Book 2: Chapter 156

“There is always a reason why a wanderer becomes a wanderer.”

These were the words Min Ha-rin had told Lukas before he left.

“This is especially the case for Dragonmen living here on Combat Island. I’m not sure if it’s a racial trait or not, but… Dragonmen tend to have a very strong attachment to their hometowns.”

This was a part of the reason why the Championship, which was held every ten years, received so much attention from the Dragonmen.

If Min Ha-rin managed to do well in the Championship, then the entire city of Herui would hold a large festival that would last for at least a week.

The Championship wasn’t just a competition to determine who was the strongest among the Champions. It was a great regional event that not only Combat Island, but the entirety of the Heavenly Realm paid attention to.

“It is incredibly rare for a Fighter as powerful as Bargan to become a wanderer. Even if he didn’t have any attachment to his hometown like other Dragonmen, he would still be treated well in any arena he decided to go to. By choosing to become a wanderer, it meant that he had a complicated past that he wasn’t willing to reveal to others.”

After a short pause, Min Ha-rin added.

“It might be a bit presumptuous for me to say this, but I think it would be best to not pry into it.”

* * *

“What do you mean ‘it has lost its fight’?”

When Lukas asked this question, Bargan responded without hesitation.

“I mean that Fighters cannot survive there.”

“That’s strange. Rin was the one who told me about Lirua.”

‘Rin’ was the pseudonym Min Ha-rin used in this world. The full name was ‘Rin Summers’.

When she told him this, with a slightly embarrassed expression, she added that she hadn’t really thought much about it when she chose the name.

“She told me that Lirua is one of the eight major cities here on Combat Island. In terms of the size of its arena alone, it is among the top five, and the level of fighters there is quite high. Was she wrong?”

“No. Everything she told you was right.”

“Then why…?”

“…”

Bargan’s face became bright red.

This wasn’t because he was embarrassed or shy. Instead, it was because he couldn’t control his agitation. In fact, he even began to breathe heavily.

For a while, he did his best to suppress his emotions, so he didn’t speak. It was almost as though it was taking all of his concentration to calm his rising passion.

Lukas waited calmly to the side without hurrying him.

Then, after finally calming himself enough to speak, Bargan opened his mouth.

“There is darkness in Lirua.”

“Darkness?”

“Yeah. They have broken one of the greatest taboos.”

“Which taboo?”

An expression of extreme disgust and contempt flashed across Bargan’s face. He closed his eyes as if he felt it was disgraceful to even say it, and spoke as if he had swallowed a bug.

“Fight fixing.”

“What?”

“The arena in Lirua has a lot of fixed fights.”

Fight fixing… In other words, it meant that they were manipulating victory and defeat in the arena.

“Why?”

“There are many reasons, both large and small, but the biggest reason will always be money. With an arena as large as the one in Lirua, the amount of money that is moved whenever there is a big fight is astronomical.”

“…I see. Others can bet on the fights.”

“Right.”

Bargain nodded, but Lukas frowned slightly and opened his mouth.

“Aren’t there people who can crackdown on corruption like that? There is no way they would allow something like that to happen on a large scale.”

“There certainly are auditors, but they aren’t well known. In truth, they are nothing more than puppets for those with money and power. They are scum who wouldn’t even dare to stand against the City Lord of Lirua.”

It was possible that the people Bargan hated the most were those ‘auditors’. His eyes were filled with fierce rage as if he was thinking about some irreconcilable enemy.

“How do you know so much about them?”

“…”

Bargain closed his eyes once again.

Then, he muttered in a low, defeated voice.

“I used to be a Fighter for Lirua.”

* * *

He heard everything.

Nevertheless, Lukas didn’t change his destination from Lirua.

There were several reasons for this decision.

The words the ‘voice’ had spoken before, the ‘darkness’ lurking in Lirua, and his curiosity, among other things.

Bargan didn’t seem very pleased by Lukas’ decision, but he didn’t try to persuade him any further.

Lukas also didn’t try to pry any further into Bargan’s past. It would still be fine to ask in the future if his loyalty went up a bit more.

Lirua was a fair distance away from Herui. At the very least, with his current strength, it would take him about two months to get there by foot.

‘The Championship will commence in two months.’

In this situation, he didn’t have the time to walk. He would have to find some other mode of transportation.

When he mentioned this to Bargan, he nodded his head.

“I think it would be best for you to ride the ‘Sky Horse Carriage’(1).”

“Sky Horse Carriage?”

“Yes.”

Sky Carriages were a mode of transportation using Dragonlings. According to Bargan, they were drawn by monsters known as ‘Flying Dragons’. Although it was a bit strange for them to be called ‘horse carriages’, it would be a bit strange and improper to call them ‘Dragon carriages’.

“Of course, there is a bit of a problem with that. They are incredibly expensive.”

“How much is it?”

“If it’s from Herui, a one-way trip would probably cost about 5,000 eru.”

Even after he heard that Lukas didn’t find it too expensive. This was because he was still ignorant of the monetary values of the Heavenly Realm.

Of course, it might also have something to do with the fact that he had the money to pay for it. This was because Min Ha-rin had given him 10,000 eru for travel expenses.

To be honest, it was a bit strange for the Master to receive money from the disciple, but when he saw Min Ha-rin’s proud expression, he found it hard to refuse.

After all, he felt that it wasn’t a good thing for Min Ha-rin to spend the money she earned with her blood and sweat for him.

Then Bargan continued.

“Of course, if that amount is too much for you, there are other methods. However, these methods come with disadvantages.”

“That’s fine. Tell me what they are.”

“Well, you could join a subjugation team’s mission.”

(Note:

1. Going forward, I’ll just refer to this as ‘Sky Carriage’. I only added the ‘horse’ for the comparison with ‘Dragon carriage’.)