Rejection
"Ethan, what are you talking about, showing up out of nowhere like this? Taking my place in the tournament? There's no way you can just decide that on your own." Lia's voice, thick with bewilderment, shattered my reminiscence.
Ethan stared blankly at Lia with his characteristically stiff expression.
"We just have to say you were injured. If a team member is disqualified due to a personal mistake, the remaining participants can find a substitute. You should know that better than anyone, shouldn't you?"
A flash of pain crossed Lia's face as she recalled her bitter past. When she averted her eyes first, Ethan stepped past her and stood before us.
"The Temple does not wish for Lia, who has already committed an infraction once, to participate in the tournament with outsiders. If she falls further out of favor with the Temple, it will only make living in this village harder for her."
Over Ethan's shoulder, I saw Lia hang her head. I rolled my eyes and looked at his blunt face.
"So, you want us to enter the tournament with you instead of Lia?"
"It would be better for you as well."
Come to think of it, the original story mentioned he won the tournament after taking Lia's place. Well, at least if Ethan joined, I could avoid Jing's Spartan training. Unlike Lia, who had barely thrown a punch in three years, he actually had experience winning. Perhaps accepting Ethan would be a better choice than what happened in the original work. It meant the opponent Lia could never defeat was offering to be on our side. It might even be faster to persuade Ethan to become an ally than to deal with Lia, who had no desire to leave the village. Simply put, it wasn't a bad proposal.
"I believe I already gave you my answer. I refuse."
Hearing the protagonist's thoroughly annoyed voice from beside me, I shrugged at Ethan.
"He says he refuses."
"What is the reason? Lia barely scraped by in the second round. If I take her place, the probability of winning..."
"Your face is annoying."
Ratel cut Ethan off. At this utterly unexpected reason, Ethan's mouth shut tight. He seemed deeply shocked that the reason for rejection was Ratel's personal aesthetic preference, rather than his skill or reputation.
"So take that annoying face of yours and get the hell out."
As Ratel drove the nail in, Ethan's face finally contorted.
"You will regret this."
"How amusing. What could I possibly regret more than accepting a piece of trash who can't even understand plain speech?"
Ratel returned Ethan's single remark with a torrent of vitriol. This bickering would never end at this rate. While accepting Ethan might have been the better choice in the long run, there was nothing I could do if the protagonist detested him this much. The least I could do was politely decline his offer myself.
"I don't think further conversation will yield anything, so why don't you head out?"
At my intervention, Ethan glared at me. Ratel was the one who rejected him, so why was he glaring at me? But since I was a more mature adult than Ratel, I had the magnanimity to laugh off that minor venting of anger.
"It must be heavy, so be careful carrying it on your way out."
At my friendly advice, Ethan—who had entered the bookstore empty-handed—furrowed his brow as if asking what on earth I was talking about. If he didn't understand, I was more than willing to kindly explain.
"Your pride, which is far too bloated compared to your actual skills. It must be quite heavy."
At my sarcasm, Ethan's face contorted fiercely. He stepped toward me as if he would pounce at any second. But I hadn't just been running my mouth for no reason.
"If you take another step, I will consider it an attack. I can make sure you never set foot in something like the Lucha Tournament for the rest of your life."
Jing spoke with his hand resting on his sword, making it clear he wouldn't stop at a mere warning. Deciding he couldn't win against an armed opponent, Ethan gritted his teeth and backed away.
"I'll see if you can still run your mouth so well once it's torn apart."
Leaving behind those incredibly villainous words, Ethan walked out of the bookstore. I wished it were just a cheap threat to match his cheap dialogue, but unfortunately, he possessed the power to make it a reality. He had been entirely confident that he could participate in the tournament despite the rules. Though I couldn't be sure, there was a high probability the Temple would aid his entry. The third round might very well be a fight against him. The worst-case scenario was me facing Ethan after Ratel forfeited. Just as he said, if I was caught before I could even yell my surrender, the only thing I would gain was a body beaten to within an inch of its life.
"You seem to have a lot on your mind."
It was Ratel who spoke to me as I silently frowned, calculating the possibilities.
"I just received a warning that I'll be beaten half to death. It would be stranger if I didn't have a lot on my mind."
"Worrying when you already know the solution is a waste of time," he replied nonchalantly.
"Yeah, I know." If only the protagonist in front of me would actually participate in the Lucha Tournament properly, I wouldn't be in any danger. I already knew the conditions required to move him, too. Leaving the boy who was waiting for my answer, I turned to Jing.
"Starting tomorrow, I will also join the training with Lia. Should I come out at dawn?"
"Yes, you can come out to the backyard from before with Miss Lia. But... are you truly going to be alright?"
Jing asked with a worried expression.
"Do you also think my chances of defeating Ethan are low, Jing?"
Jing hesitated to answer my question. That in itself was answer enough, but Jing did not avoid replying.
"It is not low. There is absolutely zero chance of you winning, Lord Ran."
It was an honest answer, almost to a fault.
"Even if I undergo your training for the remaining three days?"
"You might be able to buy some time as soon as the match begins—enough time to forfeit before Ethan catches you. But do not worry. If Miss Lia and I win the remaining matches, we still have a good chance of victory."
"Assuming luck is on our side."
"...That is true."
Wouldn't it be better if Jing just assassinated Ethan? Shaking off the temptation, I shook my head. It was best to leave that as a last resort. Perhaps this incident would allow me to discover something hidden within the book's descriptions.
Participating in Jing's training was vastly different from merely watching. It was far more grueling.
"Lord Ran, are you certain you have never received training before? You are far more outstanding than I expected!"
Listening to Jing's blatant flattery was extremely, incredibly, deeply painful. I knew my physical capabilities all too well. I also knew that my posture was nowhere near good enough to warrant such generous praise from Duke Peadus.
"Unless you're trying to tell me how utterly trash you thought my body was, please be quiet."
At my request, Jing let out a warm, gentle laugh.
"No, I am not just saying that. Since you mentioned you had never learned combat, I approached this with the mindset of teaching a young child. However, you are doing far better than I anticipated."
Well, thank you very much. Swallowing a dry laugh at his generous assessment, I threw a punch at the makeshift sandbag he had hung up, dodging to the side as it swung back toward me. Jing, who had been watching proudly, clapped his hands together with a sharp smack.
"Excellent. Now that the warm-up is finished, let us begin in earnest. Miss Lia, come over here."
At Jing's call, Lia, who had been diligently throwing punches in a corner, approached with a puzzled expression.
"Was that not us doing it in earnest?"
Jing smiled warmly at Lia's question.
"Miss Lia, you have watched Ethan fight before, correct?"
Lia's face stiffened, and she nodded at his question.
"Then you must have a general idea of how Ethan attacks?"
"...Yes. But it really is just a general idea. Ethan is so strong that I cannot mimic him."
He narrowed his eyes at her tentative reply.
"So Ethan is that strong... Well, no matter. Even a rough imitation is fine, so try attacking Lord Ran while mimicking Ethan."
"What?!"
As Lia gasped in shock, Jing looked at her as if wondering why she was so surprised.
"What you need right now is instinct and experience. Since you have rarely hit another person, you hesitate when throwing punches, and you cannot gauge how much force to apply."
"And what do I gain from this?" I asked.
"You will become able to respond to Ethan's attacks, even if only slightly. After I watch the two of you trade blows, I will face Lord Ran and Miss Lia one-on-one. There is no better way to improve your skills in a short period."
Jing kindly explained the hell that would unfold over the next two days.
"B-but, attacking Ran is a bit..."
Lia muttered, stealing a glance at me. Seeing her hesitate to attack far more than necessary, I narrowed my eyes.
"Are you hesitating because I'm too weak, or is it because it's me?"
At my question, Lia twiddled her fingers.
"B-both..."
Her answer made me sigh automatically. In the original story, Lia was someone who crushed her opponents' skulls without a second thought. What on earth had Ethan's death done to change her so much?
"In the tournament, your opponent might very well be Ethan," Jing said firmly.
At Jing's stern words, the lingering Lia bit her lip.
"No matter how strong the opponent is, and no matter how much you do not wish to fight, the moment to fight will come. Especially in your life, you will face such moments very often."
At his slightly softened tone, a look of bewilderment appeared on Lia's face.
"M-me?"
"Yes. Even if it is not now, it will inevitably happen someday."
"...That sounds like a curse."
Jing smiled faintly at Lia's sullen reply.
"That will depend on what you desire. But even so, you cannot avoid it."
"How often would I ever have to hit someone while living in this village?"
At Lia's incredulous retort, Jing widened his eyes.
"With talent like yours, how can you say you will not leave the village?"
"..."
At Jing's confident assertion, Lia's mouth worked soundlessly for a moment.
"...I have talent?"
When she asked as if unable to believe what she had just heard, Jing furrowed his brow.
"Why do you think I have been focusing on you instead of Lord Ran?"
"Well... I thought it was because you didn't want Ran to get hurt."
"Well, that is not entirely incorrect."
At my agreement, Jing cleared his throat.
"But that is not the only reason. It is because the probability of success is much higher than if I were to teach Lord Ran. And Lord Ran stayed quiet because he knew that as well. Is that not so?"
Jing suddenly turned the arrow toward me.
"Do you really think so too, Ran?"
Following Jing's gaze, Lia looked at me and asked.
"It's not just my opinion; it's the truth. Lia, you were born with the talent and the destiny that will inevitably drag you into the battlefield."
My personal thoughts didn't matter. That was simply her character setting. At my unvarnished explanation, Lia's face flushed. This time, it probably wasn't out of shame. Lia slowly raised her hands and adjusted her stance. Compared to two days ago, her posture was noticeably more stable. It was a good development for her, but for me, it was a rather painful change.
Ratel hid himself in the shadow cast where the window met the wall, looking down at the shop's backyard. His eyes followed the two figures continuing their training with awkward movements. To be precise, his gaze was fixed on the one whose movements were far more pathetic.
The black-haired prince was keeping up with Jing's training better than expected, but it was nowhere near enough to defeat Ethan in the match two days from now. It was obvious that both his strength and speed fell far short of Ethan's.
Ratel knew that while the prince was suspicious, he was no fool. The prince himself must know better than anyone that this was a fight he could not win. Yet, he still showed no sign of coming to find him. Was the secret he hid truly worth risking his life over? He had claimed he was helping Ratel to survive, so he seemed not to realize the contradiction in risking his life just to keep a secret. What is it that he wants to protect more than his own life?
Ratel's gaze, which had been tracking Lia and Ran's movements, did not linger long. Someone else, moving quietly under the cover of darkness, interrupted his thoughts. Moreover, the intruder did not seem nearly as accustomed to stealth as Ratel. Observing the direction of the intruder's footsteps, Ratel soon moved silently after them.