Part 7: Anger and Regret
TOTTO had been feeling irritated lately. His childhood friend—with whom he was secretly in love—went on and on about a certain adventurer at every opportunity. Not only that, but she had started wearing makeup too. Totto had always preferred her natural look.
“You know I’m stronger than him, right?” It didn’t matter how much Totto tried to show her that he was a better match for her. She would always respond with a laugh: “You can make jokes like that after you surpass him in rank.”
There shouldn’t have been much of a disparity between Totto’s and Ralf’s respective combat abilities. (Ralf was the adventurer in question.) A Rank 1 adventurer with whom Totto occasionally drank in a particular tavern had said as much, so it had to be the truth. But then he’d kept talking:
“Still, the fact that he outranks you means he has something you lack and you could stand to learn from him.”
Those words had hurt to hear, but Totto had forgotten them as soon as he finished his pint in one gulp. He always drowned anything inconvenient in spirits. It was a bad habit of his.
Totto was a Rank 4 adventurer. Though he looked to be in his thirties, he was actually only twenty years old, a young adventurer with a promising future. To prove himself, and not wanting others to underestimate him, he devoted himself zealously to adventuring every day.
But his childhood friend only talked about Ralf. And everyone knew, so he was basically a laughingstock.
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LIKE on any other day, after having accepted a job at random and finished it recklessly, Totto was back at the Adventurers’ Guild. The fact that he was able to manage despite his daredevil nature made him a talented adventurer, but the object of his affection didn’t even notice, let alone appreciate that about him. On this particular day, a few like-minded adventurers with whom Totto sometimes worked soon showed up and started talking about that annoying man. After each completing their respective jobs, they’d all had a drink together before heading to the Guild, so the whole crew was already pretty buzzed.
From the start, Totto hadn’t been planning on actually listening to anything they had to say. But once they got on the subject of women, specifically how that damn Ralf had been bringing a dark elf around with him, a woman he seemed to be on intimate terms with, Totto’s curiosity was piqued. Apparently, the dark elf had registered as an adventurer that very same day. Totto was infuriated to learn that Ralf was getting cozy with another woman all while the object of Totto’s affection was in love with him.
Why is it always that guy? As Totto’s resentment intensified, one of his friends pointed at the job board. A beautiful dark elf stood there. She radiated such a dignified beauty that for a moment, Totto forgot what he was feeling. All he could do was stare, bewitched. Then he shook his head and forced himself to be angry. Convinced that any woman Ralf associated with couldn’t possibly be a decent person, he huffed furiously and stomped toward her, taking huge strides.
Totto had only intended to scare her a little. But even though he towered menacingly over her, the woman appeared unfazed, responding to him matter-of-factly. She must have been comparing him to that bloody bastard, looking down on him. Totto wasn’t going to stand for that.
So he clamped a hand around her arm and started dragging her outside. Surely, she would fight back. Surely, she would cry out for help. Except she did neither of those things. Instead, she walked behind him, letting him drag her out. At this point, he knew without a doubt that she was ridiculing him. His anger grew sharper by the minute, until it mutated into an emotion he could no longer control.
He had only intended to scare her a little. By the time he was about to touch her chest, he realized he’d screwed up. He’d gone way overboard, and he regretted it. Even as he frantically tried to think of a way to sheathe his weapon again, the woman balled her hands into fists.
“Excuse me, but if you don’t stop, I’ll have no choice but to resist.”
Totto considered his choices for a moment, then glanced over at his friends and laughed. He decided to take the hit from a new adventurer’s wimpy magic, use it as an excuse for having his fun spoiled, and then walk away. While he laughed to keep his friends riled up, he strategized calmly in his mind.
When the dark elf started chanting the incantation for the Water Ball spell, the other men crowed hysterically. But Totto remained cautious. She was saying the unfamiliar words without hesitation. Her cold eyes were piercing. At least, that was how she looked to him.
And then Totto trembled in fear at the sight of the floating Water Balls. Because he knew.
In general, mages could only invoke one spell at a time. Those capable of casting multiple spells of the same type simultaneously were therefore considered to be extremely skilled. Among adventurers, there was a special rank designated Tri Sorcerer, someone who could conjure three spells at the same time—in other words, a monster. Yet this woman had generated four Water Balls.
Even as the water wrapping around his head nearly drowned him, Totto stared at the woman through his blurred vision. Her expression impassive, she stared down at him and his fallen comrades like they were nothing more than test subjects. He felt the water obstructing his windpipe. As his consciousness faded, Totto deeply regretted attacking someone he now knew he never should have messed with.