Chapter 50

A week passed, but no soldiers gathered.

There was no reason for any soldier to deliberately provoke the Trinen family, and there was no reason for any soldier to deliberately provoke the Kleinzelt family either.

"So, I'll fight alone."

Accordingly, Sora gave up on securing soldiers.

"There's no way you can win. Please come up with a serious plan."

Lazette, who was lying on the bed and playing by kicking her legs, scolded Sora.

"Without soldiers, there's nothing I can do. Father has given up on my life and makes a replacement for me every night—"

"Stop, stop."

Lazette hastily interrupted Sora's words.

Sora, who was scolded for saying such a vivid line, rolled around on the bed without much reflection, as if to say, "What's the big deal?"

"Are you listening, Master Sora?"

"It's time for a walk."

Sora, who had been ignoring Lazette's scolding, got up and looked out the window.

The pig lord and the church faction believed Sora had only a month to live, and even the guards who were supposed to watch over him had disappeared. They probably thought it would be better if he died in an accident in the city rather than die disgracefully in a duel.

From Sora's perspective, dying in a duel would at least preserve a minimum of honor, but the pig lord couldn't stand the clear numerical disadvantage.

Sora and Lazette set out from the Kleinzelt residence.

The news of the duel had spread to the residents of the capital, and every time Sora walked with a smile, he received gifts as if they were offerings for the afterlife.

"Seems like you've become popular."

"I'm just a friendly and cute kid."

"...Be careful not to reveal your true nature."

As they walked, they saw a carriage with a familiar crest stop in front of a blacksmith's shop, with about five well-built guards standing around it.

On closer inspection, it was undoubtedly the Trinen family's carriage.

Just as they were receiving their items, Chaff Trinen and his entourage, dressed in new, impressive attire, came out of the blacksmith's shop.

"Good morning."

Sora greeted Chaff with a smile, and Chaff returned the greeting with a grimace, though he did respond, which suggested he wasn't entirely bad.

"Looking forward to your next visit—wait, the Kleinzelt heir!?"

The blacksmith's apprentice, who had come out to see Chaff off, saw Sora and laughed awkwardly, trying to cover it up.

Sora returned a wry smile and put his finger to his lips.

"I'll keep it a secret. Unless you want to get beaten up."

"Sorry, it's business."

The apprentice, with his hand on the back of his head, bowed repeatedly and was pushed back into the blacksmith's shop.

It was better to pretend they hadn't seen each other.

"Hey, it seems you still don't have a single soldier."

"The Kleinzelt family is really hated."

The entourage, with their sticky smiles, surrounded Sora and spoke in unison.

Even the guards, who were determined to be mere spectators, had a slight upward curve at the corners of their mouths.

"Hey, that's enough. The matter will be settled in a duel."

Chaff, placing his hands on the shoulders of his entourage, admonished them. The entourage, looking unamused, shrugged off Chaff's hands.

"What's the problem? It's all true. The hated Kleinzelt."

"If you're upset, bring at least one soldier."

As Chaff tried to stop the entourage again, Sora watched the exchange with apparent disinterest.

Being mocked didn't bother him. Sora himself used it as a joke.

He shrugged and tried to leave, but one of the entourage blocked his path.

"Why don't you say something?"

Sora looked at Chaff with a genuinely troubled expression and spoke.

"I can't find the words."

It was the truth. He was too exasperated to say anything.

When he tried to turn back and take a detour, the entourage blocked that path as well.

Since they were all noble offspring, there was no violence, but Chaff couldn't physically stop them either.

Just as it seemed a staring contest would ensue, a voice cut in.

"Excuse me, folks, you're blocking the path. Please move elsewhere."

It was a deep, gravelly voice.

Sora looked in the direction of the voice and saw a man in worn-out guard's equipment approaching with two subordinates, likely to mediate before a fight broke out.

However, only Sora, Lazette, and Chaff seemed to have maintained their composure.

"What the hell is that!?"

The entourage's panic was understandable.

The guard's face was completely burned and scarred, with large, sharp eyes that emitted a fierce light.

He looked like a human without any trace of humanity, as if he had risen from a fiery hell, especially with his flaming red hair.

His two subordinates also had burn scars, but they were minor compared to the man's.

After giving the entourage a withering glance, he turned to Chaff.

"This is troublesome. A prelude to the duel in such a place?"

Chaff, though slightly pale, maintained a firm stance and replied.

"I apologize for the disturbance. We will take our leave, but may I ask you a question?"

The man, who had been silent, nodded, and Chaff took a deep breath before speaking.

"Will you lend a hand to Sora Kleinzelt?"

"A cripple like me wouldn't be of use. Besides, a monster like me would defile the sacred duel."

"Is that so?"

"Wait a moment."

Chaff, who had accepted the answer, was interrupted by Sora.

The man looked at Sora with a questioning expression. Sora, intending to look merely curious, ended up with a face that could make a child cry.

Ignoring this, but with a slightly irritated tone, Sora spoke.

"Take back what you just said."

"About what?"

"Are you really that clueless?"

Adding irritation to his displeasure, Sora crossed his arms and asked.

The man and his two subordinates, not understanding which statement needed to be retracted, tilted their heads in confusion.

Sora's frustration reached its peak.

"Those burns are honorable wounds, right? You can't participate in a sacred duel because you saved someone's life in the slums? Take it back, you idiot!"

Sora's outburst made Chaff's entourage jump.

Chaff and Lazette looked at Sora in surprise, and the guards stared at him with wide eyes.

"I'm displeased. I'm going home. Come on, Lazette."

Sora turned to leave, but the guards quickly stepped in front of him.

"What are you doing? You're in the way. Idiot."

"I apologize. I must retract my careless words."

The guards bowed deeply.

Seeing their heads bowed, Sora sighed.

"What good does it do to apologize to me? You should apologize to yourself."

Leaving them behind, Sora started walking.

The guards watched his small back until it turned the corner and disappeared from sight, then hurried to the barracks.

When Sora arrived at the Kleinzelt residence, he collapsed onto the bed.

"I messed up... "

"You were unusually angry, Master Sora."

Lazette, without realizing it, had stuck a thorn in Sora's heart.

"There was no choice. I couldn't stand seeing someone's efforts being negated. If I had ignored it, it would have made me look foolish for all the work I've done for the people in the past five years."

Sora, demanding the return of his calm and composed image from an unknown someone, made Lazette smile.

"You looked cool when you were angry."

"Shut up."

When Sora buried his face in the pillow, the men from the capital's guard, who had burst into the old, dilapidated barracks, rushed inside without slowing down.

They ignored the guards in the chaotic break room, who had jumped to their feet at the sight of the monster-faced man, and ran to a room at the back of the barracks.

Bursting through the door, which was already loose on its hinges, the man entered the room.

"Get ready to leave immediately!"

He shouted at his burn-scarred colleagues, who were doing push-ups and sit-ups.

The deep, gravelly voice made the floor and walls vibrate, but the guards began their preparations as usual.

"Hurry up, idiot!"

"You're getting carried away, Gorge."

"Whoops, you're right."

Gorge, the monster-faced man, broke into a grin when his colleague pointed it out.

"Don't laugh, it's creepy."

"What's creepy? According to Sora, these are honorable wounds."

Gorge, unable to contain his joy, pointed to his face.

The colleagues in the room, not following the conversation, looked at each other.

"What are you talking about, Gorge?"

"I met Sora Kleinzelt, whom you were talking about."

"Oh, that's why."

The colleague with a burn from his right temple to his cheek smiled wryly.

"You were off, weren't you?"

"Way off."

The colleagues, speaking in unison, made Gorge beam.

"That's not it. He knew the reason for our burns and didn't need to be afraid. And—"

Pausing for effect, Gorge added the emotion welling up in his chest.

"Sora Kleinzelt doesn't judge people by their appearance. When I said my face would defile the duel, he reprimanded me directly."

"Idiot," he said, excitedly pounding the wall and laughing heartily.

The two subordinates who had accompanied him to meet Sora were also smiling, but they made no move to stop him.

"Hey, monster squad! You're being loud!"

"Shut up, you coward who ran from a fire!"

"Get lost, you spineless wimp who can't even get injured on the job!"

The guard from the break room, who had been on the receiving end of such comments, turned red with anger.

He tried to retort but, seeing the burn-scarred men emerging from the room Gorge had broken down, decided the situation was against him and retreated with a scowl.

Gorge, who had never considered such a person, let out a belly laugh.

"I'm going to help Sora Kleinzelt in this duel."

"Are you leaving us behind?"

"Trying to take all the glory?"

"No cutting in line."

Gorge, with his monster face, smiled at his comrades.

"Anyone who has a complaint, come with me!"

"Right!"

Thirteen guards from the capital's guard, led by the red-haired, burn-scarred Gorge, set out from the barracks.

With their burn scars proudly exposed to the sunlight, they marched to the Kleinzelt residence like a night parade of a hundred demons.

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