Vol 1 Chapter 26 (1/2)
Tranquility
AN: I have made you wait
“d.a.m.n it…”
He didn’t win.
He had handled requests alone until he became an adventurer.
The requests included collecting herbs in a certain part of the forest, or chasing away animals from villages in the capital city’s hinterland at night. These requests were merely odd jobs for beginners, but he continued to work at it until he became trusted by the Guild.
He persuaded a senior adventurer to teach him to use weapons.
He was confident.
He had even been invited to a party.
He had planned to surpa.s.s Wynn, who had not yet become a knight.
However, he sawing that he couldn’t do a thing in that duel.
On the contrary, he lost in front of his crush after meeting her again after four years.
By the time he swung his sword, Wynn’s sword was already pointed at his face.
Unable to stand the sight of Leti, smiling brightly, so close to Wynn, without saying a word, Abel ran to his room, grabbed his stuff, and dashed out again.
He wanted to leave the place as fast as he could.
It was not yet the meeting time, but he ran straight for the Adventurer’s Guild.
It was his dream to be part of an adventurer party.
As he waited to meet his fellow party members at the Guild, he tried not to think about his match with Wynn.
He tried, but…
Though it was his dream, Abel sighed as he trudged towards the end of the line in the adventurer party.
“What’s wrong, Abel?”
“… Regus-san.”
Lost in thought, he hadn’t realized that he ended up beside a man with a gigantic stature.
It was Regus the axe-wielder.
He was the leader of the party who invited Abel.
He was a veteran adventurer acknowledged by the capital’s Adventurer Guild. This time, parties were being a.s.sembled to subjugate a bandit group.
“You have such a gloomy face, even before the mission. Were you ignored by a woman?”
“Ugh…”
Being right on the mark, the words. .h.i.t Abel like a brick.
“Wahaha! I was right on the mark. Who is the other girl?”
“It’s somebody Regus-san also knows.”
“Hou? If it’s a girl I know, Flowering Moon Inn’s Mira? Roadside Pebble Inn’s Merril? Or is it Connie?” [1]
“…It’s Leti.”
Among the smiling adventurers, Regus listed the popular shop girls one by one.
With a peeved expression, Abel interjected with a whisper.
“Leti? The Leti that always stuck to Wynn?”
“Oh? That Leti-san.”
Upon hearing Wynn’s name, Abel frowned.
Regus
“If it’s Leti, that’s impossible.”
“Ah, it really is impossible.”
“That’s why…”
“What are you guys saying!”
Overhearing his conversation with Regus, the other party members said that it was impossible, to Abel’s indignation.
Upon seeing their uniform faces of pity, Abel became incensed.
“It’s just that, that girl is…”
Leti— Leticia van Mavis.
The adventurers were able to find this out with their intelligence network.
The adventurers affiliated with the capital’s Adventurer Guild were in contact with their junior adventurers.
Mingling among the adults, they came in and out of the Adventurer’s Guild, completing odd jobs and errands as a pair.
At first, Thinking that it was a childish exploration, they were made light of, but upon seeing them cross swords with the Guild’s training facilities, they were slowly acknowledged.
Showing swordsmans.h.i.+p uncharacteristic of children, the novice adventurers who hadn’t learned the skills tried to leave the training center faster.
Eventually, upon not seeing Leticia anymore, and Wynn had saved up the money for the admission fee for the knight school and was admitted, so their visits decreased. But the pair left such a strong impression that they weren’t forgotten.
Later, when Leticia’s many achievements as the Brave reached them through rumors, those who knew her when her younger self realized the difference in their abilities.
“Well, we should stop talking about difficult matters. She’s out of reach.“
“I didn’t know that!”
“Either way, doesn’t Leti-chan like Wynn?”[2]
“Uuh….”
Abel frowned, unable to reply.
Leticia had always followed Wynn around since they were young.
Through observing the couple’s duels, they could see that Leticia held feelings for Wynn.
But Abel didn’t notice that.
Even if Regus hadn’t met Leticia since she returned victoriously as the Brave, from Abel’s behavior, it was easy tell that Leticia strongly yearned for Wynn.
In the first place, they were of different social statuses.
Apart from being the Brave, she was also a Duke’s daughter, giving her a position among n.o.bility second to only royalty.
Even if Wynn had her heart, it would be reckless for an unrelated person like him to obtain her hand.
“Even then, I won’t give up! I’ll raise my fame, and then, I’ll confess to her!”
Abel raised his fist as he proclaimed.
After the mission, Regus, wearing a wry smile beside Abel, planned to tell Abel about the value of information gathering.
‘Concentrate, focus on the opponent’s movements.’
To Locke, who was clad in light leather armour, most important goal was to be able to stop the agile Wynn’s movments.
With his strength magically enhanced, if he could stop Wynn’s movements, then he could win.
Holding his wooden s.h.i.+eld in front of him, he observed Wynn’s movements.
It was an opponent he had faced countless times.
In order to tempt Wynn into attacking, he slowly closed in on him.
When the s.h.i.+eld blocked the very first attack, he would thrust out just as Wynn stopped moving.
Wynn’s stance dropped slightly —
Dan![3]
With his step creating an intense sound, he instantly moved towards Locke.
Quickly and pointedly, he aimed below Locke’s s.h.i.+eld, his abdomen.
Gak!
The sword collided with the face of the s.h.i.+eld.
“URAAAAAAH!!!”