Vol 1 Chapter 12 (1/2)
LEVEL 1: A Whisper, an Aria, a Prayer, an Awakening
Chapter 12: Where to Turn Now?
The place where they dug a grave and buried Manato’s bones, wrapped in white cloth, would be better described as at the middle of the hill rather than the top A slab of stone they had carried up with therave It had Manato’s na with the token red-painted crescent moon Even if they were trainees, they were still rave was ly
Other graves bearing the crih that the paint was faded, could be found all around them No small number of Cri place At the very top of the hill was a tower that soared into the sky It was a loathso
That tohere Haruhiro and the others had eo was that? Probably less than a er Had it really been from that tower? From all appearances, it had no doors or entryways Where had they exited? Haruhiro didn’t know, nor did he care
The crerave on the hill another fifty Everything for the funeral had co No more than one silver Haruhiro had paid it with his own , but was that really okay? Manato had had seven silvers and twenty-one capas in savings His clothes were burned with his body, but there was his short staff, his backpack, and other personal possessions What where they going to do with those? It annoyed Haruhiro to have to think about so like that
Manato was gone He was really gone It hadn’t even been a full day They took hi and were told by a worker there to return at ht After Manato’s remains were returned to them, they were unsure of what to do next, so they returned to the Priests at the temple of Luminous Master Honnen offered to let theht, but there was no way they could just leave Manato there
What ulti was that Manato was placed at a corner of the terounds Haruhiro and the others settled in a circle around hi until dawn No one slept Maybe they did drift off now and then, but no one slept properly Was that the reason why everyone seemed to be in such a daze now? Even as they all sat in front of Manato’s grave, none of it seemed real
shi+horu, exhausted froround in order to keep herself propped up Just sitting there see up at the skies, nowthe birds fly by Mogzo’s large frame seemed to have shrunken and his expression was vacant Then there was Ranta
Why had he been staying silent this entire time? If he wouldn’t talk, then ould? Fine Haruhiro would break the silence then
“It’s weird,” he started, plucking at the grass “It doesn’t ht?”
Ranta looked in his direction, but didn’t say a word His expression said that he was currently void of intelligent thoughts
“Manato said once,” Haruhiro continued, tossing the blades of grass away “It’s like we’re in a gaaaet it damn it… damn IT”
In the end, Haruhiro had no idea what he really wanted to say
What time was it now? Way past noon,every two hours to indicate the tiht, three times at ten, and so on How many bells did he hear last? He couldn’t remember
Ranta got up, slowly, deliberately “I’ out”
“…Where to?” Yume asked
Ranta gave a short laugh, not caring about how he ca here forever There’s nothing we can do about it now”
“Idiot!” Yume snapped
Ranta didn’t return the insult It wasn’t like hizo following, but Haruhiro stopped once to look back Yume had her ar in their direction, and Haruhiro was too far away to tell if she was nodding or shaking her head He had a feeling though, that she was trying to tell hioing to be okay? She was in shock, probably more so than Haruhiro After all, shi+horu definitely had a crush on him
Ranta seemed as if he intended to return to Altana, and Haruhiro considered asking hied hisseven times before they had reached Kaen Road in the northern part of the city So it was already eight o’clock in the evening and, as usual for that tiht, the streets were full of people
Ranta was nboard outside read: Sherry’s Tavern Haruhiro recognized the naathered and, although he had passed by the place before, he had never gone in Manato would go to Sherry’s now and then to get information, but everyone had just left hi
And I was the sa with him and did whatever he said to do
Sherry’s was a large, spacious tavern, its entirety di It had two floors, though half of the second was actually the stairwell It wasn’t crowded yet—less than half of the usual number of clientele were present—but there were still more than a hundred people there The roohter, and occasional shouts of anger, irls
Ranta found an empty table in a corner on the first floor and took a seat Haruhiro and Mogzo followed suit at the sairl finally caers and said, “Three beers”
He hadn’t bothered to ask either Haruhiro or Mogzo what they wanted to drink
“I don’t really want to drink,” Haruhiro protested
“What do you want then? Milk?” Ranta crossed his arround “That’s dumb This is a tavern A TAVERN At taverns, people drink alcohol”
“B-but…” Mogzo hunched over, his head see at a time like this?”
“Idiot! It’s because of ti his eyes “Manato That bastard used to coht? But he’s… You know, he’s… It’s not like we’re here in his place but…”
“Right,” Haruhiro said, resting his elbows on the table, head hung low “You’re right”
The serving girl returned with their beers and after paying her, the three of theether and drank Maybe it was because they were all thirsty, but the bitter brew tasted great Did Manato order the beer they were drinking nohen he came here? Did he like the taste of it?
Perhaps it was the alcohol, but Haruhiro’s face grew hot and his zo’s faces too were red Ranta suddenly slammed his earthenware tankard on the table
“This is the worst It really is the fucking worst I quit I don’t want to do this any It’s not like I wanted to do this to begin with, but I did reluctantly go along You tere the saht? What the hell is a Warrior? A Thief? A Dread Knight? A… a Priest? I’ve had enough I quit I quit it all From today, I quit forever”
“Quit?” Haruhiro ground his teeth together “What are you going to do if you quit?”
“I ain’t gonna do anything,” Ranta replied “Nothing wrong with that Do I have to do so Even if there was, I don’t give a shi+t”
“It’s not about giving a shi+t, it’s about not having a choice That’s how all of us ended up here”
“I didn’t know that!”
“If you didn’t know, then ere you thinking?!”
“Hoas I supposed to know?!”
“P-please,” Mogzo put himself between Haruhiro and Ranta “The both of you Please don’t fight”
“Shut up!” Ranta shoved Mogzo off roughly “Even if did keep going, hoould we do it?! What are we gonna do from now on?! Manato’s not here anymore!”
“I know that! It’s not like I need you to tell me!” Haruhiro yelled
“Then answer ht, it was Manato that ca to do now that he’s not here anymore, huh?! ANSWER ME!”
“I–”
“In fact, it was because you got injured so s turned out like this!”
“…Ranta, you… Is that what you really think?”