#10: Chapter 10 — I’ll Live My Life Surrounded by Monsters! (WN)

I am Thea. Class: “Hero.”

We have finally returned after a long absence. We had been off subjugating a massive army of monsters, and I am exhausted, both in body and mind.

But as the “Hero,” I surely cannot afford to utter such weaknesses. If I were to say such a thing, the morale of the Knights’ Order would plummet, and the danger would only increase. That is why I must maintain a resolute attitude. I must not lose. I must continue to win every battle.

“Are you alright, Thea?”

The one who spoke to me was Taiga, my childhood friend. His class is “Sage.” He is my comrade-in-arms who has fought alongside me for a long time.

“What do you mean ‘alright,’ Taiga?”

“You fought at the vanguard again in this last battle. You should really take some time to rest.”

“I can’t. I am the Hero. It’s only natural for me to lead the charge for everyone’s sake.”

“Resting while you have the chance is also part of the job.”

“That’s something for ordinary warriors to do. I don’t need it.”

“…Well then, I guess I’ll just go see Ryu by myself.”

“See Ryu?”

For the first time, I turned around. Taiga was looking at me with a smirk. He probably thought he’d caught me again.

Among our group of childhood friends, Ryu was the only ordinary human. His class is “Tamer”—not a particularly prestigious one—but since he doesn’t have to race across battlefields like we do, he lives a peaceful life.

He always had a mysterious air about him. A kind person who accepted us without a second thought, no matter how much time had passed. Everything else around us has changed. The lady at the general store, the man at the butcher shop—they all started using honorifics with me, even though I’m still just a child to them. More than that, adults claiming to be my relatives started appearing out of nowhere. I’ve known my uncles and aunts since I was little, but I’ve never heard of an “uncle’s uncle.”

So many people like that appeared.

But Ryu still talks to us casually, and he never seems to treat us any differently. Ryu was the only person I could show my weakness to.

“What’s it going to be, Thea? I’m going regardless.”

“…I’m going too.”

“Then let’s go together.”

That’s right. A little break shouldn’t be a problem. My heart lightened at the thought of seeing Ryu after all this time. We mounted our horses and headed toward the ranch on the outskirts of town.

“So, what kind of stories should we tell Ryu this time?”

“The usual silly jokes are fine, right?”

“No way, let’s talk about something else for a change. I think Ryu will get bored if it’s always the same stories.”

“Then what should we talk about?”

We discussed what “souvenir stories” to bring him as we rode. Ryu always preferred stories like that over actual presents, often laughing as he listened. We got quite excited debating what to tell him.

Perhaps because we were talking, we reached the ranch in no time.

“H-Hero-sama! What brings you here today?”

The owner of the ranch asked, looking flustered. Our reason for coming here was always the same, so he usually never had to ask.

“Mister, where’s Ryu?”

“Well, that’s… you see…”

He was hesitating. Did something happen to Ryu?

“Did something happen to him?”

“You could say that, or… well…”

“Tell me clearly.”

“Thea, calm down. Mister, could you please tell us what happened? You don’t need to be so nervous.”

Taiga spoke up to de-escalate the situation. I might have been a bit too harsh. The man took a deep breath and spoke with an anxious expression.

“Ryu is… missing.”

Missing? Ryu?

“Missing, you say?” Taiga asked.

“Yes.”

“Since when, exactly?”

The man began to recount the events bit by bit.

“About two months ago, a wolf appeared at the ranch. When it left, Ryu was gone too…”

“Were there signs that he was attacked?”

“None at all. That’s why we don’t understand it! Ryu worked hard every day, and the horses and cows loved him. There was no reason for him to suddenly disappear!!”

“Please, calm down! So, at the very least, he wasn’t mauled?”

“I’m certain of that much.”

“There you have it, Thea.”

What does this mean? The only certain thing was that Ryu wasn’t here.

“Thea?”

“We’re going back for today. Mister, thank you for telling us about Ryu.”

“No… I’m sorry I couldn’t be of more help.”

On the way back to town.

“Taiga, I’m going to go look for Ryu.”

“Hey, what about your work as the Hero!?”

“I’ll just search for him while doing my hero duties. That shouldn’t be a problem, right?”

“Well, if it’s on the way… but we have no idea where he is.”