Chapter 92 :

Episode 92 — Refusal

“Edan, what are you saying, suddenly showing up like this? You’re going to enter the tournament in my place? There’s no way something like that would be possible just because you want it.”

Lia’s voice, filled with confusion, broke my recollection.

Edan stared straight at Lia with his usual stiff expression.

“All we have to say is that you were injured. If someone is disqualified because of an individual member’s mistake, the remaining participants can find someone to replace them. You should know that better than anyone, shouldn’t you?”

A pained look crossed Lia’s face as she recalled a bitter past.

When Lia looked away first, Edan passed by her and stood in front of us.

“The temple would not want Lia, who has already committed cheating once, to enter a match with outsiders either. If she earns the temple’s hatred any more than this, it will become even harder for her to live in the village.”

Beyond Edan’s shoulder, I saw Lia’s head droop.

I rolled my eyes and looked at his blunt face.

“So, you’re saying we should enter the tournament with you instead of Lia?”

“That will be better for you as well.”

Come to think of it, he had said he seized victory in the tournament he entered in Lia’s place.

Well, at the very least, if Edan joined us, I could avoid Jing’s Spartan training.

“I’m talking about that pride of yours, which is far too swollen compared to your skill. It must be heavy.”

At my sarcasm, Edan’s face twisted fiercely.

He approached me as if he would attack me at any moment.

But I had not just run my mouth without a plan either.

“If you come any closer than that, I will consider it an attack. I can make it so that you will never be able to enter something like the Lucha tournament for the rest of your life.”

As if making it clear that it would not end as a simple warning, Jing said that with his hand resting on his sword.

Perhaps judging that he could not defeat an opponent with a sword, Edan ground his teeth and stepped back.

“I’ll watch whether you can still flap that mouth so well after it’s been torn apart.”

Leaving behind words that sounded far too villainous, Edan left the bookstore.

I hoped it was as cheap a threat as his cheap line, but unfortunately, he had the strength to actually make me like that.

He had confidence that he could ignore the rules and participate in the tournament.

I did not know for sure, but there was a high chance the temple would help him participate.

The third round might become a fight against him.

The worst assumption was that Ratel would shout his forfeit, and then I would end up facing Edan.

Because, just as he said, if I was grabbed before I could even shout my forfeit, the only thing I would gain would be my body beaten to the brink of death.

“You seem to have a lot on your mind.”

The one who spoke to me while I quietly frowned and counted the possibilities was Ratel.

“Wouldn’t it be strange if I had nothing on my mind after being told I’d be half-killed?”

“It’s a waste of time to keep worrying when you already know the solution.”

He answered calmly.

“Yeah, I know.”

Because if the protagonist bastard in front of me properly participated in the Lucha tournament, there would be no reason for me to be in danger.

I already knew the condition to move him too.

Leaving the guy waiting for my answer behind, I turned to Jing.

“Starting tomorrow, I will also take part in training with Lia. Do I just need to come out at dawn?”

“Yes, please come to the previous backyard with Lia. But….will you truly be all right?”

Jing asked with a worried face.

“Do you also think my chances of beating Edan are low, Jing?”

At my question, Jing hesitated to answer.

That alone was enough of an answer, but Jing did not avoid responding.

“They are not low. There is no chance at all that you will win, Lord Ran.”

It was an answer so honest that it almost felt stubborn.

“Even if I undergo Jing’s training for the next three days?”

“You will likely be able to buy time as soon as the match begins. Enough time to shout your forfeit before Edan catches you. But please do not worry. If Lia and I win the other matches, there is still enough chance of victory.”

“If luck follows us, that is.”

“…Yes.”

Wouldn’t it be better if Jing just assassinated Edan instead?

Shaking off the temptation, I shook my head.

It seemed better to leave that as the final safeguard.

Because this incident might allow me to discover something hidden in the descriptions of the book.

* * *

Actually entering Jing’s training was very different from just watching it.

It was much harder.

“Lord Ran, are you truly sure that you have never received training before? You are better than I expected!”

Listening to Jing’s flattery was too, very, extremely difficult.

I knew my own physical ability well.

And I also knew that Duke Feedus had not taken a stance worthy of such generous praise.

“Unless you’re trying to tell me just how much of a piece of trash you thought my body was, please be quiet.”

At my request, Jing gave a kind, hearty laugh.

“No, I am not simply saying it. Since you said you had never learned fighting before, I did approach this with the mindset of teaching a child. But you are doing far better than I expected.”

How very grateful.

Swallowing a hollow laugh at his generous evaluation, I repeatedly threw punches at the sandbag he had temporarily hung up, then dodged sideways as the bag swung back from the recoil.

Watching that with satisfaction, Jing clapped his palms together with a smack.

“Good. Since the warm-up is over, let us do this properly now. Miss Lia, come here.”

At Jing’s call, Lia, who had been diligently throwing punches in one corner, approached with a puzzled expression.

“What we’ve been doing until now wasn’t proper training?”

At Lia’s question, Jing smiled.

“Miss Lia, you have been watching Edan fight all this time, haven’t you?”

At his question, Lia’s face stiffened, and she nodded.

“Then you roughly know what kind of method Edan uses to attack, do you not?”

“…Yes. But only roughly. Edan is too strong, so I can’t imitate him.”

At her unconfident answer, Jing narrowed his eyes.

“So Edan is that strong.… Well, it does not matter. Even if it is rough, imitate Edan and attack Lord Ran.”

“What?”

When Lia was horrified, Jing looked at her as if asking why she was so surprised.

“What you need right now is sense and experience. Since you have rarely hit people before, hesitation appears in your fists, and you cannot judge how much strength you should use.”

“And what do I gain from this?”

“You will become able to respond to Edan’s attacks, even if only slightly. After I see the two of you exchange attacks, I will then face Lord Ran and Miss Lia one at a time. There is nothing better than this for improving skill in a short period.”

Jing kindly explained the hell that would unfold over the next two days.

“B-But attacking Ran is a little.…”

Lia said, glancing at me.

Seeing her hesitate to attack more than necessary, I narrowed my eyes.

“Is it because I am too weak, or are you hesitating to attack because it is me?”

At my question, Lia fidgeted with her fingers.

“B-Both….”

It was an answer that made me sigh naturally.

She was Lia, who had smashed opponents’ skulls without hesitation in the original work. Just what kind of change had Edan’s death caused in her?

“In the match, your opponent may become Edan.”

At Jing’s firm words, Lia, who had been hesitating, bit her lip.

“No matter how strong the opponent is, and no matter how much you hate fighting that opponent, there will come a moment when you must fight. Especially in your life, you will likely face such moments many times.…”

At his slightly softened words, confusion appeared on Lia’s face.

“M-Me?”

“Yes. Even if it is not now, someday, that will certainly happen.”

“….It sounds like a curse.”

At Lia’s sulky answer, Jing smiled.

“That will change depending on what you wish for. Even so, you cannot avoid it.”

“How often would I ever have to hit someone while living in the village?”

At Lia’s reply, which seemed to say it was absurd, Jing’s eyes widened.

“How can you have that much talent and say that you will not leave the village?”

At Jing’s answer, filled with certainty, Lia opened and closed her mouth for a moment.

“….You’re saying I have talent?”

When she asked back as if she could not believe what she had just heard, Jing furrowed his brow.

“Why do you think I was holding on to you instead of Lord Ran?”

“Well….I thought it was because you did not want Ran to get hurt.”

“Well, that is not wrong either.”

At my agreement, Jing let out an awkward cough.

“It is not only that. It is because teaching you has a higher chance of success than teaching Lord Ran. Lord Ran knew that too, which is why he remained still. Is that not so?”

Jing suddenly turned the arrow toward me.

“Ran, do you really think that too?”

Following Jing’s gaze, Lia looked at me and asked.

“It is not what I think. It is simply the truth. Lia was born with both the fate and the skill to have no choice but to step into the fighting ring.”

My thoughts were not important. Because that was how her setting was written.

At the blunt explanation, Lia’s face flushed.

This time, it was probably not because of shame.

Lia slowly raised her hands and set the gap between her legs.

Compared to two days ago, her form was clearly more stable.

It was a good thing for her, but for me, it was a rather exhausting change.

* * *

Ratel hid his body in the shadow formed where the spear and wall met, and looked down at the shop’s backyard.

His eyes followed the two figures who continued training with awkward movements.

To be precise, they followed the one whose movements were worse between the two.

The black-haired prince was following Jing’s training better than expected, but not enough to defeat Edan in the match two days later.

It was obvious that both his strength and speed would fall far short compared to Edan.

Ratel knew that the prince might be suspicious, but he was not foolish.

He should know better than anyone that it was a fight with no chance of victory.

Yet there was still no sign that he would come to find him.

Did the secret he was hiding have enough value to risk his life?

He had said that he was helping him in order to survive, but it seemed he himself had not realized that risking his life to protect a secret was a contradiction.

What did he want to protect more than his life?

Ratel’s gaze, which had been following Lia and her movements, did not last long.

Because someone else moving quietly under the cover of darkness interrupted his thoughts.

And besides, the other person did not seem as accustomed to concealment as Ratel was.

Watching the direction the other person’s footsteps were heading, Ratel soon moved quietly.