STABLE BOY ; Trash of the Count's Family

53. ARM WRESTLING

At this rate, Cale Henituse is going to need high blood pressure medication.

After Choi Han defeated Toonka in a duel he thought everything was settled with the barbarians— mutual respect or whatever. They'll leave the weaklings alone, acknowledge the strong, move on and go deal with the tower, that's about it. Right?

There's a festival happening anyways. They're going to make merry, have a ruckus, and Cale's free to his business with the magic tower.

"You're kidding me! He hasn't lost a single round!"

"No no, rematch! Rematch, I swear!"

"Get out of that chair, it's my turn!"

He only left to do some important talking at the main tent. How did South get an entire arm wrestling competition started? The line goes all the way around several tents outside the one South was sitting in.

South, after recovering from the horrible sea trip (he then spent the next day in their accommodations apparently unable to even get out of bed. Cale dreads the idea of his ordeal) has been very diligent in his work. He's taken care of the horses, even though he's the only stablehand on this trip. The beastman children help him on occasion, but he mainly shoulders the work alone now.

Essentially, he's on the level of Vicross and Hans in terms of how much duty he has right now as a member of Cale's travelling group.

So how, exactly did they end up having an arm wrestling competition?

He's not even betting money. There's no way they would have enough of that to bet— South looks rather bored as the next challenge comes up, his hand already propped up lazily on the table. He looks like he wants to go back to work, but they just won't leave him alone.

"Woah! Hell, he's asleep!"

"What?! Out of nowhere!?"

"Shit, his arm's rock solid! He's not moving! Even though he's asleep!"

"It's just stuck upright that doesn't make sense!"

"Dammit this is not real! I'm using two hands! Is his arm seriously still not moving?!"

"AGYAHHH!" despite their fervent efforts, the arms abruptly went slamming down on the table so violently it left a large crack down the center.

Blinkling dreamily, South's head lifted. He looks at their hands— ah, he won.

"Oh. I fell asleep. Sorry," he said, letting go of the other guy and shaking the dust out of his hand before propping it up again. "Who's next?"

"WERE YOU FAKING IT?!"

"What? no . That's why I broke the table, your shouting startled me. I couldn't control my strength," South yawned, rubbing his eyes, "are we done? Can I go—"

"Hell no! Me next!"

Cale glared at Hans.

Hans lowered his head in shame. "I looked away to handle our accommodations for five minutes, I promise it was only that long."

Coachman Leon and Hilsman were both mingling with the barbarians and scholars, so maybe they just allowed this because it was technically South's way of socializing.

"According to him," Hans said, "barbarians are basically like big angry horses, so he's not really scared of them."

What can't that stablehand tame?

Anyway, Cale shoves Choi Han into the festivities and heads back to his tent. The more noise they make, the better.

-

With how much commotion South was making, it was inevitable that Toonka found him quite quickly.

And this time, Cale's not around to bail him out.

South had just barely managed to escape and ditch the endless challenger's list so he could run and wash his hands and relax by the fire— but Toonka finds him first.

With the festivities going on, they weren't about to have another duel. It didn't look like Toonka was too interested anyways, sated by his fight with Choi Han's earlier in the day already.

"You're strong, but your body smells weak," Toonka determined. He wasn't sure last time around Ubarr Shores, but actually coming up to South like this helped him make sure of it. "That makes no sense. It's like your body doesn't belong to you."

South's breath held.

As expected, he can tell.

Probably because of the difference in strength. He probably can tell a similar dichotomy in Cale and Rok Soo, but Cale's Ancient Powers hid the difference enough to justify it. Choi Han, in contrast, built his body up for decades in the forest from scratch, so there shouldn't be a contrast at all. There's no such excuse for South.

But it's nothing to panic about. It's a surprise, sure...

"Is that a problem, though?" he prompted.

...it's not really anything Toonka cares about, considering South is only a vaguely interesting acquaintance. He would have a problem if South was a subordinate, though. And even more problem if he was an enemy.

But compared to whatever the hell Cale Henituse was, South's a small issue.

Toonka scoffed. "Not really."

And that's where that conversation would end. Perhaps to someone else, this revelation would be alarming. The existence of someone as dichotomous as South would bode unwell for people, whether they were religiously, magically, or scholarly inclined. They would investigate this and get to the bottom of the cause and possible consequences of an existence like this.

But Toonka was none of those things, so he will do none of it.

Perhaps, if transmigrated figures were more vividly recognized, more closely observed, the world would have a different dynamic toward them. But they didn't, and that's how Cale Henituse has managed to come this far. It's because they're still mysterious and unknown, that there is conflict in this story.

It is neither Toonka nor South's problem to dissect.

So even with this revelation, they simply leave it all be and move on, letting the story guide their way. After all, as side characters, their fate is to be played by the hands of the protagonist. If not Choi han, then Cale Henituse.

"Well, if god wanted someone more interesting to mess up the story, maybe he shouldn't have chosen me," South chuckles to himself.

He should have stuck with the soul that was already in this body instead, he's the one that's more like a hero. His only flaw was this sick body, after all.