Book 2: Chapter 4: (6)

「Ahahaha, it’s so embarrassing. After that, all I did was lie there afraid of the dark and of monsters. Paralysis poison doesn’t inhibit sleep, but it was impossible for me to drop off.」

The whole time, Deet was listening to Ria’s story with a blank look on her face.

「The sound of a single pebble falling off the stone wall…… It frightened me so much that I cried.」

I don’t know what kind of expression I had on.

「That’s why I mistook Sir Thor for a goblin…… Even though, in reality, he’s been so incredibly kind to me here……. When I realised that, I got scared of even going into the dungeon…… Even having a sword frightens me……」

With hatred in her eyes, Deet said,

「I knew from a rumour in the guild tavern that Klein had inherited your sword according to the ‘Principles of the Adventurer’s Guild’, but the more I get to know about what really happened, the more I hate that scum!」

「But even I couldn’t give any thought to the safety of the two of them who’d left me after I collapsed. No, perhaps I even hoped for the opposite.」

Ria looked down as she said that.

「Ria, that’s only natural. Are you really worried about a thing like that?」

「……」

「I’m shocked. More than that, I’ll give Klein a walloping and take your sword back for you!」

「W-wait, Deet. That sword belongs to Klein now. The ‘Principles of the Adventurer’s Guild’ are recognised by the law of the Kingdom of Francis. It will be you who gets punished.」

「But we can’t forgive them! Right, Thor?」

「Sir Thor, please stop Deet!」

Deet had addressed me, but I couldn’t come up with an answer.

「Th-Thor? Thor! Why are you shaking like that?」

「S-Sir Thor! Sir Thor, are you all right?」

「I’ll never……」

「「What?」」

When I started to mutter, the two of them looked at one another. I couldn’t stop myself.

「I’ll never forgive those cowards! Neverrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!」

The two of them looked dumbfounded.

「O-our carefree Thor has snapped!」

「S-Sir Thor! Even if you don’t forgive them, the Adventurer’s Guild and the laws of the Kingdom of Francis do.」

I don’t give a damn!

「The Adventurer’s Guild might forgive them, and the laws of the Kingdom of Francis might forgive them, but I never will, and neither will my grandma in heaven! Neverrrrrrrrrrr!」

Ria raised her voice.

「Whaaaaaaaat? Your grandma? You? When you say you’ll ‘never forgive them’, what do you mean?」

「I’ll make ‘em suffer!」

「Sir Thor, there’s no need to ‘make them suffer’…」

Deet agreed with me.

「I’m gonna teach them a lesson, too!」

I nodded and called out in the direction of the bed,

「You will too, right, Shizuku?」

Shizuku, wobbling, popped up out of the bed.

「Shizuku has…… been waiting eagerly…… for you to take action…… Master!」

「Whaaaaat?! Is that a white slime?! Why is there a white slime here?!」

I laid my hand on top of Deet’s. Shizuku clambered onto our hands.

「We will make those cowards sorry for making Ria cry, and we’ll get back her sword!」

「Hurrah!」

Just as the thought of never forgiving those guys was raising my spirits, I was suddenly tackled from the side and pinned down on the bed.

「Ow ow ow! Who is that?」

It kind of – no, it really hurt. They were even stronger than Enami.

「Sir Thor, Sir Thor!」

When I got a good look at them, I realised it was Ria.

She pressed her face into my chest. My shirt was damp.

Deet and Shizuku looked at me with resolute expressions and left the Western-style room.

When the two of them had left, Ria – with her face still pressed against my chest – asked me,

「If it had been you, Sir Thor, what would you have done?」

It was a little abrupt, but I understood Ria’s meaning.

「Even if we’d both been attacked by monsters, I would have carried you on my back, Ria.」

Ria lifted her face from my chest. She was smiling gently.

「I knew that, of course. Ha ha ha.」

She tidied her hair a little and put on an expression fit for a knight. Then she touched her lips to mine.

♦︎ ♦︎ ♦︎

「I wish a pretty girl like you would stay with our party permanently instead of just for the time being, Deet.」

「Ahaha…… I’ll think about it.」

I gave them a fixed smile that even I knew was fake. I wanna hit him right now.

But, if I thumped him, I’d ruin the strategy that Thor had worked out. Hang on. Gotta be patient.

In any case, I felt as if Klein – contrary to what Ria had told us – had his head turned by women pretty easily. A late bloomer, perhaps?

Well, through her eyes, everyone looks like a good person. Or maybe she’s just thick-headed and doesn’t realise.

「By the way, Deet, that artifact of yours is really useful.」

Klein pointed to my chest. Where d’you think you’re looking?!

「This moonstone necklace?」

「Yeah.」

It was an item that could light up a cave even if the wearer didn’t have a torch or lantern. For someone like me, who usually explored by myself, you could say it was an indispensable artifact.

「I think it might be the most expensive out of all my artifacts.」

I had to auction off the clothes that I’d got from Thor. I’d laid them out in the tavern.

Barney joined in the conversation.

「How much was it? It must be pretty expensive.」

New parties often big up each other’s equipment and artifacts like this. It seems like harmless talk, but it’s not uncommon for there to be self-interest at play.

Especially for adventurers who have profited from their teammates’ equipment.

「Oh, not really. Klein’s sword looks much more expensive. Ha ha ha.」

There we go. The moment I said that, Barney’s eyes narrowed.

He was wary of me. He’s betrayed someone before, so he’s thinking that other people might betray him, too.

Right at that moment, a giant rat appeared from around a bend in the passageway. Klein split it straight down the middle.

「Do you see? This sword of mine is mithril. Mithril!」

Klein was even more of an idiot than Barney.

It’s not yours! What are you boasting for?!

No-one had ever heard of an adventurer in Ria’s condition managing to make it back, so he didn’t doubt that the sword belonged to him. But seeing him boast about it, without even feeling guilty, made me suddenly angry.

「Quit it, Klein!」

「What’s your problem, Barney?」

Barney put a stop to Klein’s boasting about the sword.

But it was Barney I really couldn’t stomach. I hated the way he’d looked at me just a moment ago, with hard, jealous eyes.

He was the one who’d invited me to join their party in the first place.

「I saw on the Guild noticeboard that you’re looking for a temporary party to earn some money?」

「That’s right. I’ve incurred some expenses, you see. What’s your name?」

「Barney. This is unusual for you, Deet – the rumour goes that you always adventure alone. We’re going to hold a memorial service. How does that sound? It should make us a bit of money, so why don’t we split it between the three of us?」

「What level?」

「Fifth level. If you’re with us, we should be fine.」

Incidentally, ‘holding a memorial service’ is slang. It means recycling your old teammate’s stuff.

In many cases, adventurers don’t have much equipment, so selling their stuff doesn’t bring in a lot of money. But there was no excuse not to recycle a former knight’s armour and shield. That was the explanation I got. Although Barney said the same of the leather bag that he kept next to his chest, I knew that there was almost nothing in it.

‘Memorial services’ are far and away the most effective way of making money, much better than searching for artifacts which might be anywhere in the dungeon, or finishing missions from the Adventurer’s Guild.

But it’s a business that even ruffians shy away from.

Sometimes people will willingly ‘hold a memorial service’ for a fallen adventurer they encounter along the way, someone they didn’t know. But not for a former comrade. For one thing, they’re aware of the dangers in the place where their comrade fell, and for another, it’s said to be unlucky.

Only an adventurer who’d already got a taste for it would do it willingly.

That’s right. I knew that only someone who’d obtained a weapon as expensive as a mithril sword from his comrade would enjoy doing this.

Some people will join a temporary party with the intention of betraying the party in the end.

That’s why I don’t want to form a party with anyone.

「By the way, where’s Ria?」

「Up ahead. Just a little further, on the left.」

「If she knew we’d teamed up with a beauty like you, Deet, she’d probably be jealous.」

I really wanna hit him.

「You’re just flattering me, Klein.」

「No, I’m serious! Please think about what I said about staying on with us.」

I wonder whether even Ria, who thinks well of everyone, realised what you’re really like when she got hit with the paralysis poison because you messed up?

She must have known when you went off with her sword and the rations.

Looking at his handmade map, Barney said,

「It was around here that Aria collapsed, wasn’t it? Let’s search the area.」

Barney took a flower out of his breast pocket.

You steal from dead bodies, and yet you’re going to do that? That’s the thing I hate most about you!

Klein, who’d got over Ria and was trying to put the moves on me, was irritating. But I hated Barney so much I didn’t even want to dirty my hands by walloping him. I wanna crush you under the sole of my shoe.

「The armour and shield…… I mean, Aria’s body isn’t here.」

Your true feelings are showing…… I didn’t want to hear any more, but we were close to where we needed to be for Thor’s strategy.

I just had to lead them there.

「Look, over there. There’s a blonde woman lying on the ground.」

「Huh…… Is it Ria?」

I knew that their faces would grow serious in an instant.

Of course. They will have been expecting a completely silent corpse.

But when I turned to look over at Ria, who was lying on her stomach, I thought her thighs – sticking out of the bottom end of her dress armour – were so luscious that even I, a woman, would have like to caress them…… er, rather, she looked fresh and youthful, and not at all like a dead body.

「Wh-what?!」

A murmur escaped from Klein’s pale lips.

「Huh? Is she alive? Well, go ahead and say it, then. You’ve formed a party with me, so you don’t need her anymore, right? Shall I tell her?」

「S-stop. Please.」

「Hey, Klein. Isn’t that what you said? Ria and I are on bad terms – is that why you invited me along for this job?」

Looks like I’ve hit the nail on the head. Klein and Barney, their faces dripping with sweat, were barely listening to me.

「Ha ha ha. Just kidding! There’s no way she’d still be alive after weeks without weapons or rations. It’s just a corpse.」

「B-b-b-but……!」

「Well, we shouldn’t stand around chatting. Let’s take what we came here to take. Come on.」

Putting a hand on each of their backs, I pushed the two of them towards the collapsed ‘lady knight’.