by Ao Jyumonji
“...Am I dull? Well, I certainly don’t think I’m sharp.”
“You’re dull. Still, despite that, your instincts aren’t bad. That line you saw is something anyone who’s gained some experience will have seen once or twice—or felt it, rather. That might be the more correct way to describe it.”
“For me, it’s been more than once or twice. It’s not all the time, or even once per day, though.”
“Sometimes it’s like that. Well, it’s wildly different for each of us.”
“How about you, Sensei...?”
Barbara-sensei shrugged. “Sometimes I see it, sometimes I don’t. It’s not something you can see by focusing, after all.”
“When I do see it, things go ridiculously well,” Haruhiro said. “With Backstab, that is.”
“But you know you can’t rely on it, don’t you?”
“...Yeah. There’s no guarantee it will happen. It’s like a fluke.”
“There you have it. You need to improve your skills. Your stamina, too.”
“Augh...!”
Barbara-sensei lifted both legs again. He couldn’t see because of the scarf, but Barbara-sensei was probably grinning devilishly.
“If you’re able to say you don’t have time for it, you’ve got a long way to go,” she said. “Build up enough stamina that you can kill five or six orcs and then still go a round or two with a woman. If you do that, you’ll naturally develop a desire for women, and you’ll put some more effort into your love life. If you aren’t a real old cat, that is.”
“I’m fine with being an old cat.”
“Don’t get salty with me!”
“Yowch?!”
“Whoops... Sorry, put a little too much strength into it there.”
“...Ohhh...” Haruhiro came close to fainting in agony. Barbara-sensei had struck him in the crotch.
If I keep training here, am I eventually going to end up impotent? he wondered.
8. Unsuitable
Having learned Spider without incident—okay, with some incident—Haruhiro and everyone else resumed their daily trips to the Cyrene Mines.
Ranta had apparently learned a dread knight spell known as Dread Terror. It used the menace of the dark god Skullhell to terrify his opponent, robbing them of the ability to think properly.
Depending on how he uses it, it sounds like it could be useful, Haruhiro thought. Now, if only Ranta would use it cleverly.
Moguzo had learned Fast Thrust and Back Thrust together as a set. Fast Thrust was a one-handed thrust, and from what he told them, it had a fairly long range. Back Thrust was a thrust used when backing away.
Ranta often backs away using Exhaust to lure the enemy in so he can hit them with Avoid, so it’s probably something like a plainer version of that, Haruhiro surmised.
Shihoru had chosen the Shadow Bond spell. This attached a shadow elemental to the ground, and when someone stepped on it, it would stick to them and keep them from moving. She could only have one active at a time, and a strong opponent could tear free, but she said she could maintain it for up to 25 seconds.
Unlike Sleepy Shadow, it didn’t have the limitation of being ineffective on a target that was agitated.
It’s the perfect spell for Shihoru, since her personality leans more towards assisting than attacking, Haruhiro thought.
Yume had learned a skill called Star Piercer. It was basically a knife throw, but by throwing a variety of different blades thousands of times, she had really gotten the knack of it. Yume had procured herself a short knife to use with Star Piercer, as well.
Or, as she herself told it: “Yume, she didn’t know what kinda knives’d be good, y’know, and so when she asked Master which kind’re the best, y’know, Master took her to the market and he said ‘This one, and this one’ and he picked them out for her, and he said ‘You can have just one,’ and he offered to buy one for her, and that made Yume so happy, y’know, but Yume still bought it for herself.”
It seems Yume’s master in the hunters’ guild is rather fond of her, Haruhiro thought. I can sort of understand why.
As for Merry, she had learned a light magic spell, Blame. It was an attack spell that used the light of Lumiaris to punish enemies. Its range was short, and it didn’t inflict much damage, but it numbed those it hit, and for a short time they would move sluggishly.
Probably she plans to use it when she wants to support Moguzo and the others on the front line without moving up, Haruhiro thought.
With these new skills, the party’s overall capabilities had definitely increased. In particular, Shihoru’s Shadow Bond was tremendously powerful, as they discovered on the third level of the Cyrene Mines.
“That’s amazing, Shihoru! You can even stop an elder with it!” Haruhiro cheered in admiration.
One of the more troublesome types of foremen, the ones who led their followers from behind, was being held still by Shihoru’s Shadow Bond. Even though it was just being held in place, and should have still been able to give orders to its followers, it seemed to be panicking.
“Now’s our chance! Get its followers!” Haruhiro shouted.
As if to say that he knew that without Haruhiro telling him, Ranta pointed at Follower A with his left hand. “Come, darkness! O, Skullhell! Bring an infinite horror upon those who resist! Dread Terror...!”
Something like a sort of purple haze engulfed Follower A. When it inhaled that haze, Follower A yelped and then—came swinging at Ranta.
“—Whuh?!” Ranta blocked Follower A’s sword with his own, but his opponent didn’t stop. Metal sounded on metal as it swung its sword frantically. It was a fierce assault that defied all common sense.
Ranta cried “Whoa?! Wha?! Wh-What is this?!” He was barely managing to hang on. “This isn’t what they said it would be like...?!”
“...Well, it does seem like it’s been robbed of the ability to think properly,” Haruhiro commented.
Yep, Ranta’s still Ranta all right. Anyone who expects anything from him is only setting themselves up to look like a fool.
There are three followers in total. Let’s see the other two. Moguzo’s taking Follower B, and Yume’s taking Follower C—oh, but Merry’s stepped in already.
“O Light, may Lumiaris’ divine protection be upon you... Blame!”
The one Moguzo was facing, Follower B, was showered in light, causing its entire body to twitch.
“Thanks!”
Moguzo’s deadly Thanks Slash cut down Follower B, allowing him to immediately go aid Yume. The way he didn’t force himself to use his newly acquired skills was typical of the steady-going Moguzo.
“...Guess there’s nothing else for it.” Haruhiro decided to go help Ranta.
As he tried to take up a position behind its back—
Oh! He noticed something.
Ranta’s Dread Terror probably hadn’t frightened Follower A, but instead whipped it into a death-crazed counterattack. From Ranta’s perspective, it was a horrible failure, but not from Haruhiro’s. Follower A couldn’t think of anything but brutally murdering Ranta, so Haruhiro wasn’t even on its radar.
If it’s like this, I can easily get behind it. Do I go for a Backstab? No—
“Since I have the opportunity, I’ll use Spider!” Haruhiro shouted.
Haruhiro grappled Follower A. For now, he had gotten used to instantly locking both arms in position. He wasn’t so good at the legs yet, but just robbing it of the free movement of its arms gave Spider a high chance of succeeding.
Haruhiro jammed his dagger into the underside of Follower A’s jaw, slashing it hard. He then immediately backed away. Follower A wasn’t dead yet, so if he held on too long, he exposed himself to the possibility of an unexpected counterattack, but that wasn’t all...
“Rarrrgh...!” Ranta slashed at it. Ranta hit the already-dying Follower A with the hardest blow he could muster, then followed it up with a stab through the heart to finish it. “Mwahahaha! Vice! Viiiiice...!”
“—That was dangerous! What if you’d
hit me?!” Haruhiro shouted.
“If you die, I get another vice! Hurrah!”
He’s such an ass. Though I already knew that. If I accept that’s just how he is, it doesn’t make me mad. Okay, no, it does. It really makes me mad. But I can give up and accept it... maybe?
“There! Hah...!” Yume shouted.
Once Yume had cornered Follower C using Brush Clearer and Diagonal Cross, Moguzo bellowed “Thanks...!” and finished it with a Rage Blow.
“Quick, get the foreman!” Haruhiro shouted. Whenever he said something blatantly obvious like this, he felt embarrassed.
But when I shout, it focuses the entire party’s minds on the same thing, which helps build momentum, so there’s a reason for it. I don’t have time to feel embarrassed.
Haruhiro and the others ganged up on the foreman that was finally able to move again. Of course, the foreman was desperate, too, and so it put up a fierce resistance.
From their experience, Haruhiro and the others had learned the best way to deal with an opponent like that. Rather than surround it on all four sides, all attacking it blindly, they waited for it to attack, and then defended. Everyone but the person defending would attack. This would continue until their enemy exhausted itself.
In the end, we managed to take down the foreman without anyone getting injured. Ranta’s contribution was as dubious as ever, but I think it’s fair to call this a perfect victory.
“I’d say we’re done with the third level, don’t you think?” Ranta said. “Opponents like these just aren’t enough of a challenge. Let’s move up to the next stage already.”
“You’re doing it again...” Haruhiro wasn’t overly enthusiastic about the idea, but once they finished off another foreman with four followers and reached the well down to the fourth level, the thought Heading down might be an option, I guess, did cross Haruhiro’s mind.
We’ve gotten into a good groove today, he thought. Maybe I should go along with it.
On the other hand, I’m scared of getting too far ahead of ourselves. Isn’t it times like this when we usually get tripped up?
“Hmm...” He stood in front of the well, deep in thought. He stayed like that for probably five minutes.
“How long are you gonna agonize over this?!” Ranta shouted.
This time, Ranta has a point. I’m agonizing over it too much, even by my standards. What does everyone think of their leader being like this? Moguzo and Shihoru look worried. Yume’s staring off into space. Merry seems pensive. Ranta’s the only one who’s snapped, but it’s still not okay. I need to be able to make decisions when it’s time to. Okay.
I’ve decided.
“...Let’s do it tomorrow,” he said.
“Huh?!” Ranta immediately came at Haruhiro.
I’d expected this, but—ugh, he’s such a pain.
“It’s fine, isn’t it?” Haruhiro asked. “What’s the problem? We’ll each prepare ourselves, then tomorrow we’ll challenge ourselves to—”
“Prepare myself? I’m already prepared, and I have been for a long time!”
“If you’re the only one who’s prepared, then it doesn’t mean a thing!”
“You say I’m the only one, but, really, it’s just that you’re not ready! You chicken!”
Ahh. Not good, not good. I’m about ready to blow my top. Haruhiro closed his eyes and took a deep breath. If he got emotional and engaged in a verbal slugging match, no good would come of it.
Control myself. I have to control myself. But why should I have to control myself for Ranta? This is all Ranta’s fault. Damn you, Ranta.
Haruhiro opened his eyes, making sure not to make contact with Ranta’s. If he looked at Ranta’s face, he was sure he’d be too mad to act rationally.
“Tomorrow, we’ll go down to the fourth level. Today, level three is as deep as we go. Ranta, you’re opposed to that, right? What about the rest of you?”
Everyone but Ranta answered that they were fine with it.
I’m sure Ranta’s going to put up a fight... was what Haruhiro thought, but surprisingly Ranta didn’t, which left him feeling let down. I just don’t get him. What’s with him?
After that, they circled the third level, taking down two foremen and four followers without injury. They were able to return to Alterna safely, and they had earned a decent amount.
The party ate dinner together, then went to Sherry’s Tavern for a drink. While they were drinking, Kikkawa came up to them, and they had a good time swapping stories. Ranta and Kikkawa seemed to get along. They put their arms around one another’s shoulders, making a little—no, a large—ruckus.
Is it a matter of compatibility? wondered Haruhiro. When he thought about it, Haruhiro argued with Ranta more than anyone. Maybe they were just a poor match for one another.
After leaving the tavern with the rest of the party and walking a ways, Haruhiro came up with an appropriate-sounding excuse and headed back on his own.
Merry was on the first floor of the tavern at the end of the counter. When Haruhiro approached, Merry noticed and turned to face him.
What’ll I do if she’s not happy to see me? wondered Haruhiro, scared for a moment. Maybe I am a chicken, like Ranta said. Well, I’m definitely not brave, that’s for sure.
Fortunately, his worries were in vain. It may have been slight, but Merry smiled.
“Is something up?” she asked.
“Uh... Nothing really. Mind if I join you?”
“Go right ahead.”
Haruhiro sat down next to Merry. Merry was having mead again, an alcoholic beverage made by fermenting honey, so Haruhiro ordered the same.
Lately, I’ve been eating and drinking a lot more of things I like. Maybe it’s time to consider graduating from that shabby volunteer soldier lodging house, too.
“Where do you live, Merry? Ah...” When he heard how the words sounded as he said them, he panicked a bit. “No, I mean, it’s not that I want to know where it is you live, I was thinking it’s about time we stopped living in the lodging house, you know... So, I was wondering what sort of place you live in, as, you know, a point of reference, or something...”
“I just live in an ordinary rental building on Flower Garden Street,” Merry said, unperturbed. “It’s a place that only takes female tenants. I’ve been renting a room there all this time.”
“Oh. I see.”
I look like an idiot for being so overly conscious. If there’s a hole around here somewhere, I want to crawl into it. I won’t, though. My brow’s kinda sweaty.
Haruhiro brought his palm to his forehead, casually wiping the sweat away. “Oh, that sounds nice. After all, I’m sure you’d rather not have a guy in the room next to yours.”
“If they’re leaving the lodging house, would you like me to introduce the place to Yume and Shihoru?”
“Sure. I think they’d like that. Though, it’s not like it’s a sure thing we’re moving out yet. Actually, none of us have even brought it up... We’ve gotten used to the place, and it’s fine in its own way, I suppose. Sort of. It can be inconvenient in a lot of ways, though.”
“The lodging house, huh.” Merry lowered her eyes, taking a sip of mead. “That brings back memories.”
When Merry was staying in that rundown lodging house, I’m sure she must still have been with her original party. With her comrades that are gone now.
“There are more people there now, at the lodging house.” Haruhiro said with a laugh. Even he himself wasn’t sure why he laughed. It was a meaningless laugh. “You know, the new volunteer soldier trainees are there. Their rooms are far away from ours, and I’ve only said hello to a few of them so far, though.”
“What are they like?” she asked.
“It didn’t seem like there was anyone like Renji, I guess? But... they don’t seem as unreliable as we are, either.”
“I don’t think you need to be so self-deprecating.”
“Do I seem that way?” he asked.
“A little.”
> “I am, aren’t I...” Haruhiro wanted to hold his head in his hands, but he stopped at just scratching his hair. “That’s not good, huh. I wish I could be more proud, but, somehow, that’s just not who I am as a person.”
“A confident Haru.” Merry smiled a little with her eyes. “You’re right, it doesn’t suit you.”
“I know, right? No, I guess I shouldn’t be so readily agreeing here, either.”
“Maybe you’re thinking about it too seriously?” she suggested.
“Huh? I am? You think? Seriously? Am I?”
“You handle Ranta seriously, too. That’s why you two fight.”
“Ahh. You could be right there. I wish I could let things slide better...”
“When you try to do things right, it just makes it harder, doesn’t it? I think you don’t need to take everything so seriously. When you really need to, you’ll have no choice but to get serious, anyway.”
“Be less serious, huh...”
Haruhiro had a hard time believing he was a serious person to begin with. But when it comes to leading the party, I’ve been agonizing a lot about the right way to handle things. It’s true that, in my own way, I’ve been thinking seriously about things.
It’s probably because I’m not suited to it. If I were, if I had the aptitude for it, I’m sure I wouldn’t be agonizing over it so much.
I always end up thinking the same thing in the end. Honestly, if someone could take my place, I wish they would.
When I’m talking with her like this, Merry seems overwhelmingly more suitable for it. Can’t she take the job? Not that I could say that. I could never bring myself to say something so pathetic.
“You know, there’s something I’ve been wanting to ask you, Merry,” Haruhiro ventured.
“What?” she asked.
“It’s about the Cyrene Mines.”
“Oh...” Merry said, then closed her mouth.
From here on, Haruhiro and the others would be going down to the fourth and fifth levels. Like Merry and her party once had.
If they did, someday, the time was sure to come. Merry would once again have to enter the place where she had lost her friends.
Haruhiro had experienced it himself, so he knew: That was hard.