Grimgal of Ashes and Illusion - Volume 4 - Chapter 11

11. Egoist

“Gwahahaha!” Ranta guffawed loudly.

It felt like the first time in a long time that he’d seen the light of day. Actually, it had been a long time. The dread knights’ guild was underground in the sprawling slums of Alterna’s West Town. Ranta had stayed there for a while to learn two skills. For nine days, he hadn’t set foot outside of that dank, jail-like guild. No, it wasn’t just jail-like. He couldn’t have left if he’d wanted to. If he’d insisted on leaving, he would have left as a corpse. On that point, at least, it was a jail.

The sun should have warmed Ranta’s body, but instead he shivered.

“...Damn, I know I say this every time, but the lords were scary...”

Within the dread knights’ guild, there were a number of dread knights with the position of lord. He didn’t know the precise number, but Ranta had probably met seven of them.

Why “probably”? Because the lords hid their faces, and they never gave their names. He could only distinguish them by their voices and height. That meant there were seven that Ranta could tell apart.

Every last one of them was damn scary. They didn’t show even a hint of kindness, and they were way too merciless. To be blunt, Ranta couldn’t see the lords as fellow humans. If people mastered the way of the dread knight, did they turn out like that?

“They’re damn cool, though,” Ranta said. “I wanna be like that. Lord Ranta, huh. Heh heh...”

Ranta held his throat, coughing to clear it, then tried imitating their voices.

“‘Call me Lord. You are Lord Skullhell’s slave, and I am Lord Skullhell’s slave who will show you the way. There is no need for names for either of us.’ ...Oh-ho! That was cool! Was that cool or what, just now? It was so damn cool! Ow!”

Ranta was whacked in the back of the head, but when he turned to look, there was no one there.

What? Did I imagine it? I couldn’t have, right...? He rubbed the spot where he’d been hit, turned back to face forward, and there was a black-clad lord looking like a hazy shadow as they walked away.

“Urkh... W-Was I overheard?!” Ranta yelped.

“Foolish slave.” The lord stopped, turning the face covered in a reddish black mask to face him. “Will you be embraced by Lord Skullhell?”

“N-No!” Ranta gasped. “I’m good, thanks!”

“What do you mean, you’re good?” the lord demanded.

“Erm, well, I’m good for now, like, I still want to serve Lord Skullhell and, like, I can serve him, like, I’m gonna serve him real good!” Ranta blathered. “I think I can be way, way more useful than I am now, so, uh, l-l-let me go for now! I-I’m begging you!”

Ranta jumped into the air and threw himself on the ground. He ground his forehead against the floor. It was a magnificent kowtow.

“I-I screwed up! I-I was wrong! I’m gonna work myself like a horse, to the bone, with total sincerity, to do the will of Lord Skullhell, so, please! Please, please, please, this once! S-Spare my life, at least!”

“You scum.” The lord left, leaving only those words behind.

Ranta stood up, and—“Whew!”—wiped the cold sweat off his face.

“...Th-That was close. S-Still, you know, wasn’t that the first time I’ve met a lord outside? So the lords go outside like regular people, huh? Well, yeah, of course. They can’t stay underground all the time. Hell, if she took off that mask, I wouldn’t even know who she was. I could meet her at the bar and never realize it. That lord must’ve been a woman. I mean, she had tits. I only know the one female lord, so that must have been her, yeah? Maybe she’s actually hot when she takes off that mask. A total femme fatale, huh. I could go for that... Geh heh heh...”

As he wandered through the twisted streets of West Town, Ranta fantasized about the days of love and lust that would unfold between the two of them once he was finally a lord. The dread knights’ guild forced him into a life of abstinence, so when he got out, he was always pent up.

“I’m a healthy young man, after all,” Ranta said. “You can’t blame me. Yeah.”

Ranta stood in front of Celestial Alley, looking up into the sky. The sun had seemed so bright and warm when he’d first come out, but now it was already evening. The sun was low on the horizon.

“—I’m gonna live your share as well, partner,” he said. “I mean, I’d rather you were here to live it with me. But I’m fine without you. That’s ’cause my legend as the strongest is just getting started. You just sit back and watch me, you idiot...”

Ranta rubbed his eyes and sniffed his nose. He put his hands on his hips, puffing out his chest and laughing loudly. He felt invincible when he did that. No, he didn’t just feel it—he was invincible.

Ranta took a leisurely detour down Celestial Alley. He wasn’t going to silly old Sherry’s Tavern tonight. No, he’d decided on a place with lots of pretty girls to pour his drinks for him. If things went well, he’d take one or two of them home with him, then take things all the way to the finish.

“Yeah, the way I am now... I can do it!” Ranta thrust his hips in the air, then looked around for a place.

The good places were reserved for the regular forces of the Frontier Army, with no volunteer soldiers allowed, so he had to be careful in his choice. Ranta wanted a place that looked like it’d have lots of young, busty girls with an hourglass figure who were kind and considerate, but who’d become bold once they were alone with him and take the lead.

Ranta walked up and down Celestial Alley a few times before stopping outside one establishment.

The cabaret club, Runrun Paradise.

The exterior looked a bit out of place, but there were girls on the second floor balcony dressed in outfits which left nothing to the imagination. They were shooting intense looks at the passing men and waving to them to come in. Of course, Ranta was being invited, too.

No, Ranta was specifically being invited.

“Heh heh heh... I’m pumped to the max!” he hollered.

Doing everything he could to keep his boiling blood under control, Ranta went to dash through the door to Runrun Paradise.

Then someone grabbed him by the shoulder.

“Hey, Curly.”

“Huh...?!” Ranta yelped.

This was what it felt like to have a bucket of cold water poured on you.

Ranta turned around, ready to visit three thousand punches and seven thousand kicks on the audacious bastard who’d dared touch his shoulder, but when he saw that face, he had an immediate change of heart, throwing himself to the ground and performing a kowtow. It was his second jumping kowtow that day, but considering who he was dealing with, he couldn’t afford to be embarrassed about that.

“I-I-I-I’m sorry...! Wait, did I even do anything?! I must’ve, huh, ’cause we wouldn’t be doing this if I hadn’t! Anyway, I’m seriously, seriously sorry!”

“...What are you apologizing for?” Renji asked.

“Well, I don’t really know why I’m apologizing!” Ranta cried. “...Huh? Is that not it? I don’t need to apologize...? Wait, what’re you doing here, Renji? No, not Renji, Renji-san! Maybe you’re going to Runrun Paradise, too? No, not just going there, but you’re a regular...?”

“Runrun Paradise?” When Renji looked up to the second floor balcony, the girls squealed and shrieked.

That wasn’t all—Ranta saw it. He witnessed it. One of the girls pulled back the already-revealing chest portion of her dress, giving him a peek of her killer boobs. Her makeup was a bit heavy, but she was a pretty girl, and the way Renji didn’t bat an eye at it, just calmly denying it with a “No,” was seriously manly.

“I’ve never been in this place,” Renji said.

“...Y-Yeah, I guess you wouldn’t have been,” said Ranta. “Huh? Then, why did you...?”

“I happened to see you, so I called out to you,” Renji said.

“Huh?! N-No, I mean, why would you be talking to me?” Ranta asked.

“I’ve been wanting to talk to you.”

“T-To me...?!” Ranta asked.

“Yeah.” Renji patted down his ash gray hair, sighing. “I’m not that interested anymore, though.”

“...Because of Runrun Paradise?”

“No. Because of how you act.”

“Oh, of course.” Ranta stood up with an awkward laugh, quickly giving himself the sniff test to make sure he didn’t stink.

No, wait. He’s not a girl. He’s a dude. Like, the dude to end all dudes. I don’t need to do this. Or rather, he makes me a million times more nervous than any girl.

“Uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uhmm... Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh-What did you want to talk about?” Ranta stuttered.

“Come with me.” Renji pointed the way with his chin, then started to walk.

Ranta cried, “Yes, sir!” and took off after him.

Renji took Ranta to a small, cramped bar on the edge of Celestial Alley. It was truly cramped, but the interior was neat, with a good stock of bottles and casks of wine behind the bar. There were no other customers. It was probably too early for that. Later in the night, people would gather here to enjoy a quiet drink. That was the kind of place this had to be. In other words, it was no place for Ranta.

“Th-This is a good place,” said Ranta. “Ha ha ha, ha...”

“Brandy, any kind, for two,” Renji ordered without asking Ranta. Their drinks were ready quickly. There was a brown-ish liquid in a short glass.

Ranta said, “Don’t mind if I do!” and took a swig. He nearly choked on the stuff, but he somehow managed to endure. “Th-This stuff is strong...”

Renji gave a low snort, then downed his glass in one shot.

—Whoa. Damn, he’s cool...

“How’s it going?” Renji asked.

“Huh? Oh... Well, so-so... you could say. You know what happened to us.”

“Moguzo, huh,” said Renji.

“Well, that’s how it is...”

“I misjudged him,” Renji said. “He was a big deal.”

Renji’s meaning wasn’t clear. Moguzo had been big? What did he mean by that? That he’d been stronger than he’d thought? Or that it was a big deal that Moguzo had died, or something like that? Either way, Renji was acknowledging Moguzo.

—Man, you’ve got Renji acknowledging you now, partner, Ranta thought proudly. Not that being recognized after your death does you much good, though.

“But, well, he’s gone now,” Ranta said. “It’s not going to do us any good to moan and complain about it. We’ve got to get by on our own now. That’s how we’re taking it...”

“What about Haruhiro?” asked Renji.

“What about him? There’s not much to say,” Ranta said. “Well, he’s trying hard in his own way. Not that he’s much of a leader.”

“True enough.”

“He can’t be like you, Renji-san,” Ranta added.

“Cut it out with the -san.”

“Righto. Renji it is.” Ranta took a little sip of his brandy. “This is good stuff, if you take it a bit at a time. Still, it’s strange to be here, talking to you like this. You alone?”

“Work is work,” said Renji.

“And you wanna keep it separate from your time off?”

“Yeah, kinda,” said Renji.

“If you’re with people all the time, they get annoying,” Ranta agreed. “You wanna be alone once in a while.”

“Even you feel like that?” Renji asked archly.

“I’m fine all by myself, y’know?” Ranta said. “I don’t really get lonely. In this business, you can’t go it alone, though, so I need comrades. A group.”

“Want to join mine?” Renji asked.

Ranta nearly nodded, and then—Hold on, wait, he thought. What?

What did Renji just say? “Want to join mine?” No. That can’t be it, right? “Want a jumbo lime?” No, that’s not it.

“Want to join mine?” That was what Renji had said.

“...Huh?” Ranta asked, dumbfounded.

“Right now, we’ve got five,” said Renji. “There’s room for one more.”

“Oh—because Protection works on up to six, right?” Ranta asked.

“Thieves won’t work on another thief’s turf,” said Renji. “It’s part of their code of honor. I don’t need a hunter who can’t use a bow or a mage with no firepower, either. Your priest is worthless, too. She let Moguzo die.”

“That’s not...!” He felt the blood rushing to his head. But... why should Ranta have to stick up for Merry? Because she was his comrade? Even if she was, he had to call a spade a spade. That was Ranta’s stance. He didn’t want to play at being friends.

“...Well, yeah,” said Ranta. “Her skills aren’t bad, but Merry screwed up. She screwed up royally.”

“Our Chibi may not look it, but she’s useful,” said Renji.

“That seriously, seriously shocked me,” said Ranta. “I dunno... she just didn’t look like she’d have it in her. But if she’s supporting your party, she must be amazing.”

“Ranta.” That was probably a first. Renji hadn’t called him Curly, he’d called him by name. “You’re going to become useful. When I saw you at Deadhead, that’s what I thought. But Haruhiro can’t use you properly.”

Renji had been watching?

Ranta had seen Renji and his group. Renji was the one in it who was really, really incredible. Still, that was just because Renji was a crazy man who’d jump into danger like it was nothing and mow down enemies. Ron and the others were plenty amazing themselves. They had been with Renji all this time, and lived. That was special in and of itself. It was hard to believe that they hadn’t been volunteer soldiers for any longer than Ranta and the others.

Him, in that party.

If that were to happen—he was sure he could fight much, much harder. Without having to worry about his comrades, he’d be able to use his skills left and right to keep the enemies at his mercy. That was how a dread knight was meant to fight. Not how he was now. He had to worry about all sorts of stuff. There were too many limitations. If only they still had Moguzo.

If his partner were there, he could have focused on fighting like a dread knight. Of course, that wasn’t possible anymore. If he considered the party, Ranta had no choice but to become the tank. He wasn’t suited for it, but he could do it. Ranta meant to come up with his own ways of doing it, too. Even if that meant having to kill who he really was, he had no choice.

Is there really no other choice...? he wondered.

“I’m a selfish guy,” Renji said, downing his second glass of brandy in one gulp. “I take care of those who can be useful to me. I don’t care about anyone else. In the end, I think most people are the same. If you live for others, it just means you die for them, too.”

“Yeah, I get that a lot,” Ranta said. “They say I’m selfish and egotistical.”

“Let them.”

“You think I can get strong?” Ranta asked.

“If I’m the one using you,” said Renji.

“You want me to be your pawn, is that it?”

“Bingo.”

Renji wasn’t lying. At the very least, he thought Ranta had potential. He was trying to poach him. For Team Renji.

Seriously? Ranta thought. I’m going to crack up laughing. This is amazing. Is luck finally on my side? So, what do I do? With an offer like this, I don’t even need to ask that, do I? The answer is obvious. Right?