Big G, Coffee Machine and Goblin

Chapter 27 A Fair Trial
“We are willing to apologize for this matter and compensate you for your losses,” Ma Li said in a deep voice.

Garrison gave a contemptuous smile. "Compensate for losses? You make us sound like street robbers who kidnap people just to collect ransom."

"She was arrested and imprisoned for lying, publicly defaming my guards, and tarnishing the honor of the Morales family. This cannot be made up for with an apology or a few gold coins."

“I’m not lying!” Charles shouted angrily. “Although I’m not a nobleman, my father told me to be an upright person, and I would not slander someone without reason!”

"If you ask me, how about we each take a step back?" the old alchemist stepped forward to smooth things over. "We...we came to your castle with the utmost respect, hoping to resolve this dispute peacefully. Why don't you set a condition, and we'll see how it can be achieved?"

The figure in the high-backed chair seemed somewhat tempted; he leaned forward slightly, but then looked at his uncle.

Garrison remained unmoved. "The honor of the Morales family is priceless, and the laws of the principality should be respected."

"So you're determined to pull out that girl's tongue no matter what?"

"That's not true."

Before the old alchemist could even breathe a sigh of relief, the middle-aged nobleman continued, "You can also choose trial by combat."

“What?” Levi was stunned.

“Since we each have our own version of events and neither of us can convince the other, why not simply let the gods decide?” Garrison said slowly. “This way, we won’t violate the laws of the principality, and we can bring the truth to light. Whoever wins the duel will prove that the other is lying.”

"But……"

“There are no ‘buts’,” Garrison interrupted the old alchemist. “You sought a solution from me outside the law, and I have given you an answer, one that I guarantee is fairer than you expected. Come in, Hunter!”

The middle-aged nobleman raised his voice a few decibels as he finished speaking, and a tall figure in armor walked in from outside the door.

He was a very large man, nearly two meters tall, with thick hair, and weighed at least 220 kilograms. When he walked, his footsteps made a thumping sound like war drums echoing in the meeting hall.

Levi's face turned ashen.

A hint of fear flashed in Charles's eyes. The size difference between the two was too great. The half-elf girl looked less than half the size of the guard named Hunter in front of her. However, her gaze quickly became firm again.

"I need my bow and arrows and my sword."

“Please show some mercy,” the old alchemist protested. “What kind of judgment is it to put a young girl before an armored brown bear?!”

“You can also choose a substitute to fight for her,” Garrison said. “As long as she doesn’t leave this castle, you can choose whoever you want, or you can go yourself if you wish.”

“But this castle is full of your people. As for me, I’m just an alchemist, not a mage, and at my age, how can I possibly fight with people…”

"That's none of my business," the middle-aged nobleman said coldly, turning the jade ring on his index finger.

“I’ll do it,” Ma Li stepped forward.

However, he was pulled aside by Levi as soon as he said that.

"Are you close to that girl named Charles? Who is she to you? Ah, I'm not saying you shouldn't have tried to save her, but... you are key to the revival of the Fusion Alchemy School and crucial to the research of ancient alchemy. Even if not for your own sake, from a broader perspective, it's best not to put yourself in danger so easily."

“I know, I’m confident I can beat that guy.” “Really? How confident are you?”

"Ninety percent."

The old alchemist was still not entirely at ease, so he took off his boots and handed them over.

"Take this instead. It's an alchemical artifact. Just stomp your feet three times to activate the magical runes on it and unleash a foot-oiling spell that will increase your running speed by at least half. It can be used to save your life in a critical moment."

Ma Li didn't refuse; having extra insurance is always good, even though he probably wouldn't need it. He took off his hiking boots and exchanged them with Levi.

The old alchemist didn't pay much attention at first, only thinking that Ma Li's boots were well-made, but his expression changed immediately after he put them on.

Levi naturally didn't understand anything about support or feel, and strictly speaking, the shoes weren't a good fit for his foot shape. But the old alchemist was still determined to find Mali later and get the shoemaker's name and address.

On the other side, Ma Li had already changed his boots, got up and tried to take a couple of steps. They felt a little tight, but it wasn't a big problem.

As for the Featherfall Ring, he hadn't figured out how to use it yet, so he didn't wear it.

Charles was still worried about him. The half-elf girl remembered that Mali had said he wasn't good at fighting, and shouted at him, "This is the trouble I caused, let me handle it! Besides, how can you be so sure I'm not lying? We've only known each other for two days."

"Weren't you already so broke last night that you had to share a room with me? And I'm curious, how did you pay for dinner?"

"Um, I participated in that... tavern's seven-cup challenge, but I didn't expect the cups used for the challenge to be extra-large," the half-elf girl said, blushing. "My stomach almost burst."

Garrison, not wanting to hear their gossip, said to Ma Li, "Are you ready? If you need any armor or weapons, just let me know and I'll have someone go to the armory to get them for you, so that people won't say the Morales family is bullying people."

"No need, this is fine," Ma Li said.

The middle-aged nobleman clapped his hands, signaling the others to step back and give the two enough space to fight.

Hunter strode up to Mali, stopped about five steps away, and then drew his weapon.

It was a two-handed greatsword, exaggeratedly long, over 1.5 meters in length, with a cross-shaped guard nearly 30cm wide, and an unsharpened section of the blade above it, which also had a protrusion similar to the guard.

This design provides convenience for the user, allowing them to wield the sword with both hands for slashing, or, when close to an enemy, to move the other hand to the unsharp part of the guard and hold it in a "neck-grabbing" manner, thus using the two-handed sword as a short spear.

The burly man then took out a whetstone and began sharpening the sword blade in front of Ma Li.

"I will try my best to ensure you are not in pain."

Ma Li ignored him, drew his Type 92 pistol from his waist, removed the magazine according to the instructions in the book, checked the loading status, and then pulled the slide twice to check the chamber.

After confirming that everything was in order, the magazine was pushed back in, and the slide was pulled again to load the magazine.

Hunter watched Ma Li's actions from the side, his face showing disapproval.

"Oh, alchemist, you always have all sorts of strange and wonderful gadgets, but I doubt you'll ever actually get a chance to use it. My sword is famously fast!"

(End of this chapter)