by Ao Jyumonji
—That’s it.
I want avoid risks as much as possible.
Safety comes first.
As leader, I’m always keeping that in mind.
I don’t want us to take any harm. I’d like to keep that to the absolute minimum. If possible, to zero. Actually, zero sounds good. No matter what it takes, I’d like to keep it to zero.
I’m scared. I mean, it’s frightening. Everyone else seems calm and composed. Me, not so much. I may not feel like we’re going to lose, but I’m always on edge. If we keep thinking, “We can do this, we can do this,” I worry we’re going to get done in. Eventually, something weird could happen. One of us could mess up horribly. I can’t rule the possibility out.
“—It’s kind of like...” Haruhiro held his head in his hands.
Like, you know... I don’t believe... In my comrades...? But, even more than that, in myself.
Is that okay? Is it really okay for a guy like me to be the leader?
Haruhiro worried about whether any party with him as leader would be able to keep on going. Though, now, maybe he really was overthinking things?
It wasn’t like he had messed up somehow. It was just, he felt like he was going to, and he was afraid because of that, that was all. If I were to screw up, then—what if one of my comrades got hurt? What if they died? Those guys, aren’t they thinking about that at all? If they aren’t, isn’t that a little naïve? They’re being way too optimistic.
In the end, that’s probably because none of them is the leader. They’re not in a position of responsibility, so they can take it easy.
“Ahh...” Haruhiro moaned.
This is getting to be a pain.
It’s always like this, though.
Maybe I don’t care. I don’t need to think too deeply about it. When it comes to the order, just put it to a vote, and if everyone says they want to do it, let them. There’s not much else I can do.
“No, no...” Haruhiro shook his head back and forth, still holding it in his hands.
That’s no good. I have to care more than that.
“Augh...”
As he was groaning, he heard footsteps, but those footsteps immediately stopped. Because he’d been letting out strange noises, whoever the footsteps belonged to might have thought he was crazy and dangerous.
He looked up, and at the other end of the corridor, the girl with her hair in a bob was standing there, pigeon-toed.
“Ah,” Haruhiro lowered the hands he’d been holding his head with. “—Erm...”
The girl started to walk towards him. Not slowly and cautiously, as if she were intimidated, but approaching at a leisurely pace.
She was probably going to walk right past him. Well, of course she would. That was obvious, wasn’t it? What was she even doing here to begin with? It was past bedtime. He hadn’t thought he’d be able to meet her. He hadn’t, but maybe, deep down, he’d been hoping he would.
No, it was an exaggeration to say he’d been hoping for it. I saw her here once before, so maybe I’ll meet her here again. He couldn’t deny that the thought had crossed his mind.
Of course, the time being the time, there had been no guarantee he would meet her. He shouldn’t have been able to meet her. She should have walked past Haruhiro. Instead, she stopped. Then, as if after a moment of indecision, she bowed her head to him a little. Then: “...Hey,” she said, in an extremely brusque tone.
Depending on the person, that attitude might make someone think she was picking a fight. Even Haruhiro got a little angry.
She’s the one who greeted me! She can leave anytime now, and yet she’s not going.
The girl made no attempt to make eye contact with Haruhiro. It felt like she wanted to leave, but leaving so soon would be awkward, so she didn’t know what to do now.
Though, seriously, you can just go, okay...? Haruhiro thought. He seriously felt that way, but he also wanted to at least talk with her.
Well, not that he’d have had any idea what to talk about. The words weren’t coming to him. Nothing even resembling words came out.
“Ha... Hahaha...” Unable to come up with anything else, he tried laughing a little. The girl gave a little sigh.
Ah, he realized. She’s going to leave.
“Wait,” he said.
“Huh?” She stopped walking. “...What?”
“Nothing...”
Oh, man.
What now? I went and stopped her. My mind’s blanked out and gone all white. No way. It can’t have gone all white. My face, on the other hand, I’m sure it’s ghastly pale.
“W-Well... You know. What is it...? Well... Um, nothing... Really.”
“Ah, okay,” she said.
“Y-Yeah.”
“Bye.” She turned to leave.
“Ummmm, listen.”
“Huh?”
“Huh?!” he yelped.
“Seriously, what?”
“Wh-What? What... I wonder what,” he stammered. “Er... Ba...sically, yeah... Uh... Hm...”
Yeah, this is bad. No matter how you look at me, I’m acting like a total weirdo right now, aren’t I?
Maybe I should apologize? Say I’m sorry? Would that be weird, too? Too sudden? Would it be bad?
Oh, man, oh, man, oh, man.
“Heh...” She covered her mouth with her sleeve.
Did I just... get laughed at?
With her sleeve still covering the lower half of her face, she said, “You’re weird.”
“Ah—weird? Am I weird, you think...?” he managed.
“Weird,” she said. “And gross.”
“No way?!”
“Yes, way.”
“Seriously? Augh... This is a huge shock...” he moaned.
“What is it?” She looked back and forth. “What are you doing here?”
“Me? I’m not... doing anything weird, you know? Just being normal, and, well... thinking about some stuff, you could say...” It wasn’t funny, but he almost laughed again before he could stop himself. “What about you, Choco?”
“...What, no honorific for me?” she asked.
“S-Sorry. It’s just—”
It feels more natural that way. But if I said that, she’d probably be even more creeped out. Really, that’s how it is, though. Choco-chan, or Choco-san, maybe—Yeah, no. It’s not right. Choco is Choco.
“Are you,” Choco narrowed her eyes a little, “a ladies man? You don’t look like it, though.”
“...I’m not, okay?” Haruhiro said. “I’m exactly what I look like. I’m not. I’m not a ladies man at all. Umm, uh—Choco...chan? San?”
“It’s fine. Just Choco.”
“Ah. Really?”
“Yeah,” she said. “Somehow...”
“Somehow, what?”
“...This is going to sound weird, but somehow—You know what, never mind.”
“Huh? Tell me,” he said. “You’ve got me wondering.”
“I won’t say.”
“R-Really? Well... That’s fine.”
“So you’re fine with it,” Choco said.
“Huh?! No, I’m not really fine with it. But you said you wouldn’t tell me.”
“You weak-willed wussy.”
Haruhiro eyes shot wide open. His heart was beating strangely fast. This wasn’t his normal pulse. What was it?
Those words. “You weak-willed wussy.” They sound familiar.
Maybe I’m just imagining that. Still, it’s not a common thing to call someone—at least, I don’t think so.
At least, Haruhiro had never heard the phrase before.
No, that’s not true. I have heard it before.
“Choco,” he said.
“Yes?” she asked.
“I’ll bet you don’t remember either, do you? What it was like before you came here.”
“...Yeah. I don’t remember.”
“Neither do I. Not even my family or friends. I don’t remember them at all.”
“Yep,” she said.
“S
o, on that note,” he said nervously, “could it be... Like, for me, I joined a party, and I think I met them all for the first time here, but maybe that’s not the case, right?”
“...You might have known each other from before?” she asked.
“Well, I’m just saying that it’s a possibility.”
“It could be. For instance, with me and...”
Choco looked at Haruhiro. Just a brief glance. She immediately looked away again.
“...you, too,” she finished.
Haruhiro took a deep breath. “...We could have, right? That’s a possibility.”
“But...” she began.
“Yeah?”
“...since we don’t remember it, it doesn’t matter.”
“That’s not...”
...true, he wanted to say.
But, it was just like she said.
No matter what had been between them in the past—whether they had been friends, lovers, or family, if they both didn’t remember it, it didn’t mean anything.
It didn’t mean anything.
“Come to think of it, I haven’t asked your name yet,” Choco asked.
“My name?” Haruhiro felt like he’d been sucker punched.
Choco didn’t know Haruhiro’s name.
“Ah... Yeah, that’s right, isn’t it?” he asked.
Of course.
They had only just met, so there was no way she would have known it.
It really was just a coincidence. Before he’d come to Grimgar, Haruhiro had known a girl named Choco. This girl here now just happened to be called Choco, too.
”You weak-willed wussy.” It sounds like I’ve heard it before—but that’s just what it feels like.
In the end, that was all there was to it, nothing more.
“I’m Haruhiro,” he said.
“Haruhiro...” Choco lowered her eyes, then glanced at Haruhiro again. “...Hmm. Well, can I call you Hiro?”
“Sure.”
It was really weird. Why were his eyes getting all hot? Haruhiro didn’t understand it.
Yume called Haruhiro Haru-kun. For Merry, he was Haru. That was generally how it went.
But, somehow... I’ve been called that before—that’s what it feels like.
Called Hiro.
By someone, somewhere.
“I’m okay with that,” he said. “Of course.”
“I see.” Choco crouched down, peering at Haruhiro’s face. “...Are you okay?”
“Huh? What do you mean?” Haruhiro rubbed his eyes with one finger. “I’m fine, you know?”
Choco seemed suspicious.
Haruhiro stood up, stretching a little. “Better hit the hay. ...What are you up to, Choco? It’s pretty late.”
“A walk, outside,” she said.
“Can’t sleep?”
“Yeah. It happens, sometimes.”
Well, we may run into one another occasionally, then.
Who cares about some past I don’t even remember properly? There’s still the future to come.
Right now, the Choco in front of me seems kind of gloomy, unsociable, and hard to approach. Her big eyes remind me of a little animal, full of caution, and she doesn’t look people in the eye when she speaks to them. But, when she occasionally stares at me, it makes my heart race.
She’s probably the kind of girl I like. At the very least, I’m interested in her. What’s wrong with that?
“Choco, you’re a thief?” he asked.
“...How could you tell?” she asked.
“I can tell by your equipment, and such. I’m a thief, too, after all.”
“Ah. You look like one,” she agreed.
“Huh? What part of me?”
“You’re lanky.”
“No, that may be true, but... I’m a thief because I’m lanky? Is that the image you have? Is that what thieves are like to you? Why did you become a thief?”
“I just sort of did.”
“Going with the flow?” he asked.
“Something like that.”
“What’s your trade name?” Haruhiro asked her.
“The one we only use with other thieves?”
“Yeah. Since we’re both thieves, and all.”
“...I kind of don’t want to say,” Choco said.
“No, well, I’m not that fond of mine, either...”
“It’s something someone else gave me, anyway,” she added.
“Well then, how about we both say them at the same time?”
“The same time?”
“We’ll do it with a one, two, three, go.”
“Okay,” she said.
“All right. One, two, three... Go!”
“Cheeky Cat.”
“Old Cat.”
They looked at one another.
Choco let out a little burst of laughter.
“Wh-What? What is it?” Haruhiro stammered.
“I mean, come on, Old Cat?”
“...Yeah, I know. I get told I have sleepy eyes all the time. I must look like an old man, I’m sure.”
“I probably got mine because of my eyes, too,” Choco said.
“Because they look cheeky? Not because you act that way, too?”
“Could be.”
“And wait, we’re both cats,” he added.
“That’s some coincidence,” she said.
“It really is...”
Is it just a coincidence?
Of course, it probably is.
“Is your mentor Barbara-sensei?” he asked.
“Who’s Barbara?” she responded.
“Oh, she isn’t. Well, she’s there. There’s a person at the thieves’ guild called Barbara.”
“Hmm,” Choco said.
“Is your mentor a man?” he asked.
“Yeah. He’s scary.”
“Barbara-sensei, too,” he agreed. “She’s a woman, but she’s insanely scary...”
“I should never have become a thief,” Choco said.
“I hear it’s hard at the other places, too, though,” Haruhiro told her.
“There are thorns on every path?” she asked.
“I’d say so.”
“I want to take it easy,” she complained.
“Well, yeah, if I could take it easy, I think that would be for the best, too...”
“Do you find it all a pain?” she asked.
“Yeah,” he agreed. “I’m always quick to think that. ‘Ahh, this is such a pain.’”
“Same here.”
“I see.”
“Hey,” Choco said.
“Huh?” he asked.
“Hiro, is your party accepting the order, too?”
“The order...”
This time, he really had been caught by surprise. For a moment, he honestly thought he’d been punched in the chest with something not all that hard.
“The order... Wait, ‘too’? Choco, your party’s participating? In that operation...?”
“I don’t want to do it, though. It seems kind of dangerous.” When Choco let out a heavy breath, her bangs shook slightly. “But, apparently, we are.”
Chapter 6: The Vote
“Okay, we’ll put it to a vote, then.”
One night had ended... and now it was night again.
Having made a tidy profit on their volunteer soldier work for the day and retired to a corner of Sherry’s Tavern, as usual, Haruhiro and the party were planning again today.
They had ordered drinks, which were already laid out on the table, but nobody had touched them.
Haruhiro looked at each of his comrades’ faces.
Ranta had his arms crossed, looking all smug and self-important.
Moguzo must have been rather tense, because he had a stern look on his face.
Shihoru was looking downwards.
Yume looked like she was praying that this would end soon.
Merry looked like she was keeping her calm.
Haruhiro sighed deeply. “The subject is whether or not we participate in the orde
r for Operation ‘Two-Headed Snake.’ All in favor, raise your hands.”
“Yeah!” Ranta immediately raised both of his hands.
Moguzo followed.
Yume kept her hand at table-level, raising it a little, then lowering it again.
Merry remained stiff and unmoving.
When Haruhiro gently raised his hand, Shihoru raised her own, as if being dragged along.
“...Huh,” she said, looking back and forth from her own hand to Haruhiro’s.
“...Hoh,” Yume let out an odd sound in surprise.
Merry’s eyes went wide, “...Huh?”
Moguzo blinked repeatedly, tilting his head to the side, “Hm?”
“Wha—” Ranta jumped out of his chair, his eyes darting around as he counted the number of hands. “One, two, three, four, five... Five?!”
“No, Ranta, you just counted both of your hands,” Haruhiro said.
“Huhh?! I did not! Like I’d do that! No, wait, maybe I did. Yeah, I did. So, what then, it’s four? Four. That’s a majority, huh.”
“Yeah, it kind of is,” Haruhiro said. “So, that settles it. We’ll accept the order.”
“R-Right,” said Ranta, looking uncertain.
“What?” Haruhiro asked. “That’s what we voted. There shouldn’t be a problem.”
“I don’t have a problem with it.... But, wait! Haruhiro! You’re in favor?! What’s brought this up?!” Ranta exclaimed.
“Not ‘up.’ You mean ‘on,’ right?”
“Shut up! You’re such a pain! It doesn’t matter, really! You’re a coward to the core, so if you’re voting in favor, what are you plotting—No, don’t tell me! I’ve got it! I’ve got you figured out! I’ll bet it was clear that you’d lose the vote even if you voted against, so you figured it’d rock the boat less if you voted in favor, or something lame like that! Bullseye, right?! That’s so like you!” Ranta slapped Haruhiro repeatedly on the shoulder.
That hurts, you know, when you slap me like that. Hold back a little, will you? You’re making me mad. Why do you have to be so ill-mannered? Is it because you’re Ranta?
“...Don’t just decide that,” Haruhiro said, brushing Ranta’s hand away. “That’s not what I’m thinking at all. Besides, if I hadn’t approved, we wouldn’t have had a majority.”
“Don’t be so picky about every little thing,” Ranta scoffed. “What are you, a magnifying glass?”
“Magnifying glasses don’t speak.”
“See, that’s called being picky.”
