SIDE:
Father’s Vow
“SO WHAT ARE YOU going to do?”
“Nothing, really. It’s just…rumors will spread. For example, people will say that monsters went berserk from the summoning circles and are on a murderous rampage in the forest. Or maybe they’ll say that the culprits who escaped went mad from the summoning circle. See, Hataka is a hub of conflicting stories at this point. We can hardly help it if our villagers spread misinformation now, can we? Isn’t that the natural conclusion to draw?”
I felt my face draw into tight lines as the captain spoke. There was no telling just how nervous these rumors would make the survey teams standing by in the forest. I looked at the captain, and there was an indescribably wicked gleam in his eye.
“What Hataka needs most right now is people who can dissect the summoning circles and think up some countermeasures for us—we don’t want the same thing happening again. And they’re busy squabbling over who succeeds to the throne? Don’t gimme that shit. Oh, I really wanna pop ’em one. Well…not like I’d actually do that. Honest, I won’t. It’s just…when the survey teams arrive, we need to give them a warm welcome. They only move their asses in times like this anyway. After all, these are the same bastards who worked for those dumbasses.”
Wow, I’ve never seen him curse this much. Is this what he’s really like? No, it’s gotta be the captain in him. But still…“those dumbasses” must be the two princes vying for the throne. I stole a glance at the captain. Yeah, he’s dead serious.
“I won’t try to stop you. Just try to stay off the royal family’s hit list, okay?” The guild master seemed relatively unfazed. He was probably used to the captain being like this.
“Of course. There’re still so many things we don’t know about summoning circles. No matter what happens, a summoning circle’s always behind it. Seriously, those circles really are a wonder.”
I don’t think you’ve got that quite right… Well, whatever. He was probably talking from the perspective of the survey teams just now.
“Druid, this is where you come in. Let’s see…can you leave either tomorrow or the morning of the next day?”
Guess that means he’ll set off some sort of trap after that.
“We were planning on leaving tomorrow around noon. That’s what Ivy and I decided.”
“Oh, okay. Gee, we’re going to miss you two. Ivy is such a good kid.”
“I know. She’s a very good kid,” I said. The guild master and the captain stared hard at me in response. What is it?
“I’m not sure whether you know it or not, but your vibe changes drastically whenever you talk about Ivy,” the captain said with an amused chuckle.
“Yeah, it’s impressive, seeing a man’s demeanor change so much. Oh, you worked in Hataka long ago, didn’t you?”
I worked here?
“Maybe I did, but I don’t remember.”
Truth be told, I didn’t recall much of my past. I didn’t remember taking my life seriously. I just took every gig offered to me without much thought, completed it, and repeated the cycle.
“Yeah, you did a gig together with the elite adventurers here,” the guild master said. “It was a tough job, and casualties were heavy. When you boys came back to the village, all the potions were used up, so we couldn’t save the wounded—it was pretty brutal. But I remember you, Druid. You just stood there stoically, spilling all that blood. I’ve seen many an adventurer in my day, but you were so downright creepy that I remember it vividly.”
I searched my memories for anything like the guild master described, but I couldn’t match it up. I did remember getting heavily wounded, however. Now I remembered just how brutal my injuries had been, especially during the five years before I met Ivy. Those five years were a blur to me now, so I wasn’t sure which memory belonged to Hataka.
“Sorry…I can’t remember.”
“Oh, I don’t mind. It’s just that I was stunned when I heard your name. Then when I saw how different you were, I thought you were a different guy. But you had the exact same face as him. What changed you? Was it Ivy?”
Even I felt like I’d changed into a different person, so it was no surprise that others saw that in me, too. “Yes. Ivy is my guardian angel. She’s the light of my life.”
The guild master and captain exchanged glances. It looked like they wanted to ask me something. What was it?
“About that summoning circle you found outside the village… We heard it affected only you and Ivy. Is that true?”
I knew that question was coming, but I wasn’t expecting it so soon. Okay…I’m not sure how much I should tell them.
“It’s true.”
“Aha.” The captain nodded. Then there was a bit of silence. I gave him a questioning look, assuming more questions would follow. “Druid, we won’t ask you anything else. We just thought more information would be useful to us, in case something happens.”
The guild master nodded in agreement. “We may be bound by contracts, but those things aren’t absolute. Don’t get me wrong—we will uphold our side of the contract.”
“Thanks.” These two are sincere. They really are going to help me and Ivy.
“Also, we’ve planned things so that all the adventurer guilds will be notified if anything happens to anybody in Hataka who knows you.”
If anything happens… He means if somebody comes to Hataka and hurts people who know us while trying to get information out of them. I hope that won’t happen…
“Got it. What will you say in the message to the guilds?”
“I’m not sure. What do you think would be good?”
You mean you haven’t thought that far?
“Can you think of any good code words to use? They have to be words that won’t tip off the ones who hurt us.”
Ah, he has a point there.
The three of us sat in silence.
Nothing’s coming to me. There’s got to be something…
“How about ‘We caught the mings. No need to search for them’?” I suggested.
Mings were flying monsters whose territory wasn’t big, but who were tiny and rather difficult to catch. They were rarely in demand, so no adventurers had learned to catch them, but sometimes we got a request for some. Hataka hadn’t received such a request in a couple of years, though, so it was perfect.
“Good. Let’s go with that. All anybody’d think if they read that is ‘Huh, what a strange request.’”
“True.”
The captain and the guild master were both on board with the idea. Still, I hoped I would never hear that message.
“Druid, trouble is going to keep following Ivy.”
The captain’s words made me shudder. The summoning circle made of stones outside Hataka was one of my biggest anxieties. Its creators weren’t targeting Ivy directly, but they were targeting people with memories of their past life. They would almost certainly go for her directly in the coming days.
“Yeah, I know.”
“Same goes for you, eh, Druid?” the guild master asked.
I nodded. “You said it. But I’m a former adventurer. I can protect myself, to a degree. I’m not gonna let anybody control or murder me.” But Ivy is another story. “Ivy got caught up in problems that should be left to adults… She had no other path available to her.” Without an adult to protect her, she wouldn’t have gone on such a dangerous journey alone. “When she met Sora, Ciel, Flame, and Sol…and me…she finally found an environment where she could feel safe and at home. It’s cruel that her life would be in danger again…”
The captain and the guild master caught their breaths. Oh, I never told them how Ivy was almost murdered in her home village.
“Well, this time I’m protecting her. I’ll protect her with my life.”
I sometimes felt anxious since our enemy was in the shadows, but my heart would not falter. I would protect Ivy’s body and soul with my life.
“She’ll be okay. She has her monsters—she has her family.”
The old me wouldn’t have been at all happy at the idea of having a family for friends. But now, I felt much stronger with them in my life.
“You’ve put our minds at ease, Druid. It sounds like you made this vow to yourself long ago.”
“I did. Though I’m at a loss for what to do sometimes, since our enemy is so huge…”
Churches were everywhere, and summoning circles were easily hidden. I had my worries, but I was not alone anymore.
“Well, I’d stay away from churches for a start. Also, be on guard for people behaving strangely. I guess it’s harder to give you advice on summoning circles, though…”
The captain chuckled at the fumbling guild master. “Have you forgotten about her monsters?”
He was right. Sol, Sora, Flame, and Ciel would definitely help us out.
“You guys are so lucky! I wish I had a slime like Flame,” the guild master whined.
The captain shot him a tired gaze. “How can that happen when you’re not a tamer?”
“C’mon, let a man dream! Ooh—yeah, you never got to see Ciel in its true form, did you, Appas? Tough break!”
The captain glared at the guild master’s taunting grin and took a swig of wine. I looked at the bottle and saw there were only a few drops left. Yeah, he’s gonna hear it from Eche tomorrow.
“Um, shouldn’t we lay off the sauce?”
“Druid, no! I could do this all night!” The captain grabbed two more bottles of wine.
Uh-oh, this is dangerous… If I stay much longer, I’m gonna get an earful of my own tomorrow.
“Okay, let’s get smashed!”
The guild master’s eyes were a bit bloodshot. Yeah, he’s drunk, all right. Okay, time to leave! Nothing good will come of me staying here…
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