Chapter Two: Fearsome Interlopers
I didn’t have the slightest clue what was happening. Sitri, however, didn’t seem to notice and, as though it was the most natural thing in the world, walked up and took care of the new arrivals. She took control of the battered carriage and found a random inn to toss the group into.
We were used to treacherous situations. We had faced peril in forests, mountains, deserts, and even at sea. Yet at the same time, we regularly met people just as accustomed to danger as we were. To tell you the truth, Grieving Souls’ sole new member at the time, Eliza Beck, was a fellow peril-pal—who nearly died in a desert with us.
From his lack of wounds, it seemed Arnold had passed out from exhaustion. Honestly, I didn’t want any part in it, but Sitri had seamlessly involved herself so I saw no choice but to follow along.
We’ve got Liz and Tino here and Killiam’s back at the inn. I’m sure Arnold won’t be a problem.
We sat down to talk with them at a dining hall attached to their inn. The contrast between Sitri clad in a yukata and the beaten hunters was something incredible. The story told by Rhuda, Li’l Gilbert, and Chloe was an extraordinary one.
Apparently, they had been following us and even went all the way to Night Palace. We did a one-eighty when we saw there wasn’t a single carriage outside but I guess Arnold and his entourage went in. That treasure vault was beyond the recommended level for Grieving Souls, a party full of moniker-holders, but they entered it with a party that included Level 3s and 4s. Did they have a death wish or something?
“...And then we managed to wait out the swarm by hiding under the mountains of corpses.”
“We were looking at certain death. We all would’ve died if not for Arnold’s orders.”
Li’l Gilbert’s friends all nodded vehemently. Something told me they might not have entered those mountains if Arnold hadn’t ordered them to, but I kept that to myself.
After listening to their tale with disinterest, Liz began to blink.
“Huh. So what? Did you have a bonfire on top of the remains of ours?” she said.
“W-We did not!”
“After all, in high-level treasure vaults, the mana material of phantoms is too strong and remains for long stretches,” Sitri said. “Perhaps in the future, we should make sure to do a proper job wiping out remaining phantoms. What do you think, Krai?”
She looked contemplative, but all I could feel was the shock of learning that my friends had a bonfire without me. Sure we used to have bonfires all the time, but one in a vault they were underleveled for? Well, they enjoyed themselves and that’s what’s important.
From beginning to end, I failed to comprehend the story of Rhuda and the other hunters. I understood the words they were saying and I nodded along and gave the occasional “yeah, uh-huh,” but my brain failed to process it all.
After managing to evade a horde of phantoms by hiding under piles of corpses, they all escaped Night Palace by the skin of their teeth and retreated to a nearby town. During their retreat, they encountered numerous phantoms and suffered more wounds.
Heavily fatigued, they headed for Suls, a town famous for its healing waters. Apparently, the Gladis Earldom being along the way also factored into that decision. It seemed they had been under the impression that’s where I was headed.
You can issue me a named quest, but no way am I gonna take it. I don’t think these guys understand what type of person I am.
“Please forgive him, Krai. He might have been rude to you, but he saved our lives on multiple occasions!” Rhuda said in a shaky voice.
She was leaning forward in a pleading manner. A Thief’s gear was supposed to be durable, but hers was tattered in multiple spots and her complexion was awful. The dark rings beneath her large blue eyes told me she was exhausted, though maybe not as much as Arnold.
“She’s right,” Chloe said, breaking her silence. “It may be the policy of the Explorers’ Association not to get involved in infighting among hunters, but I’d suggest burying the hatchet, Krai. I believe Arnold’s...learned his lesson.”
What are you talking about?
I couldn’t help but stare at Chloe. I didn’t have any resentment towards Arnold and I didn’t plan on doing anything to him. Honestly, as far as I was concerned, I was running away from him.
Animosity? I wouldn’t say so. He burned through a bunch of my Safety Rings and bullied Tino, but we were fine in the end. I had learned from experience that you couldn’t get by as a hunter if you let small things anger you, it would just stress you out. I figured you were better off just forgetting about it. Dissipating stress was what the hot spring did best.
I blinked and put on a reassuring smile.
“Huh? I haven’t even done anything to him and I don’t plan to.”
I gave my honest opinion and it caused Gilbert to take a few steps back. The blood drained from Rhuda’s face and the other hunters (I didn’t know any of their names) all looked at me like some sort of freak. Even Chloe seemed taken aback.
“D-D-Does this mean that all we’ve done so far...”
“Is this one of the famous...”
“I don’t really know what you’re all talking about,” I said. “This is mostly just a vacation.”
“The matter of Arnold and his party is just something on the side,” Sitri added, quite unnecessarily.
I thought about saying something, but when I really thought about it, Falling Fog wasn’t even a side matter. Except saying that would only be adding oil to the fire. The vice leader of Falling Fog looked at me with a strained expression, but he didn’t offer any objections so I was certain that they also wanted to resolve this befuddling situation.
Sitri looked up at me. Liz wasn’t saying anything, meaning she was leaving things in my hands. Multiple nervous faces were turned towards me. This wasn’t some scheme to make us drop our guard; they wanted a peaceful resolution. Without thinking, I grinned ear to ear and gave them my answer.
“S-Sure, I don’t really understand what’s going on, but I see nothing wrong with burying the hatchet. Since you’ve come all the way to Suls, why not take a good, long rest? The hot springs here aren’t half bad.”
I couldn’t figure out how Sitri had anticipated their movements, but I didn’t really care. There was no use fighting in a hot spring area. The vice leader placed both hands on the table and lowered his head.
“You’ve got my gratitude. We were wrong to look down on a Level 8. Forgive us,” he said.
“Yeah, uh-huh. But I haven’t done anything.”
I’ve had to apologize any number of times, but being apologized to for no reason wasn’t common. I smiled and clapped my hands.
Now this dispute should be settled for good.
***
Rhuda had no idea what that man was thinking. Krai’s smile of relief made her feel like she was in a different reality. To her, Night Palace had been a death trap. If she had been by herself, she wouldn’t have been able to bring herself to hide in one of those grotesque piles. She might have chosen to escape into the castle and who knows what that might have resulted in?
But nothing in Krai’s demeanor suggested that he might be sparing the slightest consideration for them. This made it clear how accustomed he was to giving out his Trials. It seemed incredibly devious to Rhuda that Krai might have anticipated Arnold losing his resolve and choosing to leave the treasure vault. If this was what it took to reach Level 8, she didn’t see herself ever making it there. To think there were levels even beyond that.
Whatever the case, they overcame the Trial. Perhaps they should just be satisfied with that.
After barely escaping Night Palace with their lives intact, they had traveled in fear of an encounter with Krai. The members of Falling Fog were covered in wounds. By comparison, Krai and his companions all looked to be in perfect health. Even Rhuda’s one concern, Tino, was wearing a yukata and seemed better off than the last time they had met.
The original duty of Rhuda and Scorching Whirlwind was to make sure Chloe successfully reached Krai. Their initial plan was to part ways with Falling Fog in Suls and head to the Gladis Earldom. You might say coming across Krai here was bad luck for Arnold’s company but good luck for Rhuda’s.
Exhausted from her multiday trek, the hot springs of Suls were like heaven to Rhuda. The blood and flesh stuck to her had faded after leaving Night Palace, but her fatigue remained. She had heard the spring water in Suls had healing properties and she was all too ready to put that to the test. She took Krai up on his suggestion and they saved the quest talk for another time. Rhuda was ready to enjoy her first dip in a hot spring in some time.
Tino decided to join her. Rhuda had heard of a yukata, but this was her first time seeing one. She knew she was being unreasonable, but it still irked her to see Tino so clean while she was so disheveled.
Their inn had been picked haphazardly, but the baths were quite spacious. Just the pleasant sensation of steam brushing against her skin made Rhuda sleepy. She resisted the urge to take a nap as she gave herself an overdue cleansing. She knew that having few chances to wash off was just another part of being on the road, but, as a girl, she had trouble accepting it.
“Ah, I’m sooo tired. I thought I might die back there. Haven’t felt that way in a while.”
White Wolf’s Den had been brutal, but she couldn’t say if it had been worse than Night Palace. This time had involved stronger phantoms, but Falling Fog had been a reassuring presence.
“I never doubted Master’s judgment, but I’m still glad to see you’re all right,” Tino said in a small voice as she sat down and gently rubbed her skin.
“Honestly, it was worse than I had expected. I guess that’s what happens when you enter a vault nobody else has been to in years,” Chloe said with a sigh as she let down her long black hair.
It had been a trying experience for Rhuda and the other hunters, but it must have been even worse for an employee of the Explorers’ Association, even if she had some talent with a blade. Perhaps making it this far without complaining was just par for the course for a relative of the War Demon.
Tino must have bathed a few times already because her pale skin was clean and sparkly. But something about her seemed a bit dissatisfied.
“How have you been faring?” Rhuda asked her.
Tino paused.
“I fought a dragon in a hot spring,” she said.
“Huuuh?”
They heard the story while taking a leisurely soak. Rhuda couldn’t even be shocked, she just sighed. It seemed Tino had experienced her own fair share of troubles. She was probably the only hunter in the whole wide world who had been forced to fight a dragon in the nude. The lack of aid from Krai, Sitri, and other nearby hunters was telling of how spartan Tino’s training was. Chloe looked baffled.
Even as another woman, Rhuda found Tino incredibly endearing as she bashfully told her story. If Rhuda found herself in the same situation, she would be too preoccupied with the dragon to be feeling embarrassment. Even if someone were to comment on it out to her after the fight, she thought it would be best to stand proud (despite her embarrassment) and say the situation called for it. The girl in front of Rhuda was an experienced hunter but she still had a sense of shame at odd times.
But then an old memory of Rhuda’s resurfaced.
“Wait. Didn’t you once say something to Krai about positions?” she asked Tino.
“What of it?” Tino replied with a quaint expression.
It was when she battled Gilbert at the training grounds. At the time, Rhuda just guessed that was just the sort of person Tino was, but that wasn’t a line you might casually hear from a girl who got embarrassed over a bit of exposed skin. Rhuda furrowed her brow.
“That was just something Lizzy taught me,” Tino said. Her voice had a slight chill that wasn’t there when she spoke to her “master.” “Flexibility is important, sometimes you have to fit into small spaces. It’s standard practice for a Thief and I was just showing my skills to Master. What of it?”
“I don’t think that’s what your mentor was getting at...”
“Hm? What do you mean?”
It would appear Tino had just been mimicking her mentor. Lizzy did come across as the kind of person who might be completely fine saying that sort of thing. Most people wouldn’t describe flexible joints in terms like “You can put me in any position you like.”
“Well, for now, just don’t talk like that in front of too many people,” Rhuda said in an attempt to be roundabout. She tried to hide her expression by sinking down until the water was up to her neck.
The long overdue dip in the hot spring was invigorating. It was like all her fatigue was just being drained away. She had completed her job when she safely delivered Chloe to her destination, but maybe staying in Suls a bit longer might not be such a bad idea?
“It was a good experience, I think. But I don’t wanna undergo another Trial ever again,” Rhuda said drowsily. “Hey, Tino, do you think you could tell that to Krai?” she joked.
Tino briefly sat in silence before saying something quite unexpected.
“I don’t think this Trial is over quite yet.”
“Huh?”
***
“Hey! Thousand Tricks! Is this really a training method?”
“Yeah. Hundred percent. Luke did the same thing and he became really strong. It’s my recommended training method.”
“F-For real? It seems a little weird, but if you recommend it then it must be good! Who would’ve thought you could train in a hot spring? Is this what it means to reach Level 8? Aah, here I go—gurgle gurgle.”
Li’l Gilbert boldly stood beneath the waterfall pouring into the hot spring. His party members watched from the side with odd looks of amazement. I suppressed a grin and looked the other way. It seemed he had the same sort of one-track mind as Luke.
After getting out of the bath, Chloe, also just out of the water and wearing a yukata, approached me and handed me an envelope bearing the insignia of the Explorers’ Association. Apparently, this was the reason they came all this way.
That’s right. Gark said he’d send along an employee of the Association. So that was Chloe. It couldn’t have been easy, coming all this way and whatnot.
I accepted the envelope and handed it right off to Sitri.
“Wh-Why won’t you look at it?!” Chloe said as she looked at me wide-eyed.
“Because I don’t need to. I don’t plan to accept the quest.”
“Huh?!”
She was absolutely bewildered, but this was all Gark’s fault. I clearly said I didn’t know whether or not I would accept it. Even if it was a named quest issued by a noble, a hunter still had the right to decline. It was truly mind-boggling that Gark thought a semiretired coward like myself might accept a named quest.
With a grin, Sitri removed a letter opener from her pocket and broke the seal on the envelope. I guess she figured she might as well take a look. Just as I had Eva to help me carry out my duties as clan master, I had Sitri help me be a hunter.
“D-Do I need to remind you that’s a named quest from the Lord Gladis?!” Chloe said frantically after overcoming her astonishment. She looked like she was trying to figure out my true intentions. “It’ll improve your reputation and your success might make Lord Gladis more amiable towards other hunters!”
“Yeah, uh-huh.”
It was wrong of me to only give her tepid responses and then chase her off, but that wasn’t what this was about. I couldn’t do a named quest by myself and even if I did that would just increase my chances of getting dragged into noble nuisances. There was nothing to gain for a man aspiring to retire. But Chloe had a job to do, she couldn’t simply accept that sort of excuse.
Oh, man. Can’t you tell? I’m not the hunter you all seem to think I am.
“Wh-What are you looking at us like that for?” Rhuda said with a strained look.
Sitri placed the quest brief on the table and nodded at me knowingly.
“I understand now. There’s no need for us to pursue this,” she said.
“Wha?”
I had the same reaction as Chloe, but I didn’t say it aloud. A hard-boiled man is a man of few words.
“The quest is a joint-effort extermination of Bandit Squad Barrel,” Sitri explained with a grin as she put away her knife. “They’re a troublesome bandit squad. They’re large, powerful, and clever. They came from the east, consist of about one hundred members, and are coordinated enough to trouble even professional militaries.”
“All of their members are capable but their top brass are exceptional. They only recently came to Zebrudia, but due to their ransacking in other countries, the Explorer’s Association has a bounty placed on them. I think they’re pretty high on the list.”
That sounds really bad.
Hunters typically formed parties of six. No matter how powerful they were, six hunters weren’t enough to take on nearly one hundred bad guys. If these bandits were enough to rout even professional militaries, then it was safe to assume they were formidable. If they were near the top of the Explorers’ Association bounty list then they must be a fair bit stronger than the average hunter.
No need to pursue. You’ve got that right, Sitri. Eliminating bandit squads is the state’s responsibility. To hell with the named quest. What are they doing trying to shove that off on me?
If it was a joint effort then it was probably with Lord Gladis’s knights. But they weren’t fond of hunters so why go throwing out named quests now of all times? I swore to myself I’d have a word with Gark later on.
I pay my taxes, go ahead and turn these scary requests down.
“And why’s there no need to pursue it?” Li’l Gilbert asked with a suspicious look.
“It’s simple. They’ve gotten away with terrorizing a number of different countries because they have more than simple strength. They’re quite intelligent and won’t fight an opponent they can’t win against,” Sitri explained.
The name of this bandit squad wasn’t ringing any bells for me, but Sitri recognized the name and even knew their history. Grieving Souls mainly focused on clearing treasure vaults but they had considerable experience with bounty hunting. They would usually come to us, leaving us (and by “us,” I meant my friends) no choice but to take them out. All the while, Sitri built up a considerable database regarding bounty targets.
“These bandits have terrorized many regions. They’ve lasted as long as they have by retreating every time a stronger force is sent after them. They aren’t dumb enough to stick around if a Level 8 hunter’s been dispatched.”
“I-I see,” Gilbert said.
Sitri spoke fluently; her confident tone made it easy to believe her words.
“They know how to sense out strong opponents and would have begun preparing to pull out the moment they learned who was being enlisted to hunt them down. I don’t believe they’re still within the Gladis Earldom.”
Her explanation had a certain logic to it and was easy to understand. The leader of Li’l Gilbert’s party let out a groan. Similarly, it seemed like such a possibility had never occurred to Chloe.
I let out a silent cheer. My inflated level was coming in handy for once. Not that I ever planned to accept the named quest, but I couldn’t be liable for any sort of blame if the enemy had already run off. There was no way Lord Gladis was going to tell me to chase the bandits even after they had left his domain.
I gotta thank Sitri for this later.
Brimming with confidence, I crossed my arms.
“That’s the jist of it. We can go after them, but I don’t really see any need to. I have my own way of doing things,” I said to Chloe like I had any idea what I was on about.
“Eh, oh, of course.”
“It was inevitable that Bandit Squad Whatever-it-was would run when Lord Gladis issued the named quest. It happens. I’m sure Lord Gladis will be satisfied by this. Oh, and thank you for the explanation, Sitri.”
“Oh, you flatter me, Krai.”
Sitri’s explanation probably contained a bit of conjecture on her part, but she was rarely wrong. And it didn’t matter even if she somehow happened to be wrong because I wasn’t obligated to accept the named quest.
Now I could cast aside my worries and kill time until the Gathering of the White Blade was over. I could bathe in the hot springs, I could snack on the famous hot spring dragon manju and hot spring dragon eggs, and I could browse the souvenir shops.
I’ve got it! I can peruse the sweet shops with Tino! She can be my guard and even I don’t know much about the confectioneries out here. I began to grin.
“Master,” Tino said in a hasty voice. “Is the Trial really over?”
“Yeah, absolutely. Finito.”
“Master...”
There was something poignant about her voice.
No Trials or anything. All that’s left is paradise.
I hid it with my hand, but I couldn’t keep a grin off my face. As I stifled my voice, Gilbert and his party all looked at me as though I were doing something creepy.
***
Damn it. What a miserable display for a Level 7.
Arnold was in the depths of despair. He no longer knew what to do. He was in terrible condition and his body felt like a sack of bricks, but his spirit was suffering most of all. When he regained consciousness, a deep sense of disappointment overcame him when he realized he had fainted upon seeing the face of the Thousand Tricks. That disappointment was directed at no one but himself.
It might have been the face of a Level 8, the face of someone who had caused him all sorts of suffering, but to pass out from merely seeing it was inexcusable. One month prior, talk of something like this would have elicited scornful laughter from Arnold.
What gave him the greatest shock was what he heard from Eigh.
“You’re a bit exhausted, Arnold. You’ve been through a lot and all while we were weighing you down. I think the burden got the better of you. Take some time to rest in the hot springs here.”
He had shown consideration for Arnold. That wasn’t too extraordinary. Arnold was the party leader and his party members had shown concern for him many times before. But never had he heard them speak to him with words tinged with sympathy or make attempts to protect his feelings. He had considered this proof that he was a strong leader.
To faint just because he saw the face of his nemesis. It was a sorry display, yet none of his party members showed any hints of wanting to abandon him. Even Jaster, a hunter who had managed to tag along with Arnold despite being the party’s youngest member, didn’t show a hint of disapproval. This was no doubt a product of the confidence Arnold had instilled in his members. He understood this, but he still couldn’t forgive himself for being frail enough to faint after seeing his enemy.
His capabilities shouldn’t have changed. He was extremely fatigued, but his powers were still intact and his sword was in fine condition. In fact, his mana material had increased after visiting Night Palace. And yet, Arnold now felt weak.
Total confidence was one of the necessary pillars of strength. Should that pillar wobble, even someone of superb fortitude could lose strength. Arnold needed to regain his confidence, but he didn’t know how.
Remembering what Eigh had said, he went by himself to the main bath so he could both rejuvenate and reflect. But when he saw the wide bath, warm and steaming, he felt nothing.
This is a wound, Arnold thought. A fatal wound for a man of supreme might. A crack had formed in his hunter’s spirit. An early retirement might await him if he failed to regain his confidence.
Over and over he told himself he should use this humiliation as a chance to spring back better than ever, but he just couldn’t muster his spirit. He felt like he had become someone else the moment he fainted.
He didn’t understand how he had once been able to fight or be angry. He understood the principles, but his heart wasn’t in it. He clicked his tongue, just like he used to. He walked with his chest puffed out, just like he used to. But it was a hollow performance. He was still managing to look strong, but, like metal plating peeling away, Arnold would eventually become a weakling.
There was no one else in the main bath. It occurred to Arnold that he hadn’t walked alone in some time. After forming his party, there had almost always been a party member nearby. Something about it was lonesome. That, too, was another feeling his previous self never would have felt.
Everything he did felt uncharacteristic. Everything felt disjointed. He was afraid to swing his sword again. He was afraid his party’s concern would morph into disappointment. Most of all, he was afraid to run into the Thousand Tricks again because he didn’t know how he might react. Once this thought crossed his mind, he realized how far he had fallen.
Eigh had apologized to the Thousand Tricks while Arnold was unconscious. Arnold had thanked Eigh for doing that, but was the Crashing Lightning really the type to approve of such behavior? No. The answer was a flat no.
Arnold always took Eigh’s words into consideration, but the final say always fell to him. Arnold was the one who shouldered responsibility for the party. Even if Eigh had already apologized, Arnold still would have gone and done it himself. That was how he envisioned a powerful leader. That was the man that was the Crashing Lightning. So what did it mean if it took him so long to realize something so simple?
Another wave of despair assailed Arnold. Despite his realization, his body wouldn’t move and that created a sense of self-loathing. He heaved a sigh, a sigh that felt like it was taking all his strength with it.
He couldn’t do it. It wasn’t even worth considering. In his current state, Arnold was unfit to be responsible for the lives of his party members. Falling Fog had no option but to disband. He would have to talk to Eigh once he was out of the bath. He had an obligation to those who had once followed the Crashing Lightning.
Dragging his weary body, he made for the tub at a slow pace, almost as though trying to buy time. Then, as he was about to lower himself into the wide bath, something strange flitted across his field of view. His mind went blank. He slowly rubbed his eyes and took a good look. Contrary to what he expected, he felt no fear. He didn’t faint or even tremble.
The Thousand Tricks—he was doing the breaststroke across the hot spring. With graceful movements, he cut through the warm water and barely made a sound as his body moved across the surface. The shock of it all wiped away his earlier unease and he managed to speak in a strained voice.
“Wh-Wh-What are you doing?!”
This was no hallucination. The Thousand Tricks hastily tried to get on his feet but stumbled spectacularly. Water splashed high into the air and a dopey face looked up at Arnold.
***
I was enjoying myself, gracefully doing the breaststroke in the otherwise unoccupied main bath, when Arnold suddenly appeared. I was taking it easy so I had completely failed to notice him coming in. For a second, I thought I was having a bad dream.
The open-air bath in my room was too small and the main bath of the inn I was staying at was undergoing repairs so I went to the trouble of going to the baths of another inn. And yet I ran into Arnold of all people. Unbelievable. Unlucky beyond belief. Was he stalking me?
After stumbling in the tub, I quickly looked up and saw Arnold staring at me with a tense look on his face. Panicking, I tried to show him I meant no harm by smiling and waving my hand.
Looking at it under proper lighting, I could see that Arnold had a body tempered for combat. What sort of power a hunter desired would affect how mana material changed their body. Simply put, if you desired muscular strength then your muscles would develop, if you desired speed then your body would become more nimble.
In cases such as Liz’s, many female hunters developed their muscles without it becoming visibly apparent. This was thought to happen because they desired both strength and beauty.
I didn’t have much of an eye for these sorts of things, but even I could tell the Crashing Lightning had a body stronger than mine in every possible way. His limbs must have been at least twice as thick as mine. His armor-like muscles probably wouldn’t have even flinched if they took a hit from someone like me. Humans were generally considered to have weaker bodies than monsters, but it was hard to believe that while looking at the man before me.
My fingers instinctively brushed against my Safety Rings. How unfair it was that Arnold was still at such an advantage even when I was the only one of us wearing any equipment. Habitual misfortune had made me accustomed to these kinds of mishaps. Not to mention, I didn’t think he would attack me after our dispute had more or less been resolved after chatting with Falling Fog’s vice leader.
I figured that showing fear here might actually provoke Arnold. For reasons unclear to me, he stood there shaking.
“Heh. What a coincidence,” I said, doing my best to look tough.
“Ca-Ca-Ca...”
“Cock-a-doodle-doo?”
Oops. Accidentally saying things that I wanted to was a bad habit of mine.
“CALL THIS A COINCIDENCE?! What are you after, you bastard?!”
Red in the face, Arnold stomped the ground. That alone created cracks in the stone flooring and caused rock fragments to fall from the ceiling. Arnold began to scratch wildly at his head. The water droplets on his skin were warmed and went up in steam. I had seen Liz do this as well, it wasn’t a rare phenomenon with the sort of inhuman powers hunters had.
“Calm down, Arnold. I was here first, you arrived after me!” I shouted with a resolute demeanor befitting of a Level 8 hunter.
“Hah?! You call this a coincidence?! I entered a hot spring, and by coincidence, there was a Level 8 hunter swimming laps?!”
Arnold was broken. I had always thought of him as someone stalwart, but it looked like his experience in Night Palace had changed him significantly. But when said out loud, it was strange. Which was more shocking, this or running into a dragon in an open-air bath? The thought made me grimace.
“What, have you come to laugh at me?!” Arnold shouted in a roaring voice. “To belittle me?! To mock me?!”
“Calm down! Here, deep breaths! Okay? I wouldn’t have started swimming if I knew someone else might be coming. I know it’s bad etiquette to swim in a hot spring but I made sure nobody else was around and I’m not getting the water dirty! I was just having a nice swim!”
“A Level 8 doesn’t swim in a hot spring!”
Arnold’s shouting echoed throughout the baths. He was quite right. I would definitely get an earful from Eva if she heard about this.
It’s a tough life. We’re paying for this, so can’t you cut me some slack?
“Arnold, this is all a misunderstanding! I wasn’t just swimming!”
Bent forward slightly and slowly backing away, I tried to placate Arnold. He looked like he might attack me if I said the wrong thing.
“Huh?! If you’ve got a reason then let me hear it!”
“I was, uh, training?”
“Ah. Aah. AAAH!”
As he let out a bellowing roar, he smashed his head against a dragon statue from which water was flowing. The horns bent, cracks formed, and hot water began to spew out. It appeared that a Level 7 hunter’s head was sturdier than stone. How terrifying. Talk about being emotionally unstable.
But this wasn’t a new sight for me and I quickly returned to my senses. Arnold must have cut his head because a crimson liquid flowed into the water. Yet he still didn’t stop hitting it against the statue.
“I understand, I really do! You’ve just lost your temper a bit. I’m sure you’re tired. It’s pretty reasonable considering you went to Night Palace with Chloe and an underleveled party. If something’s bothering you then I’ll lend an ear.”
Hearing my benevolent words, Arnold stopped bashing his head and with both hands ripped the statue out of the floor.
“Aah! There’s nothing for us to talk about!”
My eyes bulged. I heard something cracking and a geyser of hot water sprung up. Caught off guard, I instinctively took a step back. It was a sight to behold. Standing boldly with a stone statue held above his head, Arnold looked like something out of a nightmare. But I had witnessed sights like this before so my sanity managed to stay with me.
Maybe I should start carrying a camera around with me. I can make photo albums of all the crazy stuff I’ve seen and sell those so I can pay off a portion of my debt.
“Hah, hah. I won’t accept it. I can’t accept it! Thousand Tricks! I haven’t lost and I won’t bear the shame of an early retirement!”
“Huh. Y-Yeah, uh-huh.”
“I’ll try again! Count on it! I’ll try as many times as it takes! How long can you stay complacent? I’ll make you regret making fools of us!”
Why’s he talking like I made a fool of him?
I wasn’t interested in Arnold and his party and they didn’t seem like the type you wanted to make an enemy of. I tried to smile at Arnold, show him that I didn’t want to fight him, but even I could only manage a strained smile under these circumstances.
“H-Hold on. Let me say, I wasn’t making a fool of you guys. Don’t get the wrong idea. I see a lot of potential in you guys! I’m your ally!”
For a response, I didn’t receive words but a stone statue. Flying with incredible speed, the statue bounced off the barrier created by one of my Safety Rings and sunk into the bath. Water splashed on my face and caused my bangs to cling to my face, which wasn’t a very pleasant feeling.
If he chose to throw something else then even I might have been able to make a run for it. However, when my vision cleared up I saw Arnold had his back to me as he stomped out of the baths. It was scary. I was used to stuff like this happening, but it didn’t get any less scary. This was why I kept Relics on me at all times.
I pissed him off. This is my last chance. Something. I have to say something.
“Arnold! Don’t you want to get in the baths?!”
No response.
“It’s a vacation after all! Take some time to rest!”
In the end, I failed to say anything useful.
Ah, it’s no good.
Not saying anything, Arnold closed the door with a deafening slam.
Silence returned. Sitting in the half-destroyed bath, I hugged my knees and sighed.
***
Arnold felt like his head was on fire. He strove to keep a placid mind, but this was too much even for him.
He was so strong it interfered with everyday activities. He made sure to always keep his power in check, but today he was unable to hold back. As he walked with footsteps that threatened to break the floor, Eigh poked his head out from his door. His eyes widened when he saw his party leader’s face. This was most likely because Arnold wore an expression quite unlike the one he had before leaving his room.
“Eigh! We’ll remake ourselves!” he said, grinding his teeth so hard they threatened to break. “We can’t let that clown continue to get the better of us! We’ll show him what a true high-level hunter looks like. ‘Training,’ he called it! ‘Cock-a-doodle-doo,’ he said! He dares treat me like a chicken?!”
“Huh. R-Roger! We were caught off guard at Night Palace, but you put up a fight. If we go through all necessary treasure vaults and if everyone gets stronger, I’m sure we’ll eventually clear Night Palace,” Eigh said frantically.
The other party members lounging in the room looked frightful but vaguely cheerful at the same time.
Arnold slammed his fist against the wall and forgot all about his earlier ideas of quitting hunting.
“Of course we can!” he shouted. “We can’t let a man like that stand above us! He says he’s our ally! This anger won’t subside until we’ve surpassed him! We can’t rest in a place like this! We’re leaving tomorrow, get ready!”
“Tomorrow? Another brief rest, I see,” Eigh said, baffled.
Following Eigh, the other hunters began to pipe up with complaints.
“Yeah, I didn’t think we’d be here long, but one day?”
“Man, I haven’t even gotten in the hot spring.”
***
“Aaah, there’s really nothing better than a hot spring. Maybe I’ll spend the rest of my life here.”
“Whaaat? Places like this are fine once in a while, but I’d die of boredom if I lived here! I’d grow soft,” Liz sulked.
She and Luke were both the type that couldn’t be happy if they weren’t constantly moving their bodies. I liked to pass the time in leisure, but she had a point: living in a place like this would turn you into a layabout. Not that I minded becoming a layabout.
“This is a nice place. I like it here,” I said. “It’s got everything I look for.”
“Hm? Everything you look for?” Tino said.
I could delight my taste buds with the bounties of the land and sea, I could soak away in a hot spring. Arnold’s appearance might have been unexpected, but this place had the sort of serenity I dreamed of.
Something about Suls made it feel warm and cozy even outdoors. Even a hermit like me couldn’t help but go out on an occasional stroll and the streets were lined with stalls selling delicious things. It was so good, I decided I had to buy some souvenirs. The best were the hot spring dragon eggs (actually a chicken egg) and hot spring dragon manju.
Seeing them in different outfits than usual gave Liz, Sitri, and Tino a seductive allure.
“I’d be nice if there were more guests besides us,” I said as I rolled around on the tatami.
“It seems like there’s usually many more,” Sitri replied.
Well, the circumstances are what they are.
Being near Bandit Squad Barrel or whoever it was would be terrifying for anyone who couldn’t fight. I would know. I didn’t know what I’d be doing if I didn’t have strong friends at my side.
Lying on my side, I looked at the open-air bath.
“Rawr.”
“Meow.”
“Kill kill?”
The nonhumans of our group, Killiam, Drink, and the hot spring dragon, were having a get-together in the open-air bath. An interspecies get-together. Perhaps because it was the newcomer to the group, the hot spring dragon seemed a bit reserved, but they all got along better than I had expected.
It’s anyone’s guess why we haven’t been stopped by the authorities. And hold, why are they doing this in my room?
The sun set and night followed. Everyone left my room reluctantly and silence reigned. Normally we would share, but Tino was with us and Sitri had kindly arranged for us to have separate rooms. No matter how close we were, alone time was still important.
Silver light filtered through a large glass window. A beautiful full moon was shining in the sky. I got out of the bath, I had lost count of how many times I had gotten in that day, and dived into a fluffy futon. Most rooms in Zebrudia were furnished with beds so it was rare to sleep directly on the floor. I was fond of both arrangements.
The hot spring had put me at ease. Of course, I still wore a number of Relics, but that was inevitable; I couldn’t bear the thought of sleeping by myself at an inn in a region with bandits.
A pleasant drowsiness overtook me as I got under the covers and wondered about what to do tomorrow. I held off the urge to sleep and enjoyed the moment of bliss. Suddenly, I heard a door opening. Something swiftly lifted up the blankets and slipped in.
“Pardon me!”
I made a dumb-sounding groan. The low voice belonged to Liz. I couldn’t see well in the darkness, but the arms and legs pressed against me had the same warmth they always did.
Why is Liz here?
“Not now, Liz. They’ll get mad at us,” I managed to say amid sleepiness and confusion.
Hadn’t I locked the door?!
For most road-bound hunters, there was nothing unusual about men and women sleeping in close proximity, but sneaking into the same bed was a different matter altogether. We weren’t a bunch of kids having a sleepover. And when Liz pulled stuff like this, I was the one who got yelled at. Standing my ground, I forced my weary body into action and rolled over.
“C’mon, it’s just us. What’s the matter? Let’s play!”
“It’s already so late.”
Do you have any idea what time it is?
It wasn’t the middle of the night or anything, but I was all washed out. I tried to show my refusal by turning my back to her, but then I felt a warm, soft sensation pressing against me. Smooth, warm skin rubbed against my back. I heard an electrifyingly sweet voice just below my ear.
“Fine, you can stay like that. I’ll just do as I please.”
Liz’s feral behavior was very characteristic of her. It appeared she was in the mood to be indulged. She was always dancing to her own tune, doing things like going out in search of dragons. I wondered how she ended up like this when her older brother and younger sister were both so well-behaved.
While I was thinking it over, two arms stretched out and wrapped around me from behind. I began to feel a bit too hot because of her high body temperature. I felt her arms against the palms of my hands. They were smooth, slender arms.
Liz’s hands tapped against my chest and she trembled as she let out a shrill cry. It felt nice just to brush against her warm skin. My hands drowsily followed her arms and my fingertips eventually brushed against her dainty shoulders.
Is she not wearing any pajamas?
“Ah! How naughty!”
No, it’s fine. She’s wearing underwear. Wait, nothing about that is fine.
Her arms intertwined, her fingertips brushed against my body. Her cheek rubbed against the back of my neck and I could distinctly feel her heartbeat against my back. Her fingers slid down the collar of the yukata I was sleeping in. It was almost unimaginable that those same fingers could pierce through armor.
Stop that. It tickles. And hold on. Aren’t our positions mixed up?
I felt like I was having a strange dream. If it was Tino behind me then it certainly could be just that, but with Liz, it was safe to assume this was actually happening.
In my drowsy state, I tried to hold her hand down, but she giggled and patted my chest. As with her arms, she began to wrap her legs around and rub against me. She was acting like we were total lovers or something. Lucia, with her tendencies of temperance, probably would’ve blown a fuse if she had seen us.
I couldn’t let it go on like this. At first, I thought I could just fall asleep, but she was getting carried away.
“Hey, Krai Baby, touch me more.”
I’m not touching you at all. You’re the one doing all the touching!
I turned around and was about to fend off Liz and her devious whispers, but then the door flew open. The light was mercilessly switched on and the blankets ripped off us. It was Sitri. She thrust out her pink water gun and looked down at us with a tense expression, something I only rarely saw on her face in those days. Behind her and ready for combat were Killiam and a red-faced Tino.
“Liiizzy! You never, never, never show any self-control! You said you forgot something and I believed you!” Sitri said.
“Huh?! I can do what I want! Now quit interrupting, things were getting good!”
“H-How salacious,” Tino added. Her lips trembled as she looked at the unbelievable state of Liz. It turned out that Liz had indeed snuck into my futon in just her underwear. She wasn’t even wearing her usual Relic.
It’s all the same to me. Can you all just get out and let me sleep?
“T! Siddy! He’s mine. Scram!”
Liz grabbed a pillow and flung it at light speed. It hit Tino square in the stomach and she made a funny sound as it sent her flying backwards. I could remember having pillow fights as children, but something about this seemed a bit different.
“Oh, how could you do such a thing to T?” Sitri said in an exaggerated tone, a hand over her mouth. “Krai, did you see that? Lizzy! She murdered the lovely darling T!”
Sitri didn’t spare a single glance in Tino’s direction when she said this.
Killiam retrieved a number of pillows from somewhere and handed them to Sitri. She punched the pillow experimentally and slowly raised it over her head.
You guys sure look like you’re having a good time.
“Today will be the day I make my message clear to you, my indiscreet, immoral, imbecile of a sister!”
“You’re calling me immoral?! Which one of us used the dragon as a pretense for mixed bathing?! I know all about what you did! T told me!”
The pot was calling the kettle black and I didn’t know what to say. My precious childhood friends were destroying my precious tranquility.
Yeah, yeah, I like pillow fights too. But could you not do it in my room?
“Behold, Krai, I’ll drive my sister from this room and then I’ll give you a massage.”
“Wait for me, Krai Baby. I only need a minute to send this one packing!”
I longed for Ansem and Lucia, the usual peace brokers in these situations. Luke was no good at times like this; he would just become another participant. Eliza, by the way, lived life at her own pace and would usually sit still and become part of the scenery.
After getting knocked back a distance that shouldn’t have been possible with a pillow, Tino wobbled back onto her feet.
“I-I’ll protect you, Mast— Augh!”
A pillow slammed into her face. I couldn’t even tell who threw it—so commenced the hostilities.
“Damn it! Why do you have to always get in my way?! Can’t even go on a simple date!”
“Press a hand to your flat chest and I’m sure it’ll be apparent! Besides, Krai has a financial debt to me!”
“Kill kill!”
The two sisters seemed very childlike as they shouted and hurled pillows at each other. I figured this was their true form. It might have been an endearing sight if the pillows were being thrown at just a slightly lower velocity. Pillow fights weren’t supposed to sound like shoot-outs.
In terms of physical strength, Liz had the upper hand, but Sitri had the mighty monstrosity Killiam at her side. I couldn’t guess who might win. And what did my debt have to do with anything?
Not even I could manage to sleep in a situation like this. I got up, let out a big yawn, and put on the Relics I kept near my pillow. I thought I’d step out and wait for them to cool off. I evaded the flying pillows by crawling on my hands and knees. This wasn’t my first gauntlet of this sort.
“I’m going to the baths, take care, everyone,” I said in a small voice.
The Smart sisters continued their attempts at exterminating each other as I snuck out of the room. In front of me, I saw the hot spring dragon cowering in the open-air bath.
What kind of girls strike fear into a dragon?
The night wind brushed against me as I stepped outside. I was only wearing my yukata, but I had my Relics, this was a hot spring town, and security had been increased after the incident with the hot spring dragon. I figured I’d probably be fine.
A perfect sphere in the sky, I gazed up at the full moon as I stumbled along. Perhaps because of the geothermal energy, even the wind was fairly warm and felt pleasant as it blew against me. It was like I was in a dream. My Level 10 Sleepiness had receded during the pillow fight, but now it was coming back at me.
Which hot spring should I go to? It’s night, so maybe the place I went to earlier today? That’s where Arnold’s staying, but he probably won’t attack me. Not after we had our naked conversation.
I yawned as I strolled down the moonlit street. It wasn’t even midnight, but there were very few people out and about. The solitude was nice, but it felt like a waste for such a nice town. As I wobbled along, I reached the construction site we’d come across earlier in the day.
Illuminated by moonlight, there was something otherworldly about the hole in the ground. I hadn’t noticed it earlier, but there was a white mist rising from the hole. I had been told the construction was being put on hold, but maybe they had already hit hot water?
Then all of a sudden, during my aimless pondering, something extended up from the hole. I stopped dead in my tracks. I rubbed my eyes. It looked like a gray rope. Bathed in moonlight, it shone with a strange luster. I couldn’t tell how long it was.
What could it be?
Maybe it was because of my drowsiness, but it hardly felt real. I watched with an absent mind as something silently gripped the edge of the hole and pulled itself out. I had no trouble seeing it in the ample moonlight.
I wrinkled my brow. My brain failed to keep up with the developing situation. The thing that appeared from the hole—it was human. That is, if you could still call someone human if they had gray skin and their hair was long, gray, tipped black, and writhed like tentacles. But they had a very humanlike silhouette. They were even wearing clothes, though they were just rags.
Could this be one of those golems Sitri was trying to sell? Was it modeled after Killiam? The skin’s the same color.
The mysterious creature pulled themselves out of the hole and briefly looked up at the full moon before abruptly turning towards me. Their finely shaped eyes widened. But I was just as surprised as they were.
The gray person slowly approached. They stepped under the barbed wire and stopped only a few inches away. They were considerably shorter than me. Their skin was smooth as porcelain and their features were attractive, but not quite human. The inexplicable life-form walked right up to me and looked at me with eyes like glass.
A pattern reminiscent of a circlet was drawn on their forehead, but that wasn’t nearly as striking as their wriggling hair. I had never seen something like the creature before me, but I was used to dealing with things that weren’t human. I just thought they seemed a lot less freakish than Drink, the hot spring dragon, or Killiam.
That’s right. Sitri said something about a legend about some Sapien species in this area. Supposedly there haven’t been any recent sightings, but maybe this is one of them? This sucks. Why is my timing this bad?
Blinking, the creature hesitantly outstretched their hand and patted my arm. They didn’t seem hostile. They appeared to be intelligent. I let myself relax just a bit.
I’ve been running into nonhumans a lot lately. Shame I’m not really into them.
With a strange expression on their face, the humanoid opened their mouth and spoke with a melodic voice.
“Ryu-ryu-ryuu-ryuu?”
“Uh, sorry, I’m on my way to a hot spring.”
If this isn’t one of Sitri’s golems then doesn’t that mean Suls is surrounded by just a few too many weird creatures?
I tried to turn around, but the creature let out a bizarre cry.
“Ryaa!”
“Huh?!”
Their tentacle-like hair spread out and wrapped around my body. I was wearing Safety Rings, but they weren’t always effective against binding attacks.
H-Hold on?! What?!
“Aren’t we friends?!”
“Uryuu!”
With just their hair, the creature lifted me up and triumphantly swung me about. I was instantly shaken from my drowsy state. The hair bound me with incredible force, but it didn’t feel like the creature was trying to crush me to death. I tried to move my arms, but it seemed resistance was futile.
Still holding on to me, the creature began to run. It was at this point that I began to regret walking alone at night. My captor bounded over the barbed wire with ease. Knowing what was on the other side, I began to scream.
“Hey, wait! Bathroom! I gotta go to the bathroom!”
“Ryuu!”
Without hesitating, the bizarre life-form jumped right into the hole, taking me with them.
What in the world...
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