Volume 4 Chapter 13 Well, It Ends Up Being A Duel After All
"Yawn... I'm so sleepy..."
"After sleeping that much, what are you talking about?"
Randy, trying to hold back a yawn because he's still growing, gets a side-eye from Alan, who tells him not to get any bigger. The two of them walk towards a crowd that fills the circular stands.
"Looks like there are a lot of bored people here."
Randy sighs quietly as he looks around. Still, this meeting is important. Even though it's a busy time of year, people have come to the Ruins of the Ancient Arena to see the meeting and the duel that will follow.
It shows just how much attention this event has gotten.
"Well, I guess it's just a way to blow off steam."
As Alan shrugs, he's right; for the crowd, the duel is probably more interesting than the meeting itself.
In fact, since Alan and Randy arrived at the Ruins of the Ancient Arena, all anyone talks about is their worries about the duel.
"Only two of you?"
"Aren't there any substitutes for the duel?"
When questions fly in, Randy snorts, "It's a meeting, of course there aren't any." But the crowd is still surprised that there are only 2 people, Victor and Alan.
Just like they said, Randy and Alan have come to this huge arena all by themselves. Liz is at the Viscount's mansion, staying with Luke and Cecilia.
There are a few reasons for this, but the main one is that people still see Liz as part of the Marquis family. The people in the Dukedom don't really understand the complicated details. They simply think it's a big deal that Victor and the Marquis family are working together.
After thinking about how the other side might react, Alan decided it was safer not to bring anyone else this time. The mansion has Luke, Keith, and even some knights. They could defend against a dragon if it showed up, even if they couldn't defeat it.
In contrast, it's just the two of them here, but Randy and Alan agreed that if it's just a meeting, they don't need any extra pressure, so they came together.
But as a result...
"Just two of them... have they given up?"
"No, I heard Victor's son is strong."
"Strong? But the opponent is S-rank!"
"Don't you know? The previous Victor was called [The Army Crusher]."
"So what about the current Lord Victor?"
"Not sure. I heard he's a live-in son-in-law."
Hearing the murmurs from the crowd, Randy sighed softly.
"Is there really a need for this meeting, old man?"
"We need to make our demands known."
Alan smiled and sat down in the seat set up in the center of the arena. The seat has a magic tool that spreads sound like a microphone. It seems they made sure the crowd could hear them... probably so the government could get their message across.
While thinking about this, Randy sat down too, and then a lot of people appeared from the opposite side.
They looked like high-ranking bureaucrats.
Goldeis Shadler.
S-rank adventurer, Cain.
And then...
"Wait, there are 2 Goldies?"
"That's Ordis Shadler."
"No way. He's aged since I last saw him."
Randy laughed, and Alan sighed, telling him to behave.
"Now, we will begin the accountability meeting between the Dukedom Government, Count Shadler's family, and Viscount Victor's family."
As the host spoke, the noisy crowd suddenly went silent.
At the same time, the government representative sitting in front started explaining the situation to the crowd and Randy. When the government suddenly admitted their fault and apologized, the crowd buzzed for a moment but quickly quieted down.
"Wow. They're surprisingly well-behaved."
Randy ignored the public administrator still shouting something and looked at the large crowd filling the stands. They must be really interested in this incident.
Coming from modern Japan, where people often don't care about politics, Randy was shocked to see so many people gathered and listening to the government.
Randy looked around the quiet room and thought, "This is impressive."
Alan sighed and said, "You better behave too." Since Liz wasn't there, Alan had to keep Randy in check.
"Your turn comes after the meeting."
"Yeah, yeah, Old Man. So I just have to stay quiet until then, right?"
Randy, feeling a bit annoyed, noticed Cain standing behind the bureaucrats. Cain was staring at him with a fierce look, ready for a fight.
"By the way, what about that stupid father and son over there?"
Randy shrugged off Cain's glare and glanced at the Goldeis father and son sitting across from him. They were the ones who started all this mess, so it made sense that Randy wanted them to take responsibility.
"Who knows? It depends on what they do."
Alan shrugged, and Randy nodded, agreeing with him.
As the bureaucrats kept talking, the crowd slowly started to listen. Thanks to a magic tool that worked like a microphone, people were hearing about how Victor caused a rebellion.
"It's about the heating equipment..."
Randy felt bad because it was his fault. He scratched his cheek, and Alan sighed, saying, "I expected this."
"So, what do we do now?"
Randy frowned, and Alan jokingly shrugged his shoulders just then.
"──Lord Victor, do you have anything to say?"
Randy snorted and thought, "What do you mean 'say'?" But Alan stayed calm, took a deep breath, and stood up slowly.
"First, you apologized for the mistakes with the magic ore supply, right?"
Alan asked for confirmation, and Shadler shouted, "You're being annoying!"
Ignoring Shadler, Alan continued, "This flash was definitely not a threat." He explained that it was an accident during the development of new heating equipment by the engineers and civil servants of Victor Territory.
Of course, he didn't mention anything about dragons or runes, as no one would believe that. If he did, it would sound like a lie.
Still, this was Alan's best effort to be sincere. He was just stating the facts. If the other side apologized, they should stick to the truth too.
"We're working on developing new heating equipment, but it's still just a possibility."
Alan spoke confidently about the new heating system they were developing and their vision for the future. He wanted to make sure the Dukedom's people knew they were working on this heating equipment within the Dukedom. This was his best response to the government's apology.
"That said, as I mentioned earlier, since this technology is still uncertain, we hope for a stable supply of magic ore for a while longer. Of course, we promise to limit our demand so it doesn't put pressure on the supply."
As Alan bowed his head, the crowd started to murmur. They were surprised to see a different side of Alan compared to the rough past of the previous Victor.
Even the high-ranking bureaucrats showed a moment of surprise at Alan's bow. But now, they looked at him with disdain, as if to say, "You're not a threat."
In the middle of all this, Randy was the only one not paying attention to Alan. He was watching the bureaucrats and muttered to himself, "This is a critical moment."
Randy knew that Alan was bowing his head because he realized this meeting would go badly. After all, Cain was already there.
Normally, a meeting like this is just that──a meeting. It's not supposed to have representatives ready for a duel afterward. It's like saying, "I'm not interested in hearing you out" from the start.
For people like Randy and the Goldeis family, it was fine. Sometimes, the parties involved would just duel right away, but if they had representatives, those representatives should wait outside.
Knowing this, Alan had 2 reasons for bowing his head.
One was to honor the previous duke.
The other was to create the fact that Victor bowed his head.
Unfortunately, the government probably doesn't even realize this.
Alan kept bowing his head, and the high-ranking bureaucrat shouted, "This is ridiculous!"
"You just said you were developing it in Victor Territory."
Alan nodded and said, "Yeah."
"Without relying on Braubelg?"
"Yeah. For now, I don't plan to rely on them, and I've informed both families about it."
The letters probably just arrived, so Lucian and Alfred must know about Alan's situation. But the high-ranking bureaucrat smirked at Alan's words, thinking they had been rejected.
"This is ridiculous!"
The administrator shouted again, grabbed the microphone at their table, and spoke loudly as if they had won.
"You need heating equipment that doesn't require magic ore? And you think you can do it all by yourselves? If it fails, that's a joke!"
"Failures are part of making prototypes."
"Nobody would use something that could explode with a flash like that!"
Alan shrugged and said, "Is that so?" He fell silent. Even though it was expected, he didn't get the answer he hoped for. So, Alan had only one path to take. He just wanted to get back the weight of his bowed head.
"If you want to make it so badly, why not ask the noble families who can help you?"
Seeing the smirking bureaucrat and Shadler, Alan replied with a big smile, "Okay, I'll do that." The government mistakenly thought they had already been rejected, but Alan only asked in his letter for the families' names to help him get the government's permission.
In other words, the government dug its own grave.
That said, the Dukedom Government isn't completely foolish. They know the dangers and difficulties of developing heating equipment better than anyone, especially since they are from the northern region. That's why they probably thought about Braubelg, which is located in the south of the continent.
If the technology could be rejected by Braubelg, there wouldn't be any benefits for the government to get involved.
Of course, Alan sent the letter borrowing the names of both families because he considered this. He knew that if the government was foolish, mentioning those family names would make them dig their own grave.
He thought he would get an endorsement, but they ended up giving it to him without him asking.
So far, everything has gone just as Alan imagined, except for the Dukedom offering assistance. It would have been quicker if the Dukedom Government had just given in when Alan bowed his head.
Anyway, it seems they have no intention of stopping the bullying of Victor.
So, Alan had only one thing to say.
"I've given up on the country's development cooperation."
With a sigh, Alan continued with the request he made at the beginning of the meeting.
"What I want from this meeting is a stable supply of magic ore to Victor and transparency in the supply of magic ore."
He wanted the demand and supply from each city, along with the expected mining for the year, to be clearly shown in newspapers so that everyone could understand. That way, there wouldn't be any more chaos like this.
"Energy is a crucial matter for the country. I hope that using it as a shield will prevent the emergence of a second or third Victor."
If the supply and demand for magic ore were visible, it wouldn't be possible for Victor to be given an extremely low amount. As he mentioned before, the runes are not yet practical. Even with the heat-generating inner layer, a certain amount of magic ore is still needed.
But there's no way the government would accept that.
The bureaucrat shook his head mockingly, and Shadler repeated, "This is ridiculous."
"What we, the government and Count Shadler, want is an apology for your meaningless threats and improvements in the waste of magic ore."
To the government, which still insisted it was a threat, Alan smiled and shook his head, saying, "That's not going to happen."
"Then, it's a duel."
"Right."
As Alan nodded and looked at Randy, signaling it was his turn, Shadler spoke up.
"You just said you would review the demand in Victor to contribute to a stable supply, but of course, you'll do that along with the apology, right?"
Shadler grinned, and the bureaucrat next to him nodded vigorously.
"If you say it, you can do it, right?"
Alan laughed and said, "I can do it, that's why I'm saying it," as he handed a piece of innerwear to the host.
"What is this? Innerwear?"
The host tilted his head in confusion, and Alan smiled, encouraging him to wear it. The host looked unsure, but with the high-ranking bureaucrats and Shadler saying, "Just try it on," he reluctantly walked away to give it a shot.
"Just that thin piece of clothing?"
While the high-ranking bureaucrats laughed, Randy and Alan sat quietly in their seats. Normally, you'd think they'd notice how lightly dressed they were for being outside. But in the open Ruins of the Ancient Arena, no one seemed to question it.
It seemed like they had underestimated the place called Victor from the start. That might be why they were losing.
As Alan thought about this, the host returned with a surprised look on his face.
"This... this is amazing! It's warm!"
The crowd buzzed with excitement at the host's voice. Even though it was just a regular piece of innerwear, the host was so excited that he forgot his job and started talking about how warm it was.
"Lord Victor! What is that?"
"It's our invention. Heating innerwear."
When Alan casually said this, everyone around started to chatter. How could innerwear generate heat? But no one could answer that question.
"W-what is that! I didn't hear about it!"
"You didn't ask."
Alan showed no signs of guilt, which made the high-ranking bureaucrat's temples bulge with anger.
"The earlier demand for an apology is from the government. The Shadler family wants a duel over all the technology you're developing!"
In front of the heating innerwear, they probably saw some advantage in the heating equipment Alan had mentioned earlier.
This selfish statement drew clear boos from the crowd. Just a moment ago, they were so proud, and now they were flipping the script and breaking their own rules.
Once a duel is set, you can't change the terms.
Yet, the government and Shadler shamelessly demanded a change in the duel's terms, which only fueled the crowd's anger.
The boos kept coming, but Alan raised his hand to calm them down.
"That's fine. We just need to win both times."
With a smile, Alan continued.
"Anyway, I'm asking for stable supply and transparency."
While accepting the change of opponent, they didn't change their own demands. Alan clearly showed his superiority, making the high-ranking bureaucrat grind his teeth.
"...Do you think you're so relaxed?"
"It's not just a feeling. I really am relaxed."
Alan snorted and showed a mischievous smile that looked just like Randy's.
"We have a lot of people who are stronger with their fists than with their words."
Hearing this, Randy stood up and said,
"Alright, let's do this. A simple solution."
As Randy waved his hand, Cain and Ordis stood up, saying, "You've got guts, huh!?"
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