The vacant lot behind the restaurant.
“Haap!”
I slammed the ax down on the firewood I had placed on the trunk of the tree. It broke into two neatly with a refreshing sound. I feel cool.
‘I think I know why the emperor uses an axe.’
Splitting an enemy’s head in two like this definitely feels good. If you think this firewood is Eugene’s head… … . It’s so cruel that it’s kind of like that.
“I uploaded it.”
Katyusha placed firewood on top of the stump. I lightly lowered the ax. It broke neatly in two. Busy lifting the axe again, Katyusha placed the firewood and split it again. Repeated this over and over again.
“I uploaded it.”
“Ha!”
“I uploaded it.”
“Hutchcha!”
“I uploaded it.”
“Whoup!”
It started to feel like a rhythm game. It’s exciting. More and more firewood piled up around them. Occasionally, Katyusha added to the excitement by percussioning the split firewood that flew towards him without any error, creating a strange off-beat.
“Okay, keep going!”
“… … Excuse me, what are you doing?”
As I was happily chopping firewood, I heard a familiar voice. It was Proud.
“Is it Proud? You can tell just by looking at it, right? They are chopping firewood.”
“You can see that clearly, but… … why?”
Proud asked back as if he did not understand. It seemed that he had no idea why I, the crown prince, was splitting firewood on weekend mornings as if it were a volunteer activity.
“… … Well, it’s stress relieving. You can’t split a person’s head.”
“Did something unpleasant happen to you?”
“yes. I don’t want to say that.”
Is that so, Proud looked at Katyusha. Katyusha nodded quietly, greeted Proud, and put the firewood back. It was harsh, and I split it coolly.
“I think I know why the emperor uses an axe. I feel good.”
“It’s refreshing to see it split neatly.”
“yes?”
I started chopping firewood with Proud by my side. There is still a lot of firewood left to fall. It would be perfect if you quit when it starts to feel like work.
“… … I will help too.”
As we continued chopping firewood, Proud spoke to us.
“No, I’m just doing it to vent my anger. I intend to go back in moderation.”
“no. Because I also have a lot of things that have accumulated lately.”
Proud shook his head and asked politely. It’s a pile of things, which is surprising even for Proud.
“aha. Is it related to the second generation? You two seemed friendly.”
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“… … That’s right.”
He didn’t want to admit it, but as if he couldn’t help it, Proud replied with his brows flinching. I smiled and handed the ax to Proud.
Proud took an ax and approached the stump.
“i look forward to.”
“yes. Be careful not to get hurt.”
After a brief greeting with Katyusha, Proud raised his ax high and cut down the firewood. It was easily broken in two with the sound of the ground, and the ax was lightly driven into the base.
“If you hit it too hard, it will go into the stump. I like to shoot lightly and quickly with the sense of splitting along the grain.”
“hmm. All right.”
Proud pulled the ax out of the base with a slightly clumsy motion. And little by little, he began chopping firewood skillfully. Learning is fast
‘Somehow it reminds me of a fairy tale about painting a fence.’
It reminded me of the story about having fun with boring paint jobs and passing them on to other kids as fun. Would it be different if the fact that I was actually enjoying it? The timing of Katyusha’s firewood is exquisite, and I involuntarily get excited.
“… … Certainly, quite enjoyable.”
I guess I hit about 32 (I was counting combos because I was bored), Proud wiped the sweat with a slightly refreshed expression.
“yes? I’m excited because the timing of Katyusha’s letting go is good.”
“The state of no self might be saying this. It would be cool to be able to move like this on the battlefield.”
Did you feel the state of no self in chopping firewood? If you go that far, it’s great.
While we were talking about this and that and slowly chopping firewood,
“What are you doing in a place like this?”
Dimitri, Caspal, and Mi-ryung appeared. The three of them have come together completely.
“He is chopping firewood. You can tell by looking at it.”
“I know that, but… … Oh, are you helping at the restaurant?”
Dimitri asked Proud as if he knew. Proud glanced at me. When I gestured to him to look around, he nodded without saying a word.
“Is this really the attitude of being a leader? You are wonderful, Crown Prince.”
Dimitri was mistaken and admired. I just wanted to relieve my stress, but I thought it was good, so I decided to leave it alone.
“Isn’t that just stress relief?”
“It can’t be, Caspal. You look at everything too cynically.”
I think it’s more cool than cynical. I got it right.
“Hey, hey. Have you eaten? Would you like to eat together?”
Mi-ryung asked as she lifted a cloth that appeared to contain several layers of square lunch boxes in her hand.
“I was hungry, but it was just right. But wouldn’t it be lacking compared to the number of people?”
“If that’s the case, I’ve just brought it in the morning.”
As if Katyusha couldn’t lose, he brought out a lunch box from behind.
“This is enough to feed all the people here. Shall we all have dinner together then?”
“It’s perfect for an after-party feel.”
“I think the celebration itself is an after party, but it’s okay anyway.”
We properly organized the firewood piled up around us to secure a place to eat. It was a sudden picnic atmosphere, but I didn’t hate it.
we finished eating
“… … You’re not that good at cooking, Mi-ryeong.”
After sighing with the tea Katyusha poured me, I spoke honestly. It was definitely what everyone wanted to say.
“I’m sorry. I live a life where quantity is more important than quality… … .”
Mi-ryung replied with embarrassment, as if realizing that everyone had a subtle expression.
“What, what. I think it was a simple, intense, and impressive lunch box.”
“In other words, bland or too salty, but.”
Dimitri comforted and Caspal sarcastically. True to her word, Mi-ryung’s dishes were plentiful, but most of them were either simply grilled or coated with salt, or sprinkled with or without seasoning after being baked. It was nothing to call cooking, it was just cooking ingredients.
“The food you will eat on the battlefield is not that different. It’s better to be able to eat deliciously.”
“I am dealing with combat rations. Is it that bad… … .”
Mi-ryung felt depressed at Proud’s words of comfort or something.
“If you think of it as combat rations, it’s pretty good for combat rations. Don’t worry too much.”
“Compared to that, it’s already the worst… … . Of course I like it, but… … .”
It reminded me of the saying that Suin’s sense of taste isn’t very developed. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that pet snacks are tasteless. Come to think of it, that’s a pretty insulting comparison.
“Well, it could be. it’s okay.”
Katyusha’s comforting expression is strangely elated. Despite being elated, Katyusha’s lunchbox was nothing more than a moderately heated banquet food. Still, the original was fine, so it wasn’t bad.
“Next time, I’d better prepare myself.”
Proud said with a wry smile. By the way, to put it bluntly, Katyusha’s cooking skills are at an infinitely mediocre level… … . Proud must be the one with the best cooking skills. The sandwich they gave me earlier was plain and very delicious.
“What is it, just ostracizing us and having a picnic? I will get hurt.”
While we were eating and chatting like that, I heard a familiar boyish voice. When I looked there, Fromm was angry with his hands on his hips.
“Oh, Namjanggyeong. It wasn’t really bullying. We just got together.”
“It hurt me to be doing something fun while I was busy with holiday work.”
At Dimitri’s words, Fromm grumbled and came towards us. There was someone coming in after him.
“… … .”
It was Eugene. My brows furrowed involuntarily at the unexpected appearance.
“Well, the one who was physically hurt was this one.”
“excuse me.”
Yujin slightly bowed her head. The scars on his face seemed to have healed after being healed by Fromm, but the sharp cut scars were clearly visible.
“Eugene? what. What about the big scar on that face?”
Proud jumped up from his seat and asked. The other co-workers also noticed the sudden appearance of the scar on Eugene and became confused.
“hmm… … .”
Eugene chose his words as if he was embarrassed.
“Because I fell down the stairs.”
And even a passing dog made an excuse not to believe it.
“How hard do you have to hit the stairs to get that much scar?”
“Because I fell really hard.”
Consistency is a good excuse. Of course nobody believed it. I quietly averted my gaze. As the person responsible for the scarring, it is a very disturbing sight.
“Tell me at once. In our knight academy, non-challenging duels are strictly prohibited. Breaking the rules is never tolerated. let me know.”
“I didn’t do things like duel with the stairs.”
“… … let me know.”
As if to stop talking, Proud touched his forehead. For an instant, Yujin’s eyes met. Eugene glanced at me and quietly stood next to Fromm, who was crouching nearby.
“I woke up in the morning and came here covered in blood. It’s obviously a knife cut, but it’s just a staircase. Well, if you say you are the stairs, you must be the stairs.”
Fromm laughed and pointedly revealed that Eugene’s excuse was false. Eugene was about to say something, but then stopped and was silent.
“You have to be careful on the stairs. Is it dangerous?”
“… … That’s right. If you fall the wrong way, you could die.”
When I said something in a strange atmosphere, Katyusha agreed. And the story ended moderately in an atmosphere that everyone blamed the stairs.
It wasn’t really about Eugene. Because I was too old to duel with illegal rules, I couldn’t help it. After all, it’s an accomplice.
“Anyway, is it okay if Yujin and I join? Food that looks delicious… … hmm. Most of the food is just that. Excuse me. Eugene sit down too.”
“It’s okay if I just go back.”
“sit down. Didn’t you ask me to spend some time with you in return for your treatment?”
To Eugene, who refused, Fromm commanded in a soft voice, but firmly. Eugene, who was about to leave, stared at Fromm without hiding her disliked expression, then crouched down next to him as if he couldn’t help it. What happened during treatment?
“… … Tough.”
After taking a bite of Mi-ryung’s food, Yu-jin muttered in a low voice. It was Mi-ryeong’s dish, which was not good even for ordinary people.
“Ah, hahahahaha… … .”
Dimitri patted Mi-ryung on the back just before she started crying. With a face that desperately holds back a smile.