Chapter 104: Chapter 104: Aftermath (3)

Faye momentarily forgot how to breathe.

She was that startled.

Why was Yandel here, where did he come from, and how much had he heard?

Faye knew nothing.

But…

“What did you just say?”

“Cough…”

“Say it again.”

“Cough! Cough…”

The low growling from Yandel’s throat and the fierce magical light radiating from his violet eyes were clearly visible.

Yandel was now furiously pressuring his opponent with all his might.

For what purpose?

It wasn’t hard to guess why.

“Ah.”

Faye forgot how to breathe once again.

I continued to pressure the gasping blond guy without letting him catch his breath.

“You, bastard. Why don’t you answer?”

“Gurk…!”

“You think I’m easy? Huh?”

“Cough…”

“Do you like Senior Faye’s chest but not my pectorals?”

“Why would I… about a man’s chest…?”

No, this damn guy. He only responded to my pectorals?

I increased the output of my magic with indignation.

“Pl-please save… me!”

As I firmly strangled him with telekinesis magic, I wondered how long I had been randomly throwing words at him.

“Calm down, Master! He’s going to die at this rate!”

“That’s right. Don’t you feel your mana leaking out? What will you do if you cause a mana explosion?”

“……”

Initially, Carla and Elisha just watched with a sense of relief, but after I was using the telekinesis magic for a while, they hurriedly grabbed my arm.

Hearing that, I looked again at the blond guy and the female student who seemed to be his subordinate.

“Ugh…”

“……”

The blond guy was foaming at the mouth, and the female student had already fainted.

Just as Carla said, they might really die like this.

I briefly thought, “Can’t I just kill them?” but somehow managed to suppress my rising anger.

“Tch.”

Thud.

As soon as I released the telekinesis magic, the two scoundrels collapsed on the floor.

“Cough… Choke.”

“…Huff!”

Perhaps regaining consciousness from the impact of falling, the female student looked around with a dumbfounded expression, visibly terrified.

But unlike her, the blond guy, while gasping and clutching his throat, glared at us.

“You… bastard. Do you know who I am?”

“And do you know who I am?”

“Yandel! That damned commoner! With your pathetic talent and just one achievement, do you think the world is a joke?”

“Huh?”

He seemed surprisingly unfazed for someone who had just narrowly escaped death.

Did he mistake my incredulous look for hesitation?

The guy quickly regained his composure, smirking triumphantly.

“How dare you, Bron–”

“Shut up for a second.”

Annoyed by his immediate outburst after being released, I punched him in the mouth to shut him up.

Thump!

“Aah!”

He rolled on the ground again, screaming.

Didn’t saying ‘don’t kill him’ imply it was fine to beat him to the brink of death?

As soon as I concluded this, I was about to stomp on the fallen blond guy, but…

“That’s enough, Yandel.”

Elisha intervened again.

“Move, Elisha. I can’t hit this bastard.”

“Isn’t that why I stopped you?”

Elisha sighed deeply and pointed behind me. Following her gesture,

“Hehe…”

Carla awkwardly smiled, holding the crystal I asked for.

“…Did you record it?”

“Of course, I turned it off as soon as Master intervened. But if you plan to submit this as evidence…”

“It’d backfire if I caused excessive harm, right?”

“That’s likely. It’s clear who inflicted the injuries.”

“What if I heal them later?”

Perhaps because he was beaten without resistance, the blond guy quieted down.

Given his arrogant attitude, even after being subjected to telekinesis magic, he seemed fearlessly troublesome.

Touching him lightly might provoke more trouble later.

I should completely crush him now.

“Ha! That… that won’t make much difference.”

Faye, regaining her senses late, clung to my back and said.

“Are you okay, Senior? No, you mustn’t be. Let me see your face.”

“Huh?!”

I grabbed Faye’s chin and examined her face, which she presented to me while trembling and with her eyes tightly shut.

She had been hit quite hard. One side of her face was swollen and red.

“……”

Faye was a character I particularly liked in H&A. Of course, now she’s not just a character but a real person, so my fondness is one-sided….

Still, the fact that I liked Faye and her story was true.

A story of human triumph, where she almost broke under harsh realities but ultimately blossomed, striving alongside someone who recognized her.

How could I not like that?

But now, Faye had been slapped with an absurd demand.

And worse, a rumor I had carelessly ignored played a role in igniting this situation.

“Sigh…”

Sighing deeply, I took out a high-grade potion from my inventory.

Faye, panicking, tried to step back.

“Uh… It’s not so severe that I need an expensive potion like this.”

“Compared to Senior Faye, it’s not that expensive, so just receive the treatment quietly.”

“Eek!”

Faye stiffened for some reason. Seizing the opportunity, I applied the potion to her swollen cheek and made her drink the rest.

Fortunately, the swelling quickly subsided, as expected of a high-grade potion.

But my relief was short-lived.

From the corner of my eye, I saw the blond guy trying to sneak away, reigniting my anger.

Whack!

“Aaah!”

I threw the empty bottle at the back of his head, and he collapsed.

High-grade potion bottles were specially treated to not break even in combat situations, or so I heard.

And it seemed to be true.

“Ugh…”

As the blond guy lay there groaning, I spoke up while watching his companion, the brown-haired female student, hesitantly approaching him.

“You said healing him with a potion wouldn’t make much difference, right? Why?”

“Ah, yeah. The effects of potions aren’t just a myth. All potions have their own specialty, right? Their residue can be traced to identify the severity and location of injuries.”

“Even with the highest-grade potion?”

“Using such an expensive potion for this shows how sincere you are, but even the best quality can’t completely eliminate toxicity.”

“What about healing magic or a priest’s holy healing?”

“Magic leaves traces of mana, and holy healing restores natural conditions without traces. But priests wouldn’t help in such cases, right?”

“Sigh…”

That’s right.

What should I do with this guy?

The content recorded by the crystal was enough to discipline him.

My use of telekinesis magic and hitting him a few times should be fine.

The Eurelia Continent was quite lenient with self-defense and valued honor.

This could be justified as a defense against defamation of honor.

Even a commoner had significant honor here, though less than a noble.

And sponsoring someone meant you were nurturing them to be on your side.

The sponsoree receives not only money but also protection in various aspects from the sponsor during the sponsorship.

He dared to harass Faye and even slapped her, knowing this?

And to bring up the lewd sponsorship rumor about me?

This was no ordinary insult.

But it also meant that if I pushed further, I should also be ready for disciplinary action.

After hearing our conversation, the blond guy now felt safe, giggling while being helped by the brown-haired female student.

“Haha! How dare you humiliate me like this?! Do you realize what you’ve done?”

“No. I don’t. I don’t even know your name.”

“……”

I didn’t know his name since he wasn’t a character from H&A.

This meant he wasn’t a key figure in this world.

Even if he were, I’d have acted the same.

“Hmm…”

I couldn’t beat him more, and disciplining him wouldn’t get him expelled. But leaving him alone would surely cause more trouble.

What to do?

As I pondered over the trembling blond guy, I grabbed his collar.

Then I started dragging him out of the alley.

“Let go! Let go, you commoner! Do you know who I am?”

He must be the type who hadn’t shed his habits from his own territory, even in the second year.

As I nodded at the restless, brown-haired female student, Carla, and Elisha grabbed her from both sides.

“You. What’s your name? Bron… something?”

“Ha! The legitimate heir of the Brondei territory, Felop Brondei, that’s who I am!”

“Okay. Felop Brondei.”

A tattered second-year student suddenly emerged from the alley, and a first-year student held him by the collar.

And me, the subject of recent hot rumors.

The bustling market street quickly fell silent as everyone’s attention turned to me.

With everyone watching, I slowly raised my hand.

And then…

Slap!

“Aaah!”

I slapped Felop’s cheek hard, just as he had done to Faye.

Then I declared loudly enough for the entire market street to hear.

“I, Yandel, challenge Felop Brondei to a duel!”

My declaration of a duel quickly stirred up the crowd again.

But it wasn’t over yet.

“And I also challenge Frank Miller, who has been spreading rumors about me, to a duel!”

I might as well deal with the minions of Boiling Silence in one go.