Chapter 235: Raid V
Chapter 235: Raid V
「Argh! I lost! I was completely beaten! Nothing I did even came close! I’ve fought many opponents since arriving in Lemuria, but never before have I felt like I had no chance of winning at all!」
On the bed in his room, a thoroughly defeated Shuna exclaimed cheerfully.
His injuries would take ten days to fully heal. It was only that because he was an adventurer. If he had been a normal person, he would have been crippled beyond recovery.
「If it’s you, Otou-san, or even my brothers, I believe that I can beat you all one day as long as I keep training. But that guy is something else. As expected of my teacher’s husband」
「So you knew……」
Thank the gods I’m saved from having to tell him that.
「The moment he saw me, he came up to me and said, “I hear that my wife was in your debt”」
「Well, that’s the kind of man he is」
It’s just like His Majesty to do that.
「I thought I’d smack him one, but that’s not gonna happen」
「What are you saying? You can do it」
「It’s impossible, I’m telling you」
Perhaps His Majesty had been so far out of his league that he had lost confidence in himself, but it’s rare for him to be this way.
「You can do it. As your leader, I guarantee it. Time and age are always on the side of the young」
「What are you saying? You’re young too, aren’t you?」
Well, I suppose I would fall into the category of “young”.
「That man is――――――」
I hesitated for a second, but……
「The Myriad King of Myriad Kings of the left continent, one of the four strongest Myriad Kings, His Majesty King Ashtalia」
Given the thing with King Lemuria earlier, it’s only a matter of time before he figures it out.
I’ll tell him while I still can.
「Myriad King? ………Isn’t he an amazing person then?」
「Yeah, he’s amazing. I’ve seen that man scatter an army of 5,000 single-handedly」
「Huh?」
I don’t blame Shuna for being taken aback.
「It sounds like I’m kidding, but it’s the truth. I also got to see Irvin’s teacher, Zamonglass, the Scarlet Knight and Regure fight. Both of them were as strong as Onis[1]」
「What are Onis? No, that doesn’t matter. Irvin’s teacher, you said?」
「They got to know each other when His Majesty infiltrated the center continent. Through him, Regure was also introduced to His Majesty, and the two of them swore oaths to become His Majesty’s vassals」
「Ohh, I remember now, Irvin’s teacher and my teacher knew each other」
「That’s right」
It feels like it has been a lifetime since Irvin told us that.
「So, what’s your relationship with him, Souya?」
「You remember the time I disappeared for a while?」
「Yeah. Rana-san went berserk and beat up Frey」
「Because of that very Frey, I got teleported to the left continent where I met His Majesty, Zamonglass, and Regure. I also swore the oath to be his vassal」
「Why?」
「Hmm?」
I answered Shuna’s question with a question.
「You’re not the kind of person who would serve under someone else, isn’t it?」
「That’s not true」
I’m the type who gets used and exploited by all sorts of people.
Though I do bite if someone takes it too far.
「I can’t picture you serving someone for life at all. My brother and sister disciples and Gladvain-sama have all said similar things as well」
「Similar things, you say…… For example?」
I’m curious about how they’re bad-mouthing me behind my back.
Because I had thought that Gladvain-sama and her kin weren’t the kind of people who would do such things.
「Right, let’s see………」
Shuna spoke of the bad things they said about me.
『That guy sees things differently than normal people do』『He belongs in the fantastic beasts category. He’ll never submit to any man』
『He may be a dog, but he’s a rabid dog』
『He’s completely different from us who train our minds, bodies, and martial arts』
『He’s the antithesis of our teachings』
『He has the bearing of a usurper』
『No, it’s more the authority of a king』
『There are parts of him that are human-like, parts that are beast-like, and yet, he’s similar but completely different from beastkin, who are somewhere in between the two……………… Why is that, I wonder?』
『The name of the god he contracted with………what was it again?』
『Misuranika, the dark fire or something. It’s a name I’ve never heard before. Do any of you know anything about that god?』
『No clue』
『It seems somewhat familiar But maybe I’ve just forgotten』
Those were the opinions of the kin……
『A fantastic beast, huh? That’s a curious way of describing him. I’ve fought someone very similar to him once before. Don’t be surprised when you hear this, but it was a hero of Elysium. He was strong, unfathomably so. Like the ocean at night, he felt like something alien that would swallow everything up. Even though I was in my prime, I almost lost』……and that was Gladvain-sama’s opinion.
Hmm, that’s terrible, you guys. At least treat me like a human.Or rather, how many hundreds of years ago was it when Gladvain-sama was in her prime? I don’t know how to feel about being said to be similar to someone she fought that long ago.
More importantly……
「Without a doubt, I’m a vassal of His Majesty. Regure has become his wife, so I guess that essentially makes me his last vassal」
「Why doesn’t that man accept more vassals? With his strength and caliber, there must be plenty of warriors lining up to serve him」
「Yeah, that’s true」
I’m sure there are many in the new Vindoobunikuru army who would like to become His Majesty’s vassal. And yet, His Majesty calls me his last vassal.
While I’m flattered, I have mixed feelings about it.
The wishes of myself and Regure had only bought some time.
As a man, I’m fine with this. I can see it through with the same level of resolve. But is Regure alright with this? Can a woman who’s both a wife and mother just sit back and watch her man go to his death?
「Let’s change the subject, Souya」
「Hmm? What?」
Shuna’s words brought me out of my musings.
「I’m sorry, but I need three days of rest. You have no plans to explore the dungeon any time soon, right?」
「Yeah, I have no plans to, but is three days enough? I heard that your injuries would need ten days though」
「They’ll heal in three days. For us, our injuries will heal as long as we keep moving. Besides, I’ll need to train even harder if I want to catch up to such an opponent. After all, my leader told me that it’s possible for me to do so. I just have to keep doing whatever I can, isn’t that right?」
Ohhh, boys with a positive attitude are impossible to keep down, huh?
But what’s with this kind of muscle-headed treatment plan?
Well, I’m glad he’s doing well in spite of his injuries.
「I’m off then. I’m sure Ea will come visit you, but just deal with her as best you can」
「Got it」
I raised my hand briefly and then exited the room.
I’ve learned something good.
I’m apparently not the kind of person who submits to others. I’ve never thought of myself as a lapdog, but I’ve always thought of myself as a person who follows through with contracts and obligations.
But they say that I’m not.
Everyone doesn’t see me as someone like that.
In that case……
「I’ll have to think of a “succession plan”」
It had been a while since I had been to the brothel.
「Excuse―――――」
「Oh, my~! An advanced adventurer~!」
A rabbit beastkin hugged me as soon as I stepped into the store. A pair of plentiful breasts were shoved into my face and the smell of mint filled my nose.
「You haven’t laid with anyone in the store since Tyutyu quit, have you? There just happens to be women whose hands and bodies are available. Or would you rather have me? Oh, since you’re an advanced adventurer, you’re welcome to have more than one at a time. Recently, a down-and-out knight from the center continent has――――――」
「Sorry, I’m looking for Otou-san」
「………You prefer men?」
No way.
「Hey, no fishing for customers before the sun goes down」
「Aww」
The proprietress came out from the back and shooed the beastkin away.
「My man is chopping firewood in the yard. Go around back」
「Okay, please excuse me」
I exited the brothel and walked around to the back of the building.
Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of the police station. I consciously closed my mind off to it. That let me go on as if was nothing.
I heard the sound of wood tumbling to the ground.
In the backyard of the brothel, Otou-san was chopping firewood. But not in the usual way. He was dressed comfortably, but he had a katana at his hip. He concentrated for a moment and then tossed a piece of firewood into the air.
A flash of brilliant silver.
Imperceptible killing intent shot through the space.
The click of the katana settling back into the scabbard rang out.
Firewood that had been split into quarters tumbled to the ground, sounding a simple melody.
「Are you going to chop all the firewood with your katana?」
「That’s my intention」
There’s a small mountain of firewood in the backyard. Chopping all of this firewood using the iai-draw is far too inefficient, but I suppose it also serves as training.
「What do you want? Have you set a date for our next adventure?」
「The adventure will be put off for a little while longer. I have something else to discuss with you today」
「Shoot」
He threw another piece of firewood into the air. I was only able to see one swing, but the firewood was split into quarters nevertheless.
「This is ultimately just a precaution, or in case something goes wrong, but if I die, please take over as the leader of the party」
「Ooh, I refuse」
「Is that so? In that case, the funds for adventuring and the accumulated materials so far are at………………Huh?」
「I refuse」
He gave me a second clear refusal. There was no mishearing him.
Huh? That’s weird. I was expecting something along the lines of ” If something goes wrong, leave it to me” though.
「Souya, if you die, I’m retiring. I’m already way too old to be an adventurer. I can’t deal with being responsible for the lives of young people after all this time. But I have no intention of following any leader but you. So, what does that mean?」
He glared at me with great intensity.
「Got it, I won’t do anything stupid」
「There you go. Don’t talk about dying so easily when you haven’t even lived half as long as I have, you idiot」
「I’m reflecting on it deeply」
「………………So? In case something goes wrong, what then?」
Oh, you’ll hear me out anyway, huh?
It was really just as a precaution, but I gave Otou-san the keys to two warehouses. One held the secret funds of the merchant company while the other housed the materials we had acquired in our adventures so far.
「Please sell everything that can be sold, and then divide the proceeds equally among the party members」
「Shuna won’t take it. You can bet on that」
I can see that happening.
Money can solve a lot of problems, but people with that kind of warrior’s temperament don’t have much desire for it.
「Then, for Shuna’s share――――――」
「I don’t want it either」
「No no no, that’s……」
「I have the brothel. Just by being an advisor for the Adventurers’ Guild and helping out with Lemuria’s miscellaneous errands, I don’t have to worry about making a living. In the first place, what’s an old man to do with all that money?」
「Err, improve the quality of their retirement life?」
「That’s none of your business. I’ve got more than enough saved up for that. I haven’t been an adventurer for so long for nothing」
Right, I’m sorry about that.
Otou-san is more put together than I am, isn’t he? The amount of experience he has is different.
「It’s getting to be a hassle, so I’ll just divide it all up among your family」
I don’t know about this kind of arrangement.
「Ah, you see, there’s Lys………err, I meant Bel」
「I’ll give Bel something myself. No, I’ll have to exorcise the thing that’s possessing her first. I’ve been leaving it alone because it’s not hostile, but that’s way too much power for a person to live an ordinary life with. Once that’s done, I’ll send her back to her homeland or leave her in Shuna’s care, whatever she prefers」
「Oh, but……」
I feel like that’s a little slapdash though.
「I don’t want to hear any “but”s from you. This is under the assumption that you’re dead, and dead guys don’t get to nitpick over how I do things. If you trust me, then leave it to me」
「Alright, I’ll leave it to you」
Despite everything, you’re going to take care of it for me anyway, huh?
It feels like he’s going to yell at me some more, so I had better get out of――――――
「Oh, wait」
「Yes, I’ll wait」
Otou-san stopped chopping firewood and turned to me.
「Don’t make any promises when saying goodbye. The ones left behind will have to bear it for the rest of their lives」
Those were words steeped in the experience of this man’s life.
「Otou-san, that’s kinda heavy」
「Of course. Do you think your life is light?」
[1] An Oni(鬼) is a kind of youkai in Japanese folklore commonly equated with demons, orcs, ogres, or trolls. Onis are mostly known for their fierce and evil nature manifested in their propensity for murder and cannibalism. Notwithstanding their evil reputation, Onis possess intriguingly complex aspects that cannot be brushed away simply as evil. They are typically portrayed as hulking figures with one or more horns growing out of their heads. (An Oni depicted culturally vs the bestest oni waifu ever courtesy of wikipedia.org and RE: Zero anime)
By the way, Tappei Nagatsuki made Rem the blue oni for a very specific reason. It was brought up as well in the anime, but for those who don’t know it, you might want to google the story of “The Red Oni Who Cried”. It’s a children’s tale, but it made me tear up when I first read it. It’s also been drawn on as inspiration by many Japanese creators over the years, including the renowned Hideo Kojima.
That final exchange gives me the chills. So brilliantly written. The double-meanings employed there bring so much depth to just a few lines.
Yeah, Souya may treat his own life lightly, but his life is no longer light(insignificant). So many will be affected if he dies now. And you’ve realized that this is what this arc has been hammering in, I assume?
“There just happens to be women whose hands and bodies are available” Those who understand which sexual act she’s implying here by bringing up “hands” explicitly, great. Those who don’t, please don’t ask.
That’s it for this arc. You know the drill, “she” is up next, so stay tuned!