Chapter 84 :

Episode 84 - Characters

“Damn it, if only you join, our team will become the strongest team. We’ve heard the rumors that you even beat a bear to death with your bare hands. You can’t rot in a place like this for the rest of your life, can you? Why on earth won’t you participate?!”

“Exactly. If you don’t plan to rot here for the rest of your life, come with us!”

“If you participate in the tournament with us, we’ll give you half the prize money!”

Despite the passionate courtship directed at him, Edan did not give much of a reply.

He simply served the men five mugs of beer and silently made the food we had ordered.

The men had to order one more whole roasted chicken in order to stop Edan, who was about to hand them only the beer and go back in.

They hurriedly laid out words of persuasion to stop Edan, who was trying to put down the chicken and quickly head back inside again.

“Damn it, Edan! Just close your eyes once and come out with us. What reason could you possibly have to refuse? If it’s because of your younger sister, then just give her some prize money and—”

The card one of them pulled out was clearly a very bad one.

Edan’s face stiffened in an instant, and he glared at him.

At the change in Edan, who had only shown blunt reactions until now, the man gulped.

“......E-Edan, that’s not what I meant.......”

“Do not speak carelessly about my younger sister.”

Until Edan, who had finished the longest and most threatening sentence he had spoken so far, disappeared back into the kitchen, the men kept their mouths shut and watched his expression.

“From the looks of it, this Lucha tournament seems to be a competition to determine superiority in force. Is it fighting, as expected?”

Interest appeared in Jing’s eyes as he watched their conversation, in which the position of control was clear.

Well, it was a combination of words that Duke Feedus, a veteran of the battlefield, could not possibly fail to be tempted by.

A tournament where the winner was decided through fighting. How exciting must that be for someone whose greatest confidence was using his body?

“Why do you think so?”

“That is because......all the men who came in are well-built, are they not? Most of all, that owner named Edan is also far too good to simply be the owner of a restaurant.”

“Does it not look interesting?”

At my question, Jing opened his mouth as if he were about to answer yes immediately, but soon his face stiffened and he shook his head.

“It is interesting, but we do not have time to waste on something like that. For the sake of Tollin, who remains in the capital, we must destroy the holy relic as quickly as possible.”

Perhaps because he could not bring himself to laugh when thinking of Tollin, who must be receiving punishment in his place in the capital, he fixed his gaze on the dining table and closed his mouth.

I took my eyes off him and looked toward the inside of the kitchen where Edan had entered.

“You said he was too good to work at a restaurant, did you not?”

At my confirmation, Jing rolled his eyes for a moment as if thinking.

“I will have to taste the food that comes out to say for certain. Perhaps he might have tremendous talent in cooking.”

If he was receiving such a generous evaluation from Duke Feedus, Edan was definitely a born fighter.

“What have you been glancing at since earlier?”

Perhaps disliking the presence of unfamiliar outsiders was a common trait of the villagers, because the attention of the men who had been clinging to Edan as if they would follow him all the way into the kitchen suddenly turned toward us.

“Yeah, from what I heard, it sounded like you were saying something about Edan. Edan is going to participate in Lucha with us. So don’t set your eyes on him.”

Or perhaps it was simply wariness toward future competitors.

“What exactly is this Lucha tournament that has all of you so worked up?”

Jing, who took their threat as a chance to start a conversation, quickly asked.

When they realized we did not even know what the Lucha tournament was, their faces became deflated, yet they visibly showed relief.

It seemed they had been quite wary after seeing Jing and Ratel’s builds.

“If you don’t know, then there’s no need to know more. It doesn’t have much to do with you.”

The man who seemed to have the loudest voice and most active attitude among the five waved his hand in annoyance and answered.

However, the man beside him, who had been watching Jing and Ratel with interest, tapped his arm and whispered in his ear.

He was probably saying that if they failed to persuade Edan, would it not be fine to try targeting this side?

Perhaps judging that there was some logic to those words, the man cleared his throat and turned his body toward Jing.

“Well......it’s a fighting tournament held in this village every year.”

Jing continued with the next question to the man, who had softened his attitude while speaking.

“Everyone seems quite desperate. Is the prize money that large?”

“The prize money is prize money, but what we are really aiming for is the prize.”

The man lowered his voice, his eyes flashing.

“The winner can receive the blessing of the temple in a city called Limis, which is reached by crossing one mountain from here. With that, a smooth road opens up for a mercenary.”

“They give a blessing? At the temple?”

At the prize, which was more generous than expected, Jing’s eyes widened.

“That’s right. It’s worth everyone staking their lives, isn’t it? In that sense, how about the two of you participate as well? From the looks of it, you seem to be travelers, and it wouldn’t be bad to participate in the tournament with us. In any case, the three of you won’t be able to enter on your own.”

“When did a contest like this begin?”

The man, displeased that Jing ignored his proposal and asked a question instead, frowned but obediently continued answering.

“Who knows? At least more than twenty years ago. Edan’s father also.......”

The man’s answer did not continue to the end.

Because Edan came out holding the food Ratel had ordered in both hands.

The man cleared his throat and completely turned his body away from us.

Without saying anything, Edan set down the salmon dish, sugar carrots, and the rest in front of us, then went back into the kitchen.

“How unusual. The temple gives blessings to civilians.”

Jing muttered while picking up one of the pieces of bread Edan had left behind.

“Are you envious?”

Perhaps my question displeased him, because a crack formed between his brows.

He must have thought I was testing him.

“That is not it. I simply thought it strange.”

I shrugged at Jing, whose face had stiffened.

“I meant there is no need to be too envious. We will also participate in that tournament and win.”

“What?”

“The holy relic is inside that temple.”

“Yes......?”

Jing dropped the bread he had picked up.

“You deceived us.”

Ratel, who had finished his meal at some point, spoke while watching me tear bread and dip it into the stew.

“I did not say anything.”

But I had no regrets.

If I had said we had to stop by this village and participate in the fighting tournament, Jing would have hesitated because the time felt wasted, and he would not have stopped Ratel from saying he would charge straight into the temple.

“If we have to go to the temple from Limis, then there was no need to stop by this village.”

I grabbed Ratel’s arm as he was about to immediately spring up from his seat.

“Sit down. Jing hasn’t finished his meal yet.”

Ratel scanned the plate where plenty of stew and bread still remained, then slowly sat down.

I let out a sigh and began explaining.

“To enter the temple, it is safest to receive official permission and go in. Because we don’t know exactly where the holy relic is.”

“If you don’t know where it is, what is the reason you are still alive?”

Ratel said to me, looking ready to draw his sword at any moment.

“What I know is only what was described in the red book. It’s only natural that the specific location is difficult to know. And the book said it was hidden underground, but what will you do if they changed the place where it was stored over the past thousand years?”

“It doesn’t matter if we go in and search.”

“If you enter from the front and try to find where the holy relic is, you’ll be surrounded by knights in no time.”

“That does not matter either.”

Ratel answered.

Yes, it probably did not matter to you.

“It matters to me. We need to minimize fighting.”

Ratel faintly frowned.

“That is not for you to decide.”

Was saying we should minimize violence really something to get this angry over?

At the stubbornness of the hero who would save the world threatening the peace of humanity, I sighed and opened my mouth.

“We can’t do that. If something goes wrong, we’ll die.”

“I do not die that easily.”

Yes, I know that too.

I nodded.

“Right. But I’ll die.”

At my shameless answer, he lost his words.

“I have no weapon, I can’t fight, and I can’t do anything. If we charge in there, of course I’ll die. I can’t fight the temple knights.”

“Prin......no, Lord Ran. I am asking just in case, but surely you do not mean that you do not know swordsmanship, fighting techniques, or anything at all?”

At Jing’s voice, which suddenly cut into the conversation, both Ratel’s and my gazes turned toward him.

Jing’s eyes were trembling.

It was clear that he had received a great shock.

“Didn’t Jing say so himself? That if something happened, you would help me first.”

When I spoke as if it were obvious, Jing waved his hands.

“No, of course I will do that, but what I mean is, have you truly received no basic education at all?”

I had learned a little kendo in the modern world, but it was not something that could be used in this world, so I nodded.

“Nothing.”

“No, there should be something you learned as a basic requirement. All imperial family members.......”

“My position is a little ambiguous for me to meet that standard.”

Probably, at least.

Judging by how there had been no body-training-related things among the schedule Sein had sent up.

Even in the original work, there had been no particular mention that Ran had learned any skill.

Jing looked at me with a solemn expression, as if he could not find words to say.

The one who had suffered such a thing was not me but Ran Abiran, but I had no reason to refuse sympathy.

As long as it could make the conversation easier to resolve.

“That is why we need to enter through a legal method right now. Nothing good will come from me, the person who knows the contents of the red book perfectly, dying, will it? And there is nothing good about causing a disturbance and letting Dito realize that Jing or I are alive either.”

Neither Ratel nor Jing objected any further.

A quiet and uncomfortable meal continued for a while.

“......If we are to apply to participate, must we not go to the temple?”

The one who broke the silence first was Jing.

On his face, a sense of urgency could be seen, as if they had to participate in the match right away.

“Didn’t those men say earlier that three people cannot participate? Since there is a limit on the number of members, going to the temple like this will be useless.”

“We can just grab anyone right now and ask them. Winning a tournament like that will not be difficult.”

Jing answered in frustration.

But we could not do that.

If we were going to bring just anyone, there would have been no need to come all the way to this small restaurant.

We absolutely had to participate in the tournament with the person who had been decided.

Following the original work, together with Ratel’s first companion.

“I will ask one of the men at the next table right now. I do not know how many more people we need, but if I say Ratel and I will join them, there will be people who will abandon their original team to join us.”

It was the moment Jing stood up, looking as if he would forcibly drag one of the men in at any second.

Bang!

The shop door opened rather violently.

Receiving everyone’s gazes at once, someone hurriedly entered the shop.

A tall height close to one hundred eighty centimeters, rich brown hair tied high, and intelligent brown eyes.

There seemed to be no room for doubt about whose blood she carried.

The woman who had hurriedly entered the shop widened her eyes in shock when she saw the people gathered in the restaurant.

She avoided their gazes.

As if unable to endure the silence, the woman turned her body toward the stairs.

While moving her steps as much as possible to avoid people’s eyes, she soon discovered us, seated in one corner, then stopped walking and stared blankly at us.

“......Lia, hurry inside.”

Seeing her unable to move as if nails had been driven into the floor, Edan let out a sigh, spoke quietly, and entered the kitchen.

At the sound of his heavy sigh, the woman named Lia finally seemed to come to her senses and hurriedly ran toward the second floor.

Thud!!!

Though she fell forward before she could even take two full steps.

In an instant, the atmosphere became subtle.

The villagers did not offer even a single greeting to the woman who appeared to be Edan’s blood relative, and the woman likewise kept her head deeply lowered, avoiding people’s gazes.