The Grand Duelist

Chapter 125: A Cruel Step to Ascension[7]

The Order of the History's Number One Bandit Group...

When Joseph and Alice found out about the name of the bandit group.

The two of them couldn't help but laugh out loud.

The name of the bandit group was so ridiculous and arrogant that they found it quite amusing and laughably droll.

Alice and Joseph became the focus of the group when they were in the middle of their journey towards Reinhardt. Kayn asked all sorts of questions to Joseph, but the latter couldn't help but chuckle when he realized that most of the bandits were focused on Alice instead of him.

"Ma'am Alice, I hope that you won't be offended but I am actually one of those that tried on pursuing you when you were still under the effects of the Capture Order." One of the bandits confessed.

Alice was so good to them that he felt immensely guilty about the fact that he tried on capturing her before.

Alice lightly smiled. She couldn't help but feel somewhat weird seeing that a middle-aged man whose age was at least a decade older than her had his head lowered in front of her in an apologetic manner.

When she heard what the bandit had said, she turned to look at him and replied.

"I understand your circumstances..."

"You are just someone that wants to earn some money for a living so I can't really blame you for acting like that."

The bandits were moved by what they had heard. Even though they hadn't confessed, they were also one of those people that tried on pursuing Alice and capture her for the reward. They were the same as their friend who confessed to Alice so they also felt guilty about their deed.

But instead of being angry at them.

Alice actually forgave them? 

The bandits felt grateful to Alice that most of them hung their heads low in shame.

Some of them turned their heads away, secretly wiping something off their face as they sniffed.

"From now on, I swear that after this mission of ours..."

"I will definitely abandon the life of a bandit!" One of them declared.

Jeric who saw this commotion couldn't help but shake his head. He felt that his subordinates were somewhat naive for their age. Did they really think that stopping was that simple? Was it really that easy that you could just say that you'll stop and you would definitely stop?

No!

His subordinates had experienced the bountiful life of being a bandit.

Unlike working in the City or at the Port. Being a bandit, albeit dangerous was far easy than that kind of work. Furthermore, the risk of dying within the City and at the Port while carrying heavy luggage wasn't really that far off from the risk of dying by the blade as a bandit.

In short, Jeric didn't believe that his subordinates could easily change like what they had said. 

But...

Jeric made a sidelong glance at Kayn.

He felt conflicted.

From the looks of it, Kayn successfully stopped on being a bandit and he even had a creed right now that he religiously followed. From Kayn's example, it was clear that every bandit could change and live a good life without doing any banditry anymore.

But Jeric knew that it wasn't really that simple at all.

If it was, then Jeric would've done that before already.

Life wasn't that easy that you could change it in a whim.

Sacrifice was necessary for the betterment of oneself.

Jeric wasn't ready to make that kind of sacrifice yet.

That was why he hoped.

He hoped that after this, he and Kayn wouldn't be enemies in a narrow passageway.

He would hate to fight against someone whom he treated as a friend for so long.

Jeric shook his head and drank a shot of liquor that temporarily washed away his insecurities and worries.

On the other hand, Joseph made a sidelong glance at Alice and found it quite strange that she could easily communicate with these bandits.

Alice was a young maiden who lived with a Legendary Blacksmith, she should be unfamiliar with bandits, yet how could she relate to them this easily to the extent that they could laugh together like friends?

Joseph felt embarrassed.

He felt ashamed that Alice could communicate better with men than him who was a man himself.

He turned his gaze to Kayn who sat beside him and found that the latter was staring at Alice in amazement. It was clear that he was also astounded about Alice's adaptability skills.

A bitter smile escaped on Joseph's lips as he turned to look at Alice once again.

"Thank you so much for your advice, Madame... "

"You really enlightened me this time, Madame..."

"No problem, no problem... If you have any questions, you can go ahead and ask me once more. But for now, I'll go and take a nap." Alice waved her farewells to the bandits as she retreated towards Joseph's direction.

"Oh, you're finally back here." Joseph greeted her.

"Sigh..." Alice heaved a deep sigh. 

"What's wrong?" Joseph noticed that Alice looked somewhat pale.

"Nothing... I didn't expect that grandpa's prestige can actually affect those men..." Alice shook her head and a bitter smile appeared on her lips.

"Of course, that's obvious. Senior Krid is a Legendary Blacksmith, a Legendary figure throughout the world of Victory, who would not be affected by his prestige? An alien?" Joseph poked fun at her and Alice didn't look like she had the energy to reply.

Communicating with those enthusiastic bandits really took a toll on her as she sat down beside Joseph and laid her head on his shoulders.

Seeing what she had done, Joseph commented once again, "How bold. It seems like you really have taken quite a liking at me, eh?"

Alice glared at him and said, "You are saying that as if you don't like me too..."

Joseph chuckled, "Fair enough... But anyway, you really are such a smart woman. To think that you would be able to charm those bandits and make them that enthusiastic to you. Just what did you do to attract them? I don't believe that it is only because you are Senior Krid's granddaughter."

Alice revealed a cheeky smile and replied: "It's completely normal for them to be attracted to me."

She then gestured at herself causing Joseph to repeatedly cough as he replied.

"You won't be able to fool me with that, vixen. Do you really think that those bandits would be attracted to your body or something? Think about it carefully! Do you think that they would care about the body of someone who looks more like a child than a young wo-"

Nom...

"Ah, shit! What are you doing! Let go of me!"

Joseph didn't even manage to complete his sentence when Alice suddenly opened her mouth and bit on his arm. His eyes widened in shock when he felt the sudden sharp pain.

He flailed around, but it exacerbated the pain, only until his arm bled did Alice let go of his arm as a sly smile appeared on her lips.

"Salty..."

"You..." Joseph was speechless.

He didn't know what to say.

In fact, he didn't even know whether he should be angry or aroused when he saw Alice licking her lips like she just ate a delicious snack.

But when he saw the proud look on her face.

He knew that he must not let her continue on being smug.

He understood that if he let Alice won, she would be smug against him for an entire week and that would be a problem. 

Knowing these facts, Joseph steeled his resolve and cried out, "Pervert!"

He coldly spat before turning his head away from Alice.

Fuck, why do I feel like the roles are suddenly reversed? Alice should be the one saying that I am a pervert instead of me telling her that she's a pervert... What the fuck.

Joseph cursed himself as he inwardly panicked.

Of course, his facade made it so that Alice wouldn't be able to read his mind.

But he clearly underestimated Alice's familiarity with him as she became prouder and replied, "Pervert, you say? Hehehe, do you really think that I couldn't feel you secretly moving in the middle of the night when we slept together on the same bed back then? Hehehe, now who's the per-"

"Shut up!" Joseph moved at the speed of light and he instantly placed his palm on Alice's lips.

A blush spread on his cheeks and he really regretted provoking Alice earlier.

Sadly, there was no medicine for regret and he could only admit defeat.

"Okay, fine, fine! You win, all right? Just don't say anything anymore. You are ruining my reputation." Joseph threw in the towel and Alice sweetly smiled at him as she said, "Ruining your reputation? Do you even have one?"

"Shut up!" Joseph glared at her and Alice's bell-like laughter resounded inside the carriage.

"Okay, I'll shut up but since you said that you admit defeat, that means that I have won, right?" Alice turned to look at him and her sweet smile turned into a meaningful one.

"History is always written by the winners and since I have won, I have the write to make you obey my will, am I right?"

Joseph glared at Alice but he felt so ashamed that he didn't reply to her anymore.

"I swear if you make me do something perverted, then you will definitely regr-"

"Stop right there..." 

Joseph didn't even finish his sentence as Alice stopped him mid-way.

"My request this time is..." Alice moved closer to him and whispered her request. 

Joseph was rendered speechless by the request that he heard, but this only exacerbated his embarrassment. However, since he had to honor Alice's request due to the fact that she won their teasing war.

He had no other choice but to obey. 

"Fine..." Joseph squeezed these words out of his throat.

"Well then, excuse me..."

Alice sat beside him and gently laid her body down on the floor of the carriage before placing her head on Joseph's lap.

Joseph then gently ruffled her hair like what he had always done to her whenever she wanted to sleep. But this time, not only she would have to rub her hair in that manner, but he also had to sing her a lullaby as she took her nap.

Singing a lullaby normally wasn't a problem, but seeing that there were a lot of burly men in this carriage staring at him in curiosity.

How could Joseph act or do something like that?

His dignity as a man would be reduced if he did so! But he had to honor the agreement that he made with Alice, so he had no other choice but to swallow his dignity as he opened his mouth and sung in a high-pitched voice that made him sound like a woman.

"R-R-Rock a bye baby... Have a sweet nap... wh-when the wind blows... the cradle will rock... la la la la, la la la la la..."

A sweet smile appeared on Alice's face as her breathing gradually became slower and calmer. In the end, after a few minutes, her breathing steadied and it was clear that she fell asleep.

But in contrast to this peacefulness, the entire carriage was wrapped in a strange atmosphere. The bandits and even Kayn didn't know whether they should laugh or cry when they saw Joseph singing a lullaby in a high-pitched voice.

They wanted to laugh at first, but seeing the murderous look on Joseph's face as he barely squeezed out the lyrics of the lullaby. Each and every one of them didn't dare to laugh nor mock him on what he was doing.

They all became silent, Joseph continued singing for the next several hours and he only stopped when it was finally time for dinner at night.

Alice woke up with a yawn and the look on her face made it evident that she had a good sleep.

She turned her head to stare at Joseph and said, "Did you sing all the way until I woke up, or did you stop mid-way?" 

They agreed that Joseph would continue singing a lullaby until Alice woke up from her nap.

Yes, woke up from her nap.

The keyword here was "nap".

But her nap turned into a full-blown sleep that lasted for four hours. 

Joseph felt somewhat angry because of this so he didn't reply to what she had said.

Alice furrowed her eyebrows when Joseph didn't reply. She turned to look at the other men inside the carriage and asked, "Did he continue singing until I woke up, or did he stop?" 

The men visibly trembled. They were about to answer that Joseph stopped singing mid-way, but when they saw the cold look on Joseph's face. They swallowed their words as one of them mustered his courage and replied, albeit in a stutter.

"Y-Yes... He continued singing..."

"Hooo...."

Alice stared in doubt at the bandit, causing the man to flinch and subconsciously step backward.

Joseph stared at the man and found that he was about to break under the pressure of Alice's stare. Sighing, he tapped Alice on her shoulder and said, "Your sleep lasted for about four hours, do you really think that I could continue singing such a monotonous song for that long?"

Alice frowned, "So you admitted that you cheated and stopped? How shameless."

"Yeah, I admit. That really was a shameless move in my part, so how about I just compensate you?" Joseph placed his cards on the table, but Alice wasn't convinced.

"Convince me? Interesting... Go ahead and try." She crossed her arms in front of her chest.

She looked like she really didn't believe that Joseph could convince her to forgive him for what he had done.

But Joseph who had a trump card in his hands was confident that he could acquire her forgiveness.

Tapping in the air, he opened the Cash Shop and swiftly purchased a nightgown that Alice had been eyeing for about several weeks already.

The nightgown materialized in the air, astonishing not only Alice but the bandits who couldn't believe their eyes.

What the fuck? Did he just summon an object out of nothing? Holy shit, how strong is this guy that he could stare objects in space and casually take it out without causing a commotion or ripple in space?

Jeric who knew more than the average bandits inwardly screamed when he saw what happened.

"T-That..." Alice stuttered.

She didn't know what to say.

"I heard you said that you wanted me to buy you this nightgown, right? Okay, here it is. I don't think that you wouldn't like this nightgown since you always complained to me that you're not comfortable wearing clothes while sleeping. So here it is, instead of sleeping naked, at least something comfortable can cover yo-" 

Smack!

A fierce smack landed on Joseph's face before he could finish his sentence.

"Why the fuck did you slap me again?" Joseph snapped, but Alice retorted with a glare.

A furious blush spread on her cheeks as she said.

"Why did you say something like that here?!" 

Joseph trembled for a moment and when he swept his gaze at the bandits.

He finally realized why Alice had slapped him. 

He forgot that he was in a place full of other people and he even casually mentioned how Alice slept naked causing the imaginations of the others to run wild as they blankly stared at Alice.

Joseph awkwardly scratched his head and apologized.

"Uh... Sorry... I did not mean to throw shade at you like that."

"You better be sorry!" Alice pointed at him, her cheeks puffed in annoyance as she crossed her arms in front of her chest once again and continued, "You committed another offense so you better not think that something like this is enough for me to forgive you..."

Joseph sighed.

He expected that something like this would happen so he purchased some more items in the Cash Shop.

This time, a few pairs of underwear for women.

But before Joseph could even explain as to why he bought her underwear.

Another slap descended on his face as Alice swiftly hid the underwear from the eyes of everyone.

"Purple... So she likes the color purple... what a bold color..." One of the men uttered, it was clear that he had already burned the scene that he saw inside his mind.

"You..." Alice's figure repeatedly trembled when she heard the words of the bandits around her.

The furious blush on her cheeks and the tears that welled up in her eyes made it clear that she was incredibly embarrassed. 

Joseph finally realized his mistake as he apologized once again.

But...

"If apologizing is enough for everyone to be forgiven, do we really need the services of the Police?"

... Alice was quick to retort.

Joseph was taken aback by what he had heard, "Police? There's a concept of Police in this place?" 

"That is not the point here!" Alice retorted.

Joseph sighed, "Okay, fine... I'll stop, all right? I'll give you more gifts privately later and I will also cook for you and everyone tonight! How about that? Can you forgive me now?"

Joseph slapped his trump card on the table and attacked Alice using the most powerful weapon that he could think of which was food.

Alice was moved by his offer.

After a moment of deliberation, she finally gave up and softly replied, "O-Okay... I'll forgive you, but as for the gifts. Can I request something else?" She hung her head low and blushed.

The swift change of attitude astonished Joseph, but he opened his ears to listen: "Okay, I can get you anything so no worries, as long as it's not too ridiculous. I can get it!" He proudly declared.

Alice bit her lips and slowly approached him as she whispered into her ears, "C-can you check if you there are some pads there that I can use...?"

"Pads?" Joseph audibly mumbled and Alice was quick to cover his mouth.

The crimson blush on her face spread until it reached her neck.

"You idiot, why did you say it out loud! I even whispered it to you!" Alice scolded him.

"But I don't understand, what pads?"

Joseph's gaze strayed on her chest, "I don't think that you need any pads with how big you are there, but for the sake of visuals, maybe a pad or two would suffice." He commented and a sharp pain assaulted his waist.

"Why did you pinch me?" Joseph complained.

"I'm not talking about that kind of pad!" Alice glared.

"Oh, then what are you talking about?" Joseph uttered with a frown, "Can you just say it to me directly, I am not someone that has the ability to read minds. I would really appreciate it if you just tell me what you want without all of these sugarcoating." 

Alice trembled, what Joseph said made sense but she still felt embarrassed about directly expressing to him what she wanted, especially when it's something for that time of the month.

But when Alice remembered the fact that the two of them slept together on the same bed and he had also seen her naked, her embarrassment swiftly disappeared.

She realized that it was pointless for her to be embarrassed in front of Joseph who had practically seen everything on her body.

She also reckoned that with Joseph's personality, he would understand her circumstances and why she was so embarrassed.

With the disappearance of this invisible barrier between the two of them...

Alice felt even more relaxed beside Joseph.

She felt like she could now trust Joseph with her life as she stepped forward and whispered her request to him. This time, without any sugarcoating and without dropping any more hints. She became bolder and straightforward, without any more embarrassment nor hesitation.

In the end, she acquired what she wanted, had a good meal, had a good time with the bandits, and had a good sleep.

When they woke up in the morning, they found themselves in front of the gates of Reinhardt.

Using the shortest route possible...

They finally arrived at Reinhardt.