"Ha, why do I feel so uneasy?"

Ribia said.

Allerik shot her a look.

"Don’t say ominous things, Ribia."

But she could not shake off her anxious expression.

She glanced at Tesetan, who was sharpening his sword nearby, and continued:

"Don’t you find it strange? That the King of the Dead agreed to this duel?"

From Ribia’s point of view, there was not a single reason for the King of the Dead to agree.

Tesetan agreed with that as well.

That was why he kept provoking him.

To anger him and force him to accept the challenge in the heat of the moment.

But Tesetan did not even need to spend much time.

A few obvious provocative phrases were enough for the King of the Dead to immediately take the bait.

"Look! They’re in complete panic over there!"

Ribia nodded to the side.

There, the members of Agavert had gathered in a tight circle.

The King of the Dead was not visible among them, but even from afar it was clear—the atmosphere was heavy.

"It was impulsive. Even they didn’t expect that kind of behavior. Because it’s just ridiculous!"

"And what are you going to do about it now."

Allerik cut in.

"Ribia, the duel has already been accepted. The squad leader will fight the King of the Dead."

Ribia muttered uncertainly:

"...What if the King of the Dead is stronger than the leader?"

Her gaze wavered.

"How else can you explain it? He must have some hidden power that no one knows about. Something so overwhelming he can take down our leader with a single move. That’s why he agreed, knowing he would win anyway...!"

"Enough, Ribia. Do you want Trevaga to fall apart?"

Victor clicked his tongue.

"I’m just worried!"

"Enough. All we can do is watch now."

Allerik sighed and began rummaging through his baggage.

Soon, he pulled something out.

A pair of contract rings.

Contract rings.

A high-grade magical artifact that enforced oaths and promises.

Participants in a duel always wore them before it began.

The winner could remove the ring immediately after the duel.

But the loser could not take it off until all promises made before the duel were fulfilled.

The problem was that the longer time passed, the deeper the ring would dig into the flesh.

In the end, if the winner did not remove it, the loser who failed to fulfill the promise would lose their hand.

For a swordsman, nothing was more important than the wrist, so the loser was forced to fulfill the promise at any cost.

"I feel uneasy... Damn it, I really feel uneasy!"

Allerik sorted through the rings, listening to Ribia’s muttering.

He himself felt uneasy as well.

"But still..."

Tesetan, their leader, could not lose.

That was what he believed.

Meanwhile—

"Uncle Basto, if Tie wins—then it’s good, right?"

Tie tugged at his sleeve weakly.

But Basto remained silent.

Tie understood that he was very angry right now.

Nordix’s face had also turned pale.

"Tie. He’s a swordsman. He will force close combat. If the situation becomes dangerous..."

Nordix had been explaining all possible scenarios to her without stopping for quite some time.

And Bale?

He had stepped aside and was sitting alone, as if empty-eyed.

Seeing this, Tie lowered her gaze.

"...Tie is at fault."

She knew very well that the duel was dangerous.

And that decisions like this had to be discussed with the squad.

They had agreed on that.

But Tie still accepted it on her own.

"But Tie had no choice..."

She did not know it would happen today, but she had been preparing for this day for a long time.

If she met Papa, she had to keep him by her side.

They had only just met—she could not lose him again.

But Papa did not remember her.

And in that state, he would never stay of his own will.

"That’s why Tie thought a lot."

There were many methods.

For example, simply following him everywhere.

Or disbanding the squad and becoming his subordinate.

But all of those methods had one major flaw.

Tie would always lose something.

"If I just follow him, Papa might run away forever..."

And disbanding the squad meant saying goodbye to her companions.

That was impossible.

Because of that, Tie had suffered for a long time.

She could not even sleep at night.

But today—

Papa himself had offered a solution.

"...A duel."

Knight against knight.

Or mercenary against mercenary.

Before a duel, a promise was always made. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

What the loser would stake.

And according to Basto, that promise had to be fulfilled no matter what.

Otherwise—prison or punishment by artifact.

Tie decided that this was her chance.

"What if Tie wins?"

After Marbas awakened,

Tie had been diligently training her magic with Kkamani.

Every time they assaulted magic crystals, she summoned her bone friends.

And now she had far more subordinates.

Moreover, the location of the duel was advantageous for her.

"Not in the square. The Emperor would not like it."

By order of the princess, the head of the Association, Papa and Tie were to move to nearby ruins.

The squads would go with them.

And it seemed the Luminel family would as well.

"Pupu says there are a lot of bone friends there. Tie will be very strong, right?"

Tie tried to reassure everyone.

But the anxiety on their faces did not disappear.

And then—

"Hey."

Someone approached Agavert.

Raul and Enzo stepped aside, revealing fiery red hair.

"...Ah, that auntie!"

The very same woman from the dream in Pearlcity.

The one who had protected Tie until her death.

"Are you ready? If there are no tricks—let’s move. Our leader is already ready."

But her tone was nothing like in the dream.

Tie unconsciously drooped.

But she immediately nodded brightly.

"Yes! Ready!"

The woman looked at her with doubt.

"...I still can’t get used to this."

And she threw a teleportation scroll at her feet.

"Let’s go! Tie will win!"

Tie ran over, picked it up, and shouted happily.

Raul and Enzo only nodded.

Soon, Enzo called out the coordinates and tore the scroll.

The world spun—and ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ everything changed.

Trevaga, the Sorrie Association, the Luminel family—all appeared.

Basto sighed and dropped to one knee.

He wanted to adjust Tie’s cloak, but at that moment a silver-haired man approached them.

He held out an object.

"A contract ring."

Tie swallowed.

"This is that promise bracelet."

Basto had told her.

If she put it on—she would have to fulfill the promise at any cost.

But just as Tie reached out her hand—

Bale rushed forward.

"Have you lost your mind?! Why do you need that too?!"

He glared at Allerik.

"Our leader already agreed to the duel! Isn’t that enough?!"

Allerik frowned.

"Contract rings are the rule..."

And at that moment—

Tesetan appeared from behind him.

He calmly took the ring and put it on himself.

Then he smirked at Bale.

"You call this a real fight and want it without stakes?"

"What nonsense are you talking?! Since when is life on the line?! A duel is about honor!"

"Too bad. Not in my case."

Tesetan instantly grabbed Tie by the wrist.

And before anyone could stop him, he put the ring on her.

The ring tightened, adjusting to the child’s wrist.

And in the eyes of Agavert’s members, killing intent flared.