94 – Innocent-1
“Welcome!”
Jerry was waiting for me. Entering the restaurant with Dana, I naturally sat down.
“Finally it’s over… Hey, but I’ve risen a lot? Well, compared to you, it’s incomparable, but.”
“Congratulations.”
Of course, I got stronger. More so than when I fought with Jerry.
Although they went through blood-staining efforts, it was the same for Jerry and most other gladiators.
There were few gladiators who didn’t run with me in the morning, and even fewer who neglected their training.
I didn’t realize it, but I had a talent. The stage where you can overwhelm your opponent simply by the difference in strength has already passed.
“Jerry, well, he was a hard-working gladiator from the beginning.”
“…Did you know me?”
“Of course not.”
Dana smiled casually. Jerry looked at Dana with her eyes wide open, as if in deep surprise.
“You won’t even have to fight?”
“Habits don’t change easily.”
“…Why is that?”
“Even a promising gladiator doesn’t have the best fights from the start. Knowing what kind of fights the gladiator went through when he was clumsy is a big help in establishing a strategy.”
Jerry stuck out his tongue at Dana’s words.
“Because of that, I also watch gladiator fights like me, is this it?”
“Of course. Not only you, but among the gladiators who fought with you, there were many threatening people.”
Jerry lowered her head, slightly intimidated.
“Unnie Jerry… Did Dana unnie say anything bad?”
Marie’s daughter, Mia, touched Jerry.
“No… Dana unnie is not bad… The bad thing is my skills…”
As for Jerry, it wasn’t a lie to say that her skills improved dramatically.
However, the opponent was too competitive. Except for Marie, who was originally an ordinary gladiator, everyone next to me was a strong gladiator.
Florence, who showed off her skills without hesitation, and just Dana.
“Anyway, the season is over. Let’s relax and have fun!”
“I’m not done yet.”
“Then let’s play while praying for success!
From what I heard, she was also pretty close.
Did you say that if you win two or three more gladiator fights, you can participate?
“Sorry.”
“That’s true… Well, thinking like this might be a disqualification as a gladiator, but I’m comfortable with my body.”
“Well, maybe you can come up someday.”
“I don’t know if the uptrend continues according to my current skills… Well, how can I know what’s ahead. Next year, I don’t know if I’ll return to my place like a ghost.”
It’s sad, but there was a limit to talent.
“Well, just because you can’t go up there doesn’t mean it’s bad.”
“It’s not your story…”
Jerry looked around looking for a drink, but unfortunately this restaurant was not a bar.
When the food is served, a few glasses of wine may be served, but it will not be enough for a gladiator to drink and get drunk.
Marie, from some moment on, was looking at me happily.
“Really, nothing has changed.”
“Well, that’s right.”
Her clothes were gorgeous in their own way, but they didn’t look expensive or extravagant.
It was a dress with simple and pure beauty that a rural woman would wear on a feast day.
She said, “When she was first sung by Daisy, she used to worry about how rumors would spread that she had to lose well… But even then, her eyes were alive.”
“No, if we really fight again, we could win…”
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“My rank isn’t that high either? If you really want to fight again, wouldn’t it be right for you to come down?”
“Ugh…”
Her words were not wrong. Marie said, ‘I don’t know what it is, but I think my mom won the argument anyway!’ He smiled triumphantly in her eyes.
“By the way, isn’t Daisy here yet?”
“She was there before we came? I think she was going into the kitchen…”
She looked away for a second and saw Daisy, who was meticulously checking her food.
“You’re welcome!”
Daisy caught my gaze and lowered her head. Suddenly, her kitchen is in an uproar.
The cooks hurriedly lowered their eyes. Seeming to be rude, she shook her hand lightly and looked away again.
“Is it necessary to do that?”
“Looks like a special guest is coming. Hey, how many soldiers do you see?”
“Aha…”
Several people wearing uniforms and carrying knives were looking around with a bit of a bitter atmosphere.
“If I had known this would happen, it might have been better for me to do what he said-“
Before the words were finished, countless people entered the restaurant. Inside, there was also a woman with a familiar face.
“Have you been at peace?”
“Nice to meet you, Princess.”
No matter how much I think about it, her eyes that were questioning and suspicious of me were very different from the ones she is showing me now.
“It’s a bit crowded, so it seems difficult to talk about secrets.”
“I’m sorry. Because of us.”
She knows the season is over and when she decides to throw a party to celebrate, Iris wants to treat her a bit more ‘excessively’.
However, no matter how strong Jerry and Marie were, they weren’t strong enough to go into the palace and eat while listening to the performance of the imperial orchestra.
The restaurant we came to, even though it was a bit expensive, was a space that could be used by commoners. The size of the burden is different.
But now that I think about it, it might have been right to negotiate in moderation. Or, at least, I might have had to find an enclosed space.
In the yard where I, a man, also needed an escort, she, the princess, would need a wider space and a more stable place to eat comfortably.
Come to think of it, Daisy acting so harshly seemed more for the sake of the princess than for me.
I thought it was rude, so I looked around at the people around me, but somehow, no matter where I looked around the table, we made eye contact.
I was a bit taken aback, but it didn’t seem like people were offended.
Seeing a man up close like this, or seeing a princess up close like this wouldn’t be a very common incident, so maybe this situation itself wouldn’t be unpleasant.
“I’m sorry that I’m going to take my short break… Again. Even if the tournament is over, Evan-nim still has a lot to do.”
“Yes?”
“For now, we have suppressed the power of those… Disgusting legalists, but we will have to assert our legitimacy if we are to continue this momentum.”
Are you referring to the Punishment Guard? Well, it didn’t seem like they would disappear so easily.
It was an organization that old and powerful men secretly supported, so even the princess would not be able to disband it with a single word.
“There were too many people who looked at you… Lowly. In order to prove that your sword fighting is really heart-pounding and worthwhile… You will have no choice but to show it in the end.”
It was not an era where cultural contents were respected like in modern times.
Not only sports, but also painting, writing, and theater.
Most media were considered ‘unsound’ unless they were restricted music that conformed to established rules, or media that described mythology and praised the strength of the empire and the eternity of the imperial family.
“Thank you.”
Iris seemed to be trying to increase my weight class.
It was an open secret that she and I were continuing her ‘good relationship’, but like Logan, it wasn’t enough to acknowledge her.
The reason why she came to see me now, specifically, was to talk about ‘congratulations on my achievements in impressing the Northern envoy’ and about her future business.
“…It’s cozy.”
Iris’ clothes and body had a splendor worthy of her dignity.
It was subtly studded with small jewels or splendid embroidery, and at the same time, it didn’t look like a rich man flaunting his money vulgarly.
However, she intervened between us surprisingly naturally. The moment we sat in her chair, we wondered why we didn’t feel her empty seat.
Probably because of that smiling face.
“I wish you victory in the remaining swordfights as well.”
I nodded.
Now, really, everything that stood in the way between me and Dana had disappeared.
The matchup wasn’t too bad either. Of course, all the gladiators who entered the tournament had the reputation of being the best, but most of them were opponents I had beaten.
Then, I became stronger. Not to another gladiator, but to the point where I could look at Danahana and prepare for a fight.
In fact, now, winning or losing that battle had no meaning.
It wasn’t that I lacked money, and there was absolutely nothing I could get by becoming a champion.
Whether I am a champion or not, Daisy will treat me the best she can.
Dana’s heart was the same. She understood that I loved her, and she had already given her everything.
There was no reason to introduce such ridiculous rules now. Even when I first brought it up, I thought that if Dana really rejected me, she would give up on her own.
I had everything I could have. People I love and love me, good friends and connections.
Now, being obsessed with winning or losing might be meaningless.
“Yes.”
However, I nodded.
“We must win.”
Because it is a fight in which the loser does not die, the gladiators can put the fear of death behind and focus entirely on the fight itself.
The reverse was the same.
Proving that I tried was worthwhile in itself.