Vol 2 Chapter 24 (2/2)

Ah… Am I supposed to return it in the same condition as I borrowed it in?

Thinking so, I concentrated my consciousness――and the White Magic Crystal once again lit up with a spectral glow.

‘With this, there should be no complaint,’ when I tried to return it, she requested for it to be put on her neck.

「Whee」

Together with a rare delightful voice befitting a child, Marita checked out the pendant on the bottom of her neck and turned round.

「Thank you. I’ll treasure it.」

「N? No, I’m just returning what I borrowed. Had it not been there, it would have been dicey. I should be the one thanking you.」

「It’s fine.」

――After talking to the cheerful Marita a little, Lim and I stood up from our chairs.

「You’re leaving already?」

「Aah, I must show up at the inn I’m staying in and let them know I’m safe.」

「You two… have to come meet me again. You’re always welcome.」

「Although I won’t be able to visit frequently, I’ll present you a new adventure tale when I do.」

「Un… you have to.」

――――After taking our leave from the lord’s mansion, we dropped by the Adventurer Guild before returning to the inn.

I wanted to know as to what became of this quest.

Even though the quest would surely be considered a failure with Marita abducted at one point, how would such a fact be transmitted to the Guild?

Confirming Miss Sheena’s figure at the reception counter, I greeted her in a long while.

The woman, who was clad in elegant as ever clothes, smilingly replied with a composed voice.

「It has been a while. Just now, I received a report on the quest Seiji’s party received before.」

…That so? Since I had been acquitted, the guild would receive the report of success or failure of the quest.

Wait… the one who brought the quest to the guild was, surely…

「Erm, Sheena-san. Was that person in a butler’s outfit…?」

「No, it was a knight in a s.h.i.+ning armour. He looked quite serious, though.」

I see… of course it would be so.

As for the person who brought the report… it was Kane-san, wasn’t it?

「Since the quest is complete… I will hand in the reward. The amount is more than quoted originally, though… the results must have exceeded expectations.」

Aah… Sheena-san. She’s quite skilled at flattering, isn’t she…

「One more thing. I was asked to pa.s.s this to Seiji-san.」

Flurriedly, Sheena-san took something out from under the counter and held it up… blus.h.i.+ng all the while.

「…Excuse me. I had my emotions heightened a bit.」

Before my eyes was a considerably sized White Magic Crystal.

I see. Sheena-san’s eyes were gleaming last time, too, when she saw the White Magic Crystal I received from Alba-san.

She just can’t help her somewhat tensed state, it seems.

But this size… is it, perhaps.

「I was told to convey… 『Since its examination is over, I’m handing it over to you』」

It really was. This White Magic Crystal… was the one Serdio owned.

Since it has been examined, am I supposed to receive it as an additional reward?

「Then I’ll receive it with thanks.」

It was a White Magic Crystal of such size. It would fetch quite a sum, surely, if I sold it. However, I would keep it for my own use if possible.

In contingencies, a magic that could be invoked instantaneously would be rea.s.suring. If I loaded it with a special magic in addition to the elemental magic I could use myself, its utility would be tremendous.

「By the way, you really are amazing… Seiji-san.」

「W-what’s with such a random thing to say?」

「It hasn’t been long since you turned into an Adventurer, yet you have already reached Rank C. In such a short time, you were able to receive a White Magic Crystal of such a valuable size not once but twice.」

「Somehow, It’s embarra.s.sing… to be praised to my face.」

「Do you remember? I told you there was a tradition of gifting an accessory with a White Magic Crystal to your love interest…」

「Ah… eh…」

The way she looked at me with a neat smile was so pretty.

I almost gifted the White Magic Crystal, which I risked my life for, to the woman before me… ‘almost’.

「…Sheena-san――How do you see me…?」

「As my younger brother.」

Yup. It had been established that I was being totally played with.

When I thought she would be embarra.s.sed, she counterattacked.

I’m not crying. At all.

「I suppose.」

「…I’m aware that I must not pry into an Adventurer more than required, but an interest as to ‘who is Seiji-san’ welled up in me.」

After winking at me, Sheena-san returned to her diligent self and resumed the procedure of quest completion.

On the way back from the guild.

While I was walking to Feeder Pops’ with Lim, I saw her nodding and murmuring something to my side.

「I see. With this――Reeta――…」

「…What happened?」

「Uun, nothing.」

Lim, who had her tail stand on end and who was shaking her head left and right, for some reason had her ears drooped.

「By the way… it’s fine for me to hear it now, isn’t it?」

‘What?’ Before I could think so, Lim had opened her mouth to continue.

「…I’ll tell you when I come back …you said. Since you looked serious, I wonder if it was a matter you could not talk about in front of others.」

So… it’s like that, huh? Lim paid attention to others in her own way.

I had not forgotten either.

Before going to rescue Marita, I had decided to tell everything to Lim who was ruing her own powerlessness.

I didn’t waste all my time in the jail counting spots. I contemplated it over and over.

To be honest… the very thought of speaking out was frightening.

There were reasons for such pessimism.

Excuse, Kane-san’s sudden change.

A gentleman had his anger swollen so much over a certain matter that it could not be concealed anymore. Although I was expected to be aware of the enmity between the demons and other races, I was made to realize as to how naïve my sense of values was.

Then, what about the act of stealing Skills?

There would be no problem living as a commoner in this world even without any Skill.

However, a Skill was a talent one was born with. It was something one would polish over their lifetime.

For such a thing――to get stolen.

I, of course, did not steal thoughtlessly from just anyone.

For argument’s sake, even if they understood… What would the opinion of the residents of this world be about a person who grew strong by stealing Skills from other people and monsters?

I could not completely s.h.i.+rk the anxiety of Lim’s att.i.tude drastically changing and our existing relations.h.i.+p instantly collapsing.

What if it doesn’t turn out like that? …I wanted to think so. However, when I regarded the relations.h.i.+p of absolute trust between Lim and I… I could not accede.

It was not like… Lim and I… had ‘that’ kind of feelings for each other.

Adding to it, when I was killed by Alba-san… Correction: When I pretended to be killed by Alba-san back in the Paudal Wetland Belt, Lim’s Berserkification Skill did not invoke.

In other words, the condition of its invocation was perhaps one’s closest falling into a crisis since it invoked when Arnold-san’s life was exposed to danger.

Of course… I was glad she didn’t attack Alba-san.

Even though I wanted to bang my head for even coming up with such an excuse, the words that leaked from my mouth were pathetic.

「I can’t tell you… after all…」

Upon such reply of mine, Lim’s honey colored eyes looked downcast for an instant.

The next instant, however, she looked smilingly at me and cried out.

「I see. un… but I’m happy that everyone is safe.」

――‘Sorry.’

I could not say that out loud.

When I returned to Feeder Pops’ after so long, I met Dario-san.

Without hurrying to learn the details of the incident, he said――

「――Did you get to eat tasty food?」

Being questioned so evoked a craving for delicious meal in me.

Since the day had already gotten dark, I was having dinner with Arnold-san and Lim. It had been a while since the three of us had dinner together.

Arnold-san had not heard much about this incident either.

As I relished the feeling of repose after having returned to my usual daily life, I relished the taste of the finest cuisine that could melt salivary glands.

However, such daily life had to encounter a change.

「――Eh… You’re going to move from Pascam to Western Archipelago States…?」

「Aah, that Doore guy has been stocking up like crazy. Since the treaty has been finalized, the business would soon be conducted through a normal trade channel. We have been invited to be the escorts.」

「Are you leaving… Merville? Both of you?」

「Yeah, in two days. Since Seiji will be staying in Merville, you’ll be lonely… 」

He said while *gui* gulping beer.

「In that case… I might leave for the royal capital.」

「That so? …Fumu, there are numerous towns and countries for one to visit, surely. The group of island nations facing the lovely sea in the west is said to be rich in marine resources. There’s plenty of seafood, too, which Lim loves. 」

「I’m indebted to Seiji. As an expression of thanks, today’s treat is on me. Eat and drink as much as you can.」

I filled the alcohol to the brim and downed it in one gulp.

「That’s some way to drink. Alright… let’s drink all night!」

――Might just… It was a pity, though, that I wouldn’t get drunk even if I wanted to.

For the first time… I felt the Abnormal Status Resistance Skill to be a hindrance.

How much have I drunk?

With my head still quite clear, I returned to my room late in the night.

Although I wasn’t drunk, I was tired. Therefore, I threw all my body weight onto the bed and loosened.

I almost let go of my consciousness amidst a feeling that I had been missing for a long time. However, an inexpressible emotion kept me from sleeping.

「What’s wrong… After all, it would be convenient to travel alone. Besides, it was my decision not to tell her anything. All things considered… I should have it easy.」

I repeatedly grumbled the soliloquy. Suddenly, I raise my body as I recalled something.

I shoved my hand into the tool bag. What I took out was… the letter from Logins-san.

I had decided to read it later when I was alone.

Although it was faintly lit due to the moon s.h.i.+ning through the window, the characters were illegible.

Under the illumination of the Light Ball I created on my palm, I began to scan through the letter.

As for its content… farewell.

If he confessed everything to Albert-san, it wouldn’t be farfetched for him to be executed on the spot, so he had written it beforehand.

Although he was not executed… it was no longer a place where he could live in peace.

Ah, the reason as to why Albert-san’s fist was injured, perhaps――

…I see.

In the letter, Logins-san briefly described the relations.h.i.+p between him and Serdio.

In short, it was a relations.h.i.+p of teacher and student.

Therefore, he wanted to settle it with his own hands.

『――I’m indebted to you, Seiji-san. A last few words from me. You are too strong. Excuse me for saying this; I didn’t mean it in psychological sense, but physical. Your abilities far surpa.s.s a human’s of your age.』

I rest my eyes that were about to continue.

『I know there rarely exist such unique people. Don’t misuse your power… I may not have the qualification to say that, but those with the outstanding abilities often end up lonely.』

…What a perfectly timely thing to say.

『That’s why――Please treasure your relations.h.i.+ps with people.』

While I was following that line with my eyes, the characters got blurred a little.

『I picked up a boy whom I didn’t even know the name of. Even a man like me could not bear the loneliness. That might be why I picked him up. Only… I didn’t know it would lead to such an outcome.』

A person cannot live alone… huh?

『Of course, such worries might be unfounded for Seiji-san. If so, please ignore it as an old man’s rambling. Then』

Although the sentence came to an abrupt end, there were several lines afterward. At the end were only a few words.

『In the past, I learnt the language of flowers from a certain someone. She seemed happy like I am now――――』

――For a while after reading the letter, I was lying on the bed stiff.

My throat went dry. Taking a deep breath, I left my room and went downstairs.

「…Aah, Seiji, I thought you would be asleep by now.」

「I was feeling a little thirsty.」

I greeted Dario-san and Flower-san, who were tidying up the dining hall, and headed to the well.

When I returned, I saw the long table in the dining hall decorated with a completely withered phylia flower.

According to Dario couple, they would feel bad if they threw away a flower they were gifted.

「――…Relations.h.i.+ps with people, huh?」

「…N? Did you say something?」

Dario-san, who was still cleaning up, turned around upon the words I muttered.

「Nothing. Goodnight.」

I returned to my room. Watching the familiar ceiling, I brooded aimlessly.

It’s not like… I have to tell her everything right now.

I wonder if it’s selfish of me to wish for a relations.h.i.+p where I can tell her everything.

It may just be a worry of my own… that we cannot be together unless I tell her everything.

…Strangely, I seemed to be able to sleep comfortably this time…

I was a very simple human being.

Anyways, tomorrow.

Early in the morning… Late in the morning, actually, since we drank a lot.

――I might even be beaten by Arnold-san.

Nah, it would depend on Lim’s answer.

Nevertheless, I wanted to deepen the bonds I had formed in this world.

――――I was sure that it would not be a mistake.

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