Chapter 6
“You were looking at Appel when you mentioned the final faction. Any particular reason?”
“There’s nothing special, really. It’s just that the only person who goes out frequently is the head steward.”
“…Is that so, Head Steward?”
“Heh, I suppose I should pay closer attention. I’ll be more careful in my conduct.”
“No, no. If you scolded yourself here, everyone would just look ridiculous. The clerk did well on their own.”
The Duke chuckled as he lifted the papers I had handed over.
“Two hours in the afternoon, and this is the level of analysis. Clerk, do you know what I thought while listening to your report today?”
I silently shook my head, sipping from my teacup.
“I realized I can expect great things from you. Let’s go back to the beginning of your analysis: why is our territory in such a mess?”
Pfft.
I almost spit out my tea.
Did the Duke just call his own territory a mess? Out loud? Did he really just say that? Even so… hearing him admit it himself—it felt almost absurd.
The Duke watched me, apparently enjoying my reaction.
“If it were up to your insight, you’d probably start explaining from here.”
His eyes were brimming with expectation as he stared at me.
And I…
I was doomed. Oh, this is bad. I really didn’t plan for this.
I had never thought deeply about it. Without realizing it, I had assumed that the Duke and everyone under him were slightly scatterbrained. I thought they were all fools who only knew how to swing a sword and deal with monsters. So naturally, the territory looked chaotic to me.
‘Isn’t the territory just like the Duke?’
‘Head Steward, fire that sly-tongued clerk and throw them to the beasts in the market.’
I can’t exactly say things like that.
Hahaha. From now on, it’s improvisation. I desperately tried to make my brain cells work. Or at least, tried to—until the Duke spoke first.
“Come with me.”
“Excuse me?”
“Your insight is remarkable, but it isn’t perfect. If I had to pick one thing, it would be your report on the tavern. Why is every conflict resolved at the tavern? You won’t understand until you see the place yourself. So go and see it.”
“See what exactly?”
What on earth was the Duke trying to make me do?
I asked to clarify, and the Duke smiled faintly.
“The details will be explained by Head Steward Appel, who will accompany you.”
It truly was a whirlwind of a day.
From organizing papers to giving briefings… everything was a blur.
“Everyone here, including myself, took some sort of test. Only by passing it can one become a true retainer. Of course, Clerk, you seem to be under even higher expectations.”
From my perspective, it felt like the Head Steward was the one with higher expectations.
“Too many tests? Excessive?”
“You’re faster than anyone else. It took me and the housekeeper a month just to verify our abilities, and three months for the cook. But you did it in a week. This is the fastest record in the Helphion Duchy!”
Ugh… if I’d had that much time, I could have familiarized myself more with the Duke’s character and style before taking the test.
Ah well. There’s no use dwelling on the past.
“Tell me about the tavern.”
Time to focus on what I needed to do.
“The tavern is a sort of dueling arena. When problems arise, the involved parties meet and duel.”
I blinked. “You’re joking.”
“No. Truly, the citizens of the Duchy resolve their conflicts through duels. It’s their culture.”
“Dueling? Even though the frontier is full of wandering monsters, with waves of creatures attacking? They can just fight and die like that?”
Head Steward Appel chuckled softly.
“These aren’t real, life-threatening fights.”
“Really?”
“That’s what you’ll go see. Two warriors have requested a duel today. It’s over the distribution of relics in the ruins. By the time we arrive, the duel will be well underway.”
“Thompson, I’ll crush you!”
“Felix, stay sharp and win! Focus!”
“Thompson, I’m counting on you!”
“Felix! Bring back the sword you lost!”
Unlike a normal tavern, this place felt like a multi-purpose hall.
The bar counter had a large bulletin board plastered with various notices, and the room buzzed with employees and patrons.
Further inside, there were chairs, benches, and sofas of all kinds for people to sit and rest.
But the centerpiece was the crowd gathered around a small, round table meant for just two people. Dozens of people crowded there, the excitement building high.
They shouted over bets, patted the warriors on the back, and cheered.
Soon, one person’s head hit the table.
“Felix wins!”
“Serves Thompson right for messing with someone else’s weapon!”
Felix lifted a beer mug the size of his head, and the beer inside poured over him like a waterfall—a victory celebration.
“Are they dueling over alcohol?”
“They’re testing each other’s mental endurance. A safer duel than actual combat—just the two of them seeing who can handle their liquor.”
Appel sounded oddly proud. I had to admit, it seemed like a clever method. The strongest fighters competing, yet safely.
Still…
“Kind of barbaric, isn’t it?”
It’s Helphion, so it almost makes sense…
But apparently, my voice was too loud.
“What?! You call sacred dueling barbaric?”
The previously lively atmosphere fell silent as if a string had snapped.
All eyes glared at me, their breaths rough and hostile.
I had been careless.
“Hey, rookie! Never seen your face before. You here on the Duke’s order?”
“Is that Appel’s brat? Did you bring this rat along?”
Rat…
Correction. Not barbaric—just a savage.
“Watch your tongue. This is the newly appointed clerk Laward. They will handle the Duchy’s affairs from now on.”
The tension shifted suddenly. The chaos vanished like it had never existed.
People stared at me, bewildered. Then the noise exploded again.
“You insolent brat! Do you know where you are?”
“You’re a retainer of the Helphion Duke?! Where did you come from?”
“Are you a swordsman? A warrior? Or a mage?!”
“Fools like you rambling about monster theories end up with dozens hurt or dead!”
Enemies on all sides. The heat from the previous duel had transformed into hostility aimed at me.
Insults and crude abuse flew left and right.
I glanced at Appel. He seemed amused, his eyes sparkling, as if waiting to see what I would do next.
Was this the Duke’s test he mentioned?
Then it happened—cold beer poured over my head.
“There’s no place for a pampered brat in Helphion. Get lost.”
Laughter erupted everywhere.
Ugh, I hated this. I’d been treated like this at Delphi Academy too.
‘Scholar who only knew theory but took second place, unable to sense mana.’
‘Useless in battle.’
I had spent years hiding in the Akashic Records to avoid ridicule, and now I was facing the same treatment? My blood boiled.
I hadn’t spent five years cooped up in a room just to endure this. I studied the truths of the world. I gained strength. I built influence. I came out to take revenge.
My enemies were Deon Kraffi and the Marquis family—a noble of one of the strongest nations, powerful enough to ruin my life entirely.
This petty mockery? Easily handled.
I shoved aside the large brute who had poured beer over me, kicked another drunken brawler off the table, and grabbed Thompson’s beer mug from the table.
It was full, likely barely touched by its previous owner. I downed it in one gulp.
Glug, glug.
The satisfying sound of beer sliding down my throat gradually quieted the surrounding noise.
When the mug hit the table with a thud, all eyes sparkled with renewed attention.
“If you have complaints, don’t just shout—step up and duel.”
“Ha ha ha ha ha!”
“Look at this brat!”
“Hoho, Halo! You lost! That’s right! A warrior shouldn’t just talk.”
“Shut it, damn it!”
The tavern erupted in laughter.
A burly, red-faced, obviously drunk man stepped forward, lifting his beer.
“Kid, you’ve got guts. Your drinking better match your guts. How about a round with me first?”
From the mocking smile, it was clear he underestimated me. He must have thought even drunk, he could win.
But there’s one thing he didn’t know.
Who drinks the most in the world?
Warriors? Mages? No. All wrong.
The best drinkers are those in the arts and literature circles—proud, idealistic, poor, and with nothing to do but drink and curse the world.
Delphi Academy gathered only the best of these—myself included before the Deon Kraffi incident. I was a legend among drinkers there.
I smiled and lifted the beer.
“Don’t cry if you lose.”
“What’s with all of you just standing there?”
“You’re here?”
Cain, a new warrior in Helphion, had joined a few days ago.
Once an S-rank warrior in the mercenary guild, he had come to the Duchy only for money. His dream was to hunt more monsters, collect more spoils, and retire gloriously. Helphion was a tailor-made utopia for him.
Outside the borders, monsters roamed freely. After hunting, the tavern was full of like-minded folk. Discussing combat or exchanging monster intel was always enjoyable.
Today, he’d caught a mid-sized monster and wanted to end the day with good drinks, but the tavern atmosphere was hotter than usual.
“An incredible one’s arrived.”
“Who?”
“The new clerk at the Duke’s house. Slim build, but apparently beat twelve people in drinking duels.”
“And even those legendary drinkers like Pemco and Thales!”
“Never seen anyone drink that well in my life.”
“I’m in love with the clerk! Unbelievable! Not a person, but a muscle-and-skin orc barrel!”
“Even walked away on two feet at the end?”
“The clerk’s a god!”
Impressed by Laward’s skill, conversations erupted everywhere in the tavern.
Cain listened, nodded, and finally understood.
“You guys messed with the Sage, huh?”
“What? We dueled with the clerk?”
“Exactly. I told you on the first day that our group met the Sage on the way here.”
“The Sage? The one skilled in astronomy, monsters, and weather predictions?”
“Oh, and the Sage checked your swordsmanship and everyone else’s martial arts too?”
“Even that all-round Sage drinks well?”
“Yeah. Didn’t know about the drinking until today, though.”
Cain set his armor aside and raised his mug.
If the Sage had been here, it would make sense why people were acting so wild. Traveling with S-rank mercenaries and yet this tavern caused such commotion—it was unique and mysterious enough to provoke awe.
Drinks well, too.
“If conflicts in the Duchy are resolved through drinking duels, then a new power has just emerged in Helphion.”
Cain decided he needed to meet the clerk again soon, just to mark his presence.
