"Do you want to look at the product?"
A neutral voice, who didn't know whether it was a man or a woman, called Edellis.
"okay."
It was difficult to say that Lehan was cured, he barely stopped bleeding, and only bandaged with a few medicinal herbs. The custodian called the guide waiting outside and instructed him to wake Lehan. Then, likewise, the gladiator in this room, who was standing outside, ran back and got water from the bucket.
"No, what now…."
The caretaker sprinkled cold water on Lehan. The janitor spread his cloak wide and smiled as he prevented water from splashing on Edellis. However, Edellis couldn't see the caretaker sprinkling water on a person who had shed a lot of blood.
"kugh! Kugh!! Ugh!"
When Lehan coughed and struggled to open his eyes, his golden eyes appeared. He didn't even use painkillers, but just put herbs on it, and Lehan frowned in pain.
"Lehan, are you okay?"
The manager asked if he was okay with only the lifeline of the dying person. Only after looking around and grasping the situation, Lehan answered the manager's question briefly.
"Yes."
"It says yes. Then let's take a look."
Edellis was bewilderment. Even if he didn't think of the game he played a while ago, he was in a situation where he couldn't be okay with empty words. She wanted to ask for Lehan's treatment, but she wasn't in a position to say what she was. If she left Lehan as it was, he would soon die. If so, will the future change? Or, does the future change when I take him and save him? No one gave an answer.
'If Lehan dies and the future changes, it's uncomfortable… You seem dead instead of me. And even if I don't take Lehan, it won't change if I survive.'
After all, it was concluded that the best option was to take Lehan and get treatment at the County. In addition, I knew the contents of the book were true, but there was no clue except for 'Lehan'.
"It's okay if I don't look any further. How much is it?"
Edellis said, trying to hide her trembling voice.
"There are some injuries, so you can't get a good price. However, there are many audiences who want to see him die. Not a few people lost a lot of money because of Lehan"
It seemed like I would feel disgusted watching the manager laugh and talk without hesitation in front of the party to receive even a penny. Note only that, as Lehan's life seemed in jeopardy, there was no time to listen to all of his polite stories.
"so? I'll give you as much as you want."
*****
Edellis, who was sent off by the manager, was heading for the County with Lehan. Edellis, who still couldn't decide what to do with Lehan, and Lehan, who was contemplating what to say, was the first to speak up.
"Why did you bring me among so many gladiators?"
His cold voice reached Edellis. Even with a cold sweat on his face, he was trying to hide his pain. To her, 'because your name came out from the book. I am destined to die and you are an important person.' So I mixed the truth and the lie and surrounded it.
"Your name appeared in the audience. They says your skills are great."
"What should I do then?"
Edelis flinched momentarily. It seemed that she hadn't yet decided what to do with Lehan.
"… Gladiators can usually be an escort."
At Edellis vague response, Lehan stared at her.
"Then, wouldn't it be much better to have a knight as an escort or buy an adult gladiator?"
Edellis couldn't respond to Lehan, who only spoke the right words. At least it was better to buy another healthy gladiator than to buy a dying gladiator.
'But what do I need to be 'Lehan', the main character in the book, not another gladiator!'
In fact, I don't know if he will save her life later, but I felt comfortable thinking it was an investment. I thought that if you were good at Lehan, the main character in the novel, it wouldn't adversely affect you later on. I even felt that it might play a decisive role in avoiding death. But Lehan said coldly with an expressionless face.
"There are places that are used more than escorts."
"… … What?"
"Assassination."
Lehan affirmed and spoke as if to stop talking to the main point. But Edellis was frightened and surprised, waving her hands quickly and disapproving.
"No way! That's dangerous."
Rather, in response to her reaction, Lehan looked unsure of what Edellis was talking about. She would be taking a gladiator to do a dangerous job, not because she was taking a gladiator to live with it. In particular, gladiators were generally used as consumables because their status was unclear. However, contrary to Lehan's expectations, Edellis was ready to live with him.
'My life goes back and forth, but I can live with it, well.'
But Edellis, who couldn't utter such a story, decided to give up convincing with logic. What if it doesn't work?
"I like you."
"Yeah?"
"I like you more than the other gladiators."
No evidence was needed for this claim. Because it is an individual's subjective feeling.
"I like it, what are you going to do?"
Not surprisingly, Lehan's face was stained with embarrassment. He had lived a short but never dying life, and he had no immunity to words that tickled his heart. Whether the operation had worked, Lehan's face was embarrassing. A smile spread over Edellis mouth when she saw it.
"I like the color of your hair and the color of your eyes."
I swallowed the words name is the most important thing, but I mean it. When he heard that, Lehan shut up in a very strange situation. Edellis smiled and talked to him.
"First of all, get treatment from my doctor. It's okay to look forward to it after you're well."
Arriving at the County, Lehan was treated with great care by the count's doctor until he was completely healed, as Edellis had professed. The soldiers were wary of the gladiator, Lehan, but because of Edellis request, they couldn't help it.
'Why are you so good to me?'
Edellis consistent favor Lehan rather questionable. It was a question from when she said she liked himself because he saw it. I thought I would be put into the field right after I got here, but it wasn't. I thought it was a mission that I couldn't perform in a dying state, so I thought I would be sent to the field if I got better, but that wasn't it either. He thought he could get away with his body to some extent, but strangely, Edellis kept looking for him during the day. He tried to escape secretly in the middle of the night, but the guard to guard himself as a gladiator was quite strict. One day when I was heating up to secure an escape route, a hypothesis that I had never considered seriously came to mind.
'Is it because you really like my appearance?'
Lehan stood in front of the mirror and stared at his hair and eyes for a long time. It was said that I had organized it, but the rough-grown tea was strong. It was not something I liked in the eyes of a noble lady who grew up finely. Lehan himself didn't understand why she brought him, so he asked Edellis from time to time. But Edelis replied, asking what is such a natural thing.
"It's because I like you."
There was a time when he asked her to tell the truth because he would accept it without being shocked. Then Edellis explained in more detail.
"Lehan, I like your name and I like your red hair. I think it goes very well with the golden eyes. I wish I could get along with you. Let's get along well in the future."
It was useless to say that Lehan was a gladiator who had also killed others.
"If I had known you before, I would have brought you out of the arena earlier. It also teaches the importance of life. From now on, I will teach you the importance of life!"
For a long time, Lehan had to listen to Edeliss preaching about the importance of life.
"And if the people around you want to harm your lives, you need to know how to stop it!"
"The people around?"
"Yes, this is the most important thing. You need to know how to stop other people from doing the wrong thing. Got it?"
"…Yes".
As time passed and when Lehan was all healed, the Count, who had been reported on all his conduct from the moment he stepped into the mansion, called him.
"Count, I brought Lehan."
"Come in."
When the butler briefly reported from outside the door, Count Brill's permission was granted. As Lehan opened the door with trembling heart, Count Brill, who had the same golden hair as Edellis, sat down. Count Brill put Lehan into the room and without saying a word, he put a pocket from the drawer on the desk. And the butler took it and delivered it to Lehan. The pocket opened and shown by the butler contained a large amount of gold coins. It wasn't a big money for the Count, but if Lehan was alone, it was an amount that had no problems living at least a year.
"Get it and go out of this place. With that money, you will get a small room and you won't have to worry about living expenses for the time being."
It was only after hearing that he was convinced. Edellis brought him with her because it really came out of favor.
'I was constantly suspicious of where the hell was the truth and where the truth was.'
But instead of putting it on a mission, you're trying to get it out as soon as you're well. It wasn't about Edellis, who showed favor to him, but the Count, who had never seen his face.
'That's right, the young lady may not know the situation right now.'
Only then did Lehan feel as if he had escaped the fate of a gladiator. In order to live, you must constantly kill others according to instructions. Count Brill beckoned to Lehan, who was standing still. However, Lehan put the pocket he had received from the butler on the Count's desk. The count's mouth flinched when he saw it.
"I want to repay the lady who took me out of the arena."
"What do you mean?" The Count laughed.
"Anyway, the lady…."
The sound of opening a door was heard in the quiet count's office, and Edellis, who didn't hide her unpleasant face, entered.