Chapter 78

When do humans get a runny nose?

Sometimes it is secreted when stimulated by something strong, and other times it happens when one is overcome with emotion. Apparently, some people get a runny nose when eating warm food, but unfortunately, scholars in this world leave that last cause alone as something uninteresting.

However, if I dare to cite a classic example here—a runny nose is something that just drips out on its own when it’s cold, usually along with a sneeze.

“A-choo, damn it!! Ugh… it’s so cold…”

(It’s exactly as I expected, but that was a complete middle-aged man’s sneeze…)

“Are you thinking something, Busse-kun!? …A-choo!!”

“No, I brought some soup, so let’s drink it, shall we? And let’s wipe your nose, okay?”

Wrapped in blankets from head to toe, Akina was shivering uncontrollably and dripping with snot; there was no shred of dignity or intimidation left in her. Ever since she fell into the lake, Akina had been suffering from a full-blown cold. Furthermore, it felt like she was being more cold than necessary, perhaps because the unimaginable chill of the lake had become a trauma. As proof, Dr. Pheles had said her fever was gradually going down.

Until two days ago, Busse had been thinking, “It’s my fault!” regarding Akina’s fall into the lake, but as he nursed her back to health, he seemed to gradually understand how to keep his distance and the atmosphere she wore; now, he didn’t even flinch when Akina glared at him.

“I thought the hardest way to die in life was starvation, but this… this incident has changed my mind… Living in such a damn cold place like this, you guys are out of your minds! Live in the south, the south!”

“I don’t want to. I’ve been with this cold since I was born… Besides, isn’t the south hot? Isberg is cool and comfortable in the summer.”

“Ugh, lie, that’s a lie! You guys must know how to endure the cold in ways I don’t know! Tell me! If you don’t tell me, I’ll punch you!!”

“Hmm, let me see…”

Seeing Busse completely unfazed even after being told he’d be punched, Caliban would surely be moved, saying, “He’s become so admirable in just a few days…”, and Senega would probably have a wicked smile, thinking, “With this, I can sic Busse-kun on Captain Akina…”

Although, there was no way mischief would sprout in Busse, who was raised in the countryside and had only really talked to his grandfather, but at the same time, he was lacking in something called delicacy.

“Generally speaking, when you’re stranded, you huddle together to keep your body heat from escaping to endure the cold! Should we try it!?”

“Ababababababa—! You idiot!! You, man and woman, doing that, eh, you perverted brat!!”

“Wait, what are you saying! It’s a rational survival strategy! There’s not a single perverted element in it, and animals do it too, you know!?”

I wonder if Akina’s innocence in this strange direction, overreacting to the word “huddle” like a teenage girl, can ever be fixed. Her view on men and women, which it’s no exaggeration to say is “age equals years without a boyfriend,” was just too regrettable.

“How are you going to manage when you’re actually stranded if you say things like that! Look, let’s try it once with me! Experience is everything!!”

“Waaaaah!! Don’t come closer, don’t pull off the blanket, don’t try to get inside!!”

Busse meant no harm.

I repeat, Busse meant no harm.

He was genuinely worried about what Akina would do if she were stranded and was doing it with full-hearted goodwill. Busse’s lack of insight, having had overwhelmingly insufficient time interacting with women compared to Akina, was also quite regrettable.

As for the outcome of this all-too-trivial battle, Akina, who had wrapped herself so tightly in blankets that she couldn’t move, lost by self-destruction. What I witnessed when I came to check on them was Busse smiling, wrapped in the blanket like a pair of ‘two-under-one-coat,’ saying, “See, isn’t it warm?” while Akina made voiceless sounds like “Uuuuu… uuuu!” in embarrassment.

I quietly closed the door of the unnecessarily heavy and metal-like Busse residence.

As time passed, the next day, the frozen solid corpse of the giant white Orc was dragged out of the lake. Since it “wouldn’t fit in the purification yard’s warehouse,” it was packed with snow into a container added by the mechanic, Rai, in just one night, and the knight order’s obligation was, for the time being, concluded.

As for the village buildings, we repaired what we could and recovered what furniture we could; the rest was just work for the village carpenter. As an apology, the best we could do was provide high-quality soil refined at the “purification yard.” It was Orc fertilizer made by decomposing the Orc corpse—from which the toxins had been removed—with magic. The manufacturing process sounded a bit gruesome, but let’s keep that a secret from the people of Isberg.

At any rate, the time of parting between the knight order and Isberg Village had come.

On the day of departure, Vice Commander Rony and Village Chief Fabre exchanged a firm handshake. As representatives for their respective sides, they had discussed various matters and even shared drinks, so they were already well-acquainted. The Vice Commander knew well that the better you know someone, the more you can settle through discussion and coordinate.

“How can I thank you for this time… If the knights hadn’t gone out of their way to come to such a cold village, it would have been difficult for us to oppose not just the giant Orc, but even the giant bear. Now we hunters can sleep soundly.”

“No, no, it is only natural behavior as a knight. Rather, I am sorry that we caused damage to the village because we could not fully read the enemy’s movements.”

“What are you saying? These are the things of living beasts. If you think of it as a natural disaster that humans cannot read, then it’s fine as long as there were no casualties. If we cut down trees and rebuild, we can start over as many times as we want.”

That wasn’t flattery or restraint, but something they could say confidently because they were the people who lived in this land that was by no means convenient. This village had a remaining set of values different from the money-centric world spreading in the Royal Capital.

—Unfortunately, Busse’s case also falls into that category.

“…Thank you for everything, Village Chief Fabre. I’ll leave the key to my house with you just in case, so please use it without hesitation if you need to.”

“Very well. I don’t know how long it will take, but it’s a rare opportunity in the countryside. Go see the outside world to your heart’s content.”

“…When I return, I want to hear about my father.”

“When you become an adult. Now, go. If we keep talking like this, I’ll only be reluctant to let you go.”

“Yes…”

Exchanging words with the Chief, Busse walked away slowly. No words flew at his back. He wasn’t told “come back soon,” and there were no voices hurling abuse like the greengrocer’s wife from the other day. Though they were smiling on the surface, written behind that façade was clearly, “Please hurry up and leave.”

Busse didn’t say anything either. But I felt that his smile was mixed with a measure of disappointment. He was discriminated against without even knowing the reason, and just the other day he had shown the resolve to put his small body on the battlefield for the sake of the village, yet the only one who openly praised him for it was the Chief.

Eventually, Busse’s feet stopped in front of Captain Akina, who had finally recovered from her cold and trauma.

“Let’s go. It will get cold if we stay too long.”

“Go on ahead. I have some important business.”

Saying that, the Captain, who patted Busse on the shoulder, had a good smile.

…Wait, why? To me, that smile looked like nothing but the face of a wicked person plotting something malicious. Vice-Captain Zato also looked suspicious at that face, but it was fatal that he couldn’t stop her at that moment.

Akina, who walked forward in a good mood, took a deep breath, and in the next instant, opened her eyes wide and shouted:

“Haaaaaaaahhh––!? You all don’t have a single word for Busse-kun, who risked his life to save this village!? You can’t even give basic thanks to your benefactor!? Haaah, you guys are finished––!! I won’t say what is finished, but you’re finished––!! You’re so finished that even if someone asked me, I’d never want to come to this village again––!!!”

—For a reason different from the cold, the space froze solid.

“Yo… you actually did it, you madwoman––!!”

“I doubt her sanity for saying things out loud that people only think!”

“Ah, evil… it’s a swamp-like malice that makes others feel unpleasant…!!”

Yes, to tell the truth, Akina has the worst personality. Thinking about her behavior until now, it was natural for her to spout abuse at the village, and wasn’t the final moment of parting the perfect place to stir things up before running away? This was a blunder by the knight order, which could have predicted this but couldn’t stop her.

Vice-Captain Rony looked up at the heavens in response, and Village Chief Fabre was left speechless. Moreover, the amazing thing about this person is that she didn’t run away quickly but continued to provoke them.

“W-well, to begin with, the reason for the chaos was Busse bringing that fur into the village, right!?”

“Haaaaah—? That’s just hindsight, isn’t it—! Besides, Busse stood up to clean up his own mess, didn’t he? That’s a different story from not saying thanks, isn’t it—!?”

“What are you saying, even if we left it alone, the knight order would have handled it anyway!!”

“That’s right, that’s it! If you guys had talked more about Busse, you would’ve known there was a lake near his house and we wouldn’t have had this much damage! Ah, I’m so glad Busse was here!!”

“Hey, hey, hey!? I’ve been listening for a while now, but are you really a knight!? Aren’t you ashamed of yourself for only bad-mouthing us!! And to our motherland, at that!!”

“Huh? I don’t care about the country! My mood is the entirety of my actions!!”

“You’re disregarding our lord/country!? You’re the worst, lady!!”

Thinking that this content would be disastrous if Yagara heard it, I looked over at Senior Rock, who had already managed to get Yagara KO’d by feeding him that ‘special’ liquor. The senior gave me a thumbs-up and a wide grin. I wish he would apply that efficiency to his work a little more, but for now, good job.

Busse stood there stunned, his luggage dropped in the snow. No matter how you looked at it, this was an overly vicious strategy concocted by Captain Akina to sever the ties between Busse and the village. A storm of boos had already arisen from part of the village, but the moment they let themselves be provoked and dragged their ill feelings toward Busse out into the open, they were already dancing in the palm of the Captain’s hand.

Yet, while I felt a sense of urgency, there was a part of me viewing this scene from a cool, detached perspective. I still hadn’t grasped the reason why Busse was being discriminated against in the village, but it certainly wasn’t a legitimate reason—and in the first place, I didn’t want to think that discrimination could ever be justified.

This was a question posed from the knights to the village. A question of: you have acted against humanity, so what do you think about that? Captain Akina probably hadn’t thought that far ahead, but I wanted to make things clear here, too.

Can I hold pride in having protected this village?

I know it’s not a question a knight should hold. But as a greenhorn, that was the only answer I wanted to know. The members of the Snow-Play Unit DD, and the other people here, were genuinely normal and kind folk aside from the Busse affair. If that was truly everyone’s honest nature, then I had to give some kind of answer to Captain Akina’s challenge.

“So, what about it, you guys? Is there really nothing you have to say to Busse?”

“——I do! I have something to say!!”

One man came pushing through the villagers, who were hesitating to step forward, while shouting and waving his hand. There was no anger or contempt on his face, so I let out a small, relieved sigh and muttered in a voice no one could hear.

“I guess the mean talk was worth it, then.”

The man was Pickelt, the leader of the Snow-Play Unit DD, whom I had worked alongside many times.

I had learned of his good-natured character during the fight against the bear, and this was the man I had asked just before heading to the Orc’s nest: “Do you really want Busse to leave?”

“Busse. We seem to have misunderstood you a bit. We helped the knight order, sure… but what should I call it? We only did trail-clearing, snow-shoveling, and setting traps; we didn’t even see the face of the monster in reality. Unlike you, we didn’t fight the real fear.”

“B-but that’s—”

“Don’t say it. Sure, the knight order told us not to do anything reckless. But, you know, we in the DD acted like we were fearless, but deep down, we were relieved that the knights were taking on the fight against the monsters. We had convinced ourselves that our trusty traps wouldn’t work against a monster like that. But you were different.”

“I was… just scared. Because I thought it was my fault.”

“If you think it’s your own fault, you normally run. And yet, you… you acted as a decoy yourself, and thought up that trap using the lake… I felt so ashamed. If I were in your shoes, I absolutely couldn’t have done that. You did something far more amazing than us in the Snow-Play Unit DD.”

This wasn’t a conversation about legitimacy; it was about the desire to have been a certain way. It was an emotional argument—the kind of stubbornness that might be dismissed as trivial—but it’s actually the most important thing to a human. That’s why Pickelt, tired of being a coward who just silently watched Busse leave, took a step across that boundary.

“This… Varna says it’s out of fashion, but it’s the cap that serves as proof of membership in the Snow-Play Unit DD. I’m entrusting this to you.”

The shock-pink cap was thrust toward him. Holding it was like a permit that said he was allowed to pursue the joy of playing in the snow alongside the unit members. Busse, looking back and forth between Pickelt and the cap, let out a trembling voice.

“But, this is… I haven’t gotten to know everyone well enough to accept this yet!”

“Neither have we. That’s why I want you to hold onto it. And someday, when you come back to return it… well, you know. If we can play together again, then you’ll be a member of the DD… I think.”

“Be confident and say it clearly, you wimp.”

“Wha—!? Varna, you…!!”

I had let it slip because he was wimping out at the crucial moment, but I dodged the snow Pickelt threw at me by a hair’s breadth. Hahaha, I see it, I see your movements. My flexible movements, like flowing water, will not be caught.

“Damn it! Why can’t I hit you at this close range!!”

“Hahahaha. The amount and quality of my training are different from yours! I’m the strongest in the Kingdom~, you’re just a country bumpkin~♪”

“That’s infuriating!?”

“…Snicker, ahahahaha!”

Seeing such a goofy sight, Busse started laughing.

Caught up in it, Pickelt and I laughed too, and snickers leaked out from the knights and villagers alike.

Before long, everyone began to laugh, and before I knew it, the stifling air between Busse and the village had vanished.

Perhaps it was only temporary, and the underlying issues hadn’t truly disappeared. The genuine feelings tucked away in their hearts, following the mood of the moment, would surely resurface when they had forgotten—the next time Busse returned to this village.

Busse hadn’t solved the problem yet; he had only just entered the ring to solve it.

Even so, I want to believe this was a major first step.

With that, welcoming new faces into the order and having subjugated the difficult foe, the giant Orc, we began our return journey to the Royal Capital.

“It went differently than I expected… but since Busse is satisfied for now, I guess I can’t complain. Ugh, I don’t feel like working. Zato, brew me some coffee.”

“Brew it yourself, you lazy Captain…”

“Are you serious? It’s a disaster that it’s both a hassle and I can’t drink coffee, so I’m going to sleep.”

I should also include the small incident where Captain Akina, who had a complex look on her face as if her expectations had been betrayed, abandoned her duties and sulked for a while. No, please, work.

“By the way, Captain Akina, why exactly was Busse-kun being ostracized in the first place?”

On the way back to the motive carriage, I tossed the question I hadn’t pursued to the Captain.

It wasn’t that I had a certainty. But, given her attitude of openly showing her distaste for the village, I thought it wouldn’t be strange if something other than just personal preference was mixed in.

As it turned out, her reply was terrifyingly emotionless, and as cold as the deep freeze.

“There’s no need to know, and no need to understand. Those guys can just stay locked up in that mountain village forever.”

Captain Akina’s eyes, whispered so that the face and voice would never reach Busse-kun, were staring at something I couldn’t see, as if she were thoroughly disgusted from the bottom of her heart.

“Busse seems satisfied for now with that game of ‘making up,’ so that’s fine for the time being. He wouldn’t believe it even if I told him now. But—”

Turning her face away, she muttered something, let out a massive sneeze, and after adding a stern “Don’t go spreading this around,” she spoke no more.

Because the wind was strong, I wasn’t confident in the accuracy of what she said.

However, if I believe my ears, I feel like she said, “The day will come when you will certainly regret it.”