After giving Sarfak II the brief information about what happened during his last few days, the dwarf tribe's leader fell into silence, pondered for a second before he started speaking slowly,
"So, you mean to tell me your brother somehow stumbled upon one of the most powerful books in the world, managed to decipher a bit part of it, and suddenly got sick, while you are a part of the military which once again, somehow stumbled upon one of the rarest beasts in this world, make a deal with that little girl's sister to heal your brother, and met my son accidentally?"
Devin nodded cautiously.
"Yeah, I know it sounds unbelievable. But that is the truth."
As the silence continued, the atmosphere around them is getting heavier as time goes by. Even though Devin didn't show any hint of expression, his hand already grabbed two hidden knives on his sleeves, ready to defend himself if things went wrong.
"Boy….." Sarfak II spoke slowly. "Do you think I am such a fool?!"
And right after that, killing intent leaked all over the place, making everyone who is not trained as a warrior passed out instantly.
"You have your hand in one of the 'Blessing of Magus' books, encountered Chimera, accidentally met my son, save a little girl, and agreed with my son's invitation to go here. Do you think I would believe in such a coincidence? If I don't know better, I would say being here is your plan in the first place. Do you think I would believe that story?! So, tell me, boy, before I took drastic measurements. What is your real plan here?!"
Fortunately for Devin, he is accustomed to such kind of heavy killing intent atmosphere. Not killing intent, per se. But when he was still a trainee in the military, he received training to withstand a lot of conditions for interrogation purposes, and one of them is in a heavily pressured atmosphere like this.
"I mean no disrespect, Lord Sarfak," Devin spoke carefully, trying to not offend the dwarf in front of him. "But you have to admit that your speculation is a bit ridiculous. I mean, a day ago, I never thought the existence of another world is possible, let alone all the things that went around it. Hell, I still thought Chimera is a mythical beast that only appeared in a child story right now. And if we added the fact that Sarfak III, your son, has already confirmed that he couldn't feel any magus presence in my body, your accusation is kinda baseless, right?"
Even though Sarfak II knows what Devin said is indeed true, he still maintained his tough attitude.
"HOW DARE YOU RIDICULE ME?!"
"Oh, quit with it, boy!" Suddenly, Lady Brenda's voice came out once again from the building. This time, there is no Aliyya following her. "You know your son's talent, and you know what he said is true. No one wants to play your little game here! So, state what you want and get out quickly!"
Then, a stronger killing intent emerged from Lady Brenda, suppressing Sarfak II's heavy pressure before. And unlike what Sarfak II did before, now, Lady Brenda's killing intent is focused completely on the dwarf tribe's leader, forcing him to bow down under her pressure.
Sarfak II gritted his teeth, couldn't bear the humiliation he received. However, under Lady Brenda's fierce glare, he could only bow humbly and said, "My apologies, Lady Brenda."
After that, the killing intent vanished from the air, and suddenly, all the people nearby who were affected by their killing intent could breathe normally again, relieved that nothing drastic happened.
"Good. It seems you still know which one of us is superior here." Lady Brenda nodded in satisfaction, ignoring Sarfak II's hateful gaze. "So, what do you want with my guest here?"
Hearing the last part, the people nearby whispered at each other, all eyes fell into Devin's presence. Devin himself is not a fool. He knows the implication behind Lady Brenda's words. It means he is here under her protection. Even though he didn't know how the power dynamic of this village, at least the display a few seconds ago showed that Lady Brenda is stronger than Sarfak II.
One more interesting thing that piques his interest is the relationship between those powerful people in this village. Lady Brenda who Devin saw as the most powerful person here doesn't have a good relationship with the tribe leader. It is clear to anyone who has eyes to watch.
At first, Devin thought it was because she is far more powerful that the tribe leader feels inferior and a bit paranoid that she would usurp his reign. However, when he saw the hateful gaze that Lady Brenda received, Devin knows there is something deeper happened between those two in the past.
However, surprisingly enough, her relationship with Sarfak III is very close. Devin could see it from the very first start, just from how she looked at the son of the tribe's leader, just how much she loves him. The affection she showered toward Sarfak III was something that Devin had only seen from one person, and that is his mother.
So, if his guess is true, how could Lady Brenda be that close to Sarfak III to the point she looked at him as her son when his father hates her that much?
And that is not to mention the other political fraction from the dwarf named Ari who tried to stop him from entering this village before. All in all, even though this village is a secluded place, the political conflict here is as nasty and as complicated as the one Devin knows on Earth.
"Very well, My Lady." Sarfak gritted his teeth. "Because this human is an outsider, I propose Hjaldr!"
Silence befell for a second, as people around were too stunned to respond. However, it was broken by those people themselves as they suddenly shouted collectively, stomping their right foot excitedly toward the ground.
"HJALDR!"
"HJALDR!"
"HJALDR!"
Being a native of the Northern Alliance and having a nerd brother like Andra, Devin realized the meaning of that word immediately and could guess the implication behind it. The word itself, 'Hjaldr', could be translated to 'battle' in old Norse. So, what they want is quite straightforward here.
Meanwhile, Lady Brenda frowned, not quite liking what Sarfak II just proposed.
"You know what happened the last time we had Hjaldr, right?"
"Yeah, I know." Sarfak II grinned maliciously at Devin. "That's why I propose this right now. And don't be a hypocrite, Lady Brenda. I know you can see how it would benefit our village."
Lady Brenda narrowed her eyes dangerously for a second before she took a deep sigh and nodded. "Very well, boy. Let's do it."
Devin is about to protest, because if his guess is true, it would be him who has to duel, right? Why would they decide everything as if his opinion doesn't matter?
However, when he saw Lady Brenda mouthed at him silently, 'I will explain later. Just trust me in this one.', he nodded and relented to her request, deciding to trust her judgment this time. Well, not that he had that much choice here.
Of course, he knows that this could be another trap. For all he knows, the dwarves could play good cops bad cops to fool him here.
However, Devin believes he is good at judging people's intentions, and while he couldn't read Lady Brenda's at all, he could at least feel the maliciousness directed at him, Aliyya, and Lady Brenda by Sarfak II, and he knows it was something that couldn't be fake.
Meanwhile, the people around who heard the conversation cheered, talking to each other excitedly.
"I couldn't believe I could see another Hjaldr!"
"I know, right? How many years have passed since we held one?"
"Father, can I see it too?"
"Of course, Son!"
"SILENCE!"
Lady Brenda's sharp voice suddenly silenced all the people there. Even Sarfak II who was grinning maliciously a few seconds before couldn't help but hold his breath nervously, and didn't dare to say anything stupid in Lady Brenda's presence.
"I know what you are thinking, boy." Lady Brenda spoke sharply at Sarfak II. "But don't think your scheme would go easily. As the elder of the dwarf tribe and one of the founders of this village, I invoke my Hlifa right!"
All the people gasped, couldn't believe what they just heard. Meanwhile, Devin raised his eyebrows slightly, couldn't hide his curiosity this time.
'Hlifa? Another old Norse? What does that mean? Protection? First Hjaldr, and now this, is there any connection between the dwarf tribe and the Norsemen from Earth?'
"Are you sure you want to invoke your right, My Lady?" Sarfak II's sharp voice snapped Devin from his thought. "You know you can do that only once in your life. You know what it means, right?"
"Are you questioning my intelligence, boy?"
"Of course, no, My Lady." Sarfak II shook his head. "Very well. As the leader of the tribe, I, Sarfak II, announce Hjaldr in the next full moon!"
"HJALDR!"
"HJALDR!"
"HJALDR!"
All the people here did the same gesture as earlier, stomping their right foot to the ground excitedly, grinning widely while showing their malicious intent toward Devin blatantly.
"So, who is your warrior, boy?"
Sarfak II grinned victoriously as he announced, "Argus, son of Einar! Are you willing to be my champion?"
And a second later, his announcement was followed by excited whispers from everyone. Then, a short yet muscular man with a face full of scars and covered by a very long beard came forward, kneeling in front of Sarfak II.
"Lord Sarfak II, this is my honor to be your champion! I, Argus, son of Einar, swear to bring the win to you in the next Hjaldr!"
This declaration was followed by a burst of cheers that exploded from the audience.
"Ooooh! Argus is the best warrior in the village! That bastard human doesn't have a chance at all!"
"Goddamnit! I want to be Lord Sarfak's champion too!"
"Don't be a fool! Do you think you can compete with Argus?"
The cheers continued for a while until Sarfak II raised his hand slightly, signaling everyone to stop chatting. He observed Argus's expression for a while before nodding in satisfaction.
"Good. Your father was a good warrior, so I expect a lot from you. Make your family proud."
"Yes, My Lord!"
Then, Sarfak II grinned at Lady Brenda before saying, "So, My Lady, see you again in the next full moon." And after that, he turned around and leave, followed by everyone, only leaving Lady Brenda and Devin alone in her clinic.
"Haaahh….." Lady Brenda took a deep sigh, seeming to be ten years older in a second compared to her state when Devin met her for the first time. "My apologies for involving you in our internal conflict, Devin of the Sky. Unfortunately, this is the only way for me to help you escape from this damn village."
Devin furrowed his brows slightly at Lady Brenda's reasoning. Even though a lot of bad scenarios flash in his mind, he would never think he couldn't escape from this village. But this came from the elder of the village herself, so he couldn't ignore it easily.
"What do you mean, my Lady?"
And right after that, he didn't expect to receive a sad expression from the elegant lady in front of him.
"Come inside, child. I will tell you a story of how a young and foolish human cursed this tribe into damnation."