If You're Going to Eat, Eat the Bones Too

The duel between me and Dominic was set.

Heinkel, who had been trying to talk Dominic out of it, let out a quiet sigh.

“If that is truly Young Master Dominic’s wish, then so be it. But not right now. Let us rest for today and hold the duel tomorrow.”

It was already public knowledge that I — Rigen — had no magic.

By any conventional measure, Dominic should have the advantage. But he had let himself get worked up by my provocation.

Heinkel was trying to give Dominic time to cool down. I couldn’t let that happen.

“Tomorrow is too far away. One hour from now. And we draw up a contract so there’s no dispute after the fact. Heinkel, you notarize it.”

“Pardon?”

“What?”

Both of them looked startled. I ignored them and started writing.

“In Karakas, verbal agreements get broken far too often. Better to put it in writing.”

“What is that? What kind of squiggly writing is that?”

“…Dark elf script.”

In response to Dominic’s question, Heinkel answered quietly.

The fact that a human was writing in it seemed to catch him off guard considerably, but it was hardly a remarkable feat.

Dark elf script was essentially a cousin of elven script.

And I had been able to write every major script in Karakas from the very beginning.

I finished two copies of the contract and held them out.

“Here, Dominic, sign. Heinkel will translate.”

Heinkel read it over.

“…Today, Young Master Dominic and Young Master Rigen will engage in a direct duel. Weapons are limited to wooden swords. If Young Master Dominic wins, the engagement between House Librata and House Crocell is dissolved. Additionally, regardless of outcome, House Burzak will pay thirty million won to Rigen Librata personally within fifteen days.”

“That’s all?”

Dominic moved to sign immediately, but Heinkel raised a hand to stop him.

A careful, probing look in my direction.

I smiled and played it casually.

“I’m walking into a disadvantageous fight, so I at least need to get paid. Or is the marquis really too short on funds to cover three thousand won?”

“It is thirty million won… Might I have a moment to consider this?”

Heinkel let the words trail off, but Dominic had already signed.

“Heinkel! What are you dragging your feet for? He doesn’t even have magic, what are you so worried about?”

“…”

I added my signature right after.

The contract was now in effect.

The only blank left was the notary’s line.

Heinkel sighed.

“You want me to notarize this? You understand what that means?”

“A contract notarized by a dark elf must be honored. Break it, and they’ll see it done even if it means killing an emperor.”

“…”

It was a point of pride dark elves had spoken about themselves.

When Heinkel hesitated, I smiled and said,

“Wasn’t this exactly why the marquis sent you as escort in the first place? A duel over a woman tends to drag on even after someone wins — but with a dark elf notarizing, everything stays clean.”

“…Understood.”

Heinkel signed the notary line with clear reluctance.

The duel was now binding.

I gathered the contracts.

“All right. One hour. Go get yourself cleaned up first, Dominic.”

“Get ready to have your skull split open. Let’s go, Heinkel!”

“I have something to attend to. Please go ahead, Young Master.”

Dominic gave him a puzzled look but left.

Heinkel turned to me immediately.

“What exactly is your game here?”

“You’re on his side. Why would I tell you?”

“Don’t play games with me. Someone who can write dark elf script without effort clearly understands what notarization means.”

Heinkel was genuinely discomfited.

He had presumably come expecting a simple outing — standing in as Dominic’s proxy for a light scuffle.

Instead, I had made things considerably larger.

“This is supposed to be a young man’s romantic rivalry. What are you doing dragging notarization into it? The moment I signed, I become obligated to see this contract fulfilled no matter what. If……”

“If the marquis refuses to pay after the duel? Then you’ll have to cut the money out of the marquis yourself.”

“So you knew exactly what you were doing……”

In Karakas, even written contracts were sometimes simply ignored.

But when a dark elf notarized one, things were different.

A dark elf staked his own life on it — they would see a contract fulfilled even if it meant killing the other party.

It was a tradition that had existed long before I founded the empire.

Which was precisely why dark elves were so highly valued as notaries.

Hiring one normally cost a fortune.

This time I was getting it for free!

“Do you have that much confidence in your victory?”

“I’ll do interviews after the duel.”

I drew the line there. Heinkel clicked his tongue and walked out.

Once we were alone, Garul let out a long, heavy sigh.

“…He looks terrifyingly strong.”

“Oh, you could tell?”

Garul nodded, his expression troubled.

Heinkel might look like a man in his twenties, but his actual experience likely ran over two hundred years.

“I know that no matter how hard a human trains or pushes themselves, they can’t match a warrior from another race in a straight fight. Seeing him in person — even just the way he stands, there wasn’t a single gap.”

“If Heinkel and I fought, who do you think would win?”

I asked it half-jokingly. Garul went completely serious.

“You, Young Master.”

“I’ll take the flattery.”

“I’m not flattering you. I don’t know why, but I feel certain you would win.”

Garul said it with absolute conviction.

This one was a bit scatterbrained, but his instincts were sharp.

I smiled.

“Either way, that dark elf being unnecessarily cautious is going to make this complicated.”

“Hm? Is there a problem?”

“Several.”

During the process of dealing with Dominic, Heinkel might start figuring out who I actually was.

He had been active during the era of my previous life — Emperor Sirik’s reign.

Of course, there was no chance he would recognize me as Sirik reborn…… but still.

“Well. I’ll just have to keep it contained.”

Beat him without tipping my hand. Simple enough.

The training yard.

Word that I was going to fight Dominic spread quickly, and soldiers and knights began flooding in.

The crowd murmured among themselves.

“Wait — why are they fighting?”

“You haven’t heard? It’s a duel over the young lady of Crocell’s house.”

“But young master Rigen is fighting directly? Not through his escort?”

“He’s always been sickly, though.”

“You don’t know anything. Didn’t you see him take down Garul? And apparently the knight-captain got absolutely wrecked too.”

I selected a wooden sword and turned to Garul.

“Hey. Go organize the crowd.”

“Pardon?”

“Get them on one side so they can watch together. Having them scattered everywhere is distracting.”

As I was giving the order, I caught sight of Roderic in the crowd.

Standing apart from the soldiers, arms folded, projecting deliberate gravity.

I gave him an exaggerated wave — his expression locked up immediately and he looked away.

“Make sure they’re not in the way of the duel. Got it?”

“Yes, Young Master! Please win!”

Garul jogged off and began herding the scattered spectators into a single section.

I gripped the wooden sword and ran a quick mental check of my psychic abilities.

The psychic powers I had cultivated came in seven varieties in total.

One of them was telekinesis.

The remaining abilities were still beyond my reach at this stage.

“I haven’t had many opportunities to absorb mental energy lately.”

I could draw continuously from people who had opened themselves to me — but spacing it out was far more effective than taking it frequently.

“That said…”

Absorbing mental energy was risky enough that I normally restricted it to allies.

But with the right preparation, it was also possible to draw from an enemy.

Right now, Dominic was walking toward me radiating killing intent.

If I took my time and did this carefully, I could strengthen my psychic abilities on top of everything else.

Dominic snarled.

“A useless little rat with no magic dares to come at me? You’re going to die today.”

“Killing someone in a duel carries no legal liability, does it? Still the case, isn’t it?”

“That’s right! Begging for your life now won’t save you!”

Dominic said it and then looked out at the crowd.

His face was written with naked desire — to shatter my skull in front of House Librata’s people and show off.

He had already decided he had won before the fight even began.

I said quietly,

“Relax. I’m not going to kill you.”

“…What?”

I meant it.

Even an idiot like that produces labor and pays taxes if left alive.

“Actually — should I just cripple you instead? Walk with a limp and you might earn some sympathy. A woman might take pity and nurse you back to health. I make money, you finally get a woman’s attention. Mutual benefit all around.”

“You son of a—!”

Dominic exploded and threw himself at me.

Red energy running down his legs, waist, torso, arms.

He was channeling magic through his entire body.

The intent to split my skull in a single strike.

But his movements were too big.

I stepped back lightly and let it miss.

This body was no longer the wreck it had been.

Nothing close to what it was during my emperor days — but steady training and awakening my magic had put me into something resembling proper condition.

And the experience of having been the strongest in the empire hadn’t gone anywhere.

Swish! Swish!

I let his wooden sword pass just close enough to feel, each time stepping back just far enough.

“Stop running!”

Letting it look close on purpose only stoked his fury, and his attacks grew wilder.

“Sloppy form…”

Awakening magic brought two things, in sequence: first, reinforcement of the body; second, reinforcement of weapons.

Dominic was still at the body reinforcement stage and nothing more.

His swordwork was nothing special either.

For his age it was decent enough — but from where I stood, it made me want to yawn.

“You’re telegraphing every strike with your eyes. Are you an idiot?”

“Says the man who just keeps running!”

Swish! Swish! Swish!

I ducked away from his swings, leaning back, turning aside.

Even with magic reinforcing him, if nothing lands, it doesn’t matter.

Better to drain the boar before you close in.

“This little—!”

The longer I kept evading, the angrier he got — his movements growing larger, gaps opening up everywhere.

I swayed back from one swing and returned with an easy strike.

Crack!

A casually-thrown blow caught him square on the chin. Dominic staggered back.

The look on his face said he had never once imagined I might counter.

I smiled.

“Hey — magic was guarding you, so it didn’t hurt that much, right? Come on, keep going.”

“You little—!”

He lunged with a thrust. I turned aside and tapped him twice on the head.

Tap! Tap!

Dominic blew air out the side of his mouth and stumbled back.

“Wh — ugh…”

“Why does it hurt this time? You didn’t push the magic up to your head properly. And your reserves should be getting low right about now, shouldn’t they?”

Magic was a precious resource in the battles of Karakas.

Every fighter had to decide when, where, and how much to commit.

Dominic had thrown it all away from the very start.

He wanted a flashy, decisive victory to show off in front of an audience — the whole point had been to look impressive.

“You were planning to take this back to her as a glorious victory, weren’t you. Too bad.”

“You — how are you—”

I summoned magic into my hand. Dominic’s face went white.

I had my back to the crowd, of course. No one else could see it.

Fear spread across Dominic’s face, and the aura pouring off him began darkening.

That’s better. Getting more flavorful.

I smiled and extinguished the magic immediately.

“Hey — scared? Relax, I’ll fight you without it.”

“…You piece of—!”

Taking the bait, Dominic threw himself forward recklessly, pouring out the last dregs of his magic all at once.

But I pivoted in place to avoid it, and then stomped the ground.

A ground stomp.

And layered on top of it, telekinesis applied to the impact, doubling the force concentrated in the point of my elbow.

Crunch!

My elbow, carrying my full body weight amplified by telekinesis, drove into his chest.

“Huurgh!”

Dominic grabbed at his chest and lurched backward.

During combat, telekinesis could be used to manipulate my own body, or as just now, to amplify a strike.

Against opponents with greater size or a higher weight class, this was how I leveled the gap.

It required precise control and exact timing.

A technique even my teacher had never managed — something only I could do.

Telekinetic Fist. First time using it since reincarnating, and it landed clean.

“Hey, what are you so shocked about? The magic guarding you kept it from doing real damage, right?”

“W-wait—”

Dominic’s magic had run dry. He waved a desperate hand in the air.

An urgent call for time.

I slapped the palm of his hand.

“Aaagh!”

Magic defense gone. The feeling of striking unprotected flesh directly.

Dominic recoiled like he’d been burned and swung his sword wildly in self-defense.

I sidestepped it lightly, then hit that arm.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Back of the hand, forearm, upper arm, shoulder — four hits in sequence.

“Wait — wait a moment!”

Dominic’s face had gone pale as he stumbled back.

The red aura had vanished entirely.

He had finally realized he couldn’t touch me — and was tucking his tail.

“J-just a moment to catch my—”

Smack! Crack!

He got a slap across the face mid-sentence. Blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.

“Ugh — wait, just wait—”

“Sure, you talk. I’ll keep hitting.”

Thwack! Crack! Thwack!

I worked through his thigh, his side, his arm in clean succession.

Careful to avoid the quick-ending targets — the head, the throat, the solar plexus — and hammer everything else.

Not out of mercy.

The goal was to grind his fighting spirit into powder.

“Ugh! Hurgh!”

Dominic took hit after hit and in desperation swung back — though calling it a counter would have been too generous.

It was just a frantic plea for me to stop coming.

I ignored it and kept going.

Dark aura began pouring off him in waves.

Despair. Surrender.

The realization that nothing he did would work — and with it, the slide into giving up.

That was when he was ready to be absorbed.

“Ngh… ugh…”

He dropped his wooden sword and fell to one knee.

Ragged breathing. Face swollen.

His eyes were glistening with tears.

I stopped in front of him and looked down.

Dominic spoke in a trembling voice.

“I… I lost…”

“What? You lost?”

Dominic slowly nodded.

“So you’re giving up? You’ll back off from my fiancée?”

“…Y-yes. I lost! I’ll give up on everything and walk away!”

“Are you crying? The man who called me a crybaby earlier is actually crying right now.”

“…”

Dominic’s face turned a deep crimson.

Well — the money was already secured. Maybe I could wrap this up here.

I paused to consider it.

And in that pause, something crossed Dominic’s face — first relief, then a sly, calculating glint in his eyes.

He had come after me without cause, picked a fight, then tucked his tail the moment things turned against him.

And now, kneeling in front of everyone, he thought I would stop.

Because public humiliation had already been served. Because surely I had gotten what I wanted.

So he just had to survive this moment — and later, with his family’s backing, he would find a way to repay every bit of this.

It was written plainly across his face.

I had seen that expression more times than I could count.

It wouldn’t work on me anymore.

I brought the wooden sword down.

“You think crying gets you out of paying?”

If you’re going to hunt something, you eat it clean.

Right down to the bones.