly that the two peoples fused into one.
And so a unique people was born, bearing the contradictory hues of both merchant and warrior.
"Until now, annual tribute was enough. They were satisfied as long as we swallowed our pride a little and deferred to them like an elder brother. But at last, they've drawn their swords."
"That's hardly strange."
Karas spoke as he pared an apple.
"Their roots are raiders who sailed their ships to plunder every corner of the world. How long can they keep playing at nobility after settling down? A merchant's blood cools at the touch of silver coin, but when a raider's blood runs hot?"
"It won't cool until they've stained their hands with the blood of others. Perhaps coveting the city isn't just greed, but a way to vent their pent-up desires as well."
Karas laughed when Eugene played along.
During their exchange, the perfectly carved apple was placed onto a plate. It was in the shape of a crouching rabbit.
"Oh my! How darling."
The serving woman giggled.
"Still, it is not entirely a misfortune, for thanks to this we have been able to host such honored knights. Ha ha ha!"
Panis rubbed his hands together ingratiatingly.
He was not only pleased with Eugene's martial prowess, but also with how well he got on with the difficult-to-control Karas.
He might be a man of some consequence in the city, but it took a fellow knight to control a knight. And Karas, being from a prestigious house, was utterly beyond his handling.
"To continue what I was saying, Gord has no intention of mobilizing its army either. Oh, thank you."
Panis accepted the apple Eugene had speared on a fork and offered to him.
"If they mean to seize the city without using an army, they must intend to settle it through champions. That explains why you gathered knights from all over."
"Yes. A Hall War will be held soon."
It was an age where disputes between individuals were settled by fist rather than law.
When the dispute was between knights or nobles, they settled it with a formal trial by combat.
When a trial by combat grew to the scale of city against city or nation against nation, it was called a Hall War.
A clean settlement where representatives fought instead of shedding the blood of hundreds or thousands needlessly!
Naturally, the glory gained from it was bound to be immense. The name signified that the dueling ground itself was akin to a hall of honor.
Because such large stakes were involved, it was rare to have only one champion; usually both sides fielded about two or three.
"Three champions from Bonyard and three from Gord will fight on foot."
"What happens if Bonyard loses?"
"Significant commercial rights will be forfeited, such as exemption from city tolls and exclusive trading rights for goods determined by Gord."
Panis trembled as if the mere thought terrified him.
"And autonomy?"
"Thankfully, that was not among their demands. Had that been included, it would simply be war."
Had they demanded even that, this city would have been recruiting mercenary companies en masse instead of knights.
"But even the restriction of trading partners and goods is a grievous blow."
"Then several lives are on the line, including yours, Chief Magistrate."
"Yes. The Executor, me, and the rest of the senior officials will all be dragged into the street and beaten with clubs. Our families and homes won't be spared either."
"If you win, however?"
"Then our freedom is guaranteed. The tribute we've been paying to Gord will also cease."
Eugene tilted his head.
"The stakes seem unfair to me. One side is putting up arms and legs, while the other is merely offering a few strands of hair."
"That cannot be helped. Such is the difference in power. Had we been on equal footing, we would have refused such an absurd demand outright."
Panis studied Eugene with a cautious eye.
"Sir Karas has already sworn to take up the sword for us."
When Eugene looked at Karas, the other knight raised his cup as though toasting.
"Then only my decision remains."
"Yes. There is time yet, so you need not rush your decision."
Panis explained the compensation the city had prepared.
Besides money, the city promised valuable privileges: limited immunity, the right to enter and leave through the city gates even after they were closed at night, and tax benefits in trade.
'This is better than I expected.'
Surprisingly, fatalities were rare in Hall Wars.
A knight's caliber was reflected in his armor, and no knight entering a contest like this would show up poorly equipped.
Trials by combat, which even poor knights took part in, saw their share of deaths, but in a Hall War, where the combatants fought heavily armored, surrender or incapacitation before that point was more common.
Prevailing without killing only served to exalt a knight's honor even further.
"I've already made my decision."
He had already been wanting to earn coin as a champion, so with terms this favorable, there was no reason to refuse.
"Knight Eugene Meyer. I shall become a champion of Bonyard."
A one-on-one duel was better than a battlefield rife with arrows and backstabbing. Nor did he see himself losing, no matter who his opponent might be.
'Surely there won't be anything tougher than the giant boar. Nor anyone more skilled than my master.'
After such a spectacular knighting ordeal, Eugene had plenty of confidence in single combat.
"Phewww!"
Perhaps all his tension had been released at once, for Panis sank into the sofa like a marionette with its strings cut.
Then, with a look of 'Ah, this is no time for that!' he sprang up and clasped Eugene's hands.
"Thank you! Truly, thank you!"
"A bond like this is precious, is it not? This is the first city I set foot in after beginning my journey through the wider world as a knight."
Eugene clenched his fist and struck his own chest.
"I swear upon my sword... I shall not permit this jewel of a city to be ravaged."
"Oh! How truly reassuring. You are every inch the successor of the Knight of Prophecy!"
Panis bowed his head repeatedly with a face full of emotion.
Sorin's testimony mattered, but the additional report delivered by one of Panis's trusted men on the way here was what finally convinced him.
-They say Sir Eugene subdued Sir Karas with a single blow at the tavern.
-For real? Can you stake your life on that?
-I checked again and again. It's true.
Karas was by no means a weak knight. Before his wandering, he had been counted among the finest knights in his homeland of Samur.
If those two knights stood together, the city would surely be safe!