Martial Arts Competition (1)

'Why did Adilun make such a face?'

That was the first thought that came to my mind when I returned home.

Fragments of concern and anxiety, even a glimpse of some kind of fear, appeared in her expression as she looked at me for a moment.

And one thing was clear to me, the reason behind that worry and anxiety must be me.

'What is it about me that frightens you so much?'

Thinking about that I started recalling all the things that happened before.

I defeated Alan Aiden and won the tournament.

But what was there to be afraid of?

Refreshing the memories, I tried to remember what happened in those situations that made her feel uneasy.

'I don't know.'

But no matter how much I thought about it, nothing particular came to my mind.

'What made her like that? What was the reason?'

In the end, the whole night passed, but I couldn't figure out the reason.

* * *

It was the last day of National Foundation Day, and it was the day the martial arts competition was held.

I decided to leave behind the worries I had yesterday. Because it was useless for me to suffer foolishly from them.

It was a waste of time to force myself to worry about something which I didn't fully know. And top of that, I still had a lot of other work to do.

The Great Duel was not far off. To suit that deadline, I had to train myself as much as possible.

'It will be better to ask her about the concern later when the time is right.'

I shook my head to clear my thoughts and immediately headed to the competition site with my family.

Perhaps because it was the end of the National Foundation Day festival, there were far more people at the competition hall than expected.

As I looked at the scene of the competition, my older brother hit me on the shoulder and asked.

"Has anything happened?"

"No, nothing in particular."

"Is that so, then why your expression is so bad."

"I'm just a little tired."

"Hmm. make sense but still... Well, there is good news for you, you will be fine today as you are not participating in today's competition."

"Yes-yes. By the way, brother. Did you win a lot of money?"

In response to my question, my brother replied with a cheerful smile. It was the first time I had seen this man smiling like that.

"Hahahaha. Of course man!"

"Just how much money did you win? Your expression looks very happy."

"Well... I didn't really look at it... Still, it looks like I made several times more from minimum starting money. You know, In the first place, your dividend wasn't that high for the first bet. Ah! that reminded me, there will be bets for the martial arts competition too, don't you want to try it too?"

"Brother. That's gambling addiction."

"I did not plan to spend all my won money. I just plan to use only a part of it for just this time. I have that much self-control and knowledge too."

It seems that because of me he got addicted to gambling.

"There is a question everyone asks in time like this brother..."

"What?"

"Should the heir of the county be like that?"

"Huh? I'll do it in moderation. But also is it ironic that you say that? Surely you, as far as I know, the money you blew away at the gambling house was quite good too, right?"

"Ugh. That was not much. And haven't I stopped now?"

"So, since I've seen you, I thought I'd do it moderately, too."

"Anyway, I understand what you want. But I don't have any money. So I can't but you can definitely bet."

"Okay then, take this and try it. Most of the money I won anyway was because of you."

My brother said that and handed me some of the money he won.

"Ah really. Why are you suddenly like this?."

"Well, you are not even using your own money. It will be more fun than you think. As I said moderately is the key. An opportunity like this isn't common, so let's do it one last time as memories and for fun."

Despite my continued refusal, my older brother continued to urge me. I couldn't understand or say anything anymore because the nobleman who dragged me from the gambling house and beat me up was like that.

"Ah, I see. Oh well. Let's just do that. But hey, what will our father say?"

"Nothing. He knows about it"

"Did he allow it? …If I said I was doing it, I think he would have grabbed my hair right away."

"That is the difference between basic behavior. You blew quite a bit of money on the gambling board not too long ago. I just started now… … But, even our father won't say much about it."

"That's fortunate."

"Great. Then let's go!"

This man, he shouldn't be this kind of person, but somehow…

* * *

As I expected, the private gambling hall was full of people.

It was the center of all kinds of fuss, full of people asking who was the best in the best, and everyone was investing their money trusting their eyes.

The person who appeared to be the owner of a private gambling house spoke to us and spread out the list of participants in martial arts competitions.

"Who do you want to bet on?"

"Wait a minute. I think I need to look at it."

My brother replied to him.

"Alright. If you choose, please tell me."

"I get it. Let's see…"

That's how my older brother started looking at the list of contestants for the martial arts competition.

"Do you know any good names?"

"Well, people with high reputations know about it through rumors… …Because those people usually don't pay high dividends."

"If the dividend is high, you can bet safely, but if you don't bet..."

"Brother, isn't it a bit reversed?"

"Usually, this is how unknown strong people come out at the end and win."

My older brother said that in a confident tone, but I looked at him with pitiful eyes and said,

"It will go bad this way, of course. Usually, people like brothers often lose. I am speaking from my experience."

"But... That too..."

"Isn't it difficult to judge something now in the first place? Why don't we check out at least one game and come back later?"

"Well… …Certainly, you seem oddly trusting, probably because you're a person who frequents the gambling tables."

It seems that he did not want to blindly put money in a situation where there is no clear winner.

"Anyway, How much did you plan to invest? All, like last time?"

"No way. As I said before, I was thinking of using only as much as I had brought with me for the first time."

Come to think of it, that's what he said earlier.

"That's fortunate."

"First of all, let's watch the first game as you said."

"Yes. Let's go then."

My brother and I arrived at the competition hall again, and when we sat down in our seats, I saw Adilun looking at the competition, wiggling her fingers.

"Adilun? When did you come?"

"I just came. Where have you been anyway?"

"Ah, that… …It was a private gambling house."

"Yes?"

In an instant, Adilun's expression overlapped with the anxiety and concern I saw yesterday.

"Ah, that… …My older brother asked me to give it a try. I was just trying to have fun with some of the money he won from my tournament winnings. And in the end, I didn't walk out or say no to him."

"Ah, Prince Huian…?"

Even after saying that, she looked at me without clearing her doubts. It was a little embarrassing, but suddenly...

"Yeah, Princess Rodenov. I asked him to come with me to the gambling house but he did not want to go from the start. And I was doing it with extra money anyway, so whether I succeeded or failed, I thought I wouldn't do it anymore."

...My brother came right in from the side and said. Thanks to the assistance of my older brother, Adilun erased her doubts and spoke to me with a visibly relieved expression.

"Ha. That's fortunate. I thought he hadn't broken his old habits."

The moment I saw her now relieved expression, something ran through my head.

She gave me an uneasy look when I told her about the gambling house and she also was worried about my old habits. If so, is the uneasiness she showed yesterday, was also due to the uneasiness of not knowing when my old self will come out?

'But did my old self come out yesterday?' As I thought, one thing finally came to my mind.'

'Yes! When I defeated Alan Aiden.'

Obviously, like the old me, I punished him violently and emotionally.

'Perhaps Adilun saw through it in some way. Because she's pretty smart.'

"If that happen, I wouldn't have come this far."

"I guess I'm thinking too hard, right?"

To her soft talk, I answered firmly with a smile.

"Yes."

'I have to govern myself more thoroughly.'

Looking at the relieved Adilun, I made that resolution.

* * *

Someone was horribly defeated in the arena and the victory was decided immediately.

"The winner is! Edith Douglas!"

The one who destroyed the opponent with sharp swordsmanship was called Edith Douglas.

The martial arts competition was quite exciting; People were using all kinds of weapons, and among them, there were many people who were far superior in skills, and there were very few people who had terrible skills.

At first, it was not easy to predict who would win, but the spectacle just made it clear.

Perhaps Edith had the highest probability of winning this martial arts competition.

"As you said, it was nice to see the first game. If I bet my money like before, I would only lose money. First of all, I have roughly decided who to bet my money on, did you decide?"

While watching the martial arts competition, I answered my brother's question without hesitation.

"The one who just won. What was his name? Edith Douglas, right? If I bet money, I'll bet on him. The winner of this martial arts competition will be him. His movement itself is different from other people."

My older brother also nodded, as if he had felt something.

"It's like that. You can tell just by looking… Well, he is good and you have experience as well. And I think the same too."

"Yes certainly."

"Then we will have to go. Oh, the money I gave you earlier, give it back. If you're confident, we will have to bet on him."

"It really is a disease. brother. I know because I did it often."

"Anyway, this is the last time. Really."

When my older brother said that he would bet money, Adilun was staring at me from the side, widening her eyes. As if saying if you bet your money, you will be beaten to death.

"Well, I believe you will do well. And… …I guess I'd be better off not doing it."

Having said that, the older brother obediently agreed to my response, unlike the persistent request he had made earlier.

"Yes. Princess Rodenov is also against it, so it would be better for you and me if I do it myself alone. Anyway, I'm coming with winning money. Don't go."

"Please go."

Adilun looked at the scene in amazement, then spoke to me.

"That… …Is this okay?"

"He will do well. Because he is a person who is certain to leave betting from the beginning… …He wouldn't do it enough to be a problem. He said he would only use the money he brought in at first."

"Oh, that's good… …Anyway, Physis. I don't want to see you lose money on gambling, so please don't gamble in the future. You know?"

"Of course, I know."

"Good."

She was relieved again and told me.

In the meantime, Edith Douglas accumulated one more victory and gradually made his name known to people.