A new challenger approaches

At the front of the dark elf village several guards along with Licuz came to greet us. Judging by their absence, it seems like the other elders still aren't that fond of me.

"Welcome back sir Rolan!"

Licuz greets us with a cheerful smile while being escorted by three guards, with one of them being the captain.

He walks up towards us and his bright and merry face suddenly turns dour as if signifying his seriousness.

"Have you slayed it?"

So says Licuz in a serious tone.

"Of course."

So I say, while replying nonchalantly.

"Great! Then let us-"

"Hmm?"

Licuz stops right in the middle of his sentence to glance behind me. He moves his body sideways and peers towards the back to see an unfamiliar man with tall spiky hair at our rear.

"Who is this?"

Says Licuz in a curious tone while prying.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After arriving back at the village, we were once again taken to Licuz's personal quarters. This time, along with the previous members, joining us for the discussion are the captain of the guards as well as Blade.

"That's about everything that took place."

"I see."

Licuz glances grimly at Blade before lowering his head for a few seconds to digest everything that I've just explained.

What I did was simple. I essentially just recounted everything had taken place. Everything from fighting the wyvern to reviving it and how it became the man before him.

It wouldn't do any good for me to lie at this point so I just revealed everything earnestly.

"So yea, I'm sorry that I can't even provide a corpse."

So I say whilst scratching the back of my head.

"It's alright. Sir Rolan has done a great deal for us already."

Licuz looks up towards me and his firm face changes into a smile.

"I'm very grateful that you've helped us."

"Ah it's nothing."

I wave my hand back and forth as if to gesture it's no big deal.

"Then shall we get on to the real agenda?"

Says Licuz in a stern voice.

Once again his ability to switch from bright to unyielding amazes me.

"Yes, if possible I would like to leave right away."

Upon listening to my words, I could see Licuz move his eyes slightly to the left to catch a glimpse of the captain of the guards before nodding.

Are they planning something? Well, I'm sure it won't be of harm to me, but I'm curious as to what it is.

"As sir Rolan has suggested, we shall depart immediately after making the necessary preparations."

"That's fine by me."

After discussing for a while, we decided that the ones to accompany me and Licuz from the Parakirt tribe would be Lyndis, as she insistently persisted, Zonn, as he's the most capable of the tribe, and another elder named Kera.

Apparently elder Kera is the most stubborn of all the elders, but also the one who follows the tribe laws the most. They wanted him to come along to witness the moment when I pull out the sword, since if he sees it, there can be no denying it.

Makes sense, I would've done the same. If the most obstinate of them all cannot deny my authority, then all elders would follow suit.

"That's all the details right? How about we leave now?"

So I say while turning my back towards my company and getting ready to walk out the door.

"Please wait a moment sir Rolan."

"Is there anything else?"

"The sun is setting, how about we postpone the trip to tomorrow?"

Licuz smiles merrily while trying his best to convince me.

It seems I've lost track of the time due to my excitement. It really has gotten dark. We've accomplished so much that it was hard to believe it was all in one day.

The Etelia forest grows fiercer at night due to the increasing number of mana beasts roaming about. I'm guessing Licuz is worried about this.

It wouldn't matter to me and the demons whether we leave today or not. But since there are others accompanying us, I guess we should wait till tomorrow.

"Very well, we will depart tomorrow."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day, as we were about to leave, something interesting happened.

"You. Fight me."

Says the leader of the guards while having a short dagger pointing towards me.

"Huh? Me?"

I say with a dumbfounded face while pointing towards myself to reaffirm her statement.

Did she just pick a fight with me?

Upon hearing her words, my two loyal subordinates immediately moved their arms to place their hands on their hilts, sparking the surrounding guards to draw their bows. The only one who was silently looking was Blade.

"Stop."

One word and a lift of an arm from the guard leader was all it took for them to stand down. I lift up my arm silently to mimic the motion of the guard leader, causing Zalfious and Jargon to disengage their weapons.

Oh?

The guard leader is looking at me with stern eyes. Judging by that cold stone look and narrowed eyebrows it seems she's serious about having a duel with me.

"Your response?"

"Sure."

After all, I'm not one to back down from a fight.

After guiding us to a nearby open space, Licuz and the rest took their seats nearby on some nearby logs to face us. The other curious dark elves who happened to hear the declaration also gathered up, causing a ring shaped crowd to be formed.

"As expected, we can't take this lying down."

Zalfious grits his teeth as he faces the guard leader standing alone on the battleground.

"I already said it's fine. It must be Licuz's plan."

"Plan, my lord?"

Zalfious and Jaron both look at me curiously.

"Yea."

After thinking for a bit, there's no way the leader of the guards would just give a sudden challenge to me after learning I defeated the wyvern king. There's no way Licuz would allow this.

So there could only be one possible reason for the declaration.

Licuz and this leader of the guards wants to showcase my powers huh. I turn to look at the intrigued elders who were busy chatting away next to Licuz on a nearby stack of logs.

I then tilt my head slightly to glance at Licuz merrily waiting. As our eyes meet, he delivers a slight smile.

Was this what they were planning yesterday?

What a sly man he is.

"Anyways don't worry too much about it."

"Yes, I'm sure brother has a plan."

Blade agrees with me while nodding his head.

I signal all three of them to retreat and they bowed before obliging.

Turning around, I casually walked up to the middle of the open area where the guard leader was patiently waiting.

"Shall we begin?"

She says in a cold voice.

"Sure."

Honestly, since this is the first time I'm fighting with a bishop stage auror, I can't help but feel a little excited.

"All right everyone! The time for the duel to start has come!"

Zonn takes the stage with a roaring voice while announcing the details of the duel.

"There are only two rules!"

"No killing."

"To win, just incapacitate the other or make them surrender."

"That is all!"

"WOAH!"

As soon as he finishes his sentences, the surrounding crowd erupted in cheers.

I didn't expect the dark elves to be this excited. But then again, they are dark elves.

At the same time, countless whispers also filled the entire area.

"Do you think he can beat captain Lucia?"

"No way! She's the strongest after captain Zonn!"

"Yes, captain Lucia will crush him."

"It is over for that human already!"

From my eye view, I could even see that there were even some guards and scouts who were making bets.

It seems everyone is underestimating me. Well I guess it makes sense since the fact I defeated the wyvern king hasn't been formally announced yet.

"Shall I put on a good show then?"

So I say with a huge grin on my face.