Chapter 395:
Zinal’s Son
OOOH, THAT WAS SO YUMMY! I’ve never had meat so soft and tender. It was a slightly different kind of tenderness than what you get from a slow braise. It was so good that I even asked for seconds… Maybe that was why Fische’s complexion looked even worse than it had before lunch? I’ll just assume I’m right.
“Was it good?” Garitt asked.
“Oh, delicious, sir! Thank you all for the treat,” I answered, my face all smiles.
“I’m surprised you asked for seconds…”
I can’t heeeear you… Yeah, Dad, I see you laughing, but you were the one who encouraged me to get seconds! I know, I didn’t have to go along with it, but…
“Okay, now that we’ve reset our brains a little, let’s go back to the inn and get down to business. Fische, if you don’t get over yourself soon, you’re going to annoy us all to death.” Zinal gave Fische’s slumped shoulder a light slap.
“I’m not annoying. Argh, I played that game in the first place because I hoped it’d make you pay for lunch, Zinal!”
Fische was whining so loudly that the passersby stopped and stared. It was just a little embarrassing.
“Oh, shut up. It was your choice to bet, and you lost. Just accept it already.”
Dang, Zinal, you’re merciless. Look at how poor Fische is sulking.
“Is there anything you need?” Garitt asked, pointing at the stores.
I didn’t think so, so I answered, “No thanks.”
“Okay. Are you sure you don’t want dessert?”
Huh? Does Garitt want dessert? When he set up the snacks for us in their room earlier, he spent the whole time munching on them by himself. Right, then Fische gave him an earful for it afterward.
“It’s all right, Mr. Garitt, I’m full. But if you want something, should we stop and buy some?”
“Oh, if you don’t need anything, then I’ll pass. You look like you got your fill anyway.”
“Oh, yes, sir. I sure did!”
Garitt patted my head with an amused smile. Hmm, Fische and Zinal have children, but what about Garitt?
“Mr. Garitt, do you have any kids?”
“Yeah, I do. A fledgling adventurer, in fact.”
Oh, so they’re an adventurer. I guess Garitt is prepared for the worst just like Zinal, then. Mad respect to them both. Wait a minute, I never caught Zinal’s son’s name, did I? Huh… He never mentioned his son’s name at all.
“Y’knooow…I think I’ll go get something to snack on after all,” said Garitt as soon as we arrived at the inn. He turned around and hurried back along the path we’d just come on. Something to snack on? We ate an awfully big lunch—was it still not enough?
“Huh? Where’d Garitt run off to?”
“To buy a snack, sir.”
Zinal smirked. “Ha ha! Guess he couldn’t resist it.”
Resist what?
“Garitt has a terrible sweet tooth. I have a hunch he’s going to buy a sweet snack.”
Aha. Well, they do say we’ve got a separate stomach for dessert.
“Is that…?”
I followed Fische’s gaze to see a young adventurer glaring at us as he walked in our direction. He had a hostile aura which I couldn’t quite describe.
“Nalgath…” Zinal muttered. There was a deep crease between his frowning brows. He seemed to know the man, but it didn’t look like they got along.
“Long time no see.”
“What are you doing here?”
“I told the guild master we were here. Didn’t he tell you?” Zinal asked.
Nalgath’s eyes filled with anger. Bloodlust, even. It made my skin crawl a little. My father gently put a hand on my back, its warmth releasing the tension from my body.
“What are you doing in this village?”
“Well, my son got promoted to elite adventurer. I’m here to celebrate.”
“Celebrate? Who cares?! Just go away!”
Could this be…Zinal’s son? But judging by the tension between them, they don’t seem to have a good relationship. When Zinal said his son had become an elite adventurer, he looked so happy… What a shock. Boy, their expressions are both so stiff. And Zinal seems resigned to it… So, um, how much longer is this staring contest gonna last, guys? We’ve got stuff to do. Do we really have time to waste on family squabbles? Didn’t you want to break the spell on your son? You shouldn’t say things that’ll just get him upset. C’mon, Nalgath is standing right here… Why aren’t we taking advantage of that?!
“Zinal, Nalgath, just stop talking, both of you.”
More than ten minutes have gone by since you started bickering. Garitt’s come back from buying snacks, so it’s time to reel it in, gentlemen!
“What?!”
“You little brat!”
Eek, they’re scaring me. But I’ll be okay. Dad has my back. “You’re getting too upset. Mr. Zinal, didn’t you have something you wanted to tell Mr. Nalgath? You’ll never get anywhere at this rate.”
“I’m not listening to anything this jackass has to say!”
“Mr. Nalgath, please, just listen for a minute. If you won’t listen to Mr. Zinal, then let me and my father talk.”
“Huh?!”
Oh! He looks just like Zinal when he’s shocked. Better not tell him; he’ll get mad.
“Mr. Nalgath, you’re an elite adventurer. You need to control your emotions better, or it could spell disaster for you out in the field,” my father warned him.
Nalgath sneered, but then he managed to calm himself down enough to address me and my father. “I’m sorry. By the way, who are you?”
“I’m Druid, and this is my daughter Ivy. Nice to meet you.”
“Very nice to meet you, sir.”
“Nice to meet you,” Nalgath said politely. Maybe he took the chip off his shoulder when he wasn’t dealing with his father? He looked a bit baffled, but at least he was politely answering us.
“Mr. Nalgath, we have something complicated to talk about. Won’t you come with us for a little while?”
“Something complicated, you say? What’s this all about?”
“We can’t say it out here. There’s no telling who might be listening.”
Nalgath’s eyes grew stern as he stared at my father. Then he turned his focus on me. His gaze was so grim that I felt my spine tingling.
“Is it serious?”
“Yes. It’s about what’s happening to Hataka,” my father answered.
Nalgath was at a loss for words for a moment. As I watched him, I thought I saw a dark fog appear in his eyes, which had been a clear, brilliant blue just a minute earlier. Come to think of it, Zinal’s eyes are the same color.
“Are you sure it’s serious?”
“Well, there’re monsters just outside the village…”
“Oh! Right, there are. Wait a minute… Huh? Um…”
Zinal was standing right behind Nalgath, but there was something off about him. His eyes were wandering a little in shock. His face was quite pale and filled with sadness. When our eyes met, I could see his lips were pursed. He was stopping himself from doing or saying something. I don’t know why, but I’ve got a bad feeling about this. We should work as quickly as possible.
“Let’s go, Mr. Nalgath. We’ve borrowed a room where we can talk.”
“Huh?! Er, but I…”
“Just hear us out first, please. Then you can decide what to do about it, okay?” I would just have to play the stubborn child card and make him give up. I grabbed him by the hand and began to walk. I stole a glance at him, and it was clear how confused he was. Oh, what a mess… I could hear footsteps behind us, so I knew Zinal and the others were following. That reassured me a little.
“Ivy, wanna use the Zinal Method from yesterday?”
The Zinal Method? Oh, he means the sneak attack! Yeah, that’s probably our best bet. We wouldn’t get anywhere if we tried to explain everything to him; that much had just been made perfectly clear, and he was starting to act even stranger now.
“Yes, let’s go with the Zinal Method.”
I was scared that Nalgath’s odd behavior was caused by the summoning circle. And judging by Zinal’s reactions, I had a sinking feeling I was right.
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