28 – Rookie Gladiator-14
“Good work. How was your first sword fight?”
Daisy entered the hospital room. She looked a bit tired, but her gait was always confident.
“It’s a pity. Because I thought I could win if I fought better… I’m sorry.”
“Why?”
“You got a lot of trouble because of me, right?”
Probably, most of the audience came to see me.
Although she was a full-fledged gladiator, she was not a star gladiator to the extent that she had to pay several times the normal arena admission fee to see it.
And to satisfy them, I had to win. Because no audience wants their favorite gladiator to be defeated.
“Oh my, is that bothering you? Nothing to worry about. Either way, the roadblocks have been set up.”
“Yes?”
“I may feel sorry for Evan-nim, but looking at the Colosseum as a whole, it’s not necessarily a pity.”
“Really?”
She thought it was a bit fortunate.
I, who implicitly asked about the salaries of other gladiators and looked at prices in the outside world, learned that the salaries I received were staggering.
To the point where I was worried that I would have to run an advertisement right away to make up for that.
“Why? Right now the profit…”
“Well, it can be done. People who think of Evan’s sword fighting as ‘a play starring men’ will leave saying they don’t like the ending.”
“Ugh…”
“But you can’t take such people with you for the rest of your life. After all, you want to fight as a gladiator, and you won’t be able to show them the fight they want every time.”
I nodded slowly.
“In the end, you have to be defeated someday. Any gladiator is no exception.”
“I guess so.”
Having sparred with Dana once, I could understand how incredibly strong she was.
She loses too. In the event of a sword fight, one of the two would lose, so it was natural.
“Evan already understands it. But, the audience also needs to know that.”
“Aha.”
“There were a lot of people who doubted it. Even though Evan-nim is strong, they think women’s strength is much weaker than men’s.”
Compared to my world, the woman did not become stronger. There may be slight differences, but their strength was the product of hard work.
In contrast, men have become weaker. The men I saw in Selam were much smaller and more delicate than the normal men I knew.
“Those who have seen it in person will know that’s not the case, but not everyone will have seen Evan’s sword fight.”
“Hmm…”
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“Those who only heard that a man fought a sword fight and won, would imagine the content of the sword fight as they please.”
I closed my eyes and imagined Adrian coming out to a gladiator fight and winning against another gladiator.
“I doubt it.”
It didn’t seem like the sword fighting would be common and normal. Even I, who had only been here for a few months, had such doubts, so it was obvious how other women would feel.
“Isn’t it? People in the Colosseum know how hard Evan trains. And, he’s strong. But, other people won’t know that. The shocking outcome of defeat is not necessarily a loss. No.”
“Am I strong? Am I?”
Actually, from my point of view, there was no particular awareness.
It was the first time I had played a formal match, but there were many sparring matches.
Then, I lost overwhelmingly. It was a practice sparring with a wooden sword and a shield, but it was difficult even to get my wooden sword to touch the opponent’s flesh.
“When we fight, we lose every day.”
“…Do you know who you’re fighting with?”
“Yes?”
Daisy looked at me puzzled, running her brown hair through it.
“That… I won’t explain it separately, but for a rookie gladiator, he has tremendous talent. His swordsmanship is still immature, but his physique itself is formidable.”
“It’s fortunate.”
“A fat body can be turned into muscle through training, and swordsmanship, which is lacking, can be learned to a certain extent. But, the physique cannot be changed. It is full of potential.”
“Ohh…”
I thought that praise might come out of my mouth, but it seemed that I was observing my condition more closely than I thought.
“And, Marie is also a decent mid-level gladiator. If you’re a gladiator who has just started, you’re not at the level to join.”
“Hmm…”
“But, it’s the first time, right? I thought it was necessary for safety reasons. I thought that if you and Agricola were to fight, there wouldn’t be as much blood splattered. If the bleeding gets worse, the ambitious novice gladiator won’t know when to ‘defeat’. Because you may not know.”
After thinking about it for a bit, I was able to understand it to some extent.
I was able to block most of her attacks coming from a long distance, so there weren’t many means for her to hit me.
Breaking down one’s posture to point a weapon at a vital point or maintaining physical superiority. Either way, it’s not that dangerous.
“Then, did you expect me to lose?”
“No. To be honest, I thought I would win.”
“Aww…”
I thought it would be a little comforting if I had even my defeat in Daisy’s hands, but that didn’t seem to be the case again.
“Still, it’s much less shocking than I thought. Thankfully.”
“Is this a low shock?”
Tonight became scary. Even now, I get dizzy thinking, ‘If I had done this there then…’.
I didn’t know if I lay down on the bed before going to sleep, the blanket wouldn’t be safe. Still, the salary is sufficient, so I can buy new blankets.
“There are not a few gladiators who collapse in their first fight. There are many gladiators who mistake themselves for being invincible, and many who think they can win just by getting on the ring.”
“Ah…”
“The stronger the person, the worse it is. A person who has the obsession with that will not admit even a single defeat.”
I thought it could be. He had never met a woman of high status in this world, but considering how proud the men of Selam were, it was understandable.
“You can fight again, right?”
“Of course.”
I wanted to fight again right now. There was a lot to learn and a lot to build.
“Then you can endure it. Anyway, until the next gladiator fight, take a good rest, see you later. Right now, I’m too busy.”
“You have a lot to do…”
“That’s a lot. You have to go into the new gladiator arena and meet the newly hired wizard.”
“Oh, are you expanding your business?”
“Thanks to that. You can call it an investment. The number of people who want to enjoy sword fighting has increased dramatically.”
It was only one sword fight. I had no idea it would grow that large.
“A beginner gladiator who has just entered, won’t be able to fight in the Colosseum until he has won a certain victory?”
“No, is that enough?”
“Specifically, the number of audiences has increased, but the number of new gladiators has also increased.”
“A new gladiator?”
I didn’t think of this. I thought I could attract the audience, but gladiators.
“Isn’t it a situation where you can see a man up close and meet him at the training ground or on the ring?”
Could it be that women who are looking for a man believe in their own skills and come rushing in? It was a bit funny, but it wasn’t really a story to laugh at.
“Already, light-mouthed gladiators are praising Evan’s body to the point of exhaustion whenever they go to a bar.”
“No…”
“Before today, there must have been many people who were dubious. They must have thought, ‘Isn’t that a delusion?’ But now?”
Distortion or exaggeration may be included, but my face was seen by all the audience through the big screen.
The fact that a man came out and fought won’t disappear. If that’s the case, the words of the gladiator who chattered loudly in the bar couldn’t help but be energized.
“Ah… Well, suddenly I’m sorry.”
While I was casually training and fighting, do my colleagues next to me have to go through a fierce competition for survival?
“There’s no need to worry about that. Even if the kids look normal, they’re crazy about fighting. Wouldn’t those with high noses be happy to come in?”
“Hmm…”
In fact, it was undeniable. If you do anything, you place a bet and start a fight, but sometimes it’s ridiculous.
“Besides, this is also an opportunity for the gladiators. If Evan’s overwhelming popularity is reflected in the admission fee to this Colosseum, his salary will also rise considerably.”
“It’s fortunate.”
“Some retired gladiators have also found new jobs. It will take a lot of effort to train new gladiators.”
The situation is a bit different for me, who was helped by Dana and another gladiator. I was still a man, and I didn’t come in with the other new gladiators.
Even if the gladiators were somehow tolerant of newcomers, they wouldn’t look at the new gladiators ‘in this situation’ with kind eyes.
“It’s systematic… No, since when did you prepare it?”
“I’ve been preparing since the day Evan became a gladiator.”
It was a tremendous preparation. I laughed and got up with a bit of difficulty.
“Can you stand up?”
“It’s a little stiff, but… I can’t help it. I have to go out until evening.”
Gladiators will be waiting for me at the bar. Actually, according to the plan, a party to celebrate my first victory should have been held, but unfortunately it turned out to be a party to celebrate my defeat.
“I want to tell you to rest, but… Well, it’s not a very deep wound. Come back.”
Daisy looked at me with worried eyes, but he didn’t bother to stop me.