CH 109

{Sword}

The uproar after we cleared the dungeon was, in all honesty, worse than back when I repelled the dragon. Well, lots of folks croaked at that time and those who managed to survive felt terribly languid. Some even doubted my repellin’ it.

Rather, some still do nowadays.

This time it’s gotta be owed to Indra’s impact, I’m sure. She had used ropes to tie together several treasure chests that didn’t fit in our bags, and carried ’em. Of course I told her, “How ’bout puttin’ ’em into the Ryokus?”

But she immediately chided, “There’s no way I’d let the Ryokus carry something so heavy, is there!?”

――Incomprehensible, that girl.

She dotes on ’em excessively. At this point I really doubt whether she understands the purpose of golems.

When Indra, carryin’ huge chests, stepped out of an extravagant teleport gate that had manifested in the most crowded place at the most conspicuous spot near the dungeon entrance, everyone must have thought that this had to be proof of her havin’ cleared the dungeon.

＊

That girl, seriously…sometimes I think she’s a natural-born bigshot.

――Yeah, yeah, I’m just a tiny shot anyway, I know! A petty bourgeois!

Everyone said they wanted to hear what happened. Though I think 80% were just jealous of her. Anyway, she took their words seriously, climbed atop Char on a plaza, and gave a speech.

Moreover, she riled up everyone listenin’ to her.

Look, if you tell folks, “Sir Dungeon Core is eagerly awaitin’ you,” ‘nyone callin’ ’emselves adventurer would want to head straight into the dungeon.

To make matters worse, she got completely carried away, and despite bein’ jeered at as “cute missy,” she took it “positively,” shoutin’ back, “Oohh! You sure have discerning eyes! If a pretty girl such as me stands here, she must seem like diva to you, right!? No helping it! I’ll sing one song for you guys!”

And then she started to sing and dance. I could only slap my forehead. Everyone was dumbstruck at first, but soon they started to enjoy ’emselves, cheerin’ and applaudin’.

However, just as Indra was ’bout to get caught up in the moment even further, I grabbed her head and made her stop. She’s really a bigshot, and, at the same time, an utter idiot.

…But, I’ve been saved by that stupid bigshot. It’s fun to be with her. No matter the situation, you gotta enjoy it, I was unable to follow such a simple principle, but now I’m able to have fun without any reservation.

That girl’s a heinous sadist, but I’ve started to believe that it’s fine for her to be like that.

――On one occasion, she got into a fight with an adventurer.

“…My friends died in that dungeon. And yet, you’re talking about it as if it’s a paradise, instigating others to head into the dungeon, aren’t you?”

The surroundings looked at us while enjoyin’ the show. Indra, on the other hand, looked at the adventurer blankly, not understandin’ what he was on ’bout.

“Hmm? I see. So, what about it?”

The people around us and I became speechless.

That guy froze for a moment too, before roarin’, “…How do you intend to take responsibility if people die in that dungeon because you induced them to go there!?”

Indra looked dumbfounded once more.

“Why would I take responsibility? What are you talking about, dude? The responsibility will lie with the retarded adventurers who recklessly charge into the dungeon after getting riled up by my words without even having a grasp of their own strength,” she shot him down flatly.

That guy completely froze.

“Even the deaths of your friends or whatever are their own fault and, of course, yours since you didn’t save them despite them being your friends, no? I’ve got nothing to do with that, do I? I’m an unrelated stranger. It’s everyone’s own decision what they do and how they take my words. Just like my words and actions are based on my own decisions. As if I’d give a damn about someone like you. Your friends died because they were dumb and weak adventurers, and you having been unable to save them is your own fault for being a weakling.”

…Well, she had a point, sure. But, that was way too blunt and outspoken.

“On top of that, you’re also a cowardly, foolish adventurer who tries to pin your wrongdoings on a completely unrelated stranger in order to dodge your own responsibility.”

After havin’ hurled all that at him, the adventurer became ghastly pale, crumbled to his knees, and started to cry.

“…If you were a cute girl, it might have…stirred my heart to an extent, but…even if a dirty badger bawls around shamefully, it’s nothing but disgusting, you know?”

This was the finishing blow. At this point, she had exceeded being an extreme sadist. He couldn’t say ‘nythin’ ‘nymore.

“Okay, could you give it a rest ’bout now? I mean, now even my heart got stirred…out of pity.”

“Really? Your heart doesn’t move the slightest when watching a pretty girl cry, but as soon as it’s a middle-aged dude, you sympathize with him because you feel a fellowship…ou-ouch, oooouch!”

I grabbed her head and gently stroked her skull.

＊

Everythin’ went down in such a manner.

――I might be a lost cause as I pick up too much maliciousness if I’m not with Indra. I wonder whether I should get those high-grade earplugs and use ’em…

As I walked while ponderin’ ’bout that, I heard someone callin’ out to me, “…Sword!”

――The ones callin’ me Sword and not 【Thunderclap Whitefang】 are only old acquaintances. This is probably the reason why I stopped at all. Usually I ignore such calls. After all, each time it’s someone pretendin’ to be an acquaintance, just to lure me to some suspicious place.

After havin’ been fed tons of drugs, my poison and paralysis resistances have gone through the roof.

I looked at the face of the one callin’ me while harborin’ such thoughts.

…

I feel like I’ve seen her somewhere before…

“Long time no see. For the first time in twelve years, I think.”

And then I remembered. …I see, twelve years change people, duh. It’s a span of time allowing boys and girls to grow into fine adults.

…Yep, she’s…

“Long time no see, Karen.”

――She was a member of my first party when I left the village after bein’ invited to become an adventurer together with ’em.