CH 386

Chapter 386 – Duel

The time goes back a bit.

“Good luck, Kosuke.”

After saying that, Isla put the short staff she had taken out into her robe and looked up at me.

“Yes?”

I was confused. Wasn’t the story earlier that Isla had arranged a duel with that evil-looking lion man? Good luck? Me? Isn’t that something funny?

“If Kosuke blows up that obnoxious, undisciplined cat, everything will be fine.”

“Wait, wait. Me? I’m the one who will do it?”

“Kosuke is the one who was insulted, so it’s only right that Kosuke himself fights to regain his honor.”

“I see…?”

If you say so, it might be true. After all, I was the target of the Lion Man’s insult, and Isla was furious about it. Considering the content of the insult, it would be best for me to show my strength to the Lion Man, which would lead to a complete denial of the insult.

“Wouldn’t that be bad from a diplomatic point of view? Besides, Isla knows how I fight, right? I won’t go easy on my enemy or anything, you know?”

“As long as you don’t kill him, I’ll heal him with my magic. I also have magic potions. Even if two or three arms are blown off, there are regeneration potions. It doesn’t matter if you destroy more than half of them or even ninety percent.”

“No, there are only two arms… I don’t like that. I mean, how can I be provoked so easily?”

“That’s okay. This will be a favor.”

“Favor?”

I tilted my head at Isla, who suddenly started saying things I didn’t understand. Who is this favor for? In other words, there is someone who wants me to fight a duel, and by obediently accepting it, I will be doing this person―or group of people―a favor, right?

“Kosuke should smash that cheeky cat so hard that it doesn’t die instantly without a second thought. I don’t care if it’s a little conspicuous.”

“No, I’m telling you, my fighting style is not easy to handle.”

“Don’t worry. Beastmen don’t die easily because their bodies are strong. Or rather, you shouldn’t underestimate them too much. If he is from another country and has come to this castle, he is a man of some ability. I don’t think he’s as good as Sir Leonard or Zamir, but he might be as good as Danan. I’m just warning you.”

With that, Isla walked steadily toward the dragon knight, who said he would be a witness.

The Lion Man who lunged at me warmed up by wielding what seemed to be his favorite weapon, a glaive―a large-bladed, naginata-like weapon.

“Ehh…”

He’s already feeling motivated. I don’t like pain… Well, I guess I can’t complain anymore. Then I will just have to deal with it my own way.

When it comes to someone of a certain caliber, a handgun is a bit inadequate. I had tried it before, but even Danan had easily dodged or deflected a .45 caliber pistol bullet, and the pistol was no match for Sir Leonard or Ms. Zamir. And, of course, Sylphy. What they said they had trouble with were submachine guns that fired pistol bullets in rapid succession, shotguns that fired multiple bullets at once, and firearms that fired rifle bullets with higher initial velocity and power than submachine guns.

Well, in order, let’s take a look at the submachine gun. The shotgun is the real deal. If I wanted to be ruthless, I would use an assault rifle or an all-purpose machine gun to suppress it. But rifle bullets are too powerful and penetrating to be dangerous.

So I should use a shotgun, which is my main weapon of choice. There are many types of shotguns, but I have a basic pump-action shotgun and a double-barreled shotgun. I also have a sawed-off shotgun with the barrel cut down from a horizontal double-barrel shotgun. I should have made an automatic shotgun with a magazine loader.

“Both men, to the center. Let the duel begin!”

And so we are back to the beginning.

“Now, fight!”

“Why…? Why…?”

Whoosh! The muscular Lion Man swung his glaive, causing the wind to blow and caress my cheeks. It’s scary. If I were to take a serious hit from that thing, it would cut me completely in half. Because the distance is quite long, you know? Probably more than 10 meters, right?

“Are you serious? With that?”

“Are you scared? It’s a duel, so it’s only natural to use a serious weapon. If you want to save your life, you can withdraw from the duel.”

Hearing the muscular Lion Man’s words, I turned my eyes to Isla, but she just nodded her head. Sometimes Isla is so reckless, isn’t she?

“Now, the duel between the prince consort of the Merinard Kingdom, Kosuke-dono, and the incisive leader of the Laios Chiefs Union, Iorn-dono, will take place. Each of you will fight to the best of your ability for the sake of your own honor.”

When he first heard my identity, the muscular Lion Man――Iorn’s face was slightly shaken… Not shaken, huh? Hmm? What does that mean? Does it mean that he knew that I was the prince consort of Merinard?

“Begin!”

Without even a moment to think, the signal was given to begin the duel. There was no way that both sides would take a wait-and-see attitude at first.

“Haaaa!”

“Oops.”

“Ugaahh!”

As soon as Iorn closed the gap between us, he tried to cut me in half, and then a stone wall 2 meters high, 3 meters wide, and 1 meter deep was erected between us. He must have crashed into the stone wall that suddenly appeared. I heard Iorn’s anguished voice from the other side of the wall.

What shall I do now? I don’t want to have a real fight with someone who can close the distance to almost ten meters in an instant. But this dueling arena is not that big. There is a limit to how far I can run.

“Kuh, this is weird!”

I took a pump shotgun from the shortcut and ran, adding a wall to the right side of the one already installed, while Iorn was surprised. He was controlling the glaive with his right hand, so it would be harder for him to wield the weapon if I fled to the left side from his point of view. I kept my eyes open for him to come around from behind and pointed the muzzle of my weapon forward. Given his physical capabilities, he would probably――

“Move around――”

“Come.”

I fire a shot at Iorn, who appears in front of me at the wall that is being added to the area. The ammunition in my shotgun is a very conventional type of shotgun that fires nine lead balls simultaneously. The muzzle velocity is about the speed of sound. In other words, for Iorn, it is as if nine shots were fired simultaneously at the same speed of sound.

Well, if I’m using a shotgun, it’s basic to wait at the corner, right?

“Guoooaaah!”

Since the shots were fired at close range, the bullets would have landed at the same time the flame was visible. The distance is so close that the bullets would have hardly scattered. It was almost as if a handgun had fired nine shots at the same time in the same place.

“Gghh, nnghh! That kind of thing!”

“Seriously?”

It seems that in that split second, he turned around and escaped a direct hit. However, it seems that he was unable to avoid it completely, and his right arm is bleeding heavily. In this condition, he can no longer wield a weapon properly. As soon as our eyes met, I stepped back to keep my distance, and I had already loaded the next round. I immediately fired a shot at Iorn’s feet, who was still stomping around from the damage.

With the deafening sound! The cobblestones shatter at Iorn’s feet, sending up a cloud of smoke.

“Give up. I missed that on purpose.”

“To admit defeat without even a single fight like this!”

“My weapons are not designed for restraint. If you resist any longer, you will die.”

I aim the muzzle of the shotgun at Iorn’s right arm, which he is holding down now that he has lost his glaive. It is a bad idea to aim at the head for a one-hit kill or the limbs for incapacitation in a situation like this. If I want to incapacitate him for sure, it’s better to shoot him in the torso, and it’s harder to miss if he makes a sudden move.

“That’s enough! Kosuke-dono is the winner. With this duel, Kosuke-dono’s honor has been preserved, and he has proven that he has the strength to fight!”

The Dragon Knight, who acted as a witness, declared in a loud voice, and the Lizardmen, who wore some kind of fluttering costume, approached Iorn. I could not make out anything about them, but it seemed that he―or she―was one of the healers working in the castle. With that understanding, I exhaled, reloaded my shotgun, and pulled a Mithril pickaxe from my shortcut. I can’t just leave this wall like this, can I?

“Kosuke, you did a good job.”

“That’s because my first attempt just worked. Next time, I won’t be able to pull off the same trick.”

Now that they know about my weapons and my ability to build a stone wall, those who have seen how I fight are bound to have countermeasures.

“So, are you going to tell me why you made me do that? It scared the hell out of me.”

“Hmm. I’ll tell you when we get back to the room.”

“All right, then. This is the last time you make me do something crazy like that. It’s really scary to fight the warriors of this world at close range.”

It’s really not funny. Our physical abilities are too different. If I were to go head to head with him without using my first attempt to fight him, he’d cut me in half in no time.

“Hmm, I’m sorry. Onee-chan will pet you later, so please forgive me.”

“Well, that’s okay. Yeah.”

I don’t care about the petting… No, it’s not good, but… But I’m not being nostalgic about it. I forgive her because she seems to feel really bad about it. It’s not that I was convinced by the petting.