Chapter 139: A Respite From Adventuring I (2/2)

An older beastkin with a long beard walked up and checked on them.

「Double K.O.!」

He declared.

A stir broke out among the spectators.

「She came close this time」

「No, she was completely on top in terms of fighting techniques」

「No no, she still lacks offensive power. She focused too much on technique and not enough on power」

「That's why she's using magic to boost the damage she deals. That's something we would never have thought of doing」

She shouldn't be hitting herself with it as well though.

「Hmmm. Even with this fire-resistant shield, the heat still gets through……」

「Suppose she were to perfect using magic while fighting bare-handed………」

「Our dormitory could get blown away」

That's what you're worried about, huh?

「Coming through, I'm here to retrieve my sister~」

Ea appeared, pushing her way through the crowd. She threw Rana over her shoulder and headed to the back. Hitoto was also retrieved by the other beastkin.

「Alright, next!」

Without a moment's delay, the two kin who were next faced off and began fighting.

Through the gaps in the crowd, I could see Rana being treated.

「Don't you want to go talk to her?」

「Oh, umm, no, I'm fine」

I turned down Otou-san's suggestion. In the first place, I had no idea what to say to her.

Is she always doing this kind of training?

It's so intense.

It's bad for my heart.

To be honest, I want to stop her.

But she's gaining useful skills and experience. There are things that can only be discovered when one is strong. If I could, I'd protect her forever, but that's just not possible.

I suppose it's a small price to pay if shedding sweat and blood is all it takes to be able to move forward.

I swallowed my words and accepted the situation.

I'll watch over her silently until she says she doesn't want to continue.

「By the way, that sword you've got there……」

Otou-san tapped the Rmir steel sword with the scabbard of his katana.

「It's on loan to me while my own are being repaired. The dwarf who made the katanas is currently at my home. Otou-san, you should also go get your Arahabaki checked by him」

「Alright. Wait, you guys are living in that place in the city walls, right?」

「That's right. Did you hear about that from Lanseal?」

「Yeah, she told me about it really happily. Well, I'm a little conflicted about it, I suppose」

Otou-san had a frown on his face. I could guess what was on his mind.

A lot must have happened in that place in the past.

It must be one of those memories of youth that grow bittersweet after becoming an adult.

「Living there with Verxina......and Lemuria. What's more, that Lemuria also brought other women there………………two of them, in fact. I was still young and hadn't yet sorted out my feelings about those kinds of things. So, you know, I lost it. I attacked Lemuria in his sleep and plunged my sword into his pillow」

「I see. I completely understand」

I also did something very similar recently.

「Luckily, he dodged and ran away, and I was held back by Alma and Verxina, who got very angry with me. It was the first and last time in my life that I've ever been angry with someone for that long. I don't even want to be reminded of it」

「That's, well……」

I think he half deserved it.

It would have been great if you had properly stabbed him though.

「Enough with the boring story. I'll stop by your home later」

「Okay. So, about our next adventure……」

「When will it be?」

「………………When do you think?」

「Is your arm in such bad shape?」

「It's a little, well, kinda bad」

I don't even know how long it will take to heal completely……

「Get it healed up properly before it becomes a recurring injury. Or figure out a way to work around it」

「Understood」

Figuring out a way to work around the injury, huh?

Sounds like something athletes have to do. My sister too, her leg………hmm? ………………Huh?

What was that?

I lost my line of thought.

「But now that I think about it, we may have gone a little too fast. The speed at which this party clears floors is abnormal. We've become intermediate adventurers in the fastest time on record, and if we go on like this, we'll become advanced adventurers in the fastest time as well. Perhaps it's a good idea to slow the pace down a little」

「Yeah, the envy, huh?」

The more things go well for us, the more people get envious of us. There are many adventurers who will pick fights with people based on trivial reasons and conjecture.

It might be prudent to make more allies by taking random requests.

「Here」

Otou-san handed me a scroll. Seeing the wax seal on it, I frowned.

It had a design of a bull and a fox facing each other. It was Lemuria's coat of arms, which meant that this scroll was a royal order.

「Can I throw this away?」

「It's a request your person-in-charge left with me. She asked me to give it to you when you seemed free」

「It's from Evetta-san?」

Then I couldn't disregard it. I spread it open with one hand and took a look at its contents, but……

「Flame religion, development of a new dish for their soup kitchen?」

On top of that, it contained specific requirements for the dish.

「Pasta-like noodles in a salty broth, with simple but flavorful ingredients」

「I, too, would like to eat that again」

「In other words………I’m supposed to make ramen?」

The referenced karate fighter with a boomerang on his back is Sho Hayate, a character from Savage Reign(風雲黙示録), a futuristic-themed competitive weapons fighting game released by SNK in 1995. He’s a young Japanese man who aims to prove the strength of Fu'un-Ken(風雲拳): a special style of fighting that combines martial arts with the mastery of the boomerang. Also, this pose was a popular meme during that time(example of one such meme on the right).

So, a generally light and humorous chapter, right? Sad to say, there’s no such thing with this author lol. What Souya commented on is very true. The two of them should have had their hair and clothes burned off at the very least. That very anime-like scene of them just having blackened faces and smoking clothes is not logical. At all. Most would have probably forgotten, but the magic of this world is also a mystery. They had tried to bring magic back to the modern world but it doesn’t work there, remember? It’ll be much later in the story, but keep in mind discrepancies like these and you’ll understand it better later on.

And…this one is a rare one that confuses me a little. You see, the reptilian beastkin back in volume 2 is Hihito(ヒヒト) but the one here is Hitoto(ヒトト), so…mistake, or someone else?(by the way, I translated based on the assumption it’s the same person)

Yes, it’s been a while, hasn’t it? It’s time for some food again. And believe it or not, the author actually took the time to foreshadow this and the potential problems too. I’m sure you can find it if you re-read the last vol. XD However, you’ve likely noticed if you‘ve been keeping an eye out for it, but Souya’s attitude towards cooking has changed quite a lot since the early days. How will he approach this request now? Stay tuned!