"Then it is settled! You and me, tomorrow in front of town!"
"Now, hold on a minute. Let's sit down first. You said it would be on my terms, and the most important thing hasn't been settled yet."
Yamato sat down on a chair which he pulled from a table near them, where they then continued talking facing each other.
"The most important thing?"
"That's right. What do I even get if I win?"
"Not that beating him again wouldn't be enough, but he doesn't need to know I'd be satisfied with just that…"
"I thought that was clear… We fight about Yuki, obviously. I just said that."
"No, no. You fight about Yuki. I already have her. And I'm not risking her for nothing, I'm sure you understand."
"Tsk, you don't have her… But fine, I see your point. In that case make a suggestion. I will allow you to speak freely, so do not hold back on your demand."
"How kind… Let's see…"
"I'm surprised, he could have pushed against it a little more… But then again, I haven't made my demand yet. Still… Yuki really got to him huh… I doubt he puts this on for just anyone. Almost sad that he falls for the one person he really has no chance of getting with no matter what… Now, what do I want from him. Honestly, I'm not even sure what he can get me. He hasn't made an influential impression on me so far, so I doubt he has any recourses beyond what his father provides. Maybe the most use he can provide would be to serve as leverage against his father… If he even cares for his son. You never know whith aristocrats, especially corrupt ones. But let's not go there… I think there is a more civilized way we can handle this."
"I am willing to do anything if it's for the sake of Yuki."
"Aren't you romantic… Well, it's pretty simple. I want you to…"
Yamato whispered into his ear, so that only he could hear. The whole tavern had gone silent during their conversation, though there were not many customers anyway.
"…Why would you want that?"
"I have my reasons. It shouldn't be a problem for you to convince your father of that, right?"
"I mean, it will not happen because I will win. But yes, in the hypothetical scenario of my defeat, I could arrange that. Though I really do not see how that could possibly be worth the risk…"
"Well, in that case you just made a pretty good deal, did you not? Then on to the next topic… What are we even fighting with?"
"Since you are the challenged one, it is your right to decide weapons and victory conditions."
"What would you be most comfortable with?"
"So you wish to know my strenght in order to avoid picking anything in that field? Very well. I am quite skilled with the long bow, and never missed a target. It is a hobby of mine."
"Well, you mentioned to the death… But really, how would I get my reward if you died before doing what I asked? So I suggest we make it more like a competition. Though, if my death is a necessity to your perception of victory, I suppose there's nothing I can do about that…"
"No, that is fine. It was said in the heat of the moment, and I am fine if no one has to die."
"Great, in that case our competition will be target shooting. The target's distance will increase until one of us misses. Magic and other physical enhancements are of course prohibited. Unless your skill is based on that?"
"Of course not!"
"Great, that settles it. So you agree to all of these terms?"
"I, Jonathan Hinton, accept these rules and swear to follow them for the entire duration of our duel!"
"…"
"Huh… Hard to believe that's the same person that I met yesterday when he was hitting on Yuki… But I suppose all aristocrats need to learn some manners, even if they only use them every now and then."
Jonathan stood up and left the tavern, stopping in the doorway one last time.
"I see you tomorrow at noon, mister…?"
"Yamato."
"Right. Until then, Yamato…"
As he left, the look of everyone shifted back to Yamato, who remained silently seated. Tom was the only one to break through the silence.
"Now you really did it, Yamato… You know, ever since you came here it really never gets boring."
"Ever since? I've been here for one day…"
"Haha, well I suppose that's true… But still, you know what I mean. However I should warn you… He may not act like it, but the son of the Baron is actually a sort of a prodigy… When he said he never missed a target, he meant that. You shouldn't take him too lightly because of his childishness."
"Thanks for worrying… But there's no way I will lose. Feel free to come and watch. Bring friends too. I'm sure something like this doesn't happen every day in this town."
"I might just do that..."
"Anyway, I'm off now."
"Take care, Yamato."
Yamato left the tavern wondering if he should prepare for the upcoming competition. But wjo was he kidding, of course he was not going to prepare himself for something as trivial as that.
"It is a shame though… Now I got what I wanted and made these letters for nothing… It would have gotten so much more interesting that way. Eh, guess I'll hold on to that favor she owes me for a little longer then."
He pulled the letters out again and ripped them in half, before burning them in his palm.
"Sometimes plans just become obsolete… That's just part of life, I guess. Maybe I'll just explore the town for a bit, since I got nothing else to do…"
And so he went walking through town aimlessly. Meanwhile Yuki and Carina finally finished watering all the plants in the garden, at which Carina suggested they take a short break.
"So, you told me why you don't leave. By how did you end up here in the first place?"
"I was born here. However my parents left once I entered the church… I guess they thought I would be safe there."
"They… Just left?"
"Yeah… But it's not like they abandoned me. They had been planning to leave for a while, but money issues prevented that until they decided to sell the house to start over. They asked me to come with them too, of course. But I declined."
"That must have been difficult. Letting go of your parents like that…"
"Not really. I mean, sure, I missed them… But they were happy and thought I was too, which I was! So it was for the best. And I can't force them to stay because I can't help but care for everyone in this town, can I? My goals should not be in the way of their happiness."
"How mature… If someone I loved left this town I'd want to go with them no matter what."
"That's fair. We all have different priorities, and if you truly care for something or someone special, I don't think you can choose wrong when deciding to stick with that special thing."
"Ooh, that sounds like a neat philosophy."
Yuki looked up at the sky and took a bite of a sandwich packed with cheese, tomatoes and ham, which she apparently took from here pocket dimension while Carina was not looking. As Carina looked around Yuki for a bag, she of course did not find anything.
"When did you get that?"
"Hm? What do you mean? I've had it the entire time."
"Really… Huh, I must have missed that."
"It's true. It was in my hand when I approached you and while I was watering the flowers, the entire time."
"Wow, I totally did not notice… Otherwise I would have gotten you a plate where you could have left it instead of carrying it around the entire time… I should pay more attention."
"Don't worry about it. You want some?"
"Ah, no thank you I'm not hung—"
Her declination was cut short as her stomach started growling, which visibly embarrassed her. Yuki just looked at her and handed her the sandwich. Which she hesitantly proceeded to take.
"—…Thank you, I'd love some…"
"Don't worry about it."
As Carina took a bite out of the sandwich, she was surprised by its taste. As her teeth pierced through the bread and into the juicy tomato from both, the completely overwhelming sensation of no taste at all filled her entire mouth with no feelings of deliciousness at all.
As she chewed and swallowed she took another look just to make sure she actually took a bite of the sandwich.
"Tastes like nothing, right?"
"Y-yeah…"
"Cuz it's poisoned."
"What?! Do you have an antidote?? Will I die??"
"Just kidding. And who asks for an antidote by the person that poisoned them…"
"Phew… I'm so glad. I knew you were a kind person!"
She took another full bite filled with excitement, followed by the realization of what she had already forgotten due to being so happy about not being poisoned.
"I'm kind for not giving you poisonwd food?"
"Sure! You're kind for giving me any kind of food, even if it were poisoned! If you didn't know it was poisoned at least… But even then, I'm sure you would have your reasons!"
"Thank you…?"
"Thank you too!"
She took another excited bite, followed by not so excited chewing.
"Oh no… I ate the entire thing! I'm sorry!"
"I already told you it's fine…."
"But… Weren't you hungry as well?"
She looked on the ground ashamed of not having thought of Yuki while she ate her food, but when she looked up again, Yuki already had another sandwich in her mouth.
"Mmpf— You're right. Shame on you."
"Where did that come from now?!"
"Hm? I've had two the entire time."
"No you haven't!"
"Are you calling me a liar?"
"N-no! But—… I know you only had one…"
"You didn't realize I had that one at first too though."
"That's—! True… I suppose…"
"See? And did I ever say I only had one?"
"No… You didn't exactly say that… But you also never said you had a second one when I took yours, thinking it was your only one! Which made me feel guilty!"
"Wow. Thank you, you are so kind… I didn't know you felt so bad because of it, I'm sorry! Next time I will definitely tell you right away, I promise!"
"Oh… No, you don't havw to go that far… I didn't mean it like that… Uh…"
"Don't worry!"
"Uh… Huh? Okay… I… Lost track a bit…"
"You were about to take this sandwich since I've had three this entire time, and two were for you!"
Yuki handed her the third sandwich which she had the entire time while the second one was in her mouth still.
"Uwah… Okay… Thank you…"