KYDC chapter 33

But just before that, Hernan was quicker in grabbing the man’s hand.

“And who the hell are you?”

The man tried to yank his hand free, the atmosphere turning tense in an instant.

However, Hernan’s physical strength and imposing presence left the man’s hand trembling pathetically without even the slightest success in pulling away.

As the man strained until his face turned red without managing to break free, snickers broke out from those watching.

“Ralph, why don’t you quit messing with the outsider?”

“What are you doing?”

The man’s face flushed bright red at the jeers thrown his way.

“No, it’s not that! Ha, no, it’s just…”

Despite the potion Ryuudene had given him, Hernan still appeared delicate.

His flowing robe obscured his physique, and since he was seated, the man seemed to have only noticed his young master-like face.

As Ralph, the man, continued to struggle, unable to free himself or overpower Hernan, a larger man approached with heavy footsteps.

“Well, look at you, all confident with your strength, huh?”

A man who looked more like a black bear than a human loomed close to Hernan, clearly believing his presence alone would be intimidating.

Ah… You’ve messed with the wrong person, and badly at that.

These outsiders were the ones trying to scam us, yet they’re the ones picking a fight…

Should I just deal with this by throwing some money and getting out?

As the situation inside the tavern turned into prime entertainment, I felt a headache coming on.

While I was contemplating how to handle the mess that had suddenly fallen into our laps, Hernan smiled and responded.

“I’m average.”

Which, of course, was a taunt implying that the thug, who couldn’t even budge him, was below average.

“You…!”

Just as the man trapped by Hernan was about to protest, Hernan suddenly wrenched his wrist, flinging him aside.

The man tumbled between the tables, prompting stifled laughter from those around.

“It seems we’re past the point of talking…”

The man in front of Hernan suggested, his eyes wide open in a threatening manner.

“How about this? If you win, I’ll buy you the best drink in this place. But if you lose, you’ll pay for everyone’s drinks here as an apology.”

So that’s what this was about, provoking an outsider to scam them out of money.

I sighed internally and turned to Ryuudene.

‘Is it really okay not to stop this?’

If Irina, who had promised to intervene in case of danger, was staying quiet, it probably wasn’t a dangerous situation.

The question had a double meaning: is Hernan okay, and are those thugs okay?

I wasn’t too worried about the former, and the latter… well, even if they weren’t okay, it wouldn’t be the end of the world.

As I recalled Hernan’s actions in the original story, my face paled a little.

What did Hernan threaten Berta with when she tried to escape in the original story?

Ah, yes, he threatened to punish all the servants who had helped her.

I remembered it being at least execution in the original, though they toned it down to flogging in the ads to pass the censors.

This is a bit troublesome…

While I was annoyed by the thugs, I didn’t want the situation to escalate to the point of serious injury, so I awkwardly stood up to follow Hernan.

He smiled at me and shook his head lightly.

What does he mean by that?

The ancient dragon that had been perched on my shoulder was now nowhere to be seen… not really, though.

The dragon was sitting at the table, munching on dry snacks like popcorn, as if it were just watching a show.

Seriously?

I asked the dragon again.

“Is it really okay to leave it like that?”

Isn’t this going to turn into a disaster?

As I stood there, panicking, the dragon casually replied.

[It’s fine. He won’t do anything too severe.]

And how am I supposed to believe that?! While I was the only one anxious, a challenge had quickly been set up.

As Hernan approached the central table, the thugs finally seemed to realize that the situation might not turn out so well for them, noticing that Hernan wasn’t exactly small.

“Stop whispering! You’re going to save some money on drinks tonight, so just keep that in mind!”

He did have an imposing physique. With a body that nearly touched the ceiling, the hulking man rolled up his sleeves.

Hernan also rolled up one side of his robe, extending his arm. Seeing his confident yet relaxed expression, I didn’t think he would lose.

“Alright then, on the count of three, we start.”

The man acting as the referee briefly signaled above their tightly clasped hands and began counting.

“One, two-”

But before he could say “three,” the man suddenly pressed his thumb down hard.

“Three!”

That’s some real thug behavior. It seemed he had tried to drive his thumbnail straight into Hernan’s hand.

An ordinary person might have lost their grip and been overpowered from the sudden pain… but this was one of the strongest characters in this world.

Later on, he would single-handedly survive a siege to rescue his ex-wife (who’s no longer his wife now), so a mere thumbnail wouldn’t faze him… at least, that’s what I thought.

“…!!??”

But suddenly, Hernan’s hand tilted, nearly touching the ground, and I shot up from my seat in shock.

What in the world is going on?

Before I could even finish the thought, Hernan’s hand flipped over, slamming the man’s hand onto the table.

Well, there it is.

What confidence did they have to mess with him?

The thugs, who had been eager to fleece an outsider, now wore the most ridiculous expressions.

“What the…?”

“No way…”

Everyone stood up and crowded around the table, unable to believe what they had just seen.

Hernan nonchalantly opened his hand, revealing the imprint of the man’s thumbnail, showing that he had no hidden tricks up his sleeve.

The thugs muttered in disbelief.

“Fields lost… No way…”

“There must’ve been some trick.”

“No, look. His arm is clean all the way to the elbow.”

After a long bout of murmuring, the man who couldn’t even lift his head in shock suddenly burst out laughing.

What’s going on?

Did he lose his mind out of shock?

As I watched in suspicion, the man shouted towards the kitchen.

“Hey! Callie! Bring out the oldest barrel we’ve got! We’ve got to serve our guest right tonight!”

The tension that had filled the tavern vanished in an instant, replaced by a festive atmosphere.

“Yeah!!!”

“Finally, some decent drink!”

“See, I told you to stop drinking that cheap stuff.”

“Hey, with how my wallet is, what choice do I have? It’s been so long since I’ve worked, I can hardly remember the last time.”

What the heck is going on? Before I could fully grasp the situation, someone shoved me toward Hernan.

“What are you doing? He just saved you from trouble. You should at least thank him!”

You’re the ones who started this!

Still in disbelief, I found myself standing next to Hernan, when one of the thugs asked,

“So, what’s your relationship? You don’t look like family, and you’re too protective to just be colleagues.”

I didn’t want to answer the teasing, chuckling question typical of older men.

Just as I was about to vaguely say we were traveling together, Hernan beat me to it.

“We’re engaged.”

Whistles and cheers erupted all around.

“Man, those are the good days!”

“Must be comforting to have a strong alpha fiancé!”

In the blink of an eye, I found myself in a situation where it felt like the local mischievous youth were having a great time teasing me.

I was completely bewildered as to how it all happened.

Moments later, a burly woman from inside the shop came out, carrying a large jug of alcohol with one hand.

“Here, give me a drink too!”

“Oh, these cheeky fellows sure love their free booze.”

“Haha, your way with words is always the same, indeed!”

Why did things suddenly turn this way?

Before I could even deny that I wasn’t engaged, I was unwittingly seated at the table with the most people, next to Hernan.

I swallowed a sigh and rubbed my throbbing temples.

It was a good opportunity to openly talk with the locals, but… this wasn’t what I had in mind.

A raised glass aimed straight at my mouth, filled with bitter and sweet liquor, was thrust at me.

“Come on, let’s have another round! To the new beginning of our strong new arrivals from outside!”

“To our new beginning!”

What are we celebrating exactly?

And I’m not engaged!

Before I had a chance to explain, a new glass of alcohol was thrust high into the air.

The sharp smell of alcohol poured down on me like a barrel, making my head spin.