by Ao Jyumonji
“—there are a number of famous clans, too. Like the Berserkers and Iron Knuckle. Or there’s the all-female Wild Angels clan, for instance. Oh, right. Orion’s famous, too.”
“Look,” Ranta gestured towards Shinohara with his thumb. “There’re seven crests in an X-shape on his cape, right? That’s the symbol of Orion. There’re probably a few of them around.”
True enough, there were customers with the same cape as Shinohara’s dotted around. Shinohara had said that they came to Sherry’s Tavern fairly often. Haruhiro had always meant to go over and say hi if he ran into them here. Maybe now was the time—
Yeah, no. I don’t want to interrupt him while he’s talking to Merry. It can wait.
But still, what was Shinohara’s connection with Merry? Shinohara seemed to be doing all the talking, with Merry just making occasional short comments and nodding along, but she didn’t seemed to be bothered by it at all. Actually, if anything, she seemed apologetic.
Eventually, Shinohara walked away and left Merry. She watched his back for a while as he left, then looked down and took a sip of her drink.
Ranta chuckled evilly. “Those two are doing it.”
“I didn’t get that vibe...” Haruhiro said uncertainly.
“Haaaaruhiroooo. You, pal, are seriously blind. No matter how you look at it, that was totally the vibe they had going. They’re totally doing it. 100 percent, I guarantee it.”
“I’m gonna go have a word with Shinohara.”
“Hey, you bastard! Don’t ignore me! You’re making me sad!”
While thinking Ranta could go ahead and be sad all he wanted, Haruhiro started to get up from his seat, and then the tavern suddenly became noisy. The reason why was immediately apparent.
“—Soma.”
“Hey, if it isn’t Soma.”
“It’s Soma!”
“Soma!”
“Soma...!”
The volunteer soldiers were all calling out one name.
Who’s Soma? Must be that guy. A group of six people had just come into Sherry’s Tavern. He’s the one at the front.
He looked like he was still a young man, but he was different from the rest. Way too different. For a start, his equipment was unique.
What is that black armor that covers his whole body, yet fits him tightly, looks incredibly light, and has no angular spots whatsoever?
It had been probably made from countless little metal plates fitted together, but there was an orange light that leaked out from inside it here and there. It flashed on and off, as if it were breathing.
He wore a long, asymmetrical skirt, which looked like it was part of the armor, and covered his lower body. But that just makes it look cooler.
The long sword he was wearing over his back had a curved blade. If there’s anyone who’s not completely enthralled by that sinister yet beautiful workmanship, they clearly don’t know what they’re talking about.
The small sword hanging at his hip was incredible, too. Honestly, just that one would be enough for me. I want it.
The man who carried all those weapons and armor which were clearly on another level had a face that was extraordinary, too.
He’s got clear-cut features. They’re not especially manly, or beautiful in a more neutral way, it’s not like that, but if he gazed at someone with those almond eyes that are so full of cool-headed composure, intensity and sorrow, I don’t think anyone could stay calm.
The men and women following Soma were clearly no ordinary people themselves.
One was a swarthy man with his hair in dreadlocks who had sanpaku eyes and wore silver armor so radiant it was blinding.
He’s huge, Haruhiro thought. He’s got to be taller than Moguzo.
He seemed well-built, but because of his small head, he came across as lanky.
The man walking right behind him, in contrast, was rather small. He had a childish face, but eyes that were thick with too much mucus. I feel like I’ll get cursed if I meet his gaze.
Was the man with long arms, much too long, who stood beside the little man even human? He wore a terrifying mask, so it was hard to be certain, but Haruhiro felt like he was some other kind of creature. The armor he wore, which looked as if he had wrapped metal and leather around his entire body, was abnormal, and the giant, saw-bladed sword strapped to his back looked dangerous.
Still, when Haruhiro looked at the two women following after them, it was a nice refreshment for his eyes, and his brain felt like it might just melt away. Soma’s party included four men, two women, and both of those women were beautiful.
One was a sexy, older girl of the cool beauty variety. She wore something like a dress that had a bold design which gave a peek at her breasts and legs. She was decked out with necklaces, rings, bracelets, a staff of the finest quality, a short sword, and more, but none of it felt excessive. That was because she herself was gorgeous enough that none of these things outshone her.
The other one looked, in some ways, a little like Merry. It wasn’t that their faces were similar, but she had that same, inhuman beauty. Was she a beautiful, young girl, or a beautiful woman?
She looked like she could be around the same age as Haruhiro, and at the same time, she looked older. She wore a breastplate with delicate designs carved into it, but was otherwise lightly equipped. But she did have a sword.
Was she a warrior? Female warriors were uncommon. But, setting that aside—
What stunning silver hair.
It was nothing like Renji’s hair. Her hair looked as if it had been made by melting real silver and spinning it into thread. Her eyes looked like they had been inlaid with sapphires, and her skin was abnormally white.
It was like snow. That was not just an expression: it truly did look like snow. Obviously, there had to be blood flowing through it, so there was the slightest red tinge, but her skin was radiant.
Merry’s nothing next to her. This woman’s not human. I mean, she’s got pointy ears.
“...Isn’t that an elf, there?” Ranta whispered.
“An elf...” While Haruhiro stared so hard he forgot to blink, he parroted the words back.
An elf. What’s that? I don’t know, but I do know. An elf. Right. She’s probably an elf.
With a “Yo! Yo!” someone raced over to him. Someone this noisy could only be Kikkawa.
“Hey, if it isn’t Harucchi, Rantan, Moguchin, Yumepi, and Shihorun! You good? You good? I’m great! Hey, did you see, did you see, are you seeing right now? Soma’s amazing, isn’t he?! Man, I didn’t think I’d get the chance to see him. Talk about lucky! We’re aaaall luck-luck-lucky! Yessiree!”
He seemed even more wound up than last time. Was it because of Soma?
“...Kikkawa, who’s Soma?”
“Whaaaaat. Harucchi, you don’t know Soma?! Seriously?! You’re kidding me. That’s like, no way. Soma’s, you know, the number one volunteer soldier. The volunteer soldier of volunteer soldiers. Well, in terms of ability there are some people who’d argue otherwise, but in name-brand value, he’s the top, hands down. It’s my first time seeing him, too, though. He’s different! So different! So cool! If I were a woman, I’d want him to take me now! Soma, I love youuuu! Yup. That’s a lie. I don’t feel that strongly about him. Still, he’s awesome. I aspire to that, you know. If I’ve got to be like someone, I want it to be him.”
“And how!” Ranta’s eyes were sparkling. “If you’re a man! If you’re a volunteer soldier! That’s what you’ve got to aim for! Damn! Where do I get me some of that armor? I wanna wear iiiit!”
“...F-For me,” Moguzo looked down and mumbled, “I-I’d like a h-helmet. P-Plated armor too, if possible. Then, I could do a little more...”
Shihoru looked pained, biting her lower lip. “...I want to learn more magic. Magic that can help everyone. What I have now isn’t enough...”
“For Yume, Yume wants armor, too. Maybe Yume should do something about that, shouldn’t she? Yume, she’s not so good an archer, so she has to move up to
the front a lot, you know.”
“For me—”
What should I say? Haruhiro still couldn’t tear his eyes away from Soma’s party. But, if he was honest, he didn’t want to become like Soma the way Ranta and Kikkawa did. He wasn’t even convinced he could close the gap between their group and Renji’s.
It’s pointless, aspiring to be like someone. When there’s no way you’ll ever catch up, it’s just stupid.
Still, that didn’t mean he thought things were fine as they were. He didn’t. Haruhiro wanted to move forward.
Even if he couldn’t be like Renji, racing up the stairs, skipping one or two steps with each stride, he was sure he could ascend those stairs slowly and carefully, one step at a time. Surely, that was what Manato had been trying to do. They could move at their own pace, making today better than yesterday, and tomorrow better than today. Obviously, just wishing for it to happen wasn’t enough. He had to do something.
What should I be doing, and how?
Should he save up money and learn skills? Buy good equipment?
Those things were important, but there was more to it than that.
Manato said he was counting on me. Did that mean what I think? That he wanted me to do what he had been doing? Basically, to become the leader of the group?
Can I do that? Someone probably has to, I know. But does it have to be me? I don’t want to do it. I don’t want to carry that burden. It’s too much hassle. What about Manato? Did he choose to do it because he wanted do it and was happy doing it? Maybe not necessarily. Maybe it was hard, and he wanted to give up, but he gritted his teeth and pulled us all along. How can I say for sure that that wasn’t the case?
“Oh, but, but, but!” Kikkawa had thrown his arm around Ranta’s shoulder and started laughing at some point.
Being able to do that with Ranta is impressive.
“I didn’t think I’d get to meet Soma! I heard Old Ishmal is his main stomping grounds, and he rarely ever comes back to Alterna! That’s me for you, though! I’m so lucky I scare myself! No, I’m not actually scared of myself, though!”
“Hey, Kikkawa! Let’s go become buds with Soma and his gang! The way we are now, we can do it!”
“You wanna go?! You going?! Ranta, are we going?!”
Kikkawa and Ranta stood at the same time.
They couldn’t seriously intend to talk to Soma, could they? Haruhiro lifted himself up in his chair, glancing around the tavern.
Soma and his group were sitting at a table next to the counter, and a crowd was starting to gather there. Merry was alone, drinking something, alcoholic or otherwise. He couldn’t see Shinohara anywhere. Had he headed off somewhere else?
Sitting back in his seat, Haruhiro drank his lemonade. When he raised his face, his eyes met Yume’s.
Yume tilted her head to the side, as if to say, Is something up?
Haruhiro shook his head as if to say Nothing, and took another sip of his lemonade.
Well, no, it’s not nothing. A leader, huh. Is that something I can be?
17. Precious
Whether he could or couldn’t, for as long as he was breathing, time would continue to flow. When he went to sleep, the sun would rise. When the morning came, he would have to go to the Old City of Damuro.
They ambushed two goblins, wounding one with the preemptive attack. Ranta and Yume took on the wounded goblin, while Moguzo and Haruhiro faced the unharmed one.
The unharmed goblin wore a dented helmet and rudimentary chain mail, and was armed with a damaged sword. It was a pretty tough opponent, but, that said, Moguzo was far larger than it and had the upper hand in terms of strength, as well. It seemed like he should have been able to ram his way through its defense, but Moguzo didn’t do that.
Why not? Because Moguzo was afraid?
True, Moguzo wasn’t as reckless as Ranta. However, he had good reason to be cautious.
The goblin happened to be wearing a helmet, so Haruhiro noticed something while watching the two of them. With a helmet, you wouldn’t die from a slight blow to the head. However, without one, even a grazing blow could cause serious injury, so you couldn’t help but be cautious.
The night before, Moguzo had said he wanted a helmet and plated armor. Not a sharp, new bastard sword: it was defensive gear he wanted. With equipment that defended him better, he could throw himself into the fight more fully. That was probably what he’d meant.
Haruhiro spent most of his time thinking about how to get behind the enemy. He didn’t wear armor, so every enemy attack was scary to him. It was only a little bit of an exaggeration to say that one slash could be the end of him, so he avoided them with everything he had.
However, Moguzo had to face the enemy in a straight-up exchange of blows. If Moguzo were running around like Haruhiro, everything would turn into a total mess.
Because their roles were different, Haruhiro hadn’t understood that. He hadn’t seen anything. No, he hadn’t tried to see anything.
“Moguzo...!” Haruhiro called out to Moguzo, slashing at the goblin as he did.
The goblin turned in his direction. Haruhiro backed away.
The goblin hesitated for a moment.
Just a moment.
The goblin spun back around to face Moguzo, but Moguzo was already thrusting his bastard sword at it.
“Hunghh...!”
The bastard sword buried itself deep inside the goblin’s flank. But living creatures don’t die that easily.
The goblin shrieked, “Gyagyahh!” and tried to swing its sword.
I won’t let you do that! Haruhiro attacked the goblin from behind. The goblin’s sword hand. Aim for its hand. The wrist.
“—Slap...!”
He wasn’t able to lop it off, but his dagger reached the bone and the goblin lost its grip on its sword. Moguzo grunted and gave his bastard sword a twist. The goblin screamed, trying to grab a hold of Moguzo. Haruhiro grabbed hold of the goblin’s helmet with his left hand, tearing it off with all his might, then slammed his dagger in under its chin.
“—There!”
Even after all that, it took some time for the goblin to stop struggling.
There were lives at stake here. Both sides were serious. It didn’t get any more deadly serious than this. There was no way it was going to be easy. Hadn’t Manato said that?
Just like they didn’t want to die, the goblins didn’t want to die, either. They killed them, taking their stuff, eating, and living on.
For the other goblin, Ranta and Yume’s, Shihoru weakened it with magic and Ranta struck the final blow.
Once the battle ended, while Haruhiro was collecting the goblin pouches, Merry brought the five fingers of her right hand to her forehead, pressing on her brow with the middle finger.
That was really quick! I nearly missed it. However, he did manage to see it properly.
That’s the sign of the hexagram. Manato often did that after we beat the enemy. I’m a little surprised, she doesn’t seem like the type to do that. Then again, I don’t really know her. I don’t know anything about Merry. I’ve never tried to learn.
During their afternoon break, he said to Moguzo, “Hey, I’ll pitch in a bit. Moguzo, it doesn’t matter if it’s a cheap one, but buy yourself a helmet. Maybe look for some used armor in your size, too. Even if you can’t find any, see what it would cost to have it fixed up. That will give us an idea of the price.”
“...Huh? Really? But... I couldn’t. I don’t think you should have to pay for it, Haruhiro.”
“It’s fine, really. For now, this here is all I need,” Haruhiro said, tapping his dagger. “If you don’t have all your equipment together, it’s a problem for everyone. So, it’s in my own interest to pay, see? Iron armor is expensive, right? If we were making a lot of money, I’d let you handle it, but since we aren’t, it’s a bit much to expect you to be able to pay for it all yourself.”
“Ahh, when you say it like that, Yume agrees,” Yume gave a relaxed smile. “Moguzo, if you buy defensive g
ear, Yume’ll donate to the cause. Let’s all go lookin’ for a cute helmet together, okay?”
Shihoru hesitantly raised her hand. “...In that case, I will, too. I can’t spare much, but I can put in a little.”
“No matter what happens, you aren’t getting a single copper out of me, okay?! Just saying!” Ranta declared.
“That’s fine. No one expected anything from you, Ranta,” Haruhiro said.
Then he glanced over to see Merry’s reaction.
Merry was staring off into the distance, as if to say it wasn’t her concern. Still, was it just Haruhiro’s imagination when he thought she looked a little sad and lonely?
It occurred to him that, if he could afford to next time, he should watch Merry during combat. She’s just holding onto her staff, she never moves up, she barely ever heals us, she has no motivation, she’s basically just standing there, was his current impression of Merry. But was it really true?
The first goblins they encountered in the afternoon were a group of three, so things were too hectic for him to observe what Merry did in combat.
After that, they couldn’t find any groups or individual goblins that looked like good targets, but on the way out of the Old City of Damuro, they stumbled into a pair of two goblins.
They had been walking right past each other, so it turned into a sudden melee. Shihoru and Merry, the rear team, didn’t even have time to fall back.
One of the goblins lunged at Merry.
She gasped.
“Don’t just stare off into space—” Ranta bodychecked the goblin, knocking it to the ground. “—you stupid bitch!”
“I wasn’t staring off into space!” she snapped.
True, it hadn’t looked like Merry was staring off into space.
The other goblin tried to jump on Shihoru. Merry shouted out, clobbering it with a hearty swing of her priest’s staff. That was the priest’s self-defense skill, Smash. It was one Manato had learned too, so he was sure of it.
