Chapter 20 : Sierra City (6)
Thud.
The man’s arm fell, and the back of his hand hit the table.
In the end, the man was defeated by Ariel.
“Wow! The elf girl won!!”
The onlookers cheered, and Selly hugged Ariel tightly.
“Ariel! You did it! You won!!”
Ariel let go of the man’s hand and stood up.
Honestly, from Ariel’s perspective, it was a trivial match. She hadn’t even used much strength.
If Ariel had used her full strength, the man’s hand would have been crushed to powder.
“Haha…”
The man let out a hollow laugh. He couldn’t believe it, but he had definitely lost.
“And so easily, too…”
The spectators didn’t realize it, but having arm-wrestled Ariel himself, the man knew for sure.
Ariel had used only a tiny bit of strength at the very end to push the man’s arm down.
Before that, when the man was struggling with all his might, Ariel hadn’t even been using her strength at all.
It was a complete defeat.
There was no room for excuses.
Even if they tried again, he would definitely lose. The man looked at Ariel with a tired face.
“Elf lady, I asked what you’d like if you won, didn’t I?”
A resigned smile appeared on the man’s lips.
“You can take whatever you want. Whether it’s the lizardman leather wallet, the prime-grade minotaur meat, or even the entire cash box with the entry fees in it, you can have it all. You beat me, after all.”
The man laughed while rubbing his throbbing arm.
“Who would’ve thought I’d see a day like this? I guess you can’t judge by appearances alone. Who knew that a delicate-looking elf girl could be this strong?”
When the man admitted his defeat gracefully, the crowd cheered even louder.
“Wow! That was awesome!!”
“What a great fight!”
Ariel approached the man and whispered what she wanted.
“What?”
The man looked puzzled.
“You want the lizardman leather wallet…? Is that really all?”
“Yes.”
“No, I mean… I said you could take anything. Your friend, the red-haired lady, seems to want the prime-grade minotaur meat.”
The man pointed at Selly.
Ariel looked at Selly, and Selly shrugged her shoulders.
“I didn’t win, Ariel. Take whatever you want. Don’t worry about me.”
“The lizardman leather wallet.”
Seeing Ariel speak firmly, the man scratched his head.
The lizardman leather wallet was honestly worth much less than a single silver coin, which was the entry fee.
With a silver coin, you could buy ten lizardman leather wallets.
‘And yet she wants that…’
The man, still puzzled, handed the lizardman leather wallet to Ariel.
After all, he had promised to give her whatever she wanted, and he couldn’t force anything else on her.
On the other hand, he felt relieved. If Ariel had taken the cash box with the entry fees, the man would have had to go hungry for a few days.
‘Was she considering my situation…?’
The man gave a sheepish smile.
“Thank you, elf lady. Come visit again sometime. Just… don’t join next time, okay? I need to make a living too. Hahaha.”
“See you next time, mister!”
“Goodbye, ladies!”
Watching Selly and Ariel leave, Carl got up from where he had been crouching by the fountain. His legs felt numb from sitting there for so long.
“…What just happened, Sir Shane?”
Carl asked Shane, who was getting up beside him.
Since leaving Delight, Carl had been following Ariel closely.
As a result, he had watched the entire arm-wrestling match from his hiding spot by the fountain.
“Ariel won an arm-wrestling match against that man; is that even possible?”
“Hmm…”
Shane stroked his chin.
It was certainly perplexing.
Considering the man’s bulging muscles, it seemed impossible for a slender elf like Ariel to win.
But Ariel had won effortlessly.
“I’m not sure. What I do know for certain is that magic wasn’t involved.”
Shane was a skilled knight. He could sense the flow of mana.
If Ariel had used magic, Shane would have noticed.
“The elf girl overpowered the man with pure strength. Maybe she has undergone immense training, or perhaps there’s a unique elven training method… But more importantly.”
Shane glanced sharply at Carl.
“Young Master, this is clearly stalking. If anyone sees this…”
“Hurry up, Sir. Ariel is moving.”
Without waiting for Shane to finish his sentence, Carl began walking.
Shane felt a headache coming on as he hurried after Carl.
The grand duke’s son from the North was following an elf girl around!
If this were to be known among the other nobles, not only would Karl’s reputation be ruined, but the Castarck family’s name would also be dragged through the mud.
It would surely become a source of ridicule.
‘Please, let us not be caught…’
Shane prayed earnestly. Since things had already come this far, not being discovered was the best outcome.
“Oh… what is he going to do this time?”
Whether he knew Shane’s concerns or not, Karl continued to chase after Ariel with enthusiasm.
He looked every bit like a boy in love, causing Shane to let out a resigned smile.
Even if he was the grand duke’s son, Carl was still just a young boy.
‘Maybe it’s not all bad…’
Shane thought as he watched Carl’s back.
Carl had always been too harsh on himself.
Well, it was understandable.
Being the focus of the North’s expectations, he probably wanted to live up to them.
Watching Carl train and study with a relentless intensity had always left Shane feeling somewhat bitter.
At an age when he should have been out playing, Carl had pushed himself too hard.
But seeing this boyish side of Carl now made Shane feel a little relieved.
‘Maybe it’s okay, just a little…’
Shane thought as he crouched down beside Karl.
Ariel and Selly had already moved on to another place to play.
“Ariel is trying to catch a goldfish, Sir Shane.”
Carl said in a slightly excited voice.
“But with a net that thin… Ah, it’s torn. Sir Shane, Ariel missed the goldfish.”
“That’s a shame. We should try it ourselves a bit later.”
“I feel like I could catch one.”
“Good confidence. If you do catch one, give it to that elf girl as a gift.”
“Well, I mean… there’s no need to do that…”
Seeing Carl blush so quickly, Shane smiled warmly.
Before they knew it, the sun was setting.
Even Selly, who had been dragging Ariel around cheerfully, was starting to look tired.
“Ariel, how was today? It was fun, right?”
When Selly asked, Ariel nodded.
She was a little tired, but thanks to Selly dragging her around, she had quite enjoyed herself.
Ariel quietly took something out of her inventory.
It was the lizardman leather wallet she had won earlier in the arm-wrestling match.
She handed it to Selly.
Selly received the lizardman leather wallet with wide eyes.
“Is this for me?”
“Yes.”
“Why? Didn’t you want it?”
“Not really…”
Ariel knew exactly how she had won against the arm-wrestling man.
With her infinite strength stat, winning was inevitable.
It was certainly not a fair competition, so she felt she couldn’t accept anything like the prime-grade minotaur meat or the cash box.
She originally hadn’t planned to accept anything, but since the man had so cleanly admitted his defeat, she had no choice.
With so many eyes watching, she decided to take the cheapest option—the lizardman leather wallet.
But Ariel, who had an inventory, didn’t need a wallet.
“Thank you.”
Selly gently stroked the lizardman leather wallet as if it were precious.
The smooth, slightly creepy texture of the lizardman skin was a bit unsettling, but thinking of it as a gift from Ariel made it seem like a treasured item.
After all, it was an item filled with memories.
“Really, thank you, Ariel.”
Selly gazed quietly at Ariel. She didn’t want to part with Ariel just yet.
But the sun had already set, and Selly had other things to do.
She needed to attend a banquet.
Tonight, a banquet hosted by the mayor was being held in Sierra.
All the high-ranking noble families currently staying in Sierra were invited.
Families such as the Castarck of the North or the Baraton of the West—all the powerful houses of the empire would attend.
Selly’s Matiel family, being a high-ranking noble family, had naturally received an invitation. If she didn’t go, her father would be very angry.
“Ah.”
Then Selly had a good idea.
“Ariel, would you like to come with me to the banquet? There will be lots of delicious food! Do you remember the strawberry tart from Delight earlier? I can’t guarantee it’ll be the same, but there might be cakes just as good! And tons of other desserts! Ariel, come to the banquet with me. Please!”
Ariel thought for a moment.
Going to the banquet was one thing, but she felt she should return to her lodgings first. Ghost and Lu might be waiting.
When she said so, Selly smiled brightly.
“Then shall I come along? I’d love to meet Ghost and Lu sometime.”