“You heard my conversation earlier?”
“I did. It’s not every day you hear someone shout ‘I want to join the rescue team!’ when you’re walking the streets. I was curious.”
Was I really that loud?
My face flushed red. Ururu giggled and then went on.
“Usato sure is an interesting one, isn’t he?”
“Yes. He’s amazing. And he saved my life.”
“Oh? What did he do?”
“He trained me. He chased me around, kicked me all over the place, and berated me too. But when I look back on the time, I’m incredibly grateful.”
“I have to admit, I’m not exactly sure how that experience led you to feelings of gratitude,” remarked Ururu.
Whoops.
That was how the training went, but the way I said it made Usato sound nasty.
“And you know what?” said Ururu. “Usato’s training sure does remind me of someone.”
Uh oh! Have to change the topic, asap!
“H-how do you know Usato?” I asked.
I could hear that from the way she spoke his name that he was someone close to her.
“How? Well, I guess I’m like a big sister? Maybe that’s going too far. I guess we’re friends?”
“I see.”
“We’ve only known each other for about six months. But boy did he grow in that time. Practically a completely different person now. I think it was because when the Demon Lord’s army was preparing to attack, he felt like he had to get stronger, and he had to do it fast.”
The Demon Lord’s army.
The military force from the nation of demons looking to invade Llinger. In a war that was fought not long ago, Usato and the rescue team captain had run through the battlefield, healing countless people. I could scarcely imagine it, having only trained for five days. They had fought to save people in battle, and now I was hoping to join their ranks.
“Miss Ururu, looking at things objectively, do you think I’m a suitable recruit for the rescue team?”
I suddenly felt so overcome with uncertainty that I couldn’t help but ask. Ururu crossed her arms and dropped into thought, then smiled somewhat awkwardly.
“I don’t know,” she replied.
“Oh, I . . . see.”
Then again, I guess I should be happy that she didn’t just outright shut me down from the get-go, right?
“But if Usato recommended the team, then I’d say he did that because he saw something in you,” Ururu said.
“Like what?”
“Usato knows how tough Rose’s training is. He knows better than anyone. He’s a healer, just like her, and he was strong enough to overcome everything she threw at him. So if he sent you here, then it means he thinks you’ve got the heart to endure her training.”
The heart to endure.
“I still don’t know anything about you, Nack,” admitted Ururu. “But if Usato himself gave you the okay, then I think you’ll be fine. In the end, it’s not me who will decide whether or not you’re suitable, it’s you.”
She’s right. Usato believes in me. He even wrote me a letter of introduction. I can’t just sit around worrying about things all day. I’m here now. There’s no turning back.
“If you want to worry about your choice, now’s the time,” Ururu said in a soft voice. “Once things get rolling, you won’t have the time or the mental capacity for anything but survival.”
“Huh?”
How could you go and say something so terrifying so casually? You mean I have to start mentally preparing myself already?!
But Ururu didn’t notice my concern, and simply started humming a tune as she walked. Eventually, the buildings that filled the town were behind us. We found ourselves surrounded by green grass and natural scenery.
“We’re almost there, Nack!”
We walked a path through the forest. A wooden gate came into view. It had small letters carved into it, which read . . .
“The rescue team,” I whispered.
Ururu smiled and nodded, then walked through the gates and spread her arms wide in a welcoming gesture.
“Welcome to the rescue team!” she said. “I’d love to show you around, but this is as far as I go! I look forward to seeing you again as a fellow rescue team member!”
“A fellow member? Wait, what?!”
“I’ll leave the rest to you guys! Bye bye!”
Before I could speak another word, Ururu was already on the path back to town. She was gone in moments, and I could only stare into the distance where she’d vanished. I thought back to my conversation with the young man at the fruit stall and laughed.
“The rescue team really is filled with unique personalities, huh?”
Usato himself looked like an ordinary teenager at a glance, but when training started, he turned into a completely different person.
“Wait a second,” I muttered.
I’ll leave the rest to you guys?
Ururu didn’t say that to me. She said it to someone behind me.
“Hey,” came a deep voice.
Suddenly I was lifted off the ground by my collar, just like a kitten by its mother. I turned timidly in the direction of the voice and saw two chiseled faces looking right back at me.
“You lost, kid?” asked one.
“That ain’t good,” said the other. “What’s a kid like you doin’ here then, eh?”
Both men were in ridiculously good shape, and were terrifying, both in terms of their presence and their expressions. The one holding my collar tried to smile as he spoke, his lips curling and twisting unnaturally. I was so overwhelmed I could do little more than squeal.
These guys don’t just have unique personalities, their faces are otherworldly too! They’re terrifying! It’s just like when Usato was mad at me!
“Mill, it’s your face. It’s scaring the kid.”
“My face?! But you don’t look any different!”
“Yeah, but at least I’m aware of it, y’idiot.”
He knows he’s terrifying?!
With my shoulders trembling, I remembered the letter I was clutching in my hands. However scary these guys were, I had to show it to them. If I really had made it to the rescue team, then these guys were its members. There was something about them that reminded me of Usato, too.
“Uh, uh, here,” I stammered. “H-h-h-here.”
“Hm? A letter? You brought us a letter?”
One of the men took it, his voice and gestures far kinder than his expression. At first, he looked puzzled, but then his eyes grew wide with surprise when he saw the name on it.
“What’s up, Alec?” asked the other man.
“It’s from Usato. It’s for the captain.”
“For real? How’s he doing? Well, I guess if he sent a letter he’s doing alright, yeah?”