Training
"Lia!" Ethan closed the distance in an instant, his aura menacing as he roughly grabbed her arm.
"Why did you ignore me? I told you not to enter the tournament!" Ethan demanded fiercely.
"How could I? They worked so hard to prepare for this."
"If they had worked that hard, they would have made sure they had enough people from the start," Ethan retorted sharply. "Withdraw right now. The priest is waiting at the shop."
"What?" At the mention of a priest waiting for her, Lia's face drained of color.
"Ethan, please...!" Though she pleaded desperately, she couldn't shake off his grip and was dragged along.
She was already disliked by the Temple. If rumors spread that she had made a priest waste his time, no one would ever visit Ethan's shop again.
On the verge of tears, Lia walked with her head bowed toward the ground.
It was a familiar voice that broke through her despair as she was being dragged away.
"Miss Lia!"
Lia looked up. It was Jing. Striding forward with his gray hair fluttering, he brushed Ethan's hand off her arm as if shooing away a fly.
"Miss Lia, your training begins today. What are you doing here? Come along quickly."
"Training?" So suddenly? As Jing tried to lead the bewildered Lia away, Ethan blocked his path.
"What do you think you're doing?"
Jing didn't even blink at Ethan's fierce glare.
"I assume you know Lia is participating in the Lucha. Since she hasn't prepared anything for the past three years, she naturally needs to train."
"Lia is going to withdraw. She is not entering the tournament."
At Ethan's firm stance, Jing narrowed his eyes.
"You speak as if you are Miss Lia herself."
"I am as good as her parent."
When Ethan spoke with renewed force, Jing's eyes curved in amusement.
"Even if you were her real parent, you wouldn't have the right to decide this for her. Miss Lia, do you really want to withdraw?"
Ethan's expression turned grim as Jing ignored him to address Lia directly.
"The priest is already at the shop. Lia, are you really okay with turning him away like this?"
Cowering behind Jing, Lia flinched at the mention of the priest and glanced at Jing anxiously. Seeing this, Ethan's lips curled up, confident of his victory.
"Ah, you don't need to worry about that, Lia."
Jing's nonchalant voice interrupted him once again. Jing offered Lia a bright smile.
"We have someone with a real knack for persuasion."
***
"What is this? Where are Ethan and Lia, and why is a fellow like you greeting me?"
The man in priestly robes asked, scanning me from head to toe.
My word. If we were inside the Imperial Palace, I could have at least punished him for such an irreverent look. Seeing how a priest treats me the moment I step outside the Capital, status truly is a meaningless thing.
Is this why those Abaran bastards cling so desperately to absolute faith?
Since I was currently nothing more than a penniless wandering traveler, I politely bowed my head to him.
"Ethan and Lia won't be returning today, Father."
"What? What nonsense is this fellow spouting? Are you saying Ethan broke his promise?"
At the priest's hysterical reaction, the face of the knight guarding him from behind grew increasingly hostile. It was clear that if I displeased him any further, he would make me pay the price immediately.
I shook my head to show I had no intention of offending him.
"It's not so much breaking a promise as it is an unavoidable circumstance."
Canceling a plan always requires a plausible excuse. A sudden decline in a parent's health, family discord, an accident, and so on. Of course, the best-case scenario is when the other party simply accepts your refusal before you even have to explain.
"Could you perhaps head back for today?"
I made the request as politely as I could for his sake.
"I've heard enough. A promise to a priest must be kept even at the cost of one's life! Out of my way, you fool!"
Dismissing my words as utter nonsense, the priest shoved past me to enter the shop.
"Argh!"
Before long, a loud crashing sound echoed from inside. Immediately after, the priest came tumbling back out with a shriek.
"What on earth is that?!"
Clutching his pounding chest, he demanded an explanation from me as I waited outside.
I glanced inside the shop where he had just fled.
—Gwoooooargh!—
Three massive bears were enthusiastically tearing apart and eating Ethan's shop tables.
"Yes, well, a pack of bears has raided the shop, so we can't let anyone inside."
At my reply, the priest's face became a mixture of sheer absurdity and rage.
"You lunatic! You should have said that first!"
"Didn't I tell you there was an unavoidable circumstance?"
Canceling a plan requires a plausible excuse. Personally, I think family matters are the most appropriate. And bears raiding your house is, in a way, a household matter.
I put on my most sorrowful expression.
"But you did say a promise to a priest must be kept even at the cost of one's life..."
"Who said anything about risking my life?!"
Enraged, he grabbed me by the collar.
Crash!
—Gwoooooargh!!!—
Right on cue, the beasts wreaking havoc inside smashed through the front door and burst outside.
"Aaaargh! Kill them! Kill them!"
Terrified, the priest threw me aside and scrambled behind his knight.
The knight bravely drew his sword to protect the priest, but he hesitated, clearly lacking the confidence to face three bears alone.
Perhaps offended by his hesitation, the largest of the bears raised its massive forepaws.
"Aaaargh!"
Faced with that terrifying sight, the priest finally turned tail and fled.
The knight quickly followed suit.
Dear me. In the wild, that choice would have immediately resulted in being chased down and ripped in half.
—Gwoooargh.—
"Thanks. Now go back and get some sleep."
I thanked the bears that had gathered around me.
By the time I finished sending off the beasts as they ambled back into the forest, Jing returned with Ethan and Lia.
***
"My goodness, Lord Ran! Are you alright?"
Though Jing was a bit appalled after hearing the story, the important thing was that the priest had left, and Lia no longer had to withdraw.
"Let's get out of here. The bears might come back."
"Yes, I'll go upstairs and pack our things."
Before Jing could fuss any further, I quickly changed the subject, and he agreed, heading up the stairs.
I approached Lia, leaving Ethan to stare blankly at his ruined shop.
"You should come with us, Lia. You'll need a place to stay while the house is being repaired."
"No, I should stay and help Ethan..."
"Wouldn't it be better to win the tournament and use the prize money for repairs rather than swinging a hammer?"
Her refusal denied, Lia left the shop, leaving Ethan behind. It was for the best anyway; staying any longer would have only invited more nagging from Ethan to withdraw.
Their new lodging was a quiet establishment—small, with few guests.
Thanks to Jing's lavish display of wealth in renting out the entire second floor, we were able to sit around a table on the first floor in peace.
Lia sat across from Jing, looking incredibly tense under his steady gaze.
Breaking the silence that must have felt suffocating to Lia, Jing finally spoke.
"Before we enter the tournament, there is one thing I must confirm."
There was not a shred of warmth or playfulness in Jing's voice.
Lia swallowed hard, meeting his piercing gaze.
"Three years ago, did you really hide a blade in your glove during the match?"
Lia's eyes shook at Jing's question. Her mouth parted a few times before she finally nodded with great difficulty.
"……Yes."
Jing's eyes narrowed at her honest confession.
"Why did you do such a thing?"
"……It was a mistake."
"A mistake?"
Lia's face flushed red, as if she too realized how pathetic the excuse sounded.
"As you can see, I'm terrible at fighting. I'm a coward, and I hate getting hurt. I thought having a weapon on me would put my mind at ease..."
"So you entered the match with a weapon hidden on your person just for comfort?"
Lia could no longer look Jing in the eye as he pressed for confirmation. What followed was her shameful, honest confession.
"……I really didn't intend to use it. It was just to make myself feel safe. I thought I had taken it out before the match... I'm sorry."
Ending her words with an apology directed at no one in particular, Lia hung her head like a prisoner awaiting sentencing.
Her behavior—skulking around the villagers like a criminal—finally made sense.
It was understandable. How many people would actually believe such an absurd excuse?
Since the Lucha was hosted by the Temple, the villagers' passion for it must have been immense, making her actions utterly unforgivable in their eyes.
Jing quietly looked down at her hunched shoulders.
"……If I had known you all were this strong, I wouldn't have lent you my name... I'm sorry. Even if we win, you probably won't receive the same glory or welcome as the others. Because you're in a team with me. But don't worry. If I give up the blessing like Ethan did, everyone will stop talking."
"Miss Lia."
Jing, who had been quietly listening to her anxious rambling, cut her off.
"You seem to be carrying a burden far too heavy for a simple mistake."
"What?"
Jing patted the shoulder of the bewildered Lia.
"I don't believe you cheated on purpose. So you don't need to feel sorry to us about that anymore."
"You... believe me?"
Lia looked back and forth between Jing and me in disbelief.
"I have no reason not to."
My reply—backed by the truth I had already read in the original novel—seemed to mean a great deal to Lia.
Lia bit her lip, looking as if she might burst into tears at any moment.
But she wasn't given the chance to let those tears fall. Jing, who had been patting her shoulder, suddenly pulled her up.
"Now that we've cleared the air, there's something we must begin."
"Wh-what is it?"
To Lia, who asked in bewilderment at the sudden shift in atmosphere, Jing offered a broad grin.
"What else but training?"
***
Leaning against a tree behind the tavern, I watched Jing and his new disciple with their burning enthusiasm.
I wasn't here by choice. I simply couldn't shake off Jing's persistent insistence that I watch from the sidelines—if only to learn how to avoid getting hit myself.
"Now, Miss Lia. Stretch your arm straight out."
At Jing's instruction, Lia obediently extended her right arm.
Jing grabbed her right arm and pressed it downward.
Confused, Lia let her arm drop as he pushed.
Taken aback by her passive compliance, Jing stared at her.
"……Let's try that again. This time, don't just let it drop. Resist my strength."
"Ah...!"
Understanding at last, Lia quickly raised her arm again.
Jing slowly pressed down on her arm once more.
A few moments passed.
"Ugh...!"
A strained groan broke the silence between the two, who had been as still as statues.
Unable to withstand Jing's strength any longer, Lia's arm slowly began to sink.
Lia tried her absolute best to hold her ground, but when it became clear that no amount of effort would push Jing's arm back up, she finally gave up.
"It... it hurts too much...!"
As Jing let go, Lia clutched her right arm with a tearful face.
In contrast, Jing's face was bright as he looked down at the hand that had held her arm.
He looked up at Lia, his eyes sparkling.
"Excellent! Miss Lia, this time, try to hit me."