Grimgal of Ashes and Illusion - Volume 8 - Chapter 9

9. Lighting a Fire in Someone’s Heart

“So, yeah, that’s Arara’s grudge against Arnold,” Rock said. 

As he spoke, Rock would stand up, sit down, walk around, and generally act restless. Also, his hair was standing up. How was he making his hair stand up? Was he using gel or something to make it stiff? Whatever it was, he gave off the impression of having more energy than he knew what to do with. 

There was a broadmouthed creature with tiger-like fur riding on Rock’s shoulders, wrapped around his neck, but it was impressive that it didn’t fall off. That creature was called a mirumi, and they were relatively common in Grimgar. It turned out this one was Rock’s pet, and its name was Gettsu. 

“Basically, she’s out for revenge,” said Rock. “Well, can you blame her? I would be, too. The love of her life got done in by the guy. You guys’ve gotta understand that. Right? Haruhiro? Yume?” 

Haruhiro hung his head and furrowed his brow, sighing. “Well, yeah...” 

“Hrm...” Yume puffed up one of her cheeks, tilting her head hard to one side. 

The fog had thinned out a fair bit, but now it was gloomy instead. It was quickly getting darker and darker. However, for a little while now, little green lights had begun to dance around here and there. These insects, which were apparently called rurakas, supposedly produced light from early evening until late at night. It was a scene that had a sort of illusion-like beauty. 

The fact that seeing it only made Haruhiro feel like, Yeah, but so what? 

made him feel a little sad. 

Sad? Actually, to be honest, Haruhiro was feeling pretty irritated. 

With Rock carrying the wounded Arara, everyone had run away as hard as they could on their own, and then they had regrouped here. Haruhiro had no clue where “here” was, but they had apparently decided in advance that this was the spot to meet back up if anything happened. 

The big bald guy, Kajita, had his massive mushroom sword thrust into the ground and was sitting cross-legged. He hadn’t so much as budged for a while now. Had he fallen asleep while sitting? With him wearing sunglasses, it was hard to tell. 

The strongest dread knight in active service, Moyugi, was sitting on a bump in the ground with one leg crossed over the other and drinking something from a cup. Not that it mattered, but wasn’t he a little too relaxed? 

He was even giving off the sense that he was having an elegant time. 

Moira the demon wasn’t around. There was a “Noooooo...” every once in a while though, so she was apparently hiding somewhere. 

Why was Sakanami the thief lying face-down? Was he all right? Haruhiro was a little concerned, but everyone else was ignoring him, so it was probably fine. Besides, that guy was probably not quite right to begin with. 

Since he had never been right, it was all right if he wasn’t all right. 

When Tsuga, the priest with the buzz cut, finished treating Arara, he had begun meditating in the lotus position. Since then, his eyes had stayed shut, and he hadn’t moved. 

Incidentally, Kuro, the former hunter, wasn’t here. He’d had a little business to attend to, so he’d left on his own. 

“We failed to avenge Tatsuru-sama.” Arara was sitting on a tree stump and hanging her head in shame. “It was my fault. It’s because I was injured!” 

“Don’t let it get you down, Arara.” Rock crouched down right in front of her. “There’ll be other chances. We’ll make them for you. Okay?” 

Gettsu the mirumi squeaked loudly. It was like both pet and owner alike were trying to cheer Arara up. 

“Thank you.” Arara sighed and looked up. “I am in your debt, Rock. How can I ever repay you for this?” 

“Silly Arara, you don’t need to think about that. We’re doing this because we want to.” 

“But...” 

“Seriously, it’s all cool! Let’s just focus on beating down that Arnold guy for now. Moyugi’ll come up with a way. We’ll follow Moyugi’s plan. If we fail, we’ll just try again until we succeed. Simple, right?” 

“When you are the one saying it, for some reason, it really does start to feel that way.” 

“There’s nothing hard about it,” Rock said confidently. “You just leave it to us. The Rocks.” 

“...However.” Arara looked down again, gripping her left arm tightly with her right hand. “You people are under no obligation to help me seek vengeance...” 

Haruhiro and Yume looked at one another. 

Yeah, that,  Haruhiro thought. That’s it. That’s the issue. 

Arara’s beloved Tatsuru tried to kill Arnold, the enemy of the village, but was defeated. Arara wants to avenge the man she loved. I get that. But where do Rock and the Rocks come into this? They’re volunteer soldiers. Obviously, they’re not from the village. This isn’t really their business, is it? 

“Arara. Arara. Hey, Arara!” Rock suddenly stood up, spreading his arms wide. Gettsu nearly fell of his shoulders, but managed to hold on somehow. 

“What’re you acting like a stranger for? Of course we’re obliged to help! We totally are!” 

“You say that, but we only met recently...” Arara began. 

“Who cares?! Time has nothing to do with it!” 

“If I hadn’t told you my circumstances back then, you wouldn’t have been dragged into this...” 

“We don’t feel like we’re being dragged into anything! Right, Moyugi?!” 

“No. I very much feel I am.” 

“Whaaaat?!” Rock shouted. 

“Not that it’s anything new,” Moyugi added. “For as long as I keep working with you people, I’ll keep getting dragged into trouble like this.” 

“Ha! And you’re in the Rocks because you can’t get enough of it, right?” 

“You’ve got that right,” said Moyugi. “Life’s too short to waste time on boring stuff.” 

Kajita gave them a thumbs-up. “Indeed.” 

“Urgh...” Sakanami groaned and writhed around on the ground. He looked like he was in pain. 

Tsuga was meditating with a smile. Was he on the verge of enlightenment or something? 

There was... an awful lot Haruhiro could have humorously taken issue with here. In fact, it felt like maybe there wasn’t a single thing he couldn’t have taken issue with. If he were to sum up the reason the Rocks fought simply, they were doing it on a whim. That was what Moyugi had said. 

Ohh,  thought Haruhiro. I see. I see. 

These people are all weird. 

They’re a band of weirdos. 

He’d had the feeling they were. They weren’t ordinary people like Haruhiro and his group, so there was no way they were normal. Besides, it probably didn’t matter in the least to them whether a mediocre guy like Haruhiro thought they were normal or not. 

People who weren’t plain and ordinary were always a little extreme in some way. Were they extreme to begin with, and that was what let them go beyond mediocrity? Or when you went beyond the realm of mediocrity, did it make you a little extreme? Or, perhaps, was it impossible to escape from mediocrity without becoming extreme? Haruhiro didn’t really know. 

Still, even if he didn’t understand it, that wasn’t going to cause him any trouble. The dispositions and motivations of a band of weirdos like this weren’t his problem. Or they wouldn’t be, except that he was currently in a situation where he was forced to work with them. 

“Murrgh...” Yume nodded, as if trying to forcefully convince herself she’d figured it out. “Basically, here’s how it is, yeah? Rockun and all them only met Araran a li’l while ago, but they’re dead set on helpin’ her, ’cause they’re good guys, right?” 

“Hm? Us? Good guys?” Rock looked at Yume and scowled. 

Uh, that’s a serious bad guy look you’ve got going on there. 

“Huh? What’s that supposed to mean?” Rock demanded. “You making fun of us?” 

“How’s sayin’ you’re good guys makin’ fun of you?” Yume wanted to know. 

“Listen, Yume, being called a good guy isn’t a compliment, or anything. 

Basically, it means they’re someone you don’t have to care about, right?” 

“Yume wasn’t meanin’ it that way when she said it!” 

“Oh, yeah? Well, we’re not good guys. We don’t look like we are, now do we?” 

“Yeah,” Yume agreed. “You don’t.” 

“Ha ha ha! I know, right? We aren’t motivated by justice, fairness, morals, or any of that stuff.” 

“Well, what’re you all motivated by, then?” Yume asked. 

“All sorts of things, really. But this time...” Rock brought his hands to his chest with a look of pride. “It’s love.” 

Haruhiro stared blankly. 

“... Love? ” he asked in disbelief. 

“No, not love.  It’s love, man. Love.” 

Where’s the difference? It’s all the same word. Geez.  Haruhiro felt a little dizzy. He’s making no sense. 

“...Huh? Wait, love... for whom?” Haruhiro asked. 

“Well, for Arara, of course.” 

“No... B-But...?” Haruhiro looked back and forth from Rock to Arara. 

Rock was speaking proudly, but Arara must have been embarrassed, or not sure what to say, because she was still looking down. “But, erm, Arara... -san had a lover, didn’t she...? And it’s because of what happened to him that she’s doing this, so...” 

“Does that have anything to do with it?” 

“Doesn’t it... have something to do with it? I mean, I don’t really have any experience with this sort of stuff, so I wouldn’t know, but—” 

“When we first met, Arara was carrying a katana. She suddenly jumped out of the fog, and came swinging at us.” 

“Th-That was—!” Arara pouted like a child. “...I-I was in a state of confusion. Avenging Tatsuru-sama was the only thing on my mind, and I left the village despite Uncle’s attempts to stop me, so I was convinced everything that moved was my enemy...” 

“She was beautiful,” Rock said with a broad grin. “Her hair was disheveled, her face was a mask of rage, and she was crying a little. She got me good. It was love at first sight. ‘Why is she crying? What happened? Is there anything I can do for her?’ I couldn’t help but wonder.” 

“She lit a fire in his heart,” Kajita said in a husky voice. 

“That’s it.” Rock turned his fist towards Kajita. “With my heart and body burning with the fires of love, there ain’t no man who can stop me. I’ll keep running till I burn out.” 

“He’s easily infatuated,” Moyugi said dismissively. “And it’s never with someone he can have. What’s the allure of a woman you’ll never sleep with? 

I can’t understand it.” 

“That’s what’s boring about you, Moyugi,” said Rock. “If you give love to get something in return, that isn’t love. It’s just lust, right? Well, that’s not what my love is like. My love is given freely. I fell for Arara. I love her. 

That’s why I want to make her wish come true. For that, I’d do anything. It gets you fired up, doesn’t it? It’s fun, right? Right, Haruhiro? You get it?” 

“No, I don’t get it.” 

“You don’t?!” 

“I, uh, don’t have much in the way of experience with romance, so...” 

“Oh, so you’re a virgin!” 

“...Is that such a surprise?” 

“A virgin...” Yume was nodding along with a knowing look, but did she really understand what that meant? Knowing Yume, wasn’t she misunderstanding it somehow? 

“Of all things, he had to be a virgin.” Rock clicked his tongue. “A virgin, huh. I dunno if a virgin can get it...” 

“Could you stop repeating that word...?” Haruhiro asked. 

“Haruhiro.” Kajita looked at him and gave him a thumbs-up. “Beginner’s luck.” 

“...I don’t understand.” 

“Gyahahaha!” Sakanami suddenly started laughing as he writhed in agony. “Hilarious! Virgin, virgin, rose gyatee! If they put you on the throne, you’d be the Rose Emperor! A title fit for a premature ejaculator! 

Gyahahaha!” 

“...I understand you even less.” 

“Well, yeah,” Rock agreed, stroking Gettsu’s throat. “I didn’t really understand it, either. Sakanami’s nuts. You should try not to get him mad, Haruhiro, Yume. Even I have no idea what he might do.” 

“...I’m amazed you can work with a guy like that,” Haruhiro said. 

“Isn’t it interesting?” 

“It’s a lot of trouble for me.” Moyugi passed the cup over to his left hand so he could use the middle finger of his right hand to press on the bridge of his glasses. “I have to include the guy in my calculations when putting together a strategy.” 

“Isn’t that what makes it interesting?” Rock asked. 

“I won’t deny it.” 

To sum things up, this was the situation:

The group had been motivated by Rock’s falling in love at first sight. 

Other than that, the Rocks were helping Arara with her vengeance because it seemed like it might be interesting. They really were doing it on a whim. 

“So, when you joined the Day Breakers, was that because it seemed interesting, too?” Haruhiro asked. 

“That’s part of it.” Rock’s eyes narrowed, and both corners of his mouth curled upwards. “We have another reason, too, though. I won’t tell you what it is, Haruhiro.” 

“Huh? Why not?” 

“Isn’t it more interesting if I keep quiet about it? Oh—” Rock stopped, and even before Rock did, Gettsu turned his head to the right. “Is that Kuro?” 

Looking in that direction, there was a humanoid figure walking through the evening gloom where the lights of the rurakas danced about. The figure was approaching. It waved. It was Kuro. 

“They weren’t there.” When Kuro came over and sat down next to Haruhiro, looking exasperated, that was the first thing he said. “Went to that cave you mentioned. No sign of your friends.” 

“No way...” Haruhiro was at a loss for words. “B-But, hey, maybe you had the wrong place?” 

“Not a chance. That, what was it? That cave leading to another world, I already had some idea where it was. And there were traces that someone had been there.” 

“Hrm...” Yume made a difficult face and pressed her index fingers into her temples. “That means... What does it mean? Yume wonders...” 

“Since you weren’t coming back, they probably went looking,” Kuro said. 

“Then they got into trouble. Seems likely.” 

“You say that so easily...” Haruhiro murmured. 

“You people don’t even know the damn way there, and it’s easier and safer for me to go alone anyway, so I went out of my way to go there for you. 

For nothing, I might add.” 

“...Sorry. I... guess you’re right. Thank you, Kuro-san.” 

“Yeah. You owe me one. Pay me back with interest, got it?” 

Even setting aside the debt he had just incurred, their comrades not being near the cave exit was a huge shock for Haruhiro. 

Whoa—I can’t think about anything right now. No, even if I can’t think, I have to think. Should I go there myself, after all? Go, and search for the other four? But it’s already dark. Also, enemies. There could be enemies. 

Haruhiro didn’t really care about Forgan, but they probably didn’t feel the same way about him. 

Well, I did kill them with my own hands. If they attack me on sight, I have no right to complain. 

“Hey, hey!” someone called out to him. Startled, Haruhiro turned to see Sakanami was right beside him and wriggling around. “How’s it feel? How’s it feel? Hey, tell me, how’s it feel right now? Sad? Or painful? 

Heartwrenching? Like you want to cry? Like you’re going to puke? How do you feel right now? Well? Well?” 

“For a start, that you’re kind of annoying...” 

“Gyahoh! Gyahahahaha! Hilarious! My sides...” 

“What’s with this guy?” Haruhiro muttered. 

“Oh, him?” Kuro said, sounding pleased. “Just a guy with a defective personality.” 

“That was harsh!” Sakanami turned on Kuro. “Kuro, I don’t want to hear that from an inhuman monster like you! You prey on other people! Well, not me! I won’t prey on people, but I will eat gods! I am the God Eater! So cool! 

Gyahahahahaha!” 

I should ignore him. Yeah. Ignore him. I need to ignore this guy, and think. Think. 

“Now, then.” Moyugi stood up. “In my diagnosis, it wouldn’t be surprising for Forgan’s people to start reaching this general area any time now. We’re moving.” 

“Okay.” Rock looked around to the rest of the group. “Let’s go, Arara. 

You people, too.” 

It was apparent that Haruhiro and Yume were included in that “you people.” Well, Haruhiro didn’t want to be left behind, so he’d have to go. 

He’d have to think on the move. 

“Haru-kun...” Yume tugged on Haruhiro’s cloak. She looked worried, as might be expected. “Where do you think everyone’s gone off to?” 

“They’re fine. I’m sure of it.” Even as he said it, he wasn’t sure if it was to console her, or because he wanted to believe it himself. “I mean, they’ve got Ranta with them. He’s a tenacious one.” 

“...Guess so.” Yume let go of Haruhiro’s cloak. Then she immediately grabbed Haruhiro’s sleeve. 

He understood what it was she wanted from him, so he had to give it to her. 

Haruhiro held Yume’s hand. 

Yume squeezed his hand back tightly.