The Seventh Prince Runs Away from Awkward Situations Chapter 84

“Damn it, if only you join us, our group will become the strongest group. I heard the rumors that you beat a bear to death with your bare hands. You can't rot in a place like this forever! Why on earth are you refusing?!”

“That is right, if you do not intend to rot here forever, let's go out with us!”

“If you go to the competition with us, we will give you half of the prize money!”

Idan did not give any particular response despite the enthusiastic courtship directed at him.

He just served five glasses of beer to the men and silently made the food we ordered.

The men had to order another roast chicken to catch Idan, who was trying to go back in after just handing over the beer.

They put down the chicken again and hurriedly lined up words of persuasion to catch Idan, who was trying to quickly enter inside.

“Damn it, Idan! Just close your eyes and come out. What is the reason for refusing? If it happens to be because of your younger sister, if we just give her some prize money…….”

It was clear that the card one of them pulled out was not a very good card.

Idan, whose face hardened in an instant, glared at him.

The man swallowed his saliva at the change in Idan, who had only shown a blunt reaction until now.

“……I-Idan, I didn't mean that…….”

“Do not speak carelessly about my younger sister.”

Until Idan, who finished the longest and most threatening sentence he had spoken so far, disappeared into the kitchen again, the men kept their mouths shut tight and watched his mood.

“Seeing this, the Lucha Competition seems to be a competition competing for superiority in force. Is it fighting, as expected?”

Interest dwelled in the eyes of Jing, who was watching their conversation where the position of initiative was obvious.

Indeed, it was a combination of words that the veteran of the battlefield, Duke Piteos, could not help but find appetizing.

A competition to decide the winner through fighting, how exciting would that be for a person who is most confident in using his body.

“Why did you think so?”

“Well……, all the men who came in have quite the physique. Above all, that owner named Idan is also too good to be called just a restaurant owner.”

“Doesn't it look fun?”

Jing, who opened his mouth with the momentum to answer yes immediately to my question, soon hardened his face and shook his head.

“It is interesting, but we do not have time to waste in a place like that. We must destroy the holy object as soon as possible, even for the sake of Tollin who remained in the capital.”

Perhaps because he could not possibly laugh when thinking of Tollin, who would be receiving punishment in his stead in the capital, he shut his mouth while fixing his gaze on the table.

I took my eyes off such a man and looked inside the kitchen where Idan had entered.

“You said it was a waste for him to work in a restaurant.”

At my confirmation, Jing rolled his eyes as if pondering for a moment.

“I can only say for sure after trying the food that comes out. He might have a tremendous talent for cooking.”

If he was receiving such a generous evaluation from Duke Piteos, Idan must be a born fighter.

“What have you been glancing at so much since earlier?”

Was it a common characteristic of the villagers to be bothered by the existence of unfamiliar strangers?

The interest of the men, who had been hanging onto Idan with the momentum to follow him all the way to the kitchen, suddenly shifted to this side.

“Right, hearing it, it seems you were saying something about Idan, but Idan is going to go to Lucha with us. So don't covet him.”

Or perhaps it was just wariness toward future competitors.

“What is that Lucha Competition that you are all raising your heat over?”

Jing, who accepted their threat as an opportunity to start a conversation, asked quickly.

Realizing that we were people who didn't even know what the Lucha Competition was, they showed a deflated expression but also revealed noticeable relief.

It seemed they had been quite wary after seeing the physiques of Jing and Ratel.

“If you don't know, there is no need to know more. It has nothing to do with you folks.”

The man who had the loudest voice and looked the most active among the five answered while waving his hand as if annoyed.

However, the man who was watching Jing and Ratel with interest from beside him tapped his forearm and whispered something.

He was probably saying that if they couldn't persuade Idan, wouldn't it be fine to target this side instead.

Perhaps judging that there was a point to those words, the man cleared his throat with a ahem and turned his body toward Jing.

“Well……, it is a fighting competition held every year in this village.”

To the man who spoke with a softened momentum, Jing continued with the next question.

“Everyone looks quite desperate, is the prize money that big?”

“The prize money is prize money, but what we are really aiming for is the prize goods.”

The man flashed his eyes and lowered his voice.

“The winner can receive the temple's blessing in a city called Rimis, which appears after crossing one mountain from here. If you have just that, a solid road will unfold for you as a mercenary.”

“Do you mean they give a blessing? At the temple?”

At the prize goods that were more generous than expected, Jing opened his two eyes wide.

“That is right. Isn't it enough for everyone to hang their necks on? In that sense, how about you two participate as well? Seeing this, you look like travelers, but I think it wouldn't be bad to participate in the competition with us. Since you won't be able to enter with just the three of you anyway.”

“Since when did this match start?”

The man, who was offended by Jing asking while ignoring his proposal, frowned but obediently continued his answer.

“Well, it has been at least over 20 years. Idan's father also…….”

The man's answer did not continue to the end.

It was because of Idan, who was holding the food Ratel ordered with both hands full.

The man cleared his throat and turned his body completely away from us.

Idan put down the salmon dish and parsnips in front of us without saying much and went back into the kitchen.

“It is peculiar. To think the temple gives blessings to civilians.”

Jing muttered while picking up a piece of bread he had left behind.

“Are you envious?”

Lines formed on his forehead, perhaps finding my question unpleasant.

He must think I was testing him.

“It is not like that. I just thought it was strange.”

I shrugged my shoulders at Jing's hardened face.

“I meant that you do not need to be too envious. Because we are going to enter that competition and win.”

“Yes?”

“Because the holy object is inside that temple.”

“Y-Yes……?”

Jing dropped the bread he had picked back down.

***

“You deceived us.”

Ratel, who had finished his meal before I knew it, said while tearing bread and soaking it in the stew.

“I didn't say it.”

However, I have no regrets.

If I had said we had to stop by this village and participate in a fighting competition, Jing would have hesitated because the time was precious, and I wouldn't have been able to stop Ratel, who would have tried to storm into the temple right away.

“If we have to go to the temple in Rimis, there is no need to bother stopping by this village.”

I grabbed Ratel's arm as he tried to kick back his seat and stand up immediately.

“Sit down. Jing hasn't finished his meal yet either.”

Ratel scanned the plate where plenty of stew and bread still remained, then slowly sat down.

I let out a sigh and started the explanation.

“To enter the temple, it is safest to enter after receiving formal permission. Since we do not know exactly where the holy object is.”

“If you don't know the place where it is, what is the reason for you being alive?”

Ratel said to me with the momentum to draw his sword right away.

“What I know is only the things described in the Red Book. It is natural that knowing the specific location is difficult. Also, it was written in the book that they hid it underground, but what are you going to do if they changed the storage location during the 1000 years?”

“It does not matter if we go in and rummage through.”

“If we go in through the front and look for the place where the holy object is, we will be surrounded by knights in no time.”

“That also does not matter.”

Ratel answered.

Right, it wouldn't matter to you.

“It matters to me. We have to minimize fighting.”

Ratel crumbled his expression slightly.

“Deciding that is not your job.”

Is minimizing violence something to get this angry about?

At the stubbornness of the hero who would save the world threatening the peace of humanity, I let out a sigh and opened my mouth.

“You shouldn't do that. If things go wrong, you will die.”

“I do not die that easily.”

Right, I know that too.

I nodded.

“That is right. But I will die.”

“…….”

At my shameless answer, the guy lost his words.

“I have no weapon, can't fight, and can't do anything, so if we storm in there, naturally I will die. I cannot fight against the knights of the temple.”

“Your Hi…… No, Ran. I am asking just in case, but do you surely not know how to do swordsmanship, fighting techniques, or anything at all?”

At Jing's voice suddenly intervening in the conversation, mine and Ratel's gazes turned to Jing.

Jing's eyes were trembling.

It looked clear that he had received a huge shock.

“Didn't you say it yourself, Jing. If something happens, you will help me first.”

When I spoke as if it was something new, Jing waved his hands.

“No, I will naturally do that, but, what I mean is, I mean to ask if you haven't received a single bit of basic education.”

I had learned a little bit of kendo in modern times, but since it wasn't something that could be used in this world, I nodded.

“Nothing.”

“No, there must be something you learned basically. All Imperial Family members generally…….”

“It is because I am in a bit of an ambiguous position to satisfy those standards.”

Probably so?

Seeing that there were no types of things for training the body among the schedules Sein had sent up.

Even in the original work, there was no mention that Ran had learned any particular skills.

Jing looked at me with a solemn expression as if he couldn't find words to speak.

The one who suffered such things was not me but Ran Abalan, but I had no reason to refuse sympathy.

If only it could make telling the story easier.

“Therefore, we must enter inside through a legal method right now. Isn't it that there is nothing good if I, who perfectly know the contents of the Red Book, die? There is also nothing good if Dito notices that I or Jing are alive because we caused a commotion.”

Neither Ratel nor Jing objected anymore.

A quiet and uncomfortable meal continued for a while.

“……Shouldn't we go to the temple to apply for participation.”

The one who broke the silence first was Jing.

Anxiety that we had to participate in the match right now could be seen on his face.

“Didn't those men say so earlier? That three people cannot participate. Since there is a limit on the number of people, it will be useless even if we go to the temple like this.”

“We can just grab anyone right now and ask them. Winning in such a competition will be nothing.”

Jing answered as if frustrated.

But we couldn't do that.

If we were going to take just anyone, there was no need to bother coming to find this small restaurant.

We absolutely had to participate in the competition with determined character.

Following the original work, together with Ratel's first comrade.

“I will try asking one of the men at the next table right away. I do not know how many more people are needed, but if I say I and Ratel will be together with them, there will be those who would abandon their original group to join us.”

It was the moment Jing raised his body with the momentum to drag out one of the men by force right away.

Bang!

The door of the shop opened quite roughly.

Someone hurriedly entered the shop while receiving everyone's gazes in one body.

A tall height close to 180cm, voluminous brown hair tied up high, intelligent shining brown eyes.

It looked like there was absolutely no room to doubt whose bloodline it was.

The woman who hurriedly entered the shop opened her eyes wide in surprise after seeing the people gathered in the restaurant.

“…….”

The atmosphere became subtle in an instant.

The villagers did not say a single greeting to her, who appeared to be Idan's blood relative, and the woman also bowed her head deeply and avoided people's gazes.

As if she couldn't endure the silence, the woman turned her body toward the stairs.

She, who was moving her steps while avoiding people's gazes as much as possible, soon discovered us who had taken seats in one corner, stopped her steps, and stared blankly at us.

“……Ria, go inside quickly.”

At her appearance of being unable to move as if her feet were nailed to the floor, Idan let out a sigh, spoke quietly, and entered the kitchen.

At the sound of his heavy sigh, the woman named Ria ran toward the 2nd floor hurriedly as if she had only then come to her senses.

Thud!!!

Though she ended up falling forward before she could even take two steps.