Chapter 19: The Duel
Misa sympathized with Arlo’s plight.
He didn’t think the knight captain had done anything wrong. In that situation, as knight captain, he should have prioritized protecting the emissary and the other knights.
He just felt sorry for Arlo.
When Lance and Arlo sparred, Lance hit Arlo twice hard, but Arlo only bled a little. The knight captain, however, knocked Arlo unconscious with a single blow.
Misa couldn’t understand.
How much strength did the knight captain use? What kind of ordeal had Arlo suffered?
A Templar knight repeatedly apologized to Misa and Lance on behalf of the captain.
“I’m sorry,” the Templar knight said sincerely. “The captain’s strength is… a little excessive…”
Lance looked shocked.
Templar knight: “He was worried that Emissary Arlo would jump, so he may have been a little hasty…”
Lance maintained his shocked expression.
“He… the captain has been by Emissary Arlo’s bedside,” the Templar knight continued to explain. “He said he’s willing to make amends…”
Lance: “Wait a minute.”
He finally interrupted the Templar knight.
The Templar knight immediately shut his mouth, awaiting the hero’s impending wrath.
“Just how strong is your knight captain?” Lance was incredibly shocked. “He knocked out the boxing champion?!”
Misa: “…”
Templar knight: “…Ah?”
Misa felt the truth of those widely circulated life lessons.
You can’t lie.
Tell one lie, and you have to use countless lies to cover up the first one.
I’m sorry, Arlo.
Misa felt remorseful.
I really didn’t mean to say you were the boxing champion.
But given the situation, Misa could only follow the hero’s lead.
He brazenly improvised, awkwardly smiling at the Templar knight, and said, “He… Arlo is actually very strong.”
Templar knight: “…”
Misa: “His strength is not inferior to the Wangdu boxing champion.”
Templar knight: “…”
The Templar knight seemed to understand, and actually nodded in agreement with Misa.
He seemed to believe Misa without question, which made Misa feel slightly guilty and a little strange.
No normal person would believe that someone as frail-looking as Arlo could be stronger than the boxing champion!
Besides, if Arlo really had that kind of strength, how could the knight captain easily knock him unconscious?
But the Templar knight didn’t press further. He simply did his duty, leading Misa and Lance to Arlo’s room.
They soon arrived at Arlo’s door. The Templar knight knocked, paused, then said, “Captain Samuel, are you there?”
Someone quickly opened the door.
Misa cautiously stood behind Lance, expecting to see a tall, muscular man who could knock down a bull with one punch. But when he peeked over, he only saw a young man in his twenties standing behind the door, with ordinary brown hair, a fairly handsome face, and a build no different from other members of the knight order.
He was wearing the knight order’s standard shirt, his eyes wide with surprise. After a long moment, he spoke in astonishment, “Sir Lance?”
Lance nodded calmly.
That was all Lance did.
He stared intently at the knight captain, Samuel, trying to detect something unusual, but no matter how he looked, Samuel was just an ordinary human. He didn’t have overly strong biceps, nor huge fists—nothing like someone who could knock out Arlo with one blow. At most, he looked like a trained young man.
Lance couldn’t help but frown, turning to the Templar knight beside him, his face serious. “Did he knock Arlo unconscious?”
Templar knight: “…”
Samuel: “…”
The Templar knight didn’t dare answer.
He stammered, avoiding Lance’s gaze. After all, Lance’s serious expression looked like he was about to seek revenge on Samuel, and he didn’t want to betray his superior, so he chose to remain silent.
But Samuel spoke up.
“It was me,” Samuel said sincerely, apologizing to Lance. “Sir Lance, it’s all my fault.”
Lance: “…”
“I’m willing to accept your punishment,” Samuel said, his head bowed in shame. “If it weren’t for me, the Emissary wouldn’t be unconscious…”
Lance: “…”
Misa, more worried about Arlo’s condition, stepped forward and asked, “Can we see him?”
Samuel quickly stepped aside. “Of course, he’s in bed.”
Misa hurried into the room and toward the bed. Lance followed, but paused, turning back to Samuel to confirm everything again.
Lance: “You really knocked Arlo unconscious?”
Samuel nodded.
Lance: “He didn’t suffer any other injuries?”
Samuel nodded seriously.
Lance thought he understood.
He felt a newfound respect for this seemingly ordinary knight, and a touch of curiosity.
He couldn’t imagine how powerful this knight truly was. It felt like the excitement and joy of discovering a worthy opponent. He was eager to test Samuel’s strength, and without much thought, he issued an invitation.
“Tonight,” Lance said. “In the church courtyard.”
Samuel clearly didn’t understand Lance’s meaning.
“In the courtyard?” Samuel frowned. “Sir Lance, what are you doing?”
Lance: “A duel.”
Misa: “…”
Templar knight: “…”
After a moment, Samuel nodded seriously.
“I will atone for this,” Samuel said earnestly. “Sir Lance, rest assured, I will be there tonight.”
Misa: “…”
No!
You two aren’t talking about the same thing!!!
Lance simply wanted to see Samuel’s abilities, while Samuel thought Lance wanted to beat him up to vent his anger. He agreed out of guilt.
Lance didn’t seem to notice anything unusual.
No, Misa thought, Lance didn’t care if there was anything unusual.
For Lance, whether Samuel felt guilty or not didn’t matter.
It wasn’t because of him that Samuel felt guilty, so what did it have to do with him?
Misa couldn’t dissuade the hero.
Or rather, Misa didn’t want to waste time trying to dissuade this uncontrollable hero.
He decided to check on the unconscious Arlo first.
A doctor summoned from the headquarters had arrived and explained Arlo’s condition to Misa and Lance.
Samuel had been rather forceful, but not enough to knock someone unconscious for a whole day. Arlo’s continued unconsciousness wasn’t entirely Samuel’s fault; he seemed to have old injuries. His current state was more like deep sleep—meaning he might not wake up, possibly due to prolonged anxiety and insomnia.
Misa was terrified.
Old injuries, insomnia, anxiety.
With each word from the doctor, he couldn’t help but steal a glance at Lance. The culprit, Lance, clearly didn’t realize he was mostly to blame. He simply nodded along to the doctor’s words. When the doctor finished, he coughed lightly and said, “Doctor, Misa is also injured, please—”
Misa covered Lance’s mouth.
Ignoring the surprised looks, he panicked and dragged Lance aside, whispering, “No! You can’t say that!”
He had burned his wings, and his dark red wings were almost a symbol of evil in the eyes of devout believers. Lance didn’t care, didn’t understand the reasons, but that didn’t mean Samuel and the doctor didn’t know.
He absolutely couldn’t let anyone else know about this.
Misa took a deep breath, decided to use some of what Alisa had mentioned in class about “Hero Favorability Lectures,” combined with his own understanding of the situation, and worriedly took Lance’s hand.
Lance: “You…”
“You can’t say it,” Misa said urgently, trying to slow his speech, carefully emphasizing to the hero, “My wings… it’s a secret.”
Lance: “…”
Lance didn’t answer.
Misa lowered his voice even more, pitifully saying, “I don’t want anyone else to know.”
Lance: “…”
Misa: “Let’s pretend it’s a secret between just the two of us.”
Lance: “…”
Lance finally frowned and nodded.
But he still looked troubled, as if he wanted to say something.
Misa feared this expression the most. He couldn’t help but ask, “Sir Lance, is there something else?”
Lance: “Back then… Arlo also saw it.”
Misa: “…”
Yes, Arlo did see it.
But Arlo already knew the truth! Could he be treated the same as those church people?!
Misa hesitated over his words. “He saw it, but…”
Lance looked understanding.
“I understand,” Lance said. “Don’t worry.”
Misa: “…Eh?”
Lance: “I’ll make him keep quiet.”
Misa: “…”
Ah??