WE left the annoying man on the side of the road and walked back down the same alleyway we’d come. Montana stopped again in one of the same spots as earlier. It was dusk, and a strange atmosphere blanketed the area. I took a stealthy step closer to Montana, trying not to be noticed. I felt like his calm demeanor would be useful in case something spooky appeared. No matter how old I get, scary things are still scary.
Suddenly, I heard the pattering of small feet approaching from a short distance away. I stiffened nervously, but Montana seemed to be waiting, his posture relaxed. Eventually, a boy appeared from around the corner and called out.
“Oh, no, are you done for the day already, Mr. Beast-boy? But I brought some money! Here!” he said, handing over two copper coins. Seeing them, Montana rummaged in his sleeves, took out the earrings he’d put away earlier, and handed them to the boy.
“The shop is temporarily open for business.”
“Yay! Thanks, Mister! Mom’s gonna be so happy!”
After watching the boy run away, Montana tossed the coins into his sleeve. His tail swayed back and forth with satisfaction.
“He looked delighted.”
“Yes.”
I didn’t know exactly what criteria Montana used to sell his things or how he decided on the prices. But somehow, I understood that he sold them with some kind of conviction.
“Montana, can I accompany you again?”
“You’re welcome to anytime.”
I had a feeling I’d sleep really well that night.
✦ ✦ ✦
Part 7: A Boy Named Albert Careggi
WHAT is it about her? Albert thought to himself, staring at Haruka’s profile as she did her shopping. Her features were well-defined, and she always spoke in a calm, mature manner. She had an inexhaustible supply of magic, and he couldn’t beat her in a contest of strength either.
Put it all together and voila, you had one amazing person. But Albert knew something else too: Haruka was a little—no, a lot spacier than she looked.
“Haruka, here.”
“Huh? Oh, this is my wallet. Where did I drop it? Thank you so much.”
She hadn’t dropped it. It had been stolen just a moment earlier, and Albert had retrieved it. It was weighed down with probably all of Haruka’s possessions.
Just a moment ago, when he had taken his eyes off her very briefly, she had almost blindly walked off with some smooth-talking scumbag. Albert never thought someone would actually fall for the old “I’m a little lost, can you help me?” act, but when he scolded Haruka for it, her shoulders slumped dejectedly. Her expressionless face made her hard to read, but once you got used to it, you could always tell what she was feeling by the slight movements of her eyes and body.
Albert asked Haruka if stuff like this happened to her often, and she confessed that it sometimes did. Usually, she only gave the person directions, and the interaction ended there. Occasionally, though, someone would suddenly get aggressive and attack her.
Recently, there had been several strange, unexplained incidents of men with bad reputations being found unconscious in back alleys. It was at that moment that Albert realized those were probably Haruka’s doing. She was also probably the reason men sometimes avoided their party as soon as they noticed she was in it.
Now he understood why Corinne had warned him to keep an eye on her if they went out together. Because once you got to know her, you learned she was a pathetic but lovable dummy.
However, he’d also misunderstood her in the beginning. She’d seemed like a superhuman who could do everything perfectly, which had at first made him feel so worthless that he’d taken his frustration out on her. Looking back on it now, Albert didn’t even bother hiding a sigh at his own shameful behavior.
✦ ✦ ✦
AS an adventurer, Albert’s frustration mounted the more time he spent doing menial labor. Compared to his peers, he felt that his standing wasn’t as good. Corinne was a knowledgeable merchant, Montana was good with his hands, and Haruka was good at whatever task she was given.
The other adventurers listened to Haruka and called her “Boss Lady,” plus she was quick with numbers and even suggested ways to make work more efficient. When it came to manual labor, she had incredible physical strength, and was able to do several times the work of any other single adventurer by herself. Her strength actually made Albert sort of uneasy—she was even stronger than the people who bragged about how strong they were, or specifically trained to beef up their strength.
Each time Haruka outperformed him, all the while with her default stoic expression and monotone voice, he despised himself more and more, and felt even more worthless. And when she eventually surpassed him in rank, it felt like the end of the world. Albert didn’t know how to pick up the pieces of his broken heart as his mind went to ever darker places.
Back then, Albert and the others would gather in the dining hall every day after work to talk about their day and share what they’d learned from other adventurers. It was supposed to be a fulfilling and enjoyable time.
Albert and Corinne talked the most, with Montana chiming in very rarely, and even then, only with a few words. As for Haruka, her expression always made it hard to tell whether she was happy to be there. She usually just nodded or commented in response to what everyone else was saying. Whenever they talked about the past, their families, or the future, Haruka didn’t get actively involved in the conversation. Albert had noticed that even when Corinne occasionally asked her direct questions, Haruka skillfully dodged them and changed the subject.
One day, when they ended up working together in the same place, Albert asked Montana, “You ever feel like Haruka doesn’t trust us?”
Montana stopped what he was doing with a puzzled frown. He was always quiet, and when he did speak, it was mostly in short sentences. But he was still listening, so Albert continued.
“You know how she never talks about the past even when we do?”
He knew it sounded like he was complaining, and he knew it was childish. But he had to get his feelings out somehow.
“…To me, she seems like she’s enjoying herself when we’re together.” That was all Montana muttered before returning to his work. Albert waited to see if he would say anything else, but he didn’t. He’s always like this.
“Yeah, well, I don’t see it.”
When he and Corinne ended up on the same job, he quickly got fed up with her constant yammering about Haruka. Apparently, it made her happy that Haruka understood her when she talked about numbers and business, which were Corinne’s specialties. The topic of Haruka bored Albert, so he stopped replying because he just wasn’t interested. After a while, Corinne stopped talking to him.
“Ugh, why are you being like this?” she complained. “I hate it.”
That was the last thing she said before they both focused solely on their work. Even though Corinne had stopped yapping, Albert’s work went nowhere that day.