Chapter 83 :

Episode 83 - Lucha Village

It was uncomfortable.

Really, terribly, extremely uncomfortable.

It was not the swaying horse, the uneven road, or the cold weather of early winter that was uncomfortable.

Duke Feedus, no, Jing was very uncomfortable.

—Lord Ran, are you uncomfortable?

—Lord Ran, are you not hungry?

—Lord Ran, the road is rough. Are you not having a hard time?

Lord Ran, Lord Ran, Lord Ran.

This hell of questions began as soon as we safely left the capital.

Because from the moment we got on horses, Jing began checking on me every time he judged that I might be even slightly uncomfortable.

When he even asked whether I was having a hard time because there were too many stones on the road, I started to suspect that his eyesight had deteriorated enough for him to mistake me for his eleven-year-old son.

If a rough hillside road did not have stones and gravel, how would it be any different from a modern paved road?

I did not know about other imperial family members, but his care was so burdensome that it was driving me insane.

This was the first time since coming to this world that I had heard the name Ran Abiran this many times.

Now I was even confused whether my name was Ran or Lord.

I felt like I was going to develop neurosis.

“Lord Ran, are you ill somewhere?”

Seeing him check my complexion again, I ground my teeth while holding back the curse rising in me.

“I told you to call me just Ran, not Lord Ran, didn’t I? And I’m not ill anywhere. Please stop asking.”

“Understood, Ran.”

Even if he turned around like that, after a little while, he would call me Lord Ran again.

Being almost thirty the day after tomorrow and receiving the care of a man old enough to be my father made the blood of Lee Suhyeon inside me, who had lived as an independent subject for more than ten years, boil and made me uncomfortable.

Moreover, his goodwill did not seem to come from pure gratitude either.

To ease the burden even a little, I kicked the horse’s side and increased my speed.

“Lord Ra......Ran! Are you truly not uncomfortable somewhere?”

You are the most uncomfortable thing here.

If I said that, it was obvious he would cling to me and ask why he made me uncomfortable.

“By the way, it is strange that there have been no attacks from wild animals. Even when we encounter them, they immediately turn away, so they are awkward to catch too.”

Unaware of what I was feeling inside, Jing looked around peacefully and spoke as if regretful.

Because I sent back all the animals that were about to be caught by your hands.

It was not as if I intended to give up meat, but seeing animals that could communicate to some extent being hunted right before my eyes was not exactly a pleasant sight.

It was not as if we lacked food enough to need to hunt either.

“Well, they’re probably hibernating or something. Winter is almost here now.”

“Is that so? Still......”

Avoiding him as he seemed about to express more doubts, I turned the reins.

“I’ll go ahead first and check how much farther the village is. When you arrive with Ratel, please discuss what we’ll eat.”

“If it’s food, once we find a suitable place.......”

“No, this is our first meal today, isn’t it? I consider food very important. Please make sure to choose something delicious.”

Afraid that Jing might follow me, I quickly answered and drove the horse forward.

Jing was talkative, but he was not someone without tact.

He obediently pulled his horse back and matched Ratel’s speed.

Ratel said nothing in particular, but judging by how the back of my head prickled, he was definitely glaring at me.

I spurred on the hand driving the horse.

Once the distance between the two of them widened and no one was visible in front of me, peace of mind finally arrived.

We had to destroy the holy relic as soon as possible.

And then I would run away immediately.

I wanted to go live somewhere where no one knew me.

Living like that, it would be fine if I eventually returned to the world I originally lived in, and it would not matter if I did not.

Because no matter where I lived, it would not be very different as long as I was not a prince.

That was what felt most comfortable to me.

To gain peace, the first thing was safely destroying the holy relic, and the second was finding someone to properly relay the knowledge I had of this world.

The place where the right person for that was located was where we were heading.

The edge of a hill began to appear far away.

And beyond it, a village where small buildings were gathered cozily together.

The faded name on the sign hanging at the village entrance told me we had arrived properly at our destination.

[Lucha]

It was the village where we would meet the first companion of Ratel’s party.

* * *

The village was small and cozy.

“Lord Ran, there is a place over there that serves as both a restaurant and an inn.”

Jing pointed to a building that looked quite large for a small village.

But I turned my horse toward a slightly smaller building on the outskirts of the village, opposite the place his finger pointed to.

“Lord Ran, did you not say that food was important? In places used by commoners like this, the fewer people there are, the more the quality of the food tends to drop.”

Jing followed behind me and spoke worriedly.

“Still, let’s go somewhere a little smaller. If there are too many people, it might be noisy.”

“You are right. If there are fewer people, we will not get caught up in strange matters either.”

Jing immediately agreed with my words and drove his horse along with me.

In truth, even if I had chosen a restaurant packed with people, he would have said that my words were right.

He would have said that, as expected, if there were many people, it would be easier to hide among them.

It was fortunate, at least.

Because from now on, our steps were heading toward a shortcut to getting caught up in all kinds of strange matters.

Hoping his trust would break a little, I drove the horse.

Creak.

The sound of an old wooden door opening tormented my ears.

Straight ahead, I could see a man who appeared to be the owner of the restaurant wiping a table.

He was a man with a sturdy build and dark brown hair.

He slowly turned his body and looked at us.

“.......”

Without even the common greeting of welcome, his dark brown eyes, filled with caution, scanned us up and down.

I also did not take my eyes off him.

Though the difference was that my curiosity was greater than my wariness.

Large hands with far too many scars for someone who cooked in a restaurant, a sturdy build, and dark brown hair.

It was exactly the appearance that had been described through someone’s gaze.

* * *

The shop seemed to have just opened, as more chairs were still up on the tables than not, and there were not many people sitting inside.

Jing hesitated briefly at the rather unfriendly treatment from the owner, but he did not express any dissatisfaction with the place I had chosen.

We found ourselves a suitably sized table in the innermost part of the shop and sat down.

The brown-haired owner approached us without hiding his suspicion.

“Pork stew, three meat pies, steamed salmon, sugar carrots.”

Ratel spoke quickly.

It seemed he really had discussed what to eat with Jing.

The man looked down for a moment at Ratel, who ordered as if he had been waiting the moment he sat down, then turned his body.

As if he had expected this, Jing quickly caught him again.

“Those are what that young man will eat, and for us, pork stew and bread should be enough. Ah, and three mugs of beer too.”

Unless he was planning to drink two mugs by himself, those three mugs would be for each of us.

That would not do.

“Two mugs.”

“Will you drink water, Lord Ran?”

When I corrected the order, Jing asked.

To answer the question, I turned my head and looked at Ratel.

“Are you going to drink water?”

Only then did Ratel realize that one mug of beer had been meant for him, and one of his eyebrows rose.

Then he spoke toward the cook.

“Three mugs of beer.”

“I don’t think alcohol will suit your taste.”

Perhaps he disliked that I was speaking as if deciding his preferences, because he tilted his head.

“I do not dislike it.”

What a joke. There had even been a scene in an extra story where he confessed to Jing that he did not know what taste people drank alcohol for.

The fact that he was childishly trying to protect his pride felt somewhat appropriate for his age.

Still, I did not really want to see a minor forcing himself to drink alcohol before my eyes, so I subtly opened my mouth.

“I didn’t know you liked something that bitter. I’ll keep that in mind from now on.”

When I spoke as if I understood, Ratel hesitated for a moment before answering.

He looked expressionless, but he must have been thinking too.

If he said yes here, he would have to show me from now on that he could drink alcohol and eat all kinds of bitter things well, and that would probably be a pain.

“Do as you like. I don’t care either way.”

He glared at me as if he would kill me, but so what?

In any case, the day he carried that out would not be today.

And before that day came, I would run away.

“Just bring three cups of water.”

Unable to watch any longer, Jing gave up his own beer, and Ratel’s conflict came to an end.

Fortunately, because of this strange battle of nerves, the owner seemed to lower his guard against us a little.

Because a look of pathetic disbelief briefly passed over his face.

After registering a rather poor first impression, he moved into the kitchen.

“Traveling with young people makes food expenses quite high. It has been a long time since I managed money, so I cannot judge whether I am doing it properly.”

Jing slightly blocked Ratel’s line of sight as he glared at me and changed the subject.

I thought it was not because he was traveling with young people, but because he was traveling with Ratel, but I did not bother saying it out loud.

He was at an age where he was always hungry, so there was no helping it.

“Prices are rather high in this village.”

Lucha was an isolated village surrounded by mountains on three sides, and because food ingredients were difficult to supply, prices were high overall.

Jing also nodded as if he understood.

“It makes me grateful to Tollin, who handled the finances.”

When Jing muttered at my answer, Ratel scanned the inside of the restaurant.

“What matters is not the state of our pockets. It is the state of other people’s pockets. This place doesn’t look very good.”

Seeing his gaze linger on the pouches hanging at people’s waists, Jing hurriedly turned his body to block his view.

“If we run out of money, I will earn some by performing tricks in the street, so please stop paying attention to our pockets or other people’s pockets.”

Ratel slowly looked at the desperate Jing, then shrugged once.

“It was a joke.”

I could bet my breakfast that half of it was sincere.

“And I would like to see Jing perform tricks just once.”

Ratel added to Jing, who could not remove the suspicion from his eyes.

Seeing the corner of Ratel’s mouth rise slightly, I felt a little relieved.

Although things had changed a little from the original work, it seemed the relationship between the two was not bad.

Because if even Jing and Ratel’s relationship had become twisted on an already harsh journey, it would have become a real headache.

It was the moment I raised my head after picturing Jing suffering in a future without me.

I met golden eyes that were staring at me.

Since when had he been looking this way?

Ratel, who had been making pointless conversation with Jing just a moment ago, was glaring at me.

There were times when the human body did not move as one wished.

If one rolled one’s eyes around, there could be cases where one’s gaze unconsciously landed somewhere strange.

But if he did not avoid my eyes even after they had met for this long, that could only mean he had something to say.

Was he still holding a grudge because I had stopped him from drinking one mug of beer earlier?

What, punk, got something to say?

When I glared at him with that meaning, I saw Ratel’s mouth open.

Squelch.

Unfortunately, there was no chance to hear Ratel’s voice.

Because the commotion made by a group of people who roughly opened the shop door and entered was far too loud.

“Hey, Edan!!! Today is the day we came to persuade you!!! Join us in this Lucha tournament!!!”

There was no doubt that the one they excitedly called Edan was the owner of the shop.

At their earnest call, the brown-haired man came back out of the kitchen and revealed himself before opening his mouth.

“Order first.”

“Damn it, is that what matters right now?”

“It matters. If you don’t intend to buy anything, get out.”

At his firm answer, the men cursed and each ordered a mug of beer.

“Now answer us. Will you participate in the tournament with us this time? You will, right?”

The man named Edan looked for a moment at the earnest eyes staring at him before he could even sit down, then opened his mouth.

“I refuse.”

And while listening to the men’s screams, he went back into the kitchen.