Chapter One: Hot Spring Capriccio
There really isn’t anything better than a vacation. With all my assailants behind me, I rolled around on the floor and appreciated what a great thing tranquility was. At heart I was both a pacifist and a lazy bum who didn’t want to move any more than I had to, I just frequently found myself at the center of trouble.
The sun had set and I continued to space out, but then Liz spoke up.
“Hey, um, do you wanna go slay a hot spring dragon together? I heard about it while walking around the town. Apparently, there’s a nest nearby.”
“Hm? I think I’ll stay here.”
And just like that, my relaxation was brought to a halt. We were at a hot spring, why did she have to go exterminating monsters? And what kind of half-assed name was “hot spring dragon”?
Our inn was a high-class one that catered to merchants and it showed in every detail. Our room was large, our bedding was soft, and our food was made with the best ingredients from both the land and sea.
The spring water was straight from the source and never recycled. There was a large tub and then each room had its own open-air bath. If you wanted to, you could comfortably spend a whole day without leaving your room. Why should I go fight a hot spring dragon on the very first day?
Sitri’s lap pillow had let me recover all my lost energy, but I planned to save that energy for the hot spring! That energy wasn’t something I could use on just anything!
“C’mooon. How often do you get to fight a big monster? What did we even come here for?”
Really? I think we’ve been running into way too many big monsters lately.
Even though she spent the day walking around Suls, my tiny childhood friend was full of energy. Liz pursed her lips, grabbed my arm, and shook me. Without Luke and the others, I was her only playmate and I wasn’t up for that role. If she wanted something to play around with, Tino wasn’t doing anything.
“Let me say it right now: I don’t plan on doing a single meaningful thing while I’m here! For the next two weeks, I’m going to eat, bathe, sleep, and wait!”
“In other words, you’ve already made your move?” Sitri asked.
“Huh? Uh, yeah, uh-huh. Exactly. It’s all according to plan.”
Leave it to Sitri to back me up even after saying something so pathetic. I guess you could say I had made my move. We had our bumps on the road, but my vacation was more or less going as planned.
We were at a hot spring. Warm, luxurious baths were an arm’s length away. What could be more important than that? I was going to forget Arnold, the Gathering of the White Blade, the named quest, all of it. I would leave it in the hands of future Krai.
At some point, Sitri had changed from her Alchemist robes to a blue yukata with a floral pattern. It didn’t show any more skin than her usual outfit but something about it was refreshing and a bit alluring compared to her usual bulky gear. She had good posture and the yukata almost seemed tailor-made for her.
No doubt, Sitri had worked harder than anyone else during our vacation. I hoped she would at least rest her wings for the last stretch.
There were also male yukatas available but I couldn’t wear one of those and keep all my Relics equipped. Keeping myself alive was my top priority. I even kept my rings on when I got in the bath.
Killiam, however, had chosen to don a yukata and began striking poses. The yukata didn’t really match its ripped figure. I wondered if maybe it was a more playful fellow than I had realized.
“Siddy, when did you change? And where’s mine? Don’t tell me you think you can use this as a chance to seduce my Krai Baby?”
“The only one here who would do that is you! Besides, how many times do I have to remind you that he isn’t yours? You can get a yukata from the inn employees, so why don’t you go do that?”
“Liz, if you put on a yukata then you can’t really go around kicking things,” I pointed out.
Liz looked conflicted. Setting aside whether she might even need to kick anything at a hot spring, she had always hated wearing clothes that were hard to move in. However, her disciple was glancing about like she was eager to try one on.
“It appears there aren’t many customers, so I’m sure we’ll have the place all to ourselves,” Sitri said.
“That’s good to hear.”
I didn’t mind if there were other customers, but if I was alone then I could swim around in the tub!
But more importantly, this meant Liz was less likely to get into any altercations. Liz and Sitri both looked like endearing girls and so they often received various solicitations at inns. Then Liz would beat said solicitors to a pulp. Sure, they had it coming, but I still wanted to avoid those incidents if I could.
Then I remembered I had something to ask Sitri.
“What happened to Black, White, and Gray? I didn’t see them when we were eating.”
“Per your instructions, I secured them a room, and they should be receiving meals. Anything more than that isn’t my concern.”
What a dry response. But if we’re in the same inn then I suppose I’ll run into them. Then I can remove their collars and set them free.
“Um, Master, how do I look?” Tino asked.
She steeled her resolve and twirled around. She was in a navy blue yukata and wasn’t wearing her usual ribbons. The dark blue fabric beautifully contrasted with her pale skin. It suited her quite nicely; Sitri must have given her a hand in choosing the outfit.
Tino had been ten years old when we’d first met her shortly after arriving in the capital. Years later, I still couldn’t help but see her as a child, but seeing her like this caused me to reconsider. With minor exceptions, her body was more developed than Liz’s. I almost forgot there were only four or five years between us.
Unlike Sitri, Tino wasn’t showing any more or less skin than she usually did, so why did she seem so much more alluring? I observed her with close scrutiny, but that made her cheeks flush.
“Yeah, you look nice. Very cute,” I said. “So much, it’s a shame only I can see you like this.”
After all, I’m the one always causing so much trouble for you.
My overblown compliment caused Tino to grow an even deeper shade of red and she averted her gaze. Her lips were pressed tightly; she was clearly pleased. Liz wasn’t really the type to dole out praise, so I wondered if maybe I should pick up the slack.
“Oh, Master...”
Tino’s vocabulary seemed to be failing her.
“Krai, Tino may be cute, but that hardly excuses your ogling,” Sitri said as she held out a protective hand between me and Tino.
Was that what I was doing? Eh, maybe Sitri has a point. She’s a girl, she’s in a better position to understand how Tino feels. She’s a junior hunter to Sitri as well and those two are closer in age. Maybe they think of each other as sisters?
“Ah, Siddy, I don’t really—”
“Are you all right, T? Krai doesn’t mean to be so discomforting. But I’ll protect you. Besides, Krai, before you go complimenting T, don’t you have anything to say to me?”
Just gonna say it outright?
She was only joking, but her point still stood. Just because we were friends was no reason for me to throw courtesy out the window.
I gave Sitri another look. Rows of white flowers lined blue fabric. It was a good match for a mellow person like her. Her appearance was pure and gentle, yet also somewhat seductive. Perfect.
Treasure hunters would become more charming as their levels increased. Mana material did more than just strengthen their bodies and mana pools. It didn’t outright alter their faces, but something about them would change. There were a few tales of hunters who strongly valued beauty and developed devilish charms that brought countries to ruin.
The inn employee had been right to look at me funny. There was a strong mismatch between Sitri and someone like me with no mana material. If I hadn’t gotten used to the sight of her after growing up around her, then I might have completely fallen for her. Not that I was good enough for her.
Still, our clan sure has a lot of beautiful faces.
“Sorry, sorry. You look very pretty, Sitri. You look good in your usual robe, but this is nice too,” I said, trying to make the most of my small vocabulary.
She was easy on the eyes and she had a nice pristine aura to her. I’m sure her doting older brother would’ve been thrilled to get a picture of her. The difference between her and myself was night and day.
Sitri gave me a hostile look. She stepped forward so she was right in front of me and, before I could say anything, wrapped her arms around me. Her body was pressed right against mine.
“Siddy?!”
“Is that your honest opinion? I can tell when you’re lying, Krai.”
I felt something soft against my chest. I thought I could feel Sitri’s heart beating through the fabric of her robe. If I had the senses of a treasure hunter then I would’ve been able to tell for certain, but as I was I couldn’t tell if it was her heartbeat or mine. Something smelled sweet, my head felt hot and I became dizzy. She looked up at me through pink translucent eyes that threatened to pull me in.
I was used to skinship with Liz, but with Sitri it was unfamiliar and unsettling. If this was a joke, it was a bad one. I was, technically, a man after all.
With nowhere to go, my hands dangled uselessly. I couldn’t just push her away.
Tino returned to her senses and let out a cry. She grabbed Sitri by the arm and attempted to pull her off of me. She moved without hesitation. I guess that’s what happens when you’ve trained to fight people.
Tino easily pulled Sitri off and looked at me with puffed cheeks, an unusual expression for her.
“Siddy, you can’t just do something like that! I’ll tell Lizzy what you did! And you, Master! To think you were just saying how nice I looked!”
“Y-Yeah, uh-huh.”
That was disgraceful, considering I had just complimented you. I’m really sorry. I’ll take you out for cake later, so forgive me.
Sitri let out a bewitching sigh and nodded with satisfaction.
“Your heart was pounding, as it should have been, so I’ll forgive you for leering at Tino.”
“Yeah, of course it was pounding. And I wasn’t leering at Tino.”
Any man would do the same. Well, I guess Luke wouldn’t have. But he dedicated his soul to the path of the blade and gave up on worldly desires, so we can consider him an exception.
As I took a deep breath and calmed myself down, Sitri nonchalantly grabbed my left arm.
“Shall we head to the hot spring?” she said. “We don’t know when we might find ourselves in a battle once more. Nor do I think we’ll get much peace and quiet once Lizzy gets back from her search for the hot spring dragon.”
Tino angrily puffed up her cheeks and jumped at my right arm.
“Master, don’t let yourself be done in by Sitri’s jokes! Be your usual proper self!”
When have I ever been proper?
Tino and Sitri were both pretty enough that I could get a big ego by having them at my side. I should have felt blessed twofold under these circumstances, but, for some reason, I just felt incredibly uncomfortable.
I was pretty sure Ark was always in situations like this. Hell only knows how he managed to keep a smile on at all times. Maybe that was also a matter of character.
Hmm. That joke of Sitri’s was unusual for her. Maybe being at a hot spring is causing her to loosen up? It happens. It’s not a bad thing. I’ll just go along and enjoy it.
Sitri was in a good mood, Tino was in a foul mood, and both were holding one of my arms. As we went off to the hot spring I felt like a criminal escorted by two guards.
***
They were in a room at a high-end inn, the sort of place normally out of reach for the average hunter. A tough-looking man and woman put their heads together and talked in hushed tones.
“Are we really gonna do this?” the man said, his voice trembling.
This man was once feared as a criminal, now he was breaking out in cold sweat.
Black thought it pretty likely that she was making a similar expression as him. But despite their fear, they couldn’t afford to delay any longer.
“If we don’t do anything, our lives will be over. It’s do or die!” she said to White.
“B-But the Thousand Tricks said he was going to let us go.”
“Don’t be stupid! Do you really believe that? He said he’d let us go, but then where did he take us?! Night Palace, that’s where. A treasure vault avoided even by the craziest hunters! Goddammit.”
Even from a distance, Night Palace was more horrifying than rumors could do justice. Black thought she felt her heart stop just by looking at it. If she had been ordered to enter that treasure vault she would’ve sooner jumped from the carriage and fled. She probably would have been killed for it, but it was a worthy risk. Black, White, and Gray were all fairly competent hunters but there was nothing they could do against a place like Night Palace.
It was a tough journey that they had been forced to go on. They had been forced to drive the carriage and look out for monsters. In towns, they hadn’t been allowed to rest and had to watch Drink and the carriage. In the forest, they had been forced to fight off all sorts of monsters. They had even been chased by a Level 7 hunter.
Many times they had thought it would be better to just die than go on like this, but that treasure vault was something else entirely. Even after traveling with the Thousand Tricks, they didn’t have a clue of what sort of powers he had. But Black, White, and Gray could all agree on that one point: the man was insane.
This was a vacation, but it was a Level 8’s idea of a vacation. It wasn’t something they could keep up with.
They were at what appeared to be a hot spring town, but the Thousand Tricks said they had only accomplished half of their objectives. It was hard to believe, however, it was very possible that Black, White, and Gray might get swept up into something even worse than anything they had yet been through. After all, back in the forest one of those maniacs had mentioned something about them still being useful alive.
It was then that Gray entered the room. His face looked completely drained of energy. He never had a healthy complexion to begin with, but now he looked almost like a corpse. His face twisted when he heard Black’s proposal.
“I...want out,” he said.
“What?! If you stay, it’s a slow but certain death!”
“I don’t think I can stand against those guys. Don’t worry, I won’t say a word about what you’re doing.”
“When did you become such a coward?!”
Gray shrugged his shoulders and left the room. This was unexpected.
Black, White, and Gray were all more or less equally skilled, but put to it, Gray was probably the smartest of them all. Yet the man Black and White just saw displayed not a hint of courage or will to resist. Perhaps he wouldn’t return to a life of crime even if he made it home alive.
“What do we do?” White asked.
“We’ll play the cards we’ve been dealt. It’s our only choice. Maybe they’ll let their guard down if one of us stays behind,” Black answered.
They didn’t have to worry about being snitched on; their captors weren’t so kind as to reward Gray for doing so.
Gray bailing on them was an unforeseen turn, but they had already formulated a plan. They didn’t intend to fight the Thousand Tricks. Even if they caught him by surprise, he could annihilate them with just his pinky finger.
The only thing still standing in their way was their collars. Destroying them would be difficult and they could still get shocked no matter how far they ran. It was truly an invisible shackle.
At first, the Ignoble held the key, but now it was in the hands of the Thousand Tricks.
“They said we’ll be here for a week, maybe two. I think we should act early. We’ll succeed. We’ve gotta. They’re not keeping a close eye on us right now. This is our chance.”
“Got it.”
They didn’t know much about the Thousand Tricks. They knew he looked like a benign guy, he seldom worked, he said pathetic things all the time, he constantly had his guard down, and he wasn’t remotely imposing. And yet everyone was desperate to stay out of his way. It was possible he was just putting on an act, but there was one thing only Black, White, and Gray knew.
“The Thousand Tricks is getting complacent. He’s not keeping an eye on us and stealing is part of our way of life. When it comes to that key, it’s better that he has it rather than the Ignoble.”
Sitri, that terrifying woman, knew what an overwhelmingly advantageous position she had been in, but she had never shown them the key. They never had the faintest idea where she kept it. But that was the right thing to do when controlling slaves.
However, the Thousand Tricks was different. He was overbearing, but also showed the sort of “generosity” you could offer when you had the upper hand. He brought out the key right in front of Black, White, and Gray. Maybe he just wanted to nip their escape plans in the bud. Maybe he really planned to release them.
Either way, they had a good idea as to where he kept the key—he carried it around with him. If that was the case, they were certain they could steal it. After all, he didn’t pay any attention to them, no more than someone might mind a bug on the ground.
The Thousand Tricks was overwhelmingly powerful. Even if they didn’t have the collars, they wouldn’t be able to take him down. But that man was still a human, not some infallible god. This meant there was still hope for them. Fortunately, they were at a hot spring. There were changing rooms.
“I’ve checked the locks on the lockers,” White whispered. “They’re a bit complex. I can get ’em open, I’ll just need a minute. They don’t worry about clothing theft in these fancy places.”
“Right. Let’s do it.”
They were up against a fiend, but that didn’t mean Black and White were just going to sit quietly and wait to be crushed. As they stood up, the two of them tried to hide their fear through twisted smiles.
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