Ch.178Fortress of Blades. Amarantin (3)

“My name is Cedric Belzen. As a Steel-rank wandering knight serving Karil, I hereby challenge Sir Victor Walker, the Knight of the Sun, to a duel…”

“There are so many of these. It’s truly disgusting.”

I was meticulously checking through the pile of duel requests, sorting them one by one.

Some I would accept. Others I would reject.

I couldn’t understand why even Flint-rank knights who hadn’t even reached Charcoal-rank were sending me challenges.

Are they that desperate to see an orichalcum sword?

“How nice~ Getting so popular?”

“Don’t mock me. I’m serious here. Even if it’s not a duel to the death, a duel is still a duel. One must approach it with sincerity.”

“I suppose. You’re a Knight of the Sun, so you’d feel that way even more.”

“If you understand, then stay quiet. Who knows? If I win, I might buy you some delicious alcohol.”

When I said that, Lucia grinned and made a gesture of zipping her lips.

As a knight who followed the minority Two Moons faith, I was a perfect target for those who believed in the mainstream Four Gods religion.

If I won, they’d say, “No matter how much you struggle, the Two Moons faith won’t return, knight, haha!” And if I lost, they’d mock, “Who told you to threaten people with a sword to believe in the Sun and Moon? It’s a ‘personal choice,’ haha!” Either way, winning was breaking even, and losing meant humiliation.

But refusing duel requests without legitimate reasons would also tarnish my honor, so I was carefully selecting opponents I actually wanted to fight.

After about ten duels, the city crowd would likely calm down, having enjoyed the spectacle regardless of the outcomes.

Since my sword was still far from completion, I needed to select opponents and practice shadow boxing to improve my skills as much as possible.

“Good. I’ve chosen them all now.”

“Really?”

“I picked opponents with skills similar to mine. I have experience fighting those stronger and weaker than me, but not much experience against those of equal skill.”

“…I suppose that makes sense for someone like you.”

It seemed my type was surprisingly common.

Those who learned to survive among the strong while being oppressed in childhood, then learned to crush the weak as adults, but absurdly had no experience fighting equals.

“This will be a good opportunity. I’ll draw my sword in the dueling arena once it’s completed.”

“Sheesh. I’ll never understand you sword-obsessed freaks.”

While I laughed with a “hehehe,” understanding my grand plan, Lucia and Casia made faces showing their lack of comprehension before disappearing into the distance.

Not long after, Simon informed me that my sword would be completed tomorrow, and I smiled as I began training intensively with a greatsword.

Similar skill to mine means at least Steel to Gold rank strength…

I would be facing the mightiest among mortal beings.

What an honor this would be!

*

Was it around 2 PM?

We were heading to the prison carrying freshly made, steaming sandwiches and wine chilled in an ice bucket.

The reason was to meet the dwarf brothers we had been looking for.

At least bringing these would increase our chances of persuading them.

The need for persuasion was because the dwarf brothers would naturally be suspicious of us as strangers.

“Come to think of it, we don’t even know their names?”

“You’re only bothered by that now?”

“That’s truly amazing obliviousness.”

“…”

I just made one comment and got caught in crossfire. What exactly did I do wrong?

All I did was physically slice through a slum and its criminals in one city, and cave in the face of one party member.

“If we suddenly appear saying, ‘We’ve heard a lot about you. Join our party,’ while offering sandwiches and wine, even a life-saving benefactor would seem suspicious.”

“Still, isn’t it better than offering nothing? Prison food can’t be tasty anywhere in the world.”

“I suppose that’s true… but one’s a pyromaniac and the other’s a bomber. The chances of them not having terrible personalities are pretty low…”

“Why are there no normal people in our party!”

When Simon lamented, the rest of us, guilty of many sins, kept our mouths shut.

One minority religion zealot knight who suspiciously kills people well. One big-breasted whore who’s that knight’s plaything. Two alcoholic elves clinging to the coattails of one sage…

“And now I’ll have to deal with bombs and flames too! What else but a sage could handle so many elements!”

“Whoa, whoa, calm down, old man. Alcoholism isn’t that bad.”

“Lack of insight into one’s illness is the worst part! Reflect on yourselves, you pointy-eared fools!”

With those words, Simon cracked Lucia and Casia’s heads with his staff.

“…With that much head-cracking, you’d think their skulls would have thickened by now…”

Apparently, biological evolution doesn’t happen that quickly.

*

After cracking those two’s heads, we arrived at Amarantin’s national prison.

The entrance was heavily guarded, and even the guards were carrying swords, which made me realize this city had an almost obsessive fixation on swords as weapons.

Regardless, the guards approached us as they noticed our arrival.

“What brings you here?”

“We’re here to see some prisoners. Dwarf brothers… one’s a pyromaniac and the other’s a bomber.”

“Ah… those dwarves…”

The guards frowned with disgust upon hearing our explanation.

If even regular guards, not prison officers, were this repulsed, just how terrible were these dwarves’ personalities?

I looked at Simon nervously and asked the guard:

“What crime did they commit to be imprisoned?”

“Contempt. They insulted the citizens of this city.”

“What exactly did they do?”

“They dared to stand in front of the Blade Fortress and say, ‘The people of this city are incredibly stupid! No matter how good swords are, you need artillery and polearms in war!'”

“…Isn’t that correct?”

When I said that, the guards’ attitude turned hostile.

“Take that back… what you just said…!”

“I take it back.”

“Hmm. I’ll let it slide this time. Anyway… their punishment was indefinite imprisonment until someone appears who can guarantee their freedom.”

“…Indefinite imprisonment… isn’t that essentially a life sentence?”

“It ends when someone appears who can guarantee their freedom. Of course, no such person has appeared yet.”

“…”

I couldn’t understand it.

The mentality of dwarves who would shout “You’re all idiots!” in front of a historic site in a sword-worshipping country.

And the government that declared “We’ll imprison you indefinitely until someone comes to free you” finding it extremely offensive, and the citizens of this city so obsessed with swords that no one had thought to help them until now.

It was truly a bottom feeding on another bottom.

“…Our party will guarantee their freedom. Release them.”

“…Wait a moment. I’ll speak to the warden.”

And so, we waited at the prison entrance for the dwarf brothers to be released.

*

Chomp! Chomp!

Gulp! Gulp!

“Ahhh!”

“How long has it been since we’ve tasted food from the outside world!”

On a lawn near the prison.

We spread out a mat and offered sandwiches and wine, and the released dwarf brothers began devouring them ravenously.

Is this what it means to eat like there’s a demon inside you? The dwarf brothers moved their calloused hands busily, stuffing sandwiches into their mouths and guzzling wine.

“Thank you so much, brother! I don’t know who you are, but we owe you a great debt!”

Finally, when the “meal” was over, the dwarf brothers stood up, showing me just how short they were, and expressed their gratitude.

“No, it’s fine. We have something to ask of you too.”

“Hmm?”

“We’d like to welcome you both as members of the Iron Walker party.”

“Us… as party members?”

The dwarf brothers stared at us blankly.

An atmosphere of ‘I think we messed up’ began to rise, and the dwarf brothers scratched their heads before answering.

“Why not!”

“Looking forward to working with you, boss!”

“…Yes. Looking forward to it too.”

But that atmosphere didn’t last long.

Dwarves were known for their sense of obligation and gratitude.

“Where are my manners! I should introduce myself first! I’m Berkman Stein! This is my younger brother Hawkman Stein! We’re brothers with a four-year age gap!”

“My name is Victor Walker. I’m the leader of the Iron Walker party and a wandering knight. This is Raisha Walker, my wife and the party’s spear-wielder. And… this old man is Simon, the party’s sage and pillar. These elves are twins, alcoholic arrow-shooters.”

“Wait! Why is our description so sparse?”

“Hahaha!”

And so, the Iron Walker’s strength grew from five members to seven.

Simon, I’m counting on you!