"Brunei Carlisle, I've been waiting for you for a long time. "Thrace S. D.H. Fernando, the eldest son of the Fernando family, will be the one who will have a life-and-death duel with Brunei five hours later, dressed in a gorgeous and intricate black gown, with layers of clothing and accessories covering each other, staggered, not burdensome, but superimposed with an atmospheric beauty, under the meager light that barely falls through the thick clouds, standing in the "arena" that has just been built, but reveals a desolate and grand sense of history In front of the door, he nodded to Bruneisi, the smile on his face that would not fade disappeared at the moment he bowed his head, and his face was as calm, resolute, and indifferent as a statue, "Good morning." ”

"Hah, I haven't seen you for a long time. Brunei stopped, and Scarly naturally followed, walked to Brunei's side, stared at Fernando with strange eyes, and tried to look away for a while, but instead stared at him and snorted coldly, "It's only a week, isn't it, Thrace." ”

Fernando lowered his head slightly, the corners of his mouth were pursed again, but he couldn't see the slightest smile, and shook his head slightly: "Scarlett, thank you for still willing to talk to me, I'm really sorry." ”

Scully was stunned for a moment, she didn't expect Fernando to answer like this, she had a bunch of things she wanted to say, but she was choked back by this apology, and she was a little speechless for a while.

So Brunei took over the conversation, lightly pressed the dark red mask on his face, put his right hand on his left shoulder, and nodded in Fernando's movements: "Good morning, Mr. Fernando, it's really a nice day, isn't it?"

"Scarlett, you've been like this since you were a kid. Fernando did not immediately reply to Brunei's words, but sighed and said to Scali, "It seems that you are thousands of miles away, but in fact you care about everyone who seems to be close to you, and not only wants to respond to everyone's kindness, but also wants them to live happily and live in harmony with each other." ”

Fernando pondered for a moment: "I'm not saying bad, you are cute like this, and people who really know you will undoubtedly like you." However, things don't always go in a good direction, and not all people in this world are good people. ”

Scarly's face was flushed again, perhaps because she had seen too much, and Brunei somehow could see that the reason why Scarly's blood was rushing to her face again at the moment was not because of shyness, but because of anger. She snorted again: "Yes, I really didn't expect that someone would dare to kidnap me in Academy City." ”

"That's not kidnapping. To a certain extent, it's also to protect you. Fernando cupped his chin slightly, as if starting to think, "Of course, that sounds like a quibble—"

Scarly interrupted Fernando with a roar, "So, you admit it?!"

Fernando and Brunei were stunned at the same time, and looked at Scarly with a little incomprehensible eyes. In the end, it was Fernando who reacted first, and continued: "Yes. And everything will eventually end after this life-and-death duel. ”

Scarly was so angry that she couldn't even speak, maybe even she didn't know why, and the tears flowed out of her eyes, but she tried to pretend she wasn't crying, repeating the same sentence over and over again: "You guy—you guy!"

"So I said at the beginning, Scarlett, I'm really sorry. Fernando's words dragged a little on each note, sounding a little sad in tone, and then, his gaze fell on Brunei, and finally responded, "Yes, Brunei." The weather is good today. ”

Brunei looked up at the clouds in the sky and shrugged his shoulders: "It's a great honor that you still remember my words." So, if you don't have anything special, Mr. Fernando, the eldest lady and I will go in first?"

Brunei glanced at Scarly, who was still crying silently on the side, took a step in front of her, and smiled: "You may not think that you are wearing such a thick layer, the weather is still quite cold today." Standing here all the time you can catch a cold. ”

Fernando didn't speak, just nodded.

Brunei put her hand behind her and grabbed Scarly's hand, Scarly twitched her hand out slightly, and Brunei added a little force to make her give up resistance, and obediently lowered her head and walked in the door—

As he passed by Fernando, Brunei heard a low voice in his ears that seemed to belong to Fernando, but there was a completely different emotion from Fernando's usual image, cold, vicious, hateful, and anticipatory malice intertwined: "Brunei Carlyle, let's call you that." Oh, are you really still Brunei Carlisle? Let's prove it - in front of everyone. ”

Brunei turned his head sharply to see Scarly's confused eyes, and the same bright smile as when he first met at "Golden Coins", and heard him say in a normal voice, "See you in the afternoon, Brunei." ”

As if he had just heard a hallucination, Fernando gracefully said goodbye to Brunei, who was about to fight for life and death in five hours, with a natural demeanor, just as he had said goodbye to any acquaintance or stranger.

“...... I'll see you soon, Mr. Fernando. Brunei finally relented and dragged Scarly into the darkness.

......

[Pretending to be a ghost, don't worry about it. He's just pretending. 】

"But what do you mean, 'Are you really still Brunei Carlisle?' He wouldn't suspect my name and find out that my real surname was Castro...... And then like those people in the Empire, they don't know why they are full of hatred for me. ”

[And no matter where he can find the surname Castro that you didn't mention once in College City, and don't say that he has any point in proving that you use a fake name to show everyone.] If it were me, I wouldn't say 'still' in this situation. 】

“...... yes, I think too much. What he wants to prove is some kind of change that has happened to me...... What is the change? How is he going to prove it? What is the point of proof?"

[You ask me, I'll ask who to go - although you seem to have a clue?]

“...... If it was really like what I felt at the beginning, it was all planned by him from the beginning......"

......

Passing through the corridor into the huge building, the stone interior walls were still large, and under the dim light of the federal magic lamp, the city lord Skordi arranged for the people to greet them, they seemed to recognize Brunei and Scarly at a glance, respectfully led them to the room prepared for the duelists, and after packing up, they said that they were waiting at the door, and quietly withdrew.

Brunei didn't say a word, and so did Scarly, so all that was left in the room was the intermittent sound of Scarry's uncontrollable sobs, and the slight grinding of Brunei's clothes as he changed his position.

This silence was shattered an hour before the duel began, starting with a series of loud noises that began with the sound of the door being slammed, specifically William Robeskey's passionate shouts: "Mr. Carlyle, I heard you're going to fight that Thracian guy to the death?!"

That was probably the end of the meaningful words, and then William's words were filled with words describing how excited he was, and a tone of voice that reflected how excited he was, and he looked like a kid preparing to eat after a hungry day—and his verbal skills seemed to be similar.

His diametrically opposed reaction to Scully made Brunei a little puzzled: "Uh, William, do you have a vendetta against Mr. Fernando?"

"Mr. Fernando?" William blinked, then with a look of surprise that was so exaggerated that it would have been contrived, "you mean Thrace? No, no, how could it be." That guy is a friend of Scarlett's, and I can't say anything about it- ah, Scarlett, what's wrong with you!"

William was like every restless child, his eyes wandered around the room, so he naturally noticed Scarlett, and he waved his hand, only to find that Scarly's face was full of tears, and he rushed forward in a hurry, but he didn't know what to do, and he was at a loss to ask for warmth: "Scarlett, who bullied you?"

Scarly shook her head slightly, and responded in the voice that was as calm as possible, "William, I'm fine. ”

William's puzzled gaze returned to Brunei. Brunei frowned: "Uh, before talking about this. William, do you think I'm upset?"

William's face looked surprised, and a blind man could probably see it: "How come, Mr. Carlyle, you are my teacher! But what do you mean before you say this? Scarlett is sad that this is the most important thing!"

Brunei scratched his head: "William, let me ask, the 'duel of life and death' is the kind of 'duel of life and death' in the literal sense of the word, right?

"Of course, Mr. Carlisle, you have a great sense of humor—" William answered Brunei's question without hesitation, and then he felt that something was wrong, stopped what he was about to say, tilted his head and thought for a long time, and suddenly realized again, "Oh!"

"A duel of life and death is the most glorious duel. William was a little more serious, looking like a schoolboy who said, "I'm going to be a scientist in the future!" Two people, for their own dignity and glory, fight for their lives!"

William seemed to be intoxicated, and said nonsense that Bruneith found unbelievable as if he were singing.

"I've always looked forward to being able to fight a duel to the death with someone else!" William ended with a long list of statements that had made Brunei renew his doubts after such a long time.

“...... William, you ......" Brunei was stunned for a long time, but he didn't figure out how to answer.

"Alas, William, you're still the same. Scarly shook her head, smiled and sighed.

"Hah, Mr. Carlisle! See, no! The charm of a duel of life and death can even cheer Scarlett up again!" William seemed to be getting more and more energetic, and his voice was getting louder and louder.

Brunei was a little dumbfounded, but Scarly's appearance was really not used to Brunei's appearance, considering that it was also a good thing, Brunei didn't refute William's words, but changed the topic: "Speaking of which, William, do you know the spirit emblem?"

"The spirit emblem - the legendary self-aware magic emblem, right? I envied it when I was a kid. But then I heard that it was just a certain emotion I could sense from the magic emblem—and I sometimes hallucinate...... I was disappointed when I found out. William finally stopped the car before he could ramble on and on about his story, "Mr. Carlisle, why did you bring this up all of a sudden?"

"Because I want to change the subject. Brunei scolded in his heart and said, "It's nothing, I just heard a little." I'm kind of interested - does Mr. Fernando have any story with the Emblem?"

"Story—" William and Scarly looked at each other, "Oh! that kid from Phoenix seems to be the emblem bearer." Yes, you don't know Mr. Carlisle. Phoenix is the second eldest of the Fernando family and the younger brother of Thrace. Well, now he's also the heir to the Fernando family - that kid has been very smart since he was a child, and he is especially liked by the old guys. But if there's a story worth telling—I don't know. ”

[Oh, little Bruneith, I suddenly have the feeling that my mouth is suddenly open. 】

“...... Such. Brunei nodded, then pursed his lips imperceptibly, "Although it does answer a question in the past, I am not very interested in this kind of gossip now." ”

......

The man who had been standing in the doorway suddenly pushed the door in: "Mr. Brunei Carlyle." The time is coming soon, and if you're ready, come with me. ”

Brunei smiled at him and nodded, reputting his mask on.

"Teacher Carlisle, come on!" William's appearance really made Brunei not feel that he cared about his death in the slightest, but Brunei gradually got used to his appearance, and nodded at him.

Brunei looked at Scarly, who was speechless, and was silent for two seconds, brewing a bright smile hidden under the mask: "Miss, I haven't forgotten what I promised you." I'm not going to lie to you - didn't you give me an order as an employer last time? I won't lie to you. ”

"Sorry to keep you waiting, let's go. Brunei walked out the door and closed the door.

After turning around, they came to a dark road, completely unlit. The character, who was perhaps the waiter, stopped, bowed, and pointed his palm up to the passage, "This is it, Mr. Carlisle." Passing through this passage is the venue where you will have a life-and-death duel. I beg your pardon for not being able to continue to accompany you, and I wish you a great victory. ”

Brunei laughed and wrapped the black robe on his body: "Then I will borrow your auspicious words." But, did you know that you guys are a little cold—it's about the same as the handymen in College City? ”

Without waiting for the other party to respond, Brunei shrugged his shoulders with a smile and walked into the corridor. It must have been a long distance, and although it was pitch black for Brunei to figure out what was going on, he walked at his normal pace for quite a long time before he could see a glimmer of light in front of him.

"Da-da-da-da-" Brunei's shoes collided with the slate with a crisp sound, but the background gradually blended into the increasingly obvious noise. Lifting his feet and stepping out of the passage, the sound suddenly became several times louder, turning into a deafening cheer.

"The one who appears now is a seventeen-year-old mage, the guard of the Miltrov family! In order to seek justice for his master and save his dignity as a guard, he risked his life to participate in the duel, Brunei Darus!

The most exaggerated thing is that a hoarse voice actually drowned out the cheers of the surrounding circle of people who had been crowded at some point - the voice was still a little familiar to Brunei Darussalam. It is the voice of the dean of the academy city, the lord of the city, the voice of Skordi Lone Wolf, who is a little too energetic for his own image and actual age!

Brunei raised his head following the source of the voice, and found that His Excellency the City Lord was actually floating directly above the venue, wearing a bright red robe, dancing with his hands: "And now, the one who walked out from the south broke through before the duel and became a second-turn mage, in order to protect the glory of the surname Fernando, he did not give an inch, and launched a life-and-death duel against the civilians, Thrace de Hel Fernando, the eldest son of the Fernando family, Thrace de Hel Fernando!"

Brunei looked up and saw that the sun could not be found in the overcast sky, which made him a little confused about which side of the south was. Fortunately, before His Excellency the Dean could finish speaking, Fernando's figure emerged from the dark corridor opposite—there were no footsteps, and the movement of his steps was somehow easy to ignore, as if he really emerged from the darkness.

Fernando was still wearing the gorgeous and intricate black gown of the morning, and this time he saw that Brunei had a new perspective in addition to those previous impressions. The outfit is indeed beautiful and extravagant, but it does not look suitable for large-scale activities, especially combat.

Fernando raised his head, waved his hands in exaggerated motions, and greeted the crowd around him, in exchange for wave after wave of cheers, far more frenetic than Brunei's appearance.

Although it would have been difficult for the audience to make out Fernando's expression at that distance, he still maintained the reserved but enthusiastic smile on his face as he waved to the audience. Correspondingly, when Fernando lowered his head and looked at Brunei, the smile on his face faded in an instant and became expressionless.

Brunei laughed dryly and swallowed. He believed that he would never lose with the existence of the system, and he even had room to consider the promise to Scully that "no one will die" just now, but at this moment, he felt fear in his heart. His expression was probably ugly, and he couldn't help but rejoice that he was wearing a mask again.

The cheers finally faded away, and after a gesture from His Excellency the Dean in the air, it became silent in just a few seconds, and only the unbelievably loud voice of the Dean echoed throughout the arena: "According to the commission of the two duelists, I, Skordi Lone Wolf, the Dean of College City, hereby make a notarization of the duel of life and death between the two glorious ones!

"Following the old rules, please make a vow here, in front of everyone present, in accordance with tradition, in a name that is more important than life, and the glory that belongs to you and your family. ”

Fernando's left hand was pressed against the back of his right hand, above the magic emblem, his hands were folded five centimeters in front of his chest, his expression was serious, and his tone was calm: "I, Thrace de Hull Fernando, in order to protect the glory of the family, will launch an honorable life-and-death duel against Brunei Carlisle. In order to wash away the stain that I should not bear, I would like to swear in the name of Fernando that all problems will be resolved justly in this duel witnessed by the world, even if it is defeat or even death, I will accept it calmly. ”

Fernando's voice somehow had an amazing penetrating power like that of His Excellency the Dean, and Brunei couldn't help coughing, only to be startled by his own voice. After Fernando's words, there was a brief cheer from the audience, but it quickly fell silent again, which made Brunei realize that they were waiting for him.

Being watched by so many people at the same time was a novel experience for Brunei, and he had to find something else to distract himself from in order to relieve a little of the pressure he was inexplicably carrying. Fortunately, it was not difficult to look at it, not far from where they were, and in the audience, Jamie was waving his arms vigorously, and his face was red with excitement.

The money given to him before was probably not enough to sit in such a high position. Brunei smiled.

Soon, he found other familiar faces in the audience, Mr. Gerald, the owner of "Gerald's Magic Shop", Aunt Susan, and even a few former handyman colleagues whom he didn't know very well, the teacher William had given him the first lessons he had found. In the nearest place, it was William, who was full of expectations, and Scarly, who was nervous.

Brunei nodded at them, spoke, and spoke in a voice as loud as the Lord Dean's and Fernando had done before, and everyone could hear it clearly: "I, Brunei Carlyle, for the sake of justice, for the sake of my master, Scarly Tri Miltrov seeks justice, and in order to make up for my personal dereliction of duty, I voluntarily accept the life-and-death duel of Thrace Fernando—heh. ”

Brunei let out a sneer. In fact, he had heard it twice and had long remembered Fernando's full name, but he didn't know why he suddenly wanted to make a joke. And to be honest, he has been wanting to laugh since he said the word "I", and if he doesn't vent here, maybe he will laugh out loud when he shouldn't laugh and cause some unnecessary trouble.

His laughter caused an uproar in the audience, but neither Scordi, who was in charge of the host, nor Fernando, did not react, and they quickly fell silent again.

"I swear by all the glory and prestige of the meager name of Brunei Carlyle that all the problems of this incident will be resolved justly in this duel witnessed by the world, and that I will not regret even defeat or death. ”

The system is laughing maniacally again. However, the first time Brunei wanted to laugh with it, he couldn't laugh out loud, which made him feel a little regretful.

Cheers, anticipation, and other voices that don't know what they were gathered to make the entire audience boil. It wasn't until about a minute later that His Excellency the Dean spoke again, muffling out their voices: "Good. This glorious duel will be witnessed by me, as a legendary mage. There's no need for any more foreshadowing, we're ready to get started. ”

"Please take three more steps forward. ”

Brunei and Fernando took three steps forward, and then with a deafening loud noise, the ground actually rose out of thin air, forming a large square stone pillar thirty meters square at the top, almost the same height as the bottom of the auditorium that was originally four or five meters above the ground. Brunei and Fernando stood facing each other at the ends of the pillar.

As the two of them can see, the top of this stone pillar is the venue for the two to fight to the death. Traditionally, in order to protect the spectators, you can't see the edge of the venue, but there is a very strong shield. ”

With a casual gesture, a fireball was born out of thin air not too close to him, flew towards the edge of the field, and disappeared the moment it touched the edge.

"As you can see, magic cannot penetrate this shield, and spells cast on it will disappear into thin air. The same is true for objects other than humans, who can theoretically pass through the shield for a short period of time, but can be life-threatening for a long time. This is a very important rule for both duelists and is expected to be kept in mind. ”

"Hey. Brunei looked back at the edge of the stone pillar that looked empty, thought for a moment and stretched out his hand, not feeling any hindrance at all, he frowned, thought for a while, and then took his hand back.

"And then, there's one last thing. Also according to ancient traditions, Thracian · D.H. Fernando, as the initiator of the duel, became a second-turn mage before the duel, which would destroy the principle of fairness and justice in a duel between life and death. Therefore, it is necessary for you to declare your necessary information to your opponent. Of course, in order to protect your privacy, you can only announce it to the other party, but as a notary, I will also know at the same time. Hope you understand. ”

Fernando smiled: "Of course. Then please beg Your Excellency Dean to cancel this spell that spreads sound. ”

I don't know what the dean did, so Fernando nodded and walked towards Bruneisi, who thought about it a little and greeted him. The two stood facing each other in the center of the field.

"Brunei. I used to really appreciate you. Fernando shook his head slightly, still looking solemn, raised his right hand, unbuttoned his sleeve, revealing the back of his hand and his entire forearm, a long, round-headed sword that looked a little blunt was drawn on it as if it had penetrated the arm, and the back was leaning against a round shield like a flower, as if there were petals falling - Brunei finally saw that Fernando's magic emblem seemed to be seventy or eighty percent similar to their family crest with a candle in the flower," I'm now a second-turn mage.,The magic emblem is a family heirloom federation system.,The level is high.,The upper limit of mental power is about 11,000.,The earth system has a single attribute.。 ”

"There are three inscribed supermagic skills and six spell slots. Now you know what a spell slot is, don't you?"

The corners of Brunei's mouth twitched: "Huh." Need I introduce myself?"

"No, you don't. Fernando shook his head calmly, a cold expression suddenly appeared on his face, "Anyway, I already know." ”

"......" the corners of Brunei's mouth twitched again.

"Huh. Fernando sneered, "Of course, there is no point in so-called fairness." So, for the sake of how much I used to admire you, I'll teach you something first. Do you think that under what circumstances does a first-turn mage have the slightest hope of defeating a second-turn mage?"

"......" Brunei pondered for a long time, and finally decided to answer this question, "In the case of the second turn mage underestimating the enemy. ”

The corners of Fernando's mouth rose slightly, but he couldn't see the slightest joy: "Not exactly. You're talking about phenomena, not essences. The question itself is asking where the second-turn mage has an absolute advantage over the first-turn mage. ”

"The correct answer is time. The second turn mage gives the first turn mage time, which is equivalent to giving up his greatest advantage, no matter what the reason, this is the only hope for the first turn mage. ”

"So, I'm not going to give you time. You will not get the slightest respite and end up drowning in a hopeless abyss of misery. Fernando's voice was calm and cold, like a snake stating to an immobile frog that it was about to turn into food, but at last he laughed, the same warm and reserved smile that belonged to Fernando, like ice melting, "Or, wouldn't you?"

Fernando turned and walked back to his place, leaving only one last word of suppressed enthusiasm as if it were the first time they met. At that time, whether sincerely or not, he called Brunei "friend" and said to him, "Call me Thrace".

"I'm looking forward to it, Brunei. ”

......

"Then, I declare, the duel, begins here!"