Chapter 59

The day of the operation finally arrived.

All preparations were in place.

Well, to be precise, the only preparation was to test whether my magic would work on a board with the same abilities as the high-grade anti-magic armor that Radmcos wears daily—apparently, it prevents the activation of magic inside and weakens magic on the surface—and to prepare the equipment for the duel.

It turned out that my magic could be activated without any reduction, so no real countermeasures were taken.

The equipment for the duel was just F-rank level to prevent anyone from saying I won because of the power of my equipment or that I ran away.

"Radmcos is heading to the square. He should arrive in about five minutes."

"Understood!"

A member of the coal mining association, who had run from the lord's mansion, informed me.

I could have used aerial reconnaissance, but I didn't want to reveal that I could fly at high altitudes.

Until I accepted the duel, I would continue to act as an overconfident E-rank adventurer fueled by righteous indignation.

Radmcos's pace was slower than expected, and he appeared in the square after about six minutes.

He was easy to spot in his deep blue Arc Mithril armor, adorned with gaudy decorations.

Moreover, he had a knight as a bodyguard slightly behind him.

I entered the square and approached Radmcos when he reached the center.

"Hey, you're Radmcos, right?"

"Huh? Who are you? A lowly commoner has the nerve to speak to me without even using my title, do you want to die? Call me Lord Radmcos."

I could feel an endless aura of unpleasantness from him...

However, it seemed easy to provoke him, and he even seemed to be ready to be provoked before I started.

In any case, I continued to provoke him.

"Shut up, I heard from Gainta. You're increasing taxes for no reason, right? Revoke it."

"What do you mean? There is a reason, to pay more taxes for the noble me, you should be happy."

What is this guy talking about?

"Huh? Who would be happy to pay taxes to a crazy noble like you? Are you out of your mind?"

"…What did you say?"

Radmcos put his hand on the sword at his waist.

He really is easy to provoke, and it's a good thing he's weak-minded.

After all, if he weren't weak-minded, he wouldn't have proposed such a tax increase in the first place.

One more push.

"Are you backing down? Do you think a pampered noble like you can beat the strongest E-rank adventurer, Suzumya?"

I wasn't lying.

"E-rank? Ha, fine, let's have a duel. I'll show everyone what happens when they turn against the noble me."

A crowd was gathering around us, forming a nearly circular ring about three meters away from Radmcos and me.

Strangely, even the bodyguard knight joined the crowd. Shouldn't he be protecting his master?

...Upon closer inspection, one of the knights looked familiar; I probably spoke to him during the bandit extermination.

You know my strength, right? Shouldn't you stop this?

I sent him a questioning glance, and our eyes met.

To my surprise, the knight made a gesture that looked like a thumbs-up.

Is Radmcos so hated?

Radmcos, unaware of this, glared at me.

His already narrow field of vision was further restricted by his full-face helmet.

"Alright, let's duel. If you want to run, now's your chance."

"A noble like me would never do such a thing. ...Hey, you there, be my witness."

Radmcos pulled the knight who had made the thumbs-up gesture toward me.

"Understood."

The knight had a solemn expression, but his eyes were smiling.

Before the duel, we needed to set the conditions.

"If I win, you'll revoke the tax increase, right?"

"Then, if I win, I'll take all your possessions and feed your corpse to a monster. Honestly, this is far from a fair duel with a noble like me, but since I will win, the victory condition is to kill the opponent."

That's not fair at all. How much do you think I have?

"OK, I'll kill you."

"Since an E-rank adventurer is challenging a D-rank noble like me, at least make it entertaining."

Is there really that much difference between D and E?

Which is stronger, the strongest E-rank or the weakest D-rank?

At least, the strongest E-rank is much stronger than any D-rank.

"Then, let's start."

As soon as I said that, Radmcos raised his ornate silver sword and charged at me.

I decided to observe first and, as a precaution, activated my magic armor on my head and held my sword horizontally to block his.

...But the opponent was too weak.

I intended to block his sword, but it was pushed back and hit his head.

"Ow!"

Radmcos let out a painful cry, but the sword was deflected by his armor.

The equipment was too different.

My sword had a dent and even a chip after this.

On the other hand, his armor only had a small scratch, and his sword was unharmed.

It wasn't a matter of skill or swordsmanship; the hardness was just too different.

It was like cutting a Japanese sword with a plastic sword.

"Why do you have such strength... What kind of underhanded method did you use..."

"No, you're just too weak. You charged with a running start."

As I said that, I smashed my nearly broken sword into the torso of Radmcos's armor.

If the sword couldn't withstand it, I would crush him with the momentum before it broke.

"Ugh!"

The armor dented, and Radmcos was thrown back about two meters.

The crowd widened to avoid him.

Radmcos was writhing on the ground, likely due to the weight of his armor and the severe damage.

"The victory condition... Do I have to kill him?"

If that's what the victory condition is, there's no choice.

I had planned to do that anyway.

I looked at my sword, which had broken in half from the previous attack.

To cut off his head, a strong swing would be enough.

"See you."

As I raised my sword, Radmcos shouted.

"Wait! Listen to me!"

Huh? Is there something else?

I might as well hear his last words.

"What is it?"

"Don't kill me! ...Right, money. I'll give you money. How much? A million?"

At this point, you're begging for your life...

Who was it that talked about nobility? Are you really a knight?

Even a female knight would say, "Grr... Kill him!" You...

Moreover, is that money yours? Isn't it your family's?

As I thought this, I noticed the crowd was getting noisy.

In fact, they were all shouting, "Kill him!"

Even the bodyguard knight was joining in.

Is this right, knight?

Well, in this atmosphere, there's no way I could save him.

I said,

"You're four digits short. The crowd is saying the same thing. You should regret your actions and the victory condition you set."

I realized that almost everything was his own doing.

I raised my sword again to cut off Radmcos's head.

The crowd fell silent, watching.

"Wait!"

A voice came from the crowd.

Again? Who is it this time?

"Lord!?" "Lord Father!?"

Several people in the crowd shouted.

The lord? Wasn't he supposed to return in a month?

A well-built man, contrary to the image of a noble, with a tired face, stepped forward with a knight from the crowd.

What should I do?

"Um, Lord, the victory condition of this duel is to kill the opponent. What should we do?"

"I'm sorry, but can we call it a draw? Of course, the tax increase is off the table. I came here ahead of schedule to prevent this."

"Well, I don't mind, but if he stays, other problems might arise..."

"Of course, Radmcos will be appropriately punished."

The lord said,

"Father! You came to save me!"

Radmcos clung to the lord.

The lord, however, kicked him.

"Shut up, you are not my son. Arrest him!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Why, Father!"

"You are not my son! You are just a dirty criminal. I came back to execute you! Silence him!"

"Yes, sir!"

One of the knights removed Radmcos's helmet and punched him unconscious.

"I'm sorry, but I would like to talk to you at the mansion. Will you come with me, Gainta as well?"

The lord seemed to be a decent person.

I doubt he would try to poison me or anything.

"Understood."

As I replied, Gainta appeared from the back of the crowd.

"I'm sorry."

The lord apologized again.

Later, at the mansion, I learned that the servants had immediately contacted the capital when Radmcos proposed the tax increase.

Due to the severity of the incident, the decision to strip Radmcos of his noble status and execute him was made quickly, and Lord Father left the capital to carry it out.

He traveled day and night, changing horses and carriages, to arrive here as quickly as possible.

Fortunately, Radmcos's methods were so amateurish that only he was to be executed, and Lord Father and the others were spared.

It was probably due to the trust built up over the years.

Of course, I agreed.

Radmcos's execution was scheduled for the next day, and his head would be displayed, but it wasn't worth seeing.

I didn't demand any compensation, but the lord offered to help the coal mining association with procedures and other matters.

Apparently, a lord doesn't have the authority to reduce taxes, though some tried.

Thus, the tax increase incident caused by the noble's spoiled son came to an end.

Incidentally, the bodyguard knights' master is Lord Father.

The knights, realizing the danger to their family, tacitly approved of the situation.