Chapter 101: The Defeated Person (Patreon)

"Saidela?"

Judging by how Luluo addressed him, this "down-and-out rich man" really did seem to be a lord…

"Hm…?"

The man called Saidela slowly turned his head. Maybe it was all the liquor, but his gaze was unfocused. Under the bar lights he could only squint, eyeing Luluo with some confusion. After a brief moment of thought…

"Ah, it's… you…"

He looked utterly dejected, listless and gloomy, like a man who had just taken a heavy blow.

"What… are you…" He stopped halfway and shook his head. "Forget it. Anyway… I'm not… anything… anymore."

Luluo was shocked and bewildered.

"My lord… what happened to you?"

Saidela was normally the picture of elegance and composure, but today…

Saidela gave no answer. He just brought the glass to his lips and, before long, passed out drunk just as before, only this time face-down on the table.

"Lord Saidela here…" Pandora gave a questioning look. Luluo let out a breath. "…is a candidate for the next Holy King."

"…"

So he really was a down-and-out rich man, and not just ordinarily rich at that. But now he was nothing more than a political loser…

Now that she knew who he was, Pandora shook her head.

"The fact that he's in a place like this says it all."

With a little prompting, Luluo understood the implication too.

A candidate for the next Holy Pope, turning up in a restless place like this at a time like this, drowning his sorrows in a tavern. The reason was surely obvious.

It was lucky that the candidacy wasn't widely known and had only circulated within the Church. Otherwise Saidela would have been fleeced long ago. No matter how high you once "stood," once you fall, "kicking a dog while it's down" is a pastime some people dearly love.

"Still, not a single subordinate."

Back when he'd made friends far and wide and spent his money generously, Saidela had been surrounded by plenty of people. Now, no one was willing to…

"Well, few people can share both the good times and the bad," Pandora said with a sigh. "And even if someone did, this isn't the place for it."

Perhaps that was simply what one's surroundings did to a person. Either way, the first order of business was getting him away from the drinks.

"Louliana, give me a hand, please."

Louliana nodded. Pandora had barely put a hand on him when Saidela twisted around and reached back to grab her arm.

"This…"

The moment he saw the two women in front of him, Saidela froze, then shook his head hard.

"Forgive my rudeness…"

Spotting Luluo nearby, he came to his senses. The first thing he did was apologize, and then he looked away.

"I've been on edge lately."

The jolt had sobered him up for the most part, but he had no idea what to say. Having explained himself, he could only stare blankly at the glass on the table.

Seeing this, Pandora took the initiative to start a conversation. "What exactly happened? Can you tell us?"

The instant she said it, Pandora clearly felt the gaze of that "intellectual big sister."

(So she's connected to the Church or something…)

With that thought, she raised her guard against any trouble that might come. This gaze was different from the other drinkers'. It was completely unconcealed, the gaze of someone who wanted to see right through a person.

Saidela sighed, then slowly turned his head toward them.

"My name is Saidela Kelas. Just call me Kelas."

(Kelas… this is getting complicated…)

Of course, only Pandora found it confusing. Luluo and Louliana showed no reaction at all.

"…" As if locked in some fierce inner struggle, Saidela's brow furrowed tight, then smoothed out after a moment. "I lost…"

Before anyone could respond, he went on.

"But I was framed!"

For a moment he seemed worked up, and his voice rose with him. Some of the drinkers turned to watch the show, and the most obvious of them, of course, was that big sister.

"…"

Realizing what he'd done, Saidela calmed down for a moment, and in that moment Pandora's eyes met the woman's.

Oddly, the big sister's face showed nothing extra. She only lifted her glass of juice and raised an eyebrow at Pandora, as if asking a question, and yet as if she weren't saying anything at all…

Having gotten nowhere in the "staring contest," Pandora moved her eyes back. She could still feel that the woman was watching her.

Saidela, meanwhile, had pulled himself together.

"Those bastards actually colluded and testified that I'd been canvassing for votes behind the scenes."

Of course, there was real indignation behind the words.

"But I never did! I'll swear it on my life!"

A moment ago he'd looked half drunk. Now Saidela was deadly serious, and Pandora sighed at the sight.

"But swearing oaths is useless. If it worked, we wouldn't be meeting you here now."

In Gusteko, an honest man really isn't cut out for politics…

Hearing that, Saidela sighed as well. He didn't want to admit it, but it was true. Otherwise he wouldn't be here.

Seeing him sink into silence again, Pandora thought for a moment, then spoke. "So, judging by how you were just now, coming to a place like this to drown your sorrows at a time like this means you're planning to give up?"

Pandora was smiling as she said it, but Saidela somehow read mockery in it. Maybe the saying "in the eyes of those at the bottom, anyone's smile is a crime" was about exactly this feeling.

"What else can I do…"

He wanted to fight back, but the facts left him powerless to argue.

"What those people want to see is you like this, all downcast, isn't it…" Pandora said with a nod. "Of course, they'd probably prefer to see your name in the newspaper's list of missing persons."

Her words left Saidela speechless. With his character, he was the sort who'd say, "I don't fear being ground to dust, so long as I leave my good name behind in this world." Now those people wanted him to die under slander, and he was actually playing along.

She had to admit, looking at it that way, he really was… a hopeless fool.