[center][h2]Kochiya Sanae[/h2][h3]Aventon[/h3][/center]
Between the merchant's semi-disparaging remarks and the subsequent eagerness of a few of their group's members to prove them wrong, Sanae was left in a mildly awkward spot. While Anne and Lewa were attempting to defuse the situation, it seemed quite apparent that those among them that originated from Gensokyo wanted to go about solving problems in the way that they were usually solved back home.

In other words, a duel.

Unfortunately, spellcard rules obviously did not exist in this world, which meant that there was no guarantee that the people that they fought wouldn't end up sustaining any injuries; not that such a thing would matter when [i]Remilia[/i] of all people declared that she would act as a healer instead of joining in to assuage what Sanae assumed would have been a bruised ego.

Ultimately, though, Sanae had no intention of backing down either. If they had to get to the capital, it would be best to do so in the easiest way possible...

Which, again, ultimately meant that a show of force seemed like the easiest way to go about convincing the old man and his peers that they had every right to tag along.

While the merchant was left mildly confused on how to handle the group of young women wishing to pick a fight, the group of mercenaries that Anne had approached seemed to be more amused than not at the pretense of a match. And with Anne's words accidentally inflating their ego...

Well, the outcome was more of a foregone conclusion at this point.

"Hm? Oh, as far as mercenary bands go, we're pretty strong. Nowhere near the strongest in the company, but I think we're still more than capable of handling dangers are lurking on the road," their leader, a man in his mid-thirties decked out in leather armor, spoke as he turned towards the large mechanical being who also tried to talk them down from matching against one another. "Now, I don't think we're going to go try and take anyone's heads over all this, but the green haired girl over there—she a friend of yours?—did basically just call us incompetent. Now, I don't know what sort of level-headed old man must've made you, but we're not the type of people who can afford to just be insulted like that. It's bad for our reputation, after all, and in our line of work... Well, that's all we really have."

With that, the mercenary group's leader walked over to the older merchant and, with a smirk, patted the man on the shoulder.

"How about we take up that halfling's offer?" he asked, gesturing towards Rayne as he spoke. "The trip's been pretty calm, and I don't think it's a good idea to let our blades get too rusty. Might make a good show to watch, too. How about it?"

"...Ah, I swear, all of you people are addicted to fighting..." the merchant finally responded, letting his shoulders droop as he waved at the group of people gathering to give him some space. "Fine! You and your men are free to spar so long as it does not interfere with your duties [i]or[/i] leave any lasting injuries on either side. I paid good coin to have you guard us, so I'd like it if you didn't muck up any chance of a good relationship because you got a bit too eager to brawl."

"Perfect!" the mercenary responded, clapping his hands before looking at the group of people more than ready to take them on. "Then how about a few matches outside the southern entrance to the town? If your healer's as good as she claims, we shouldn't have any problems; else, we have one of our own ready in case anything goes bad."

"Duels? I'd be fine with one," Sanae replied, glancing at the others briefly before nodding her head. "You wouldn't happen to have any mages on hand, would you? It'd be a bit unfair for me to go against someone who prefers to fight in close quarters, after all."

"Mages? Of course we do," he said, a slight smirk on his face as he [i]completely[/i] misconstrued Sanae's question as a fear of fighting someone up close instead of anything near the truth. "If that's all the questions you have, then we'll meet you after we've prepared all the spare equipment we might need. Shouldn't take too long."

With everyone who [i]wanted[/i] to fight more or less in agreement, the mercenaries wasted no time in following their leader's orders to prepare for what they assumed would be a simple match against a few overeager people who needed to be given a reality check.

That wasn't [i]far[/i] from the truth, granted, but not necessarily in the way they would expect. Either way, those present had a bit more time to peruse the caravan's wares or get any last-minute things in order before the mercenaries were done getting ready themselves.

[@VitaVitaAR][@EchoWolff][@Izurich][@Lugubrious][@Drifting Pollen][@Raineh Daze][@DracoLunaris][@Rezod92]