Chapter 23

Ryouko and Ibuki were relieved when they realized what Falma meant by mentioning her husband. They’d probably been worried about what my relationship was with Falma, but Falma’s calm reaction showed her maturity. “S-sorry, I was thinking such rude thoughts… Arihito probably thinks I’m annoying,” said Ibuki. “I also need to apologize. I got carried away. Can I introduce myself properly?” said Ryouko. “Of course. My name is Falma Arthur. I specialize in opening chests, and I would be happy to open one for you if the chance ever arises.” Falma, Ceres, and the others who were meeting for the first time introduced themselves. Everyone was surprised by Steiner, but Ceres told them about “the person inside,” and they all felt better. “Mr. Atobe, the meat has just finished cooking. Please take some,” said Louisa. “S-sure, thank you… Ah, have Theresia and the others already started eating?” There were so many people in the group that we had four hot pots set on the table to cook the meat. Theresia and Melissa were already munching away at the meat cooked in one of them. Everyone noticed, then took what they liked and started eating. The food seemed to suit Rikerton’s tastes as well because he was chowing down quite happily. I had been under the impression that mutton was quite gamey, but it must have been well prepared or something because it wasn’t at all. Everyone enjoyed it way more than I’d expected. “It’s so juicy… Ah. Do you think those Stray Sheep grow up to be sheep eaten like this?” said Misaki. “No, this isn’t monster meat. It’s mutton sourced from elsewhere. Supporters in the Labyrinth Country have established some ranches and farms in order to stabilize food supply to a certain degree. Maintaining food production in District Seven here is actually quite a big issue… The food brought back from the labyrinths would never be enough to sustain the district,” explained Ceres. I had monsters in the Monster Ranch that were part of our team, but apparently there were ranches with a different purpose. The fact that we had fresh eggs and dairy products meant there was dairy farming going on somewhere. “It wasn’t just the blessing of the labyrinth that brought us this food—it was from the hard work of people… Thank you,” said Suzuna. “Thanks! Mm… All the extra fat was trimmed off before we cooked it. It’s really nice because it’s not too greasy.” Elitia seemed to like the food—same with Suzuna—and they both ate away. Igarashi was eating, too, but she suddenly looked over at me. “Atobe, eat plenty of meat and get your vitality—” “Arihito, I’ll get you some meat. Would you like a refill on your drink?” “Oh, yes please.” Igarashi started to talk to me, but Madoka suddenly came by to take care of me. At this rate, I wouldn’t have to cook any meat myself. It’s not like I wanted to be in charge of cooking it all, but it would have been fun to do a little. “…G-get your vitality b-back up, is what I was saying. We all need to make sure we get enough to eat. Madoka, have you had enough?” asked Igarashi. “Yes, just eating with everyone else makes me feel full already!” “You’re still growing, so you need to make sure you eat enough. None of this eating like a bird,” said Ceres. “Meat’s full of protein, which your body needs to grow properly. I’m making sure I eat plenty,” said Anna. “I only did kendo as an extracurricular activity, but Anna was probably on her way to being a pro tennis player. I bet she’s been eating right to build muscles for a long time,” said Kaede. I had thought Anna was capable of leaping high to launch serves when I wouldn’t expect that of her small frame; perhaps she was just that promising a player. Anna noticed I was focused on her and surprised me when she flashed me a peace sign. “Theresia, you can’t eat only meat. Make sure you’re eating vegetables, too… Are you eating properly?” “……” “Theresia always seems to enjoy her food so much. It makes me happy just watching her.” Suzuna was watching gleefully as Theresia ate. Some people felt relaxed when they watched girls eat a lot of food. I had a feeling this was that kind of thing. “Oh, Atobe. They serve all sorts of other food, too…” “Indeed, this soup is fairly tasty. You can try a taste if you like,” said Ceres. “And this shish kebab has a lot of nice seasonings; it tastes wonderful. Would you like one?” asked Louisa. “Oh…Mr. Atobe, you look a little hot. You’re sweating…,” said Falma. The three of them kept coming at me; they were trying to be helpful but taking it too far. “Kyouka, I know how you feel, but you can’t panic in situations like this,” said Ryouko. “P-panic? I’m not panicking… Are you sure you’re not drunk, Ryouko?” “I am, but just a little. And now…how are you doing, Kyouka?” Ryouko’s tanned skin was flushed, and she held a bottle of alcohol. It made me think of that time Louisa got hammered. It wasn’t good to let things go down that road again. It was fun to have a drink, but a healthy and productive member of society needed to make sure they only drank in moderation. I readied myself to say something harsh. I had to. I was thinking I would say, There are members here who aren’t of drinking age, so you need to show restraint as an adult, and— “Kyouka, are you not a big drinker, either?” Ceres said, interrupting my train of thought. “N-not really…but I do enjoy a drink quite often.” “Now that you mention it, I’ve never seen you drunk… I suppose I’m the only one who will have that embarrassing experience,” said Louisa. “It’s a special occasion. Won’t you have another drink? I’d love to keep chatting with you while we drink,” said Falma. Apparently, it wasn’t just opening chests that got her excited—she also enjoyed drinking. Her gestures had become really sensuous. There was a good chance Igarashi would get pulled into their celebrating, or she would have a hard time saying no since they’d all done so much for us. I was surprised, however, to see her make the decision to give in without them pressing too hard. “Maybe I’ll just have one more. This is my first drink; I don’t want it to hit me harder than I expect,” she said. “Ha-ha… If that happens, we’ll have Cion take you home.” “Ryouko, you can drink if you want. We’ll manage somehow,” said Kaede. “Kaede… Don’t make me sound like I get sloppy drunk.” I was starting to think it was likely I’d get pulled into all of this, then Falma poured me another drink. I didn’t exactly have any boys in the party who could help me out if I needed it—I needed to get through this with my own willpower. Part III: The Alliance’s Miscalculation / Reviewing Skills Everyone got happier as they drank more. The younger party members happily chatted with the adults. We were getting pretty boisterous, but that was good. “Hey, hey, Arihito, were you dating anyone?” asked Kaede like it was a great opportunity to bring it up, though I had a feeling this kind of topic would come up in a situation like this. She already knew that Igarashi and I had only been coworkers before, so she must have been asking if there had been anyone else. “I didn’t have much of that going on since it was all work, work, work… Though that sounds a bit like an excuse.” “No, not at all. People who throw themselves into their work are really cool.” I think the normal person would call me a corporate slave, and I was aware of that. I had assumed that most people would decide I was boring because I did nothing but work. Kaede would probably just think how hard it was to be a salaryman if she’d really seen me at work. “Mr. Atobe, you always wear these suits… Was that a uniform in your former place of employment?” asked Falma. “I always wore suits, but we were free to wear what we wanted. There were quite a few people who dressed casually.” Falma seemed interested in my clothes since she was born and raised in the Labyrinth Country. She was seated next to me, asking about it. I’d loosened my tie a bit shortly after we started eating, but she seemed curious about how it was tied. She placed a hand on her cheek as she stared at it. “You don’t stand out too much in your suit, since people in the Labyrinth Country dress in so many different ways.” “You’re right. I’d thought he would stick out like a sore thumb in it, but he doesn’t. Then there’s Ryouko with her swimsuit, which she wears into battle as equipment…,” said Igarashi. “But it suits her, what with that tanned skin. You just need to be careful that it doesn’t break, because that would cause problems,” added Ceres. “It would mean my life if my armor were damaged. I must always be careful that it doesn’t break on accident.” At that moment, everyone was probably thinking about how they’d like to look into Steiner’s armor, but no one actually said it. There are some secrets that you just can’t ask about. While we chatted, Louisa and Anna returned from where they’d gone. I decided to get out of my seat for a bit. The pot of meat was almost completely empty anyway, but Theresia stopped eating to stand up and join me. It might be rude to leave the table while sharing a meal with everyone, but I’d unfortunately had a bit too much to drink and needed to clear my head. There were apparently quite a few other customers in the same situation, because there were people in the hallway. “…Wait, Theresia.” “……” The hallway was only dimly lit so I hadn’t noticed from far away, but when I got a better look at some of the people who had left another large dining room, I realized I knew them. It took me a moment, though. It was Roland, the leader of the Alliance, with a gray-haired man in tow. They walked to the end of the restaurant, and I was absolutely certain that the other man was Gray. I was surprised the Alliance had yet again chosen the same restaurant as us to eat in, but that must have been because the selection was limited if you needed a restaurant that could accommodate large groups. It was wrong of me to stand around and listen to others’ conversations multiple times, but I didn’t even need to listen that closely to hear Roland’s voice, raised in anger, or even Gray’s. “Nothing should have changed for us until tomorrow. We should have been able to keep waiting for and hunting crabs… What the hell happened today? Why weren’t they appearing…? Goddammit!” “Please calm yourself, Roland. Today may not have gone well, but we have multiple courses of action left to us.” “Multiple? Then tell me about them. The monsters won’t come out—do you have a way of making them?” Roland had said that he would be done farming contribution points in the next couple of days, but apparently something unexpected had happened, and it ended in failure. It didn’t seem impossible for monsters to do something you hadn’t planned for. But apparently, Gray had a way of solving the problem of monsters not appearing. They had turned a corner in the hall, and I heard an excited voice over there. “There aren’t many Seekers in the Labyrinth Country with the Summoner job, but Summoners can make a monster-summoning charm. If we use one of those where the crabs normally appear, it should pull out all the ones that have gone into hiding.” “…And how do we get our hands on something like that?” “I’ll use my particular methods. I’ve got influence with a fence.” “Hmph… I wondered what you were doing while you weren’t helping us fight. Did you think I wasn’t aware of the rumors that you were off in the shady parts of town doing something?” “N-no, of course not. Don’t misunderstand, Roland. I wasn’t just skipping out on you, really.” There was an unusual amount of force behind Roland’s voice, but Gray’s sounded half full of laughter and half cringing. “Fine, whatever. Can you get enough of these monster-summoning charms to achieve our goal?” “Of course I can. This should be able to get the job done.” This must be some cash. I heard the sound of heavy coins clinking together. Perhaps a pouch of gold had been handed over. “We will achieve our goal tomorrow, without fail. If things go well here…” “I’d be honored if you would consider me to be your next assistant leader. It will definitely go well.” “…There are other members who have contributed for longer than you. I can’t treat you differently, especially considering you joined this party late. All I can do is talk to everyone about what you’ve accomplished.” Roland ended the conversation there and left. Theresia and I shrank into the shadows because Gray looked like he was going to come where he could see us. That’s when— “Can’t do shit on your own but think you can act all high and mighty… Old buffoon. Your time was over when you retired the first time!” Gray’s voice was raised in anger and filled with venom as he punched the wall. Immediately after, his expression changed, going back to his normal light smile, and he returned to his party’s room. It was less that Gray was two-faced and more that he was simply hiding his true intentions as he worked his way up the ladder. I wasn’t one to judge someone else’s way of doing things, but it didn’t sit well with me. “……” “Sorry to drag you into this, Theresia. I think hearing that has sobered me up a bit, though… Let’s head back soon.” Theresia nodded. She’d activated her Rogue Silent Step skill without me saying anything, and I could barely tell she was walking next to me. There wouldn’t be anyone better than her if we ever needed to do any spy work. “……” “Yeah, I’ll tell everyone about what we just heard. I’m curious about what the Alliance is up to, so tomorrow we might check out our enemy’s…well, our rival’s plans.” I wasn’t sure that’s what Theresia wanted to ask about, but I wanted to tell her. She nodded. Communication between us would never be hindered that much as long as she could nod or shake her head. But I still thought all the time that I really wanted to hear her opinion in her own voice. While it might be wrong to think this was exactly what I thought would happen, I was right, and Ryouko did end up so drunk she was unsteady on her feet. That’s why I ended up taking her and the other members of Four Seasons back to their home. The Middle Guild was also divided into a number of buildings, and we made our way to the apartment buildings near one of them where they were renting two apartments. We arrived in front of their apartments on the third floor, and Ibuki shook Ryouko awake where I was carrying her piggyback. “Ryouko, hey, we’re home. You’ll have to walk the rest of the way.” “Mmmm… I’m not that drunk… I’m not drunk at all…” Ryouko was practically delirious. She struck me as a lightweight. The rest of her party hadn’t even seen her like this, either. “It seems like it’d be fine if we drank here, too, in the Labyrinth Country, but Ryouko’s so proper about these things. She said we’d go out and drink once we’re old enough,” said Kaede. “…Alcohol…can only be drunk in moderation once you’re an adult…,” muttered Ryouko. “I can never tell if she’s nervous or relaxed around you, Arihito,” said Anna. “Nervous…?” “Oh, it’s nothing. Anna, that’s our relationship with Ryouko; we’re like sisters,” said Kaede. I had noticed that Ryouko was stiff when she was pouring my drinks since we hadn’t known each other for very long. I wasn’t exactly that skilled socially, either, so I felt bad if I’d made her feel nervous, but…I couldn’t stand here with her on my back all night. “Kaede, which one is Ryouko’s room…?” “Ryouko shares with me. This way, Teacher,” replied Ibuki as she opened the door, and we entered. The room was only big enough to fit two beds. The kitchen and bathrooms must have been shared among all residents, because the apartment only had what you needed to sleep. “Here we go…” I wasn’t sure if it was fine to just put her down, but Ibuki indicated I should, so I laid Ryouko on her bed. Last time we’d gone out together, she’d changed her clothes, but this time she was wearing only her bikini and something over it. She rolled on her side, and if I was quite honest, there wasn’t anywhere safe to look. And then. “…So hot…” “Ryouko, are you okay? Hold on a sec—I’ll go get you some water.” Ibuki dashed out of the room, leaving me behind. I couldn’t very well sit on the bed, nor could I just stand in there the whole time, so I decided to go stand outside for now. “…Mmmm.” While I did that, Ryouko rolled over to face me. She must have been uncomfortable because she started groping around to find the buttons on her shirt and started undoing it. Wait… My first thought was that I should stop her, but then I realized that actually, the most important thing was that I didn’t see anything. I really did need to leave the room for a minute. “…Atobe… Where’d you go…?” That’s not good… There was no way I could do what I wanted to when she was talking so helplessly to me. “I just want to talk to you a little more… But I can’t think. The alcohol got to my head too much…” “Uhhh… Don’t worry about it. It’s good that you enjoyed it. I like to drink, too, but I don’t really get drunk. Sometimes I’m jealous of people who can.” “…Good. I didn’t want to cause you trouble or disappoint you… I was so weak, and your whole party saw it…” “I think everyone understands. It’s fine.” Falma had gotten pretty drunk as well. We had to put her on Cion’s back so she could carry her back to our house. I was taking too long; they were probably starting to worry. Not that I really thought they’d worry about a full-grown adult like myself. “…Um… All my other equipment is bathing suits, too, so I look like this… Sorry you had to carry me…” “I-it’s all right… I’m the one who should apologize. I know it was necessary, but I just carried you without asking if it was okay.” Carrying her meant I had to touch her in various places. It was wrong to think of it as a perk of the job, but if someone asked me what I thought about, it’d be a lie if I said I hadn’t noticed at all. “…I was competing with Louisa and Kyouka when I was talking to them… You probably noticed… Didn’t you, Atobe?” This topic suddenly came up. Well, I guess it wasn’t actually that sudden. She was asking because we were alone together. “I—I… Well, how should I—?” “Sorry I took so long, Ryouko…huh? Teacher, why are you there?” “I-Ibuki, we were…” I couldn’t keep myself from panicking. There wasn’t actually anything wrong with me talking to Ryouko while she was in bed wearing her bathing suit, but I suppose it wasn’t good, either. “Welcome back, Ibuki.” “Oh, you’re up, Ryouko. Did Arihito look after you?” Ryouko pulled a blanket around herself to cover her body and calmly greeted Ibuki. She stood up and took the glass with water, then guzzled it. “Mm… Nice and cool. Would you like some, too, Atobe?” “Arihito, will you stay a little while longer? Kaede and Anna said they’d like to talk to you a bit more… Oh, they’ve even brought their pillows.” “…We only brought them because today’s the day we all sleep in the same apartment,” said Anna. “Oh, since Arihito’s here, we could have a pillow fight. But whatever team he’s on will have the advantage. As long as he’s in the back, we’d get the strength of a hundred men,” said Kaede. Anna was wearing a nightcap and looked more like a child than usual. Kaede had on something that resembled a yukata. If we tried having a pillow fight with her dressed like that, I felt like there was a high risk of something getting exposed. With our age difference, there wouldn’t be any improper thoughts or anything, but…thinking about it rationally, it’s just a bad situation to be in. “Arihito, I’d like to continue our discussion from earlier… Is that okay?” asked Ibuki. “You can’t keep asking him about his girlfriends. He won’t like you if you’re too pushy. Anyway, why don’t we play some strip poker or something?” “Kaede, you’re too caught up on doing something special. You don’t need to make yourself do that—you’re bright red,” said Anna. “Strip poker… Things would get dangerous after about the second hand if I played…” Ryouko was considering it. They would never trust me if I actually wanted this. The only reason they thought I was harmless was because I’d been so careful about acting proper up until now. “I want to hear about all of you. How did you meet? How did you end up in a party together?” I asked, and the four looked at one another. They smiled shyly, then told me about what had happened to lead them here. I had to head home, though, so unfortunately, I could only listen to about half the story before I had to say good-bye. Kaede and Ibuki walked me out to the front of the apartment building, then I left, the sun’s warmth still remaining in the city streets as I walked. Since Falma was staying with us that night as well, I ended up sleeping on the couch in the living room on the first floor. Thankfully, it was big enough that I could easily stretch out to sleep. “You’re the one who needs to get the most rest, though. I’d be happy to take the couch, and you can have my bed,” said Elitia. “I appreciate the offer, but I feel bad making a girl sleep on a couch.” She was in the living room, having just finished her bath, her license in hand. The two of us ended up looking at her new skill options. “…Do you think it’s wrong of me to not show everyone what my skills can do?” she asked. “Perhaps… It does seem a little unfair that I’m the only one who’s seen your skills. It might be a good idea to share them with the group at a party meeting sometime, but that can probably wait until after we’ve broken the curse on your sword.” The reason she wanted to talk with me separately was because she didn’t want to show others her Cursed Blade skills. Even so, her skills had saved us on a number of occasions. I was certain the others wouldn’t fear her or anything even if they knew about her skills. “That’s what I keep telling myself…but if I really trusted them, I would tell them. Sorry…” “You’ve never once attacked us, even in Berserk mode. We can keep the worst aspects of the Scarlet Emperor in check. We can’t say we’ve overcome them just because we’ve beaten enemies without triggering it, but I trust your strength. Including the risks it comes with. I think that’s what it means to be in a party together.” “…Thank you, Arihito. I feel better when I talk with you about it… I’m sorry for causing you trouble.” Her curse meant that she couldn’t equip any weapon other than her cursed sword while in battle. Outside of battle, she could set it aside as long as she was within a certain distance from it. That probably helped Elitia feel more relaxed right before going to bed, though a part of her attention did still seem hung up on the sword that was on the second floor. Elitia came up to where I was on the couch and showed me her license. It displayed her new skills. ♦New Available Skills – ELITIA♦ Level 3 Skills Scarlet Dance: Consumes magic while using Red Eye to execute a chain of attacks. Power increases with each attack. Effects stack until defense reaches zero. (Prerequisite: Red Eye) Level 2 Skills × Pierce 2: Pierce distance increases as well as number of attacks. (Prerequisite: Pierce 1) × Reckless Raid: Rushes toward distant enemy and attack, hindering enemy’s movements. × Blade Aura: Accumulates SWORD AURA when user defeats enemy with a sword. Remaining Skill Points: 4 She had four more available skills, most of which she couldn’t learn because they were Swordswoman skills she couldn’t acquire as a Cursed Blade. There was only one Cursed Blade skill that she could take. “Looks like you start getting four skill points at level ten,” I said. “Oh… You’re right; I didn’t even notice. That must mean level ten is a milestone.” “Seems to be. It’s a bit of a waste that there’s some interesting skills, but you can’t take them… Not just the new skills here—there’s a lot of Swordswoman skills, too.” “I’ve thought the same thing so many times. I would at least have liked the ones that give me more mobility as a Swordswoman… I really am better with a rapier, you know.” As a Swordswoman, she could learn Dual Wield, letting her take two weapons into battle. If she was able to change from the Cursed Blade job, her fighting style could change drastically, since she would be able to equip two different kinds of swords with that skill. “Even if we do remove the curse from the Scarlet Emperor, it’s a powerful weapon, so it might be good if you could still use it.” “Yeah… The Brigade thinks that cursed weapons are powerful because they’re cursed. They never once considered removing the curse, but maybe, just maybe…” “There’s a chance. No, there’s definitely a way.” “Right. We won’t get anywhere if we give up before we start.” Elitia’s expression softened, then she pointed to the single skill she could take. “I’ll take this Scarlet Dance. It’ll likely come in handy as a trump card.” “…Elitia, how is Red Eye activated?” She looked like it wasn’t easy to answer my question. Even if the Cursed Blade skills didn’t have the mark, they still had some inherent danger. “It’s different from Berserk in that there’s no risk of indiscriminate attacks. But…it activates when the user is bleeding.” “…Wow…” It was too dangerous to aim to use a skill like that, but Elitia smiled even after putting that particular risk into words. “Everyone who wields a sword will end up getting injured. And didn’t Kyouka use Ambivalenz, which makes her more powerful the lower her vitality?” “…That took some courage. Igarashi’s the kind of person who can do that kind of thing when it’s needed, but…” “So are you, Arihito. You won’t hesitate to put yourself in danger for all of us. I want to do as much as I can to prevent you from having to do that. I’ve been prepared for it for a while now.”