Chapter 161: Reason Being
Link: https://ncode.syosetu.com/n7583de/
Author: Hirukuma
Translated by Zzonkedd
Edited by Gumihou
Gumihou: From here on, give Shui back her characteristic ‘-su’ at the end of her dialogues.
“Master Hakkon, why was I not invited for the evening walk?”
I had been minding my own business when Mishael suddenly approached me to say this. After Ramis briefed you about what happened yesterday, this was what you want to talk about?
He kept on talking, “When I eat alone, women often approach me. It gets quite tiresome…”
He really said all of that without blinking an eye. Less popular men who heard you would jump out to punch you in the face for that kind of remark, you know? What was so impressive about this was the lack of arrogance or hidden pride. He was truly, sincerely bothered by it.
It was still morning, but I had already seen Mishael. On the other hand, Shui had not shown her face even once. Is she still still looking for Hevoy after getting information from that stuttering girl?
As for Tasite, the hunter who had sold the shoes to the shop, we received some fairly detailed information from the Director of Scorching Sands.
He appears to be the leader of a party called Raging Inferno Squad. They came to this floor about a year ago and were active enough to set up a base here.
Their reputation appeared quite good with no behavioural issues. They even took part in the fight against the monster horde. There were a total of 10 members within the party, who were now on their way to a set of ruins in the desert.
“If we want to speak with this Tasite guy, we’ll have no choice but to head towards the ruins.”
“That means travelling through the desert, right?”
The desert was already stifling and challenging even during the best of times. With the higher temperature, the difficulty level increased by a lot.
Even experienced, thoroughly prepared hunters would hesitate in the face of this unusually hot desert. The Director of Scorching Sand also warned us about the danger of pursuing them.
Even so, aside from Tasite’s team, there were quite a few other hunters recklessly making their way towards the ruins since there was apparently a good reward for it. Well, the reward was actually to rescue people stuck in the ruins. However, there was a worry that the rescuers would turned into victims in need of rescuing. [1] In short, those going out looking to fight Mummies may end up calling for their own mummies…
Yes, yes, it’s a lame joke, I know.
My apologies.
“Hmm, whether we go and help rescue people or not, I feel like we should do something for the hunters stuck in the desert. Ah, I wonder if they would allow us to go on our own?”
Well, so long as someone’s with me, they won’t suffer from the heat. I could also provide all the food and water as needed free of charge [2] if I have to thanks to the solar panel gathering points for me. In short, Ramis and I would make a good rescue team. [2] Once there, we could also provide relief for anyone stuck in the desert.
“Welcome”
“Right? Okay! I’ll go speak to the Director now!” Ramis exclaimed before charging towards the Hunter’s Association office.
“Master Hakkon, can you not take me with you…?”
I felt troubled being looked at with such wobbly puppy eyes. I mean, not that I’m discriminating against you for being a man, but I don’t think it’s a good idea for him to be out in the desert all dressed up in that bulky black armour.
Should I redirect his attention?
“My di-sci-ple”
“He-ar me”
“Yes! As Master Hakon’s disciple, I am ready for anything!!”
First, please kindly lay off the exaggerated reactions. Could you at least not burst into tears at everything I said (or did not say)? Especially since I have a line of customers right now.
Anyway, I somehow managed to convince Mishael to go look for Hevoy and Shui in the village. The moment he understood my request, he charged off into the distance looking very pleased by the ‘mission’. I gave a mental wave goodbye to his departing back.
While it was nice that he was pretty easy to handle, his being too obedient worried me a bit.
“I got a formal mission request from the Director. So, I’ll be counting on you, Hakkon!”
Ramis must have explained my abilities to the Director to get us permission this quickly. Right, once I’d sorted out the goods here, we can set out. We’ll keep on rescuing hunters until we encounter Shui and the rest.
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”That’s the second group we’ve found, right?”
We had found the first group within the first two hours of entering the desert. We sold them some drinks and escorted them back to the village.
We could see the ruin pretty easily in the distance. However, thanks to mirages and other things, many hunters were deceived and ended up going in the wrong direction and ran out of energy partway. We were now escorting both groups back to the village.
After quenching their thirst with sports drinks and giving them some food, the hunters regained enough strength to walk on their own. Ramis offered to carry them, but none were willing to swallow their pride for it.
Speaking of which, our method tracking method involved me floating in the air as a <Cardboard Vending Machine> and balloons tethered to Ramis on a long rope. While it was a rather unorthodox method, it worked better than expected.
With nothing but sand in all areas, it was pretty easy to spot any anomalies.
“We’ve arrived!” Ramis chirped.
“Hey, thanks Miss, and… Magic Tool [3] Hakkon? You two have really saved our lives.”
“That’s right, I had pretty much given up… so thanks.”
The hunters were sitting down, obviously relieved to be back inside the village they thought they would never see again.
We left the relieved hunters where they were and went to report our successful rescue mission at the Hunter Association. It was decided that the hunters would go and rest at the inn for a while.
Having nothing to do and seeing that it was too late to head out into the desert again, Ramis and I were just talking about wrapping up business for the day when I spotted Mishael running towards us from the corner of my vision.
“Master! I found them! But, um, they are having some kind of dispute. Please come over and help out!”
“Eh? The two are fighting? Let’s go right now!”
“Welcome”
I had no idea what happened, but we must avoid the worst-case scenario no matter what.
As I swayed on Ramis’ back, I could only pray that neither of them would do anything rash.
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“Why… why do you always have to shoulder everything by yourself-su!?”
“It’s a personal matter. I would rather not trouble anyone…”
Shui’s very emotional outburst and Hevoy’s too calm voice could be heard as we approached a bend in the alley.
Rather than an argument, it was more like Hevoy was being soundly scolded by one person.
Upon leaving the alley, we reached a small vacant lot where the two of them were facing off.
“Aren’t we comrades? How could you just make decisions without even talking to me… you and Leader Keryoil are the same! I may not be reliable, but surely you could still talk to me-su? If you could talk to me… if we could just talk about it, wouldn’t things be different? Am I not… important as a… comrade?”
Shui’s voice trailed off to a small sob.
I guess her anger was not aimed solely at Hevoy. She was screaming out her anger and disappointment at her absent companions from Whimsical Fools.
Hevoy appeared struck by the comparison of himself with Leader Keyroil. He narrowed his eyes and wordlessly turned his face towards the dazzling sun.
“Shui…” Ramis called out softly.
This alerted Hevoy to our presence and he turned to look at us.
It looked like Hevoy was trying to force a smile through tears.
“Well, it looks like everyone is here. I really am sorry for any trouble caused.”
“If you know that you’ve caused us trouble, you should come and talk to us properly-su.”
“That’s right, if you just disappear without saying anything. Everyone will be worried.”
“Ye-es ye-es” I can’t say much but I could at least lend my support like this.
At our words, Hevoy forced a smile.
Then, after wiping his eyes, he rested his hand on Shui’s head, who was still glaring at him.
“Yes, you’re all right. Well, it’s not a particularly interesting story, but will you listen to it?”
Everyone nodded quietly. Hevoy slowly began to speak.
“It was a tale from a time before I joined the Whimsical Fools party. I formed a hunting party with a childhood friend. We knew each other well and worked together smoothly with a fair amount of success. There were even rumours that we were an up-and-coming duo.”
So, he had a partner before? From what I had heard, he mostly worked solo before he was recruited by Whimsical Fools. This must be a story from way back.
“One day, through a stroke of good luck, we received a surprisingly large reward. After talking about how to spend it, I decided to use the money on a pair of new shoes for my childhood friend whose birthday was coming up. I knew there was a pair of shoes she had been wanting for a while. I’m sure you likely know which pair of shoes I’m talking about. The Tireless Godly Feet.”
“It’s the shoes I won at the contest.”
“Indeed, a fairly pricey pair they were then too. She… that is, my childhood friend was very happy with them. From then on, she would wear those shoes wherever we go, swearing that she will never hand them to anyone and laughing cheerfully every time she talks about them.”
As he spoke, Hevoy gazed into the distance with a gentle smile on his face. From his expression alone, I could tell how much this childhood friend meant to him.
“Then, one day on an escort mission protecting a merchant, we were ambushed by thieves. We fought back, of course, but I was struck by the enemy’s blow and fell to the ground. When I finally came to, there were only lifeless bodies strewn around. There was no one left alive by myself. Eventually, I found my friend’s body, with her feet missing. Everything valuable had been taken off her body. Someone must have chopped off her leg at the ankle with an axe. She cherished those shoes very much and must have laced them on so tightly that they could not be taken off in the usual way.”
There was nothing we could say. All we could do was listen as Hevoy spoke calmly, and emotionlessly.
“The attackers were masked, so I never saw their faces. The only clue left was the pair of shoes that had been taken away. Since then, I had been clinging to this slim hope and started paying attention to everyone’s shoes… until now.”
So, this tragic past was the reason why Hevoy was so obsessed with shoes?
What should I say? I felt bad for not being able to think of a single comforting word at a time like this.
“Even though I’m a clergyman, I’ve been living a revenge-seeking life. How shameful of me to give grand speeches to the likes of Leader Keyroil and others, even though I have no right to do so…”
After he was done speaking, Hevoy’s profile looked like that of an old man who had been exhausted by life’s challenges.
“You’re all idiots-su! The Leader and his party and Hevoy are all idiots-su! If you had talked about it earlier, we could have found those shoes sooner! If we just open up our hearts to each others’ secrets, Leader could have told us about their family situation too!”
Shui’s voice cracked through the silence.
Looks like she was just shouting whatever was on her mind in the heat of the moment, but I can see that’s probably why her words pierced straight through Hevoy’s heart.
“But, this is just a personal problem…”
“No ‘buts’-su! Don’t you understand that all of these bad things happened because of all the secrets keeping and all those lies! Geez, enough with the lies and secrets! If you need help, just say it! If you can’t do it or don’t want to, just say no properly! As a friend and comrade, I will do everything in my power to help you, so stop it! Please stop thinking that it’s a nuisance or, or, think you that you what I’m thinking…su!”
Shui had worked herself up to the point where she grabbed Hevoy by the collar to lean close to his face and stare at him at close range. Hevoy stared back without looking away.
After a while, the first to back down was Hevoy.
“Yes, that’s right. It was my mistake. Thank you very much, Shui.”
“H-hmph! Good, as long as you understand.”
Shui’s face had turned red as she let go of Hevoy’s collar. She must be embarrassed by her outburst just now. After Shui looked away, Hevoy turned to the rest of us and bowed, “Everyone, if I could ask for your assistance?”
The response to Hevoy’s sincere request is unanimous.
“Yes, of course!”
“I’ll help you, so be grateful for it.”
“Of course.”
“Welcome”
[Gumihou: Decided to put the –su in since part of Japanese writing and character design is dialogue style. Can you imagine Naruto without his iconic dattebayo?]
[1] Jokes lost in translation. [2] Add details [3] The actual term is シトウアンアイキ sitooanaiki which I can’t really find the meaning of… It appeared in the prologue, which the original translator never translated. So, substitute it with ‘magic tool’ instead
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