The Deeds Of An Extremely Arrogant Villain Aristocrat - Chapter 38: The Scapegoat Adventurer

“Al-san… and Luke-sama!?”

“Hmm, who are you?”

“Um, well…”

Zach wasn’t surprised that Luke didn’t remember him at all.

(…I’m just like a pebble on the side of the road. I know it’s hard to remember someone like me… —Sigh, but it’s still sad…)

“Um, so, Al-san… what’s going on here?”

Zach had brought Canis and Ferris, whom he had met in the capital city by chance and had followed him to Gilbadia, to introduce them to the best blacksmith in town.

However, Zach decided that it was more important to deal with the current situation first.

“Zach, huh… tell him. This idiot says he won’t sell swords.”

Al said in a small and calm voice, but Zach keenly sensed the clear anger contained in it.

“Y-yeah…”

(Oh no, Al-san is getting angry… I can’t take it anymore…)

Realizing that the situation was much more chaotic than he had anticipated, Zach felt a sickening sensation in his stomach.

“… Don’t do anything, okay?”

“… I know.”

While Zach was racking his brains, Canis whispered to Ferris in a small voice.

“Whether he’s the lord’s son or not doesn’t matter!! My sword is not just for show!! If you want a decoration, go somewhere else!!”

“… Talking to such a foolish person is unpleasant.”

“What the h**l did you say!?”

“Ah!! Wait, please!! Luke-sama!! Please!! Just a little!! Just give us a little more time, please!!”

“Who the h**l are you?”

“I’m Zach!! We fought once a few years ago!!”

“…”

“You don’t remember me, right?! It’s okay!! I knew that!!”

Zach raised his voice to try and smooth things over. His desperation could be felt through his gestures and actions.

Luke felt a sense of discomfort at the man’s frantic behavior, but at the same time, he couldn’t help but feel a certain level of fondness towards him.

“Master Luke. Do you remember when you put out a request for adventurers a few years ago?”

“…Yeah.”

“At that time, this man named Zach also had a match with you.”

“Zach…I don’t remember him.”

Alfred quietly informed Luke, but his memory still didn’t come back. It seemed that people he deemed unimportant were erased from his memory.

Still, the fact that Luke was willing to wait a little longer was a solid accomplishment that Zach had won.

“I won’t wait long.”

“Thank you very much!!”

Zach bowed deeply and headed towards the blacksmith, Dalkin, who was in the midst of the turmoil.

Then, Luke noticed that there were two more people, a man and a woman wearing turbans, in that place.

And—

“Oh, how rare. —Beastmen.”

“…” x2

He also realized that they were not pure humans. Through his constantly honed magic sensing ability, he could tell that those two had no magic at all.

This made Canis and Ferris tense for a moment, but Canis quickly took action.

“A-actually, that’s right~”

Canis took off his own turban, revealing his distinctive “ears,” which were droopy like a dog’s.

Continuing on, Canis took off Ferris’s turban.

“Hey?”

Ferris had cat ears.

Perhaps because her turban was accidentally removed, she instinctively hid her ears with her hand.

“We are siblings. Being a beastmen makes life difficult to live in this country, doesn’t it? So, to avoid unnecessary trouble, we usually hide our ears like this.”

“…”

Canis put on a fake smile, and Ferris remained silent.

“Hmm, then why did you even bother coming to this country?”

“… Eh?”

Luke’s sharp gaze pierced Canis and Ferris, creating a heavy pressure that squeezed their hearts.

“Don’t tell me you didn’t know? The empire is nearby. So why did you even come to the kingdom?”

“Well, umm…”

It was easy to deceive with casual words. However, if they did so, they would be immediately exposed. It was just a feeling, but Canis and Ferris were sure of it.

Therefore, they were at a loss for words.

The heavily stretched out time weighed on them—

“Umm, excuse me, can I ask you something?”

Zach came back.

“What’s the matter, have you settled things?”

“Yes, well… The blacksmith here, his name is Dalkin, seems to have had a misunderstanding.”

“What do you mean? Explain.”

“Erm, a high noble like you…”

“… just drop the honorifics.”

“Well, you see, he thought you were a high noble, and he didn’t realize that someone like Luke-sama would be practicing swordsmanship. He thought you were buying a sword for decoration, so… um…”

“Get to the point.”

“I tried to explain, but Dalkin is really stubborn. He said he wouldn’t believe it until he saw it with his own eyes…”

“…Ha?”

“Heeey.”

Feeling the aura of rage that erupted from Luke, Zach let out a small scream.

“You want me to prove my power to some less than horse s**t? Who the h**l do you think you are?”

“I-I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”

Zach’s stomach pain worsened along with his despair of why he had to go through this.

However,

“Well… kuh— this is something I should do…”

“Huh?”

He offered his hand.

Luke had changed his mind.

(As an adventurer, I can’t afford to be angry at this level…)

Luke exhaled with anger swirling in his heart.

“You said your name was Zach. Make a promise with me.”

“Um, what is it…?”

“It’s okay to show you my sword skills. However, I have a feeling that something troublesome will happen if I do that… I can’t explain it well…”

“Huh?”

It was Luke’s intuition based on his past experiences. He suspected that his actions might cause unexpected trouble.

“Anyway, I’ll show you my sword skills. If something troublesome happens because of it, you deal with it. Got it, Zach?”

“Uh, yeah… I understand.”

Zach didn’t really understand what Luke was saying, but he agreed for the time being.

“…You can try your sword in the backyard.”

With that, Dalkin started to walk away. His back was telling them to follow him.

Luke once again held back his anger at his rude attitude, reminding himself that it was necessary to behave as an adventurer.

Although he didn’t show it on his face, Alfred also felt angry like Luke did. He had loyalty to his master, so he was upset by the disrespect shown to him.

Everyone in the group started moving. Canis and Ferris followed silently.

“Here it is.”

Several bundles of straw were lined up there. As Dalkin had said, this was probably the place where the finished swords were tested.

Then, Luke quietly approached the straw and touched it several times with his hands.

“This is nothing…”

He said that and drew a sword without a blade, a replica of the one he usually used. He had brought it to have a new sword made based on it.

“Hey, that sword doesn’t have a blade—”

“Shut up and watch.”

“What the h**l—!”

“Come on, let’s just watch for a bit, Dalkin-san.”

Luke confirmed the feel of the sword he drew and took aim with a steady gaze. Then, he slightly lowered his hips and moved his left foot forward, the sword to his right side in the Eight Direction stance.

He sharpened his focus. The air had changed.

(… this is it)

Zach remembered. The real “monster”.

But Luke drew his sword.

That alone made everyone present understand. Luke’s strength was not a fake.

That included even Dalkin, who was a blacksmith and also had some knowledge of swords. He could understand it all the more than them.

(I was the one who was looking down on a noble with my own prejudices…)

He no longer doubted that Luke’s ability was real. Still, there was no stopping him.

Why— because he wanted to see it.

He was dominated by an irresistible desire to witness what was about to unfold.

But there was no room left in Luke’s mind for such thoughts. His sharpened spirit had produced an extreme level of concentration.

And then—

“────”

Alfred, Canis, and Ferris were the only three who were able to fully capture the sword’s trajectory.

Alfred had years of training, while Canis and Ferris were able to do it because of their physical abilities. Zach caught it only slightly but not so accurately.

Dalkin couldn’t see anything, but he could feel that something had happened.

With a sound like “swing,” half of the straw was cut off.

“ —See!”

The voice of surprise belonged to Zach.

The fallen straw was split into three pieces due to the impact.

In other words— three flashes.

What appeared to be a single strike from Zach was actually swung three times.

The momentary silence that followed was due to everyone present understanding this.

“A…amazing!!!!!”

As everyone was left speechless, Alfred suddenly dropped to his knees and looked up to the sky with admiration.

“Master Luke!!! I have never seen anything… anything like this before!!”

“…”

Luke was taken aback by Alfred’s sudden change, but the situation only escalated.

“Hey, what’s going on…? Guh!”

“Uuuhhh…Uwooooon!!!!”

For some reason, Luke witnessed Dalkin sobbing. In that instant, he sensed that something troublesome had indeed occurred with what he did.

Therefore, he shouted.

“Zach!! Do something about this situation!!”

“Eeehhhhhhh!!!!”

Zach was also captivated by Luke’s sword, but the pain in his stomach caused by facing this chaotic situation brought him back to reality.