Konbini Ossan Volume 6 Chapter 21 — If I Win the Duel

“Otsugi-dono, for what reason do you intend to file an objection?”

“Arisa is mine.”

I spoke the words without a shred of hesitation.

Arisa immediately burst into tears, overwhelmed.

The Marquis Roosevelt, whom I fully expected to scold or reprimand me, instead grinned broadly.

“I see, I see. That is quite troublesome. What should be done, I wonder?”

(E/N: So dramatic 😂)

He made a showy gesture, sweeping his gaze across the gathered guests.

And then—

“I shall take responsibility for this matter!”

Someone stepped forward from among the crowd.

When I turned toward the voice, I saw none other than Kanehama.

“To interfere with a Marquis’ engagement is unheard of. Normally such a thing would never succeed. However!”

Kanehama, following the Marquis’ theatrical tone, addressed the hall with equal dramatics.

“This man, Yūichi Otsugi, still appeared here for the sake of the lady he loves! In honor of that courage, I, a hero of the Kingdom of Runegard, have a proposal!”

He drew the sword at his waist and raised it high.

“I, Hero Kanehama Keīchi, hereby challenge you to a duel!”

The atmosphere changed in an instant. The murmuring turned into an excited uproar.

“If you defeat me in this duel, then by the name of Hero Kanehama Keīchi — and by the authority of the Church’s own Saint, Mimori Saori — we shall acknowledge your objection!”

At that moment, Mimori stepped out from between the crowd and stood beside Kanehama.

“How about it, Roosevelt-sama? Will you accept this proposal?”

“Well. If both the nation’s hero and the saint herself ask it, then it cannot be helped!”

The Marquis agreed with exaggerated resignation, though not even slightly displeased.

He clapped his hands once.

“Everyone, the engagement ceremony will be temporarily suspended. We shall now proceed to hold the hero’s duel!

…

The Church Knights’ training grounds have already been secured. Guides are prepared — please transition there in an orderly manner!”

As he continued speaking, the participants visibly relaxed.

Conversations resumed—apparently this was all to be part of the “program”.

Nothing like the panic that followed my sudden intrusion.

The hall emptied, leaving only five of us: myself, the Marquis, Kanehama, Mimori, and Arisa.

As Arisa and I stood frozen, the Marquis turned to me.

“You owe me for this, Otsugi-dono.”

“I… don’t quite understand the situation.”

“I’ll explain,” Kanehama said, stepping forward.

“It was obvious the two of you were forcing yourselves and acting stubborn. So I consulted with Roosevelt-sama. Turns out he was troubled too.”

“Indeed. Even if the engagement proceeded, I foresaw nothing but a future full of headaches. But because the proposal originated from me, I couldn’t simply retract it.

…

I might damage my relationship with Otsugi-dono, which would defeat the very purpose of the proposal in the first place. Hence, I accepted the hero’s suggestion.”

The Marquis spoke with a hint of amusement.

“To put it simply, we pushed your acquaintances a bit, and arranged for you to be ‘encouraged.’ We also prepared things so that if you did crash the ceremony today, everything would proceed smoothly.”

“Though honestly, we didn’t know if you’d actually show up,” Kinhama added. “So we prepared for both outcomes.”

“Ha ha ha! As you can see, everything turned out splendidly!” the Marquis laughed.

He went on, delighted.

“No engagement necessary, I gain a favor from you, strengthen ties with the hero and saint, and I get to display my faction’s influence to all the others. A perfect day! Fuhahaha!”

Judging from that, the Marquis had never truly wanted this engagement to begin with.

Finally understanding the situation, I spoke.

“In other words, everything was within your calculations.”

“Well, yes,” Kinhama-kun said. “But only up to this point. If you lose the duel, everything goes back to how it was.”

He looked at me with a slightly mischievous challenge in his eyes.

“So, Otsugi-san. Fight me at full strength. I’ll do the same — minus killing you.”

“I see. Overcome the obstacle laid before me, is that it?”

“Haha. Well, half of this is just because I want to fight you. Yoūta aside, there’s been no one worth going all-out against lately.

…

You defeated a Four Heavenly King in moments — I want to see that strength for myself.”

He extended his hand.

“So, let’s both give it our best!”

I grasped the offered hand and nodded.

“Yes. It seems this is what I must do if I’m going to take Arisa back.”

And we shook firmly.

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E/N:

"If you don't fight for your love… Then what kind of love do you have?" — Keanu Reeves 😁

Who and all thought this was going to happen, comment down below!?

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