Vol 1 Chapter 2 (2/2)

Even if she was only a few days old, her mind and heart were far more developed than an infant’s. She thoroughly understood the pain and hards.h.i.+p of loneliness because she’d been thrown – entirely alone – into a harsh and unforgiving world. The reason she’d been so stubbornly attached to terms like “disciple” and “Master” had been because she’d needed to clearly define her relations.h.i.+p with others. Put simply, she’d desperately clung on to her relations.h.i.+p with others – her relations.h.i.+p with Yuuki; it had been her one comfort – the one thing standing between her and the abyss of her overwhelming fear.

Yuuki paused for a moment before finally opening his mouth.

“——I’m sorry. I went too far.”

His words had come so far out of her range of expectation that Tina could only blink in response, her eyes still wet with tears.

“There’s no understating how seriously a merchant takes an agreement. Rest a.s.sured, I won’t simply throw you aside, nor will I simply neglect you. In other words, for the duration of our agreement, if you can, for all intents and purposes, view me as your disciple. But, you also need to remember – I’m also your master. That means when I ask, you need to obey. That’s what a good s.h.i.+nki should do – honor the wishes of her followers. Sound good?”

“Yep!”

Tina, on the verge of tears just a moment before, now broke out into a radiant smile. Wiping the tears from her eyes with one hand, and seemingly unable to restrain the joyous feelings bursting forth from within, she spoke in a frenzy.

“Tina will definitely be a great s.h.i.+nki! And will listen to all of Master’s commands! No matter what they may be!”

“Good. Now, let’s forget this ever happened.”

Yuuki gently patted Tina on the head. The young girl squinted her eyes as if terribly itchy.

“The puppet show’s always there. We can come back another time. ——Let’s head home.”

Tina obediently trailed after Yuuki, her hand still gripping his sleeve.

“…Um, Master?”

“What’s up?”

“Is it… really that well-known? The story from the show?”

“…Oh, you mean ‘The Snow Blade King vs. Black Demon’? Yeah, it’s a very popular story. If you’re that interested, you should have Franka take you to see it. That girl really likes this sort of thing too.”

Because he’d already told Franka about Tina’s memory loss, even if the latter said something strange, it ought to be alright.

Stories of the s.h.i.+nki and their Duelists and other adventurers of legend were often used in plays. The Church, in a shameless attempt to inspire additional donations, openly encouraged the spread of such stories among the populace. These puppet shows could thus be found all over the city, and anyone interested could easily find one.

As long as she didn’t break cover, it’d be a very valuable experience for her.

“Master… won’t come?”

“Me? Oh, yeah, I’m not really interested in that kind of thing.”

“Oh.”

Tina’s smile was tinged with just a hint of regret.

The next few days pa.s.sed by peacefully and without incident.

Yuuki and Tina’s relations.h.i.+p had gradually grown stronger.

After what had occurred a few days before, Tina had grown both far more prudent as well as forthright.

“——So basically, mushrooms grow where it’s dark and damp,” Yuuki explained to Tina, as they traversed the small mountain path.

“Some types are poisonous, others can be used as medicine, and some can even be eaten – there are many different kinds, and distinguis.h.i.+ng between them is a very difficult task. Looking at it from a different angle, however, it’s for that very reason that they can be sold for profit. Learning which trees’ fruits can be used as medicine is much easier, so we’ll start—— What’s wrong?”

Having struggled to keep pace with Yuuki this entire time, Tina had finally exhausted herself, and was sitting, resting, on the ground.

“M… Mer…Merchants…need….” Tina wheezed, gasping for air.

“Need…to….cl…climb…”

“You’re asking if it’s common for merchants to climb mountains? No, not really. I’m a little different in that I collect my goods myself. C’mon, you can do it.”

Rather than simply stocking Reliquia, stores also sold all sorts of consumables an adventurer might need. Counting simply by volume, and not by cost, these items actually const.i.tuted the majority of store sales.

The most commonly sold items were medicines for staunching open wounds, and gauzes and compresses. Although virtually all adventurer parties necessarily included a cleric for healing, in order to avoid wasteful expenditure of Divine Pearls, anything but severe injuries were dealt with using a combination of medicine and bandages. The medicines and remedies that Yuuki sold in his store were all things that he had personally collected, thus minimizing expenditures as much as possible.

Accordingly, he had taken Tina along with him on this trip, in order to familiarize her with the various medicines he sold… unfortunately, it looked like she was now running on empty.

“Why don’t we rest for a bit——”

Rather than respond, Tina wearily lifted her canteen to her lips. It seemed she was comparatively frail even for a girl of her age and pet.i.te stature.

“…No matter who it is, if they’re not used to this kind of thing, they’d tire easily. When you first start out, there’re simply too many things you don’t know. That’s to be expected. Don’t rush yourself; take your time.”

Tina’s breathing finally returned to normal, and she asked, “Master, were you like this when you first started too?”

“Well, compared to you, I was in better physical condition, but because I was completely unfamiliar with herbology, I was frequently smacked around by the previous shop owner.”

“The previous owner?”

“The store’s sign reads, ‘Shoppe Boris,’ right? The shop originally belonged to an old man named Boris. At the time I was a wanderer with neither family nor a place to call home. One day, when Gramps was out gathering medicinal herbs, he found me collapsed on the mountainside and brought me home with him.”

That was five long years ago. He’d displayed a strength unexpected for someone of his seasoned age, and had carried Yuuki back to his store.

“He then hired me, and taught me how to work the store. Man, he sure was one strict old man – I’d frequently get scolded like you wouldn’t believe. Still… I’m grateful for everything he did for me.”

In more ways than one, he’d been the one to teach Yuuki how to live a normal life.

“So where’s he now?”

“He pa.s.sed away two years ago.”

He’d had a stroke. One day he’d suddenly vomited forcefully, and pa.s.sed out. He didn’t wake during the next few days either, and eventually, he simply stopped breathing. The one blessing of the ordeal had been that he hadn’t been awake to feel any pain, nor had he had to deal with the terror of death.

“I inherited the store, although from the very beginning, there was never any chance I could be like him. Even if my body’s grown a lot since then, I’m still a long way from being able to compete with any of the big businessmen; I’m still green.”

“…So that’s how it works. People just inherit what other people have built, huh?” Tina mumbled to herself, with a look of admiration on her face.

Breathing deeply, she suddenly rose to her feet.

“Alright, Master. Tina’s ready to go. Our goal’s the summit, right? We’d better get going.”

“Oh, ok. It’s just——”

“Hmm…?”

Tina’s body began to wobble. To her immediate left was a sharp, vertical incline, far below which lay a valley. Her tiny frame began to fall off the precipice, her legs touching nothing but empty air——

Suddenly her descent was interrupted.

——She hadn’t fallen.

“Suddenly standing like that made my head spin.”

“Hah…”

Yuuki’s left hand gripped a tree branch, and his right arm was securely fastened around her.

As she’d started to lose her balance, he’d raced over and grabbed her. Although his footing had been a bit unsteady, he’d relied on his sense of balance to make the save.

“Even if your pulse and breathing have returned to normal, there’s no way spent physical energy returns that fast. Even if you felt okay, don’t push yourself past your limits. This is one of the most fundamental rules for traveling in the mountains or in the labyrinth.”

“I-I’ll remember that.”

Tina reddened.

“B-But! Even if I’d fallen, I’d still have the ScutumHoly s.h.i.+eld to protect me; I wouldn’t have been injured! Tina’s a s.h.i.+nki, you know!”

“Sure, but how would you have gotten back up?”

“U-Um, well——”

Looking down at the valley below, she started to tremble.

“L-Let’s get going, Master! I-It’s too high…I-It’s scary——”

“Oh, right. You don’t need to summit the mountain to see. Take a look, over there.”

Cutting short Tina’s words, he pointed.

The horizon could be seen in the distance. Over that way, where the heavens met the earth, a horrifying black mist enveloped the earth, and slowly, ever so slowly, squirming closer.

“‘The Devourer’…”

“You know what it is?”

“Yes. It devours everything in its path as it slowly creeps forward. It’s a hollow void, without purpose. Checking its advance with barriers is one of the duties of the s.h.i.+nki.”

The entire population of Solitus, including surrounding villages, numbered around two hundred thousand.

It was bordered on the east and north by mountains, on the south by a vast plain, and on the west by a river that fed into the sea. Crossing on foot from border to border was about a three-day journey. Finally, running far below Solitus was the labyrinth.

——That was the entirety of their world.

The rest of their world had been consumed by the Devourer, leaving nothing behind, or so the tale went.

When it was said that the s.h.i.+nki protected the city, that was meant literally, and not just figuratively. The barriers they maintained were all that stopped the encroachment of the Devourer.

That was the reason for the existence of the adventurers, and the Oath Legions in particular. If they were to stop providing the s.h.i.+nki with Reliquia, thus allowing their supply of divine energy to run dry, then they’d cease to be able to produce miracles; more simply put, they’d cease to be able to power the barriers.

Complicating the situation, with humanity trapped in an enclosed s.p.a.ce, a scarcity of food, the threat of pestilence, and natural disasters stood posed to quickly exterminate what was left of humanity. Again, the power of miracles – and by extension, the s.h.i.+nki – was necessary to prevent this apocalyptic outcome. This, too, required divine energy, and consequently, Reliquia.

It was rumored that the Reliquia absorbed by the s.h.i.+nki were reborn once more within the walls of the labyrinth. While it was impossible to validate this hypothesis, the fact of the matter was that despite years of industrious raiding by adventurers, the labyrinth had yet to show any signs of Reliquia depletion.

“And finally, there shall come the day when the s.h.i.+nki shall lead mankind to the end of the labyrinth – and to salvation in a new world,” Tina whispered softly.

Salvation – escape from this confined world which was gradually dying by degrees. Legend had it that such could be found at the end of the labyrinth – that the labyrinth itself was but the entrance to another world. For this reason, it had been named theMagna PortaGreat Gate.

In this manner, the success of the adventurers directly correlated to the continued survival of humanity.

“Tina will definitely save everyone. It’s for that reason that the s.h.i.+nki exist.”

“…And yet, without divine energy, nothing can be done at all.”

“Mm.”

Yuuki deftly brought Tina back to the present – to the mountain road by the cliff-side.

“Your first step is to do your best at learning the job. If you can help the store bring in money, I’ll repay you with Reliquia, so hang in there.”

“h.e.l.lo every—— Er, wait, what’s the matter…? Are you alright?”

Sticking her head through the store entrance in greeting, Franka suddenly called out worriedly.

A girl lay collapsed on the floor.

“…I’m exhausted, so I’m laying here until my energy returns. There’s nothing to worry about.”

Since the person in question was the one rea.s.suring her, Franka relaxed slightly, but the look of worry never left her face as she walked through the doorway.

“Earlier today, we went to the mountain to pick some medicinal herbs, which is why she’s so tired. ——Hey Tina, if you’re about ready to surrender, you can go ahead and take a break.”

“——!”

At Yuuki’s words, Tina leapt to her feet energetically.

“It’s still early for that! Master, please give me your next order.”

“Ohh, impressive. Alright then, grab some of the light stones from the storehouse and restock the shelves. When you’re finished with that, you’re done, so feel free to rest.”

Watching Tina’s swaying figure head into the room, Franka’s mouth gaped open in surprise.

“Y-You’re really working hard, aren’t you, Tina-chan?”

“It’s great, isn’t it? ——Done raiding already?”

Franka was currently dressed in loose, flowing robes, her pack on her back.

It was almost dusk, the time when most adventurers chose to call it a day. Not that it was a rule – it had simply become a de facto policy to align their schedule around the working hours of the others in their lives, including their families and the stores that filled the city.

“Yeah, although we didn’t really see much success today, unfortunately,” Franka answered, with a wry smile. “Master Alfred said he’d be along shortly as well. ——Oh, that reminds me – I haven’t seen that much of you at school recently. Is that because you’ve been doing things together with Tina-chan?”

“Yep. There’s a lot she still needs to be taught, so I’ve taken a few days off to show her the ropes.”

It went without saying that he hadn’t bothered keeping up with his training either, though that was no different from normal.

“Oh no. Please don’t tell me you prepared food for me again?”

“No! I didn’t!”

Franka blushed a deep red.

“That, um, that was just something I did on my own. Don’t worry about it.”

“Sorry for making you worry. You should know, though – I probably won’t be attending cla.s.s for the next little while.”

He felt uneasy about leaving Tina to watch the shop while he went off to school. At the very least, he’d like for her to learn enough to bring in enough for food on her own.

“I think that this part of you, the part that won’t abandon people who need your help, is just amazing. You even saved me. But still, it must be so hard…”

Franka bowed her head. A moment pa.s.sed before she, seemingly having come to some sort of decision, raised her head once more.

“Um, you know, maybe I’m being a bit nosy here, but I-I’d like to help out if I can. If nothing else, I can make food for the two of——”

The door suddenly opened, cutting Franka off.

“Yo, long time no see——”

A man of about thirty or so walked in. At his left hip was a sword, currently sheathed in a scabbard. He was a bit slender, but tall. He felt quite approachable, and the utter lack of intensity in his expression gave him a somewhat lethargic quality.

Alfred. A third-ranked adventurer – a warrior. He was Franka’s mentor in labyrinth raiding.

“Oh, hey there, Uncle[1]. Welcome.”

“How’s business? Keep at it—— Eh? What’s wrong, Franka?”

“…Nothing. Just forget about it,” Franka mumbled dejectedly.

“So can I help you find something? Or did you perhaps chance upon a Reliquia?”

“I haven’t had much luck in the latter department of late, I’m afraid. No, I’m here to pick up some light stones.”

“If it’s light stones you need, they should be out shortly. Please wait just a moment.”

“No problem. ——I have to say, though: to be frank, business seems pretty poor. If Old Man Boris was still around, you’d be in for a beating, you know?”

He’d already frequented the store even when it had been under the management of the previous owner, so he didn’t feel the need to couch his words.

Alfred was unaffiliated with any particular adventurer group – a freelance adventurer. Although he was very experienced, he generally avoided the lower levels of the labyrinth. According to the person himself, he wasn’t interested in great wealth; supporting his day to day life was enough.

Although the training school taught both theory and fundamentals, true combat experience could only be had within the labyrinth itself. As such, it was very common for trainees to accompany more experienced adventurers in their travels. For this reason, “mentor” was actually a rather common profession among adventurers.

Alfred was one such example. His reputation wasn’t anything near that of the Oath Legions, but Boris had had an unshakable trust in him.

Even if Franka had formed a party with her friends from the training school, she still spent a considerable amount of time under Alfred’s tutelage. As her mentor put it, “even though Franka is tremendously talented, her greatest strength is instead her dedication to self-improvement.”

At that time, Tina walked in. Although the light stone-filled wood basket she was carrying wasn’t all that heavy, she nonetheless swayed dangerously as she walked, likely a consequence of her extreme physical exhaustion.

“Waa——”

“Watch out!”

Just as Tina lost her balance and was about to fall, Franka hurried over and steadied her.

Tina, who had come perilously close to a bad fall, could only stare blankly, as if what had happened still hadn’t quite registered.

“Tina, you’re being rude.”

“T-thank you very much, um, Franka.”

“No problem,” Franka laughed.

“Tina-chan, her name was? Hmm… That’s a real cutie you’re taking care of there,” Alfred remarked.

“That sounds pretty creepy when you say it, Uncle.”

“I prefer my women more mature and full-bodied, thank you very much. Anyway, I’m married.”

“…You’re married? Don’t tell me you even have kids?”

“No, no children. ——Going back a bit, I heard tell you’re taking care of her because she lost her memory?”

“Eh? But Tina hasn’t lost her mem——”

Her words cut off as she noticed Yuuki’s glare.

“Oh, right, right. Forget what I just said – I definitely lost my memory. Yep, memory’s all gone. For sure.”

“I figured it wouldn’t hurt to have some extra help around the store, so I gave her a place to stay. It was a simple decision based on costs vs. benefits.”

Yuuki preempted Alfred’s line of questioning with a change of topic.

“She’s definitely a bit strange, but she doesn’t mean any harm, so please go easy on her, Uncle.”

“Like that had to be said. ——I’m Alfred, an adventurer. It’s a pleasure to meet you, little lady.”

“It’s nice to meet you too, Alfred!”

Alfred flashed Tina a quick smile before turning to face Yuuki once more.

“——So if I understand this correctly, you’re waiting until she can take care of the store on her own before you return to being a full-time adventurer?”

“…More like I never intended to be a full-time adventurer from the start. I’m a merchant. Even on the rare occasion I set foot in the labyrinth, it’s only for the sake of my business.”

“An adventurer’s qualifications aren’t easy to come by. You should form a party with us. If we had another forward guard, we could do so much more. Plus, it’d make Franka happy.”

Every now and then Alfred would try to persuade Yuuki in this way, although he could never tell if the offer was serious or not.

“Uncle, are you seriously asking a support specialist to wave a sword around?”

“Of course not. No, you definitely won’t be letting any swords wave – you’re young and strong after all.”

Alfred smiled lightly, his searching gaze never leaving Yuuki for a moment.

Even if the other party was a lax, harmless middle-aged man, at times like these, Yuuki wasn’t quite sure what to think.

“…On that note, haven’t you been having problems finding any Reliquia recently? Today as well. Before you worry about whether or not I should join you guys, shouldn’t you first worry about yourself?”

“Well, that’s because there’ve been some, shall we say, extenuating circ.u.mstances of late?”

A disaffected expression took hold of his face.

“Recently, the Oath Legions, and the Sky Legion in particular, have been far more bloodthirsty than normal. It feels a little dangerous, so I’ve been trying to keep my trips to the labyrinth short. I’m not quite sure what the cause is, though.”

“I heard that they recently ran into a new kind of Void Beast. There were casualties.”

“So that’s why. That explains the serious att.i.tude: the one thing they will not tolerate is damage to their reputation. That doesn’t have anything to do with us unaffiliated adventurers, though.”

Franka and Tina placed the light stones on the counter.

“I’ll take these light stones. ——Oh, also, the short sword I’ve been using broke. I seem to recall you had a pretty good third-grade Reliquia here, right? A silver one. Could I take a look?”

“…Oh, that one. Sorry, it’s been sold already.”

To be precise, it had been consumed – by Tina, a few days earlier during their run of tests.

“Oh, that’s too bad. I didn’t think anyone else even knew about this place. Have you had new customers lately?”

“I wish…”

Customers didn’t come for the store so much as they came for the store personnel, so when Boris had pa.s.sed away, the store’s business had soon followed. To this day, Yuuki hadn’t managed to find enough new customers to fill that gap. It was simply too obvious to anyone that when it came to his ability as a store owner, he was both young and inexperienced.

The only reason he’d made it this far had been thanks to the store regulars – like Alfred – who’d been frequenting the store since Boris’ days. Even as he felt deep grat.i.tude for their help, he was filled with deep concern over his own uselessness.

“Why don’t I take out what swords I do have on hand for you to look over?”

Just as Yuuki made this suggestion in an attempt to dispel the gloomy atmosphere, the door suddenly opened.

“Pardon the intrusion.”

With those words, a group of adventurers entered the store.

It was a party of five. Their armor was clearly engraved with an eye-catching emblem. These were they who served the s.h.i.+nki of the Sky – the Sky’s Oath Legion.

The person in front was someone he knew – Stefan Klose.

Yuuki frowned. Franka froze when she saw who it was.

Stefan spared her a quick glance before walking directly over to stand before Alfred.

“It’s been a while.”

Although the voice was strong and clear, it was strangely devoid of emotion.

“…Ah. Stefan.”

Alfred returned the greeting, albeit with a hint of reluctance. It seemed they knew each other.

“I saw you come in here. …I have something I’d like to say.”

“Make it brief.”

Alfred sighed, his lack of interest plain to see. The two walked over to a corner of the shop and began to converse.

“——Franka? What’s wrong?” Tina asked Franka, whom was frozen with a blank look on her face.

Franka came to herself and smiled.

“Nothing, sorry. This should be enough light stones. Let’s return the rest to the storehouse.”

The two girls began to collect the extra light stones.

The Oath Legion members, Stefan excepted, were disinterestedly taking measure of the store merchandise around them. There didn’t look to be the least interest in making a purchase. There simply wasn’t any chance these shelves would hold anything precious enough to be of interest to a front-line adventurer.

Can’t they just hurry up and beat it? Yuuki complained inwardly to himself.

At that moment——

“Ah——!”

Tina suddenly cried out.

“You, I remember you! Even after Tina saved you, you ran off all by yourself without so much as a word of thanks! Rudeness has its limits, you know?!”

The one she was pointing to was a vicious-looking, 25-year old man. His equipment declared him a swordsman. His formerly idle manner turned to displeasure as he shouted back, “What the h.e.l.l are you talking about, you stupid brat? I’ve never seen you be——”

“No! Tina remembers! Back in the labyrinth—— urgh!”

Yuuki dashed over and clamped his hand over Tina’s mouth. He put on a fawning smile as he grappled with the struggling young girl.

“Oh my, I’m terribly sorry. This girl isn’t quite right in the head, if you know what I mean. Sometimes she’ll get people confused and run over and say the craziest things.”

“——She works for this store, doesn’t she? You need to educate her better! Idiot.”

The man clicked his tongue angrily, and gave the near wall a ferocious kick.

The matter looking to be settled, Yuuki sighed in relief—— Until someone fanned the flames with vigor.

“Ho? What’s that? Bertolt, don’t tell me you laid your hands on that little brat? You have some seriously good taste – guess running away with your tail between your legs wasn’t enough for you, was it, you gutless has-been?”

The party didn’t seemed to have much in the way of unity, having set upon one another with great vulgarity.

The instigator was a dark-skinned young man with a large sword on his back.

The one being mocked – who was apparently named Bertolt – reached for the sword at his hip with a look of absolute rage on his face.

“You trying to make a fool of me, Jahar?!”

“And if I am?”

The so-named Jahar simply laughed in response.

“Hey, you two——”

Please stop, Yuuki almost sobbed. If they fought here, there’d be nothing left of his poor shop.

Suddenly, a gust of wind blew by his ear.

A silver flash flew between Bertolt and Jahar, leaving a hole in the wall.

“The two of you – watch your mouths. Your behavior is a disgrace to the entire Legion.”

The cold, emotionless words had, of course, come from Stefan, whom had, at some unknown time, taken hold of a blue spear.

——Not only had he been empty-handed just a moment before, he hadn’t had any weapons at his waist or on his back either.

After verifying that both Bertolt and Jahar had heeded his orders, he waved his hand and the spear disappeared without a trace.

Their party leader was definitely in full control of the situation. Though he looked to be the youngest of the group, he nevertheless evinced leaders.h.i.+p qualities entirely unexpected for someone his age.

His gaze returned to Alfred once more.

“Stop wasting your time in a place such as this. Come back to where you belong. The worth of an adventurer isn’t a measure of effort or process, but of results. Mentoring those without experience is simply a waste of time. ——Come to your senses already, Alfred.”

Stefan then turned to leave.

“Hey, hold it just a moment there, Legionnaires.”

Yuuki called out from behind him. He waited until Stefan turned back to look before continuing.

“You put a hole in the wall of my shop – please don’t tell me you were just going to leave it like that?”

“…My apologies,” Stefan said, taken aback. “Though I must say I don’t think a hole like that will diminish the value of this place any further.”

He nevertheless pressed a silver coin into Yuuki’s outstretched hand.

The matter now resolved, the party exited the store as one.

“Sorry about that. I’ve inconvenienced you.”

Alfred broke the silence with a bitter laugh.

“You sure did, Uncle. I didn’t know you had dealings with the Oath Legions?”

“In the past.”

Alfred was reluctant to speak further, and Yuuki was even less desirous to pry.

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