Vol 3 Chapter 5 (1/2)
LEVEL 3: Even the Best Laid Plans go Awry, but Such is This World
Chapter 5: Just a Feeling
PART 1 of 2
I know, that’s why I gave it my best shot…? Kinda sorta…
In order to get more information about the directive, Haruhiro had approached some of the veteran Crimson Moonthem It was unfortunate that none of shi+nohara’s reputable Orion Clan ht shi+nohara himself was kind and well-mannered, and members of his clan tended to be the sa as he was mindful of his own manners, any Orion Clan member would tell hie
Other than the Orion h to ask questions of him freely was the well-known, overly-cheerful Kikkaho had arrived in Griar the same time he did Haruhiro often talked with Kikkawa at Sherry’s, but as luck would have it, he wasn’t here tonight either
Haruhiro wondered where he had gone Kikkawa had ended up joining a veteran party led by soe head start and was now frequenting areas way beyond the ability of Haruhiro’s tea about a place called the “Wandering Abyss” so their main area of operations recently
Haruhiro sluainst a wall in a hallway on the first floor of the reserve force soldier lodge Mogzo and Ranta were in their room, fast asleep Whenever they drank, both of thes, perhaps a many, that kept him up
He had talked to a few Crimson Moon members who already accepted the directive to participate in Operation Twin-Headed Snake, and every one of the Capomorti Fortress would be easy When Haruhiro asked them why they were so optied to take the fortress several times in the past And they told hi whenever Altana felt like capturing it
It was only the threat of reinforcehold that had prevented them in the past Even if they left the orc fortress alone, there was no way the orcs would try to ainst Altana frorann’s raid weren’t going to topple a fortress town like Altana
Even if, by soed to use Capo point to attack, all Altana had to do was shut its gates, hunker down, and wait out the siege The city ell-supplied and reinforcements from the Aravakia mainland would come The orcs ell aware of this as well, so they never sent forces to attack Altana in earnest
Capomorti Fortress was at most an observation post the orcs used to keep an eye on the huhtly uarded If Altana were to ainst it, it would fall quite easily
Apparently, all of the above was coe and no one in Crimson Moon doubted that the assault on Capoain, just like they had many tiy was Steelbone Stronghold Altana had never tried to capture it before, so no one could predict the outcome But of course, everyone was confident in their odds of winning
Altana’s regular are portion of their resources towards the assault on Steelbone and a large nu Sou too The offensive should succeed
Every one of the Criht that way, so none of them doubted that victory was assured
Isn’t it fine to participate then? Haruhiro thought
The one gold, a full one hundred silvers compensation, was not a s in the Siren Mines lately and an elder kobold’s talisood day, they could s, but on average, each of the less than ten silvers a day
But while their earnings were greater than before, their expenditures had beco better, they frequently visited Sherry’s tavern for drinks, and they spent s as well
It was little advertised, but apparently, in addition to the one gold—after totaling the advance and completion portions of the normal compensation—there was also a thirty-silver stipend for every whole day they spent participating in the fighting Because of this, Haruhiro figured that the higher-ups anticipated that it would take no more than one day to take the fortress
One gold in one day It was a huge amount Enormous, even It tempted him sorely
It was going to be an easy fight and the a Why, then, was Haruhiro so hesitant about signing up?
After they exited Sherry’s, Haruhiro had considered going back to confer a littlefor another drink or two after Haruhiro and the others called it a night, so if he went back, he would have had a chance to talk to her alone But he didn’t Why?
He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but recently he felt as if there was some sort of wall between them He had no idea when that wall had popped up, but it was constantly there, not just when they were in the tavern And it wasn’t just with Mary either It was a wall between hi Haruhiro from the rest of his companions
Maybe it was just a feeling,it They were a team Hoas it possible for him to be on one side while they were on the other? But the reality was, the gap was there
Everyone else was now self-assured; they had found their confidence Haruhiro also agreed that each of the the third stratuer of Deathpatch gone, no one felt that they couldn’t handle any fight they faced
As a teaht kobolds at a time, if it came down to that Of course, it depended on how many elders were mixed in there, but one elder could be considered the equivalent of two or three nor three elders was about the saroup of five worker kobolds; if they really had to, they could probably handle it—not that Haruhiro would ever want to put the team in such a risky situation
And that was the crux of the matter
He didn’t want to take any unnecessary risks The lives of his co to hi that was constantly on his mind He didn’t want any deaths He wanted to keep casualties to a minimum If he could, he would keep the number of deaths at zero Yes, zero was the ideal No matter what happened, he didn’t want anyone to die But fear was alith hiht becohts
But none of the others felt that way Only Haruhiro Even fights that he knew they would win scared hiiven battle, lose and die Maybe they would go into a fight overconfident, do so weird, and pay with their lives Maybe so someone their life Haruhiro couldn’t say that any of the above was out of the realm of possibility
“What a his head in his hands
Does this mean… I don’t trust my companions? Or was it just himself that he didn’t trust? Was it really okay for someone like him to be the leader? Can a party with so things again? It’s not like they had failed in any spectacular way since he became the leader… it was just the possibility of failure that he was afraid of; the possibility that if they messed up, someone could be permanently crippled, or even end up dead
What the hell Had that possibility never occurred to any of the others? If so, didn’t it htly? Or maybe they were entirely too optimistic
No, Haruhiro knew that, in the end, it came down to one fact: None of the others was the leader They could be carefree because they didn’t bear the burden of responsibility
Haruhiro heaved a deep sigh This train of thought was starting to annoy hi it often, lately I should just care less, he thought And not think about it too deeply Let the majority vote make the decision of whether or not they would respond to the directive If the team wanted to participate, then that was that
“But…” Haruhiro said out loud, shaking his head It wasn’t right He couldn’t just neglect his duty as leader…
Suddenly, Haruhiro heard soasp a little way down the corridor, along with the sound of footsteps The footsteps stopped and Haruhiro figured that seeing his crouched form in the middle of the hallway ht he was so
When Haruhiro looked up, he saw a girl with a bob-cut hair style standing with her toes pointed in towards each other, looking nervous
“Um…” Haruhiro let both his hands fall to his sides, after which the girl resu towards him
Her approach wasn’t scared or tiured that she probably intended to pass hi to do What was she doing out here in the first place though? It was late enough that everyone should have gone to bed, and Haruhiro hadn’t thought that anyone else would still be awake
He had to ad that he would bue part of him They ran into each other here once before, soif he told hi that