Kapitel 41: Golden Plaque Challenge

Austin gritted his teeth once more. He felt like he had been humiliated and treated like just a nobody.

Nevertheless, he could do nothing but obey MIke's request. After all, Yuna had already leaked their bet to everyone.

Austin took a deep breath and put his hand on his chest. "Now I'm lost, Yuna-chan. I won't bother you again on purpose."

"Good, I don't want to see you even if it's an accident or an unexpected meeting." Yuna loosened her shoulders slightly as if feeling relieved, but her expression was a bit cold. After that, she seemed to guide Mike to leave Austin and return to their table.

Mike just smiled in response as if he knew what Yuna wanted to say. He turned around and walked away with his group of four at a leisurely pace.

Austin was annoyed to see Mike's somewhat smug face. Once hate, then everything would only give displeasure to the heart and mind.

"Mighty-man, I challenge you to a duel!" Austin was carried away with his rage and shouted sternly.

Mike, Yuna, Kisa, and Yukiko immediately stopped their steps. Mike felt a slight panic in his heart, and the three girls became extremely worried about Mike.

"Oh?" Kannon was intrigued by the continuation. He smiled faintly and put his hand to his chin.

"Oh my... This is going to be interesting." Minako unfolded her folding fan with an excited smile

"A duel? You want to challenge me right after you lost to your own bet? Unfortunately, you are quite a disappointment and there is no benefit for me to accept the challenge from you. You better keep your promise or I will be the one to come to you." Mike gave a slight threat using all his courage.

He tried not to think about anything other than what was in front of him. After all, he had offended several young masters and had obviously caused a lot of trouble for him. All of that only because of Yuna alone.

Hearing Mike's firm answer, Yuna somehow felt somewhat happy for some reason. But, she believed that it was because Mike was still calm and handled things smoothly.

"Mm, you can't corner us into a ridiculous bet like you did to me this afternoon. If that's all you want to say, then allow us to excuse ourselves." Yuna gave a polite goodbye with a slight bow. Then, she turned around and walked away with her hand on Mike's arm.

*Thud* *Clack*

A hard object suddenly attacked Mike from behind. No one expected that, not even for anyone who saw it with their eyes.

"Hmm?" Mike glanced at a golden wooden board, inscribed with 'duel' in kanji, on the floor with a clueless look. "I didn't expect you to throw a wooden plaque at me from behind, Young Master Austin. Did you-"

Mike was just about to roast the attacker, but Yuna interrupted him.

"Wait." Yuna took the golden wooden plaque to examine it. But, she instantly froze. It was a valid, original item. She had already gotten Mike into more considerable trouble.

"Hahaha! Now you can't escape my duel challenge, Mighty-man! You only have two choices now. Accept my challenge with a bet or you will receive severe punishment from the Martial Association, or better known as the Esper Association, for not heed the golden plaque challenge." Austin grinned because he had a brilliant idea that suddenly came up.

"Wait, what do you mean by golden plaque challenge? Please pardon my ignorance. I am familiar with the challenge or duel proposed by throwing a handkerchief, but what is this?" Mike used English rather than Japanese to express his confusion.

"Huh? You don't know that? What remote place are you from? All espers, martial masters, and even ability users know about it." Austin frowned. It felt a little awkward because the other person was still calm and didn't know anything.

"Mike, the golden plaque challenge is a privilege that the Esper Association has issued to some of the possessors of special abilities among the nobles of this country. This golden plaque challenge is an official duel that will be witnessed by at least one country expert.

A duel like this could only be thrown a maximum of three times a year to settle disputes between the two parties. One who is challenged cannot refuse the challenge." Yuna tightly gripped the golden plaque. She couldn't hide her worry this time.

"So, it's similar, huh... But, just using a golden plaque instead of a handkerchief." Mike murmured, but he was more interested in bringing the gilded wood home. He was sure that it had a high selling value.

After that, he looked at Austin and heaved a sigh. "Surprisingly, you're the type of guy who likes to force your will upon others, huh. No wonder why my Yuna hates you so much just by looking at you. You said about a bet, right? What do you expect from this golden plaque challenge then?"

Before Austin could speak, Mike interrupted as if what he said was more important. He raised his finger for emphasis. "Allow me to say this beforehand, but the stake for you is ten times more from my side. Tell me, what do you expect from this another ridiculous bet."

"Hm-mm, fair enough. You've forced Yuna-sama into a very unfair bet, Austin-sama. Now, Yuna-sama's boyfriend is just demanding the same thing. Even if you used your golden plaque, you are now can't resist the condition. Ufufu, I wonder what will happen~" Minako hummed and took a few steps back.

"So, you wanted to go that far because of your jealousy, Austin-sama. Are you dissatisfied with your current girlfriend? You went that far because of Yuna-sama, but have you never thought that your girlfriend's feeling has been hurt?" Kannon shook his head. Even though the current bet event was heating up, he felt that Austin had gone too far.

"Everything is okay. I've already discussed this with my girlfriend. It's not unusual to have multiple girlfriends." Austin smiled as if he had just caught a big fish.

This time, he firmly believed that he could win this bet, and Mike would pay a massive price for humiliating him.

"Very well, then, allow me to be the host for the duel of you two. It will be held at the Horikiri Dojo. Time is to adjust the agreement between the two of you." Kannon just shrugged his shoulders since it wasn't a problem for him to think about.

"Fine, let's have our duel three days from now, at exactly noon. Everyone is welcome to come and watch." Austin spread his arms towards everyone in the hall as if the previous embarrassing event had never happened before. He even ignored his wet pants.

Mutters and conversations arose here and there. Yuna became more worried, but Mike closed his eyes briefly and held Yuna's slightly cold hand. He already made a decision in mind. "That's not bad. However, you haven't mentioned your stake. As I said before, my stake will be ten times more than yours, Young Master Austin."

"That's good you ask. I want to-" Austin smirked and looked at Mike, then at Yuna.