399 – Cultural Experience (1)

After enjoying a nice swim with Kara, we returned to the dormitory.

Kara said I could stay at the palace for a night, but I stubbornly declined.

It felt like we were receiving special treatment for no reason, and if strange rumors started to spread, it would have been a headache for both of us.

“I’d rather be okay? Let’s make it a fait accompli this time.”

“··· ···”

“Just kidding. Then my father would be in trouble too.”

I chuckled to myself. Even if it was a joke, he must be genuinely sorry.

If Kara had been an ordinary warrior and not a princess, wouldn’t she have charged with a body bomb?

We are gradually evolving into civilized people, completely shedding our savage tendencies.

‘If only the conditions were just right, then maybe it would be different.’

Even if she wasn’t a princess, it would be difficult to form a relationship right away because the surrounding circumstances are too bad.

The devil is quiet right now, but no one knows when or where he will strike. Tatar is relatively quiet.

In the next episode, which is supposedly the Touhou episode, the demons will be using numbers. Because it is an area with less divine interference.

“It wouldn’t be a bad thing if rumors started to spread a little. I could really hit Grace with it.”

“You don’t like Grace?”

“No? I don’t hate it. I just······”

“only?”

Kara, whose words were muffled, stared at me intently. I just stared blankly.

Then she laughed as if it was funny and started criticizing without really criticizing.

“You want to eat delicious food all by yourself? Who likes that?”

“··· ···”

“You should know how to compromise. It’s not like I’m going to give up just because you’re getting married.”

It was a rather dangerous statement, but there was nothing I could do about it. Until just a few years ago, she was living a tribal life.

It’s like a feeling that you can eat as much as you want until you’ve decided. There’s something that comes from that subtle gap.

Even if I married someone else, I didn’t think I would give up. So I asked in a cautious voice.

“······Kara.”

“why?”

“Will you still like me if I get married?”

“I don’t mind if I just have your child?”

“··· ···”

Well, let’s not bring this up again.

I feel like if I bring it up for no reason, there will be confusion due to cultural differences. Chaos would love that.

“Anyway, Grace needs to be less greedy. She’s getting over it now, but······”

“But?”

“The moment you eat the strawberry on top of the cake, it’s war. I’ll tear your hair out.”

There are civilized expressions and uncivilized speech styles. These can be said to be Kara’s characteristics.

‘But why does Dan Ye-rin come to mind?’

As soon as I heard the story about eating only strawberries, Dan Ye-rin came to mind.

A woman who likes to secretly touch my body without anyone knowing. She looks more like a witch than a princess.

The liver is so big that Grace touches it secretly even though she is there.

Fortunately, I’ve been watching and learning from the nubburi recently, so I’m trying to control myself.

‘I’d like to ask, but······’

I want to ask you something. How would you react if someone other than Grace or Ellie were to eat all the strawberries?

But Kara is quick-witted and can read my expressions well. Asking her for no reason could lead to big trouble.

This was for me, but it was also for Dan Ye-rin. It was like a god between us.

‘Is there faith in an affair?’

I don’t know. But it doesn’t change the fact that I have to watch the Touhou episodes.

If I get caught in the meantime… I’ll probably get hit with a knife or something. I’m especially worried about Grace.

While I was internally worrying about something that wasn’t really worrying, Kara asked in a questionable voice as if she had read my expression.

“You have a worried face. What are you thinking about?”

“Just. The duel in two days.”

“Ah. That?”

“Yeah. Who’s with me?”

I think it’s an outstanding reflex. Kara passed without a doubt.

She listened to my question, thought about it carefully, shook her head, and answered.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t know much about that. It’s randomly selected.”

“Even though you’re a princess?”

“You’re an academy student now, right?”

That’s right. I understood right away.

Or maybe Kara is lying on purpose.

Because depending on who the other person is, you can collect information in advance.

Moreover, since we are given a day or so of free time before the sparring, it is quite possible to gather information.

“I’m going to go now.”

“Goodbye. The official congratulations will be on the last day.”

As time passed, I left the palace. Since it was very hot, the sun was just beginning to set.

I stared blankly at the horizon dyed in sunset light before taking a step forward. I had already memorized the route.

When the sun sets completely, a winter-like cold will come. You’d better hurry.

‘Come to think of it, I didn’t meet Hector either.’

Did Hector regain his identity after receiving my factual violence? Or is he still wandering?

Unfortunately, it is difficult for me to confirm this myself. In Soul World, it ends up just as an explanation.

Well, it won’t be the worst case scenario. If things went as planned, he’d be badly injured and die in the duel two days later.

To be precise, it is to refuse to heal the wounds and die in a way close to suicide. It is better to not have anything than to become a king with half a penny.

Not knowing that it would cause great harm to Kara and Tatar. In a way, you could say that he is a selfish person.

‘We’ll fight again, right?’

How strong will Hector be when he regains his identity? A slight sense of triumph arose.

When we fought before, it was so sudden and there was so much we didn’t know about each other.

Not anymore. I clenched and unclenched my fist repeatedly and looked up at the sky.

“Is this okay?”

The sky was quiet. Not a single sound could be heard.

[Faith rises!]

I wish two days would pass quickly.

*******

Time does not flow as people want it to. It is more like a river flowing along its course.

What this means is that I can’t skip two days just because I want to.

Today is the day before the Dalian event, that is, it is time for cultural experiences.

Even if it’s called a cultural experience, it’s only for those who want to do it, so it’s actually more like free time.

And I decided to make the most of that free time, because Tatarstan has a lot of interesting culture.

“Write your name here before you go.”

“what’s this?”

“The list of applicants for the sparring event tomorrow. Are you going to do it too?”

“huh.”

“Put it in last turn?”

“huh.”

Just before going out, Antonio stopped me and asked me to put in my application list.

There are quite a lot of applicants, so we’re going to decide by playing rock-paper-scissors, but I’m making an exception.

Just like we have Hector the Destroyer over there, shouldn’t we have a secret weapon too?

Even if it was a secret weapon, its power was exposed when it subdued the Queen Sand Scorpion. Strictly speaking, that wasn’t even a power.

“Shivar. Where are you going now?”

“Here and there. You?”

“I have to study in the lab. There are so many strange herbs here. There aren’t many herbs in the desert, but the recipes are refreshing.”

It seems that the non-combatant Elido Tartar likes it. It is clear that Tartar is making up for the lack of resources with ‘technology’.

There are many skills, including magic, herbology, horsemanship, etc. Speaking is also a skill.

Geography-wise, it’s a land with ample potential. Plus, if you dig through the desert, you’ll find a lot of resources.

‘I thought the desert was connected to the sea.’

This is not something I should be concerned about. This is something that Hector, who has properly awakened as a king, should be concerned about.

In Hector’s time, it would have been difficult to just elevate a tribe into a nation. This is also the story of when he became king.

I wrapped myself in a blanket to avoid the sun, as I always did. Even if your race changes, the sun is still harsh.

‘Should we go to the pancake shop we went to last time?’

It wasn’t a bad choice since I was hungry. I retraced my steps and headed to the pancake shop.

When I finally arrived at the store, a familiar face greeted me.

“Welcome! How may I help you?”

But that familiar face didn’t seem to know me.

The facial features haven’t changed at all, but the skin color is very different.

Who would believe that my skin became similar to that of a local person in just a few days? No one would believe me.

“Please give me three.”

“It’s 30 silver coins..”

“Huh? Wasn’t it 5 silver each?”

“Limited to academy students.”

There’s all kinds of things like that. I looked at the store owner with a dumbfounded expression.

The store owner reacts indifferently even when he sees my face like that. He reacts by telling me to go away if I don’t want to eat it.

I would have liked to have asked him if he recognized my face. But I couldn’t stand the joke, so I paid him obediently.

“Thank you. But where have I seen your face before? Your eyes are bright red too.”

“It’s a mistake.”

“Hmm. Right? There’s no way your skin would turn black just because you saw it a few days ago.”

I held back a laugh. My eyes were unusual, but my skin had changed so drastically.

Meanwhile, the shop owner cooked pancakes in a bowl, topped with a sweet date sauce as a bonus.

Pancakes are pancakes, but I can’t forget this sweet sauce. I should grab a few before I go back to the Academy.

“By the way, have you heard that story?”

“What is it?”

“The story goes that an academy student defeated Queen Sand Scorpion.”

That’s my story. I pretended not to know while eating my pancakes.

The shop owner seemed excited when I showed him my interest and started talking.

“Well. An academy student subdued a guy that even the chieftains had difficulty subduing? Do you know what I mean?”

“I don’t know.”

“Haha. The young nobleman has no interest in worldly news. That means the pride of the chieftains has been damaged.”

“hmm?”

That was unexpected. I opened one eye and showed my interest.

The Queen Sand Scorpion is not difficult to defeat, as it has a habit of escaping into the sand, but otherwise it is not difficult to defeat.

Even if it runs away, if you grab its tail and drag it back, it’s over. But you have to be strong.

“So there’s talk that a lot of chieftains who made great contributions in the tribal unification war are participating. It looks like the Buwar side is also participating.”

“If you ask me······”

“I heard that the academy student cut out his tongue. I heard that he made some pretty insulting remarks. It’s not a good look.”

It seems that the Buwar tribe is not in good spirits. Judging from the way they openly criticize them, it is half-confirmed.

I ate my pancakes and focused on what he was saying. If I dig a little deeper, I think I’ll get some interesting information.

“I heard he’s quite angry, but I don’t know if it’s because of his pride or because of his younger brother. I guess we’ll have to see for ourselves.”

“Is it strong?”

“Well, they say he’s strong, but… I haven’t seen him fight directly.”

There is an old saying that an empty cart makes the most noise. This proverb is exactly right.

I nodded and finished the last remaining pancake. Then the shop owner’s eyes widened in surprise.

“No. Are you finished eating already? That was really fast.”

“I enjoyed the meal. But I have a question.”

“What is it?”

“The student who caught the queen. Do you know who that student is?”

“No, I don’t know much about it, except that it’s incredibly strong.”

“That’s me.”

I guess I should stop joking around. This is enough.

When I revealed my identity, the store owner’s reaction was different from what I expected.

I thought he would blink in embarrassment, but he didn’t. Instead, he frowned as if he was displeased.

“Don’t joke around. Even though he’s an academy student, he’s a person who’s helped our Tatar’s upward development a lot. He’s a hero, so to speak.”

“That’s right. If I say Shivar, everyone will believe me.”

“Are you asking me to believe you after seeing that dark skin?”

“I rode it. You won’t believe it, but.”

It’s true. I appealed to you to believe me.

Did the appeal work? The shop owner’s frown slowly eased and soon turned into surprise.

He must have noticed that my facial features had not changed at all. He then spoke in a trembling voice.

“Are you really a student? The student the princess took away that time?”

“Yes. I caught the queen.”

“I can’t believe it. Is it true? It wasn’t someone else who caught it?”

“If you don’t believe me, see for yourself.”

It’s a clear fact, so there’s no need to lie. I was confident.

The store owner also smiled faintly, perhaps because he was impressed by the confidence. Then he shook his head.

“Your skin burned in the meantime… I can’t believe it. You really caught the Queen?”

“yes.”

“Haha! The hero is here. I almost sent that guy to jail.”

“Prison?”

To my curiosity, the shop owner explained while baking pancakes.

“There is a law in the Tatar code: Anyone who insults or impersonates a veteran or a hero is liable to a fine of one million silver coins or ten years in prison. However, legitimate criticism is permitted.”

“What is legitimate criticism?”

“Those who have lost their families to warriors and heroes. We tend to turn a blind eye to them.”

“··· ···”

It’s not a bad law. It’s also very flexible.

Just as I was internally convinced, the shop owner smiled and made me an offer.

“Let’s skip the trivial talk. Would you like some more pancakes?”

“yes.”

“Eat as much as you want. It’s free today.”

You’ll regret it.

I also have a conscience, so I should eat moderately and then step back.

‘Let’s just eat about 50.’

It’s just the right amount for me.

Time passed like that······

“I ate well.”

After filling my stomach, I left with a leisurely smile.

“······Fuck.”

It seems he wasn’t the store owner.