by Ao Jyumonji
“That’s—“
“For starters, you were constantly getting injured and that made him use too much magic! That’s how things ended up like they did, isn’t it?!
“...Ranta, is that how you felt about it?”
“Am I wrong?! Have I said anything wrong here?!”
“You’re not wrong... no, but...”
“You were never any real use in battle, anyway! Always getting hurt so easily and getting in the way! Because of you...!”
“Stop!” an angry voice roared out and the tavern fell silent for a moment.
Did someone just shout? Looks like it was Moguzo, apparently.
Haruhiro was taken aback. He couldn’t believe it. Moguzo’s eyebrows were raised in exasperation. “Don’t fight at a time like this! We don’t have time to be fighting amongst ourselves! Cool your heads!”
Haruhiro sat back down in his chair. “...Sorry.”
“No, hold on...” Ranta shook his head. “Aren’t you the one who needs to cool his head...? You’re way too mad...”
Moguzo glared at Ranta, who shrunk back.
“...S-Sorry. It won’t happen again. Seriously, seriously. This guy’s scary when you piss him off, huh...?”
“—But,” said Moguzo, taking a sip of his beer and then slumping his shoulders, “...When it comes to what we do from here, honestly... I feel the same way, I guess.”
Haruhiro scratched the back of his neck. “...Yeah, same here, when it comes down to it. For the moment, I don’t want to think about it, or rather, I can’t think about it...”
“Let me just say,” Ranta said, tapping the bottom of his mug on the table. “I didn’t say what I did out of desperation. I’m saying that, after thinking it through, there’s no way we can go on without him. If you count up the number of times he helped you, you’ve got to see the same.”
“And?” Haruhiro looked sidelong at Ranta. “You’re going to do nothing? That’s not possible, and you know it. What will you do for money? It costs money just to eat and sleep. Are you going to search for another job?”
Ranta rested his cheeks on his palms, frowning. “...Well, it’s an option, I guess.”
“Maybe it would be for me, but you’re a dread knight, aren’t you? Even if you want to change jobs, you can’t quit your guild, can you?”
“Ah...”
“Did you forget?”
“I-I did not forget. Y-Yeah. M-Me? I-I’m a dread knight, and I’ll always have to be a dread knight, yeah? Dammit... Why’d I have to go and become a dread knight...?”
Moguzo sighed deeply. “Other work, huh...”
“Oh!” they heard a familiar voice. When they looked over, they saw a man they recognized waving at them and coming over. “Oh! Oh! Oh! It’s you guys! I forget your names, but, hey, it’s been a while! How’ve you all been? Living the best days of your lives?”
“Kikkawa,” Haruhiro said, blinking.
I’d recognize this chatty guy’s face anywhere. There’s no doubt about it. It’s Kikkawa the playboy. But he looks totally different now. It’s the equipment. He’s wearing armor reinforced with metal plates, and he’s got a sword with a decorative pommel hanging from his hip. Judging by the way he’s dressed, did he become a warrior?
“Yo! Yo!” When Kikkawa broke into a broad grin and went for a high-five, Haruhiro gave him one before really thinking about it. Kikkawa plopped himself down between Moguzo and Haruhiro without hesitation. “Beer! Beer! I’ll have a beer over here! That’s beer!” he called out his order to one of the waitresses. “So? Tell me, tell me. How is it? How’s it going? How’re you guys doing? Like, business-wise? You’ve been hitting up the Old City of Damuro, or something? I heard. I heard. Heard it right here, you know, from my man Manato. I heard. So? So? How’s that going?”
It’s been a while since I last saw him, but he’s still annoying. Way too annoying.
Haruhiro was overwhelmed by him and, without intending to, answered honestly. “...It’s not going at all, I guess. To tell you the truth, about Manato... He had a little something to him. No, it wasn’t little. How do I say this...?”
“Whaa?!” Kikkawa stood up and shouted. “Whaa?! Wha?! Whaaaaa?! D-D-Don’t tell me...! He couldn’t have gotten himself... m-married...?!”
“Of course that’s not it,” Haruhiro corrected him, slapping Kikkawa in the back of the head pretty hard. Kikkawa’s eyes nearly popped right out of his skull, but Haruhiro didn’t regret doing it in the least.
“...That’s not it,” Ranta said with a bitter look crossing his face. “He went and died. Yesterday, you know. It was still just yesterday...”
“Wow...” Kikkawa rubbed the back of his head, moving his jaw back and forth. “Sowwy, dude. Sorry. Like, seriously sorry, ’kay? I didn’t mean anything bad by asking. Not really, you know? I mean, who’d have thought he’d be dead? Manato always seemed like a capable dude. In a different way from Renji, though. But, man... Really? That happened to Manato? Hmm. You never know when it’ll happen, huh. With people. It’s the one thing you can’t predict... Woah, you’re bringing it now?! My beer! Beer, beer! Okay, chee...rs, okay, yeah, you guys aren’t in the mood, huh? It’s not a good time. Well, just me then. Phew!”
Haruhiro twisted his head from side to side. He was intensely tired.
“...You seem well, Kikkawa. Did you get into a party?”
“Yup. Yup. Right after that. A guy by the name of Tokimune’s party. He’s a great guy, actually. Little stupid though. He’s here, you know? Should I introduce you? Should I?”
“...No, I’ll pass for now.”
“You will? Yeah, that figures. Manato was your priest, yeah? The core of the party. They say the death rate’s pretty high. For priests, that is. It’s easy for them to get targeted after all.”
Moguzo slowly turned to look at Kikkawa. “...It is?”
“Well, duh,” Kikkawa knocked back his beer. “Phew! Er, where was I? Right, right, priests. The enemy know that priests are healers, too. So, of course they’d go ‘take that guy out first,’ right? For a warrior like me, my job is, like, what? I run around putting my neck on the line just trying to defend the priest, or something? That’s how it goes. Basically.”
Moguzo clutched his head. “...I couldn’t defend him. He was always helping me.”
“No, no, nooo,” Kikkawa got a bit too touchy-feely with Moguzo, slapping him reassuringly on the shoulder. “Don’t let it get you down so bad, man. We all make mistakes, you know? We use our mistakes and errors to discover the right way. It’s fine, it’s fine. You’re good. You’re good.”
“...But,” Moguzo shook his head. “Manato-kun is never coming back.”
“Well, yeah,” Kikkawa lifted up his hands like he was surrendering. “Guess not, huh. But, still, still, here’s what I think, you’ve just got to think about the future, don’t you? I mean, I may only be able to say that because I’ve never lost a comrade, yeah? But, let’s turn that around, okay? I can say it because I’ve never lost a comrade, or something. Huh? It’s the same? Well, anyway, stay positive, man, positive.”
Haruhiro lowered his eyes to the table full of ceramic mugs.
I guess he means I shouldn’t be looking down like this, huh. I don’t have to listen to anything Kikkawa says, but what would Manato do? What would he have said? Probably, even if he didn’t say it directly, he’d try to create an environment where we would all become more positive on our own.
“Even if we do look forward...” Ranta grumbled. “What is there up ahead for us? Our party’s lost its priest.”
Kikkawa looked like he wanted to say, ‘So what?’ “Why not just look for one? A new priest. Ah, hold on, let me guess what you want to say. I know, you were about to say ‘Would any priest want to join a party of trainees?’ By the way, I’m not a trainee anymore, y’know? I’m a proper volunteer soldier. Wanna see the Corps Badge I bought? Do you? Should I show it to you?”
“...I don’t really care about seeing your stupid badge.” Haruhi
ro said with a sigh.
“But, you’re right. I’ll bet there aren’t any priests who’d be willing to join our party.”
“I don’t think that there’s absolutely none, y’know?”
“Huh...?”
“You wouldn’t know it from the look of me, but I’ve got connections. Lots of ‘em. I know a lot of volunteer soldiers. And, there is one. I know one. A priest even you guys could get to join you.”
Ranta leaned in. “Wh-Who is it?”
“Before. We. Get. To. Thaaaat...” Kikkawa looked at each of them in turn. “What were all of your names again? I’ve been thinking about it and, yeah, I totally can’t remember. Sorry? Could you tell me, pretty please?”
13. An Important Piece
The morning still comes, huh, thought Haruhiro. No matter who dies, the next morning comes, again and again.
It was 8:00 the following morning, in front of Alterna’s north gate. Before the lingering echo of the bells ended, Ranta shouted out, sounding desperate, “—And on that note, everyoooone! I want to introduce you all to our new frieeeend! It’s the priest, Merry! Okay, give her a nice round of applause...!”
Haruhiro and Moguzo did clap, at least, but Yume and Shihoru seemed dumbfounded. It wasn’t hard to understand how they felt. They had been shaken awake early in the morning by Haruhiro and the others, brought here, and now this. It would be stranger if they weren’t surprised.
Even though it was her first time meeting Yume and Shihoru, Merry made no attempt to greet them. She looked strong-willed, and was actively trying to come off as prickly, so it wasn’t unexpected. But, even so, Haruhiro wondered whether she couldn’t have handled this a bit better. Apparently not. That was almost certainly the reason why even they had been able to recruit her.
Ranta gestured to Merry one more time. “Th-This is Merry-san...”
“He...” Shihoru bowed timidly. “...Hello.”
“Ni...” Yume was hesitant as well. “Nice to meet you.”
Even after that, Merry didn’t so much as wave. She narrowed her eyes without a word, staring intently at Shihoru and Yume. Haruhiro had been observed the same way the night before. That had been hard to bear.
She’s cute, for starters. And not just your run-of-the-mill cute. It’s not that her eyes are big, or that she has a shapely nose and lips, or that her glossy, straight hair is pretty. It’s something in a dimension far above all that. I have a hard time believing she’s human like us. What is it that makes me feel that way? It’s probably the balance between all these things. Her little head, and her figure. With one glance, you can tell she’s just different. She has that sort of aura about her. It’s so powerful that, at first, I had trouble just standing in front of her. But, I noticed something right away. Her gaze is cold. Abnormally cold. This woman is trouble. The kind you’re better off not getting close to, just watching from a distance. That’s the kind of woman she is.
But, sadly, Haruhiro and the others’ situation left them with no choice but to recruit her.
According to Kikkawa, volunteer soldiers who couldn’t find a party weren’t common to begin with, and priests were especially uncommon. There were even fights over who would get a talented priest sometimes, so they must have been in short supply. On top of that, Haruhiro and the others were still trainees, and it seemed they had fallen behind Team Renji and Kikkawa, the others who arrived at the same time as them. In other words, they were the lowest-ranked group within Red Moon, and they were still crawling around at the bottom. They were in no position to get picky. Whether it was Merry or anyone else, so long as they had a priest to join their party, they were good. If they didn’t have someone, they would need to either give up or one of them would need to change jobs to become a priest.
Merry brushed her hair up, then looked at Haruhiro.
“Is this everyone?”
“Yeah...” Haruhiro hurriedly looked down. He had been staring at Merry despite himself. She was easy on the eyes, at least. Merry wore the blue-lines-on-white outfit of a priest. It wasn’t particularly stylish, and it didn’t accentuate the lines of her body, but she still looked great. It just wasn’t fair.
“Uh, yeah. This is everyone. With you included, there’s six of us.”
“I see,” Merry gave a little, laughing snort. “Well, that’s fine. As long as I get my share, I don’t care. Where are we heading? Damuro?”
“Y-Yeah...” Haruhiro looked to the rest of his comrades.
The mood here is not good. It’s terrible, actually. Is this gonna work out okay?
“...I guess?”
“You guess? Be clear.”
“D-Damuro. The Old City. Hunting goblins... As for the rest, I don’t know.”
“Fine, whatever. Well, how about you get going? I’ll follow you.”
“...Hey, you know?” Ranta looked up to Merry. “C-Couldn’t you, uh, do something about the way you talk, your attitude...?
Merry’s ice-cold eyes shot through Ranta. “Huh?”
“...No, s-sorry... Really, sorry. It’s nothing...”
You’re scary, Merry. Way too scary. You’re bad news, seriously. You live up to your reputation.
According to Kikkawa, Merry has a number of nicknames. One is Ill-tempered Merry. Another is Scary Mary. Merry’s primarily a free agent. She’s invited to parties that have no priests or not enough priests. Merry never refuses. However, she never stays with a party for long. Merry doesn’t think of people as people, apparently. The quality of her work as a priest is iffy, too. Not one of the rumors I heard was good. In any case, she was top-class when it came to looks, but her personality made little room for cooperation. Way too little. Incidentally, while she never refuses an invitation to a party, she’ll shoot down invitations for a date at the speed of light. Kikkawa got shot down rather spectacularly, himself, I hear. I’m amazed he had the balls to ask her out. You’re incredible, Kikkawa.
There was absolutely no conversation during the one-hour walk to Damuro.
This is tough. Way too tough. Ranta and Moguzo are terrified of Merry, and Yume and Shihoru view her with suspicion, doubt, and uncertainty. Why is that? Haruhiro didn’t understand. I’m not sure, but Yume and Shihoru seem bewildered, and maybe a little angry. Maybe they’re upset I’m bringing in a new priest right after Manato died. Is that it? Especially considering what she’s like. Is that it...?
Honestly, Haruhiro couldn’t say he didn’t feel the same way.
Couldn’t we have at least waited a little longer? We never consulted Yume and Shihoru, either. It’s not like we had to decide there, on the spot, that day. I should have thought it over more. If Manato were around, he would never have just gone with the flow and let things turn out like this.
Besides, it’s too soon for us to come back here.
To the Old City of Damuro.
To the place where Manato died.
“...What if we run into them again?” Haruhiro mumbled. “If we do,” Ranta said, forcing the words out darkly, “We’ve got to kill them. I won’t be satisfied until I’ve cut their ears off and offered them on Lord Skullhell’s altar.”
“But...” Shihoru said coldly. “We can’t win. Not as we are now.”
Ranta scoffed. “We’ll fight even if we can’t win.”
“If we get ourselves killed doin’ that,” Yume’s voice quivered. “...If we die like that, it’ll all be for nothin’.”
Moguzo nodded vigorously. “Dying is no good. I don’t want anyone else to die.”
“Is someone...” Merry started to say, then bit her lip. “...going to go out? Or not? I don’t care which, but make it quick.”
Ranta looked away from her, clicking his tongue in disapproval. “Let’s get on with it, Haruhiro.”
“Yeah...” said Haruhiro, then a thought crossed his mind. Who was the leader of this party? Before, there was no question it had been Manato. But now? Ranta wasn’t cut out to lead. Moguzo wasn’t the type who could pull everyone along with him, and neither were Yum
e or Shihoru? Then, was it him? No, he didn’t have the ability to lead people either. He was too indecisive. Manato had told him as much.
At the end, Manato had looked to Haruhiro and said he was counting on him.
Did that mean he wanted me to take care of the others for him? But, Manato, that’s impossible. I can’t do it. I can’t be like you.
Haruhiro tried saying, “Let’s go,” to the others, but it came out with a stutter. That made him feel pretty pathetic.
Following the map they were still making, they walked carefully through the areas goblins often appeared in.
Since Manato was gone, taking on a group of three would be tough. But, on today of all days, though they came across groups of three or four, they just couldn’t seem to find a group of two or less. By the time they took their afternoon break, they were all filled with impatience, frustration, exhaustion, and weariness, and Haruhiro’s stomach began to hurt. At this rate, there were so many ways they just weren’t going to last. Haruhiro came to a silent decision. If they found a group of three or less, they’d attack. They had a priest, he was sure they could manage somehow.
The chance for that soon came. There were traces of a campfire in an area surrounded by crumbling walls. There, they found three goblins. One was clad in chain mail and carried a short spear, but the other two wore clothing made of cloth, one with an ax in its hands, the other wearing a short sword. The well-built spear gob seemed to be in charge, with the ax gob and short sword gob following its orders.
We can handle these guys somehow.
“First, Yume, and Shihoru launch a preemptive strike on the spear gob. Me, Ranta, Yume and Merry will keep the ax gob and short sword gob busy, so Moguzo and Shihoru take out the spear gob. If it’s hard for the two of you, either Ranta or I will step in to help. Once the spear gob is taken out, this will be easy.”
“Hold on,” Merry’s voice was sharp. “Why am I fighting goblins?”
“Huh...” Haruhiro looked daunted. “W-Was that not okay? Huh? Why not...?”
“I don’t go up front. I’m a priest, the reason should be obvious.”