Strange Grief Wants to Retire ~ The Weakest Hunter Dreams of a Hero ~ - Volume 4 - Chapter Ep

Epilogue: Let This Grieving Soul Retire, Part Four

A pleasant breeze blew across the land. Not another soul could be seen across the endless plains that spread out around us. Next to our carriage, Killiam rode atop Drink, both of them content as could be. If their appearances were more, shall we say, normal, then they would probably make for a very picturesque sight.

I let out a big yawn and idly ran my hands through Tino’s hair as she rested her head in my lap. Her hair was so silky, just touching it put my spirit at ease. As I did this, she let out a small groan.

“Oh, good morning, Tino.”

Tino slowly opened her eyelids. The dark rings that had been under her eyes were now entirely gone. She looked up at me vacantly but tried to sit up when she realized the position she was in. However, her body wouldn’t comply and all she could do was writhe in pain.

“O-Owww.”

“Most people wouldn’t be able to move at all in your condition,” Sitri said. “I’d advise you to keep still, okay, T?”

“Huh, what do you mean?”

With teary eyes, Tino looked at me in confusion. She didn’t show the slightest bit of the courage she had as Super Tino. But that was fine, too much time in that state would destroy her.

“Wh-Where am, er, what about Arnold?” Tino asked while convulsing slightly.

Apparently, she had forgotten what had occurred. I wasn’t sure what to say, but Liz butted in before I could come up with a good answer.

“You got your ass kicked so badly it was comical. If you could move, I’d be training you to the bone,” she said, exasperated.

“Lizzy, there’s no need to put it like that,” Sitri chided.

Tino froze with shock. I stroked her head again and smiled.

“Arnold’s a Level 7, I knew you wouldn’t win against him. Still, you looked very cool back there.”

“Master, Master, please don’t be so rough on me.”

I’ll jump to the conclusion and say that Tino lost. Put simply: Super Tino was super strong, but Arnold was super-duper strong. Super Tino attacked with superhuman speed, a rate comparable to Liz’s, but Arnold blocked each hit.

According to Liz, Super Tino’s defeat was because of her technique, or lack thereof. The mask had unleashed the strength within her, but her technical knowledge couldn’t keep up. Super Tino was super fast, but not as fast as Arnold’s super lightning. Even still, Tino’s super impressive latent powers were enough to prevent his lightning from leaving any lasting injuries.

It wasn’t a close battle, though you could still say she fought well, considering she had been up against a genuine Level 7. Even if she lost, she still bought time, which meant victory for Liz and Sitri.

Liz dismantled the roving ogre and Sitri knocked out Arnold’s friends with some suspicious potion. Liz then hurled a dismembered part of the ogre at Arnold, we grabbed the unconscious Tino, got in the carriage, and booked it out of there. Nobody chased after us.

The last thing I saw was Arnold fighting off the roving ogre after it regenerated and attacked the unconscious hunters. I felt a bit bad for them, but they attacked first and I figured they would manage somehow. Chloe shouted something at me that I pretended not to hear. I was on vacation, I didn’t want to hear about named quests and whatnot. We then headed towards my initial destination, Night Palace.

Tino remained silent after hearing my explanation.

“I’m sorry, Master. I failed,” she mumbled.

“Don’t worry about it, Tino. Failure’s a part of getting stronger,” I told her. “Even Grieving Souls have had their share of defeat. Even Liz got stronger through failure.”

“Lizzy did?!”

Liz bashfully elbowed me as though telling me to cut it out.

My childhood friends were extremely talented, but they weren’t infallible. I didn’t share that talent, so I didn’t bother, but I watched over every bit of effort, every defeat, and every victory my friends had. Unyielding effort and an iron will were the keys to getting stronger. The path my friends had once walked was no doubt the same path Tino was walking.

“You’ve gotten really strong, Tino. It’s not all about wins and losses. I’m sure that one day you’ll become a superb hunter.”

I was surprised to see just how powerful she had become when she put on Evolve Greed. I could only recall a few other Relics in my collection capable of something so impressive.

But I couldn’t imagine the mask drawing so much power from anyone. A Relic’s compatibility could vary from person to person, and Evolve Greed seemed like a perfect match with Tino. I hoped she’d wear the mask again so I could test it out a bit.

I found my thoughts interrupted by Tino.

“Will I be able to join Grieving Souls one day?” she asked, lying still.

I answered immediately as I stroked her hair.

“Of course.”

Liz and Sitri were both smiling.

I was certain that as long as she continued to hope for it, her dream would certainly come true. Hope was integral to becoming an excellent hunter.

Tino’s cheeks took on a faint red hue and, as though trying to cover up her embarrassment, she changed the subject.

“Oh, Master, have you ever lost a battle?”

A mellow smile formed on my lips.

“Nope.”

***

To Chloe Welter, the scenery before her was both difficult to believe yet also gave credence to many rumors she had heard.

The Thousand Tricks developed hunters’ talents. He used his vast intellect to determine their specialties and then used near precognitive schemes to guide them into his Trials. The result was First Steps and Grieving Souls.

Developing talent in people wasn’t easy. Humans all had their own personalities and discrepancies. More importantly, they all had their own natural talents. It was absurd to think someone might be able to take into account so many factors, most of which weren’t immediately obvious, and show someone down the right path.

However, that Level 4 hunter, Tino Shade, made it seem believable. Even if she lost, it should have been impossible for a Level 4 to even put up a fight against a Dragon Slayer. It wasn’t a matter of technique or whatnot, the difference in mana material was simply too vast.

Yet the Thousand Tricks somehow made it happen. There was, of course, the power of that mask and Tino’s own talents, but even still, what he did was ingenious. It was all calculated, all done in the name of growth. Looking at it from a distance, it was all proceeding smoothly.

They had just survived two major battles, the likes of which were rarely experienced. For Scorching Whirlwind, and Chloe as well, those were valuable experiences. They saved a town and took down a monster that likely had a bounty on its head. The roving ogre had also been a notable adversary. The ogre’s death probably wouldn’t bring more people to the Galest mountains. However, the esteem that came with it would be a boon for Falling Fog as they were still new to the imperial capital.

And what benefit was there for the Thousand Tricks? Needless to say, it was the development of Tino Shade. She had the potential to one day join Grieving Souls and Falling Fog had been used to aid her growth.

They had been dancing to his tune. He exerted immense power and ignored all the rules. It was self-righteous behavior, but there was no way to resist nor was there any reason to. This was what you could expect from someone of a level obtained by only three people in the capital. What a scheme it was.

To Chloe, the hapless smile of the Thousand Tricks had become something terrifying.

Standing next to the ashes of the roving ogre, Arnold and Eigh were having a conversation.

“I’m really sorry, Arnold,” Eigh said.

“Hmph, don’t worry. We can just catch them again.”

Even after fighting the Thousand Tricks, Arnold’s anger had yet to subside. It was only natural; Arnold hadn’t gotten his closure. He might have been satisfied if he had been given even a glimpse of the Thousand Tricks’s strength, but he didn’t even get that. As a champion, he had to push forward, even if he had his doubts.

It was rare for a clash between two high-level hunters to result in so little bloodshed. Naturally, hunters were careful to avoid any casualties, but nobody was even wounded in this fight, including those knocked out by Sitri’s potion.

All this meant that the Thousand Tricks’s “vacation” wasn’t over yet.

“Ah, they went and destroyed the damn carriage,” Eigh said with a click of his tongue.

The carriage had been crushed when Liz hurled the roving ogre at it. The horses had been killed as well. It seemed she had been trying to deprive them of a means of escape. It was all terribly unfortunate for them, but they could at least consider it fortunate that nobody had been pummeled by the monster.

“We’ll rest for the evening and then head out on foot,” Arnold said. “Once we’ve got a carriage, we’ll go after them. Chloe Welter, I take it you have no objections?”

Before leaving, Krai had left them with a few parting words: “Sorry, I don’t have time for this, I’ve got to go meet up with my friends.”

“We head for Night Palace,” Arnold declared.

“That’s fine by me. Entering the dungeon may prove an issue for me, but I have orders to deliver this quest brief,” Chloe responded.

Arnold furrowed his brow as he looked at the young woman. Chloe found herself wondering what the Crashing Lightning would do once he realized what the Thousand Tricks was after, but she pushed the thought from her head. Arnold Hail was a proud man; still, she had also seen he was capable of thinking things through. By now, he should have noticed something was off. But even if he had, his only choice was to press onward.

Arnold was already caught up in the Thousand Tricks’s trap. Escaping would require him to cast off something important to all hunters. Only someone less valiant might consider it an easy choice.

Arnold started giving out orders and their camp began to take shape. Chloe smiled, it made her think back to when she used to aspire to be a hunter. However, as an employee of the Explorers’ Association, all she could do was pray for good luck.

***

Amid pounding rain, we headed for Night Palace. Sitri lowered her binoculars and looked at me with a troubled expression.

“Oh, it looks like they aren’t there anymore,” she said. “I don’t see a carriage. We must have missed them.”

“You’re kidding me.”

They had gone to the dungeon for the sake of Luke’s training. Once Luke was able to beat the boss in a one-on-one, they would head straight home. That was the sort of passionate and stoic man Luke was.

So he managed to solo the boss of a Level 8 treasure vault in such a short time? Well done.

I thought it a shame that we had missed them, but there wasn’t much we could do about it. After spending days surviving storms, commotions, Arnold, and whatever else, a disappointing reality awaited us.

“Well, that’s that. Let’s continue as planned, we’ll take it easy at a hot spring and then head home.”

I sighed deeply and stood up so I could talk to Black, White, and Gray.