Chapter 7 (1/2)

It's been a few days since Cecilia recovered from being sick.

Today I came to the guild to work, but...

”He~ey, guess wha~at, lately the little woman has been in a su~uper good mood~”

”I didn't know that...”

How did I get roped into listening to Clayman gush about his wife?

His eyes that were always like a dead fish’s are sparkling today.

This usually taciturn guy has completely turned into a giggling schoolgirl. Honestly, it's a pain in the a.s.s..

All the other employees and adventurers I see are avoiding looking at us.

Seems he's been like this all day.

The employees are sighing deeply, and the adventurers are keeping their eyes glued to the table.

Looks like I’m not the only victim here.

...Come to think of it, this guy is married? Congrats man. Just what kind of lady would fall for this sorry sod?

I can't imagine it working out if she wasn't completely complacent.

”I never realized what a great place this was to work. Everyone has been su~uper nice today.”

”Uh-huh.”

She must be a great wife to make him that happy. If I got married to Cecilia and everyday was full of bliss… Ah, stop stop!

I think I'd end up with the same girly smile in his position.

So I had to listen to him gush about his wife for a long while.

From the reactions I could see of those still in the Guild hall, they'd all heard the same story.

Just when I'd had about enough of this nonsense, there was a commotion at the guild entrance.

I could hear cheers of joy from the previously sullen employees and adventurers who had been face-planted on the tables.

”What's up? It's pretty noisy.”

Clayman leaned out over the reception desk to check out what was going on at the guild entrance.

I'm getting a sense of déjà vu here.

Could it be… Cecilia?!

With my hopes high, I turn around and see...

“......”

...Raven standing there.

He avoids people with hand and body gestures and heads in my direction.

Coming towards me, he jerked his thumb towards the guild entrance.

It looks like he has something to tell me, but he doesn't want to talk with other people around.

I totally get it.

”Clayman, I want to take a quest with Raven, are there any good ones available?”

He probably wanted to go questing with me.

We finally became friends, but never got to hang out together since he spent his time training.

Raven tugged on my sleeve.

You wanna get out of here that quickly, huh?

I guess the guild is making a lot of noise.

Most of it is jeering towards me though.

It's mainly coming from the women, and even the guild employees.

”Oooh, how 'bout this one? There's a quest to defeat a rampaging rock dragon at the foot of Haggers Mountain. If you take a carriage together, you can probably make it back before the day's over.”

It's a B-rank mission, and it would just be Raven from the Hero Party and me who just recently become B-rank, but with me having my Cheat we should be fine. ...We could probably even take a higher ranking mission and still be fine.

Accepting the quest, Raven and I head to Haggers Mountain.

”Eh...you didn't want to do a quest?”

It would take 2 hours by carriage to get to Haggers Mountain from Minerva, so we were looking for a carriage headed in that direction.

There were a lot of people around, so we were conversing quietly.

”...I wanted to go out shopping with you. Maybe grab a bite to eat...”

Apparently Raven just wanted to hang out around town.

I mistook it as him wanting to hunt out of town.

Speaking of which, our equipment might be a bit too light for this quest.

”Sorry for the misunderstanding.”

I lower my head in a sincere apology. Raven worked as a knight in the castle, so this was probably a rare day off.

”....No, it's okay. It's just the first outing I've ever had with a friend.”

Looks like all is forgiven.

I'm glad Raven has such a big heart.

”I got it, let's finish up the quest real quick, then hang out afterwards. If we give it our all, we should make it back by sundown.”

”....I see. Let's do that.”

Still, there are things we gotta do before then.

Today, Raven was out in casual clothes, not disguising himself at all.

How reckless can you be?

I don't want to go through another huge fiasco, so I should warn him.

”But before we hang out, there is something I absolutely must tell you, okay?”

Not understanding, Raven tilted his head.

”As a member of the Hero party, if you just walk casually around in the city, you're gonna cause a commotion. Didn’t you hear about when the whole Hero Party, aside from you, were caught in the Accessory Shop and it turned into a huge mess just recently?”

I never want to go through that again.

It wiped me out and caused a lot of trouble for the shop.

”....I heard about it. I was wondering what Yuuga and the others were up to. I never would’ve thought a riot would start with Mikana and Cecilia there...”

Raven has no room to talk.

He wanted to go out on the town without a thought about his fame.

He should know the fangirls of the Hero Party would immediately intercept our little outing.

”I'll lend you the disguise I have. Once you're all set, we can hang out. Well, I say disguise, but it's just hiding your face...”

I should get something to commemorate my first date with Cecilia.

I wasn't able to buy the accessory for her that day, and hadn't had a chance to buy it afterwards.

Exiting the carriage, we head for Haggers Mountain.

If we hurry there, we can cover the distance in a dozen or so minutes.

We travel to the mountain in silence to save our stamina.

The path to Haggers Mountain was steep, and we were attacked by monsters, a Lizardman and a Roc, on the way.

The Lizardman, as the name might imply, was a reptilian humanoid that used a sword and s.h.i.+eld.

The Roc was a huge, hawk-like monster.

With Raven's sword and my magic, the enemies weren't a big deal at all.

Even so, we didn't know when and where enemies would come from. We both stayed on our guard and continued in silence, however...

”....Youki, after we're done with this quest, I need your advice on something.”

Raven suddenly opened his mouth.

...Don't drop lines that'll trigger your death flag!

But, if it's Raven I'm sure he'll be fine.

”Sure thing. Let's hurry and kill this thing then.”

Just then, something stomped in our direction with a huge thudding sound.

....Wait, is this really the death flag at work?

”Here it comes, get ready!”

Raven drew his sword from its sheath and took up a stance.

As a magic user I didn't have a weapon, so I just stood at the ready.

As we did, our target, the Rock Dragon, appeared.

”Here we go. 《Storm Blow》!”

Storm Blow is an Intermediate level magic that, while small in scale, has the power of a tornado.

Hitting the Rock Dragon with this skill, it shaves off some of the hard rock armor.

And thus, it exposes the skin underneath.

“Yes!”

Raven slashed at the exposed skin.

After being cut, the dragon flew into a rage but Raven carefully dodged, and continued to wound the monster with his sword.

The Rock Dragon was unintelligent, so as long as we remained vigilant we wouldn’t get hit.

Even though it's called a dragon, it wasn't much of an opponent.

We kept at it, and safely slew the dragon. ...Thank goodness, the death flag wasn’t triggered after all.

”Good work. I'm glad we got it over with quickly.”

I released my magic, and as Raven sheathed his sword and said,

”...Oh right. Let's leave the Rock Dragon's corpse to the guild staff and just take some proof with us.”

The Rock Dragon is huge, there's no way we can deal with the corpse by ourselves, so we just bring back a trophy from it.

“Then let’s hang out when we get back.”

After that, we descended Haggers mountain, boarded the carriage and headed back to Minerva.

After getting back to the guild and reporting on our quest, we head for my room at the Inn.

On the way there was a small fuss, but thanks to my previous experience we were able to escape.

“Here are some gla.s.ses and a hat. ...It’s quite late already, so we can't do much except get a bite to eat.”

I handed Raven the disguise I had gotten from Cecilia.

“....Aah, this’ll help a lot.”

He donned the hat, and put on the gla.s.ses.

....It kinda suits him.

I guess it's true pretty boys look good, no matter what they wear.

The world is so unfair.

Still, at least he shouldn't be found out.

Having a sword might expose him, so we left it in my room.

We walked for about 10 minutes to the eatery.

“...Come to think of it, didn't you have something you wanted to talk about?”

I asked while eating my dinner.

If I remember right, just before we got ambushed by the Rock Dragon he wanted advice on something.

“...Aah, you’ll hear me out?”

I wonder what it’s about, something to do with his voice?

Did someone say something to him?

“The truth is, I’ve fallen in love with someone.”

Unexpectedly, he wanted some love advice.

Author’s Note: The next chapter will follow Raven-kun.

”You have someone you...like?”

I couldn't believe my buddy Raven wanted to ask for love advice while we were having dinner together.

”Sorry, Youki. You’re the only one I could ask...”

Since he didn’t speak much due to his voice, Raven came across as a cool and taciturn character.

If the people around him heard that he had done something so out of character like falling in love, he'd be a laughing stock.

“Yeah…”

And now he’s seeking love advice from someone who's struck out on every single love confession over the course of two lives, much less actually gone out with someone.

...Man, I've got a bad feeling about this.

He's asking the wrong person for advice, you know? But I'm still the only one he can ask.

”Tell me, what kind of girl is she?”

I didn't want to give him the cold shoulder since we'd just become friends, so I'll take a shot at giving him advice just this once.

”...She didn't make fun of my voice. She actually thought it sounded nice, and said she was jealous. And then...”

TL Note: Doesn’t laugh at voice = BFF or Love Interest….sounds legit

I see. Raven has such a big complex about his voice, I'm sure it made him really happy. Usually people laugh or are surprised at the gap between his appearance and his voice.

“I see, so that’s why you fell for her.”

It's a more normal love discussion than I thought it would be.

Raven's embarra.s.sment was written all over his red face and cheeks.

“...What do you think I should do?”

From his red face and nervousness, it seems like he's fallen pretty hard.

He's like a middle schooler going through p.u.b.erty. But because of his voice, forget girls, he couldn't even make a single guy friend. He's just lived by the sword all this time.

He's never had anyone to talk to about things like this before.

”If you like her, have you tried confessing?”

He was a member of the Hero Party that saved the world.

He's good looking, and he'd already cleared the hurdle of his odd voice, so I can only imagine he'd get a positive response.

”...I don't think I can. Since I was born I've only ever lived for the sword. Girls are...”

I figured it was something like that.

Geez, you're a good-looking guy, have more confidence!

It can't be helped; I might die a little inside, but it's for a friend.

For the first time in a while, I switch up my game.

”Heh, Raven, you haven't realized it yourself yet, have you?”

I make a grand gesture, pointing at Raven.

Raven is confused by my sudden change of character.

But I don't stop there.

”A handsome visagé, tall in stature, saving the world as the knight of the Hero Party. So what if your voice is a little strange? You should be capable of ignoring anyone who might laugh at you!”

Raven was listening, but looked like he'd been blindsided.

However, I'm not done yet!

”Why, just look at me! A boring face, an average build, working for a guild. Even so, I've confessed countless times! Gotten rejected countless more! But look at me now! Do I look miserable to you? Not in the slightest! ...Raven, you'll do great. Believe in yourself!”

Of course I finish it off with my signature pose.

...Aaah, that was refres.h.i.+ng.

I turn off my Chuuni-mode, and wait for Raven's response.

”...Heeh. I see. So it was something like that.”

Raven calmed down, and was laughing a bit.

”...I guess I was overthinking it. Thanks, I'm glad I asked for your advice, Youki.”

Oooh!

Seems like my plan worked.

Thank goodness.

I didn't know what I would do if he gave up.

”Hahaha... If you say it like that, I'm the one who's glad I gave you advice.”

”...Actually, I'm taking tomorrow off as well. I'll try to confess to her. If it's okay with you, I'd really like you to come with me.”

I see, he was worried about that.

He had been in a very negative frame of mind.

He had gathered up all his courage and opened the very depths of his heart to his friend.

I was so moved, how could I not support him?

”You'll be fine. ...Give it your best shot tomorrow.”

With those parting words, we went our separate ways.

The next day, I waited for Raven at the reception desk in the Guildhall.

The Guildhall was noisy and bustling with activity, more so than usual.

The excitement of Raven being there yesterday still lingered. When he comes today, he should be properly disguised so there won't be another riot.

”...Hey, ain'tcha gonna take a quest today?”

Clayman asked me. His happy-mode from yesterday had been replaced by his usual lackadaisical-mode.

”I'm waiting for a friend today. No quests.”

Normally, all the other adventurers would ask the pretty ladies at the other reception desks for quests. I was pretty much the only one who came to the apathetic receptionist's, Clayman's, desk.

That's why no one would complain if I loitered around Clayman's desk.

Rather, I was their savior yesterday.

”Well that's just great, no work for me. Why don't you just stay there all day doing nothing?”

”Why do you sound so b.u.mmed about spending all day not having to lift a finger? I'm just waiting for a friend.”

Clayman and I yak about nothing in particular, when suddenly I'm grabbed by the shoulder and turned around.

There stood Raven wearing the disguise I gave him yesterday.

Maybe it's because he's nervous, but his expression is awfully stiff.

Hey now, we haven't even gotten to the girl's home yet, is he really gonna be okay...?

”You okay? Did you sleep at all last night?”

Raven nodded his head, but even that gesture was stiff.

If we stayed in the guild like this he'd be found out, so I hurry us outside.

Raven is frozen solid, so in order to loosen him up, I take a deep breath and say,

”Listen up, Raven. You're a member of the hero party and a leader of knights. That already makes you a really amazing guy. You can do this, Raven!”

On our way to his sweetheart, I give him some encouragement.

If he can just get a little more confidence, he should be able to confess naturally.

“...Should I really be doing this?”

He's still debilitatingly shy.

I gave him encouragement all the way to the girl's home.

And then, after Raven finally became resolved, our destination turned out to be...

”Eh....?!”

No way, we're at the Aquarain mansion?

Does he like Cecilia?!

She's so nice, there's definitely a chance.

I can think of a million things that might have happened between them on their mission to defeat the Demon Lord.

Did the death flag he raised yesterday mean I was gonna kill him for taking my girl?!

”...You have my grat.i.tude, Youki. It’s thanks to you that I have the courage to confess. ...I'll go by myself from here. Please wait for me, Youki.”

Raven entered the Aquarain manor alone.

...This is bad!

Would Cecilia accept his confession...what would she do?

I have no idea what kind of relations.h.i.+p they have, so I have no idea how she'll respond.

I panic for a few minutes while I wait outside the Aquarain mansion. But when Raven returned, he had a pretty grave look on his face.

”...She turned me down. She said it was 'impossible'. ...Youki, I'm so sorry, even after you went out of your way give me all that advice. ...As I thought, it wasn’t meant to be with her...”

This isn't good, his eyes are as dead as Clayman's.

His first broken heart dealt quite the emotional damage.

I totally understand, I've had more than my fair share of broken hearts.

But he's my friend, I can't just leave him like this.

”Don't let it bother you too much, man. Anyway, why don't we go somewhere? You're still on holiday, and we didn't get to pal around town much yesterday...”

He heard me, but just shook his head, and said sadly,

”...Let's just call it a day. See ya...later...”

Shoulders drooped despondently, Raven headed back to town.

I couldn't help but watch him as he got smaller in the distance.

...What do I do?

I should be celebrating, but the whole thing left a bad taste in my mouth.

I should be happy to have one less rival, but those feelings never surfaced.

Friends.h.i.+p or love...I couldn't bring myself to give up either.

I was both relieved that Cecilia wasn't stolen away from me, and sad for my friend whose love couldn't come to fruition.

“...I gotta talk to Cecilia.”

I have to know why my friend was rejected.

I might be meddling, but I enter the mansion to find out the reason my friend was turned down.

“He...didn’t even talk to you?”

I went to see Cecilia to ask why she turned Raven down.

I thought she might be reluctant if I asked her flat out, so I beat around the bush a little, however...

”That's right. Raven-san never came to see me. ...Did something happen?”

What's going on here?

I couldn't figure it out by myself, so I let Cecilia in on the situation.

”...I see, could it be he confessed to someone who works here instead?”

If he confessed to one of the maids, we knew just who to ask.

”Let's ask Sophia-san. She's the head maid, she may just know something.”

“I’ll go with you.”

Perhaps because they were once comrades, she was now also worried about Raven.

As expected of the kind Cecilia-san.

We both head to the servant's quarters to find Sophia-san.

”Indeed, Raven-sama was here just a short while ago.”

When we arrived at the servant's quarters and asked Sophia-san, it was as Cecilia expected.

He had confessed to one of the employees.

Cecilia inquired with Sophia-san further.

“Then, did he need to speak with someone about something?”

”As I recall...he had something to discuss with one of the maids.”

As we thought, it was one of the maids.

Just what kind of girl did he confess to?

”Sophia-san, which girl did he ask for?”

As his friend, I wanted to ask the girl what she found wrong with Raven.

Cecilia was also worried, and we both fidgeted while we awaited Sophia-san's answer.