Arc 2 - Chapter 27: Arena Game (3/4)

"They wanted a lot of money."

They were going to have Lylphia invoice him, but the two painters they had hired said they couldn't start work until they received advance payment from Yu.

"Well at least they'll get the real money from the academy."

After they had found the painters, they had wandered around the Hull Quarter until the time of the matches. Now they were going to the arena.

"I feel weak today."

"It is possible to make your fatigue go away with a healing spell, but it will be short-lived and then the fatigue will hit you even harder. I'm not sure I can cure mental fatigue."

Yurine was walking on the sidewalk again, and Yu grabbed her and pulled her to him.

"You soothed my mind during my seizures."

"This was unexpected even for me. It was when you said that I could do it with my healing magic."

"Ah... I feel like I'm living on luck."

The word 'feel' was inadequate when he thought about everything he had been through. He had survived both the First World and the Second World by sheer luck.

"Take some medicine," Yurine said. She tugged at Yu's clothes.

"I'm glad you're worried about me, but it's not about the money, I guess." He still had the money that a person in Rolderhelm would have to work for about a year to earn. "I'm just disgusted."

He was unaware of how medicines in this world would affect his body, and what he knew about the conditions and materials in which medicines were produced in the Middle Ages put him off using medicines in this world.

"What do you mean?"

"I saw a video on YouTube that said that in the Middle Ages apothecaries used disgusting substances to make medicine."

"Rat feces or something-"

"I don't need to hear the rest, thank you."

He didn't know how the medicines in his world were made, and they could be made from ingredients he thought were disgusting, and he wouldn't be surprised if they were.

But he had no problem using those medicines because he knew that the materials he considered disgusting in his world would be processed with modern technology.

"Of course, not all medicines are made with such ridiculous ingredients. There are herbal things, my mother used to make them."

"Hmm... I don't know, we'll see later."

"If you are sick, you should take medicine."

Yu smiled, he could tell Yurine's concern was like medicine.

"You're really worried about me, aren't you?"

"Wha... Wha! Don't talk nonsense!"

Yurine stepped on Yu's foot. If she wanted to, she could have hurt Yu to the point of tears with the mana in her body, but she only reacted lightly.

"Yurine, I love you."

There had been three people he had ever loved. The first two were his older sisters and the third was Yurine.

"Is it a coincidence that I have some kind of family connection with all of them?"

Yu was never shy about expressing his love to his sisters, and he had no problem doing it in front of other people. He was someone who kept his negative feelings bottled up, but he was also someone who was not afraid to express his beautiful feelings.

The cloud above them briefly moved out of the sun, and Yurine did not react, just stood still, until another cloud covered the sun again.

"This is the most 'fatherly' moment I've ever felt."

He hadn't noticed the sounds of the people around them until that moment, and when Yurine started walking, he realized for the first time the noise and the crowd that was the cause of the noise.

Yurine continued walking next to Yu without saying anything. Yu would have liked to at least get a reaction, because silence was one of the worst answers to hear.

He would think for a long time what Yurine's silence meant. Was she silent because she didn't want to love him? Or was it because she was ashamed? Maybe it was just confusion, but Yu's mind was in the hands of the first option.

Even if he thought Yurine loved him in some way, he couldn't shake the suspicion.

After walking a little further, they entered a more crowded square, where there was an arena where matches were being played.

"Too bad it only has one door, it's a paradise for pickpockets."

Yu carried the money pouch in his inside breast pocket as a precaution, so he wasn't worried about it being stolen, but in this environment he might lose Yurine, so he grabbed her wrist.

He would have preferred to hold her hand, but he believed it would be healthier for Yurine to take the first step.

"I wonder where Marino is waiting for us? I hope we're not the first, I don't like waiting."

"I want to sit somewhere too."

"Do you want me to carry you on my shoulder?"

Yurine thought, then said, "No," her cheeks puffing out.

"That breaks my heart. It would have been a nice father-daughter activity."

"You're getting too caught up in this."

Yu took the letter Marino had sent him out of his pocket. The letter said something about seats. As soon as he opened the letter, he found what he wanted, there were two seat numbers. Even though it was a single ticket, Yurine was included in the child quota.

"Let's go inside and wait," he said as he saw three people in the crowd at the entrance to the arena.

Marino Swann and his two little girls were waiting at the entrance. When Marino noticed him, he waved his hand in the air.

"Look, he brought his daughters with him. You can be good and be friends now."

"What do you think I am? I am a supreme being. Do you think I will play games like little children? How foolish you are."

Yu squeezed Yurine's cheek in response to her arrogant words. He wanted her to play games.

"Welcome, Mr. Valarfin. Let's go inside."

Marino's both hands were busy holding his daughters' hands, so he didn't reach out. Watching them walk behind them made him jealous.

More than half of the arena was empty because one of the teams in the match was the Sea Monsters, who were certain to lose. In a match like this, people could not find the excitement they were looking for.

They took their seats in the front rows. Yu was relieved that there were no people sitting around them, and he hoped that no one would come until the match started.

"I saw you looking a little bored today," Marino said. He was respectful to Yu, as always. "Are you all right?"

On any other day, he would have dodged the question by saying he was fine.

But today he decided to make a change and let off steam for a change.

"I'm not. Yesterday some guy turned us in, so we had to go to the police station and on top of that we got a curfew. It's going to be a problem because I have to go out of town."

"What did you do?"

"I kidnapped my own daughter."

Marino greeted this with a laugh. "You kidnapped your own daughter?" He opened his mouth to find something to say, but no words came out.

"It's nothing but a false tip from an adversary. That's not the real reason why we were banned from the city, because it turned out to be false. The real reason is a small quarrel between us and the guards, that's why we ended up in court."

"I hope you get through this without any problems. I will be happy to help you during the trial if you want."

"Thank you."

He still didn't want to be dependent on him, he didn't want to be dependent on anyone. Yu Valarfin wanted to be a person who could do everything himself.

"But I'm not like that, I'm a bad person who is always dependent on others."

As the teams came out onto the pitch, the players greeted the spectators. The Vesthelm Storm greeted their own fans with a smile, while the Sea Monsters didn't have many spectators to greet.

"Their morale drops as soon as they start the game, it's difficult."

The team Yu had hoped to win, the Sea Monsters, wore red wooden armor over a blue outfit. The Vesthelm Storm wore beige wooden armor over a white outfit.

"At least I have a deal with the Vesthelm Storm, I'll get money out of it eventually."