Chapter 9 – Sword Champion

A place not very far from Pizarro Street.

A limousine vehicle was stopped there.

A vehicle with an impressive Rose Cross embedded on the hood and side pillars.

A while later,

a short-stature swordsman equipped with a longsword approached the side of the vehicle.

It was not a boy.

It was a young man who looked thirty years old in appearance, and he had pointed ears like an elf.

However, strictly speaking, he was not an elf.

To be called an elf, he lacked that characteristic nobility, and rather, his easygoing and rustic appearance made him look like a human.

Simultaneously with his arrival, the rear car window opened and someone showed their face.

He was one of the few pure-blooded vampires left in this era, with skin so pale it was white and eerie blood-red eyes.

The vampire, dressed in a neat and sophisticated suit, spoke.

“To think we would reunite again in this way. Has it been a really long time? Has it been about forty years?”

The swordsman lightly laughed it off, pulled an apple from his chest, rubbed it on his outer garment, and took a bite out of it.

The murder contract he had happened to take on at the Red Cocktail.

To think the client was a vampire knight who had once chased him.

The workings of the world were truly unpredictable.

“Your easygoing side is still the same as ever. Is it not, Heimdall?”

“You, who still look gloomy and insidious, are also the same. Kain.”

“Would you like to come in and sit down?”

“I refuse. We aren’t exactly in a relationship where we’d sit side-by-side and converse amicably, are we?”

“Is that so? Indeed it is.”

Kain, who felt uncomfortable with any potential eyes on them, wore a bitter smile.

Vladis Kain.

He was the current commander of Rosenkreuz and the very person who had created this meeting.

“The business is simple. You just have to kill that guy.”

Heimdall recalled the man he had targeted inside the shop.

He was a cleric, and his ability to sense killing intent and his movements were extremely agile.

To the point that even he, who had reached the master realm, admired him slightly.

“That cleric, his movements were good.”

“Even so, he is just a cleric. He isn’t a knight, so what is there to worry about?”

“Indeed.”

“If it is the you I know, I trust you will cut off his breath without any trouble.”

“Naturally. Whoever fights me cannot escape death. That goes for you too, Kain.”

“That bottomless confidence of yours is consistent, then and now. Well, I suppose it’s understandable, given that it’s a master realm you achieved by crawling up desperately from the very bottom.”

Heimdall cast a look filled with killing intent.

“Watch your mouth. I am not the same person who was chased by you in the past.”

“Hmph, arrogant as always.”

“By the way, why are you trying to kill him? He is a person of the same Holy Order, so let’s hear the reason.”

The reason.

It was simple, nothing grand.

“Because it would be troublesome for me if he lives.”

“I heard the Saintess was recently assassinated.”

The corners of Heimdall’s mouth rose subtly.

“Is it because of that?”

“Ahem! Anyway, I ask this of you. As for the payment…”

“I usually receive an advance payment. Especially if it’s your request.”

Kain frowned deeply.

“Haven’t I already paid the fee? What I was about to say just now was the additional reward to be paid afterward.”

“If there is such a thing, you’d better give it now. Because the advance payment you gave was all spent when I made a mess in Pizarro. Cleaning up that cleric must be paid separately.”

This money-grubbing insect.

Suppressing his rising anger, Kain forced a good-natured smile.

“Will bloodstone do?”

“Of course.”

Kain threw a leather pouch containing bloodstones from his chest.

“That should be more than enough.”

Checking the mana stones inside the pouch, the corners of Heimdall’s mouth curved wide.

“The purity seems quite high. As expected, you vampires have the best technology for refining bloodstone.”

“Don’t talk nonsense and do your job well. If you fail…”

“Hahaha!”

Heimdall, interrupting Kain’s words with sudden wild laughter, revealed his displeasure without filtering.

“What nonsense are you babbling? I am Heimdall. I won’t lose to a mere cleric.”

Indeed, he was rumored to be a master of duels.

To be precise, he was the Master of Proxy Duels, Sword Champion Heimdall.

“Then I shall believe you, Sword Champion.”

“Just drag him to that point as planned. I will handle the rest.”

Heimdall departed like that, and afterward, two vampire knights visited Kain.

The two of them were also moving according to Kain’s instructions.

“How did it go? Are you slowly getting under his skin?”

It was a rather childish plan.

It was blatant abuse of power, so petty and low-grade that even they felt ashamed.

However, with a fire lit under their feet, they were not in a position to argue over details.

“As instructed, we are continuously following him around to annoy him and pick fights. There will probably be a reaction soon. He won’t be able to resist fighting back.”

“You are doing well.”

Their plan was simpler than expected.

Provoking him, who was framed as the Saintess’s assassin, to drag him into the dueling ground.

The reason they called him to Pizarro in the first place was entirely for that.

“Keep getting under his skin. So that his reason snaps and he cannot resist accepting our duel.”

The two knights showing respect departed, and Kain, left alone in the car, sank into thought.

‘If it weren’t for that completely inflexible inquisitor, I wouldn’t have acted so pettily.’

A single damn inquisitor was not yielding at all to any conciliation, intimidation, or threats he made.

That was the problem.

‘Since she comes from a wealthy family, bribe solicitations won’t even work.’

Befitting a wealthy family of a city-state developed through trade,

her wealth might perhaps be superior to his own.

‘Moreover, since she is a war hero, ridiculous threats or conciliation won’t work either.’

In the end, there was no other way.

Other than using such a petty method.

* * *

Sword Champion Heimdall.

Rashid was also not ignorant of the fame he possessed.

‘He isn’t well known, but he’s one of those villains that everyone in the know knows.’

Although he was rumored to the public as a master of proxy duels,

in reality, he was a fixer at the master realm who took on various contract works in the underworld.

‘The Sword Force seen in Pizarro must have been all that guy’s work too.’

His Sword Force was quite special.

If Sword Masters generally manifested Sword Force through their own mana,

Heimdall manifested Sword Force through the power of a sword embedded with mana stones, that is, a mana stone sword.

‘He overcame the limitation of inherently lacking mana in that way. A seasoned fellow. Well, it’s only natural since his age must exceed 160.’

He was not an elf.

To be precise, a half-elf with a half-human, half-elf mix.

Thus, his lifespan was also long, so his age reached 160, and that non-negligible experience put him in his current position.

‘As expected, he is indeed a Sword Master, and since he is a master of proxy duels, how they will come out is…’

On a street not very far from Pizarro.

Rashid, who was taking a brief rest at a cafe, was conscious of the two vampire knights constantly glancing from a nearby table.

‘It is transparent. Yet it is too disgraceful. Noble vampires who care for nothing but prestige are following behind a mere cleric.’

“Do not pay attention. Just ignore them.”

At those words, Investigator Edgar, who was with him, reacted.

“No, they are staring so openly, isn’t something wrong? Did you happen to do something wrong? Why are knights of the same Holy Order…”

Wrong.

From their perspective, his very existence would be a mistake.

Instead of Rashid who did not answer, the vampire knight nearby spoke up.

“Is there no wrong? Hey, human investigator. Do you know who the culprit who assassinated Her Highness the Saintess is?”

When the investigator, conscious of Rashid, only let out a useless cough, he continued speaking with a sneer.

“It’s that guy. That guy is the culprit who assassinated Her Highness the Saintess.”

“Excuse me?”

The startled Investigator Edgar looked back and forth between the vampire knight and Rashid.

“Excuse me, Brother… is that statement true?”

“You don’t need to pay attention. It is a ridiculous provocation.”

Even though he said so,

the two vampire knights did not care at all and openly laughed.

“Hahaha! The culprit is pulling back his tail. Even so, the fact that you are the culprit who assassinated Her Highness the Saintess doesn’t change.”

“Do you think you can escape by doing that?”

Rashid stood up and stood next to them.

“Why? Do you have something to say?”

Did he finally take the bait?

He is more foolish than he looks.

If he knew how precious his life was, he should have realized and ignored us until the end!

The two vampire knights thought so inwardly.

“Since you two knights are acting like this, I have no choice. Is a duel what you want? I asked because it seems you are getting under my skin, waiting only for me to lose my temper and attack.”

The problem was that they couldn’t openly say yes.

“Cleric. Don’t be cheeky and go back and sit down.”

Thud!

Onto the two knights’ table,

Rashid’s combat glove was thrown provocatively.

Due to the unexpected, no, far too early development,

the embarrassment of the two knights was revealed directly on their complexions.

“Stop with the childish jokes. Just tell me the place to duel. I will retrieve my tarnished honor there.”

A cleric boldly requesting a duel from a knight!

The surrounding people, including those inside the cafe, began to stir greatly.

“Hey, look over there. A cleric just requested a duel from a Holy Order knight.”

“What? Really?”

“I’m telling you, he threw his glove.”

“My goodness! A duel between a cleric and a knight of the Holy Order.”

“Soon, chaos will break out in Pizarro.”

The stirring surroundings,

the two knights, not caring about it, secretly exchanged glances.

It was the picture they wanted, and a scene they had induced themselves,

but actually receiving a challenge from a mere cleric felt like a severe insult, making this situation extremely, very extremely unpleasant for them.

“Cleric.”

Out of the two knights who stood up, the one who appeared to be the leader grabbed Rashid’s glove very slowly and emotionally.

“Don’t you think you are too insolent? Requesting a duel so easily. Or did we look that easy to you?”

“Wasn’t this what you wanted? I only did as you two desired.”

“…”

“Will you appear at the dueling ground in person?”

What followed was Rashid’s intended provocation.

“Don’t tell me you won’t even step forward yourself, and will call a proxy instead?”

Although they wanted to step forward to duel themselves in their hearts, there was already a proxy to step out for the duel.

The vampire knight, conscious of the stirring surroundings, continued an open explanation so as not to ruin the prestige of the knighthood.

“Can a knight of the Holy Order fight a mere cleric? It’s a fight between a lion and a wolf. A proxy will emerge to represent our Rosenkreuz. He will absolutely not be an easy opponent, so don’t be so cocky.”

“Ah, I see. You noble vampire knights cannot fight a mere wolf. Because if a lion loses to a wolf, it is an absolute embarrassment.”

“Cleric!”

Rashid’s mouth subtly curved.

Because that sight was truly disgusting, the two knights wanted to request a separate duel, but

since the duel was already accepted, the two knights who had nothing in particular they could do vanished just like that, with their faces completely contorted.

“B-Brother. Are you okay? A duel with knights of the Holy Order.”

The surroundings were still in a stir, and Edgar worried for him as if he were the one stepping onto the dueling ground.

“Even if a proxy comes out, since he is a proxy from the knighthood, he won’t be an easy opponent. They might call a professional proxy duelist. Why don’t you go and apologize even now…”

Rashid, lightly ignoring Edgar’s worries, acted as if nothing had happened,

returned to his table, and picked up his coffee cup.

“If nothing else,”

the buzzing surroundings were unusual.

The duel tomorrow would be quite noisy.

“the losing side will be completely humiliated.”