Chapter 17
But the chairman’s composure didn’t last long.
“Kyaaaah!”
It was because the monster, crouched low, suddenly lunged at Denson.
Denson hurriedly raised his sword to block the monster’s claws.
Thanks to the expensive materials used without sparing any cost, the sword didn’t break and successfully blocked the monster’s attack.
But just because the sword hadn’t broken didn’t mean it was time to relax.
Denson was being pushed back by the monster’s strength, inch by inch.
“Ugh, urgh…”
Denson squeezed out every last bit of mana he had left, but he could only last a few more seconds at most.
“Help me! Somebody help me! There’s a monster here! Why is everyone just watching? Hurry up and save me! I said SAVE ME!”
Denson’s desperate screams rang out.
The situation had changed.
The knights, who had been observing the two, were about to rush into the arena, but this time, the Duke raised his hand to stop them.
“The match is still ongoing.”
“But Duke, if this goes on, it’s dangerous!”
“That depends on the chairman’s decision.”
The Duke turned his gaze to the chairman.
The chairman, unlike before, was now anxiously watching the arena.
“What do you think, Chairman? Will you declare defeat here?”
Cold sweat dripped down the chairman’s forehead.
Something had gone terribly wrong.
Why was the monster targeting his grandson?
It should’ve been going after someone else first!
But if he admitted defeat now, not only would his grandson lose the chance to become heir, he himself would lose his chairman’s seat.
If only I hadn’t agreed to that bet…
He would’ve waited for another opportunity.
What he thought was a lucky chance, thrown out playfully by the Duke, had instead become his undoing.
The chairman looked toward the arena.
At that moment, Denson, drained of strength, dropped his sword—and the monster pounced on him.
Its sharp teeth grazed Denson’s side, tearing into him.
“Uwaaaah! Grandpa! Grandpa, help me! Help me!”
The chairman closed his eyes in anguish.
It had been a perfect plan.
The one who should’ve been bleeding and crying under that monster’s claws… was supposed to be Ariel!
“I declare defeat…”
Before the chairman could finish his sentence, the Duke issued an order.
“Go and subdue the monster immediately.”
His gaze turned to Ariel.
“Make sure no one gets hurt.”
Now that I knew what I had received was female Plak’s secretion, their plan was obvious.
They’ll probably try to make the Plak appear during the match and attack me.
So I decided to use that to my advantage.
The scent was on my shoes, far from my nose, and only a few drops had gotten on me—making it hard for anyone to notice.
But would a monster not notice either?
Plaks have a far more developed sense of smell than humans.
Even if it seemed scentless to people, it would’ve been clear as day to the Plak.
The Plak rushed at Denson.
“Grandpa! Save me! Grandpa!”
Denson began wailing, calling out to the chairman.
But for some reason, the knights weren’t coming.
At this rate, it looked like Denson would die.
My victory was obvious.
Then, Denson began begging in tears.
“I-I was wrong! Please, help me! Save me!”
In this situation, the only one who could save him… was me.
Denson clung to me with a desperate expression.
“I’m sorry for all the mean things I said! Please, just help me…!”
Watching someone my age getting attacked by a monster… made my heart waver a bit.
Fine. I’ll think of this as a chance to make a good impression on the others in the family.
If I take down the monster by myself, I’ll have a better shot as the heir.
Since I’ll need to stay in this castle until I find and kill the pope, Rigan…
Quickly making up my mind, I grabbed my sword and charged at the Plak.
“Kyaak!”
The Plak bared its fangs at me, annoyed that its hunt was interrupted.
If it were before I got possessed, I’d have been devoured in one bite.
Now, even getting grazed by its claws could mean death.
“Kwaaaah!”
The Plak let out a huge roar and charged at me like lightning.
When charging, a Plak can reach speeds over 100 km/h.
With my current body, I couldn’t hope to match that.
But it’s not hard to dodge.
The Plak’s charge only moves in a straight line, and it always makes a distinct motion before it starts.
Normally, one person blocks with a shield while another attacks from behind, but…
I glanced at Denson.
He was collapsed and barely breathing.
No shield, and he’s no help.
The Plak snorted roughly, frustrated that I dodged its attack.
Its heel lifted.
A charging stance.
The Plak rushed at me again.
Thud!
Unable to control its speed, it crashed into the arena wall with a heavy thud.
But it recovered quickly and turned to charge at me once more.
If only I had more mana.
If I could just use one of my old techniques, taking this thing down would’ve been easy.
But the power I had lost was gone for good—and all I had was a cheap sword.
I raised the sword and used my mana to enhance my body.
The giant monster charged again.
Its jaws opened wide toward me.
Those sharp, hook-like teeth, that tongue wriggling like it would devour me whole—it was terrifying.
But instead of dodging, I faced it head-on.
Only one chance.
I thrust my sword forward.
The Plak’s charge was fast—but once it started, it couldn’t move freely.
So much so that—
“Kyaaaaagh!”
—even though it saw the sword right in its path, it couldn’t stop.
The aura-covered sword pierced through the Plak’s open mouth.
The wounded monster thrashed its head in a final frenzy.
I gritted my teeth and pushed the sword in deeper.
Until the Plak stopped moving.
Only then did the knights arrive, belatedly.
“Miss Ariel!”
“Are you all right? Are you hurt?”
They quickly moved Denson and checked on me.
“I’m fine.”
Seeing the knights, I finally relaxed and let go of the sword.
My hand tingled from how tightly I’d been gripping it.
“She’s incredible. That nerve, that bravery. Even knowing the Plak’s weakness, who else could pull that off?”
A vassal admired Ariel as she appeared on the screen, having defeated the Plak.
“Seriously. She took down a monster even knights struggle with, and all on her own.”
“I used to worry—someone so delicate inheriting the duchy—but it was all for nothing.”
“Did you see how she wielded that sword? She’s only been training for a month! How much practice does it take to reach that level…?”
“Her skill is amazing, yes, but I’m even more impressed by her character. Everyone knows how badly she and Denson got along. She could’ve just left him to die. But she saved him.”
“She couldn’t ignore someone begging for help. And she’s only seven, right? At that age, I’d have just run away the moment I saw a monster… The more I think about it, the more impressed I am.”
“With someone like her as heir, the future of House Clasta is bright. We worried she was too frail to even attend sword lessons—but clearly, our concerns were misplaced. Hahaha!”
While everyone was laughing and praising her, the chairman suddenly shot up from his seat.
He quickly left the stands.
People whispered in hushed tones.
“Did you see his face?”
“He must be furious. Lost his chairmanship, and his grandson is a mess.”
“Maybe now he’ll stop trying to force that kid into being the heir.”
“By the way, where did the Duke go? Huh? He’s gone too?”
The Duke had disappeared without anyone noticing.
As people looked around, someone pointed at the screen.
“There he is.”
On the screen, the Duke was standing before Ariel.
“He ran out like that… He must’ve been really worried.”
Meanwhile, the chairman’s subordinate followed as he exited the stands.
“How could this happen?! How does my grandson get attacked by the monster?!”
“I’m sorry, sir.”
The subordinate bowed as the chairman growled under his breath.
He was furious—but it wasn’t over yet.
One last plan remained.
“She’s just a girl worn out from fighting a monster. This time, it’ll work for sure.”
The chairman’s eyes gleamed dangerously.
Duke Clasta looked at Ariel standing before him.
He hadn’t meant to come down here.
With the Clasta knights, a single monster wouldn’t have been a problem.
He’d planned to sit back and enjoy watching the chairman squirm.
But when he saw Ariel raise her sword against the monster, he just couldn’t sit still.
Before he knew it—he was here.
Standing before Ariel.
Ariel, who had been sitting near a knight, walked up to him.
Her neatly tied sky-blue hair was disheveled, and her pure-white uniform was now filthy.
Looking up at him, she said,
“I won.”
“…I saw. Well done.”
Ariel beamed with her red eyes sparkling.
“I even beat a monster. That means I earned my meals, right?”
“You charged at a monster… for that?”
The Duke’s voice came out sharper than he meant.
For meals?
She trained for less than a month and charged a monster just for that?
Hearing his sharp tone, Ariel looked at him in confusion.
She had expected praise—and didn’t understand why he was angry.
Normally, the Duke would’ve picked up on her confusion.
But seeing Denson being carried off, bleeding, brought a cold realization.
Ariel could’ve died.
It felt like an old nightmare returning.
Even he didn’t quite understand why he was so angry—but he couldn’t hold back the words.
“You were supposed to run. Let that brat die if he has to—what you should’ve done was run away!”
