Chapter 255 – The Road to the Present.

He, who had been frowning sternly until just a moment ago, looked at Thaddaeo and let go of his expression.

“What are you doing?”
“Why did you come to see my face sometimes?”
“Why is the guy who goes downstairs every time to do security checks on days like this?”
“No, well, it’s just work.”

Thaddeo evaded it as if it was no big deal, but Lucas poked him in the side with a smirk.

“What’s the matter, Yekrani doesn’t have to work so hard? Rumors have spread all over the place.”
“Rumors, what kind of rumors?”

When Thaddeo didn’t seem to understand, he laughed and whispered to him secretly.

“If someone asks me, don’t say I said it.”
“No, so what’s the rumor?”
“I heard the woman downstairs tastes so good?”

Hearing Lucas’ words, his face hardened. He then turns his face red and screams.

“It’s not like that! Where did this bastard hear such a strange sound!”
“Queue, but every time I go down and stay there all day, won’t there be rumors like that?”
“It’s just work.”
“Yes, yes, wearing the waist is also a job.”

When he didn’t seem to believe it, Tha Daeo grabbed his head and scratched it, then turned around as if he had given up.

“Because it’s okay. Do you still have the one I entrusted you with before?”
“Ah, that piece of scrap metal? Of course I kept it well. Someone asked me to trust it like that.”
“Then I’m glad.”

Usher, who overheard them, was barely relieved. I’ve heard that it can’t even be sold as a product, but if it’s made of iron, it can be sold anywhere. I hoped to give it to them as soon as possible, but their talk showed no signs of ending.

“But why?”
“Because I need someone.”
“That piece of scrap metal? It’s a unique taste.”
“I’m so sorry for having such a peculiar taste.”

Fortunately, Krikaliev intervened in their conversation. Then Lucas stared blankly at him for a moment.

“This voice… No, no. It’s just a voice, right?”
“No, that’s it.”
“No, what. It must have been years. Seeing as you can’t even understand my voice.”

Eventually, when Krikaliev confirmed himself to him, Lucas kept opening and closing his mouth to say something, then with trembling hands took something out of his pocket and held it up. The blunt-shaped pipe with the hole pointing upward was a cigarette I had seen in Lantua. He puts something like dried grass that had been wrapped in a small cloth in there, then holds up a small box and taps something like a toothpick repeatedly, but there is no way he can hit it properly with his trembling hands.

“Ahsseu! Why doesn’t this stick like this?”

I didn’t know what he wanted to do, so as I watched him, Krikaliev approached, grabbed what he was holding, and snapped his fingers. Then push! I lit a cigarette with a small burning wood with a groan.

“Are you done now?”
“Huh? Uh. Go, thank you.”

He put his mouth on the back end of the pipe and sucked it in, then exhaled it, the trembling lessening. The smoke that spewed out smelled like scented candles, but Usher covered his nose at the strong smell of smoke.

“Kehook! Smell!”

Erica, who was next to Usher, also covered her own nose with the hem of her dress and looked at him frowning. Lucas looked at Thaddeo alternately between them and Krikaliev.

“I’m not dreaming right now, am I?”
“It would have been better if it was a dream.”

He repeated blowing out smoke from his mouth a few more times, and then he let out a thick cloud of his smoke.

“…Get ready for the next match! If something happens, I’ll throw you some Baranus rice!”

He inhaled the smoke he exhaled and shouted loud enough to make the place reverberate and told them.

“Ha, come with me.”

Usher really wanted to follow him, but there was no other way, so they quietly followed Lucas. There were still many people busily running around, and the lizards and monsters running rampant inside the cage passed by, so it was soon a bright hallway. I can hear people’s cheers from afar, but since I was in a busy place where no one was missing and shouting loudly, it felt quiet.

“Are you sure Yakaf is right for you?”
“The time is frightening. To think that a guy who didn’t know how to be afraid of the world and lived a life of bliss has become a proud, pot-bellied man.”
“Oh, I never thought I would live like this.”

He replied with a bitter smile, but sighed.

“And it’s more that the guy you thought was dead will come back to life.”
“If you have something to say, start by giving the things that Thaddaeo left behind.”
“Huh, was that also yours?”
“Then whose property is it?”

Lucas shook his head and let out a tantrum.

“Somehow they told me to keep things that don’t work properly without touching them.”
“Did you break it?”
“I just called another blacksmith and looked at the structure. They said the parts are missing and I don’t know where they are used. What?”

Then, when he arrived at the locked door, he opened it with a key and saw dusty objects.

“I was somewhere… Here it is!”

Lucas rummaged for something there, and what he took out with a whimper was a large, square thing. It simply looks like a large iron box, but the appearance of complex things visible next to the central body made of red and black iron bars that are easy to hold with hands surrounding the rim does not look like a simple box.

“Hi go. It’s dusty.”

Krikaliev brushed the dust off it, opened the lid, looked at it, and clicked his tongue.

“I can’t use this as it is.”
“Yes? Is there something wrong?”

Usher asked him, anxious that he might not be able to go rescue Belka.

“If it’s a problem, it’s a problem. Lucas. What are all the parts inside?”
“Huh? I don’t know! It was the same when I took it!”

If he didn’t know, there was only one person who might have known. Let them all look to Thaddeo.

“Don’t worry. I’ve left it up to the people I trust.”
“You can’t.”

Krikaliev noticed something and told Usher.

“Ghmm, I guess it will take a little longer to go up.”

It was easy to know who caused it if you had heard the conversation, so Usher glared at Thaddaeo. He didn’t expect to interfere in this way, although I thought he didn’t like it from the first time we met. After receiving Usher’s gaze, he shrugged his shoulders as if he didn’t know what the problem was.

“It’s disgusting for you to leave it all separately.”
“Sure. I think so too, but at least I had to do it that way.”

Somehow, Tadaeo separated the parts of the self-supporting motor and left it to others. Because of this, Usher became more impatient in a situation where he had to stop by and take parts, but Lucas did not let them go easily.

“Hey! Don’t fight, let’s just look around! Yakaf, don’t you want to miss the arena’s specialties after a long time?”

It wasn’t long before Usher frowned at the sight in front of her. Beyond the barbed wire made of thinly woven iron, the lizards we saw downstairs were threatening each other, beating each other like whips with their long tails. Right above them, there was raw meat dripping with blood, and the lizards below them were fighting, biting and biting each other as if it were natural. Sure enough, the lizards that had just been in the cage were locked up for this show.

“Ugh, do people here have fun with things like that?”
“I know.”

He agreed with Erica’s question, who was sitting next to him, and looked at Krikaliev in front of the barbed wire. He was looking over the barbed wire to see what kind of conversation he was having with Thaddeo and Lucas. It wasn’t too far away, but I couldn’t hear their conversation, drowned out by the voices of the people around me.

“Wow!!!””
“That’s right. It’s noisy. It’s noisy whenever I come here.”
“Kick-kick, that’s the magic. The Baranus who lives downstairs is big and strong, so it’s full of power, right?”
“The lizard upstairs is too small to be used for food.”

Krikaliev asked, glancing at his old friends who answered verbatim to his murmur.

“So, I think I’ve seen it a lot in the past, but why do I have to go see this?”

In the past, there was a memory of coming together to see this scene by saving a few pennies from each other. Even then, they stood in front of the barbed wire to see the scene more closely than anyone else. As if it wasn’t enough to remember that, Lucas let out a big laugh.

“It’s just because it reminds me of the old days. I told you to come and see this every day when you make a lot of money someday.”
“Is it so?”
“Look at this guy. It’s been a while, haven’t you forgotten?”
“I can’t. I never thought I’d see this again.”

Their conversation continued without knowing Usher’s gaze watching them.

“No. 19! What are you doing without biting harder?! I bet everything on you this time!”

When a lizard with 19 written on its back is cornered into an inferior position, the person cheering for the lizard exclaims excitedly. The longer the fight, the fiercer the fight between the lizards, and some of the scales that looked hard were peeled off from each other’s sharp claws. On the sandy floor of the arena, not only the raw meat hanging from above, but also their blood was splattered on the red flesh exposed underneath, and eventually lizard number 19 bit another lizard’s leg properly in its mouth.

“That’s right! Bite it as it is!”

As if responding to his support, Lizard No. 19 gripped the opponent’s leg tightly and vigorously shook his head from side to side. The lizard, which had been pushing him until just now, tried to escape, but eventually a crunching sound seemed to come through the voices of the shouters. In the end, the lizard was able to escape, but the lizard 19 had already torn off its leg and sat down.

-Shaaaaagh!

Usher closed his eyes as lizard number 19 gulped down the leg it had ripped off and then rushed back to the lizard.

“””Waaaaa!!”””
“Aja! That’s it!”

However, I couldn’t help but know what had happened to the cheers that pierced my ears and the voice of the person cheering for the 19th lizard. It sucks to waste time in a place like this. The loud noise that seemed to echo in my head made everything in this place even more disapproving. It was then. The cheers that echoed in his head along with the feeling of softly covering his ears were far away. When he opened his eyes in surprise, there was a gray light approaching him before he knew it. Erica was sitting in front of Usher, covering his ears with both hands.

Whispered her girl, who let out her laugh at her bash as her Usher stared blankly at her.

“Isn’t it noisy now?”

Like the longing of that day, the girl’s whisper softly tickled his ear.

“Did number 19 really win?”
“Look, I did that, right? Even though number 19 is small, he has a bitch, so he can win.”

When Thaddeo was surprised by the unexpected result, Lucas said confidently, as if to look at it.

“Are you buying the alcohol this time?”
“Tsk, okay. See if I ever make a bet like this with you again.”
“Kick-kick, that’s why you shouldn’t make a bet with an expert.”

They were making light bets with each other while watching the arena. Lucas bruised Krikaliev even while humming his song, wondering if it was good that he won from Thaddeo.

“Eh, by the way, you still don’t bet.”
“If you don’t do it, why don’t you do it?”
“But you’re not too morbid, are you?”
“It’s enough to gamble in my life.”
“You’ll be fine.”

Unexpectedly, he shook his head, then looked behind him and whistled.

“Oh, look at that. Do you like the picture?”

What Lucas found was Usher and Erica blocking his ears in front of him.

“Do you date these days at that age? What was I doing at that time?”
“Whatever he did, he went around punching.”
“I was quite popular too!?”
“Then what should I do now, I’m a pot-bellied man.”
“Mr. Erai.”

They fell back into the old stories and failed to notice Thaddeo’s gaze at Usher and Erica.