I Became a Gladiator in the World of Gender Reversal

8 – Selam-3

At the restaurant where Adrian arrived, numerous men were eating in a calm atmosphere.

“Oh…”

“Looks like it’s already started.”

Small and pretty dishes were prepared on each table. Numerous female waiters were diligently serving food.

“Two.”

Adrian ordered her waiter in a dry voice, and she bowed her head gracefully and walked away.

“You’ll just have to wait a little bit.”

As I sat down and looked around, I could feel a strange sense of incongruity.

“I have a question, shouldn’t a woman look straight at a man?”

Like Daisy, and the woman who first brought me to Selam. She seemed to be unwilling to make good eye contact.

“Looking at us with lewd and vulgar eyes can be judged as an act of molesting men.”

“…What?”

It’s dizzy. If I had been born as a woman in this world, could I have been punished for staring at a man with my eyes open?

“It’s not something that happens often. But… He must have thought that it would be better to be careful on our own than to give the number for nothing. It’s good that we don’t have to be looked upon as useless and vulgar.”

Even after the food was brought to the table, I couldn’t escape the shock from his words.

“First, let’s eat. I hope you like it.”

What was on the table was a small cake. However, calling this a cake was a dignified form that could be considered a mechanical and cynical framing of the dish.

“This… I can’t help but dislike it.”

Each one looks like a sculpture that can only be seen in a high-end art museum. I thought it was pretty when I first saw it with my own eyes, but when I saw it from this close distance, I felt its beauty more clearly.

Taking a bite, the taste was also artistic. The subtle and soft scent spreads throughout your mouth, and when you get used to the taste, the hidden scent is revealed.

After savoring the food in my mouth, I couldn’t help but smile.

“It’s delicious.”

“Actually, I have no choice but to do it. Since many men who are probably more picky than you will question the chef if they are dissatisfied even once.”

“Hmm…”

Starting with that, neat and beautiful food was put on the table. Soup and pasta with petals, small meat dishes and even desserts.

The food was absolutely delicious, but sadly I couldn’t focus on the food.

The sounds coming from the tables around me disturbed my peace. It wasn’t loud enough to tear my ears, but it was enough to reach my ears.

And the topic was enough to shake my head.

“You said you were dating Viscount William?”

“Ha, okay. This is over now.”

“Why?”

“The clothes you gave me the other day, replicas.”

“…What? Didn’t you say that it was made by the craftsman of Buruni himself?”

“It is true that the clothes made by the Bernie artisan are true. But, there is a problem, so clothes that do not have brand certification are sometimes released? I bought them cheaply.”

“It’s crazy… Crazy. How can you be so disinterested?”

“I heard that it was cheap, so I bought it. I thought that if I was going to wear the same clothes anyway, it would be better if it was cheaper.”

“This is absurd. Love is also cost-effective, but?”

“So. Let’s meet once or twice more, and then we won’t see each other again.”

“Wow, I think you did really well not sleeping with him. Even a person who looks so nice is different from the outside after all…”

It was about the next table. Other people’s private stories that I don’t need to hear, and if I have to ask, I shouldn’t eavesdrop on them.

It wasn’t loud enough to disturb the meal, so I couldn’t shout to be quiet.

Since it was someone else’s love story, I couldn’t force her not to do that.

Considering the situation in this world where it is difficult for women to meet men, the woman who gave him a gift would not be able to give up even on a one-sided relationship that is despised like this.

“Wow, isn’t it lonely when the two of you are sitting at a small table like this? Why don’t you eat together with a woman?”

It was that bastard again. She didn’t expect to crawl into the eating area and start a fight.

“…Is that so?”

However, there was some truth in what he said. The atmosphere here is nice, and I don’t think it would be bad to use it as a date course.

“What’s wrong! Stop you too, Logan. Don’t touch me anymore.”

Adrian shouted loudly.

“Well, is this also an insult? I’m not sure, but go on your way. No, you’re chasing after someone who has come here for the first time.”

“Ah, I’m not interested in you, so you don’t have to worry.”

The man who kept arguing with me, Logan snorted and ignored me.

“Well, if you’re at your level, there won’t be any girls to call. It’s sad.”

“Sir…”

Since there was no woman he knew right away, there was nothing to refute even if they openly argued.

Dana is also something I like one-sidedly, and we haven’t seen each other for several days. It’s not strange if you go to a confession and get kicked with a single knife.

“What can I say… Oh, how about this? I’m dating the Crown Princess, and if that person becomes the emperor, I’ll ask her to make a law that will save poor men like you.”

“…Huh?”

He was bigger than I thought. Seeing how Adrian bit his lip, it didn’t seem like he was lying.

“Well, see you later, Adrian.”

“Please don’t see me again, Logan.”

Adrian bit his lip and glared at him, trembling, until he disappeared from the dining room.

/////

“Why is he doing this to us?”

Returning to my room again, Adrian and I were talking behind the back of the guy who had suddenly quarreled with me and disappeared.

“…I’m sorry. I’ve troubled you. Logan probably wasn’t interested in you. It’s me who’s getting his attention.”

“Why the hell? Is he interested in you?”

“Yes.”

Adrian nodded obediently, and I had to think again about what I said and what Adrian’s positive words meant.

“No, I just said it… Really? It’s not just an interest as a friend…”

“Right. He wants to make me… His lover.”

My affinity for Selam, which had soared endlessly with just one meal, was cut in an instant by his words.

The liver is also large. Making another lover while dating the princess, even so, is a man who is not even a woman.

“That… That, is the culture of dating men common?”

“It depends on the person, but most think positively.”

“What?”

“Women only want to covet our bodies. There is no human interaction or emotional stability. Only men can comfort men.”

Goosebumps all over my body. Could it be that you treated me so kindly, aiming for my body…

“Because there is no risk, no calculation, no hurt in dating a man.”

If that’s true, I’ll get out of Selam without looking back.

“So, then, maybe you… Me?”

“Oh, that’s not it.”

Adrian laughed and muffled his words.

“I still… Think of myself as a person who is not ready to love someone.”

At least I was able to feel a little relieved, but I still hate it.

I am an open person. Rather, if the person you like is a man, or if you just like men, you could understand it that way.

However, loving a man because of his hatred for women is a wise choice. My stomach hurt.

“Anyway, he’s interested in you. He’s giving a damn about it, is this it? Is there any way to solve it?”

“Unfortunately, no. I just have to endure it.”

Adrian let out a deep sigh and shook his head.

“Well, can’t we openly fight? After hearing what you said, I think you said you didn’t like it.”

“I think all men are equal… There is no superiority or inferiority.”

His eyes were full of sorrow.

“However, the world doesn’t always flow in an ideal way. He’s the one who’s dating the Crown Princess. He’s the one who will soon become the government official.”

“Huh…”

“I just have no choice but to keep refusing like this. As long as I hold on tight, Logan won’t be able to harm me. Well… Losing a friend is kind of sad.”

“A friend?”

“He himself is also a person who meets a good woman, but he has connections in the imperial family, right?”

“That’s right.”

“Through that, he can introduce a decent woman to the men next to him. The people who follow him expect that and follow him.”

I wonder if such a trivial thing builds a power relationship? To be honest, it was a bit funny.

“Threatening to kick you out… Can’t you?”

“That can’t be done. There is only one way for a man to be kicked out of here. It is when he starts a fight.”

“Hmm…”

“Perhaps, Logan might be aiming for that as well. Fighting against you or me, kicking someone out in a huff when they wake up.”

“Ah, that’s why you quarreled with me!”

It felt like all mysteries had been solved.

“Actually, I think it’s fortunate. You seem to speak at random, but you’ve endured provocation surprisingly well.”

“Well, actually, it doesn’t sound like provocation…”

In order to accept ‘It would be lonely if there were two of us, why don’t you eat with a woman?’ As a provocation against me, it was necessary to understand and explore this world.

“Then, good night. See you tomorrow.”

“Oh, thanks, Adrian!”

After sending him out of my room, I lay down on my bed.

I fell asleep as if I were melting into the feel of the bed, which was softer and softer than anything I had ever used on Earth.