Verse 25 resolves

Ashrufat's hand holding the cup immediately stiffened.

"Ah, don't worry, I'm just talking about it. Tell you something...... I've met several people like you. ”

"What do you mean?"

"Was your sweetheart captured by the Scarlet Duke?" the boss asked mysteriously. "Because I don't think you're very old, I don't think it's a daughter. ”

"Ah......" was revealed by the other party, and Ashrufat couldn't help but be stunned on the spot.

The boss leaned over and asked in a very soft voice. "Are you thinking about breaking into the dark castle at night and rescuing your lover?!"

If it weren't for the helmet on Ashrufat's head that obscured a large part of his appearance, then I'm afraid the boss would have been so frightened that he would have sat on the ground. Even so, he could clearly feel the murderous aura emanating from the other party's body. Only a battle-hardened person can produce such momentum.

"Don't worry, young man. The boss hurriedly raised his hand to show that he had no malicious intent. "I just guessed. Well, it's actually easy to guess because you're not the first, and probably not the last. But don't do anything stupid. ”

"Silly?"

"Well, if you want to sneak into the Dark Castle, that's stupid. Because if you're trying to save someone, it's the one with the lowest success rate - so far, there's no precedent for success. ”

"What do you mean...... Is there any other way?" said Ashrufat, calming himself down.

"Of course. You're an outsider, aren't you?" looked at Ashrufat and nodded, and the boss continued. "The easiest way to do this is that Lord Duke loves a challenge. ”

"Challenge?"

"This 'challenge' does not mean fighting, of course, it is okay to fight, but to all challenges. For example, playing chess, playing cards, and all sorts of things. ”

"What do you mean......" Ashrufat asked, confused. "Take a bet with the Scarlet Duke, just win the bet?"

"That's pretty much what it means! The Duke is not human, but he is not an incomprehensible monster. Well, the girls in his castle, with the exception of a very few with special reasons, are actually redeemable. Of course, the ransom is expensive. Besides, he's fair - even a little too face-loving. So there are a lot of people who take advantage of this to beat him. A few years ago, the pirates sold the spoils of a plunder, a beautiful girl, to the Scarlet Duke, and the girl's father came to the door. He didn't have much money and couldn't redeem his daughter, so he invented a chess game on the spot in Sivania, and then challenged the Scarlet Duke. The challenge was the chess he had just invented. ”

The boss said with a smile. "An unprecedented way to play, of course, the inventor has the absolute upper hand. Eventually, he brought back his daughter and scraped a little money from the Scarlet Duke for the passage home. ”

"It's that simple?" said Ashrufat, not convinced.

"Ah, it's easy to say it's simple, it's not easy to say it's not simple. At least I know that there are many losers...... Well, I know there was once a gambler who came out of his way to challenge the Scarlet Duke. Not with swords and shields, of course, but with dice and cards. He probably thought that he had an advantage in this regard, and invited three prestigious people as arbitrators, and agreed on the victory or defeat of the three battles. The two sides face off at the city's town hall...... The result was a three-time victory for the Scarlet Duke. Then the gambler ...... "He made a throat-slitting gesture." "It became an experimental prop for the black magician.

There are many such things, and some scholars have even summarized this challenge. ”

"Oh, this...... Is there any fixed pattern?". Ashrufat understood the boss's implication.

"Ah, that's not what I said, but by a respected scholar. The boss may have looked at Ashrufat and poured him another drink. He said that in order to defeat the Scarlet Duke, several important things were needed. The first is to choose what you are best at, and if you are only at a second-rate level, then it's best not to take risks. Because a vampire's intelligence is far superior to that of humans, it may only take him a short time to master something he has never been exposed to and reach a certain level. ”

"Not bad. Ashrufat thought for a moment and agreed.

"Second, you can't choose challenges that are well-known and familiar to most people. For example, playing cards, chess, etc. Because you don't know if the Scarlet Duke is good at it or not. You know, he's immortal, and there's endless time to squander. So he undoubtedly has plenty of time to learn various skills and even ways to have fun. This is a very risky approach. ”

"Makes sense. ”

"Finally, there have to be conditions that are not important...... The key is not to let the Scarlet Duke have emotions such as anger and uneasiness to make him go all out. Too greedy a request would anger the Scarlet Duke, and a simple request might make him less interested in winning and slackening. However, "the boss added an extra last word at the end." "Even so, the chances of challenging vampires are no more than forty percent. So if you can, it's better to settle it with money. Find someone who is good at eloquence and have a negotiation with the Duke, and you can basically solve the problem. ”

"Eloquence?"

"Ah, if only you could convince the Scarlet Duke, he would agree to let him go. As I said, the Duke is not an unreasonable person. On the contrary, he is very reasonable. But on the other hand, if your reasons are not sufficient, then things may get troublesome - and his castle will no longer welcome you. He doesn't really care about money. ”

"Duke Scarlet...... Will you duel with people?". Ashrufat asked suddenly.

"Of course, why not? That's what he's best at!"

"Didn't there ever be a warrior...... Did he defeat him in a duel? and did he end up relying on ransom money to get his freedom back?"

But it was the only time he failed. The boss replied. "Many people who witnessed the duel said that it was not because the Scarlet Duke was not strong enough, but because he was too careless. He wasn't going to lose. His gaze suddenly looked up and down at Ashrufat. As mentioned earlier, Eshurufat has cultivated an instinctive military temperament due to his long military career. Anyone with a little bit of eye can tell that he is a battle-hardened soldier. And here in West Sylvania, mercenaries are common. "Young man, do you want to ...... Challenge the Duke's fighting ability. ”

"That's all I'm good at. Ashrufat said. Maybe it's the boss's words, maybe it's because there is enough time for his nature to slowly take over. At this moment, the uneasiness, remorse, and chagrin in his heart had slowly faded. It is irreversible that something has happened, and the only thing that can be done now is how to fix it.

That vampire...... Eshurufat looked towards where the Dark Citadel was. Of course, because of the many buildings blocking his view, he couldn't see the Dark Castle from his position, but that didn't stop him from imagining that in the Dark Castle, the vampire's gaze was looking this way.

Is there no other choice? Or is a private duel the best way to resolve this contradiction?

......

The cell door was opened, and the two men were released from the cell.

To tell the truth, the little girl almost thought it was a dream, but she pinched her thigh hard, and finally proved that it was not a dream.

"That...... Lady Hoshimi is from Gruni?" asked Lhea. "So meet this princess. ”

Hoshimi nodded vigorously. Although she was skeptical that it wasn't a test of "loyalty," she ultimately felt she couldn't ignore the two of them being locked up in a cell. Anyway, they have experienced blood and fire together. And it turned out to be not a test. It can be seen that Scarlet is depressed, but he still opens the cell door and releases the prisoner.

Looking at the two people who came out, Hoshimi didn't know what to do next for a while.

"Can you ...... Let them go?" she asked Léa.

"Wait," snapped up, "it's okay to let them go, but this one," she pointed to Laria. "I once made a pact with the Duke. Her soul belongs to the Duke. In exchange, the Duke gave her strength and granted her a wish. And she took advantage of this to escape. ”

"But this ......"

"Although Lady Hoshimi can call the shots with her, if she is let go, then she must return her power to Lord Duke. ”

"This ......," Hoshimi looked at Laria for help. Although Leia says that she can make decisions, Hoshimi's own personality is a weaker type. So when Scarlet said this with a strong attitude, she didn't know how to object.

"No problem. Laria nodded. For her now, this power is not necessary.

"Carrie!" Léa shouted, and a metal ball suddenly appeared between them. This time, Hoshimi saw the metal ball appear, and it seemed to float directly from the ground - just like a human swimming in water, the metal ball could swim between the ceiling, floor, and walls of the castle. And then appeared among them.

Hoshimi wanted to ask what was wrong with his sister, but he was a little scared and didn't dare to ask.

"Can you take back her power?". Leia asked.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but you don't have this permission. The metal ball replied. "Let's wait for the Duke to come back. Before he returned, "the metal ball floated," and let them stay in the castle first. ”

It's going to end tomorrow...... So it's okay to change it.