Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters

The Dueling Club usually held its activities at the suburban residence of Colonel Bozuhof, whose reputation was quite significant. Winters had heard of this famous playboy and dueling expert from the army ever since he joined up.

In Sea Blue City, where merchants abound, the military salary was nothing to boast about. However, Colonel Bozuhof, an officer who hailed from a wealthy merchant family, had inherited a large fortune, which allowed him to indulge in his hobbies lavishly.

Because of his warm-hearted nature and superior swordsmanship... and a generous inheritance, Colonel Bozuhof became the manager and organizer of the Dueling Club, and he generously provided his suburban residence as a venue for its activities.

It was he who had provided a partially false list to Major Moritz, forcing Winters to replace the two officers to "retrieve" the real list.

"Moritz has already been exposed, and I have never participated in any activities of the Dueling Club, Bozuhof will be very wary of the two of us, but no one will notice a junior officer like you, and nobody cares where a warrant officer is stationed." Lieutenant Colonel Field explained why the mission could only be assigned to Winters, "Moreover, you have just come back from The Federated Provinces, you like swordsmanship, so it makes perfect sense for you to attend the activities of the Dueling Club."

Lieutenant Colonel Field patted Winters on the shoulder and said emotionally, "You are the person that Moritz and I trust the most, apart from you, there isn't another officer in the entire army that we would trust. Are you going to let us down?"

Time returned to the present, and the sun had already set. Most parts of the city were plunged into darkness, but Colonel Bozuhof's residence was brightly lit.

Winters and his party of three had just arrived at the entrance of the residence.

"I am such an idiot," Winters cursed himself silently, "Why did I agree to this on impulse?"

It's common for newcomers in the workplace to be semi-forced into doing something they're reluctant to do because they don't know they can say "no." That was the situation Winters found himself in now.

"Wow, quite the opulence." Andre marveled, casually handing the reins to the servant at the gatehouse, "This Dueling Club must be pretty rich."

Although rich families do not necessarily light many lamps, those that do are certainly wealthy—a simple and crude method of distinction.

"It's not the club that's rich, but the sponsor," Lieutenant Colonel Kongtai'er said with a smile to Andre.

The best way to gain rightful entry to Colonel Bozuhof's residence to "take" something was to attend the Dueling Club's activities every Wednesday and Friday evening. Your journey continues with empire

It's clear that Colonel Bozuhof had become wary of Major Moritz, so of course, Winters could not possibly join the club through Moritz's introduction.

Thanks to his connection with Antonio, he sought out Lieutenant Colonel Kongtai'er of the Third Legion to serve as his referee, and he also dragged Andre along to provide cover. As for Bard? Outside entrants like Bard had mediocre swordsmanship skills and were also very disinterested in dueling.

Winters took two pieces of sugar from a small bag and fed them to Strong Run, his horse, who happily snorted twice and, with lingering enjoyment, licked Winters' hand.

"Please tie this horse apart from the others; don't mix it with other horses," he instructed Bozuhof's servant as he handed over the reins.

The servant dressed in striped livery nodded and led the three horses away.

"What's with Strong Run?" Kongtai'er asked curiously.

Winters sighed and replied helplessly, "He seems to have caught the scent of a mare the other day and started fighting with the other horses in the trough, ending up with a mouth full of hair from their manes."

Andre laughed heartily, "That's the trouble with young stallions."

The three chatted and laughed as they made their way into Bozuhof's residence.

It wasn't until Winters actually entered the Dueling Club that he first noticed the atmosphere was exceptionally relaxed and natural. There were no introductions, oaths, or fraternity ceremonies. After registering in the guestbook at the entrance, one could move about freely.

No wonder Major Moritz said he just drank and chatted at the Dueling Club, as most people there were eating, drinking, mingling, with quite a few bringing their female companions along.

This was far from the stern gathering of men Winters had imagined in secret rooms fiddling with firearms and swords.

"Ha, Lieutenant Colonel Kongtai'er, it's been a while since you came around," said a voice before the man was seen.

A man with a ruddy complexion, tall stature, and curly brown hair came over, laughing and giving Lieutenant Colonel Kongtai'er a bear hug.

"I didn't just come here myself, but also brought two bits of 'fresh blood' with me—Winters and Andrea," said Lieutenant Colonel Kongtai'er, pointing at Winters and his companion and introducing them, "Both are pure Venetians, this cohort of warrant officers returning from The Federated Provinces."

Lieutenant Colonel Kongtai'er then patted the curly-haired man on the arm, "This hairy bear right here is the host of this place, the organizer of the Dueling Club, Colonel Bozuhof."

Kongtai'er deliberately stretched the word "Colonel," causing Winters and Andre to instinctively salute, but Bozuhof stopped them with a gesture, punching Lieutenant Colonel Kongtai'er's shoulder and said boisterously, "Salute? Me and Kongtai'er just happened to be born a few years earlier. This place is where friends who enjoy swords come to have fun, rank doesn't matter here, only swordsmanship. How about it? Feel like going up for a match tonight?"