Page 32 of I Ran Away to Evil 3
But isn’t known to roam
And never goes inside the wood,
Yet calls the forest home?”
And instead of answering right away, he’d challenged me to a duel. After hearing of my battle with the Drendil army, he’d sought me out to test his strength. When he realized that I far surpassed him in level, however, he’d lowered his blade and answered my riddle instead. “The bark of a tree.”
Kenji positivelyscreamedsamurai. He came from Peldeep, which embraced a lot of Japanese culture for a nation that hadno ideaJapan even existed. The system awarded skills based on behavior and training, and functioned with a level ofinterdimensional cultural appropriation that I tried to ignore. I was trapped here, and just trying to survive. If anything, the familiar European and Asian world-building was a saving grace. That, and knowing the language.
Now, if only I could find chocolate, then I would go fromsurvivingtothriving.
Markleberry didn’t count. It was close, but it was aberry.
And on that topic, I still needed to figure out how to prevent Duke Julian from getting poisoned at lunch. Or, barring that, make sure to save him.
“Do you want to join me?” Amy asked, interrupting my thoughts. “I’m going to grab more snacks.”
“You go ahead.”
When we were alone, Henrietta patted my arm, her gentle eyes worried for me. “Are yousureyou’re alright, Gerda?”
“I’m okay,” I assured her. And I was. No injuries at all.
Henrietta visibly hesitated before leaning forward and whispering, “We found a list of targets on the captured Blackfog spies. The council has decided not to disclose the information yet, so I’m not allowed to tell you ifyour name is on the list.”
I nodded my appreciation. “Thanks for not telling me.”
“Just … promise you’ll be careful?” Henrietta asked.
“I’ll be careful,” I assured her.
The fifteen minutes came and went, and everyone was back in their seats ready for Vance and Kenji’s bout. Everyone except Rufus.
Brownie gave us a thumbs-up. “He’s going to take a walk. We’ll meet up at the Hall of Inventions after this.”
Fanfare met the new arrivals, and I leaned down to let Henrietta know that I would be stepping out to meet Julian early. She tried to join me, but I told her no, and she begrudgingly accepted. When I finally stepped inside the corridor and out of sight from the stands, I was met by three knights in North Sumbrian livery.
“Miss Jones?” The youngest elf in the group stepped forward and bowed politely. “May we escort you?”
“You may.”
CHAPTER 16
The Final Round
Julian
Julian was in charge of overseeing this tournament, judging any rules that were broken, and issuing the champion title. His word was the final decision for everything … and he could barely focus on the match. Why?
First and foremost was a certain white-freckled distraction. She was soincrediblysuspicious. First her watching him from across the crowded market, her expert vanishing act—and then, she’d justrandomlyfound his locket? And out of an entire auditorium, she justcoincidentallysat directly opposite him and was targeted for assassination?
He wasn’t a fool; she was clearly keeping tabs on him. It was almost like she wastryingto catch his attention. But why?
He tried to refocus on the match, but his eyes kept drifting in her direction. Which meant he immediately spotted when she left early. She could’ve just been stepping away to use the washroom … but he sincerely doubted that. He was thankful that he’d dispatched a guard on the troll.
“AND VANCE LANDS A BLOW! But is it enough? No! Kenji has activated his [Wind Blade]!” the announcer called out, drawing Julian’s attention back to the battle below. It was just as impressive as the previous two.
Vance was a palm-size mouse with a sword as big as a toothpick, but his Strength stat must have been in the thirties or higher since he was able to parry Kenji’s blade with ease.
