Chapter 86 :

Episode 86 - Investment

As soon as we entered a deserted alleyway, Lia bowed deeply at the waist.

“I’m truly, truly, truly sorry. Even if it takes me years, I’ll definitely repay the money.......”

“I’m leaving in a week, so I can’t wait years.”

At my firm answer, Lia’s face immediately darkened.

“Th-then if you at least tell me your home, I’ll tell your family.”

That would be even more troublesome.

In this world, the only ones I could somewhat call family were in the imperial castle of the capital.

“It’s fine. I didn’t pay that money thinking I would get it back anyway.”

“Th-that huge amount of money? Why on earth.......”

Lia tilted her head as if she could not understand.

“Well, think of it as an investment. If you’re that grateful, guide me around.”

At the thought that she could repay me somehow, Lia immediately nodded.

“Of course! You can think of me as your guide for the whole day!”

There was no need to go that far.

“Then please take me by the fastest route to the temple.”

At my answer, Lia’s face darkened briefly, but she soon composed her expression.

“Just follow me. The temple is that most beautiful building over there.”

The tall tower she pointed to with her finger was truly a building worthy of being described as beautiful, just as she had said.

In Lucha, where small buildings were gathered cozily together, there was no structure that felt as out of place as that one.

I leisurely followed behind Lia, who took the lead as if nothing were wrong.

Then, as I recalled the display stand that had been smashed a moment ago, I turned my gaze to Lia’s knee, which had collided with it.

Even though she had received an impact strong enough to break the display stand, she was walking as if nothing had happened.

It seemed she had probably even forgotten the fact that she had hit the display stand hard a moment ago.

“It seems you weren’t bluffing when you said your body was sturdy.”

When I spoke to her, Lia recalled the conversation she had with Jing yesterday and nodded.

“Everyone in my family is like that. Even so, compared to Edan, I’m nothing.”

“If someone who shattered a display stand says that much, I have no choice but to believe it.”

At my answer, she seemed to recall the disaster from a moment ago and lowered her head deeply, mumbling.

“......I didn’t do it on purpose.”

“I know. If it had been intentional, why would you have broken the display stand?”

You would have broken the shopkeeper’s legs instead.

At my answer, Lia stared at me for a moment, then soon turned her head forward.

“......You’re an unusual person.”

“The people who were with me are even more unusual. Compared to them, I’m nothing.”

Lia, who seemed to relax at my answer, laughed quietly, hesitated for a moment, then looked at the approaching temple.

“Are you going to the temple because of the Lucha tournament?”

“Yes. I heard the prize money and reward are impressive.”

At my affirmation, Lia’s expression stiffened subtly.

“I saw yesterday that the three of you came together. You found someone quickly.”

“Found someone?”

Instead of saying that I was in the middle of finding one now, I chose to feign ignorance.

At my naïve question, Lia’s already stiffened face hardened completely.

“You didn’t know? The minimum number of people is four. The three of you are not qualified to participate.”

“Ah, is that so? That could have been a big problem. I’ll have to visit again tomorrow.”

Lia’s steps came to a complete stop.

Now, like someone barely holding back a scream, she opened and closed her mouth.

“T-the application deadline is today!”

I know.

I had worked so hard to arrive in time for the date.

“That is a big problem.”

I spoke with the most serious expression I could manage.

At my calm answer, Lia stamped her feet and looked back and forth between the temple and the sky.

The application deadline was before sunset.

There was truly not much time left now.

“Th-then hire one person right away. Among the villagers, there should still be someone who will lend their name......there should.......”

Lia, who had been shouting in frustration, slowly stopped speaking.

It seemed she had realized where I had spent all the money I had.

That was why I had said it, had I not?

That it was only an investment.

Looking at her face, which was being dyed with guilt, I slowly opened my mouth.

“Well, there is nothing we can do. If we cannot apply to participate, the two people left at the shop will have to wait another year, but worldly affairs never go as one wishes, do they?”

“U-um.......”

The flustered Lia opened her mouth to apologize, but I did not give her the chance.

“We only need one person who can lend us their name right now, but there is no way someone like that would suddenly appear.”

“.......”

“Let’s go back to the shop. On the way, I’ll have to think about how to make Jing and Ratel accept this situation more easily.”

“Wait......!”

When I turned my steps as if I were really going back to the shop, Lia hurriedly grabbed me.

When I looked at her as if asking what was wrong, Lia squeezed both eyes shut and opened her mouth.

“I-if it is only lending my name......I’ll lend you mine.”

At her kindness, defeated by the prick of conscience, I raised both corners of my mouth.

* * *

The closer we got to the shop, the slower Lia’s steps became.

Her face grew pale as well.

“If you don’t want to go home, let’s part ways around here.”

When I turned around and spoke to her as she gradually fell behind, Lia let out a deep sigh.

“My brother must not find out.”

“About what? That you are not coming home today?”

“No! That I’m participating in the tournament!”

“Once the tournament starts, the villagers will all find out anyway.”

“That’s true.”

Lia muttered, then held her head again.

“For now, please make sure he doesn’t know today. If he finds out I’m entering Lucha, there will be a huge uproar.”

“I’ll explain things well to the owner. I’ll tell him Lia won’t need to move even a fingertip. The other two are such monsters.”

If those two fought properly, it was clear that neither of us would need to lift a finger.

Well, it also meant that if either of those two had some useless idea, one of us would have to fight.

Even at my words meant to reassure her, Lia’s expression showed no sign of relaxing.

“That isn’t the problem. My brother just doesn’t like the Lucha tournament itself.”

“Why? There seemed to be plenty of people who wanted to participate in the tournament with him.”

When I asked while pretending not to know, Lia’s face hardened.

“That’s why. That’s why he hates it even more.”

“Do you hate it too, Lia?”

“What?”

Lia, who had been muttering as if talking to herself, lifted her head with a puzzled expression at my sudden question.

“Do you also hate the Lucha tournament? Did you not want to participate?”

Lia’s lips moved briefly.

“......Yes. I really hate the Lucha tournament too.”

The answer she gave after a slight hesitation did not seem very trustworthy, but I said nothing.

If she herself said so, there was no need to forcefully dig into it.

Because in any case, she would end up participating in the tournament with Ratel.

* * *

When we entered the shop, Edan, who had been coming out with food, set a plate down on a table and glanced at Lia.

“The bookstore owner must have been very angry.”

Lia, who entered while still tightly holding the book, subtly hid it behind her back.

“Huh? Ah! He said since something this torn couldn’t be sold anyway, I could just take it.”

When Lia answered awkwardly, Edan let out a deep sigh.

Following that sound, Lia’s head also lowered.

“You paid him properly for the book, right? Nothing good comes from owing other people.”

When Edan spoke as if admonishing her, Lia quickly nodded.

“Yes! I paid properly, just like you said. I’m sorry....... When I earn money, I’ll definitely pay you back.”

Edan, who had been looking down at Lia as she muttered without being able to raise her head, faintly frowned.

“It’s fine, so help with the shop. There are many customers these days.”

Lia answered briskly, and the sound of her going up to the second floor, along with the clatter of her missing a step and falling once along the way, rang out.

Likewise, the one who stopped me as I moved to enter my room was Edan.

“Hey.”

When I turned my head back, Edan was glaring at me with eyes full of displeasure.

“If you’re a traveler, you should stay quietly and leave like one. Don’t do anything unnecessary.”

It seemed he already knew roughly what had happened in the village.

“Usually, isn’t thanks supposed to come first? I helped your younger sister when she was in trouble.”

At my words, Edan’s brow crumpled.

“I handle my family’s matters myself. There is no need for you to interfere. I’ll pay back the glove money you covered today.”

If I obediently told him the amount I had paid to that shop owner here, this argument would end.

I could not call it peaceful, but at least it would be avoiding conflict.

But for some reason, as I looked at Edan’s displeased face, I thought there was no need to do that.

“No need. Lia has already paid it back.”

At my answer, one of Edan’s eyebrows rose.

“What are you talking about? Where would that child get money like that?”

Looking at him as he spoke with certainty, I tilted my head.

“Can’t an adult well past twenty earn that much money on her own?”

“There is no way anyone in the village would give Lia work.......”

Edan, who had been muttering in frustration, noticed that I was silently staring at him and soon closed his mouth.

Finding that ending amusing, the corner of my mouth rose.

“I’m fine for dinner. I already took care of it outside.”

This time for real, I turned around and moved toward the second floor.

Until I fully climbed the stairs, I felt a gaze sticking to the back of my head, but I did not look back.

Ratel was right.

Edan was an unpleasant human being.

So unpleasant that no further words were needed to express it.

* * *

Ratel, Jing, Lia, and I sat gathered in a corner of the smallest and shabbiest shop in the village, or to be exact, Lia’s regular bookstore.

With the shop owner’s grumbling as background noise.

“Damn it, it’s already cramped enough, so what are these giants?”

“A-ah, Mister......! We’ll leave soon.”

Lia, flustered, whispered desperately, but he did not relax his fierce expression.

“You get out too!! Don’t keep coming here and bringing bad luck!”

He shouted, then began dusting between the bookshelves.

When Ratel, who had suddenly been hit by a cloud of dust, stared at him silently, Jing quickly stepped between the bookstore owner and Ratel and blocked his view.

“I-I’m sorry. Still, there’s no place in the village where the villagers come less often than here.......”

Lia trailed off.

From behind, the man’s voice rang out, saying, “That’s right! This is a shop where only flies come!”

Jing tried hard to ignore his words and opened his mouth.

“Right, you said you were Miss Lia, did you not? Could you tell us what you know about the Lucha tournament?”

At Jing’s polite attitude, Lia, who had been fidgeting, nodded with a slightly calmer face.

“The Lucha tournament is not that difficult. It is held over a week, and the rules are also very simple. You just have to win no matter what.”

That was beyond simple and almost bloody.

“Are there no other rules?”

At Jing’s flustered question, Lia shook her head.

“No, really, you just have to win. It is a tournament where people compete with their bodies and strength, without weapons. Especially in the preliminaries that open tomorrow.”

“What do you mean, especially in the preliminaries?”

This time, the one who asked was Ratel.

“The preliminaries are a bit...... It feels strange to say it this way, but they are barbaric. The four people from each team are made to fight, and the team that knocks down one person first wins.”

“Then everyone will rush at the person who looks weakest.”

When I spoke, Lia nodded.

“Yes. That is why victory or defeat is decided in an instant. It saves time.”

After finishing her words, Lia awkwardly looked at Ratel, Jing, and me to gauge our reactions.

But I was the only one who noticed that.

Because Ratel and Jing’s gazes immediately turned toward me.

They were not exactly gentle gazes.

Jing carefully opened his mouth.

“Lord Ran, excuse me, but......are you rather quick on your feet?”

At Jing’s cautious question, Ratel shook his head.

“It’s fine. As long as he doesn’t collapse, that is all that matters, is it not? You, even if you get hit a few times, just endure it.”

For someone who had acted as if he did not care what happened to a tournament, hearing him say that somehow made him seem hateful.

It was not difficult to tell who the two had judged to be the weakest among us.

“The ones who need to have quick legs are not me, but the two of you. You can just knock down the opponents first before I get attacked.”

Of course, I agreed too.

Ran Abiran’s body was rather sturdy, but it did not seem like he could casually knock down several charging grown men.

He was also still at an age where it was ambiguous to say he was fully grown.

Leaving Jing and Ratel to come up with various solutions, such as that I needed to train in running or that they could quickly knock down the other participants while I was being hit, Lia carefully approached me.

“Um, Ran. I don’t know how weak you are, but you don’t need to worry too much. It will probably be fine. Besides, even if you lose once, there is a losers’ revival match before the finals.”

Looking at her as she whispered, I obediently nodded.

Because recalling her from the original work, it seemed there was no need to worry.

Lia of Lucha Village.

In the original work, she was the person who became Ratel’s companion after Jing.

Of course, the Lia in the original work was Lia from one year later.

The Lia in the original work was more confident than now, stronger than now, and more venomous than now.

Most of all, the Lia in the original work no longer had a family member named Edan.