Ch.167167. Small Things Can Be Spicy

I hadn’t gone very far.

I just returned to the same spot where I had crossed swords with the Duke earlier.

“You had your duel here?”

“That’s right.”

“It seems too clean around here for that.”

The Duke fell silent at Brune’s question.

Rather than explaining with words, it would be better to experience it firsthand. Reading this intention, Brune stopped asking questions and casually moved to the center, beginning to polish his sword.

Meanwhile, Celia said, “Do your best.”

She didn’t appear particularly concerned. In fact, afterward, she only requested various snacks to eat while watching.

Lilith said, “Don’t bully the kids like last time.”

She seemed to be referring to when I dueled with Latein and Mitein who had picked a fight at the Academy.

I guess I became someone who toyed with their lives when I attacked them without knowing better.

But that was right after my abilities had updated and I didn’t know better. I wouldn’t do that now.

That excuse was a bit funny, so I just said I understood.

And then there was the instigator of this whole situation. The one who brought me to the North, made me fight her father, and ultimately arranged for me to fight a man I might have met once before. Alkine spoke:

“Since you made plans to meet without me, it annoys me, so torment him on my behalf.”

“Wow, you’re really mean.”

I had nothing to counter with, but this whole situation didn’t seem to please her much.

Right, now that I was here, I needed to cater to Alkine’s mood.

I should teabag him as much as possible to show the difference between a veteran and a newbie.

With that thought, I pulled out a very small, cute sword from my inventory.

A sword so tiny anyone would mistake it for a toy… Surprisingly, this was from the Imperial Palace’s treasure vault.

[Spicy Sword]

[Don’t underestimate it because it’s small.]

[Shows your enemies some spicy pain.]

In the game, it only had interactions with a few specific NPCs and was otherwise useless.

If small peppers are spicy, then small swords can be spicy too—the effect of this ridiculous pun-based Spicy Sword was literally to give the opponent a spicy taste.

When stabbed with this, they’d suddenly feel pain as if they’d eaten something extremely spicy.

Since attacking too much would break my promise to Lilith due to my abilities, I should torment him with something like this instead.

By the way, people in the North are generally good with spicy food. It’s because such crops grow well in their environment.

But after tasting this, he’ll never again claim to “handle spicy food well.”

Understanding the psychology of Koreans who feed spicy ramen to foreigners, I was about to approach Brune.

But the Northern Duke—Alkine’s father—suddenly blocked my way.

“What is that?”

He must have felt uneasy seeing me pull out such a tiny sword that barely looked like a weapon.

“Unfortunately, I don’t have a smaller knife than this.”

“Don’t lie! You must have weapons stored in that spatial storage!”

I tried to quickly say something, but it didn’t work at all.

Tsk. This is why I hate fathers who are too perceptive.

I reluctantly pulled out a greatsword I had stolen from Fanatic Zealot.

It was similar in size to the sword Brune was holding.

Of course, I had no intention of using this weapon properly. I told you, hitting someone would reduce their life force, right?

It would be much better for him to just taste some spiciness. I didn’t ask, but Brune would probably prefer that too.

“I’ll begin.”

“Please do.”

Unaware of my evil intentions, Brune held his sword with a solemn expression, and the duel began.

Brune made the first move.

He charged at me, swinging down his large sword.

It seemed like he was trying to gauge my level… but as I mentioned before, most simple motions with a greatsword can be parried.

And anyway, exploratory moves are meaningless against someone like me with ridiculously high stats.

I put the greatsword back in my inventory and met Brune’s sword with my small one.

Clang-

With a crisp sound, Brune’s sword was deflected, and from the recoil, Brune himself stepped back a few paces.

Realizing something was off, he jumped far back, creating quite a distance between us.

“What is this?”

I quickly approached the confused Brune.

Dash Cancel boasts an insane speed matching Alkine’s full speed, but Brune reacted to it. He truly was a man acknowledged by the Duke.

But that was all. The sword he swung at my approach cut through empty air.

Of course. Even the Duke couldn’t break through my evasion technique. How could he?

In that moment, my Spicy Sword touched his side.

And the next instant.

“…Mmph?!”

Brune sensed something was wrong and tried to distance himself from me again, but it was already too late.

The stimulus had already reached his tongue.

“Argghhh!!”

The duel was halted with a pain-filled scream.

“Sa-save me! Arggghhhh!!”

The screaming went on a bit longer than expected… it must be an exaggeration.

No, how could he react so extremely to something just a bit spicy… um…

“Um, everyone? I didn’t know it would be this bad when I used it, so please don’t look at me like that.”

My reputation suffered thanks to the extraordinary performance of the Spicy Sword, but that was a separate issue.

///

In truth, there wasn’t much to do in the North.

Sightseeing? Entertainment? One shouldn’t expect such peaceful activities in a place where daily life involves fighting monsters at the frontlines.

However, there was someone maintaining a peaceful life even in such a place…

“I’ve heard a lot about you. Are you Lord Ludion?”

“…Yes. But, you can speak comfortably with me.”

“Oh my. This is comfortable for me. I’ve always spoken this way. Right, Alkine?”

This would be Alkine’s mother, Ailie Debaran.

Like a flower in a greenhouse, she maintained a respectful attitude even toward me, her daughter’s junior.

Finding it awkward, I glanced at Alkine, but she merely nodded quietly, affirming her mother’s words.

It seemed there was no way to change that speech pattern.

No matter what, being addressed formally by a friend’s mother was too awkward and hard to accept…

But since there was nothing I could do about it, I decided to move past it as naturally as possible and introduce myself.

“As you know, I’m Ludion. I’m… your daughter’s Academy senior-junior… ack!”

Suddenly, my side was pinched. Apparently, she didn’t like me summarizing our relationship as just seniors and juniors.

She must have controlled her strength because it didn’t hurt much, but having this happen mid-sentence made my mind go blank.

“…rather, we have a closer relationship.”

Fortunately, that direct statement seemed to be the right answer, as Alkine’s expression brightened.

Alkine’s mother also seemed… satisfied.

Caught between the two, I sighed in relief that the first hurdle had been cleared.

As I felt when meeting Celia’s mother… there was definitely something nerve-wracking about being caught between a mother and daughter.

Honestly, I wanted to avoid this because I knew how it would turn out… but I had to greet her since I came to her home. I didn’t expect it would become this three-way confrontation though.

Above all, it was an even more uncomfortable situation given the current relationship.

Right now, only Alkine and I were in this place, but in reality, there were two more people.

Last time, I had hinted at this to Celia’s father and ended up witnessing the Imperial Palace turn upside down. I didn’t want to cause such a commotion again. Though I doubted it was up to me.

Where and how should I begin explaining? Would her mother even accept my maintaining such a relationship with Alkine?

‘If she had the same mindset as the Duke, I wouldn’t be worrying this much.’

In fact, Alkine’s father, the Duke, was open-minded about such matters and didn’t say much, perhaps because he had acknowledged me after the earlier events. But the Duchess… was a bit different.

From the beginning, she preferred monogamy. She was the kind of woman who had threatened to leave the Duke if he ever met another woman.

Explaining the current relationship to someone like her? It was no different from lighting a fuse without knowing where it led.

So I was racking my brain… when suddenly Alkine spoke up.

“Mom.”

“My, calling me ‘Mom’? It’s been a while since you called me that. And with someone else present too.”

“Enough of that.”

Though the conversation started lightly, what followed was not light at all.

“I like this person.”

“Mmm. I can tell.”

“Yes, but this person…”

Wait. What is she trying to say?

By the time I sensed something was wrong, it was already too late.

“He likes other people besides me.”

Her words had long since finished.

Alkine glanced at me, stuck out her tongue slightly, and began looking at the door.

Following her gaze to the door, it suddenly opened, and Celia and Lilith appeared.

…Ah.

‘I’ve been set up!’

From the moment the three-way meeting in this room was confirmed, this had been Alkine’s plan!

No wonder Celia rarely offered encouragement. They had coordinated this!

If I had read her thoughts beforehand, I might have noticed. It was my mistake for following along without suspicion even in this situation.

But all thoughts and regrets came too late.

“…Oh my.”

The Duchess had already assessed the situation and, while pretending to be surprised, was giving me a cold look.

Good heavens. Father, Mother. How am I supposed to get out of this?

It was a moment when I missed the parents of this world whom I had never even met, let alone seen.