Chapter 146 - Pioneers

Everyone was covered in wounds.

Even just climbing down the mountain safely was difficult, but thankfully Alice’s subordinates finally caught up.

First aid treatment was given to the wounded, the ones who could not walk were carried out on stretchers, and the one casualty was placed in a body bag. They then made their way back to Terrane.

Karan, Bellocchio, and Nick were carried out on stretchers, Wilma and her subordinates as well. All had cuts on their backs, clearly Garosso’s handiwork.

“No one’s life is in danger.”

“I see… Thanks, I owe you one.”

“Yes, it would have been difficult to even make it back in this conditions.”

Nick and the others were brought to a hospital specific for adventurers located next to the adventurer guild Fishermen. Since they always had doctors and sorcerers that specialized in external wounds, poison, and burns and frostbite caused by magic, it was decided this was the best place to take them.

The staff was shocked to see Wilma being brought in half dead, and hurried to treat her.

Nick was covered with scratches and his stamina was depleted, but he did not suffer as much damage as Karan and the others, so his treatment did not take long. He laid on a bed, and when he woke up two or three hours later, he saw Bond and Alice by his side.

“Leave the rest to the staff here. Make sure to rest well, Tianna and Sem fell asleep too.”

“There’s somewhere I have to go.”

“Eh?”

“I’ll thank you later. Bond, stay with Tianna and Sem.”

Nick slipped past Alice like a cat and left the room.

Alice and Bond hurried to go after him.

“Hoah!? Where do you think you are going!?”

“Y-yes! Where are you going in that state!?”

But Nick completely ignored them and continued on.

There were always fiacres waiting outside the hospital, and Nick called out to one of the drivers.

“Hey driver! Let me in!”

“Yes… Uwah… Are you alright sir? Are you running away from the hospital?”

Nick had wounds all over his body. He had his armor removed, inner clothing replaced, and received first-aid, but his wounds were still visible.

“Take me to the Pioneers. Don’t worry, I’ll pay.”

“That’s not what I’m worried about…”

“Don’t worry, just go.”

Nick talked down the driver, who obliged with a displeased expression.

◆

“This year’s monster’s pre-hibernation meal was weird. There were more named monsters than normal… Is this an omen?”

Listlessly mumbled a black haired beautiful woman, with her chin resting on her hands.

“Hn…”

Another beautiful woman sitting across who looked just like her nodded.

“I’m going to get rusty here on stand-by… Cutting down evil spirits isn’t bad, but blades are meant to cut meat.”

“Being on stand-by is important too. Pioneers doesn’t have a lot of people.”

“Ahh… When are some lively youngsters going to get promoted…”

She said with a sigh.

Her movements, and even the lips sighing were alluring and lascivious. Her pure black cassock should bring about an air of chastity and nobility, but it was strangely charming when she wore it. However, no one in Pioneers would be charmed.

Her name was Kisui, and she was the ace of the C rank party, Ghost Hunt.

All members of this party were priests of the god of balance Virginie, the most militaristic of the four sects in this country. They valued order and peace, and their mission was to help those attacked by monsters or robbers.

Because of this, training in the military arts and tempering their bodies was essential, and they were well connected with chivalric orders and adventurer guilds.

Kisui and the rest of her party got together as adventurers for the sake of these relations and personnel exchange. However, no one in this guild believed this.

Everyone figured they were too extreme even for the Virginie sect, and were relegated to the adventurer guild.

“Sister.”

“What Tansui?”

The woman named Tansui was Kisui’s twin. The way their hair was parted and their katanas were different, and while Kisui had an alluring presence, Tansui could be better described as having a sleepy posture. Everything else was exactly the same.

“Don’t you miss Nick?”

“I don’t. The air feels fresher without that cocky kid around.”

Kisui answered Tansui with clear irritation.

“How pathetic to be kicked out of a party for something so stupid. We could’ve hired him if he came here with his head lowered and asked, but he hasn’t shown up yet. A stray dog like him should at least be a little cuter.”

Kisui had a bad habit. When she saw a new adventurer or one she liked, she liked to slash at them to see what they could do.

She would often pick fights with new adventurers in Pioneers, and people around her would not do much to stop her. Although Ghost Hunt was a C rank party, Kisui could hold her own against A rank adventurers.

Not only would it be hard to stop her, but she also held back in her own way, so no one was ever seriously hurt.

Guild employees also turned a blind eye on this, since it served as a rite of passage for adventurers that were feeling overly confident after having their rank rise enough to join Pioneers.

Kisui took advantage of this to chase around an adventurer she was interested in with her katana. An adventurer that was not even a newcomer, Nick.

She was entranced by the way he was limber enough to move like a cat, even though he was a man. Nick lamented his slender body and lack of muscles, but this tickled Kisui’s sadism.

He had all the muscles he needed while having very little fat. His joints were flexible and his torso strong.

His body balance was almost artistic. It was beautiful, like a ballerina, something even women could not easily achieve. When Kisui attacked him, it went beyond simple rough play and became a courting action.

Obviously, only Kisui herself saw it as that. To the person being attacked, she was nothing more than a lunatic slashing at him in broad daylight.

“Hmph.”

“What is it Tansui?”

“He’ll probably be here soon.”

“Will he?”

“I heard from an acquaintance over in Fishermen that he will be promoted again.”

“Tansui. Explain things a little more clearly.”

Although Kisui complained about her sister’s lack of clarity, she more or less understood what she meant.

She complained because this was generally something that complicated things, and also because she wanted to hear the good news in a more direct manner.

However, this explanation did not come, as it was interrupted by the arrival of the man himself.

With a big thud, the door was opened.

◆

“Excuse me.”

He tossed a silver coin to the driver, and opened the door to Pioneers as if he was kicking it down.

“…Nick!”

Most people present were taken aback. They gasped at his bloodlust, and the way he looked like a rabid dog.

Only one person welcomed him, Kisui, whose voice emanated joy.

She slowly unsheathed her katana without a sound, and released a flash of light.

Tansui saw this, but was too late, and Nick and Kisui were already too close.

“I don’t know how, but you got promoted right? Not bad. You’re not getting rusty uh?”

Kisui spoke as though she was having a friendly chat while attacking Nick.

“Sorry, I don’t have time to play.”

Usually, Nick would jump back and throw the cup sitting on a nearby table before running away. Tansui would then hold Kisui back while the rest of All Martial Arts got involved. This was a common occurrence when Nick used to visit Pioneers.

“Oh…”

But Nick did not have friends here to stop this anymore.

The katana user that would say things like ‘what’s wrong with being popular with girls’ and ‘if you hurt him you better take responsibility’ while grinning was not in this world anymore.

Nick had just killed him just a few hours before.

“Come on, just play a little… Eh?”

Nick dodged the blade, approached Kisui, and lightly hit her chin with a spear hand.

Tansui sounded surprised.

“Eh… Sister?”

Nick used the same rotation on his hand he used when he ran up the wall. The impact of this rotation traveled through Kisui’s chin and shook her brain like a pendulum. Kisui lost consciousness in a second and was about to fall, but was caught by Tansui.

Several people in Pioneers knew the past Nick, but the Nick they knew was nowhere near strong enough to defeat someone as strong as Kisui as though she was a child.

The place fell silent, as everyone was in shock.

“Where’s Argus?”

Nick asked a receptionist as he walked towards a counter.

“Eh…”

“Didn’t you hear me? I asked. Where’s Argus of All Martial Arts.”

“D-didn’t you hear Nick?”

Nick looked as though he was about to kill someone, which frightened the employee answering his question with another question.

“Hear what? I said where’s…”

“Yesterday, we were notified that All Martial Arts was disbanded.”

“What?”

“I-it actually causes problems for us too, because the order came here asking what happened. Argus didn’t say why or where he was going…”

The question in Nick’s mind was the answer.

What Garosso said before he died was true.

‘Argus picked me up because he thought I’d make a good assassin.’

‘We’ve pretty much been on holiday for all these years. Everyone of us is like this except you, including Argus.’

‘I got this armor because the one’s worshiping the evil god are regular customers.’

This confirmation sapped the strength from Nick’s body.

Nick’s focus was being held together by determination and will alone, and it broke.

“Hei.”

Nick was wide open for an attack, and a solid chop hit his neck.

“Gah…!?”

“Excuse me, I’m just here to get this back.”

As Nick’s consciousness faded, the last thing he saw was Alice’s face, who finally caught up with him.

Silavin: We finally caught up to the raws. Damn it! They left it at such a cliffhanger. Honestly, for the most part, this novel felt really slow paced. This final arc is really good. Sad that it ends here. Well, if the author picks it up again, PM me on discord.