Chapter 327

I have no clue what Ryan is thinking right now, but I do know that his hands on my shoulders are REALLY heavy.

“Um… Sir Ryan?”

“Answer the question.”

Ngh… So this is what people call a non-hostile smile that still feels threatening.

“C-Chief, I was–“

“Not a word, Tifa.”

Now he’s directing that totally non-hostile look at Tifa.

Seeing Ryan act like this, everyone else started talking about their own stuff.

Well, there’s a handful of people who aren’t talking, but I won’t be able to continue MY conversation with them if I don’t resolve this… situation.

“I-I told her stories.”

“Oh-ho… Stories?”

Oh? Ryan’s eyes are back to normal now.

Could it be that he…

“Yes. Very old stories, so to speak.”

And so I recapped my adventure for the third time.

I’m not complaining, though. It’s something everyone involved must know.

My assumption is that Ryan started off with Tifa’s topic as an excuse, so that I’d actually get straight into the important topic.

Ryan, hearing the story for the first time, took a step back and closed his eyes.

Adolf, being his usual excitable self, spoke up with his eyes sparkling,

“W-wow… Sir Asley is actually the legendary Poer…”

He’s grown up to look a lot more manly than before, and he should be promoted to Rank S any day now, I think?

The latter part applies to everyone among Silver’s rank — Really, what’s going on?

I mean, sure, Team Silver is pretty much the gathering place of talented people.

But ALL of them almost reaching Rank S so quickly? That’s unheard of.

Well, unlike Adolf, everyone else doesn’t seem to want to express their surprise openly — And then there’s Ryan with a reaction different from all of them.

“Tifa.”

Looks like he figured he’d better talk to Tifa first — Which is understandable. I mean…

“Yes?”

“I do trust Sir Asley. But listen, Tifa — You must not inconsiderately barge into a man’s room, especially late at night.”

“Uh…”

Tifa blurted just that out and said nothing more.

Ryan sure has his priorities in the right place. He’s balancing the progress of all relevant topics in one conversation.

“You wouldn’t want Sir Asley to show up in your room uninvited, would you?”

“Uh…?”

I blurted just that out and said nothing more.

“Yes, sir!”

Tifa finally said, her eyes sparkling as much as Adolf’s just now.

I don’t get it. What in the world is Ryan even thinking?

I mean, it’s just… strange. But maybe because of that, everyone is laughing like there’s no tomorrow. Well, except Mana and Haruhana.

Mana looks a bit grumpy, and Haruhana seems… inspired, like she just came up with some brilliant idea.

“Poer, the legendary Holy Warrior… That certainly sounds impressive.”

Blazer finally said something.

At first, I thought he’d become even less talkative over the past two years, but now that doesn’t seem to be the case.

“Fuyu, you think I can be one, too!?”

Natsu turned to ask Fuyu, her eyes filled with expectation, while the latter just looked ready to fall asleep any second now.

Fuyu’s been through a lot, and she must’ve been keeping up with her training. Using the Teleportation spell at this time of night is bound to wear her out.

Not to mention that Lina’s already gone somewhere else, too.

“…You don’t have God’s power… so probably not.”

Fuyu rubbed her eyes. Seeing that, Ryan turned to Reyna.

Reyna nodded and held Fuyu up by her shoulders, then helped her walk back to her room.

Ryan and Reyna… I swear, these two have achieved a spiritual level of mutual understanding — even more so than me and Pochi.

“Hahaha! Anyway, it’s good to have you back, Asley! You’re not gonna run off again anytime soon, yeah?”

“Actually, Bruce… I have a mission in Regalia right after this. The plan is to leave tomorrow around noon.”

“Meh… Well, the rest of us will be staying in T’oued for a while.”

“So you all really packed up and moved to T’oued, huh… That was some good thinking, really.”

Everyone looked at Tifa.

…Oh, so it was her idea.

With all eyes on her, Tifa looked down, obscuring her reddened face.

“Hahaha. So? What’s your mission over at Regalia, man?”

“If we can help with anything, just say the word!”

Bruce and Reid asked me in succession.

“Hmm…”

I groaned as I looked up at the cave’s ceiling.

They should know about it, sure, but how am I gonna tell them?

Well, mincing my words won’t help make it sound any better, I guess…

“Simply put, I’ll be there to… kidnap someone, I guess?”

Everyone went silent harder than they’d done when I told him all the legendary adventure stuff.

Even Blazer and Ryan are visibly confused.

“Yeah, I’m supposed to bring War Demon Emperor Vaas back here.”

Their jaws dropped to the floor… figuratively. Then they turned to look at one another.

Well, it’s understandable. Anyone would react like that when someone says they’re going to kidnap a Nation’s ruler.

“”…Pfft– HAHAHAHAHAHA!””

The original Silver trio — Bruce, Blazer, and Betty — burst out laughing. Then they shouted out in unison,

“”THAT’S HILARIOUS!””

Looks like everyone’s heard by now how War Demon Emperor Vaas is a Puppet Monarch. But these three… they’re having a fair bit of fun about it.

…Huh, Ryan looks like he’s trying to hold his laughter, too.

“Well, whenever you get to Regalia, give us a call!”

Bruce said as he leaned back in his chair and folded his arm. Betty chuckled.

“The three of us will help you out.”

“Uh — I-I do appreciate that, but… Are you sure?”

I turned to Blazer, and he responded with just a smile.

“H-hey! Let me in on this, too!”

“M-me, too!”

Reid and Adolf subsequently offered their assistance, but were stopped by Ryan.

“No, you two are far too inexperienced.”

“H-how so, Chief!?”

Adolf tried standing his ground.

“You did not find the objective of his mission to be funny — That is how you know you’re not ready.”

Ryan is probably right. The only ones that can handle this mission are those three… and Ryan himself.

But Ryan is Silver’s second-in-command. With Blazer out on this job, Ryan has to stay behind and keep the team running. 

Blazer had volunteered exactly because he knew Ryan would stay; the trust between them was exactly what enabled Ryan to take over the command immediately, deciding who to let in on the mission and who not to.

In truth, Ryan probably wanted to go as well.

Being told off, Reid and Adolf went silent. They do have a decent level of courage, but they probably don’t know so well when and where to put it to use.

They’ll need a little bit more time before they’re ready to fight on the front lines.

…Which also means they’ll be catching up real fast. I’m not about to let myself fall behind, though!

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

After that meeting, we stayed up late into the night, chatting away and laughing a whole lot.

As usual, the party ended when Natsu, constantly energetic during every moment of it, ran out of steam and fell asleep.

And so, the next day, Pochi and I walked out of the hideout, seen off by Team Silver, Lina, Fuyu, and Irene.

“Betty! Helloooooo!!”

“Ahahaha! Pochi! Looks like you’re doing fine — and that’s good!”

“Hahaha! You never change, doggo!”

Pochi is quite happy to see Betty, Bruce again — and everyone else, of course.

“…Damn, you got real strong, too.”

Bruce really got straight to the point there.

Everyone else has probably noticed as well, but the joy of the reunion must have taken precedence. Probably.

“Give it your best, Sir Asley! I’ll do my best on my mission, too!”

“Be careful out there, Lina.”

“Yes, sir!”

Lina looked straight at me, the glint in her eyes showing just how much stronger she’d become.

After her, I turned to look at Baladd, and then Konoha on the Dragon’s head.

“Master Asley!”

Baladd lowered her head, letting me put my hand on it.

“Please take good care of Lina, Konoha.”

“You sure you don’t mean it the other way around, young man?”

The way Konoha talked sounded like an attempt to emulate Gaston’s way of calling me.

Curiously enough, despite the obvious age difference between us, I didn’t feel opposed to that at all.

In fact, I felt happy. It felt like Konoha had inherited the trust Gaston had for me.

“What I meant is… I trust you to make the right decisions, and to guide her way when needed.”

In saying that, maybe I was looking at a part of Gaston left behind in Konoha. I did mean what I said, of course.

Konoha laughed, eyes welling up with tears — but those tears never streamed down.

“Leave it to me.”

I nodded to Konoha, then turned to Fuyu.

“It’s nice to meet you, Platina.”

“Neigh…”

Exactly as Fuyu said earlier, this is a rare example of a Familiar that has retained its dignity as a beast.

Platina lowered its head, and I, taking that as permission, patted its head.

Then I looked up at Fuyu on Platina’s back, and chuckled.

“This is a good friend you have.”

“A very dear friend, yes!”

All right. Even if I didn’t spell my intention out, Fuyu understood the meaning of me saying ‘friend’ instead of ‘Familiar’.

Whether it’s because of Fuyu herself, Gaston’s teachings, or Lina’s influence, it’s all good.

Sagan’s achievement might have something to do with it, too… Well, let’s just say that it’s because of a combination of all those.

“Be careful out there, Fuyu.”

“And good luck on your mission, Sir Asley!”

“Hahaha, at least I know to always give it my all now — Thanks to Warren and the others teaching me!”

Fuyu chuckled, looking pretty happy.

Since she and Platina will be running on the ground together, Warren has chosen a relatively safe mission for them to work on. A Star Horse’s speed is sure to guarantee them a fair bit of safety, too.

…And speaking of maneuverability, I’m actually worried about Lina on that front.

“Since you’ve said it to everyone — You be careful, too.”

“I will, Miss Irene. Don’t overwork yourself, all right?”

“Hmph, I ALWAYS overwork myself. How else do you think have I been keeping this band of misfits in check?”

“Hahaha… That’s… understandable.”

“Now listen up. Don’t worry so much about failing — It’s about sending a message. Let them know that we’ve become enough of a threat that we’re able to infiltrate Regalia Castle. Other than that, your life is the priority. Don’t waste it.”

Irene said all that with her face turned away from me, but I could tell that she was at least a bit embarrassed.

And while I do appreciate her concern, I have a feeling that this mission is too important for me to fail.

“All right then, we’ll be leaving now.”

“We’ll be back soon, everyone!”

Saying that, Pochi stepped onto the Teleportation Spell Circle.

Then, after everyone said a few words to send her off, Pochi teleported away.

It should send her to my room in Beilanea. Once I’m over there as well, we’ll be heading north toward Regalia.

From what I’ve heard, this cave is in a mountain close to T’oued, so going back there first is more time-efficient.

I stepped onto the Teleportation Spell Circle, but before I could go, Warren took a step forward and said,

“…As an old saying goes, hardship makes the man — Surely you still have greater heights to aim for. Now, good luck on your mission.”

“Thank you.”

I nodded to Warren and, after receiving words of encouragement from everyone, teleported away.

“All right, then… Hmm?”

Reappearing in my room in the Pochisley Agency, I saw Pochi turning away from me, shivering all over. I tilted my head, wondering what was up.

“M-M-M-M-M-M-Master! I’m scared! I don’t wanna go!”

“So you really were bluffing in front of everyone, huh!?”

“I mean, it’s just you and me on this job! That’s way too much!”

“The Silver trio said they’d be helping, too!”

“B-But! We’re still the ones doing the most dangerous part!”

Okay, yeah, she IS right about that.

Considering the level of maturity she usually exhibits, achieving that realization in the first place is an amazing thing.

Getting through that fight with the Devil King must’ve helped her grow up quite a bit, huh?

“More importantly, I’m hungry, sir!”

Me too, doggo, me too.

And so, after heaving a sigh and telling Pochi to wait, I started drawing a Spell Circle.

“Huh? What are you opening the Storeroom for, sir?”

“Well, I figured I’d get us some more help…”

I said to Pochi as I stuck my upper body into the Storeroom.

“…Wait, isn’t this…!”

I took out a giant, human-sized Crystal… containing a familiar yet different Holy Warrior of legends.

“Lylia!”

“I should be able to undo this strange seal now… Or at least I think I can.”