Chapter 293
A single proposal directed at Jakaran.For nobles, dancing could be considered a required subject; no matter how bad one is, being unable to dance is a disgrace.
To be precise, Jakaran is not a noble.
However, he is recognized as a hero serving a ducal house.Therefore, from the perspective of the nobility, the label is applied that a hero should be able to dance without it being strange.
The flimsy excuse of not having a partner doesn't work because he has women attending him. The excuse of being a commoner and thus unable would stand out as a scandal, but there are excuses that minimize the damage.
But from Boldrinde Duke's perspective, because I, who should represent the commoners, performed such an excellent dance that it received applause and cheers, if he runs away here, it will create a bad aristocratic impression.
As I and the Edelgard Duke watched to see what excuse he would make, the Boldrinde Duke smiled a suspicious smile that could only be described as serpentine.
"As you can see, our Jakaran is very large in stature and possesses great strength. Furthermore, he is somewhat clumsy, and a young lady's frail body would not withstand it."
Immediately after, with a troubled expression, he claimed that Jakaran's strength was too great, he couldn't hold back, and it would be dangerous for a partner.I see, that serves as a face-saving excuse. It's not that Jakaran can't dance, but that there is no partner who can dance with him.
"While we are eager to have him perform, we believe it would be improper to show a scene where someone gets injured and dampen the mood of the venue, so we humbly ask for your understanding."
He elegantly laid out his excuses as if handling this kind of verbal exchange was a piece of cake. When the Edelgard Duke asked the King 'What do you think?', the King, after looking at Jakaran and considering past events, had no choice but to accept it as a plausible reason for not being able to dance.Although there were suspicious glances wondering why he brought him in the first place.
"Indeed, it seems he bears hardships I could scarcely imagine.""Yes, exactly."
He nimbly dodged the Edelgard Duke's jab and, instead, smirked and smiled towards the Edelgard Duke.
"However, it seems you have placed quite an unusual boy by your daughter's side. I hear he is a commoner-born youth? I heard there was an unfortunate incident the other day; does he have any connection to that?"
Having touched on Jakaran, it was no problem to ask about me in return—a counter-jab. The 'unfortunate incident' refers to the broken engagement of Lady Esmeralda.Regarding that, since they've also gained control of the port and are generating various profits, it's a story the Edelgard Duke would prefer to forget. But for other nobles, it's a perfect opportunity to pretend concern while rubbing salt in the wound. On top of that, the presence of a boy of unknown origins like me by their side is an unpleasant topic for nobles.
In fact, even within the Edelgard Duke's faction, there are many who don't think well of me. Adjustments are being made to manage that, but the preparations aren't finished yet.
"Our acquaintance predates that, Boldrinde Duke. He is remarkably capable. He has been a great help to me on many occasions. You yourself have quite an eye for finding such a powerful individual from outside the establishment."
Just as he tried to dig into that, the Edelgard Duke brushed it aside and brought the topic back to Jakaran.
"Yes, we find him quite useful as well. He just recently achieved another military exploit.""Oh, is that so? My side has also benefited from some good business insights."
On the surface, it seemed like a boasting contest, but translating the underlying words:
* 'If you're picking a fight, I'll set Jakaran on you. Is that alright?'* 'Go ahead, I'll take you on. I'm not afraid of some muscle-brain.'
While this is a rough translation, there's no doubt this is the intent behind their conversation. The most pitiable one is the King, caught in the middle.A staring contest between a snake and a lion. Just being caught between them must be making his stomach churn.He was desperately trying to formulate words of mediation, but he couldn't intervene between the two, who kept changing topics and provoking each other.
Unaware that this was the Edelgard Duke's aim, the war of words heated up. In terms of skill in verbal sparring, the advantage slightly leaned towards the Boldrinde Duke.If it were the 'Dark Edelgard Duke,' he wouldn't lose, but the Edelgard Duke who hasn't fallen to his dark side is outmatched in terms of underhandedness and ruthlessness. However, even the Boldrinde Duke wasn't handling this verbal battle with ease.
Fighting while dividing his attention to his surroundings, especially Jakaran, was difficult, and he was barely holding his ground.He constantly kept his awareness on his surroundings, but there was no one to support the Boldrinde Duke, who stood aloof. In contrast, the Edelgard Duchess was paying attention to the surroundings, allowing the Edelgard Duke to focus on the Boldrinde Duke.
Because of this, the gap in the war of words didn't widen as much as expected, creating a mere sliver of an opening—barely enough to catch a breath.I didn't let that chance escape. I met Jakaran's eyes, gently held Lady Esmeralda's waist, and flashed a triumphant smile.
A provocation timed so that only Jakaran, who seemed bored and uninterested in the war of words, would see it.
"Hah?"
A low sound, filled with such pressure and irritation that even the Boldrinde Duke, engaged in the verbal spar, turned around instantly, almost abandoning the exchange.The smile I showed was momentary. But Lady Esmeralda, whom I had drawn close, noticed and guessed what I had done.Apart from her, only the Edelgard Duke and Lotus-san, whom I had informed beforehand, would understand my action.
Before anyone else could see, especially before the Boldrinde Duke noticed, I returned to a normal expression and casually averted my gaze as if nothing happened.To an uninformed observer, it would look like a perfectly ordinary movement of turning one's head to look at something. But to Jakaran, who had been smiled at, it could be seen as either a provocation or an ignore.
*Thud.* A heavy footstep echoed.It was Jakaran taking a step forward.
"Hey, you.""Jakaran."
His voice, filled with that irritation, contained a hint of murderous intent.While Jakaran can instinctively sense an opponent's strength, that only works when the opponent directs fighting spirit towards him.
If one suppresses the intent to fight and deals with things calmly, that intuition can be dulled, but that isn't a fundamental solution. Jakaran's survival strategy is not to accept provocations from the strong.To break through that, I needed to make myself appear weak.Despite the significant class difference, even when I was in that ninja outfit, Jakaran sensed my strength.Then, I just needed to equip gear that made me look weak.
There are two methods.Both can be accomplished with the Mark of the Weakling.
You might ask if such a convenient item exists. Well, it does. There are things called limited skills. These are skills that can only be enchanted onto specific items and are somewhat inconvenient as they cannot have their effects activated freely.
And there are skills that can only be enchanted onto the Mark of the Weakling. The monsters that drop them are limited, and the enchantment skills themselves aren't highly prized, but sometimes even tanks use them.
They are the skills 'Intention of the Weak' and 'Howl of the Underdog'.
The former skill, 'Intention of the Weak,' makes the targeted opponent misperceive your stats as lower than theirs. To activate it, your stats must be higher than the opponent's, and it only has the effect of misleading the opponent's appraisal skills, etc., about your stats. However, when used on NPCs, it had the effect of causing characters who fawn on the strong and bully the weak to abruptly change their attitude.I tested it beforehand, and the experimental result was that he somewhat perceived me as weak.
The other skill, 'Howl of the Underdog,' doesn't involve an audible howl; it makes the opponent feel like they have won against the user—a kind of hate management skill. The advantage of this skill is that, unlike other hate management skills, it has no obvious motion or activation effect.It's a skill that simply makes the opponent think they've beaten the user.However, if you perform a provocative action after making them subconsciously recognize their 'victory,' you can potentially generate more hate than usual.
This 'potential' is exactly as the skill name implies. If the opponent feels they've won and has no interest in dealing with a weakling, the provocation might fail, and they might just walk away. But against an opponent who finds being looked down upon by a weakling unbearable, it's a skill that scores a critical hit.
I subtly activated both skills enchanted on the Mark of the Weakling equipped under this suit simultaneously, for just an instant, and no one noticed. Especially since 'Intention of the Weak' has an area-of-effect range, not single-target.Keeping it active constantly would risk the skill effect being suspected, so using it just for a moment, enough to make Jakaran's blood boil, was ideal.And these two skills are listed as essential for capturing Jakaran.
Instantly, the Boldrinde Duke stepped forward to intervene.
"This is not the place for such behavior. Stand down.""Shut up."
He barely retained his rationality. But that rationality was about not harming his employer; his resolve not to tolerate my provocation remained unshaken.
"......"
The situation was strange. Noticing this, the Boldrinde Duke glanced at the Edelgard Duke, but the latter, reacting to the change in Jakaran's aura, was signaling everyone, including the King, to step back and take cover.I was among them.
"Hey! You!!"
Averting my gaze was a mistake.The suppressed emotions overflowed along with his angry shout.The finger he pointed was aimed at me.
"You laughed at me just now, didn't you!?"
The content of his shout, utterly inappropriate for this setting, caused the nobles, including the Edelgard Duke, to frown.
"Is that true?""No, I have no recollection. Perhaps he misunderstood the expression I made when smiling at Lady Esmeralda?""...... Lord Jakaran, Liberta says this. Could it be your misunderstanding?"
If there was any rudeness, it's the superior's role to confirm it. He responded as we had arranged beforehand.The Boldrinde Duke tried to stop him, but the conversation had already happened, and at this point, there was no way to stop Jakaran other than making him endure.
However, for Jakaran, the word 'endure' is one he hates most of all.
Especially the fact of being mocked by someone weak, which goes against his instinctual feeling of a 'bad premonition,' is an absolutely unforgivable event for Jakaran.
Furthermore, the words from the Edelgard Duke suggesting it might be a misunderstanding.
Even for an ordinary person, being asked if they are mistaken causes some stress. But for Jakaran, it's a word close to a taboo.Jakaran recognizes that everything in this world, as he perceives it, is correct.Therefore, being told he is mistaken by another is an act he finds utterly unbearable from the bottom of his heart.Normally, he wouldn't suddenly resort to violence.
"Kill you."
But the skill 'Berserk God' easily burns away a person's reason.Until now, his reason, more fragile than paper, was maintained because the other party was enduring or was frightened.
However, here, the provocation skill and the word 'misunderstanding' uttered by the Edelgard Duke stripped Jakaran of his reason.
"Stop!! Jakaran!!"
If it had been just one of these things, Jakaran might have stopped.But once Jakaran reaches this state, he cannot be stopped.
Jakaran's violence lunged towards the Edelgard Duke, who had pointed out his mistake.Having been on alert, I left Lady Esmeralda and leaped forward to shield the Edelgard Duke.
"Guh!"
I deliberately let him punch me in the face.