Vol 2 Chapter 18 (1/2)

Translated by mranon

Edited by Frosty and OnionRings

Volume 2, Chapter 18 【A Little Courage】

――In the middle of the night, the conversation between the men in black slowly resounded inside the Lana Village orphanage.

「…Well, I don’t mean to say that Captain Serdio is soft at making judgements, still.」

「I know, right? Shouldn’t we just dispose of everyone?」

「Hey, hey. Refrain from acting at your discretion. If they resist, it will be inevitable. Basically, though, we have to maintain the status quo.」

「Aa… I know.」

Roy, Minii, and the other kids set out to work in the sugarcane fields per norm. The group that attacked the orphanage wouldn’t make a move as long as they were tight lipped. Thus, they had been living their usual life for the past few days.

For some reason, most of the men in black had vanished this morning. Only two of them stayed behind to stand watch.

――The kids a.s.sisted with harvesting till evening and received wages from the farmers.

「Well then, I’ll be needing your help tomorrow, too.」

With the meagre wage in hand, Minii *tokotoko* trod the way to the orphanage in the outskirts of the village.

A boy who was waiting for Minii there――Roy, spoke.

「I’m so tired.」

「Un. What about the others?」

「I had finished my work, so I returned ahead of them.」

「Is that so? Umm… is your wound from the other day okay now?」

When the orphanage was invaded by Serdio and his group, Roy was punished for resisting. Fortunately, there was no abnormality with his bones and such.

「It aches a little, but it’s fine. Still, I was so miserable… I don’t want to remember it.」

「No… it’s not like that. Our opponents were adults and bad guys. I could only tremble…」

「Because you’re a girl. Even though my body was small… I wanted to train. I mean, aren’t orphans all poor? So, I thought I would become an Adventurer and earn a lot of money when I grew up. I even underwent secret training with a fellow whenever I had time, yet I ended up like that… what’s more――… In front of everyone…」

Having said that, Roy opened his mouth with a slightly nervous look.

「What’s the matter?」

「Nothing… Minii, what do you want to do in the future? Is there anything you want to do?」

「I haven’t thought about it at all. I guess it’s enough to just be able to return the kindness I have received from everyone.」

「Yeah, I guess… Minii, when I leave this village, will you――」

Roy’s words――stopped right there.

For on the road leading to the orphanage, his eyes caught sight of a figure he didn’t want to see.

Black from head to toe, face concealed behind a mask—a lone man who belonged to the group that attacked the orphanage. Roy reflexively put his guard up and hid Minii behind his back.

「What do you want? We didn’t do anything suspicious. We have been living our usual lives as you told us to. We didn’t ask anyone for help.」

「That’s so nice of you, but… unfortunately, you will all be killed in the end.」

Roy fought off the unpleasant feeling creeping up his back and shouted.

「W-We will all be what?! We have been diligently…」

「I see. That’s right. That would be too unreasonable. So, here’s a suggestion. Why don’t you――call for help right now?」

「What are you saying? If we do that… everyone will be…」

「I will just say I didn’t see that. Fine? …This is the only way you can survive. Now go.」

Roy and Minii exchanged glances and nodded.

The two turned back and started running in the direction they came from.

Silently watching the two tiny bodies running for their lives――the man leaked a faint laughter.

His facial expression, which was supposed to be concealed behind the cloth, could be clearly seen through his voice.

「Conceited brat, who dared to oppose Captain Serdio… your end is inevitable. And if everyone can be gotten rid of together with you, even better… Kuhi, hyahaahaahaaha!!」

The man pulled one of the innumerable knives out of the leather belt on his waist.

「Run, run. A hunter cannot hunt if the prey doesn’t run. Only then will the hunter’s blood rush.」

「――Hey, even if we call for help, then what?」

「There was one more person on the lookout beside that guy. It would be dangerous for the villagers. If we contact the Adventurer’s Guild in a nearby village or a Garrison――… watch out!」

Roy pushed Minii, who was running by his side, away.

A knife, which was thrown from behind them, dug into Roy’s arm and a red speck strewed the ground.

「Oow… what’s the meaning of this?」

The one who appeared out of darkness, relaxedly, was none other than the man from a while ago.

「Good. Your movement is better than I expected. You could have a promising future.」

「d.a.m.n… you never had any intention of letting us go…」

「Perceptive, too. As a reward, I will put killing you off. First, I will chop that brat over there up―― 」

At those words, Roy momentarily forgot the pain in his arm.

All his turbid emotions surged in one direction.

――Anger.

「Uaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa」

While screaming, he clung to the back of the knees of the man in front of him. With his all, he rammed into him from behind in an attempt to push him down.

His opponent might have been careless. Nevertheless, this move was the best of Roy, whose physique was far inferior.