Banished from the Hero’s Party, I Decided to Live a Quiet Life in the Countryside - Volume 12 - Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The Multi-Talented High Elf Running Amok

“I want to build a ship.”

What was this high elf talking about?

Yarandrala had said it entirely out of the blue, after bursting in while we were getting the shop ready to open. It wasn’t even seven in the morning.

If you looked at the calendar, it would tell you that autumn was closing in, but in Zoltan it was still as hot as the middle of summer. Even now, I was having to wash the night sweat off when I got up in the mornings.

“Ummm, how big of a ship?”

“A high-performance adventuring ship, big enough to sail all the way around the continent.”

“I think it might be a tall ask to get that built here.”

I was just an amateur when it came to ships, but I was pretty sure no one had ever sailed around the continent before.

“…Are you leaving Zoltan?” Rit asked.

It was a natural assumption. If Yarandrala was building a ship, then most likely she would be sailing it.

But…that was probably not what Yarandrala had in mind.

“No, nothing like that. I just wanted to build one.”

See.

“Huh?”

“Hm?”

Rit and Yarandrala looked at each other with cocked heads.

“I want to build a ship because I feel like it. The doing is the goal, and whatever comes of it is secondary.”

“Ah, yeah, that sounds like something you’d do.” Rit smiled, accepting the other woman’s explanation. “Is this because we went to that island the other day?”

“Exactly! Sailing on a ship, seeing that fishing ship getting made, I started wanting my own ship again!”

“Right, you were a captain a long time ago, and you know a lot about ships.”

“That really takes me back… It’s not like I was actually involved with the construction, but I studied the blueprints of a lot of different ships.” Yarandrala nodded confidently.

Hrmm…

“That was around a hundred years ago, right?” I asked.

“Ahaha, it’s not thaaat long ago. And I was involved in the building of a ship as recently as fifty years ago.”

“Fifty years, huh?”

Around forty years ago, the continent of Avalon had undergone a major revolution in the construction of sailing ships, resulting in significant improvements in their capabilities. But back when Yarandrala had been a sailor, single-masted cogs were mainstream, and countries and pirates had relied on rowed galleys for naval power. The Veronian Admiral Lilinrala had been using a galley model that was eighty years old, but their modern navy was built on larger ships with multiple sails, and the technology of sailing ships had developed to the point where even massive crafts could maneuver freely on the water.

“I know what you’re thinking, Red.” Yarandrala smirked. “The ships I’m familiar with had a single mast in the center with a big square sail, and they wouldn’t go anywhere in a headwind.”

“Yeah, headwind or tailwind, ships nowadays can still sail as long as there’s any wind at all.”

With the newest developments in sails, it was possible to keep going forward regardless of the direction of the wind.

There were ships that relied on magic, but those required a mage at a high enough level to receive a special blessing, who also had to use magic all day long. It was exhausting work, so even taking shifts, it was not something that could be relied on for months at a time out at sea.

The development of high-speed sailing ships that didn’t use magic had made the world a much smaller place.

“That’s exactly why I want to try building a ship,” Yarandrala said emphatically. “I don’t know any of that, so it’ll be a challenge. It’s something I can’t do now, but I want to learn how to do it. That’s what a hobby is, right?”

“So noble…”

Her aspirations were too high for me. I just wanted to take it easy with the apothecary running smoothly and no big messes to deal with.

“You’re doing your best to live a fun life too, Red. Have a little confidence in yourself!”

“Thanks, Rit…”

Her consolation was enough to get me back on my feet.

“So lay it out for us. What’s your plan?”

“I’ve got my treasure to fund it, so that won’t be a problem. The first step is finding out what I need to know.”

“Yeah, the stuff you have in your item box is worth more than Zoltan’s entire budget.”

The knowledge would be a little trickier.

“Zoltan shipwrights only make smaller crafts.”

Although it was right near the sea, all of Zoltan’s seagoing trade ships were built in other countries. There were no shipwrights in Zoltan who made ships capable of remaining at sea for long periods of time.

“But there are craftspeople who have moved here from other countries, so one or two of them might have made a top-of-the-line ship in the past. Maybe you could try the Merchants Guild this weekend?”

“Sorry, that’s when I’m challenging the champion of Zoltan’s colosseum.”

“Eh?”

“I’m working on a martial art that anyone can use, even without weapons, magic, skills, or a specialized martial artist-style blessing.”

Weren’t we just talking about ships?

“You sure have a lot of hobbies…”

“She said that?” Ruti asked from her seat beside me.

It was evening, and there were omelets and chicken soup on the table, along with a fluffy walnut bread and a plate of neatly arranged, bite-sized pieces of watermelon, pineapple, and banana for dessert.

“Your food is as delicious as ever, Red!” Rit smiled as she took a bite of the omelet.

I was glad tonight’s dinner was another hit.

“Still, though, I was surprised when she suddenly started talking about building a ship,” Rit said.

I nodded with a wry smile.

“Yarandrala’s the type of person who starts to act as soon as she thinks of something. And she’s got the ability to actually make it happen, too.”

“And then, just when it sounded like we might be taking a trip to the shipyard, she tells us she’s fighting in a title match. I almost fell over in shock,” Rit said with a grin.

That frenetic personality was part of Yarandrala’s charm. I’d had this image of high elves as a gentle, refined race when I was young, partly because they tended not to leave the Kingdom of Kiramin. The gap between that mental image and reality only grew wider the longer I knew Yarandrala, which was a surprise. I certainly didn’t mind.

“If Yarandrala’s facing the champion…I have a feeling she’d overwhelm him even barehanded. Still, seeing as it’s a title match, you want to go cheer her on?”

“That sounds great!”

I could make a picnic lunch.

Watching arena matches while snacking on hotdogs sounded like a fun day off.

That said, as a knight, I had lived a life rife with the stench of blood, so I’d never really felt like watching people fight in my free time.

““Right, speaking of the arena…””

Rit and Ruti spoke at the same time. They both looked at each other in surprise.

“Ummm, you go first, Rit.” I nudged them along when the conversation stalled out.

“Okay. Joe from the colosseum mentioned being worried about their stock of potions. With the autumn festival and stuff, there will be more people using the arena, but he can’t get enough potions. He said if you can get your hands on any of the stuff he needs, he’ll buy it all at asking price.”

“I see. I’ll go talk to him tomorrow when I’m out delivering medicine to the clinics in the central district.”

“Great!”

That was my Rit, handling the orders that had come in while I’d been out shopping in the afternoon.

“What were you going to say, Ruti?”

“I’m going to be fighting in the arena on the day of Yarandrala’s match, too.”

““Eh?””

This time, it was Rit and me speaking in unison.

“Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.”

I started shaking my head like a broken toy.

I mean, obviously, right? It didn’t matter what the rules were, whether it was with weapons, magic, or bare fists—Ruti fighting in Zoltan’s colosseum was bound to lead to some kind of mishap.

“It’s probably not the sort of match you’re both imagining.”

“R-really?”

“It’s an exhibition match with the junior competitors.”

“Ahh, a request for Zoltan’s B-rank adventurer to do something special for the kids.”

Zoltan’s colosseum had a junior division for children who had not connected with their blessing yet. There was no striking allowed; the winner was the one who could throw their opponent to the ground and pin them. It was a light-hearted competition that was almost an extension of one of their games, but the rules were set up so that it still resembled man-to-man combat, where a person could finish off their opponent with a weapon in that position if it were a real fight.

“There weren’t any requests like that when I was active…,” Rit grumbled.

“Well, you did things more at your own pace and chose to do things for different reasons from regular adventurers, so they probably weren’t sure if it would be okay to give you a light-hearted request like this.”

“Really?!” Rit’s eyes widened in shock. “I thought I was everyone’s favorite approachable hero.”

“Being the people’s hero isn’t quite the same as being approachable.”

“…Maybe I should bust into the middle of the match.”

“Don’t do that.”

That would end up causing an even bigger mess than Yarandrala.

“Mrghhh.” Rit growled unhappily.

“Also, Ruti plays with the kids a lot, so everyone knows she likes children.”

Well, it was more that she was having fun playing all the games she never got the chance to enjoy when she was younger with the children of Zoltan.

Between the jobs she had done as an adventurer since coming to Zoltan, her performance in the war against Veronia, and the input she had provided to the assembly afterward, Ruti had become famous as Zoltan’s hero. But to the kids here, she was just a friend who was really good at games.

That was probably the real reason for this request.

“Well, in that case, we have to go and cheer you on!”

“You’re going to come cheer for me?”

“Of course! If you’re going to be in an event, then there’s no way I’d miss it. I’ll make us a picnic lunch, and we’ll come watch.”

“Yay!”

Ruti broke into a smile. Her expression was so much easier to read than before. Apparently, our island vacation had had a good effect on her heart. Back when she was still the Hero, she never would have considered taking part in the arena for an exhibition match with some children.

“All right, let’s make this meal extra special.”

It was my little sister’s big moment, and as her brother, I had to do what I could to make it one worth remembering. I was really looking forward to the weekend now.

…And with that, I pushed the thoughts of Yarandrala’s ship out of my mind for the moment.

The next day, after finishing up a delivery to Christopher Clinic in the central district, I headed to the arena. Zoltan’s colosseum was located on the eastern side of central.

Where we lived on the south side of Zoltan was officially called the southern district, but everyone just called it “downtown” because it was downstream of the river from central. Our apothecary got a fair share of customers from downtown, as well as laborers from the harbor district in the west and adventurers from the northern district, but not many from the eastern side of central where I was headed to now.

“Phew, Zoltan’s summers sure are long.”

I was walking along a path through the woods. Green grass, full of life from the summer weather, had forced its way through the gravel path.

This was a forested area set aside for Zoltan’s charcoal needs. It was a man-made forest populated by fast-growing trees that had been imported for that specific purpose.

Leaving the woods, I continued down the path and saw a clearing surrounded by a wooden fence and wooden benches.

This was Zoltan’s colosseum. It was totally different from the massive arena in Avalonia’s capital, but this was more the norm. There was a building nearby to hold monsters.

The original purpose of a colosseum was to create an environment where people could raise their blessing level as safely as possible. If you were not fighting someone or something with a blessing level equivalent to or higher than your own, the rate of growth was just terrible, but also if you fought an opponent that was equal or stronger, your odds of survival got worse.

It seems like Demis intended for people to grow through fair, life-or-death struggles, but humans are creatures of innovation. And a colosseum was just that sort of creation—a way for people to battle against monsters of an appropriate strength while safely surrounded by skilled warriors and mages who could save them at any time.

Because they had originally been developed for that purpose, the very first institutions had been called training yards instead of colosseums. But as time went on, people ended up using the training facilities to practice together. In order to earn money to keep running, the arenas would hold bouts that could be wagered on, and eventually entertainment became another main goal of the colosseums.

There was no avoiding combat if you wanted to live in this world. Everyone had experience in battle, so there was always some degree of interest in a match that would let people observe high-level techniques. Because the demand was so high in this world, every town of a certain size had their own colosseum.

“Oh, there’s an exhibition between the martial arts schools?”

It wasn’t as fierce as when dojos tried to crush one another, but it was still an exhibition match with the schools’ honor on the line. They were using Merciful potions to avoid wounding one another, so they could go all-out.

The two schools currently facing off were both incredibly rare: a sickle-and-chain school from Jade Kingdom and a three-section staff school from Tian Long Kingdom. As the names implied, the former school used a sickle connected to a counterweight by a chain, and the latter, a weapon consisting of three short staves connected together. I had never used either myself, but I had fought a sickle-and-chain user once before.

Two different eastern styles… I wonder if they get along well, or do they see each other as rivals?

There wasn’t a lot of exchange with countries on the other side of the Wall at the End of the World, but that did not mean there weren’t any travelers. The warriors who made it through the dangerous trade routes in the Wall were all exceptional masters, and their eastern fighting styles entranced a lot of people. Warriors trained by such people had been successful and started to gather disciples of their own, which was how eastern martial arts schools had made it to even a remote region like Zoltan.

Of course, the actual strength of a warrior came down to their own individual skill, and it was not as if the fighting styles of the Jade Kingdom or Tian Long Kingdom were inherently superior to those developed on this side of the Wall. But foreign styles were interesting to watch and made for a good show.

The warrior from Tian Long Kingdom held the two end sections of their staff and kept it close to their body.

Their opponent from the Jade Kingdom kept both sickle and counterweight in their hands to try to camouflage its actual reach.

They were both weapons that could attack from a distance, but neither warrior wanted to show their hand to the opponent. They were both hoping to charge in and pile on the pressure, but they were also both ready to hit back with attacks that made use of their reach.

“Hey, pay up if you want to watch.”

“Ah, sorry. I’m here for business.”

“Haha, just pulling your leg. Thanks for coming by, Red.”

The voice belonged to the eye-catching white-haired man who ran the arena—Joe, the guy Rit had mentioned.

“Grab a seat. We can talk shop while we watch.”

Joe took a seat on the bench and held out a cup of water for me. I thanked him, sat down by his side, and took a sip. The cool well water spread throughout my sweaty body.

Back in the arena, the sickle-and-chain user tried to close the distance but was immediately hit in the head by a sweeping swing of the staff.

“Huh, I didn’t realize it could reach so far.”

“It’s an interesting weapon, ain’t it?”

As someone who worked here at the colosseum, Joe had seen all sorts of matches.

“The sickle-and-chain’s pretty interesting, too.”

This time, the sickle-and-chain user landed a heavy blow on the opponent’s shin with the counterweight.

In an actual fight, that might have been enough to incapacitate their leg, but right now, they would only feel an intense pain. With the effects of a Merciful potion, people could still be hurt, but it wouldn’t drastically inhibit their physical abilities. They could still keep pitting their techniques against each other. Even if the rules were the same as real combat, a match was a match, not a battle over life and death.

That was why we could enjoy watching it like this.

“That’s about as much as we can get for you.”

“Your shop’s always good on their word, so that’ll be a big help,” Joe responded, pleased.

I wasn’t able to use magic, so I couldn’t make magic potions. I had made these potions with a student from the Mages Guild to fill an emergency request from the arena, but generally we only stocked medicines that could be made using common skills. Sadly, that meant that I couldn’t provide the Merciful potions the arena needed most of all, but I could still offer lots of medicines that were needed for fighting.

The order this time was for salves, hemostatics, painkillers, stimulants, various sedatives to keep monsters pacified, and two bottles of herbicide to keep the arena itself in order.

The colosseum didn’t order from us frequently, but they were still a major customer for the two-man operation that was Red & Rit’s Apothecary.

“All right, I’ll come by the day after tomorrow with the delivery,” I said, standing up.

From the looks of it, the staff user had won the exhibition match. They helped their opponent up, and the two warriors complimented each other on the fight. In response to the applause, they both bowed to the audience bench and then left.

It definitely had been an interesting match.

“Take care.”

“Yeah, you too.”

This farewell routine had become normal for us. It wasn’t embarrassing at all anymore.

“Mmm.” Rit spread her arms.

What…? Oh, right.

“…I’ll be careful.” I gave Rit a hug.

“If it was going to be like this, maybe I shouldn’t have told you about Joe.”

“We’re both glad our store is doing well, right?”

“Yeah! That’s right!”

It’s almost been a year since we started living together…but some things are still embarrassing.

I let go of Rit and left the house.

It was after dark, but I was heading out to the mountains to get the ingredients I needed to make the medicines for the colosseum. I would reach the mountain tonight, sleep there, gather everything, and be back by tomorrow evening.

Then, I’d prepare the medicines and deliver the day after tomorrow.

The colosseum was a major customer, so in order to have everything ready for the big event this weekend, I decided to put in a bit of extra effort for once.

“I still can’t believe it’s been a full year since we started living together…”

Our one-year anniversary would be the week after next. Thinking back, a lot had happened in that time.

I should do something special for her…and that means earning some money from this job with the colosseum.

That was enough to get me ready and eager to go.

“Is that you, Red? You’re going out at this time of night?” the guard at the gate called out.

“Yeah, I’m off to the mountains to gather some herbs. I’ll be back tomorrow evening.”

“Huh, you sound really fired up. The missus lay down the law?”

“Haha, it’s almost a year since she moved in. She doesn’t have to lay down the law; I want to work hard for her.”

“Aw, you two sure are close. I wish I could find a cute wife, too.”

Chuckling at the guard’s gripes, I left Zoltan.

A beautiful moon filled the night sky.

The mountains were lively tonight. Summer insects buzzed and chirped in the shadows of the plants, and I found it both amusing and mystifying that such small creatures could make such loud noises. Insects did not live their lives subtly, if they were using sounds like that to try and attract a mate.

But larger insect-type monsters didn’t make that sort of noise.

“I just had to think it…”

Sure enough, the sound of insects stopped, and the rough sound of trees being pushed aside filled the silence.

A yellow light cut through the night sky, drawing near.

“That’s strange.”

An insect appeared with a long, narrow, black body…as big as a fully grown grizzly.

A beast-eating flash beetle. Its large, well-developed lower jaw announced its carnivorous nature. Despite its appearance, it was actually a type of firefly—yet another example of why large insect-type monsters were so fearsome.

“They’re supposed to live deeper in the woods, but I guess these sorts of things happen on summer nights.”

I put my hand on the hilt of my sword.

The next moment, a flash of light filled my vision. It was an aggressive sort of light, unlike the soft glow of a normal firefly. The flash beetle’s strategy was to dazzle its opponents, then attack them while they couldn’t move. Even if you knew the attack was coming, it was still difficult to avoid, and if you closed your eyes out of caution, you were effectively blinded anyway.

Which made running away the best course of action.

“…?”

The flash beetle tilted its head and wriggled its antennae.

The moment I’d seen the light, I had immediately escaped the range it could sense me in. The flash also limited its own vision, so it relied on scent and the changes in the air its feelers could detect, but this was only effective for about twenty meters.

If you turned away from it and started running the moment the flash happened, it was more than enough time to get out of range.

Left alone, the flash beetle moved its head all around, searching for me, before finally giving up and disappearing back into the forest.

“It’s not like anyone got hurt, and one dead monster is barely a drop in the bucket.”

It was rare for flash beetles to come out this far, but there were lots of monsters like that deeper in the mountains. If I’d killed it here, it wouldn’t have made a difference to anyone, be they human or monster.

Today, I was just here to gather herbs, so I let it go.

Fireflies used their lights to search for mates, just like summer insects did with their chirping and buzzing.

“It might have a mate waiting for it to come home, too.”

In which case, there was no need to be cruel. I was just a simple apothecary, not a member of the Hero’s party; I didn’t have a duty to kill monsters.

Thinking back on it, I’d let the owlbear go last year, too. The situation was similar, but I realized my state of mind had been pretty different.

With the owlbear, I had taken a break from my role of saving people, so I’d felt like it wasn’t my job to fight. I didn’t think I’d been wrong to think that. Even now, I was under no delusion that I was the one who had to solve everything, but letting that owlbear go had led to a huge uproar. The owlbear would have been slain whether I did anything or not…but because of a fire mage’s overenthusiastic support during the hunt, there had been a big forest fire across the mountain.

The person I was now…probably would have killed it.

Meeting Rit again and living together with her had changed the way I thought. My mental state as Gideon and how I had been when I first became Red had reached a sort of balance. After all, Red had only ever lived as a guide, so when he suddenly lost his purpose, he’d forced himself to try to live a quiet life in the countryside even though he didn’t know how. He’d been hurt and all beat up.

The man I currently was only existed because Rit had supported me… This past year with her was something irreplaceable.

Sitting in the shade of a tree, listening to insects that had resumed their chirping, I thought about how glad I was that I had come to Zoltan.

The following day, I was out gathering herbs. My goal was to pick the amount I needed by noon. I hadn’t been attacked by monsters since my run-in the night before, and my basket was filling up at a good pace.

Demon beast–type monsters had stopped attacking me a long time ago. They were fairly intelligent, so they probably realized I was a dangerous opponent and that I wouldn’t attack them unless they came at me first.

There were good medicinal herbs growing around the entrance to the ancient human ruins—the Hero Management Bureau. It was also chimera territory, but after beating a lesson into them a year ago, they had stopped attacking me and even napped while I was around.

Chimeras were monsters that had the heads of a lion, goat, and dragon, and a snake’s head for a tail. They were your stereotypical composite-type monster. If I told them they were in the way, they would move without much of a problem, but they could also be very cheeky.

It was something you’d never realize just by fighting them.

“If you’re going to watch, you could always help out a bit,” I called out to a young chimera staring at me as I gathered plants. It was probably a teenager by human standards.

The words should have meant nothing to it, but I guess some of the nuance came through, because it pulled out a nearby plant with its mouth…then the goat head started munching on it.

“Hey.”

“Baaa…”

It spat it out. Guess it didn’t taste great.

“Don’t give me that look,” I said with a laugh, as the goat head gave me a resentful glare.

With that, the chimera stood up. It glanced at me, as if telling me to follow, then guided me to a rocky area where a bunch of the medicinal plants were all growing together in the shade.

Aren’t you a nice little guy…

I guess once it realized the plants weren’t worth anything as food, it had been willing to share. Chimeras weren’t all the same—they seemed to have some individuality.

Thanking the chimera who gave me the tip, I crouched down to start gathering the plants. The chimera lay down and continued to watch me work. I wondered what it found so interesting… Maybe, if it weren’t for blessings, humans and demon beasts might have been able to get along better.

With the difference in our blessing level, neither of us had a reason to fight, so we shared this tranquil moment instead.

It was evening back in Zoltan, and I was grinding herbs in the workroom.

“I just closed up shop. Is there anything I can help with?”

Rit came through the door holding a cup of tea.

“Thanks, but all the work for this part needs my skills, so I’ll do it myself,” I told her as she passed me the cup.

“Ugh, too bad. Maybe I should take the Elementary Preparation skill, too.”

“Ahaha. I appreciate the thought, but neither of us is going to get much of a chance to raise our blessing level again. So even if you go for a common skill, it would probably be better to get one that would be more useful day to day.”

I took a sip of tea. It was nicely chilled, so I started gulping it down. It was the perfect temperature for my parched throat after all the work I had been doing.

“…If you’re not busy right now, would you mind sitting next to me?” I asked.

“Something on your mind?”

“Yeah, there’s a lot I want to talk to you about, since I spent the night away.”

“Hehe, I was just thinking the same thing.”

It had only been one night.

Just a single night apart.

But there was still a lot we wanted to talk about. What I had seen out in the mountains, what she had seen in Zoltan, things we had experienced and wanted to share with each other.

Rit brought over a stool and sat beside me.

I continued my grinding, and we shared what we’d been through.

The weekend arrived, and with it came the day of the title fight at Zoltan’s colosseum.

“C’mon, Kilo! Don’t lose to that shrimp!”

“You better not lose, Booter! That string bean’s got nothin’!”

The junior division was currently in progress.

The fighters’ parents cheered loudly, while the children themselves were obviously tense. They must have been feeling the pressure.

“Both of you do your best,” Ruti called out in a calm yet clear voice.

Strangely, that had more of an effect than the parents’ shouts.

The two fighters glanced in Ruti’s direction, then flashed a smile at each other before getting serious and starting the match. It was a good bout, and they both showed off their skills without holding back.

“So yours is the last fight of the junior division?”

“Mhm.”

“We can watch together until then.”

“Yeah, that’ll be fun.”

Ruti, Rit, Tisse, Mister Crawly Wawly, and I were sitting together on a bench and watching the fights. Mister Crawly Wawly had a headband on and was waving little flags with his two front arms, since one of his friends was fighting.

“Oh, he’s not? It’s not your friend that’s competing, but his owner?”

It turned out that the person fighting was the owner of the dog sitting next to Mister Crawly Wawly. The dog’s tail was wagging furiously in support; both he and Mister Crawly Wawly must have been enjoying the big event, too.

“I’ve prepared for this day,” Tisse said.

Her expression was different from usual, though it was just the slightest difference. As to what she had prepared for…

“Today is the chikuwa bread’s market debut.”

She was proudly eating the mysterious bread that she had made: chikuwa bread. I didn’t know what was going on with that, but it seemed like it had caught the eye of a Zoltan bakery that had set up a stall in front of the colosseum for the big event to sell it.

Just what is this assassin doing?

But looking around the stands, there were quite a few people eating her bread. It seemed like it was a success so far, which made sense as it was delicious.

Anyway, the important thing was that Tisse was also enjoying her life in Zoltan.

As all of that was going on, Ruti’s turn finally came.

“All right, I’m going now.”

“Okay. Do your best.”

“Mhm.”

Ruti clenched her fists at my words of encouragement and headed to the waiting room.

The current bout was the juniors’ championship match between a large girl and a short boy. Neither of them had connected with their blessing yet, so it was purely a competition of their own individual skill.

The boy was the dog’s owner that Mister Crawly Wawly had been cheering for, so the two of them enthusiastically showed their support.

The girl was using her size advantage to maintain the upper hand, but the boy was skillfully keeping himself in a good position.

The girl’s arms flexed to forcibly push the boy down.

“Ah.” I actually gasped.

The moment the boy had planted his right foot to brace against his opponent’s strength, it had been swept out from under him, and he had gone flying into the air.

It was a perfectly timed leg sweep.

This young girl seemed to have incredible technique. I couldn’t wait to see what the future held for her.

Once he was on the ground, the boy’s size disadvantage was just too much, and he lost. Mister Crawly Wawly and the dog slumped in disappointment.

The girl held out a hand to the dazed boy.

“Pretty impressive, making me use a technique like that. What’s your name?”

“Booter.”

So she’s that sort of person, is she?

It felt like the beginning of a rival story.

Mister Crawly Wawly and the dog started applauding, seemingly moved by the display of comradery. Meanwhile, Tisse took a bite out of her chikuwa bread.

“Ah, next up is Ruti!” said Rit.

“Yeah, apparently it’s a match against everyone in the top eight all at once.”

“That sounds like fun.”

After a short break, the children entered the arena again.

“And now, we have an exhibition match pitting the top fighters from the junior division against Zoltan’s hero: the B-rank adventurer, Ruti Ruhr!”

Ruti made her way into the arena.

“Wooooo!!!”

The crowd roared.

This was Ruti’s first time in the colosseum. Even if it was an exhibition match, it was only natural that everyone would be excited for the chance to watch Zoltan’s hero fight in person.

Instead of her usual outfit, Ruti was wearing normal outdoor clothes for the arena, the sort of thing adventurers wore beneath their armor. They were fairly sturdy, being made of a thicker type of cloth, but it also meant that her opponents would have something easy to grab onto in a grappling contest.

“How do you think Ruti will approach a fight like this?” Rit asked.

“Hmmm…”

Would she let the children win, since this was essentially an extension of the games she played with them? Would she go along with them for a little while, before eventually outmatching the kids and winning? Or would she use her overwhelming strength to show them what adults were capable of?

There were a lot of ways for a grown person to handle this sort of situation. However…

“The way she is now, I doubt Ruti does any of those.”

“Really?!”

The children surrounded Ruti. They seemed to be thinking about the best way to attack her, but then one boy suddenly leapt forward. I figured he wasn’t a big fan of waiting around, but it was a cute attack—childish and rash.

Ruti could send him flying with a single hand…but instead she took the attack head on, catching the boy and throwing him down with proper, serious form.

“At a time like this, you should be working together to attack. Even if you don’t have a chance of winning head-on, there’s still hope if you can get into a grappling match from an advantageous position. All of you were just fighting one another, so I imagine you haven’t ever worked together, but you should focus on taking advantage of your numbers and coordinating your attack as much as possible. We’ll pretend this throw just now didn’t happen, so come at me for real.”

Ruti’s approach with the children was to deal with them seriously.

All of them had fought their hardest in their matches. Even if the adults watching the competition found it amusing, the kids had done their best to win. So Ruti faced them on their own level, defeating the children one by one with precise throws, rather than making a half-hearted display.

The girl who had been crowned champion was the last one standing. She tried to throw Ruti from behind, but Ruti hooked her leg and broke her stance.

And that was everyone.

The girl gritted her teeth, and tears welled in her eyes. She and her allies had fought all-out, in all seriousness, on equal ground. That was why it was so frustrating.

“What an impressive match.”

The crowd had fallen quiet. They’d been expecting something closer to a game than a proper fight, so I stood up and clapped to break the silence.

“Yeah, Ruti and the children all gave it their best. It was a great match.”

Rit and Tisse both stood up and applauded with me, and the rest of the crowd soon followed.

“That was incredible!”

“The future sure is bright!”

The children left the arena filled with a mixture of frustration and joy. They hadn’t connected with their blessings yet; this applause was something they had earned with their own power, just as it was for Ruti, who had drawn out their true strength.

In a real battle, there was never any need to draw out 100 percent of an opponent’s strength—rather, it made sense to try to win without going against their full power.

This hadn’t been a contest of blessings that grew stronger from killing, but between people. In my opinion, that was why it was such a wonderful fight.

With the junior division over, there was a break for lunch before the adult division began.

“Good job, Ruti,” I told her when she came back.

She had changed back into her usual clothes, and she sat down next to me, looking completely relaxed.

“That was the goal.”

“Yeah, you did great.”

“Mm.”

Ruti looked happy as I praised her.

“It was a great match. Even I got up and clapped!” Rit said.

“Yes, it is something I am sure those children will never forget,” Tisse added.

And Mister Crawly Wawly waved his flags.

“Thank you,” Ruti answered with a smile. She averted her gaze slightly out of embarrassment.

Ruti still wasn’t totally used to praise like this; it was so different from the praise the Hero had received…or maybe she just wasn’t used to feeling overcome with emotion when she was praised.

Ruti was regaining some of what the Hero had stolen from her, and it made me happy.

“Ruti!!!” someone shouted.

“Yarandrala.”

“That was such a great match, Ruti! I’m all fired up now!”

Yarandrala wrapped her up in a big hug. That only made Ruti look even more embarrassed… No, maybe a little annoyed would be more accurate.

“All right, Yarandrala, that’s enough.”

I gently pried her off Ruti. High elves got extremely touchy-feely with friends when they got emotional, so there was no helping it really. Still, I think Rit and Tisse could also tell that Ruti was feeling a bit uncomfortable.

““Ahaha.””

They both let out a laugh, almost as if they were enjoying it.

After the lunch break, there were four matches in the adult division.

Yarandrala’s was the fourth and final bout—the title fight to determine the champion of Zoltan’s colosseum.

Combatants could use weapons of any sort, including ranged weapons, and there were no limits on magical buffs, nor any weight classes. These free-for-all rules were the closest to real combat, and the most popular type of match in any town.

“The winner is…Paul!”

The third bout had ended.

The winner had been clear from the outset. Even though the spear-user Paul’s fans cheered like mad, the match had been one-sided and somewhat lacking in excitement.

“And now, our final bout for the day! The ultimate challenger has emerged!”

Yarandrala stepped into the arena.

“The high elf with whirlwinds for fists! Yar-an-dralaaa!!!”

Huh, so she’s earned a nickname fighting? I wonder why they call her that.

Yarandrala’s hands were wrapped in bandages, and she raised them high, firing the crowd up.

Rit and I started to cheer, when all of a sudden…

“Yarandrala!!! Yarandrala!!! Yarandrala!!!”

Cheers erupted all around us.

“Lala~ ”

Yarandrala started singing.

“Go! Go! Yarandrala!!!”

The crowd drummed their feet against the ground, then all together they shouted her name and struck a pose.

“What even is that?”

Yarandrala was almost too comfortable in the arena. I knew she’d had to fight a bunch of times to get this title match, but this was something else…

“Was Yarandrala always like this?”

“It’s such a surprise.”

“She’s really living it up out there.”

Me, Ruti, and Rit were so surprised we couldn’t even manage to cheer. Tisse and Mister Crawly Wawly must have already known all about it, because they cheered along perfectly with the rest of the crowd.

“Any real fan of Zoltan’s colosseum knows the Yarandrala Shake.”

“What even is that?”

And now I was repeating myself. How long had this been going on?

And facing Yarandrala and her choreography was the champion of Zoltan’s colosseum.

“I’ve been waiting, champ! Volga the Hammer!!!”

Volga was holding a heavy, two-handed war hammer. He was a big, burly warrior with a barrel chest and short, stout legs, and he had reigned for years as Zoltan’s champion after defeating Tiger Heart Janko.

Strangely enough, his adventurer’s rank was just C. Using weapons and magic, Yarandrala would win for sure, but…

“Yarandrala’s fighting barehanded? No weapons or magic, right?”

“That’s not all. She also handicaps herself by not using grappling techniques that would stop her opponents from using their weapons.”

Yarandrala’s blessing was Singer of the Trees. It allowed her to communicate with plants and borrow their strength, which fell under the broader spirit mage class of blessings. While it allowed her to fight on the front lines in a limited capacity, its true value was in spirit magic.

What’s more, Yarandrala had taken skills to use a quarterstaff for close combat. Fighting without her magic or weapons, she had almost no benefit from her blessing—something that was practically a necessity going up against an armed opponent barehanded. After all, the simple truth was that weapons were stronger than fists.

“Volga isn’t that strong of an adventurer, but in the arena, you can’t let your guard down.”

Actual combat differed from colosseum matches, and Volga was a warrior who had chosen his blessing skills with an eye toward success in the arena, rather than success as an adventurer. The weakness of his Heavy Weapon User blessing was its lack of options for longer range combat and its lack of defensive options for saturation attacks, but neither of those were important under the arena’s rules.

The reason Volga had chosen to make a living for himself in the colosseum was probably because he understood the unique characteristics of his blessing.

Yarandrala, who couldn’t make any use of her blessing, was fighting Volga, who used his to the fullest. There was no telling which way the match would go… Or was there?

“This is still Yarandrala we’re talking about here.”

“Yeah.”

Rit and Ruti were munching on some popcorn, looking completely relaxed.

“This is good.”

“You can really taste the butter.”

They both seemed content.

With the entrances over, Volga and Yarandrala began the match.

“Go Yarandrala!”

I waved at Yarandrala, cheering her on, and she pointed to me in response.

The crowd roared again, thinking it was just a shout-out to a regular fan, and an old man sitting nearby even came over and gave me a pat on the back.

“She’s really popular.”

“Yeah, I can’t believe how worked up everyone is.”

Rit and I were both stunned.

“Ah, here she comes,” said Tisse. She and Mister Crawly Wawly leaned forward in anticipation.

However, Volga was the first to attack. The difference in reach between a war hammer and fists was just too much. He swung the hammer down at Yarandrala, who slipped past it and stepped inside on his left, but he quickly brought it back up aimed straight at her head.

“Oh, not bad, Volga.”

He had shifted his right hand up the shaft closer to the hammer’s head—a technique for handling close-range fights. Yarandrala would take a significant amount of damage if she tried to use her arm to block that attack without any skills from her blessing.

It wasn’t easy facing an armed opponent barehanded.

“Still…”

Yarandrala swayed backward with her upper body to avoid the hammer, simultaneously landing a left hook straight into Volga’s side. Unleashing a powerful punch from a stance like that was a testament to her extraordinary fighting instincts.

“Even with her blessing, Yarandrala’s sense for battle is more suited to close combat.”

“Her feel for the range is top tier.” Tisse nodded in agreement. “Having seriously fought her once, I can say that much with absolute confidence.”

“If even you couldn’t take her down, then that’s saying something.”

As Volga recoiled, Yarandrala pummeled him with a furious combo of attacks. The force of her fists without any blessing wasn’t enough to give Volga a concussion, especially with the Merciful potion, so Yarandrala kept punching, and punching, and punching.

Volga still had opportunities to counterattack, but Yarandrala dodged all of his blows, dancing on a knife’s edge.

Yeah, this is definitely the sort of fight that would drive a crowd wild.

I could understand why Yarandrala was so popular.

Mister Crawly Wawly wriggled his front legs, copying her movements.

Yarandrala looked like she was enjoying herself, surrounded by the roar of the crowd.

And it ended in a spectacular victory for Yarandrala.

“Congrats on winning the title, Yarandrala!”

““Congratulations!””

Me, Rit, Ruti, and Tisse all gave Yarandrala a round of applause.

The table was covered in a wide variety of foods: roast chicken, fish pie, sweet potato potage, green salad with a dressing made from fresh vegetables, a simple and fluffy white bread made with the highest quality butter (and no nuts or fruits), and custard pudding for dessert. As for drinks, there was freshly squeezed mixed fruit juice and a nice, inexpensive wine I had bought at the market.

“Thank you for such a wonderful meal and for all of your congratulations!!!” Yarandrala smiled, looking really happy.

We had decided to throw a little party for her after the tournament ended.

“You really are incredible, Yarandrala.”

I meant it. It’s not as if I wasn’t interested in fighting barehanded; I had enjoyed hearing about the theory of martial arts from Danan when we were making camp and had even practiced martial arts as a form of exercise. But I had never even considered trying to train myself to the point where I could become a champion using it.

Of course, if I was willing to take a few hits, I could grab hold of an opponent and crush them through sheer difference in blessing level, but there was nothing fun about doing that. What we had just witnessed was a battle far removed from any real combat, with the goal of challenging Yarandrala’s own curiosity.

It reminded me of something Danan had once said: that Yarandrala was the type of person who could exist in peace and conflict at the same time. The way she fought was different from Danan, who sought strength through combat. Yarandrala found pleasure in challenging herself the way I enjoyed my slow life.

“Why don’t you step into the ring too, Red? Let’s fight with the belt on the line!” Yarandrala’s eyes were sparkling with excitement, but I couldn’t really hope to meet that sort of a challenge. “If you do, I’ll fight with a sword, too.”

“Are you planning to master the sword now? …You do know I’m trying to take it easy here, hiding my identity as an apothecary, right?”

She really did put all her energy into her hobbies.

“That’s a shame. There are no challengers on the horizon, so I guess I’ll focus on building my ship for now.”

“Building a ship… Ah, you did mention something about that, didn’t you.”

“Moving on to a new hobby the same day you became champion of the colosseum… It really is just one thing after the other with you,” said Rit, sounding similarly exasperated.

Everyone sitting around the table had a pretty diverse range of interests, but Yarandrala was way ahead of all of us.

“Well, the Merchants Guild is closed tomorrow, so I guess you’ll have to start next week.”

“Actually, I had a good idea for that.”

“You did?”

“When I thought about it, I realized there’s actually a top-of-the-line ship already here in Zoltan!”

““There is?””

Rit, Tisse, and I all cocked our heads at the same time. Ruti was the only one who seemed to have realized what Yarandrala was getting at.

“What ship are you talking about?”

Zoltan was a border nation all the way on the edge of the continent. There were hardly any trade ships, and without a thriving shipping industry, there wasn’t going to be any development in shipbuilding either. There might have been a few people who already knew the craft before they ended up drifting out here, but Zoltan didn’t have a shipyard capable of making top-of-the-line ships, nor was it a place any such ships would come to.

“Leonor came here leading a fleet, didn’t she?”

“Ahh, that was a huge problem. And it led to another big mess when Van came to Zoltan to get the Vendidad that was beached here.”

They might be able to look back on it fondly now, but they had been lucky to make it through unscathed. The whole affair was like walking several dangerous tightropes.

“Ah, right,” Rit chimed in.

Yeah, I’d figured it out, too.

“Ruti sank a Veronian galleon during the fight.”

“Exactly!” Yarandrala nodded. “It’s still lying there on the seabed. If I analyze its construction, I should be able to use that as reference for my own ship.”

“I see.”

“So tomorrow, we’re going diving!”

“Huh?”

Yarandrala had always been like this, but even so, keeping up with her enthusiasm could be tough.

“Our swimsuits are seeing a lot of use this summer.”

“Zoltan’s summers are long, so we might as well make the most of it.”

It would be tough, but tomorrow still should be pretty fun.

“It’s never boring with you around, Yarandrala.”

Rit smiled too, looking forward to what tomorrow might bring.