CH 8

A large number of people gathered in front of the gates of the Servius wall surrounding the seven hills of Rome from early hours.

At a glance, it was possible to tell that they were powerful aristocrats.

With the addition of the slaves brought by the nobles as escorts, the area near the gate was so crowded that there was no room for footsteps.

The Servius wall was built while Rome was still a small state, so they were quite small.

In the early days, it was enough to surround the seven hills of Rome, but now Rome had grown too big.

The city had already expanded beyond the walls, and the meaning of the walls had disappeared.

Danae, who had followed Marcus, was observing this incongruous landscape with curious eyes.

"Young master, it's the first time I've seen a city wall located inside a city."

"It'll be gone later anyway, so if you're curious, watch it to your heart's content."

"Oh, do you have plans to demolish it?"

"In about 30 years."

Later, Caesar, who took power in Rome, judged that the wall was an obstacle to the expansion of the city and demolished it.

Seeing this with his own eyes, Marcus could see that Caesar's judgment was correct.

'Now that I'm at this point, I want to see what kind of person he is. It will also help me finalize my plans.'

At this point, Caesar was still studying abroad on the island of Rhodes.

If the record in history was correct, he will return to Rome the next year.

At that time, even if Marcus wasn't looking for him, he'll probably come from there first.

It was recorded that caesar borrowed a huge amount of money from the Crassus family.

"... Anyway, I think it's time to start. Are you ready?"

"Of course. Sir Septimus is doing the final inspection, so we should be able to leave soon."

"Okay. Then let's go back to the carriage."

It was when Marcus was about to take Danae and climb into the carriage, a familiar voice from behind sounded.

"Hey~ Marcus, why is it so hard to see your face these days?"

"Are you Cassius?"

A close friend of Marcus from the past came over to greet him.

Unlike his other friends, Cassius didn't come from a great family. Still, he had an intelligent and bold side, so many people came close to him.

Although he got along well with Marcus, he wasn't so incorrigible.

"I hear you've been involved in the family's business lately. If you earn a lot later, lend me some interest-free money."

"There's nothing I can't lend you, as long as you're sure to pay it back."

"Hahaha, as expected, you still remember that. By the way, is the slave next to you the rumored girl?"

Cassius glanced at Danae without hiding his interest.

Marcus asked, taking a step forward, naturally covering her face.

"What rumor? "

"You really don't know? Rumors are spreading that the reason you haven't been to meetings lately is that you're having so much fun hanging out with a young female slave. "

"What? Who said that bullshit... That's just nonsense. You don't believe in such rumors, do you? "

Marcus turned his head to examine Danae's expression.

She was slightly flustered and her head was bowed.

Seeing the reaction of the two, Cassius tilted his head.

"Was that rumor a lie? I thought it was real because you suddenly brought in a young female slave. So you haven't touched her yet? "

"What do you mean? She's still a child. "

"Ah~ You don't like the younger ones? So you are leaving her alone... Well, meat, wine, and women, everything tastes better when it's aged... "

"Forget about it. How about Capua this time? Are the gladiators really that good? "

As the obscenities continued, Marcus forcibly changed the subject.

Cassius replied with a calm nod, possibly because he was unaware that he had said something unpleasant.

"You know Lucius of the Valerius clan, right?"

"Is one of them the rumored Spartacus?"

"That's right? They say he's the strongest gladiator in Capua right now. It'll be fun to watch him fight, right? "

Marcus nodded silently.

Spartacus is probably one of the most famous figures related to Rome.

Even people who were not interested in history naturally think of gladiators when they think of Spartacus.

At this time, the treatment of gladiators was truly diverse.

Some were as popular as modern sports stars, but many were treated worse than slaves.

Spartacus rallied his allies to revolt.

Since this year was 73 B.C. Spartacus' rebellion was the future that would happen one year later.

The Roman leadership at first dismissed the Spartacus uprising as a rebellion of lowly slaves.

However, when the army was defeated one after another and finally the Consul's subjugation army was defeated, they recognized the seriousness of the situation.

Afterward, Rome, fully prepared, put in as many as 8 legions to crush the rebels with overwhelming force.

Crassus, the father of Marcus, was in command of the Roman army.

Spartacus' rebellion ultimately failed, but it was not entirely futile. It was said that the treatment of gladiators and slaves in Rome improved a little from this rebellion. And the longing for freedom left behind by Spartacus was widely transmitted to the future as well.

Marcus wanted to somehow meet and talk with this historical figure.

Of course, if he could attract him to his side, he had nothing more to ask for.

Having sent Cassius away, Marcus sat down in the carriage and collected his thoughts.

It was really a rare experience to see historical figures who appeared in dramas and movies with one's own eyes. But he couldn't get excited.

The reason why Spartacus rebelled was that the treatment of gladiators was horrendous.

This wasn't a game or drama, it was reality. People were dying miserably even at this very moment. For Marcus, it was hard to forget this part.

'There is a need to somehow improve the treatment of gladiators... But what should I do? I can't think of anything that would work yet. '

Unfortunately, Marcus's thoughts did not last very long.

As the carriage started to go along the highway, his whole body was shaken and he couldn't continue his thoughts.

For Marcus, who rode the ancient carriage for the first time, it was a hopeless ride that he could not accept.

On the other hand, Septimus and Danae, who were next to him, were calm as if nothing had happened.

Marcus couldn't possibly understand.

He didn't expect a ride like a modern car. It was true that the ancient technology was inferior, so he expected that the ride would not be much comfortable. But he really didn't know it would be like this.

"Is there no suspension or something like that?"

"Suspension? What is it? "

"No. I'm just talking to myself. "

Septimus' reaction alone showed that the carriage lacked a proper shock absorber.

He could now understand why the people of this era preferred palanquins to carriages.

The person riding on the palanquin did not feel fatigued because the person carrying the palanquin would usually absorb the shock with joints and muscles.

Marcus had also ridden it a few times, so he knew it well from experience.

It was a big mistake to roughly expect the riding comfort of the carriage based on the experience at that time.

"Septimus, how long did you say it would take to reach Capua? "

"About 10 hours by carriage... We will arrive tomorrow at the earliest. "

"Oh! Do we have to endure this for 10 hours?"

Marcus's complexion turned pale, like a criminal who was sentenced to death.

It hadn't even been a few minutes since he was inside the carriage, but he already began to feel soreness in his butt, and having to endure this for 10 more hours was like torture for him.

Marcus began to regret his decision to go to Capua.

But the water had already been spilled. Even if he regretted it now, he couldn't turn it back. And if he thought about it as positively as possible, it wasn't that there was no harvest at all.

Didn't he get the assurance that if he could improve the structure of this damn wagon, it would make a lot of money?

He did not know the exact design method of the suspension, but he knew the principle that how shock was absorbed.

As long as he knew the principle, it would be possible to implement the initial invention in a primitive form somehow.

Considerable trial and error were expected, but it could be covered with money and manpower.

Marcus was determined to improve the comfort of the wagon at all costs.

As such, Marcus' first journey became a time when he finally understood the proverb – that necessity was the mother of invention.

After a period of endurance, they finally arrived in Capua.

Capua boasted a considerable scale befitting its title of the largest city in Campania.

As soon as Marcus reached Capua, he stayed in the lodgings he was guided to for the whole day.

After he was somewhat rested, he spent time looking around the city with Septimus and Danae.

Everywhere he wandered the streets, he could feel the city buzzing with anticipation of the upcoming gladiatorial competitions.

"Would Spartacus win this time?"

"What's wrong? Did you see Spartacus lose? He is undefeated. An Undefeated gladiator!"

"I'm sorry, haven't you heard the rumor? This time, he's fighting three people at the same time. No matter how strong he is, how can one person defeat three people?"

"Then you bet on the side that Spartacus loses! I'll bet on the side that he'll win!!"

"Okay!! Let's see whose guess is right!!"

Countless men were talking to each other while spitting.

Even if one went to a restaurant or bar, the topic of conversation was still gladiator fights.

Even the elderly, who were quite old, were talking about similar things in uncharacteristically passionate voices.

"It's definitely Spartacus! I've seen gladiator fights for close to 40 years, but I've never seen such a gladiator. If you bet on him, no matter how experienced the enemy is, it's worth it."

"Heh heh, I understand what you said at the beginning, but what are you talking about now? Since when Spartacus is inexperienced?"

"Oh, that's the story of Spartacus when he was a kid. And did I say something wrong? Wasn't Crixus almost equal to Spartacus as a gladiator? Don't you remember the last fight between the two of them? "

"Of course, I remember it. How can I forget that legendary gladiator match? It was a really bloody showdown."

—

"So everyone's betting on Spartacus, not others? "

"If you see Spartacus once, you will know why."

"Whatever... I'm going to take a bet on the guy I brought from Gaul this time. If this guy wins, wouldn't I win a lot?"

"Don't you still know the truth of this game at that old age? If you bet money on an idiot who doesn't even know what he's doing with the goal of making a fortune, you're bound to lose!"

While listening to the old people's conversation, Marcus was naturally interested.

'To what extent could the whole city be so excited?'

Even in Rome, where gladiatorial competitions were crazy, few citizens were this enthusiastic.

It must mean that the skills of Spartacus and Crixus were so outstanding.

Even the sons of the aristocrats from the senate who came with Marcus said they were going to bet quite a lot of money on this gladiator match.

Residents of Capua also had a hard time finding anyone who wouldn't bet.

Looking at the size of the stakes, it could be estimated how much interest in the game was.

Danae cautiously asked as if she was swept away by the atmosphere.

"Are you going to bet money too, young master? "

"Well... I'm not very interested in shows that splatter blood and kill people."

"Really? I've heard that there is no Roman who hates gladiator fights... "

"I'm different... Actually, I kind of regret bringing you here. I don't think you'll feel good seeing slaves killing each other."

Danae opened her eyes wide and smiled briskly as she wiggled her fingers.

"Thank you. I'm glad you're considerate of me. But I don't mind. Gladiator fights are a cultural symbol of Rome, and there's nothing I can do about it. "

"Really? But I'm going to try to think of some ways to make these gladiator fights safer and more profitable. If that's the case, then we both will be able to watch and cheer with peace of mind."

"Is that possible? "

"Well... I'll have to watch the match to confirm that. I'll give you an answer later."

Marcus continued to collect information from people walking the streets, talking about gladiator fights.

Anticipation was at its peak right now. In order to oppose the absolute power of Spartacus and Crixus, a new famous fighter was brought in from Gaul.

The one who appeared in the conversations of the old people in the bar was this person.

The gallic fighter cheered the bettors by declaring that he would knock down Crixus in three minutes.

Advertisements of the match were carved all over the walls of the streets.

The people hired by the organizers of the event boosted the anticipation of the event on the streets.

Time passed like that, and the day of the gladiator match finally dawned.

The match that had stirred up the entire city of Capua, and would continue to intensify its heat, had begun.