Chapter 29: A Duel Initiated

"What? He left early?"

After spending almost half an hour touring the weapon-type castle, I excitedly returned to the lake entrance, clutching my newly purchased "Deep Sea Ghost". But I was stunned to learn that Adrian had already left the Exhibition Hall.

"Yes, that gentleman left a message!" the hall staff informed me. "He has some urgent matters to handle, so if you have no other plans, you can return to the hotel and rest. He'll meet up with you after finishing his matters!"

"No way, how could he have urgent matters? And I wasn't informed at all!"

This unexpected turn of events left me bewildered. Honestly, I couldn't understand why Adrian would just leave me alone. It was around lunchtime, and the only possibility I could guess was that he couldn't resist hunger and rushed out to find food.

But this didn't match his usual character at all.

Losing interest in the remaining exhibitions, I left the hall with my head full of questions, planning to return to the hotel as Adrian suggested.

But just a street away, I unexpectedly ran into Cyrae, casually strolling and munching on a pile of snacks.

"Eh? I just saw Adrian heading towards the city outskirts. Why are you still here?" 

One moment, Cyrae had a massive lollipop in her mouth. The next, she'd stored all her snacks in her storage space and greeted me with a puzzled look.

"...You've got some food stains around your mouth," I commented, finding her sudden snack-hiding bizarre. Considering Cyrae was probably close to a hundred years old, I understood her quirk. Right then, I was struggling to find Adrian's whereabouts, so I seized the chance to ask, "By the way, you saw Adrian? Which direction did he go?"

"Definitely towards the east gate! Most likely that direction! Weren't you with him? What happened? Did you get separated?"

Cyrae's additional information was vague, but it seemed enough. The east gate of Corovots wasn't far, and I could probably fly and intercept Adrian quickly. But why would he leave me behind and rush to the east gate? Neither of us had a clue.

"Maybe he couldn't get information about the capital's situation here and wanted to check personally?" Cyrae guessed, then immediately dismissed her own theory. The direction was off, and walking would be too slow.

"I feel like he's secretly up to something!" I said, recalling Adrian's suspicious behavior that morning. He'd been constantly checking the time, looking distracted, clearly having an appointment with someone. This made me wonder about a certain missing person - could it be her?

We found a deserted alley, spread our wings, and flew towards the eastern city outskirts. Soon, we sensed a powerful, familiar light elemental energy that could only come from a high-ranking angel.

"Nicola! What are those two sneaking around for?"

The situation was becoming clear. I knew Nicola thoroughly despised Adrian, so they couldn't be involved romantically. But something had changed about Nicola since returning from another world. Their private interactions were now unpredictable. Don't forget, the twelve-winged Nicola, who traveled from the future back to the past, had a remarkably flirtatious and ambiguous attitude, which only deepened my doubts further.

"Why worry? We've already followed them. We'll just ask directly and find out!" Cyrae said, flying ahead and descending first.

The scene was different from what we expected. Adrian and Nicola stood far apart in an open space, weapons drawn, looking ready to fight - not meet secretly.

Our sudden appearance caught their attention. Nicola seemed indifferent, barely glancing our way. Adrian, however, frowned and sighed.

"Let's settle this clearly! If I win this duel, you must stop interfering with me and Feliciana!"

"Of course!" Nicola responded, swinging her Condensation Sword at nearby tree branches. "Every previous attempt was interrupted. This time, we should finally resolve our grievances!"

My heart sank. This was exactly the confrontation we'd been trying to prevent.

"Hey, what are you doing? Sneaking off to duel?" Cyrae asked, bewildered.

I couldn't even explain the complicated dynamics to Cyrae. Seeing their determination, I was worried. Adrian couldn't match Nicola's strength, especially without his previous protective necklace.

"Didn't you say you'd made peace with our relationship? Why fight like this?" I asked Nicola.

"Nonsense! He challenged me, specifically arranging this time and place. I'm not backing down. Ask him about it!" Nicola responded with a cold smile, pointing her long sword towards the opposite direction.

I was shocked. Adrian initiated this challenge? Why would he do something so reckless?

My gaze involuntarily turned to Adrian's original position, but it was empty - not a trace of him to be seen.

"He's probably using his invisibility skill!"

At this point, Adrian certainly wouldn't chicken out. Nicola froze for just a moment before quickly recovering, then leaped into the air.

Suddenly, three arrows marked with "Explode" shot from the sky, creating a massive dust cloud that obscured everything.

Adrian's voice came through: "Feliciana, we were already fighting before you arrived. I must defeat Nicola decisively to stop her interference. Stay back to be safe."

Adrian's greatest reliance right now was his invisibility skill. However, by speaking during the battle, he had inevitably exposed his location, especially dangerous against an opponent like Nicola.

Nicola, now in a nearby tree, hurled her Condensation Sword at a tree branch where Adrian's voice originated.

At that moment, my heart nearly leaped into my throat. After all, the power of the Condensation Sword was no joke, and Adrian's voice had indeed come from that tree branch. 

To everyone's surprise, what fell wasn't Adrian, but a black, rectangular object.

"Is this... a Bluetooth speaker?!"