Chapter 106 : Gysahl

TL:SummerPeanut

Thank you for the peanuts Vohnjin~

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18 Aug 2030.

We spent three hours on foot back to Count Mesalius's territory. The kobolds had not appeared at all, probably because we had destroyed the labyrinth.

We returned to the inn as soon as we returned to Mesalius and immediately decided to take a bath. After three hours of walking, everyone wanted to flush out the sweat.

No matter how well I manage the temperature with Wind magic and Water magic, after three hours of walking under the blazing sun in midsummer, everyone definitely still wants to take a bath or play with water.

As soon as I got back to the room, I filled the bath with hot water.

I put the water on via my own magic because I wanted to get in right away, and when I got back to the room, everyone had taken off their clothes and was dressed only in bath towels.

“I’m sorry for the embarrassing appearance, Mars. But I wanted to take a bath right away...”

When Clarice said this, they all looked at me and said sorry.

“No, it's fine... I know how you feel...so I've already put the hot water on so you can all go. Don't worry about me, just take your time.”

I said while bending forward as it was impossible for me to stand upright, and the girls nodded and walked past me, and got into the bath.

It looked like Clarice and Ellie, Misha and Karen will split up and take two baths.

I quickly let out my in-house electricity and entered sage mode.

Ellie came out of the bath first and a little later Misha followed her out.

I dried their hair with Wind and Fire magic until Karen came out. What I used is similar to a hair dryer.

Ellie and Misha seemed to feel good when I use the hair dryer on them, and finally, they closed their eyes and even started falling asleep as is. They must be very tired. I’ll let them sleep for a little while.

After about half an hour, Karen came out and I took my bath. In the end, I didn't get out of the bath until an hour after we got back to the inn. And it was about the same time that Clarice and I left the bath. As usual, Clarice likes to take a long bath...

All in all, it was 17:00 when we arrived at Count Mesalius's mansion, and just like last time, the people guarding the mansion bowed down to us and simply said 'Please come this way.' and let us into the mansion.

Murano, the butler, showed us around the house.

“Dear guests, you have all changed in these few days. You seem to have grown more robu-...mature than before.”

He probably wanted to say robust but reword it to mature, perhaps he thought the word was inappropriate for females. Murano is apparently good at winning people’s hearts. The girls seemed not as annoyed and nodded their heads in satisfaction.

This time we were shown into the living room. In the living room, there were members of the Red Lotus and three men, one of whom is probably Count Mesalius. The other one is likely the eldest son of Count Mesalius? And the last one is Dames.

Count Mesalius, probably over 40, turned to us.

“What is this? Are you guys? Are you from the Lister Imperial School?..."

He asked, but when he caught Karen in his sight.

“Pardon me. If Lady Karen is here, that means you are Reimei members."

When he saw Karen, his attitude suddenly changed. She is indeed the daughter of the First Duke Fresvald. Count Mesalius stood up from his chair and bowed.

Seeing this, the man who seemed to be his son also did the same gesture.

“I am honored to meet you all. I am Viscount Gysahl Alistar, the eldest son of Count Mesalius. I am very excited to meet you all, as this is the first time I have seen such beautiful ladies all at once. If possible, pray to tell me your names."

I felt like I was completely ignored. Clarice and the others also seemed to intend not to greet him if I did not. Ike, sensing the atmosphere, turned to me and said

“Mars, you should greet them first.”

He said. Gysahl glared a little at Ike with a mouse-like expression.

“I understand. I am Mars Bryant, the second son of the Count Bryant of the Balkus Kingdom. I am the younger brother of Ike as well as the first ranked in the S class of the Lister Imperial School, and I am the party leader of this Reimei. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

When I greeted him, Gysahl didn't look at me but instead his gaze was on Clarice the whole time.

“I am Clarice Lampard, eldest daughter of the Viscount Lampard of the Zarkham Kingdom. I am the fiancée of Mars, ranked second in the S-class of the Lister Imperial School, and the sub-leader in Reimei. Pleased to meet you."

When Clarice finished her introduction, Gysahl glared at me. Then he turned his eyes to Ellie, and Ellie said.

“Papa is Barnes Leo. I am Baronetess Ellie Leo of the Balkus Kingdom. I'm also Mars's fiancée. I'm third in the S-class. Please to meet you..."

Ellie did her best to make an unusually long sentence for her. But after that introduction, Gysahl became extra grumpy.

Karen would normally have been the next to greet her, but she gave Misha a look and encouraged her to introduce herself first. Misha noticed this and thus took action.

“I am Misha Febrandt, eldest daughter of Baroness Febrandt. As you can see, I am of the elf race. I am a first year student at Lister Imperial School, S class, ranked 7th. Pleased to meet you."

Gysahl's face relaxed as Misha introduced herself cutely. This was probably because she had not said the word ‘fiancée’. Finally, Karen introduced herself. She looked very displeased, if not a bit coldhearted.

“I am Karen Lionel, second daughter of the Duke of Fresvald. Fifth in the rank. May I have a word with you, Gysahl? I don't like the way you've been looking at Mars and treating him. Is there something wrong with our party leader?"

Gysahl replied to Karen's words without fear.

“I am sorry, Miss Karen. But when two of the four peerless beauties are engaged to another, as a man I feel envious. After all, I couldn’t help but think why someone like him when there is the exceptional myself. Even if there are outstanding personnel in the Lister Imperial School, I would have been in the S class as well. And of course, I will be of a higher rank. I feel so frustrated thinking that if I had been born in the same year as Mars today, you would have understood me."

All the girls who heard this made blatantly disgusted faces. As for Ellie, she directed a powerful killing intent at Gysahl, and Ellie's killing intent frightened everyone except Ike.

Gysahl seemed to want to say something with his mouth agape but he was too scared to speak. The only thing coming out of Gysahl was ammonia-smelling liquid. Karen saw this and said to Gysahl.

“I had...a little flashback...Gysahl. Currently, you have been directed with a girl’s killing intent and leaked yourself. Can you say the same thing in that state? Ellie, you should stop too. You're making it impossible for us to have a conversation."

Then Gysahl.

“T-this had to be some kind of a mistake. How can I be beaten by someone who hides behind a woman? Fight me!"

I don't want to spur on an incontinent person.

I'd like to keep everything civilized somehow but... I'm not in that mood anymore...

“I understand. I don't know why it turned out this way. I just want to report one thing first."

I decided to do the only thing I had to do first.

“Count Mesalius. I destroyed the dungeon core of the labyrinth yesterday. Now there will be no labyrinth overflow. Here are the labyrinth's bosses, the chimera and the orc kings,’ magic stones. As proof, I offer these to Count Mesalius."

When I handed the magic stones to Count Mesalius, he looked surprised.

“You defeated the chimera!? By yourselves!?"

Karen said.

“Only Mars defeated the chimera. If we were to join, we would have only slowed him down.”

“Well, that's all I have to report. Where would you like to duel? I'm hungry and would like to get this over with as soon as possible?”

Count Mesalius answered my query.

“I am truly sorry that Gysahl has been so rude about this. I hope you will forgive him for this incident for my sake. Even like this, he is the rightful heir of Mesalius.”

“Father! Do you think I would be defeated by such a pretentious man?”

Gysahl apparently still determined to fight. I would like to avoid troublesome things but…someone unexpected interjected with his comment.

“Sir Mesalius. You should let him understand now. I, too, was taught a lesson by him when I was a baron. Sir Gysahl has been an adult for less than five years. It's still within what you could say as a youthful indiscretion to wrap the issue. If you don't let him duel now, he might become overconfident in his own abilities and confront a more powerful opponent. The Fresvald Household, for example."

The former baron, now a slave, said as he elegantly sipped his drink. In the end, it was this comment by Dames that led to the duel.

When Gysahl started to say that they would have a duel after he had a change, Karen opened her mouth.

“How about letting the spectators in? To watch the next candidate of the Count of Mesalius, who is foolish enough to stand up against the Sword Saint.”

“What do you mean by 'candidate'!?”

Gysahl asked Karen.

“As one of the members of the twelve dukes of the Lister Confederacy's Round Table, let me say this: we don't want incompetent fools among the senior nobility of the Lister Confederacy, do we? For example, if someone’s sister married a very talented man, I would strongly push the father to promote him to a count. You two know, of course, that the dukes have the right to dictate the succession of senior nobles, don't you?"

Karen provoked Count Mesalius and Gysahl, and Gysahl…

“That I am not fit to be a count. Are you calling me incompetent?!"

He raged.

“It's not only power that makes one a member of senior nobility. You can be one even without power. But having an idiot act as one is a troublesome thing, don’t you agree? What else do you call the person other than a fool when he can’t see the difference between his own strength and his opponent's strength? But you see, this doesn't only apply to Gysahl. I myself am still inexperienced. So, Gysahl, you too, take today's result seriously and devote yourself toward tomorrow and onwards."

Karen said it as if the result of the match had already been decided. And then Ike.

“Well, it looks like we won't be able to settle this through discussion anymore, so let's get on with it.”

The duel between me and Gysahl took place in the middle of the city of Mesalius. Karen absolutely refused to forgive Gysahl. Furthermore, it was not only Karen but the rest of the Reimei members also shared her stance. Certainly, I'd be absolutely furious too if someone I liked was insulted so I guess it can't be helped...

“Lord Gysahl! Please live up to the name of Mesalius!”

“Good luck, Lord Gysahl!”

Voices of support for Gysahl were raised one after another from the people of the mansion and the population’s...female members but no support from the male members apparently. But the men in the crowd don't seem to be cheering for me either. That's probably due to the girls around me... Well, they are simply jealous. So it's not funny for them if either of us wins, and they feel only ‘serve you right’ if either of us loses.

“Mars. As you can see, I'm angry too so make sure to give him one.”

When Misha said that, Clarice too chipped in.

“Yes. It was completely Gysahl's fault. Please break his heart. If you want, I can end his life...”

“Yeah. I'll do my best.”

I feel sorry for Gysahl if Clarice's special skill is triggered... Just what do Count Mesalius and glasses senior think about this incident? The fact that the glasses senior did not speak at all in the mansion is also a point of concern...

The rules of the duel are the same as the Freshman Combat Tournament. By the way, Gysahl's status is like this.

Name: Gysahl Alistar

Title: -

Status: Human race, head of the Viscount Alistar Household

Status: Good

Age: 19 years old

Level: 22

HP: 48/48

MP: 28/28

Strength: 24

Agility: 20

Magic: 20

Dexterity: 19

Endurance: 22

Luck: 1

Special Ability: Swordsmanship (Lv3/E)

Special Ability: Earth Magic (Lv2/E)

Equipment: Sylph Sword

Equipment: Mithril Silver Light Armour

Equipment: Gnome Shield

Equipment: Mithril Silver Greaves

Hm? He is a former A class of the Lister Imperial School with this stats? The former A class people I met at the Adventurer's Guild in Regan last time had higher stats and skills... They might even be able to become the leader of some knight order elsewhere. And being the heir to a count household, his equipment is really lavish. The Sylph Sword is one of the swords I've always wanted.

At the same time as Count Mesalius's ‘Begin!’, Gysahl was about to shout and come running. Yup. There are a lot of gaps... What did the martial arts staff at the Lister Imperial School teach him…?

I slashed a nearby tree branch with my Wind Cutter and held it up in place of my sword.

“Don't underestimate me!”

Saying that, Gysahl charged at me but I strengthened the tree branch by applying the Sylphid, and I reaped the center of Gysahl's Sylph Sword Sword and blasted his Sylph Sword away.

“Heh?”

Gysahl doesn't seem to understand what happened. Why was his sword blown away by a tree branch? I tried cutting Gysahl's Mithril Silver Greaves with a tree branch reinforced with Sylphid.

I tried to cut the silver mithril with a wooden branch but the wooden branch broke after failing to do so. Well, no matter how much I strengthened it with Sylphid, there is no way a tree branch can cut mithril silver I guess...

Gysahl used the opportunity to retrieve his Sylph Sword.

“You bastard! What have you done!?"

Shouting bastards at others is a little... and I have no obligation to tell him in the middle of battle. Gysahl is also not waiting for me to reply and slashes at me again.

I aimed at Gysahl's head with Wind Cutter while avoiding his attacks. Wind Cutter is the magic I use the most and is highly accurate. And just as I intended, my Wind Cutter snatched Gysahl's head.

Gysahl swung his sword as hard as he could. Every time he does this, hair falls from Gysahl's head. Yes, I aimed only at the top of Gysahl's head, and now Gysahl's head looks like that of a kappa’s.*1

The audience around him is laughing hysterically at this sight. The person in question doesn't realize that he is being laughed at but rather seems to think that everyone is laughing in relief because he has the upper hand.

I also took another branch from a tree to hit away Gysahl's Sylph Sword and decided to call it a day. Bullying the weak is just not in my nature...I think.

I released Tornado so as not to involve the spectators and sent Gysahl flying dozens of meters into the air. I flicked off the Sylph Sword in order to prevent the sword from piercing Gysahl in mid-air.

“Count Mesalius. Should I continue?”

I asked Count Mesalius but the nearby Dames...

“Sir Sword Saint. It would be better to do it more thoroughly. If it’s you, you would be able to cut off all four limbs with a tree branch, no? You should let them see for themselves who protected the Mesalius territory this time. If Phantom had continued to stay in the area of Mesalius, everyone here would be dead."

Dames is exaggerating things on purpose... But who told Dames about Phantom? Count Mesalius after hearing Dames’s words.

"Phantom... I’ve felt like I heard of them...or maybe I’m mistaken..."

“Phantom is that A-rank party that assassinates incompetent senior nobilities. Basically, they serve the 12 dukes of the Lister Confederacy. You can already tell by now, even as a Lord, that this very Phantom was interfering with the Mesalius territory, can't you?"

A slave is hurling such words toward a count... Count Mesalius's face paled at once.

“This is Gysahl’s defeat. And I would like to set up a meeting to discuss a matter from now onwards... Lady Karen, may I? It seems that I have no one else to turn to but you.”

“Let us accept Gysahl's defeat. Ask Mars, the leader of the Reimei, about the discussion. I will only follow the leader's opinion."

Suddenly, Karen calmed down. I deactivated Tornado and caught Gysahl falling from the sky with Wind.

Gysahl was covered in a large amount of brown solid and ammonia scent liquid.

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Author’s note:

Splitting it into two chapters would have slowed down the pace like vol.3 so I put them together despite the length.

I’m sorry if it was hard to read.

TLN: I cry.

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TL’s note:

1. Japanese/Chinese myth monster. Try googling it. Usually depicted as a bald green humanoid monster in the water.