Grimgal of Ashes and Illusion - Volume 14.2 - Chapter 3.06

6. The Terror Returns

The bell rang to tell the time.

8:00 am.

Haruhiro and the others were in front of Workshop Masukaze.

It wasn’t just Haruhiro, Moguzo, and Merry today. Ranta, Yume, and Shihoru were here, too. Once they picked up the weapon, they planned to go out hunting right away. Everyone was ready to go. All they needed was Moguzo’s weapon.

“W-Well...” Moguzo opened the door to Workshop Masukaze.

“Whoa...?!” Ranta doubled over backwards.

“Eek...!” Shihoru hugged Yume, and, “Nyoh!” Yume let out a strange cry in response.

Haruhiro, Moguzo, and Merry all gulped.

The wheeled dragon-horse, the Trigon, was sitting on the other side of the door, as always. And, as far as Haruhiro could tell, the shape of its head was slightly different than yesterday. Had he worked on it again? But, more importantly...

“Welcome.” Riyosuke the blacksmith was kneeling in front of the Trigon.

That was fine. But why?

Why was Riyosuke naked from the waist up?

Also, why was there an unsheathed dagger lying in front of his knees?

He had a pensive look on his face. There was something almost pathetic about it.

“What business brings you to this workshop?” But, judging by the way he said that again...

This guy is certified.

“What business...?” Haruhiro said that much, then stopped.

Riyosuke nodded silently. “I kid.” He closed his eyes. “I’ve been waiting for you.”

“...U-Um,” Moguzo hesitantly asked, “Where is the w-weapon I left with you...?”

“I thought you might ask.”

“Huh...? Well, y-yeah, I mean, that’s about the only business I have here, isn’t it...?”

“That’s why! I told you I was waiting, didn’t I?!”

He was acting angry when he was in the wrong...?

Yeah. That had to be it.

That was unmistakably what he was doing. It was nothing if not that.

None of them—not even Ranta—could say anything in response. They were awed by Riyosuke’s strange intensity.

“Now listen here!” Riyosuke’s eyes snapped open. “I accepted your weapon! That much is true! Yesterday, I told you it would be ready for 8:00 AM tomorrow! I told you that, indeed! However! That’s no guarantee it will actually happen! Nothing is certain! Nothing! Is that not how life is?! It is, right?! Am I saying anything wrong? I’m not, am I? No, indeed, I am not! Would life be interesting if everything went according to plan, people?! It would be dull, right?! Not knowing what will happen! That is life! Yes, that is where the joy of life lies! In other words...! This is life...!”

“...What’s this guy goin’ on about?” Yume asked Shihoru.

Shihoru seemed troubled over how to respond, and simply said, “I-I dunno...” and shook her head.

“So, what you’re saying is...” Merry stepped up. “It’s not done yet?”

Riyosuke closed his eyes and shook his head diagonally. Why diagonally...?

“I never said that.”

“Th-Then...” Moguzo said, gulping, “Is... it done?”

“How shallow!”

“...Shallow?”

“That question is shallow! Yes or no! Black or white! Is life so simple? No, I say! No...!”

“But that one’s a ‘no’, huh...?” Haruhiro couldn’t help but point that out. Riyosuke had just finished saying you couldn’t divide things into black and white like that, after all. However, Riyosuke smiled placidly.

“There are times when we must come up with an answer. That, too, is life.”

“Hey...” Ranta pointed at Riyosuke. “Everything this guy says is crazy. None of it makes any sense...”

“You’re not really one to talk, though...”

“What was that, Haruhiro?! What’s crazy about me?! I’m the most logical person in the world!”

“Yeah!”

“See! The old man agrees with—Wait, huh...?”

“Yes?”

Riyosuke seemed unfazed as Ranta looked at him. Ranta pointed to himself, then at Riyosuke, then back again.

“We’ve never met before, right...?”

“You could say that, yes.”

“...Huh? What do you mean we could say we’ve never met before...?”

“That’s a good question.”

“Y-You think?”

“Yes. But it is a deep one. Would you consider it with me until we come to an answer?”

“No, I’m not gonna... I don’t think. And hold on, what’s up with this old guy?”

Could it be?

Was he trying to dodge the issue, and hope they would just sort of forget about it in the confusion...?

“...I get it.” Merry stepped further forward, slamming the end of her staff down between Riyosuke and his dagger. “If you felt cornered, you planned to get out of it by making a scene of how you might commit seppuku with this dagger, right? I see how you work.”

Riyosuke looked up at Merry... and grinned. There was still composure in his expression, but he was sweating.

“It seems you’ve misunderstood me.”

“Have I?”

“I’d never commit seppuku. Perish the thought.”

“I don’t think you’d actually go through with it. You’d just pretend.”

Riyosuke looked Merry in the eye for a while, then, lowering his eyes, “...You’re good,” he mumbled. “Truly, it has been three years since someone last stopped me from using this trick. Whew, you sure got me. I give. I get it. Let’s be frank here, huh? Frank! Yes, frank...!”

“Why say the same thing three times...?” Shihoru asked, shuddering, but Riyosuke cried out for the forbidden fourth time.

“Here I goooo! Frank—”

Whoosh... Merry’s staff grazed Riyosuke’s cheek. That priest’s staff of hers was no mere decoration. There was a red line left on Riyosuke’s cheek. —Blood. He’s bleeding.

“Be frank. When will it be done?”

“...This afternoon?”

“What time?”

“Nine, no, ten—”

“You mean to tell me it will take until night?”

“Huh? No, 6:00 pm... or thereabouts.”

“Thereabouts?”

“By 4:00 pm! No, I was trying to act cool! 4:00 is impossible! By 6:00...!”

“6:00 pm on the dot, okay?”

“Yes!”

“Do you know what will happen if you’re late?”

“...I have some idea.”

“Get it done this time.”

Merry retracted her staff and turned away from Riyosuke.

In that moment, “Whew...” Riyosuke let out a sigh. I’m saved. I got through that somehow. I made it. You could maybe see those thoughts in his expression.

As if to say, “How naive,” Merry spun around and thrust her priest’s staff at the end of Riyosuke’s nose.

“Listen. Do not disappoint me.”

“...Understood.”

“We will come at 6:00 pm.”

“...I will be waiting.”

Even Riyosuke had gone a little pale now, and he stared at the end of her staff. Cross-eyed. His eyes were as crossed as they came.

Merry used her staff to poke Riyosuke in the nose.

“Eek!”

Without so much as a glance to Riyosuke as he flipped over, Merry left the workshop.

“...What a scary woman,” Ranta whispered. Maybe he shouldn’t have been saying that about a comrade. But, to be frank, Haruhiro felt pretty much the same. Obviously he couldn’t tell Merry that. Or rather, if he said the words, “To be frank,” in front of Merry after what had just happened, he was sure something terrifying would befall him...

Regardless, now that Merry had walked out, he couldn’t just leave her. Telling Riyosuke, “Well, we’ll be back at 6:00 pm today!” he left the workshop, but he couldn’t see Merry when he did, and he panicked a little. “M-Merry...?!”

He dashed down the narrow road. He looked right. Then left.

There she was.

Merry had come to a stop, hanging her head. What was up? Her back was to Haruhiro, so he couldn’t see her expression. But she looked... depressed, somehow?

He couldn’t call out to her. As he hesitated, Yume moseyed right over to her, circling around to her front, and peered at her face.

“Merry-chan? Is somethin’ up?”

“I’m sorry. I...”

“Foo?”

“Just now—that was...”

Ranta walked over with large strides. “Heh!” He gave her a thumbs up. “Not bad. That was some nice intimidation. I guess they didn’t call you Scary Merry for nothing!”

“...!” Merry shook her head.

Haruhiro traded glances with Shihoru and Moguzo who had caught up with them. Merry was clearly acting strange. At the very least, she wasn’t smirking and thinking, I sure showed him. If anything, it was the opposite. I messed up, I failed—or something like that?

Yume was trying to say something to Merry, but though her mouth flapped open and closed, all that came out was, “Uhh,” and, “Nngh,” or, “Mew.” Nothing resembling actual words.

Ranta turned to Haruhiro, and cocked his head to the side.

“...What?”

No, man, it’s because you started calling her Scary Merry.

But was that really it? Was that all?

Suddenly, Merry took a deep breath and raised her face. She looked around to each of them. Was that a smile? It was a forced one. And without putting in real effort.

“Well, see you again here, at 6:00.”

With that, Merry took off running. No, she wasn’t quite running, but she was definitely walking fast. Merry was taking off.

“What’s with her...?” Ranta spat, but by that time Merry was far off in the distance.

I have to go after her. But what do I even say?

Haruhiro didn’t know. Pathetically, his legs refused to move.