“Fight me, Yuugo Clay!”
“You again? So persistent…”
It was the morning of a day off, and Yuugo looked fed up with Marcos, who came over to his home (home being where he was sleeping outdoors).
His breathing was rough, and he was brimming with a desire to fight, but Phi, who was there to see his brother, responded to him.
“Marcos Bolg, you promised not to get near us again if you lost the duel with my big brother. It couldn’t be helped in the tunnel, but don’t you think this is going against that promise?”
“I know. But there are circumstances I can’t ignore.”
“Eh? Let’s hear it. But we’re leaving, so make it quick.”
Marcos looked awkward when the agreement made during the duel was brought up, but still did not back down. Yuugo was intrigued by his attitude, and decided to hear him out.
And with a dejected expression, Marcos talked about things that he could not overlook.
“…You beat Rush Winhelm the other day, right? And people say you cheated…”
“My big brother didn’t cheat! That’s just what they say!”
“I don’t care about that. The problem is that I’m getting roped into it. I was there fighting the monster armor beasts too. And because there’s a rumor going around that what happened in the tunnel was a sham for you to trick Melt Epee, people are saying I’m your accomplice… How did that happen!? Like the eldest son of the proud Bolg family would assist in such wrongdoing! What are they, stupid!?”
“Ah… I get it. Sorry about that. I guess you were caught in the crossfire.”
Yuugo smiled awkwardly, as he apologized to Marcos after hearing the rumor that wounded his pride.
Who would’ve thought that whole thing would keep changing like that, thought Yuugo, but he also figured that rumor came about because Marcos was almost as hated as him. And so, Marcos continued breathing heavily as he turned to Yuugo.
“So fight me again, Yuugo Clay! I got careless before, but that won’t happen this time! This time I will beat you down and…”
“Hm… I don’t think so. And I don’t think it would do anything for you anyway.”
“…What?”
Marcos sharply pointed his finger at Yuugo and challenged him to a duel, and Yuugo responded while scratching his head.
And as Marcos looked quizzically, as if asking what he meant, Yuugo explained.
“To be blunt, no one’s going to care if we duel again. From the audience’s point of view, the result is clear, so I’m guessing they won’t feel like they have to watch it.”
“Are you saying I’d lose!? I got careless last time, but that won’t happen again!”
“I know, I know. But from the point of view of the people who watched the first duel, do you think there’s a chance that the guy that went down to one punch before will win this time?
And let’s say you won, so what? They’d just think it was like a pro wrestling match between two friendly, hated nobles. There’s no point.”
“Who’s friendly with you!? You and I are enemies!!”
Yuugo moved his hands slightly to curb Marcos as he became more heated.
After explaining why a duel between them would be pointless, he smiled daringly, and proposed something to Marcos.
“Well, that’s why I don’t want to duel. And if you went down to one punch again and were bullied because people thought you were weak, I’d feel bad. But… I also get how you feel, Marcos. A noble like you can’t just ignore that infamy, right? It also affects the honor of your family.”
“…Precisely.”
“So… I can accept a duel, under one condition. As you can see, I’m going to accept a quest with Phi and Melt… How about you come with us?”
“What…?”
Marcos looked at Yuugo with squinted eyes and a suspicious expression, and Yuugo responded by testing him with a daring smile, before telling him his conditions to accept a duel.
“Let’s compete through this quest. Let’s see which of us can produce results… If your results are better than mine, I’ll see that you’re not all talk, and accept the duel. And if you lose, I won’t give you a penalty or anything.
You just have to work a little, and we’ll split the reward too. How about it? They’re pretty favorable to you, right?”
“Hmph, I see…! So you want to see my true power? Fine, Yuugo Clay! How about I accept your challenge!?”
Marcos responded loudly, as he stepped forward towards Yuugo with an expression full of motivation.
There was a burning fighting spirit in his eyes, as he roared imposingly.
“I accept! Bring me any quest, and I’ll show better results than you!!”
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