The Price of a Duel: Hostages and a Head

The atmosphere was akin to a classic Western film, a cowboy duel tune echoing in Seraphina’s mind.

Just like two gunslingers facing off, Cardo pressed his fist against Sevilya’s head, while Evra aimed her staff at Iqiyah’s temple.

Both sides stood in a tense standoff, their hands gripping the “pistols” at their waists—their hostages—ready to draw their weapons at any moment and deliver a devastating blow to the other side’s hostage.

In the charged atmosphere, time and the battlefield fell silent.

What was truly astonishing was that both main damage dealers were now in the enemy’s hands. Meanwhile, the support characters, originally relegated to battlefield logistics, had transformed into the direct forces stirring the tides of battle.

“Evra… calm down, calm down…”

Abruptly, Sevilya’s voice shattered the stalemate.

“Listen to me… hold Iqiyah tightly. They wouldn’t dare lay a hand on me.”

“You scoundrel, do you want your head blown off?”

Despite her harsh words, Seraphina’s inner rationality warned her against using violence.

After all, even a slight movement could lead the other side to misjudge the situation, potentially causing immeasurable losses.

“Now… listen to me,” Sevilya insisted, sensing Seraphina’s hesitation. “Open the teleportation array, take the hostage, and return to the palace!”

“Shut up! Just shut up!”

Cardo hastily clapped a hand over Sevilya’s mouth, but it was already futile.

As fellow dependents of the Life Goddess, Evra understood Sevilya’s intentions with just a few words.

“Sevilya, you’ve suffered enough.”

Beams of golden light unfurled, and teleportation arrays materialized behind the elves.

“Seraphina… we’re taking Iqiyah with us for now.”

Holding Iqiyah and Levian, Evra’s form gradually became enveloped by the shimmering light.

“If you want her back, bring Sevilya, the [Fragment]… and yourself to me as soon as possible.”

“Mark my words! Three items. If even one is missing, I will immediately kill your friends!”

Buzz—

The magic hummed, and in a burst of radiance, the elves vanished.

She turned around.

“Uh… what do you two want to do?”

No sooner had the words left her mouth than the two, without a word, simultaneously—

Cardo and Seraphina raised their fists, aiming directly for the Knight.

“Speak! Where was Iqiyah Scarlett taken!?”

“No, right? Then it’s a beating!”

“Stop hitting me! Stop! I’ll tell you, won’t I?”

Severely wounded, Sevilya was utterly defenseless, even against Seraphina. She could only weakly raise her hands, attempting to block their barrage of punches.

“…The Land of Elves! She’s in the Land of Elves!”

“The Land of Elves? Never heard of it!”

Seraphina was actually lying. As an adventurer, she naturally knew of the Land of Elves.

Her lie was simply because she wanted to beat the annoying Knight for a little longer.

‘Still… the Land of Elves?’

She recalled the knowledge she had once found written on a tree: it was a northern city, nestled within vast woodlands. Its specialties included colossal elf trees, hundreds of meters tall and as thick as palaces, and it was renowned worldwide for its numerous buildings constructed upon trees.

Beyond that, another unique feature made it globally famous.

It was a city transformed from an ancient, colossal forest dungeon!

What’s more, for some unknown reason, the parts originally belonging to the dungeon were remarkably well-preserved.

Corridors, monster rooms, treasure rooms… even the BOSS room—not a single one was missing.

Concurrently, its transformation into an elven city had significantly reduced the difficulty of survival. The entire dungeon was merely B-rank, far below the S-rank of the Blood Manor.

It had even been rated by Michelin for a hundred consecutive years as the Easiest Dungeon to Conquer!

Yet, the primary reason they had forsaken this simple dungeon to instead tackle the excruciatingly difficult S-rank Blood Manor was actually this:

“The Land of Elves? It’s too far!”

“I’m tired of hitting them,” Cardo said, rising to his feet and wiping the sweat from his brow.

“Indeed, the Land of Elves is located in the northern coastal region of the continent. The distance from here is almost comparable to the distance between us and the Eastern tribes.”

“What should we do?” Seraphina straightened up, equally drenched in sweat. “Cardo, do you have any ideas?”

‘Cardo, do you even have money for a dilapidated train?’

“Not a chance… I’m a spirit. How could I possibly have money?”

…

“How about…”

Cardo pointed to the unconscious Knight on the ground, a mischievous grin spreading across his face.

“We could… strip her down?”

“Ha, you’re a goddamn genius!”

****

Several hours later, in the manor’s reception room.

Having used magic to restore the maids’ consciousness, Seraphina and Cardo finally returned to Scarlett Manor through the proper channels.

“This person… is much poorer than I imagined!”

Seraphina picked up the money pouch hidden beneath Sevilya’s armor and, with a single motion, emptied its contents, only for a few forlorn copper coins to clatter out.

“Ugh, who would’ve thought that a formidable divine attendant wouldn’t have a single coin on them?”

Meanwhile, Cardo stripped Sevilya of her armor and clothing, leaving only two pieces of fabric to cover her modesty.

“Tell me, how much do you think this armor could sell for?”

“Don’t…”

Seraphina picked up the silver-white helmet, trying to fit it onto her own head.

“Such fine armor, I’m practically drooling over it…”

However, as soon as she put it on, a notification immediately popped up from the [All-Seeing Eye]—

[Notification] Insufficient Level! Forcibly equipping this item will prevent it from exerting all its special effects and will also increase your weight burden by 50%…

…

“Fantasy is beautiful, but reality is often harsh~” Cardo patted Seraphina’s back. “It’s better to just sell it honestly.”

“Ugh,” Seraphina sighed in resignation, leaning back to lie on the spotless floor. “How did I end up having to sell armor?”

…

“Lying on the floor, you might catch a cold, you know.” As he gathered the armor pieces, Cardo warned Seraphina, “Also, trust me, absolutely—absolutely do not look to your right!”

‘Don’t look to the right? Why?’

Seraphina immediately rolled over to her right… and then witnessed a sight she would never forget.

“Whaaaaaaaat the hell is that!!!”

Directly in front of her, a completely white skull had appeared at some point!

With white hair, pale skin, drooping eyelids above lightless eyes, it was unmistakably the True Ancestor’s head.

“Hahahahahah…” Seeing Seraphina scared out of her wits, Cardo burst into laughter. “I told you not to look, but you just had to. How about it, got scared, didn’t you?”

“No, seriously, what are you doing carrying this thing around? Do you think this is some early 20th-century Eastern limited edition yo-yo competition?”

Indeed… perhaps for convenience of carrying, Cardo had specifically attached a braided pigtail to it.

“Relax, I just have a hunch.” Cardo picked up the True Ancestor’s head, manipulating it like a hand puppet. He pried open its mouth, mimicking the True Ancestor’s voice, “Perhaps one day in the future, it might come in handy, you know.”

“Its use is to scare me, right?”

“As of now, yes~”

“You’re such a poet…”

Just as Seraphina and Cardo were playfully bantering.

“Th-that…”

A timid voice echoed from behind Seraphina.

‘Eh? Who is this…?’

Although Seraphina hadn’t been in the manor for long, she had at least heard every maid’s voice. She had no recollection of such a meek tone.

Turning around, a figure Seraphina least expected appeared behind her.

Prostrate on the ground, Fulkarn was kneeling before Seraphina, slowly bowing his head in a perfect dogeza.

‘It’s him? I didn’t expect his original voice to be quite cute.’

“S-Seraphina-sama,” Fulkarn stammered. With the True Ancestor’s disappearance, his address for Seraphina had shifted from [Miss] to [Esteemed One]. “I have an urgent matter to report…”

“Very well, please speak.”

“Although this task was originally meant for Lady Iqiyah Scarlett, she is absent, and we dare not handle it presumptuously…”

“Please get to the point.”

‘He seems quite long-winded. The contrast is even starker now.’

“Uh… that… it’s just…”

As if afraid of making a mistake, Fulkarn’s voice was so faint it was barely audible.

“The… the envoy from the Krieg Conglomerate wishes to see you… they’re at the door.”