Chapter 12: Fist Fight (1)

"Who's there?!" 

The King says as he stands stammering and walks to the door. He was tipsy and nowhere close to drunk. Huh, it looks like all those years of hosting and attending parties have paid off.

“It's me, father.” 

A familiar voice is heard from the other side of the door. It was Prince Leonard.

The King looks at me for an answer. I nod in confirmation and mouth out to him.

 ‘Keep my identity a secret.’

It’s bad enough the king knows about it (albeit in a creepy way), so if I can stop his son from finding out about it then I will.

“What is it, son?” 

Opening the door, King Paul asks.

“I'm here to talk about...eh? How come you here?” 

Upon entering the room, Prince Leonard asked me surprised. There was a hint of irritation towards me in his eyes as he said this. 

“Sup. I'm just having a little chat with your father.” 

Ignoring it, I say to Prince Leonard as I take a sip of whiskey. I feel a buzz coming on but I should be alright. 

“A chat about what? Father?”

Prince Leonard then turns his head towards his father with a puzzled look.

“Nothing much. Only about how we should compensate Mr. Marcus.” 

Closing the door after his son came in, King Paul said as he walked back towards his chair. 

“Eh? Compensation?” (Prince Leonard)

Puzzled, the prince asks. His eyes kept shifting between me and the King. 

“Yes, compensation. As you know, Mr. Marcus here doesn’t want to be a hero. Which is perfectly understandable when considering how we forcefully dragged him here.”

“That’s right. I didn’t want to be here in the first place.”

In feigned anger, I said.

I wasn’t really mad about being dragged here. I’m actually thankful for it. 

If I didn’t try to shove Alice and Kari out of the way when they were being summoned, I would’ve been going back to a cell and monitored 23 hours a day, seven days a week. 

Of course, these two don’t know that, and they have no right too. For all they know, I’m just a person they summoned against their will. This is a facade I’m more than happy to uphold.

I’m an escapee from prison and I’m getting compensation! Talk about good luck!

“...So, how much are we going to give him?”

Crossing his arms, Prince Leonard looked towards King Paul and asked a little begrudgingly. After thinking for a few moments, King Paul said.

“I decided that until the heroes are trained enough to the point where we don’t have to worry about their safety, Mr. Marcus should be allowed to live in the castle. Also, upon leaving, he shall be given 50 gold coins and an A-rank weapon of his choosing from the castle vault!”

“What?!”

“Oh shit, for real?”

Prince Leonard and I said in unison. His exclamation was a little more on the angry side compared to mine, which was happily surprised.

If my memory serves me right, this world’s currency went like this:

1 copper coin = $1 USD

1 big copper coin = $20 USD

1 silver coin = $100 USD

1 gold coin = $1,000 USD

So, if he’s giving me 50 gold coins, that means he’s giving me an equivalent to…$50,000!

Holy shit!

“Don’t act so surprised. This is only fair. I want to give you more but because it’ll raise a few eyebrows if I go overboard, I can only do this much.”

Showing a somewhat regretful face, King Paul said sadly. 

“Nonsense. This is more than enough. I don’t want to impose on you more than necessary.”

While trying to get my money hungry smile under control, I said to him. A gold coin can feed a family of four for three months, so 50 gold coins is more than enough to survive with.  

“I agree, father. This is an adequate amount of compensation. He should be grateful.”

“...Y'know, you've been giving me a dirty look ever since you saw me. Is there something you wanna say?"

Glancing at Prince Leonard, I inquired with a raised eyebrow. I would've ignored it if he was just staring but the arrogant tone behind his words make it sound like I should be on my knees profusely thanking him.

“Leonard! Apologize right this instant!”

“No, no. It’s alright your majesty. Let him speak.”

Waving my hand to stop King Paul's rage, I continued.

“Go on, Prince Leonard, speak your mind.”

I wanna know the source of his anger towards me. Well, I can guess why he's angry at me.

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“If I may be so bold, I don't think that you don’t deserve such compensation.”

Staring me in the eyes, Prince Leonard said. With my interest peaked and my anger slowly rising, I stay silent as he continues.

“Compared to Ms. Alice and Ms. Kari, I find that your lack of not wanting to help those in need disappointing and cowardly. A hero is supposed to be the hope that the people need. It’s an honorable duty. All the heroes from before went down in history as great figures. How come you don’t want to be part of that?"

“...Hmm, like I thought. It was because of this. So, are you done?”

“Excuse me?”

“I’m saying, are you done?”

“...Yes, I’m done. Now, your answer, please.”

“Heh, you ain’t getting no answer from me. Listen, buddy, you seem like a relatively good guy but let me give you a tip. There are two ways to earn respect. You either give it and earn it, or…”

Placing my glass on the king’s desk, I stood up from my chair and walked up to him.

“You beat somebody’s ass and make them give it to you. My grandpa taught me the former and from what I’m guessing, you’re more inclined towards the latter. Do you seriously think I’m going to listen to you speak to me in an arrogant tone and try to shame me into becoming a hero before answering your question? ...Do you think you’re above me just because you’re a prince? Coming in here and calling me a coward. The only thing I did was refuse to be a hero because I was forcefully summoned here by you. You have no right to bash me for it. You don’t know what I’ve been through nor do you know me. So, tell me, how should we handle this?”

Staring Prince Leonard dead in the eyes, I ask. 

"..."

"..."

The atmosphere was frozen and Prince Leonard's face was one of pure bewilderment. King Paul's was one as well. They probably didn't expect I would say such things.

After a few seconds…

"Cough, please, Mr. Marcus, have a seat. I'm sorry that my son showed such behaviour. He always looked up to the summoned heroes of the past you see. I'd always tell him bed-time stories about them when he was younger…"

"F-father!"

The King, at the expense of his son's embarrassment, broke the awkward atmosphere that was hanging in the air.

"...Sigh, I was a little over the top as well. So I'll apologize for my behavior. However, that doesn't change the fact that I meant what I said. Your son owes me an apology."

"Hpmh! Why shou--"

"Of course he owes you an apology. I raised my son to be fair and upright and admit his mistakes...didn't I son?"

Cutting his son off mid-sentence, King Paul said. The mysterious force within his words left no words for rebuttal and the meaning behind them was simple.

Apologize. 

“...I sorry for my words. They were insensitive and I hope you can forgive me.”

Under the stare of his father, Prince Leonard reluctantly said. However, there was no sincerity in his words whatsoever.

“Was that so hard? Is this okay with you Mr. Marcus?”

Turning his attention towards me, King Paul asks. Grabbing my drink that was on the desk, I take a small sip and say.

“I’m a broad-minded individual so it’s fine with me. I just hope you don’t expect us to be buddy-buddy after this.”

Because if he is, I’m going to have to disappoint him.

“I’m not that unreasonable. I was once a hot-blooded young man, I've had my good share of brawls, so I know that disputes like this can’t be solved with a simple apology. Therefore, I have a proposal for you two.”

“What’s the proposal?”

“A fight. Or to be more precise, a bare-handed sparring match. It wouldn’t be fair to use magic or weapons if one of you doesn't know how to use them.”

“I see your point. I don’t know how to wield a sword or how to use magic so a bare-handed fist-fight is fair.”

At his lie, I unhesitantly agreed. This caused the king’s cheek to twitch a little but I ignored it. As he said earlier, a simple apology followed by a simple acceptance isn’t going to fix this.

“Where are we going to fight?”

"We can have it in the forest behind the castle. It's usually where I train. I strictly forbade any patrol guards from going near since I like training in peace so we should be able to battle without any trouble."

Before King Paul could even say a word, Prince Leonard decided the location as he puffed his chest out proudly. The look in his eyes is as if he couldn’t wait to head there.

Well, looks like I’m not the only one who’s ready to fight.

“Although I was going to suggest the fighting arena in the training yard, this will do too. Let’s head over there. Haha, this reminds me of my younger days!”

In a somewhat excited voice, King Paul said as he took a swig of whiskey. It seems that he’s enjoying the situation that we’re in. I don’t know if it’s the alcohol speaking or not but seeing him like this, I can’t help but find this entire situation a little bit joyful myself. 

It’s not every day you get to drink with the king then suddenly get called a coward by the crown prince, confront him about it, and then decide that the only way to settle this is with a fight.

We’re stepping into the bounds of Hangover territory here 

"Alright….Lead the way.”

Finishing the last of my drink, I stood up and said. 

“Haha, follow me.”

The King said with a chuckle as he walked towards the study room door. As he was doing that, me and the prince behind him...

‘I’m going to defeat you.’

‘I’m ‘bout you beat yo bitch ass!’

Were silently delivering intense eye threats. We were determined to beat the shit out of each other.

***

Author’s note

• Yeah, after seeing how the last chapter was with character names placed beside the dialogue, I decided that I wouldn’t put them up anymore. I find that it ruins the surprise factor a little bit. What's the point of having surprise moments when you already know who’s speaking y’know? Plus, I’m sort of a lazy ass who doesn’t want to go back and put names beside the dialogue. 

• Also, how's my currency? Is it fairly easy to understand?

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