by Ao Jyumonji
“...Sure,” Haruhiro said. “I kind of envy how you can take things so lightly.”
“Yahoo! I got envied! Yay, yay! Hey, hey, Anna-san, Anna-san, did you hear that? Did you hear? I’ve got someone who envies me. For my... superiority? Rarity? Incomparable lightness! I am super light!”
“Kikkawa, you not light, you shallow!” Anna-san called. “Yeah?!”
“Huh? What? What? I don’t know what shallow means, whatever shallow I do?! Just kidding!”
“Not funny! You want to die?! Shallow mean frivolous! Yeah!”
“Wow. Frivolous, huh. That one, huh?! Frivolous! It sounds kinda luxurious to me?! Is my value on a sudden rise?! Or, like, am I priceless?!”
“Kikkawa’s value is forever zero, yeah?!” Anna-san yelled.
“Whaa?! Like, multiply it or divide it, it’s still zero?! It’ll never change, you mean?! Whoa, Anna-san, I didn’t know you thought so much of me! I’d never have thought it! I’m so happy?! There’s, like, tears in my eyes?!”
It was odd to say it now, since this happened every time, but Kikkawa’s positivity was so out there that it was like a supernatural phenomenon. Haruhiro didn’t just find it surprising or appalling. He found it scary.
It is scary. It really is, he thought. There’s something wrong with him. How can he be so cheerful and energetic, even after what we went through?
“Heh...” Inui walked along while swaying, then stopped in front of Shihoru. He had thrown his eyepatch away, so he no longer had it, but his left eye was closed. He might have been sealing away his true power. The man was an idiot.
“Allow me to give you one very important right,” Inui said. “The right to be my wife, that is... Heh...”
“I-I don’t want that.” Shihoru stuttered, but she replied immediately.
“I don’t hate reserved girls,” Inui said.
“I, um... I don’t like people like you, so...”
“You don’t... like me?” Inui asked.
“...Right.”
“You don’t hate me, either?”
“I-I wouldn’t say I hate you...” Shihoru said.
“You neither like nor hate me... then.”
“W-Well... Yeah... That’s right.”
“Very well.” Inui turned on his heel. “In time, you, too, will come to understand... the hidden truth, that is... Heh...”
“I don’t want to understand, though,” Shihoru said.
“Kwahaha... Heheheh... Ha hahahaha!” Laughing as he went, Inui departed for the Dusk Realm.
“Huh?” Haruhiro looked to each of the Tokkis. “Y-You’re okay with this? Huh? Inui-san’s going by himself...”
“It fine, yeah.” Anna-san waved her hand and laughed. “He have broken heart? He in shock, so better leave him alone, yeah.”
“But, isn’t it dangerous?” Haruhiro asked.
“Well, he probably won’t die!” Tokimune laughed as he walked up, giving them a peek at his white teeth as he extended his right hand to Haruhiro. “That aside, thanks, Haruhiro!”
“...Nah.” Haruhiro hesitantly took Tokimune’s hand. “Well, it’s a bit awkward after you guys tried to steal a march on us.”
“Ahaha! Don’t let that bother you!” Tokimune called.
“I’ve kind of realized that letting it bother me wouldn’t do any good...”
“There you have it! We didn’t mean any harm! Forgive us!”
“Couldn’t you at least apologize first?” Haruhiro asked.
“Man.” Tokimune stopped shaking Haruhiro’s hand and playfully slapped him on the cheeks. “You act like you’re weak, but you can speak your mind pretty well, huh.”
“S-Stop it,” Haruhiro said. “Don’t touch me like that.”
“When you tell me to stop, it makes me want to stop less, you know?” Tokimune asked.
“Th-Then don’t stop!”
“Gotcha. I won’t stop.”
“Whaa...” Haruhiro muttered.
“What do you mean, ‘Whaa’? Don’t make me kiss you.”
“No, seriously, don’t do that!” Haruhiro yelled.
“No!” Mimorin screamed.
For some reason—no, the reason was obvious—Mimorin barged in between the two of them. She stole Haruhiro away from Tokimune and tucked him under her arm. Haruhiro wasn’t an object, though.
“No kissing,” Mimorin said fiercely. “This is mine.”
“Since when did I belong to you?” Haruhiro muttered. “Come on, let go of me...”
“Wahaha!” Tokimune gave a thumbs up. “Anyway, we owe you one, Haruhiro. A big one. I’m a forgetful guy, but I don’t forget this kind of stuff often.”
“Not often, huh,” muttered Haruhiro. “So it’s not an absolute thing.”
“I rarely forget,” said Tokimune.
“That’s fine. Really. Whatever...”
“If you need something, come talk to me anytime,” said Tokimune. “If it’s for you guys, the Tokkis are ready to break a leg, two legs even, for you. I won’t lend you money, but I’ll lend you my life.”
“Money’s more valuable than your life?” Haruhiro asked skeptically.
“No. When money gets involved, it complicates things, you know? I don’t like that. I’m the type that would rather give out money than lend it. So, if you need money, ask me to give it to you, and I’ll give you everything I have. Not that I have any savings.”
Haruhiro blinked. “You don’t?”
“Yeah. None.”
“Me neither,” Tada said, with an attitude like, What’re you saying an obvious thing like that for, moron?
“I’ve got, like, almost nothing, too, I guess?” said Kikkawa.
“I have nothing,” Mimorin said clearly.
“Anna-san has money, yeah! Like, five hundred gold?! Hahaha! It’s joke! I maybe have thirty silver, yeah?!”
What about Inui, who departed for the Dusk Realm? Haruhiro wondered. None of my concern, I guess.
While Haruhiro struggled to get away from Mimorin, his teammates, Kuzaku, Merry, Yume, and Shihoru exchanged glances. Everyone seemed too dumbfounded to do anything.
The Tokkis. These people were worse than they had thought. With how ridiculous they all were, it was a wonder how they had survived this long. What was more, they seemed to be having more fun than anyone.
Was this a viable lifestyle, too? Haruhiro really couldn’t approve, but even if someone rejected the way they lived, the Tokkis probably wouldn’t care. But, well, Ranta might be comparatively similar to the Tokkis.
Speaking of Ranta, he’s being unusually quiet. The moment Haruhiro thought that, Ranta sprang at him.
“Haruhirooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!”
“Wah!” Haruhiro cried.
He didn’t know what had driven Ranta mad, but Ranta was pressing the tip of Lightning Sword Dolphin up against Haruhiro’s cheek. It stabbed him a bit.
“Wh-What are you doing? It’s stabbing... Huh?”
“I knew I wasn’t imagining it...” Ranta threw Lightning Sword Dolphin away and started crawling on the ground. He didn’t seem to be apologizing to Haruhiro. He must have been depressed. “Dammit... This is awful... Seriously... Seriously... Seriously... Seriously...”
“Wh-What’s up?” Haruhiro asked.
“There, there.” Mimorin still wasn’t letting Haruhiro go.
“Nothing’s up...” Ranta punched the ground. “My Lightning Sword Dolphiiiiin! Its shocky effeeeect! It’s goooone! On the way back, when I hit a cultist, I thought I noticed something weeeeird...”
“Wow.” Kikkawa picked up Lightning Sword Dolphin and touched the blade. “You think it was, like, you know? It had a limited number of charges, or something?”
“This isn’t what I was promiseeeed!” Ranta wailed. “I only threw away Betrayer because I got Lightning Sword Dolphin! This isn’t Lightning Sword Dolphin anymoooore!”
“Y’see.” Yume looked at him, as if to say, Serves you right. “Told you it was a waste. It’s ’cause you do these
wasteful things that stuff like this ends up happenin’ to you, don’t you think?”
“Shut up! Shut up! Just shut up!” Ranta screamed. “Haruhiroooo! You jerk! What’re you gonna do about this?! How’re you gonna make it up to meeeeeeeeeee?!”
“It’s not my problem,” said Haruhiro. “No matter how I look at it, this isn’t my fault.”
“Well, you know?” Tokimune patted Ranta on the back. “Just give it up, and try to forget, okay?”
“Like I could forgeeeet! I lost Betrayer while saving you people, so, basically, it’s all your fault, isn’t iiiiit?!” Ranta screamed.
“Hahaha!” Tokimune laughed. “You could say that, huh. Well, let’s go looking for another one. A good weapon. Okay?”
“Oooooooooooh—that’s not a bad idea, huh?” Ranta bellowed excitedly.
“I’ve had enough,” Shihoru muttered to herself.
Merry was nodding. Kuzaku wasn’t saying anything, but he almost certainly agreed.
“By the way,” Mimorin said, finally releasing Haruhiro.
He was in a better state than when she had him under her arm, but Mimorin lifted Haruhiro up and sat him down in front of her. They were facing each other, kneeling formally, with the expressionless Mimorin looking down at Haruhiro.
“Haruhiro,” she said.
“Yes?”
“Haruhiro, you’re not pitiful. The way you’re not pitiful, and you try so hard, that’s cute.”
“I see,” he said.
Huh? I wonder why. I feel like I’m going to grin.
Was Haruhiro feeling... happy? Apparently, yes. Not pitiful. It wasn’t much of a compliment, but maybe because it was so moderate, that actually made it easier to accept and he felt happier about it.
“You think?” he said. “Well... Thanks.”
“I...”
“Yes?”
“I want to raise—”
Did she start to say, “Raise you as a pet” just now?! Haruhiro thought.
Mimorin cleared her throat, then corrected herself. “I want to go out with you. Please, go out with me.”
Haruhiro quietly bowed his head to her.
I’m happy, Mimorin. No, I really am happy. Happy that you gave me that moderate bit of recognition. But this and that are two separate things.
Haruhiro wasn’t strong-willed, but he could say what he had to. He could say it clearly.
“I’m sorry.”
Afterword
There’s a game called Romancing SaGa 2. It was originally for the Super Famicom, so there may not be many of you who have played it (there’s an iPhone port, too).
As you’re aware (?), Romancing SaGa is an RPG series that sells itself on its open scenario. In RS2, you play as a succession of your original protagonist’s heirs. I liked this system of succession, and I thought Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War was satisfying for the same reasons, but I played RS2 years before it, so it’s the one that’s had the deeper impact on me.
In Japanese RPGs (or rather, console games in general), there’s a scenario to follow, and you enjoy it from the perspective of a single protagonist. However, in RS, as I already mentioned, the scenario is open, and depending on how you advance through the story, it changes a little. RS2 takes this a bit further with its succession across generations, and it allows the player to create the history of the game world.
I was charmed by this RPG, which had a lot in common with one of Koei’s historical simulation games. (Which, by the way, I like historical simulation games, too. Though I usually stop playing before I finish them.)
I really doubt I’ll do it in Grimgar, but someday I’d like to write a fantasy novel where we watch history be created through a succession of the protagonist’s heirs. Or rather, I want to play a game like that with modern technology. Could someone please make it? Actually, is there going to be a new SaGa game? In early December 2014, when I’m writing this afterword, there’s still no word on one. I have hope, based on certain signs, that there will be one announced soon. (Later, SaGa 2015 (Temporary Title) was announced. Yay!)
When I was in middle school, there was a period where I was reading magazines and studying programming by myself, so if things had gone completely wrong, I might have gone into game development. If that had happened, what sort of game would I have attempted to make before becoming frustrated with it and becoming a piece of human refuse? I wonder about that.
I’ve run out of pages.
To my editor, K, to Eiri Shirai-san, to the designers of KOMEWORKS among others, to everyone involved in production and sales of this book, and finally to all of you people now holding this book, I offer my heartfelt appreciation and all of my love. My other work which shares the same setting as Grimgar, What’s Wrong with a Hero Being Jobless?, will have its third volume published at the same time as this volume, so I ask you to please read that one, too, if you can. Now I lay down my pen for today.
I hope we will meet again.
Ao Jyumonji
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Copyright
Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash: Volume 5
by Ao Jyumonji
Translated by Sean McCann
Edited by Emily Sorensen
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright © 2015 Ao Jyumonji
Illustrations by Eiri Shirai
All rights reserved.
Original Japanese edition published in 2015 by OVERLAP
This English edition is published by arrangement with OVERLAP, Inc., Tokyo
English translation © 2017 J-Novel Club LLC
All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher is unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property.
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The publisher is not responsible for websites (or their content) that are not owned by the publisher.
Ebook edition 1.0: September 2017