by Fujino Omori
“I didn’t volunteer to do anything! You practically forced me!”
She stopped her trotting feet to give me a light bow of apology as I yelled back with enough force to send spit flying out of my mouth.
I said I’d come with her for a little while when we ran into each other outside, but washing dishes isn’t exactly what I had in mind.
“I ignored a lot of chores and went out this morning…That made Mama Mia really mad at me, and now I’ve got so much more to do than before!”
“That is completely one hundred percent your problem!”
Didn’t she just say “went out” after “ignoring chores”?!
But then again, she is running around like a madwoman, so I guess she really is busy.
Weaving her way in and out of other waitresses, Syr is taking care of odd jobs all over the bar and kitchen.
“Meow, this is a surprise, White Head.”
“Enslaved by Syr, meow. His duty, meow!”
“Ugh…”
Doing my best to take the teasing of the cat-girl waitresses Ahnya and Chloe in stride, I continue attacking the white mountain of plates next to the sink.
Of course I’m not very happy with this…But the people here have helped me out so many times before, and Syr is still making lunches for me, so why not do her a favor?
But why did it have to be washing dishes? I scream inside my head as I continue to fill in for Syr.
“…”
Then again, having an endless-seeming task to do might be the best thing for me right now.
The constant movement and the noise back here are keeping my mind off of her, after all.
I keep my mouth closed as I continue whipping down dish after dish.
“Are you okay, Mr. Cranell?”
“Huh… ?”
“This amount is daunting. I shall assist.”
Now I have a guest—another bar employee next to me at the sink.
Arms so thin they seem like they’re about to break set to work next to me. The girl’s long, thin ears flash in my vision.
An elf with light blue eyes, deep as the sky itself, looks up at me. It’s Lyu.
“S-sorry. I know you’re busy, too…”
“No, the situation is Syr’s fault. And blame also lies with us, the employees who couldn’t cover for her. We owe you the apology. On behalf of all of us, allow me to convey our apologies.”
“No-no-no-no, you don’t have to go that far!”
I stop washing for a moment to face the always-serious Lyu, who’s almost too serious right now, and respond to her. I know she’s very conscious of manners and protocol, but this is a whole new level of correctness.
Whatever it is, Lyu must be a great example of elfish integrity.
“Has something happened?”
“Eh—”
“I don’t mean to be forward, but you appear to be depressed.”
I stand next to her in shocked silence as her hands fly around the sink, washing the dishes with amazing precision.
Elves are known for their good looks. Lyu is no exception. Even just looking at her profile, she’s a radiant beauty with a bit of a cold aura. It’s enough to make me nervous standing this close to her.
“If you consider me worthy, I’ll listen.”
“…”
“I owe you for your assistance at this station. If you have no reservations, please allow me to help.”
Honestly, standing here and admiring her beauty like this, part of me wants to tell her everything about anything.
But no, I can’t do that. I don’t want to.
I can’t tell her that the person I idolize has left me in the dust and exposed just how weak and pathetic I am. There’s still some sorry piece of me that has hope that I can catch up to her by trying harder.
It feels a bit cowardly, but I decide to ask Lyu about something else instead.
After hearing that Aiz had leveled up earlier today, there’s something I’d like to know.
“Um, Lyu…Were you an adventurer?”
“…Yes. There was a time I was known as one. What are you getting at?”
I quickly explain to her that I’m not trying to find out about her past, before asking my question.
“It’s about getting stronger…How does an adventurer level up?”
I’ve always thought that if I continue fighting and gaining excelia I’d rank up eventually, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.
The difference between Level One and Level Two…It feels like there’s a wall between them. A very steep wall, one that I have to climb over if I’m ever going to level up.
Lyu listened to my question, her eyes on me. She opens her mouth to respond.
“You must do something great.”
“…Huh?”
“You must complete a great task, something that even the gods cannot ignore.”
Great… ?
“Defeat an enemy more powerful than yourself…Acquire an incredible amount of excelia in one shot. That is the requirement.”
Gaining a large amount of excelia all at once…So that means no matter how many lower-level monsters I slay, I’ll never rank up. Only my basic stats will improve.
If I don’t take down something really powerful, if I don’t pull off something great like the hero in Tales of Adventure…I’ll never reach her?
“An adventurer’s level is the strength of their soul—a ‘container’ within them. A god’s blessing allows the soul to grow, but only those who have proven themselves deserving.”
“Well, what about my abilities? My basic stats… ?”
“In short, they are there to prepare you to do something great. Nothing more.”
But they are also qualifications.
Lyu goes on to tell me that an adventurer can level up once all their basic stats are above D.
“But fighting a monster that’s more powerful than you are…doesn’t that mean you’d lose?”
That’s what “stronger than you” means, right?
“Overcoming that disadvantage is part technique and part strategy…I’ll tell you a common way to overcome it: form a battle party.”
“A party?”
“Yes. Using combined strength and strategy to slay a beast stronger than any of the party members. Adventurers in Orario repeat this many times to get stronger.”
Sounds like the excelia would be split between all party members, but it’s a fool-proof way for a weakling to become powerful.
“Mr. Cranell, if you truly wish to become stronger, a battle party is required. Please keep this in mind.”
“Okay…”
But that means that she…
She took down a floor boss, slew a monster of that size and strength, on her own—such heights are…
Feeling trapped by just how high my goal is, it reminds me just how far up top-class adventurers really are.
“…I have advice to offer you. Is this acceptable?”
“Ah, yes. Go ahead.”
Lyu’s voice brings me out of my reverie. She starts talking.
“Mr. Cranell. Every adventure has a meaning.”
“……”
“No one knows what awaits them on an adventure. However, do not lose sight of the meaning of setting out, the purpose.”
Pausing for a moment to give me a chance to think about her words, she continues.
“You are an adventurer.”
Her words plunge into my ears and make their way to the bottom of my soul.
“What you seek, most likely, cannot be obtained without venturing forward.”
“U-um…”
“But no, please don’t worry about it. My intuition is often wrong.”
For a second there, I think she smiles at me. I blink quickly to clear my eyes, and she’s wearing her usual cold expression.
I rub my eyes, just to make sure. She asks me if I’m all right; I wave it off and say it’s nothing.
After that, the two of us manage to conquer the bea
st that is the mountain of dirty dishes.
“Well then, Mr. Cranell. Please visit us again when you have an opportunity.”
“Sure, I’ll drop by again soon.”
Lyu has more to do, so she sees me out of the kitchen as I walk through the door into the main bar of The Benevolent Mistress. The bar is alive with voices, busy as usual. I look out onto the café terrace for a moment before making my way to the exit. It’s time to go home.
“Bell.”
“…Syr.”
I turn around to the voice that called me, and there she is, standing right in front of me.
Her white cheeks are pinkish, and I wonder if it has something to do with finishing the job she dragged me into.
“I’m really sorry about today…Thank you so much for your help.”
“Ah, well, I said a few things at first, but you’ve helped me out many times, too…”
My words come out a bit clumsily because she’s bowing to me. Her usual hair bun with a ponytail sticking out the middle is right in front of my face.
I can’t exactly tell her off when she’s like this; it’s like an aggressive apology.
Not that I really need one.
“…Bell.”
“…… ?”
She raises her head and looks me square in the eyes.
Her lips open, close, open again. But there’s no sound. Is she trying to tell me something? I tilt my head in confusion.
“I’m not an adventurer, so I don’t really know how to put this…”
“Syr?”
“…But you don’t have to go on adventures, right?”
My eyes open wide as her soft voice reaches my ears.
She breaks off eye contact, looking over her shoulder and forcing a smile.
“Please don’t do anything reckless. That’s what I’m trying to say.”
“……”
“…To think I’d lose my nerve, now of all times.”
I’ve never seen her like this. It looks like she’s got a lot of weight on her shoulders as she whispers those words under her breath.
Did she hear my conversation with Lyu?
She’s just a civilian, so some things in that conversation might have been a little shocking.
“Sorry, that must have sounded weird.”
“No, no…”
“I’ll always have a lunch prepared for you. Please keep coming from now on.”
A nervous smile comes to my lips as I suddenly understand the true meaning of her words.
To make sure that the day when I don’t come will never arrive, it’s her way of warning me.
She gives me one last beautiful smile, still in her waitress uniform, before turning around and getting back to work.
“……”
With warm, orange light coming out of the windows and the happy voices of customers spilling out the front door, I look up at the night sky.
It feels like I’ve hit a fork in the road.
On one side is the path the Lyu has set before me. The other one has been suggested by Syr—and also Eina, now that I think about it.
—You are an adventurer.
—Adventurers must not go on adventures.
They are maybe, probably, complete opposites, for sure.
I do my best to clear my mind and let their words stew for a moment.
Unable to choose a path at this fork in the road, I keep staring at the stars in the black sky.
The first sunbeams of the morning burst over the horizon, lighting up the top of Orario’s city wall.
The mountain range in the distances lights up in a flash as I feel the sun’s warmth on the side of my face.
It’s almost over.
I’m still in the middle of a fierce training session, but I know.
The girl with the blond hair launches an endless barrage of merciless attacks.
This is the task she has given me: while being peppered by blow after blow of her sheath, to move my body to protect the targeted area.
That, and block the sheath.
My eyes catch glimpses of her attacks as I have steadily increased the number of blocked attacks since early this morning.
There’s a technique I’ve seen her do hundreds of times, her defensive trump card.
Rather than block an enemy attack head-on, redirect the weapon’s path by hitting it from the side and let the blade travel harmlessly away from your body.
After everything that’s happened, how hard I’ve tried up until first sun on the last day, it’s time for me to use it against her.
“—!!”
I move my feet into a safe position, take a deep breath, and face her attack head-on.
Shifting my weight, weaving through the onslaught, I dodge some blows and redirect others before seeing an opening to slash with the dagger in my right hand.
Then.
I drop my guard and go on the offensive for the first time.
“……!”
The sound of metal on metal.
Her armor easily deflected my attack. But it hit.
I let my arm fall, breathing heavily as the girl, Aiz, looked at me in silence.
The sun clears the mountains, bathing our stage in soft morning light. I squint as my eyes adjust.
But in that moment, she smiles. It’s not that I can see it at the other end of the light, but I can feel it.
“This is the end…” Aiz quietly says as she looks at me.
Part of the sun is visible in the eastern sky from where we’re standing on the top of the city wall. It’s the sign that this week and our training sessions are over.
I watched the city light up below me for a moment. Once I realize Aiz is watching the same thing, our eyes meet. I lower my head.
“Thank you, for everything.”
I bend my waist into a deep bow and look at the stone path once again.
Thinking back on this week, it may have been short, but every moment felt like a dream come true.
I straighten my back and make eye contact once again with Aiz. She’s wearing her usual aloof expression, but her eyes seem soft as she replies in a warm voice:
“Thanks, from me too. This was…fun.”
The golden sunlight shines on her face, brightening her golden eyes as her lips form the first true smile I’ve ever seen her make.
Even now, on the last moment of the last day, I blush in front of her. I try to respond, opening and closing my mouth a few times before giving up and nodding a few times.
“…Well then, do your best.”
“…I will.”
Leaving those words, she slowly turns and walks away.
As I watch her disappear in the light, the only thought in my mind is: Will I ever be able to reach her?
Will there ever be another moment like the one before, where I get close enough to reach out and touch her?
If there’s one thing I’ve learned this week, it’s that my path to her is an extremely long one.
Long enough to make me stop in awe and even fall into despair.
Is it really possible for someone like me to catch up to that girl walking away?
“……”
But I have to try.
If I don’t try, I’ve already failed. Failed before I even start.
The possibility of standing next to her, of catching her is gone if I don’t try.
Getting to her level, that incredible height…touching that shoulder. I have to reach out once again.
I may be a weakling right now, but I swear to the rising sun I will reach her one day.
After taking one last look at her flowing blond hair, I turn my back and sprint in the opposite direction.
Eina organized all the paperwork strewn out on her desk and sighed.
Many of her coworkers had finished their work for the day and were getting ready to leave.
The clock close to the ceiling on the wall facing her read eight o’clock in the evening. They were in the office section in the corner of the Guild lob
by. Since only people working overtime were still there, the Guild itself felt very empty.
Just as Eina thought about going and getting a cup of coffee, she heard the pouting voice of her friend and coworker in the same department.
“Heeh, Eina, a little help—! I can’t finish this all alone by morning?!”
“…You reap what you sow. You’ve done nothing about those documents until this afternoon, Misha. It’s your fault.”
Misha’s whine did nothing to convince Eina to reconsider her refusal.
The human Guild employee named Misha returned to her desk, which was lined with enough paperwork to rival Orario’s city wall.
They have piled up this much because her continued neglect of requests to post information from the gods and goddesses of various Familias around Orario.
“Just why the heck are so many adventurers leveling up at once?! A last-minute level-up rush?! This is insane! Someone’s got it in for me…!”
“Hey, none of that! That’s the result of many adventurers’ sweat and blood on your desk, and all you do is complain. If you’d taken care of a little bit each day, this wouldn’t have happened, yes?”
“Yes, I’m repenting, Eina, repenting…! So please help me, Eina?!”
“N-O.”
Eina turned her back to make her point final. She sighed after Misha’s final appeal: “Why are you so heartless?!” Eina thought it might be a good idea to bring her coworker some coffee as well.
“……”
Feeling the effects of a long day’s work, Eina moved her right hand from her elbow to her chin as she looked down at the document she had just finished writing.
It was an application for approval to formally investigate the internal affairs of Soma Familia.
It contained information that she had gathered personally from both Bell and the Goddess Loki herself.
However, Eina was not trying to disband Soma Familia. Of course she had her own thoughts about how that Familia was operating—plenty of them.
If talk of disbanding the Familia came up, the supporter whom Bell had mentioned, Lilly, would have to be punished, from a strictly just standpoint. No matter the extenuating circumstances, there would be some kind of punishment.
Eina was not some kind of goddess of justice; she had no sword or scales to wield.
She had half a mind not to get involved; this wasn’t her fight.
