Chapter 395: Proof of Innocence

　The day after a good night’s rest at the village inn.

　Leaving the village first thing in the morning, the chief and his entourage arrived safely at the town of Wasan.

　Since they had been given advance notice, the town mayor himself was courteous enough to welcome the group in good time and show them to the inn where they would be staying that night.

　At that time, the chief’s son-in-law to be wanted to meet his bride, with whom he had fallen in love with at first sight, but since they were yet to be married, he was asked to refrain from doing so.

　At the time, Tauro was acting as her escort and dealt with the son, but compared to the polite mayor, the son didn’t make a very good impression.

　This is because,

“What the hell, dude? Are you trying to prevent me from meeting my bride to be!”

　He was very overbearing.

　He was 18 years old, big in stature, and looked like a good‐for‐nothing  brat who used his father’s status to his advantage.

　Apparently, when the village chief’s family visited the town last year and paid their respects to the mayor, this ill-mannered spoiled son fell in love with the village chief’s daughter.

　Even after the chief and his family returned to the village, the son could not forget her, so he begged the town mayor  to marry her, and the marriage was arranged.

　Apparently the village chief, with him being the town mayor’s son, agreed without hesitation.*

　The mayor had an extremely good reputation for himself, and he was apparently one of Count Graunewald’s favorite subordinates.

　But looking at his son, Tauro wondered if he might have spoiled him. He tried to convince him that it was bad luck for a groom to meet someone before getting married, but he did not seem convinced.

　On the contrary, he was not happy that Tauro was escorting his lady,

“There’s a strange bug on my bride!”

　It soon became clear that he was boasting to those around him.

“…Am I not weirdly getting dragged into this?”

　Tauro asked Ankh, another man, for advice.

“Hahaha! Maybe he thought that since you’re a man,  he sees you as some kind of rival? That’s good, because it means he treated you like a man!”

　Ankh said irresponsibly and patted Tauro on the back.

　That evening.

　The daughter became even more anxious after hearing the whole story that had happened that afternoon, shortly after her husband-to-be, the son, had arrived.

　Finally, she confided in her father, the village chief.

“Now that we’ve come this far, we can’t just forego the marriage!”

　The village chief was surprised by his daughter’s change of heart (he simply just didn’t know it), but he tried to persuade her with an optimistic tone, saying that such things would settle down soon after she got married.

　Since her mother also agreed with the opinion of her husband, the village chief, the daughter could say nothing more.

　That evening.

　Bandits broke into the inn.

　Or rather, it was that the spoiled brat had infiltrated the inn for a night crawl on his bride.

　It was Ankh who apprehended him, and Tauro removed the cloth covering his face to check, causing the spoiled brat to become enraged when he saw him.

“You little brat! Don’t think you’ve won! I’m the son of a Mage Baron! Let me go or I’ll hurt you!”

　This guy is a total no-no. …… He’s getting married in a few days, so he couldn’t hold out for that long. ……

　Tauro wondered what to do, but he knew he couldn’t just leave him there.

　He instructed Ankh to let him go and raise him up, and released him.

“You’re lucky your crew is so strong! If it had been just you, I would have beaten you to a pulp!”

　The spoiled son was furious, ignoring the fact that he had sneaked in to sneak into the house at night and been caught.

　Are you the type of person who changes things in your head to suit your own convenience?! No matter what I say, it won’t get through to you…

　Tauro was wondering how to warn him, though,

“I will inform the mayor of this matter. I ask that you refrain from doing anything as such until your wedding night.”

　I decided the best thing to do would be to tell his parents.

“My father?… Don’t think you’ve won yet! — That’s it! To prove my innocence, I challenge you to a duel! I’ll win and prove my innocence, so accept it!”

　The spoiled son thought it was a brilliant idea and started saying something strange.

　What is this guy saying?!

　Tauro was amazed at the spoiled son’s thought process.

　It is true that in the past there was a way to prove something like that.

　Nowadays, however, it is no longer possible to escape punishment in this way, although it seems that such customs still exist in some rural areas.

　Apparently, the spoiled son had learned of this from somewhere and, thinking he could win against the little Tauro, had come up with the idea.

“…… is that a formal application?”

　Tauro asked, as if he’d suddenly thought of something and asked in a way for him to confirm his words.

“Yeah? Of course! Somebody give me some gloves!”

　The spoiled brat demanded gloves from those around him.

　So Tauro took out a pair of gloves from the magic storage and gave them to him.

　The spoiled brat took the glove and threw it at Tauro’s face.

“Tomorrow at noon, on a small hill on the outskirts of this city, I challenge you to a duel to prove my innocence!”

　The spoiled brat seemed to completely underestimate little Tauro.

“Then, if I win, I will ask you to respect the will of the bride, the village chief’s daughter.”

“The bride’s will? Is that really what you want? Hahaha! that’s fine! I’m a man too, and I’ll respect the will of the one I love!”

　The spoiled brat seemed to think he had already won, and showed his generous side.

　As he watched the spoiled son confidently walk out the front of the inn, the village chief approached Tauro, not understanding what was going on.

“What is going on?! I thought you were making noise in the middle of the night, but what’s this about you dueling with the groom?!”

　Tauro briefly explained what had happened.

“! A night crawl before the wedding ceremony! ……Maybe there is a custom like that in this Town?”

　The village chief could not deny the character of his daughter’s husband and tried to think that there must be some reason behind it.

“If that were the case, I don’t think he would have challenged me to a duel.”

　Tauro dismissed the village chief’s evasion of reality.

“Either way, we can’t have the groom injured before the wedding, Mister Tauro, you understand?”

　It seems the village chief is still unable to face the problem of the spoiled son.

　Well, it was sudden, so I guess it can’t be helped…

　Tauro guessed that the village chief meant that he wanted him to lose, but

“Please think of it as one of the pre-wedding events and enjoy yourselves.”

　He answered with a laugh and urged everyone to go to bed.

Tl Note:

yobai 夜這い*creeping at night into a woman’s bedroom; stealing into a girl’s bedroom at night to make love; sneaking visit

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