Chapter 97

Alice was waiting outside as I left Dowal’s castle. Captain Gen was nowhere to be seen, likely busy meeting up with the Hero.

“Alice, where are Gen and Mark?”

“The Captain went to receive the Hero. Mark said he had work and headed off somewhere.”

“I see. I expected as much from Gen, but Mark is a surprise. I figured he’d want to make sure the Hero at least knew his face and name.”

“Now that you mention it, that’s true. Maybe he was just intimidated? I mean, she is the Hero.”

Was that it? He’s a merchant through and through; I thought he’d jump at any chance to secure a powerful business contact. Well, this is a commercial nation, after all—he probably just had an appointment with some fellow merchants.

“Anyway, what are you going to do, Ryu? You can’t run away.”

“I’m not running. I was just thinking about how to explain myself.”

“…So you really were the Hero’s friend. Why did you seek out power to the point of making everyone worry?”

“Doesn’t matter. Anyway, let’s move.”

“Wait, hey!”

I headed away from the castle and toward the shopping district. Alice scrambled to follow after me. As I browsed the shops at random, I eventually stepped into a weapons store.

“What’s with the sudden trip to a weapons shop?”

“Well, all my gear is custom-made, right? I realized I don’t actually know much about what normal weapons are like.”

“That still doesn’t explain why you’re walking away from the castle so fast.”

“Look, I just felt out of place there, okay? I didn’t want anyone getting suspicious.”

I looked at various weapons, testing their weight. As expected, the average sword’s sharpness was lacking. A quick touch to the blade told me all I needed to know about the difference in quality. The dwarven shopkeeper, who seemingly recognized me, stayed right by my side.

“Hey, you got anything interesting?”

“Well now, we recently stocked a spear with a tip that rotates to grind through tough monsters. Would you like to try it?”

“What is that, some kind of drill-spear?! It sounds awesome! Let me see!”

“This way, then. It’s quite heavy, so most people struggle to even lift it. I suspect you won’t have any trouble, though.”

Alice watched me with an exasperated look, but I was genuinely intrigued. I lifted the spear—which took three staff members to carry over—and gave it a whirl. Spears aren’t my specialty, but I absolutely wanted to see the tip spin.

“How do I make it rotate?”

“Just channel your mana into it.”

I followed his instructions, and the tip began to spin with incredible force. Man, that is cool!

“How is it? The handling, I mean.”

“It’s cool, but the center of gravity is awkward. It’d be hard to master this in a real fight.”

“I see…”

The shopkeeper looked a bit disappointed. Apparently, his son, who loved tinkering with machinery, was the one who made it. Still, the concept was fascinating. While it might be too much for a human, it seemed perfect for a Golem or something similar.

“Why not equip this on a Golem? Humans can’t handle it, but maybe they could.”

“…I see, you have some interesting ideas. A Golem, huh?”

“I doubt a Golem made of earth or wood could handle the torque, so you’d probably need one made of iron.”

“No, that suggestion is more than enough. I can see a path for this spear now.”

I’d only shared a random thought, so I didn’t feel like I deserved the thanks he gave me. I ended up leaving without buying anything, and the shopkeeper gave a deep bow outside before returning to his store.

“By the way, isn’t the Hero late?”

“She is. Let me ask the Captain.”

Alice pressed a hand to her ear. After a moment, she lowered her hand with a sigh.

“What’d he say?”

“Apparently, he was trying to protect you by reporting every little trivial detail to buy time. He finally finished talking them through it, and they just entered the country.”

“Well, he doesn’t want her rampaging in this country, that’s for sure.”

It’s a well-known fact that Thea is targeting the Fenrir and the Garuda. If she and I—the guy traveling with those two—got into a fight, it would be a diplomatic disaster.

“What should we do? Should we go meet them ourselves?”

“Personally, I think that’s better. At the very least, she probably won’t punch me in public.”

What’s the most natural way to meet? Having one of the Intelligence Department agents bring me in? Hmm.

“Hey Gen, is that kid really the Ryu the girl is looking for?”

“I’ve told you a dozen times, yes. And Maria, why did you bring Gran along?”

“I couldn’t help it. Thea-chan said she wanted him to come.”

“That’s right, Gen. I’m here with the girl’s permission. I didn’t force my way in.”

“Fine, fine. Good grief, a bunch of headaches follow her everywhere…”

I heard Gen’s voice and looked over to see a middle-aged man in heavy full-plate armor and a woman in a church sister’s habit walking with him. Judging by the conversation, they were the members of the Hero’s party. Behind the man and woman were Thea and Taiga.

“Gen, is this the right way?”

“It is, Taiga. I’ve told one of my subordinates to stay with Ryu, so it’ll be fine. …Assuming he hasn’t run off.”

“I don’t think he’d run. Thea, you’re going to see Ryu soon.”

Whether she heard Taiga or not, Thea was restlessly scanning the area. From my perspective, she looked like either a lost tourist or a total suspicious person. I really wished she’d stop.

“I’ve never seen the Hero like that,” Alice whispered.

“Really?”

“Yes. She’s usually so resolute and cool, but I’ve never seen her so… scattered.”

“Huh. I’ve never seen her ‘Hero’ side, so I wouldn’t know.”

Resolute, huh? Her? Before I disappeared, we’d talked a bit, but my only impression was that she’d finally grown up a little. While I was idly watching her, our eyes met. Thea blinked a few times in disbelief. Then, she charged straight at me.

“Ryu!!”

She lunged for a hug with her arms wide open. If I let her hit me with that much momentum, the shockwave would damage the surroundings. I had no choice but to handle it. I opened my arms to catch her, manipulating my Battle Spirit to vent the coming impact into the ground. At the moment of collision, I successfully diverted the massive force through my feet.

“Ryu! Ryu!!”

“Uhh… hey, Thea. Long time no see.”

“Where… where have you been…?”

Hearing the tears in her voice, it finally hit me just how anxious I’d made her. No wonder she’d put so many people on the case.

“Ah, well, how do I put this… I got a little lost.”

“Where?”

“In the Great Forest.”

“You what!?”

Thea immediately began patting down my entire body. What the heck? Also, her gauntlets were cold.

“Are you hurt? Any diseases!?”

“I’m fine! If I had a disease, I’d be dead by now!!”

In response, she actually tried to start stripping my clothes off! What is she thinking in the middle of the street!?

“Hey! I told you I’m fine!”

“I’ll be the judge of that!”

“I told you to think about where we are!”

I gave her a sharp bonk on the head. The shock seemed to snap her out of it, and she pulled away, her face turning bright red.

“Um… sorry. I just… got worried.”

“I figured that much when you tackled me. I’m the one who should be sorry.”

“No, I went too far.”

While Thea was still blushing, Taiga stepped forward. And then he hit me with all his might. With his staff.

“Ow! What was that for, Taiga!?”

“That was your punishment for making us worry. You have no idea how much Thea went through because of you.”

“And your job was to support her! What the hell have you been doing following her around then!?”

“I’ve told you to stop using such vulgar phrasing! You made us worry, so you should just take this!”

“I’ll take it from Thea, but not from you!!”

As we stood there bickering and shouting at each other, Gen and the others just watched in stunned silence. Thea, meanwhile, was struggling to hold back a laugh.

“Um, Ryu. That person is the Sage, you know?” Alice whispered.

“Who cares? This is Taiga. He’s nothing more than that.”

“Er, it was Alice, right? It’s no problem. He’s always been like this,” Taiga said, reverting to a polite tone.

“Huh? What’s with that, you gloomy Sage!? You year-round stalker!”

“Shut up, you beast-fetishist!”

“Alright, alright, that’s enough. Taiga, you’re forgetting your usual tone. Ryu, I’m just glad to see you really aren’t hurt.”

The argument was cut short. Taiga cleared his throat to try and act composed, but it was a lost cause. Still, it felt just like the old days. Thea was always the one to stop our fights. And when it was over, we’d go right back to being friends. It was a little nostalgic.

I naturally held out my fist to the two of them. They seemed to understand, bumping their fists against mine. It was the greeting we’d made up when we were kids.

““It’s been a while, Ryu.””

“Long time no see, Thea, Taiga.”`