Chapter 20

Thud.

The man’s arm fell, and the back of his hand touched the table. In the end, the man had lost to 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, for Ariel, it was a trivial victory. She barely used any strength.

If Ariel had really put her strength into it, the man’s hand would have been crushed into powder.

“Haha…”

The man let out a hollow laugh. It was hard to believe, but he had clearly lost.

‘And so easily at that…’

The onlookers might not have realized it, but the man, having arm-wrestled Ariel himself, was certain.

Ariel had only applied the slightest bit of force at the end to topple the man’s arm.

Before that, when the man was straining with all his might, Ariel hadn’t even used any strength.

So 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 expression.

“Elf girl. You asked what you’d get if you won, right?”

A resigned smile appeared on the man’s lips.

“You can take whatever you want. Whether it’s a Lizardman leather wallet, top-grade Minotaurus meat, or even the entire money box with the entry fees. You beat me, after all.”

The man rubbed his aching arm and laughed.

“Guess there’s a first time for everything. You really can’t judge by appearances, huh? Who would’ve thought such a petite elf girl could be so strong?”

As the man gracefully accepted his defeat, the crowd cheered even more enthusiastically.

“Wow! That was awesome!!”

“What an amazing match!”

Ariel approached the man and whispered what she wanted in his ear.

“…What?”

The man looked puzzled.

“You want the Lizardman leather wallet…? Are you sure that’s all you want?”

“Yeah.”

“But… I said you could take anything, right? Your red-haired friend over there wanted the top-grade Minotaurus meat.”

The man pointed at Selly. Ariel looked at Selly, and Selly shrugged.

“I didn’t win, Ariel. Take what you want. Don’t worry about me.”

“Lizardman leather wallet.”

Seeing Ariel’s firm response, the man scratched his head.

Honestly, the Lizardman leather wallet was worth far less than the entry fee of one silver coin.

With one silver coin, you could buy ten Lizardman leather wallets.

‘And yet she wants that…’

Though puzzled, the man handed the Lizardman leather wallet to Ariel.

After all, he had promised to give her whatever she wanted, so he couldn’t force her to take something else.

In a way, he felt relieved. If Ariel had taken the money box with the entry fees, he would have had to go hungry for days.

‘Did she consider my situation…?’

The man gave an awkward smile.

“Thanks, elf girl. Come back and visit sometime. But next time… please don’t participate. I need to eat too, you know. Hahaha.”

*

“See you later, mister!”

“Take care, girls!”

As Selly and Ariel moved on, Kal stood up from beside the fountain.

He had been crouching by the fountain for a while, so his legs were numb.

“…What just happened, Sir Shane?”

Kal asked Shane, who was also standing up beside him.

After leaving Delight, Kal had been following Ariel around.

Thanks to that, he had been hiding by the fountain and watched the entire arm-wrestling match.

“Ariel beat that man in arm-wrestling. How is that even possible?”

“Hmm…”

Shane stroked his chin.

It was indeed puzzling.

Looking at the muscular arm-wrestling man, it seemed impossible for the slender Ariel to win.

Yet, Ariel had won effortlessly.

“I’m not sure either. What’s certain is that magic wasn’t involved.”

Shane was an excellent 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. Despite her appearance, she might have undergone incredible training. Maybe there’s an elf-specific training method… or perhaps…”

Shane glanced at Kal.

“Young master, this is clearly stalking. If others see you…”

“Let’s hurry, Sir Shane. Ariel is moving.”

Kal didn’t even wait for Shane to finish speaking and started walking.

“……”

Shane felt a headache coming on as he followed Kal.

The young duke of the north, stalking an elf girl!

If this got out to the other nobles, not only Kal but the entire Kastark family’s reputation would be ruined.

It would definitely make everyone laugh.

‘Please don’t get caught…’

Shane prayed fervently. The best outcome now was to avoid being discovered.

“Oh… what is she planning to do now?”

Whether he knew Shane’s feelings or not, Kal was busy chasing after Ariel.

He looked exactly like a boy in love, and Shane couldn’t help but smile wryly.

Despite being the young duke of the north, Kal was still just a young boy.

‘Maybe it’s not so bad…’

Shane thought as he watched Kal’s back.

Kal had been too harsh on himself lately.

Well, it was understandable.

Being the hope of the north, he must have felt the pressure to live up to expectations.

Seeing Kal push himself relentlessly in training and studies made Shane feel a bit bitter.

At an age when he should be playing around, Kal was driving himself too hard.

But seeing this boyish side of Kal, Shane felt somewhat relieved.

‘Maybe it’s okay after all…’

Shane thought as he crouched down beside Kal. Ariel and Selly had already moved on to another spot.

“Ariel is trying to catch a goldfish, Sir Shane.”

Kal said with a slightly excited voice.

“But with such a thin net… Oh, it tore. Sir Shane, Ariel missed the goldfish.”

“That’s a shame. Let’s try later.”

“I feel like I could catch one.”

“That’s good confidence. If you catch a goldfish, give it to that elf girl as a gift.”

“No, that’s a bit… I don’t need to give her a gift…”

Seeing Kal blush instantly, Shane smiled contentedly.

*

Before they knew it, the sun was setting.

Even Selly, who had been cheerfully dragging Ariel around, was starting to get tired.

“Ariel, how was today? Fun, right?”

At Selly’s question, Ariel nodded. She was a bit tired, but thanks to Selly taking her around, she had enjoyed herself.

Ariel quietly took something out of her inventory.

It was the Lizardman leather wallet she had won as a prize from the arm-wrestling match earlier.

She handed it to Selly.

Selly’s eyes widened as she accepted the Lizardman leather wallet.

“This… you’re giving it to me?”

“Yeah.”

“Why? Didn’t you want it?”

“Not really…”

Ariel knew exactly how she had beaten the arm-wrestling man.

With infinite strength stats, she couldn’t lose.

It was clearly an unfair match, so she couldn’t accept the top-grade Minotaurus meat or the money box with the entry fees.

She had originally planned to take nothing, but the man had accepted his defeat so gracefully that she had no choice.

With so many people watching, she decided to take the cheapest item, the Lizardman leather wallet.

But for Ariel, who had an inventory, a wallet was unnecessary.

“Thank you.”

Selly gently stroked the Lizardman leather wallet as if it were precious.

The surface, made of Lizardman leather, was smooth but slightly creepy and unsettling. But thinking of it as a gift from Ariel made it feel special.

After all, it was a memento of their time together.

“Thank you so much, Ariel.”

Selly quietly looked at Ariel. She didn’t want to part with Ariel just yet.

But the sun had already set, and Selly had something she needed to do.

That was attending the 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.

The Kastark family from the north, the Baraton family from the west, and all the influential families of the empire would be attending.

Selly’s Matiel family, being a high-ranking noble family, was naturally invited. If she didn’t go, her father would be furious.

“Ah.”

Then, Selly had a great idea.

“Ariel, would you like to come to the banquet with me? There will be so much delicious food! Remember the strawberry tart from Delight earlier? I’m not sure if it’ll be that good, but there will probably be cakes just as delicious! And lots 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 thought she should return to the lodging first. Ghost and Roo might be waiting.

When she mentioned that, Selly smiled brightly.

“Then, should I come with you? I’d like to meet Ghost and Roo too.”