Chapter 4: The Combat Tournament
I sent Alisa a Message telling her I’d go to Ishtobal Castle in a month, with the presumption being that I was going to decline Abel’s offer to join his party. I knew this was going to turn into a mess, and I needed time to prepare, so I was putting off meeting him for as long as possible.
“If you’re going to make him wait for a month, then I need to make him think you’re going to say yes,” she Messaged. “He’s going to be furious after being strung along and then rejected. Are you okay with that?”
I told her it was fine. Based on my information gathering on Abel, it was going to be hard to avoid making him my enemy, regardless of how I turned him down. I initially had no intention of getting involved with this hero and demon king business, but they were dragging me in, so I had to deal with it.
The following day was Monday, and the first thing I did in the morning was go to Eric’s salon to tell him what happened when I infiltrated Ishtobal Castle.
“I was already aware this was going to turn into a difficult situation. But it’s you, Arius, so I assume there’s a chance you could win.”
“You say that, but I wasn’t even able to tell Abel’s level. He also noticed I’d snuck in, meaning they’re going to be on high alert. I’d like to avoid walking right in the front door of my enemy if I can.”
As Alisa had said, if I didn’t go, there was a chance Abel would come after me. I did not want to get Jessica and the others dragged into this again. Since Alisa knew I was Arius Gilberto, there was a chance Abel would even come to Ronaudia.
“And you are dealing with Chris’s master. If you turn him down, there’s a high probability he’ll resort to violence,” pondered Eric.
“That’s not really a problem. I can do a lot in the way of preparations in a month.”
“All right… I think I understand the situation. I’ll do what I can as well to learn more about this power of the hero you mentioned. And I obviously plan to keep an eye on his next moves. If there’s anything else I can do, I’m happy to help.”
“Thank you, Eric. But you also have to deal with Duke Jordan. Gathering information for me should be plenty. You helped a lot when you found out what Alisa and her group were doing. And I’m sorry if Abel comes to Ronaudia and causes you trouble.”
“If he’s targeting Ronaudians, then it’s both our problem. Don’t worry about that.”
He might say that, but it was still my fault if people here got dragged into something.
“Besides, Arius, I did say I want to build an equal relationship with you.” He looked at me, his expression serious as if he’d guessed what I was thinking. “You said that if I needed to use you to limit damage with the Duke Jordan situation, then do so. Let me say the same. If anyone can make good use of me, it’s you.”
“Eric… All right. I’m counting on you then.”
He really was a good guy. If it came down to it and I needed to, then I would rely on him. But first, I needed to see what I could do myself.
✦ ✦ ✦
THE next day, we had morning practice with everyone again. My plan was to go to class in the morning, then to the Citadel of Ancient Gods in the afternoon.
“My fighting style’s great now,” Vern bragged with his chest puffed up in pride after a match. His fighting style was completely different from before, when he made no attempts to dodge and didn’t use any spells, and that was good.
“It is starting to come together, but you’ve only been at it for a little over a week. It’s still a work in progress. Don’t let yourself get overconfident,” I warned him. He’d be fighting opponents stronger than him in the tournament.
“I know, friend, even I can see that. I’m not going to get strong in one day.”
It seemed Vern did understand. In the end, becoming stronger was all about what you were aiming for. If you were satisfied with your current strength, you wouldn’t get any stronger than that.
“Arius, do you mind sparring with me next?” Zeke asked, his eyes serious as they locked with mine. Losing to Vern seemed to have made him want to get stronger too. During practice, he’d been trying out a variety of different fighting styles for himself.
His original half plate armor with a longsword hadn’t changed, but he did try using his left hand for shields and all sorts of different weapons. If we were only considering the tournament, he really should hurry up and decide on something. But if he was thinking about what was beyond that, then it wasn’t a bad thing that he was experimenting.
After Zeke and I finished our match, Milia came over to us. “Arius, we’d like to go out with everyone to celebrate after the tournament. Sort of a thank you for helping us learn. What do you think?”
Sophia and Noelle were studying my reaction as well.
“You don’t need to thank me for being here for practice, but I’ll join you guys.”
Eating with everyone once in a while wasn’t a bad thing. It seemed like they wanted to do something to celebrate after working so hard.
“Arius always stays true to himself like that,” Sophia noted.
“It’s a promise, okay, Arius?” urged Milia.
“Don’t worry, Arius always keeps his promises,” said Noelle.
The three of them had become really close. I was glad I invited Noelle to practice.