Master Bellamus, may I have a word?

　Medina's gonna tell Bellamus.

What's up?
'No, it seems that the ants who were providing security have found about ten injured humans and are asking what they should do.
What?

　Vellums thought for a moment.

It's a trap.

　I've come to that conclusion.

I suppose so.
You pretend to be a wounded man and you do something about it. You put the wound on yourself.

　What kind of trap would be so obvious?　Belamus thought, but perhaps the enemy didn't realize that they were aware of the enemy's presence.

　Indeed, if they hadn't received a report of a group of enemies coming, they might not have been able to determine that it was a trap.

　Now that Bellamus knew it was a trap, he thought about what to do.

　Earlier, I was trying to think of a way to get rid of him with as few injuries as possible.

　Bellamus would rather not kill anyone if he can help it.

　These men may have thought they were ready to die, but killing them is still intolerable.

　It's not that I've never killed anyone before.
　In a previous life, verrams took many lives.
　As a young man, he fought for his country in wars, obeying orders and using magic to commit genocide.

　As he ages, he regrets his actions.
　So he tried to avoid killing people as much as possible.

　But we cannot afford to be complacent about protecting our town.
　If I had to kill for it, I would have.

　If I let him live, a lot of people would know where this town was, but if I expanded my territory, people would eventually find out, and if they found out, the only people who would bother to attack me in the first place would be people like Count Astraeus who had their own reasons, so I didn't think that was a problem.

''Let's go with this.''

　Vellums has come up with a plan.

"I'm going to the south gate. Bring all the wounded humans to the south gate.
Yes, sir.

　Bellamus headed for the south gate.

　Once outside, wounded people were brought in at the south gate a short time later.

　There are ten of them. Each one is wounded.
　All men, none of them women.
　None of them appear to be fatally wounded.

　Bellamus casts a recovery spell on the men, healing their wounds as quickly as possible.

Nah! I'm healed!

　I'm shocked.

Did you fix him?
You used magic. I am the mayor of this town, Vellums.
What?
She's a kid, right?　What's that?　Are you a human ......?
Maybe this kid is looking for ......

　The men are confused because they are suddenly given so much information.

'I'll tell you one thing, I know all about you, I know who you are, what you want, and that this is a trap.
!

　When the men heard this, they were so surprised that they could not seem to speak.

　Belamus then tells them all about Riza's arrival in the town, where she learned of the Countess Astreus' situation, and that they are aware of the existence of a band of humans.

'And I am the child you have come to find, the one abandoned by the Countess Astreus.
Nah, ......, did Master Riza come to this town at all? Did you know all this: ......? 'This is the son of Master Lemest ...... indeed, the resemblance ...... but he doesn't talk like a child.

Men are buzzing around.

I prefer not to fight. You're not going to attack the city by fair means. So you've come to take it back, haven't you?
...... Yeah, that's right.
So I have a proposition for you.
Proposition?
"If I duel with your champion. If you win, I will return to the House of Astraeus. And when I have won, you will give up trying to win me back and you will leave.
What?

　You have a look on your face like you're saying something.

　This is the best way to end this with as few deaths as possible, Bellamus thought.

　If it works, it'll be easy to get rid of him.

　Even if you win the duel, there's a chance she won't quietly follow you, but if she does, you'll have to give up on the idea of leaving no one dead and kill a few of her opponents.

　The question is, will she come at you?
　There's a good chance they won't, for fear of a trap.

　Then we'll have to find another way.

"You don't get to decide, so you need to come back and talk about it.
......

　The soldiers are a little distressed.

Okay, okay.

　and turned back to where their commanding officer, Berd, was.


　.


Duel?
Yeah.

　The soldier returned and told the Beld immediately.



　Then I'll tell you that Varamus knows everything.

I see.
It's like I didn't think it through.
But dueling, or is the ...... opponent a child?
Yes, that's the son of Mr. Lemest who was supposed to get it back this time: ......
'What a great ......'

　The Beld thinks for a minute.

I can't help but think that it's a trap.

　The fans assured me it was a trap.

"But the demons are good, I'm told.
We're invaders. No matter how good we are, we won't show any mercy to them. And it's a bad idea for a child to fight. If we fought like normal people, we'd lose.
Ah, but your son was using a magic I've never seen before to heal his injuries in an instant. Perhaps he is powerful.

　That's what the soldier who was healed by Varamus said.

Doesn't that mean it's magic?　Magic is useless in battle. Especially when it comes to one-on-one combat, it's even more useless.
"Hmm.

　Berd ponders.

'But what if it's a trap?　If the enemy has some knowledge of us, it's hard to plan a plan. It won't be so easy to go there in a straightforward manner. ......
How about pretending to accept it and setting a trap for him?　If it's called a duel, you're going to come out alone, right?　That's going to be easy to catch, isn't it?
Is it something they haven't thought about?

　After a little discussion.

I'll make some conditions for you so you don't get trapped. I'll take them all when I've had a few.

　Berd concluded.