Chapter 79: The Wager 2

“Hold it.”

A deep voice suddenly cut through the tension.

“Is this how the dark elves treat someone who saved their lives?”

At that moment, the three dwarves and the gnome stepped into the hall.

The way they looked at Kent was filled with genuine gratitude.

Among the hundreds of thousands of people living in Muan City, it was no exaggeration to say that nearly all of them owed Kent their lives.

Hundreds of thousands of kobolds were more than enough to destroy an entire city.

Muan City might have had a population of several hundred thousand, but a large portion of those residents were women and children.

Yes, the high-level experts might have been able to break through the kobold encirclement and escape on their own.

But powerful experts did not live alone.

Behind every strong individual were families, clans, subordinates, craftsmen, servants, and countless ordinary people who depended on them for protection.

If Muan City had truly fallen, the number of people capable of escaping would have been pitifully small.

The dispute between Kent and the dark elves was no secret either.

The three dwarves and the gnome had come precisely because they knew how powerful the dark elf race was and were worried that Kent might suffer a loss.

They had intended only to take a look at the situation.

Instead, they had arrived just in time to hear Kent’s accusations.

Their expressions immediately darkened.

And naturally, their words were no longer particularly polite.

Dwarves were hot-tempered by nature.

Had the man before them not been the First Elder of the dark elves, they might already have drawn their weapons.

“So.”

The First Elder turned toward them, his face turning iron-gray.

“For the sake of one lowly human, you dwarves intend to turn against the dark elves?”

He spoke each word slowly and distinctly.

The leading dwarf gave a contemptuous laugh.

“Heh.”

“At the very least, we dwarves don’t rob our benefactors while pretending to reward them.”

His eyes narrowed.

“Unlike certain people who say one thing in public and do another behind closed doors.”

The First Elder’s face darkened further.

The dwarf continued without the slightest fear.

“And you had better remember something else.”

“This is Muan City.”

“Not your dark elf capital.”

His voice gradually hardened.

“If you want to start a fight here, then you’d better first ask whether the rest of us agree.”

By the time he finished, there was no longer even a trace of politeness in his tone.

It was practically a slap across the First Elder’s face.

This dwarf was none other than the grandfather of the three Hark brothers.

He had known Kent for quite some time, and there was a reason he dared to speak so boldly.

The subterranean world had no single central authority.

Every city had its own governing council.

So although Muan City was small, the rules were still the rules.

The First Elder might hold tremendous authority among the dark elves, but he was not part of Muan City’s governing body.

If the city’s leadership declared that he was unwelcome, then even the First Elder would have no choice but to leave.

Of course, his personal strength was terrifying.

But would he truly dare cause havoc in Muan City?

Even if someone gave him twice the courage, he would not dare.

Even in the dark elf capital, the First Elder could not simply do whatever he pleased.

And although the dark elves, dwarves, and gnomes appeared to coexist peacefully on the surface, there had always been grudges and friction between the three races.

All three were highly insular.

If the harsh conditions of the subterranean world had not forced them to rely on one another, their personalities alone might have driven them into open war long ago.

Although the underground world lacked a unified government, it did possess one institution recognized by all the major races.

The Arbitration Council.

It was composed of highly respected experts from the different races.

Whenever a truly major dispute arose, the matter would be handed over to the Arbitration Council for judgment.

And the old monsters sitting on that council were rumored to be even stronger than the First Elder himself.

“You... you!”

The First Elder was trembling with rage.

“I challenge you to a duel, you damned dwarf!”

There was no way he could tolerate such words.

If news of this confrontation spread, even someone of his status would find it difficult to bear the consequences.

Her Majesty the Empress would probably be the first to punish him.

After all, this was not merely a personal embarrassment.

It was something that could stain the reputation of the entire dark elf race.

“Hmph.”

Before the dwarf could answer, Kent spoke again.

“Other than being stronger than everyone else and having lived a little longer, what exactly are you good at?”

He gave the First Elder a mocking look.

“All you know how to do is bully people weaker and younger than you.”

Kent had seen the dwarf step forward on his behalf.

So when the First Elder insulted him by calling him a dwarf, Kent immediately returned the favor.

But in truth, what angered Kent most was something else.

Lowly human.

Those two words had been bothering him from the moment the First Elder spoke them.

From the instant Kent entered the hall, the First Elder had never once treated him with even the slightest respect.

Kent understood perfectly well that getting into a direct conflict with someone like the First Elder was unwise.

But there was one thing he simply could not tolerate.

Calling him lowly.

Especially when the dark elves were the ones asking something from him.

They needed his Bread Trees.

They wanted his cooperation.

And yet the First Elder still acted as though Kent should be grateful merely for being spoken to.

As far as Kent was concerned, that was nothing more than taking advantage of someone and then pretending you had done him a favor.

“Boy, if you’ve really got the guts, then compete with me.”

The First Elder’s face had turned livid with rage.

“Let’s see whether all I have over you is greater strength and a few more years of life!”

By now, he had been angered so thoroughly that even his speech had lost all restraint.

Kent, however, remained perfectly calm.

“Listen to yourself.”

He shook his head.

“Do you even know what manners are? Seems to me the longer you live, the more backward you become.”

A stunned silence fell over the hall.

No one had expected Kent to dare speak to the First Elder like that.

Then—

“Ahem.”

The Second Elder cleared his throat.

Several of the other elders exchanged glances before he stepped forward and spoke in a solemn voice.

“The Council of Elders hereby declares that the First Elder’s words and actions do not represent the dark elf race.”

He paused.

“They are his personal conduct alone.”

The entire room went still.

Even the surrounding onlookers were shocked by the declaration.

The First Elder slowly turned toward them.

“Second Elder...”

His teeth were clenched so tightly that every word seemed forced out between them.

“Is this what all of you mean?”

He could hardly believe it.

He had never imagined that the other elders would turn against him so openly.

For a moment, he felt as though his head might explode.

“Yes.”

The Third Elder rose to his feet.

“That is exactly what we mean.”

He glanced toward Kent.

“Kent is a benefactor of the dark elf race.”

“We dark elves are not a people who repay kindness with betrayal.”

The moment the Third Elder finished speaking, the other four elders nodded in agreement.

The meaning could not have been clearer.

This time, the elders were not merely distancing themselves from the First Elder.

They were giving him a hard shove.

A shove that might very well knock him down from the lofty position he had occupied for so long.

“Good.”

The First Elder’s expression twisted.

“Good.”

Then once more—

“Good!”

He said the word three times in succession before suddenly turning toward Kent.

If it had not been for this brat, would he ever have been humiliated like this in front of so many people?

“Boy.”

His eyes narrowed.

“I hear you enjoy making wagers.”

“Do you dare make one with me?”

“Of course.”

Kent answered without hesitation.

“Why wouldn’t I?”

Then he added casually,

“Though if you’re talking about a martial contest, I’ll save us both some time and admit defeat right now.”

Kent’s confidence came from something none of the people present could possibly understand.

The knowledge inside his head came from another world.

All he needed to do was come up with a sufficiently troublesome question, and the First Elder would have more than enough to deal with.

“Excellent.”

The First Elder’s mood immediately improved when he heard Kent’s answer.

“Then we’ll compete in knowledge.”

“Best two out of three.”

He looked directly at Kent.

“If I win, you will publicly apologize to me.”

“You will also hand over the Bread Trees to me without compensation.”

“And you will become my slave.”

His gaze then shifted briefly toward Darkya.

“Furthermore, the wager between you and Darkya will be canceled entirely.”

The First Elder smiled coldly.

“How about it?”

“Do you dare accept?”

In his heart, he was already certain of victory.

He had lived for more than a thousand years.

Could he possibly lose a contest of knowledge to some boy barely out of his teens?

“Ahem.”

The grandfather of the Hark brothers quickly stepped closer to Kent.

“Kent, think this through carefully.”

There was genuine concern in his voice.

The First Elder was famous for his vast knowledge.

Then again, anyone who had lived for more than a thousand years would probably know quite a lot.

Kent’s eyes, however, suddenly brightened.

“Fine.”

Then he smiled.

“But if I win, from now on, whenever you see me, First Elder, you stay out of my way.”

He paused.

“And Darkya becomes my maid.”

His smile deepened.

“But this time, we establish a magical contract.”

At last, Kent understood where Darkya had found the confidence to come looking for another wager.

So this was it.

The more he thought about it, the more determined he became to teach that woman a lesson.

Kent even suspected that the First Elder’s hostile attitude toward him might have something to do with Darkya speaking badly about him beforehand.

If he did not properly put Darkya in her place this time, he would never feel satisfied.

“Agreed.”

The First Elder accepted immediately.

“That was exactly what I intended.”

In truth, the magical contract suited him perfectly.

His greatest concern had been that Kent might refuse to honor the wager after losing.

Without a binding contract, the First Elder would have had very few options.

With a magical contract, however, things were entirely different.

Darkya was soon summoned as well.

Under the eyes of everyone present, the three of them formally established the magical contract.

During that time, several more guests arrived.

Among them were two humans dressed as swordsmen.

By now, there were more than a dozen Level Nine professionals gathered inside the City Lord’s residence.

Most of them had come after hearing the news that Muan City had wiped out the enormous kobold army.

Kobolds were simply too numerous in the subterranean world.

No one knew exactly how many of them existed.

So news that Muan City had annihilated hundreds of thousands in a single battle had naturally attracted the attention of powerful figures from all sides.

When the newcomers heard the terms of the wager between Kent and the First Elder, however, they all looked at Kent with pity.

Their expressions practically said the same thing.

The boy was finished.

“Best two out of three.”

The First Elder glanced around at the growing crowd and reluctantly waved a hand.

“Fine.”

“I’ll let you ask the first question.”

“Heh.”

Kent did not bother pretending to be modest.

His eyes rolled thoughtfully.

A moment later, a mathematical problem—not especially difficult by the standards of Earth—appeared in his mind.

Kent smiled.

“Then listen carefully.”

“This is an arithmetic problem.”

“Here’s the question.”