387 – Tatar (5)

A meeting with an old man who did not feel the slightest hint of prejudice. The meeting was quite interesting.

The old man was an open-minded person with no prejudice, and I also do not refuse to meet such a person.

Rather, we were able to communicate well with each other and even share interesting things. Most of them are related to the academy.

“You said you came from the academy, so you must have heard about the princess. Do you know her as Princess Kara?”

“Yes. We are in the same class.”

“Same class? Ah. Now that I think about it, I heard that Princess Kara’s class is coming for experiential learning.”

The old man and I sat down and chatted about various things.

The pancakes were delicious and the old man seemed interested in me.

“I don’t know if it’s okay to talk in such a shabby place.”

“How shabby. The bread you made is the best. The date syrup is especially delicious.”

“Thank you. Students don’t have to pay, so eat as much as you want.”

Then I don’t think I would have too much conscience. I know how much I eat.

Of course, the pancakes were a snack, not a meal, so I plan to eat them slowly.

Moreover, if you keep eating sweet food, you will easily get bitten by it. It would only be a favor.

“By any chance, what is your relationship with the princess?”

“A friend.”

“Ho. Friend.”

The old man stroked his chin as if he was interested in my answer. His reaction was unexpected.

Then he took a bite of a piece of pancake and spoke in a sage-like tone.

“If you’re confident that they’re just friends, it’s probably not a close relationship.”

“A close friend.”

“Hmm. As expected. Have you ever sparred with a princess?”

How does the flow of conversation naturally lead to sparring? It’s a strange culture.

Well, it was understandable since the Tatars themselves were warlike. They were a people for whom it is fitting to say that they became friends while fighting.

“Yes. I have done that before.”

“Who won?”

“I am.”

“That’s amazing. There’s not a single lie in those words, right?”

“Kara… No, ask the princess.”

I almost brought up Kara’s name. At least in Tatar, I plan to call her princess

The old man nodded his head, as if he felt that my words were sincere. The response is that it is not a big deal.

“Unlike his fierce-looking her face her her her, he is holding back his ferocious spirit her.”

“Me?”

“You’re not looking at me, you’re ‘looking sideways’. You’re constantly wary of your surroundings.”

This is quite a sharp analysis. However, this is more of an unavoidable instinct.

Because I had been chased so many times in the forest, I did not let my guard down even in my daily life.

Sometimes, even if someone approaches me from behind, I tend to leave them alone as long as they don’t show their murderous intent.

In most cases like that, it’s just acquaintances playing pranks. So there are many things that are just tolerated.

“Besides, I heard an interesting story. There was a student who lived in the forest near the academy and entered the school.”

“That’s me.”

“As expected, you are right. I heard a rumor that the princess was miserably defeated in Dalian.”

I felt embarrassed and scratched my head. Has the rumor already come this far?

Or maybe it’s obvious. Kara was a princess and the only Tatar in the academy.

Even though it was a somewhat humiliating rumor, it seemed like he didn’t really care as he spoke calmly.

Instead, a different kind of curiosity appeared on his face. The so-called winning spirit.

The old man looked at me with an expression of pride and spoke quietly.

“If I were a few years younger, I would have asked you to spar with me… It’s really a shame.”

“What about sparring? The person who hates war so much really loves fighting.”

“How are war and battle the same? Don’t you know how scary war is?”

“Again, that sound again. I like business better than war. “I have no intention of fighting.”

The store owner and the old man were bickering. I put the pancake in my mouth without even looking.

In fact, many Tatars harbor a desire to win against the strong. However, it is different for ordinary people such as store owners.

The old man was probably a warrior, and of a fairly high rank. First of all, it is important to be ‘old’ even though you are a Tatar.

‘Because growing old means surviving.’

It is often used as a meme, but in Tatar, the elderly are people who deserve respect.

We may not know it now, but in the past, Tatars, especially men, tended to grow up to be warriors as soon as they were born.

Even after Hector unified the tribes, things did not change much. But ironically, young warriors are causing problems.

“Young people these days. They make a fuss about going to war even though they haven’t experienced war themselves. They just blow their heads…”

“Now, now. Calm down. There are academy students next to us, aren’t there? We should use this opportunity to show our country’s good side.”

“That’s the problem! If people who don’t even have blood on their heads start a fight…!”

The old man began to complain with an undertone of frustration. As it often happens, the store owner just leisurely baked bread.

I ate bread next to him and listened quietly. The old man mentions all the insecurities that Tatar is currently facing.

‘People who cannot see the shadow behind the glory.’

Hector’s founding ‘myth’ is enough to fascinate countless people. In fact, it was an achievement worthy of a myth.

However, the shadow behind the myth is obscured by the light of glory. Except for those who experienced the tribal war at the time, most would not know.

‘Because that’s what war is.’

Who said it? War is sweet to those who have never experienced it.

There are quite a few Tatars who insist on fighting without even knowing that. Most of them are young people.

And in future episodes, the academy students will act as gunpowder and the young Tatar will act as a catalyst.

If you ask me if I have any intention of stopping that, I can answer confidently.

‘Not at all.’

I will jump deep inside the explosion. To meet Hector.

How would an older person react if they heard this? Wouldn’t he be foaming at the mouth and trying to hit me?

“The young man is a young man, but the chieftain, even our royal family, has a lot of problems.”

“Hmm?”

Suddenly, the royal family, namely the Tatar royal family, was mentioned. I think there will be quite a bit of criticism about that too.

In modern Tatar, Hector is a figure close to myth. Either militaristic or religious.

However, the old man very confidently brought up a potentially problematic story. His voice was so loud that even people glanced at him.

“Oh my. You’re talking about big trouble again, old man. Even though you are from a chieftain, it’s quite dangerous.”

“It’s dangerous! It’s a story that is absolutely necessary for our country to become stronger!”

“You’re saying that His Majesty Hector is remarrying or that Princess Kara has to enter into a national marriage?”

“That’s it!”

“··· ···”

What. You were a loyal subject. I roughly understood and agreed.

Usually, people who bring up dangerous stories are loyalists. In fact, it is also the most unsettling thing about Tatar.

Hector has only one child, Kara. The moment one of the two has a problem, Tatar will become very anxious.

Doesn’t Hector have a brother? Now let me tell you, his past history is similar to Genghis Khan of Mongolia.

This is a fairly unstable family tree. So, if Hector dies, Kara automatically leaves the story.

“Princess Kara has already passed the age of marriage. But it seems she has no intention of getting married.”

“And now I’m a student at the academy. Even the elders know this.”

“I know. Besides, if things are like this, it would be much better for Your Majesty to remarry. Your Majesty has also corrected this.”

“I don’t know if I can talk about this here. There are academy students next to me.”

The store owner lifted his chin and pointed at me. The old man’s eyes turned to me.

The old man looked at me for a while and then said, “Ah!” He claimed. Something makes me uneasy.

“Ah! That’s right! Hey student!”

“Yes?”

“Didn’t you say that the student is a close friend of Princess Kara?”

“Yes.”

“Then, are there any rumors like that? He or she is personally close to Princess Kara.”

“Really. Why are you asking such a question? You should also act appropriately.”

Uh…Is that all? I would like to answer.

Although there is another person, Kara hates her so much, so let’s leave her out of the discussion.

“It can’t be.” Princess Kara is one of the most beautiful dancers in Tatar. Don’t you agree?”

“Well… I’ve seen it a few times when offering ancestral rites to Gulag. It’s beautiful.”

“There’s no way there’s a man who doesn’t fall in love with that beauty. There must be one.”

I’m not crazy and I don’t know what I’m doing. Still, she completely agrees that Kara is pretty.

However, this does not mean that there are no questionable parts. I munched on some bread and asked the old man a question.

“What about Tatar?”

“Hmm?”

“Tatar. Don’t you have a husband?”

“There are very few people of similar age who are stronger than the princess. What do you mean?”

“··· ···”

No. In the first place, it would be difficult to find someone stronger than Kara.

Although he was a person who hated war, his unique barbarism was evident.

Kara has been through war since her mid to late teens, so it’s no wonder she’s strong despite her age.

It would be difficult to find someone stronger than her, especially since she has all the favor of the Gulag.

“It’s not just about power. We also have to get permission from Gulag.”

“If you argue like that, the princess will live as an old maid for the rest of her life.”

“No. It’s definitely there somewhere…”

The old man groaned at the store owner’s scolding and then glanced at me. And it stopped like that.

I also stiffened while holding the bread in my mouth. Because the sharp eyes of the old man were unusual.

Then he rolled his eyes as if calculating and asked hastily.

“······How old are you?”

“I don’t know.”

“Why don’t you know… Ah. I understand. But it doesn’t matter because your face looks young. You don’t have any origin… Isn’t that right?”

“Yes.”

“But his military power is stronger than that of Princess Kara … Seeing as he knows the Tatar language well, there are no problems with communication … And he looks handsome …”

The old man who was mumbling something soon decided to go straight without going backwards.

“Are you interested in Princess Kara?”

“Hey, you’re really getting senior, student! Don’t worry about it, just go!”

“Wherever I go! I’m serious!”

An old man who screams even if he is truly senile.

I hurriedly left the place while the store owner stopped the old man.

It’s good to be a patriot who serves the country, but too much is too little, too much of anything is not good.

‘Didn’t you say he was the former chieftain? Why are you like that?’

Come to think of it, I didn’t even hear his name. I walked away with a trembling feeling.

If I’m lucky, I’ll be able to meet you later. Since you said he was the previous patriarch, wouldn’t he be called the head of the family by now?

‘Earlier, the people around me also acted as if this was something that always happened.’

It wasn’t strange for someone to report it, but they proudly boasted about it.

Maybe I have quite a bit of a relationship with Hector.

I walked around the neighborhood, mumbling the remaining pancakes in my mouth.

‘Where should we go this time?’

******

After a light tour, it was lunch time and I went straight back to the accommodation.

Not long after returning to the dorm, the professor informed me of the schedule. I plan to stock up on essential items in the afternoon.

The students also moved forward to stock up on supplies without much thought. However, at this time, a disturbance occurred.

“What did you just say, this guy? What’s wrong with our country?”

“Uh, huh? Yes?”

“Why? Did you think I wouldn’t understand you if I spoke in a foreign language? Are all Academy students like this?”

The expected scenario unfolded before my eyes.