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PHOOOO
I heard the sound of someone running while piercing the wind.
Alfred rushed to Gladion as soon as I made my move.
Alfred’s hand moved like a flash.
TING
“Ugh!”
A shrill metallic sound rang out.
And the dagger bounced off from the hands of bewildered Gladion.
Arriving one step behind Alfred, I safely caught Kathy who was falling down from Gladion’s hand.
“Kathy, are you okay?”
“WAhhhhhh cuandy uncle…..”
I couldn’t help but get angry at the fact that someone placed a dagger on such a cute little child.
“Our Lordship got attacked!”
“Everyone get ready for battle!”
At that moment the Selberg knights and soldiers tried to attack us with their weapons.
Whoo!
Whoo!
Whoo!
Andras’ artifacts covered us and tried to restrain the movement of the troops.
“Everyone, stay still. If anyone were to make a hostile move, you’ll experience the artistry of the Schnarpe family.”
“Ugh…”
Thanks to Andras’ quick response, there was no armed conflict.
The tension that was about to burst filled the surroundings.
But the tension got unexpectedly easily resolved.
“Oh, that’s enough. Don’t overreact, everyone. I’m fine.”
“But..Young Master?”
Gladion calmed the knights and soldiers as if nothing had happened.
He touched his right hand as if he had a slight impact on the hand that held the dagger.
“Even if you are a troublemaker of the prestigious family, I thought you would have at least had the chivalry to not attack the opponent this cowardly. I’m disappointed, Prince Verdi?”
And as Andras said, Gladion didn’t meet us by coincidence.
He already knew all about us.
Alfred replied in a low voice.
“Sprout another word about my family from that mouth. I’ll make sure that…that damn mouth of yours would never move.”
“Haha, Really? Give it a try. If that happens it won’t end with just being kicked out of the family.”
Gladion touched the sore spot on his hand while looking at Alfred with a hateful look.
Fortunately, Alfred only slightly distorted his expression and did not fall for his opponent’s provocation.
I took Kathy in my arms and took her to her mother’s place.
Kathy returned to her mother’s arms and regained stability.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, Sir. Sihyeon…”
She held Kathy in her arms and bowed to me repeatedly.
Knowing how she apologized to me, I comforted her with a smile as brightly as I could.
“It’s alright. You don’t have to worry about it.”
“Hey Kathy…it’s alright”
Kathy looked up at me with teary eyes in her mother’s arms.
I smirked and rubbed the baby rabbit’s head.
“See you later, Kathy,”
I left the two behind and approached Gladion and Elfrid, who were still in confrontation.
Naturally, Gladion’s gaze turned to me.
“You’re a strange man. You don’t have Demon’s horns, but you use the great Demon noble families like Schnarpe and Verdi as your hands.”
“There’s no such strange relationship between us. They’re just helping me as a colleague.”
Gladion didn’t stop laughing at my sharp response.
“Isn’t the Young Lord responsible for taking care of the territory in the future? Is it right to treat the inhabitants of the estate like this?”
“You’re right. This territory will soon belong to me… But as I said before, they’re like the trash of the estate. And above all, they are ignoring my words and trying to hide the felons. Their sin won’t vanish even if I execute them all here.”
Gladion’s eyes shone coldly, emphasizing the word “execute.”
It was like he would really do it if he wanted.
“……What if I don’t let you do that?”
“Nobody has the authority to get involved in what happens inside our territory – Even if they are from the great Schnarpe or Vedi family or even its………Demon Lord.”
Judging by the expressions of Andras and Elfried, the current behavior seemed to be quite troublesome.
If it turned into a family problem, the situation was bound to be troublesome in many ways.
Of course, I didn’t want them to get into trouble for helping me.
“You said you were looking for the person who broke into the city, right? If I tell you who the intruder is…”
“SIHYEON!”
“SENIOR!”
“No, Sihyeon!”
I continued firmly despite the urgent cries of others.
“……can you promise that you will not do any more harm to the villagers?”
“Of course. It’s fine by me. I promise you in the name of the Selberg family.”
Gladion’s eyes shone with anticipation.
Maybe he has prepared for this situation from the beginning.
It seems like a trap.
But I have no other choice.
“I’m the intruder you’re looking for. I did it because a criminal gang named Red Molars kidnapped a child.”
I admitted to breaking into the city.
Alfred frowned, and Andras sighed softly.
All the villagers shook their heads with sad expressions.
A satisfied smile spread across Gladion’s face.
“Oh no! A man who I never thought of admitted his guilt.”
Gladion responded with surprise as if he had no idea.
Of course, everyone here quickly noticed that it was an abominable performance.
“But I don’t think you’ve revealed your identity yet… …Can you give me your exact identity?”
I calmly revealed who I am in the Demon world.
“I’m… a human bestowed with the title of ‘Cardis’ and ‘Ester’ from the DEMON LORD.”
For the first time, my title and status was revealed in front of many people.
The faces of the villagers were filled with surprise.
“I’m so sorry to see an Ester, who is acknowledged by the Demon Lord, in this situation.”
There was a smile on Gladion’s face, which said he was not sorry.
He ordered the knights and soldiers to step down as promised.
The knights and soldiers put down their weapons and released all the villagers.
“As I promised, I’ll leave today. I’m sorry for the short meeting, but I think we’ll see each other soon.”
Gladion left the village leaving behind those words.
As the Selbergs left town, the villagers breathed a sigh of relief.
Shortly after meeting with the Selberg family, a letter was delivered to me through Andras.
It was a letter from the Selberg family to me.
I thought it would be important, so I asked Andras to interpret the letter.
Andras, who was reading the letter, became stiffer.
“Sihyeon, it seems like the Selberg family was aiming to corner you.”
“What is the letter about, Andras?”
“It says that Sihyeon has caused various damage to the Selberg family. And they’re demanding compensation for the damage.”
The Selberg family claimed that I had committed several crimes.
First, is the crime of breaking into a city ruled by them without permission and causing damage to property by setting fire.
Second, is the crime of taking and mobilizing the people in their estate for labor without the permission of the lord.
Third, is the crime of defaming the Selberg family by using the status of Ester.
“The first, even if it can’t be helped, can be said as true, but the second and third are complete bullsh*t. It is their unilateral claim to get permission to hire people from their territory. This is nothing but a private law, and what does it have to do anything to defile their reputation?”
“Andras is right,”
Alfred nodded in agreement.
Andras shuddered as he continued to read the letter.
“Ahhh…”
“What’s wrong, Andras?”
“The Selberg family is claiming ownership of the strawberry field as compensation for the damage.”
“Don’t you think it’s a total thievery?”
Alfred shouted excitedly when he said they wanted the strawberry field.
“And the Selberg family formally asked Sihyeon for an honor duel.”
“Honor… duel?”
When ‘Honor duel’ was mentioned, Andras and Alfred’s expressions turned tense.
Seeing my questioning expression, Andras continued to explain further.
“When there is a dispute between nobles, ‘Honor Duel’ is a ritual to fight for each other’s honor. If you win the duel, you have the power to settle the dispute as you wish.”
“So they are asking me to fight?”
“Yes, they are asking Sihyeon to have a duel with Gladion, the Young Lord of the Selberg family you saw last time.”
I looked into the sky with a blank look on my face.
I never thought I’d be asked to fight a duel that I had only seen in movies or novels…..and it was a duel with strawberry field at stake.
I turned my gaze and looked at Andras.
“So, uh, what should I do now?”
“There are only two options. Accept the duel, or ignore it.”
“Can I  ignore the duel request?”
“Yes, but this is not a solution. Avoiding the duel will inevitably result in a disadvantageous situation. Maybe, they could block merchants from trading strawberries, or they could ask the Castle to officially ban the sale of strawberries.”
Neither method leads to a good result.
“I think the Selberg family has thoroughly prepared for the present situation. Perhaps the movements of the Red molars are also likely to have been done by the Selberg family behind the scenes.”
“Red molars are a crime syndicate, aren’t they?”
“No matter how criminal they are, they can’t completely ignore the family that rules the territory. Sometimes they maintain a secret partnership.”
“What, then…”
Andras explained the turn of events one by one.
Red molars attack… …the abduction of Miru… …rescue… … and the appearance of the Selberg family.
“But, isn’t Miru abducted by accident…”
“Their actual plan would have been to use the strawberry to bait us.”
“If everything was planned by the Selberg family, why did they act so late? There would have been a chance to move at any time before…”
Andras thought for a moment about my question f and carefully answered.
“I’m not sure, maybe they wanted to get rid of the biggest variable on the farm when making a move.”
“…?”
“What’s that?…. Ah?”
It was Kaneff, who left the farm for a while.
“How did they know that?”
“It’s not much of a secret that Mr. Kaneff is going back to his family at this time.”
The grinning figure of Gladion came to mind.
I didn’t expect him to plan this thoroughly.
“Sorry, Sihyeon. I should have prepared for this kind of situation…”
“Don’t say that. It’s not Andras’ fault.”
Andras’ face darkened as if he had a real heartbreak.
I tried to console him with a bright voice.
“Sihyeon is right. And it’s not over yet. I’m sure there’s a way out.”
Alfred also consoled, and Andras looked up again.
“I’m sorry. It’s not over yet, as Elaine said……I’ll find a way. I’ll tell the Castle the truth on our side and ask Ryan for advice.”
“I’ll try my best to find a way. So don’t worry too much, Sihyeon!”
“Yes! Let’s all work hard.”
We cheered each other up in the hope that there was still a way.
Two more days passed after the letter arrived from the Selberg family.
Unfortunately, we have yet to find a solution.
Thanks to this, I was looking at the baby yakums at the barn with a slightly somber look on my face.
“Haaaaah… What should I do, guys? At this rate, maybe all your favorite strawberries will be taken away.”
Pow-woo?
Poo-woo!
Kawaii and Akum noticed my gloomy heart and rubbed themselves and acted cutely.
Their behavior was commendable, but there was only a bitter smile on my lips.
At that time.
WURRRLLL
A wave of mana was felt outside the barn.
It was a wave felt every time someone used dimension leap magic.
‘Hmm?’
‘Is Andras here?’
I dropped the baby yakums and slowly stepped out of the barn.
I looked around the farm looking for Andras.
But from the fence, I could only see a small figure that seemed less than half the size of Andras.
It was not a farm member.
It was the back of a person I’m seeing for the first time.
I carefully approached the strange visitor and said,
“Hey… Who are you?”
The visitor’s head slowly turned toward me when he heard me.
8 years old? Or maybe 9 years old?
The boy looked up at me with his transparent eyes and pitch-dark black hair
It was a boy with very large Demon horns and deep eyes that didn’t fit his age.
“Are you the Ester who they said was working on the farm?”
I stuttered in bewilderment at the out-of-the-box tone that didn’t match the appearance at all.
“What? Uh, uh, yeah. By the way, who are you?”
“I’m from Verdi. I think there should be a rascal from our family at this farm.”
Verdi?
That’s Alfred’s family, isn’t it?
Come to think of it, the boy’s appearance seemed a little reminiscent of Alfred.
“Are you Elaine’s brother? Or a relative?”
The boy’s eyes shook for a moment.
“Elaine… I guess that’s how you call that brat.”
“…??”
By the time I felt something strange, I heard someone rushing in.
It was Andras.
“Oh, my! You’re here. I was surprised that you suddenly disappeared.”
“I was looking around first. I’ve already heard the story several times, but still, I can’t believe it even after seeing the calm yakums in person. It’s really not bad to have a long life.”
A boy who keeps speaking like an old man.
I couldn’t resist my curiosity and asked Andras.
“… Andras? Who’s this kid? I heard that he’s from Verdi. Is he Elaine’s brother?”
“Oh, no! This is Elaine’s grandfather, the former Lord of the Verdi family.”
“…??!!”
I was stunned by the unexpected identity.
The boy smiled quietly as if he was enjoying my reaction.
“Glad to meet you. New Generation Ester.”