Chapter 100: I’ll leave the men to you and let me take the girls!

The reason why Fouquet the Crumbling Earth stole the "Staff of Destruction" wasn't because she knew how to use it, but because Saito's identity as "Gandálfr" had been exposed.

Fouquet planned to use Gandálfr's abilities to learn how to wield the Staff of Destruction and even deliberately exposed her position to lure Louise and the others into pursuing her.

However, among those present, only Professor Gruberu might have recognized the runes of "Gandálfr." So why did Fouquet act before Gruberu had a chance to report to Osman?

Of course, these details aren't important right now. What matters is that Wood had just arrived in this world and didn't fully understand his current strength.

Now that someone with decent fighting abilities had appeared, Wood didn't mind testing the waters.

This would not only allow him to gauge his current level of power in this world, but also to test the potential of the "Heart of God" Reeves Lacher.

Wood's current body was no longer the well-trained one from the pirate world, so his combat power had undoubtedly diminished.

However, because his memories were intact, the martial arts and swordsmanship skills from the pirate world were still deeply ingrained in Wood's soul.

While his physical limitations might reduce the power of certain moves, he could still perform them.

"How dare you speak so arrogantly, commoner! Even though you are Her Highness Anrietta's familiar, you are still just a commoner.

According to the laws of the Kingdom of Tristin, your actions just now are considered disrespectful to the nobility. Even if I attack you, Her Highness Anrietta cannot punish me."

In this world, which is set in a medieval society with strict hierarchies, Wood's earlier remarks were indeed considered disrespectful to the nobility.

"Mr. Guiche, Wood is a familiar I summoned from another world. He may not be familiar with the customs of this world, so I hope you can forgive him."

Anrietta, as the princess of this kingdom, couldn't change the laws on a whim.

In Tristin, if a commoner speaks rudely to a noble, the noble has the right to punish the commoner.

If a conflict or confrontation occurs, the playing field is far from level. If a noble accidentally kills a commoner, they would at most have to pay a fine.

However, if a commoner harms a noble, the consequences are far more severe.

Although this is a magic academy where conflicts between students can be resolved through fair duels, Anrietta didn't actually believe that Wood and Saito could stand up to Guiche and the others.

After summoning Wood, Anrietta naturally asked him some basic questions, and according to what he said, Wood could not use magic.

Although Guiche was still a student, his father was the kingdom's marshal, and his own magical abilities were above average for his age.

Anrietta didn't want Wood to get hurt, so she hoped that Guiche would forgive Wood for his rudeness.

"A noble who claims to be a servant of a commoner, and now you don't even dare to accept our challenge?"

Princess Anrietta had even pleaded on behalf of her familiar, and Guiche was initially inclined to let the matter drop.

What neither Anrietta nor Guiche expected was that Wood had no intention of accepting Anrietta's kindness. He continued to stare at Guiche with an arrogant, defiant look.

Are you kidding? I came here tonight to show off. How can I do that if I back down from a fight?

Moreover, if I don't show some strength, how can I pursue Fouquet the Crumbling Earth? Even if I follow Anrietta back to the palace, I'll just be a sidelined character.

"If that's the case, then I will teach you a lesson on behalf of Her Royal Highness the Princess, and show you the difference between commoners and nobles.

Don't worry, even if you lose, I won't harm you. After all, you're the princess's servant, so I'll give you that small bit of respect."

"Did you hear? Guiche is going to duel the princess's civilian familiar!"

"I heard. That commoner familiar was too arrogant. He even claimed that we nobles aren't anything special."

The confrontation between Wood and Guiche was inevitable, and due to the loud commotion at the academy that night, news of the duel quickly spread.

By the time they reached the training ground, a crowd had already gathered to watch. Seeing the growing audience, Guiche began striking various poses that he thought made him look handsome.

When it came to dealing with two civilian familiars, Guiche didn't take them seriously at all.

With so many girls watching, including Her Royal Highness the Princess, Guiche felt that tonight was destined to be his moment to shine.

"Dean Osman, is it really okay to let them go through with this?"

On the high platform, Anrietta looked at Wood and Saito on the field with a worried expression.

"If things get out of hand, Professor Gruberu, as the referee, will step in.

And through this duel, we can also determine whether Guiche and the others have the strength to pursue Fouquet and her followers, or if Her Highness the Princess has no confidence in her own familiars."

Gruberu had secretly informed Osman that Louise's familiar was "Gandálfr." Osman was quite curious about the legendary Left Hand of God.

Since Saito was Gandálfr and Wood was from the same world, and since Wood had been so confident in his earlier provocations, Osman suspected that Wood might not be an ordinary person either. This was why Osman allowed the duel to proceed.

"Are you two planning to fight one at a time, or will you attack together? Even if it's one against two, I have no problem with that."

At Wood's insistence, this duel wasn't limited to just him and Guiche.

Instead, it became a camp battle with Saito, Tabitha, and Churuk involved as well. Wood and Saito represented the civilian side, while Guiche and the others represented the noble side.

The duel would continue until everyone on one side was either defeated or surrendered, with the other side being declared the winner.

Guiche was the first to step up for his side, having requested the opportunity himself.

He felt that opportunities to show off like this were rare, and if Churuk or Tabitha went first, it might not be his turn to shine.

"Don't say I didn't give you a chance to show off. Look at that guy—he looks so foolish. In novels and anime, characters like him usually don't last more than one episode. He's definitely a minor character.

He should be pretty easy to handle, so I'll generously let you take care of him. Leave the other two, the more difficult girls, to me."

After hearing what Wood said, Saito was momentarily speechless. This situation had nothing to do with him in the first place.

And no matter how you look at it, compared to Guiche, the combination of Churuk and Tabitha—a queen and a loli—seems much easier to deal with...