Chapter 177

Duel Weather (1)
Apparently, my imposter is spouting nonsense about already having reconciled with the Uzal family in court.

I won’t reconcile, you know? A noble who hurts good-hearted farmers isn’t a real noble. Rulers who enact bad governance should be removed. I’m royalty too, so I was strictly taught about these matters—no mercy.

The king dismissed the Chancellor and now seemed to be heading to the courthouse. The opponent is a small fry. And since it’s a case where the verdict is obviously guilty, it had been left to the court to handle. But now that an imposter has shown up, he won’t show any mercy.

"Even if Hollow reconciles, wouldn’t Anon still be guilty of unlawful detention?"

"My household is under pressure too. Lately, there have been too many attackers. It’s a real pain."

Anon let out a sigh, annoyed.

"So, what’s your family’s stance, Anon?"

"For now, we beat up the attackers and plastered them on the outer wall of the Duke’s mansion. They should’ve sent someone who could withstand our family’s torture. The Duke’s family is guilty too."

"Of course they are!"

Aren’t the attackers way too weak?

Anon’s family apparently doesn’t show mercy even against a higher-ranking ducal house. They’ve gone so far as to file a formal accusation.

"First of all, pressuring our family is impossible."

"But the other side is a duke, right?"

"My old man’s not the kind of guy who cares about that."

Anon’s father is a high-ranking military officer and a hardliner against corruption, so trying to pressure him backfired.

Anyway, I’ll turn into adventurer Hollow and go deal with the imposter.

"That’s the quickest way… but there’s a risk people might suspect a link between you and Hollow."

"Then I just need to multiply myself. Open, Treasury’s door."

“Tadah! I’m Number Two!"

If I leave one of my alter egos from the vault here, my alibi will be perfect.

Even the king was so stunned by me multiplying that he couldn’t close his mouth. He looks seriously shocked.

"Was Alice a twin?"

Anon circled around the clone, checking it out.

"Eibon taught me this. And no, I’m not a twin. It’s just convenient to have them inside the Treasury for research. They act on their own because we’re not connected."

Even the historical records say Eibon could multiply, so it can’t be helped. There’s a book called “The Multiplication Incident of the Pervert Great Mage” that covers it. That was a terrible incident. Nothing good happens when Eibon multiplies. Apparently I’ve also messed up because I couldn’t keep my alter egos in check.

The king knows Eibon is in Arland, and he’s probably figured out most things related to him while examining the magic furnace he left in Ostland. He accepted it quickly.

"You need sweets to control me."

"There are cream puffs right there."

When Anon pointed to the cream puffs on the table, the clone instantly sat down and started eating. That’s mine. Just because you’re a clone doesn’t mean you can eat my stuff. Once we’re back in Arland, it’s straight to underground labor for you. No pelica, no rice crackers.

"What about Alicia?"

"I’ll go with the princess."

For now, Alicia cast concealment magic on us, and we slipped out to the capital.

Since the courthouse is outside the royal castle, the king took a carriage there, accompanied by Anon and me—well, my clone. On the way, they’ll say they happened to spot adventurer Hollow walking in the city and brought her in.

If both adventurer Hollow and Princess Alicetia exist at the same time, the alibi is perfect. Apparently, there are even rumors going around in Ostland that Hollow might be me. Since I’ve been raking in money, the nobility has taken notice too.

Hence the alibi operation. In Arland, it’s already well-known that I can multiply, but there’s no proof. And without proof, there’s no problem. You can’t suspect royalty based on baseless speculation. It’s open season for mischief. Muhuhu.

"You're scheming again."

Alicia sensed my wicked thoughts.

"I don’t think mind-reading is very nice."

Later, while walking through the royal capital eating grilled skewers, an adventurer was suddenly asked by the king to accompany him—what a strange event.

After a short carriage ride, we arrived at the courthouse. It looked plain, probably because it prioritized function over appearance.

The head of the courthouse, sweating profusely, spoke briefly with the king before guiding him directly to the courtroom.

"Ridiculous."

The moment I stepped into the courtroom, I was filled with exasperation.

The layout of the room resembled that of a Japanese courtroom. At the witness stand stood a small child wearing a fox mask, claiming they had already reconciled with the Uzal family and wished to drop the charges. The instant I saw that child, rage welled up within me.

What the hell is that mask!? The position of the mustache pattern is off, and the colors are dull. First of all, the overall balance is just wrong.

Also, there's a fake Helios present too, but the armor they’re putting on him isn't even practical! Helios is a fool, so I put him in cool-looking armor. I never dressed him in something so plain!

And that Alicia look-alike is completely unacceptable. Her tail isn’t beautiful at all, and she’s a beastkin of the fox tribe. Alicia is from the mystical fox tribe. Granted, she’s a half-blood and uses magic to pass herself off as a regular fox tribe member, but her tail is beautiful. That beauty is lacking here. It’s important, so I said it twice.

"Hollow, you have such a low boiling point for weird things."

"Anon, sweetie, that one's just a fool."

Because my duplicate was making unnecessary comments, I decided they were now officially reassigned to the busiest underground job—construction crew for the magic warship.

Even the court seemed confused by Hollow's sudden reconciliation, and the judges were murmuring amongst themselves. Of course they were. This was a trial where guilt was already a foregone conclusion. A not-guilty verdict wasn't even on the table.

Moreover, Hollow had nothing to gain from settling. She was insisting on an unconditional reconciliation.

"Silence! That adventurer Hollow is a fake!"

"Y-Your Majesty!"

The judges cried out in surprise as the king entered the room.

"The real one is right here. That one is a fake prepared by the Uzal side."

"But Your Majesty… the adventurer Hollow’s identity is unclear. We can't be certain which one is the real one…"

The lawyer on the Uzal side broke into a sweat as he tried to defend himself. Clearly, he wanted to label me the fake. But judging by the expression on his face—pale as a corpse—he already knew they had no chance of winning. He was probably being forced to defend them.

"Hmph. Proving that is easy. Adventurer Hollow is not only proficient in combat but also a top-tier healer."

With that, the king pulled a knife from his pocket and cut his own arm.

"Heal my arm. A wound this deep won't be easily mended."

Hey! That’s way too hardcore, Your Majesty! I quickly healed the wound using magic, leaving no trace behind. The room erupted in an even louder stir. Of course they would—what kind of king wounds himself like that? And on top of that, my healing was so fast it shocked them.

I had a good relationship with the Arland Knights. As such, I often healed knights training at the castle, so I had ample experience. What’s more—and this isn’t widely known—but healing magic becomes more effective the better a magician understands human anatomy.

That’s also why elderly healers tend to be so skilled; their experience gives them deep knowledge of the human body. So it's a mystery why anatomy hasn't advanced further. Probably ethics getting in the way. I once tried dissecting a rat and got scolded like crazy. I wonder if this world’s the same as Earth in that regard.

"… Now then. Can you do the same?"

The king, sweating slightly after the healing, questioned the fake. I mean, come on—he had sliced a blood vessel clean through. He really needs to take better care of his old body.

"Your Majesty! Please order them to do something else instead—this is harmful to your health!"

See? Even his guards were on the verge of tears.

But the Uzal side hadn't given up yet.

"However, Your Majesty. While rare, there are others who can use healing magic. That alone isn’t enough to confirm her identity."

Former Baron Uzal. He no longer held the title, but he was probably the one who'd been looking for me. Not that he'd ever have found me.

Still, this was getting tedious. Time to end it quickly. Only the king knew what was under the mask. It would’ve been easy to accuse anyone doubting the king of disrespect, but I couldn’t forgive the fake. There was no sense of respect or admiration.

"Then let’s decide with a simple method. I’m confident in my skills—and for the record, I’m a B-rank adventurer. I’ll take on these three by myself and defeat them."

The former Baron Uzal grinned at my words. He had definitely come up with a cheap mask just to piss me off. The little one was no threat, but the Alicia and Helios look-alikes had a decent amount of ability.

But it’s not enough. Beastkin can't beat me, not for one crucial reason. And the Helios knock-off is the kind of guy I can deal with however I like. He doesn’t have the pressure my father does.

I looked over at the king. He sighed, then nodded with interest. Probably thought this hassle was turning out to be amusing.

"Then let the authenticity of adventurer Hollow be determined by duel."

I could’ve just had the king use royal authority to force everyone to accept I was the real one, but then other nobles might raise doubts. Besides, anyone doing even a little digging into adventurer Hollow would figure it out. I’ve never hidden anything. Our party earns on par with a large-scale clan. Meaning, we have real power.

Still, it’s three-on-one. I hear there’s also a partner that's a fake Mr. Coote, but it’s just a wolf. I’m not even counting it.

Alright. First, I’ll take out the Helios fake in a flash. Then I’ll show the Alicia fake the dark side of fluffiness. And finally, I’ll finish off the little one.

The wolf? I'll deal with it however. It'll probably get caught in a spell anyway.