I went back to the ride carrier to get Arleo and when Nanami saw me getting in she called out to me.
āYuta, where are you going with Arleo?ā
āIām going to defend someone.ā
āYes, innocent people are about to be killed, and weāre going to help them.ā
āNanamiās coming with you.ā
āBut itās a proper, official fight, so youāll just have to watch.ā
āI want to help innocent people, too. ā¦ā¦ā
In the end, Nanami invited Farma to come and observe my defense. Neither of them seemed to have the slightest thought that I was going to lose, and they happily mingled with the crowd and looked at me.
The defense was to take place in a large open space near the square, and as I waited there, the magicraft of the executioner who was to be my opponent arrived with Mushym and his groupā¦ā¦.
āWait a minute! Why are there twelve of them?ā
The executionerās magicrafts are lined up in front of me. In front of the magicrafts, the riders who piloted them were also neatly lined up ā an intimidating sight, and I protested impatiently
āWhat are you talking about? You said you would defend all the criminals. There are 12 criminals, so there will be 12 executioners.ā
Yes, the logic is right, but why do I have to fight them at the same time?ā¦ā¦This didnāt seem to sit well with Linnecarlo and she protested.
āBrother Mushym, your logic is atrocious at best, then weāll have more attorneys.ā
āLinnecarlo, do you really think thatās acceptable, he already agreed to defend all the guilty. You know the rule of one defense attorney for one criminal, and you canāt withdraw your defense once youāve accepted it, so what are you going to do?ā
āCome onā¦ā¦you canāt reason withā¦ā¦.ā
Apparently, the rules donāt allow me to overrule this situation, and I prepare to fight those twelve magicrafts.
āLinnecarlo, thatās enough, Iāll just take out all twelve of them.ā
āYutaā¦ā¦those twelve enforcers are no ordinary riders, they are the eliteā¦ā¦of the Kingdom SS, all of them are above half-radar, and those three in the middle are Highlanders.ā
āCan Linnecarlo fight all those guys and win?ā
āThatās right, youāre good enough to draw with me, itās true that I can fight all of them and win, then you can do it too, I wonāt say anything else, go kick the shit out of all those enforcers!ā
āYes! Letās do it then!ā
As I was about to get motivated and board the Arleo, I was approached by the executioner in the center.
āYuta-kun, arenāt you Yuta-kun?ā
āMikageā¦ā¦Mikage Mamoru!ā
āItās been a while since Iāve seen you. I was worried about you because you were bought by some unknown merchant.ā
I didnāt recognize him right away because his hair had gotten longer and he seemed very different from his old self, but it was my classmate, Mikage Mamoruā¦ā¦.Iām not very close with Mikage, but I was a little happy to see him again after a long time.
āYou were bought by Meltaria?ā
āYes, Iām a member of the Meltaria Kingdomās SS now, but more importantlyā¦ā¦are you by any chance the one Iām about to fight?ā
āYeah, Iām the lawyer.ā
āItās reckless, there are twelve elite members of the Kingdom SS, and with all due respect, youāre no match for them. Itās not too late for you to surrender and beg Prince Mushymās forgiveness, and maybe heāll spare your life, Iāll even help you with thatā¦ā¦.ā
āSorry Mikage, Iām not going to abandon someone whoās about to be killed for a few bad words, and Iām not going to lose.ā
āBut your Ludia value isā¦ā¦ā
āMikage, whatās the point of having a low Ludia value? Why canāt I try to do the right thing? Besides, Iām stronger than you think.ā
āā¦ā¦Okay, I wonāt stop you now that youāve said that, Iāll do my best to fight you.ā
āYeah, I wonāt cut corners either, so donāt make excuses later if you lose.ā
Mikage walked towards his own magicraft without looking back ā the second time Iāve had to fight a classmateā¦ā¦.I still donāt feel very good about itā¦ā¦.