Volume 3 - CH 17

Chapter 17 – Return

After defeating Red-Eye, the main members of the suicide squad had conducted a simple investigation of the new dungeon before they returned to the path they came from to rescue the survivors. Incidentally, the dungeon itself was sealed by Puke’s barrier magic to prevent monsters from entering and exiting.

There were no casualties among the main members of the suicide squad who fought against Red-Eye. But that was mainly because the cavalry sacrificed themselves to pave the way for them. Therefore, two knights from the squad had gone ahead of them to report to the royal capital, and requests for reinforcement to rescue the cavalry were also included in their reports.

As the party headed for the royal capital while saving the cavalry members who are still alive with potions, they came across a group of knights who came after receiving the report. The knights subsequently informed the squad that they already sent their peers to search for the injured to treat them.

Then, Puke asked some knights to accompany him and the magicians back to the dungeon to continue their investigation. It goes without saying, Puke was the only one who was happy with it, as the other magicians seemed to want to take a rest. They probably felt complicated feelings in their heart for having a very active boss who was still going for the investigation despite having just recovered from a fatal injury.

However, it is true that the reason for why the Goblins only attacked during the night is still unclear. And as long as the investigation regarding the dungeon reveals even a part of that secret, it might become the key to solving the mystery of the Stampede.

At any rate, after Puke and the magicians left, Eto and the squad took a little rest at a camp in the woods created by the cavalry to search and treat their companions. That was natural. Just like Eto, the knights and the adventurers, especially those who act as the front-liners of the squad, were also exhausted, after all. The moment they ate the rations and drank warm boiled water, they were finally able to actually feel that they had survived from a hell-of-a-battle.

Still, although the Red-Eye have been defeated, nobody could assuredly say that there won’t be any attacks that night. With that in mind, Eto and the squad returned to the royal capital before sunset while the knights who continued to rescue their comrades also returned to the royal capital before the sun went down.

And after finishing his report to the guild, Eto and his party returned to the inn. However, Eto’s mind was unable to calm down. Because if the goblins still attacked the capital that night, they would have to revise their plan once again. He couldn’t even sleep after laying his tired body down, and eventually he decided to go to the east gate together with Amou.

As the two arrived at the east gate, Eto and Amou found that several members of 『Arrow of Light』 and 『Shrine of Aragami』 also came to that place, and they laughed at each other, thinking they had the same idea as them. When they told the situation to a garrison soldier, he escorted them to the top of the wall and said that they could be there as long as they wanted. The three parties stayed on the top of the wall until morning, but in the end, no attack happened that night. That was, of course, a good thing. Because that means, the goblin raid that caused many casualties, was finally over.

Hence, Eto and Amou returned to the inn, had breakfast, and were finally able to sleep at ease. Eto then woke up in the evening and immediately headed to the dining room on the first floor, and saw Kohaku and Sorano were eating there. According to them, a messenger came from the royal castle while Eto and Amou were asleep, explaining the audience with his Majesty the King that will be held three days later. It seems, a carriage will be sent to pick them up at the inn that day.

“I see, thanks for dealing with the messenger.”

AD

“Come to think of it, I couldn’t ask this because many things happened recently, but does Eto know the King? And that black-belly magician! What’s his name again? The leader of the magician… Ah, right, it’s Puke-sama! He said that you left the hero’s party, right? What does that mean?”

Apparently, Puke’s image has become a ‘black-belly magician’ in Kohaku’s mind, which made Eto surprised. Well, Sorano did inform them about how she hates Puke, so that might be what influenced her.

“Aa, speaking of which, I haven’t told you guys yet. It is a story about the time before I met you guys. And it definitely isn’t a pleasant story, even so, do you want to hear it?”

All three of them nodded, telling him that they wanted to hear it. They likely have been restraining themselves to ask about that all this time for his sake.

Thus, Eto told his party members how he was once a member of the Hero’s party, how he was unreasonably discriminated against, and how he was fed up with them and decided to leave the party.

“After that, I got a pretty good sum of money from the wyvern subjugation reward, the unpaid reward when I was at the Hero’s party and the compensation for being unfairly treated. With that money, I was able to renew my equipment and add you guys to my party.”

Eto felt a little dejected as if a pathetic secret of his that he had hidden so far had been revealed.

“Somehow, I don’t know if I should describe Eto as someone who experienced many ups and downs, or just simply a pitiful person.”

Of course, Eto knew that Kohaku wasn’t trying to make a fool of him. She said that merely because that’s what she thought. And honestly, her honest impression made Eto feel at ease.

“Is it okay for the Hero to have that kind of personality? Is it okay, humanity?”

Hearing Eto’s story, Sorano seems to harbor a doubt about the existence of the Hero.

“But the fact that they gave compensation means the royal castle and the church also admitted the wrongdoing of the heroes. What happened to them after that?”

Amou asked Eto.

“I don’t know what happened to them. And to be honest, I’m not really interested in it. But I think the higher-ups didn’t openly announce that they’re the ones responsible for my matter. The impact will be huge if they do that, after all. Some higher-ups might have already scolded them, though.”

Eto casually replied, showing his disinterestedness towards the matter. He knew that there was no way the Hero, who was the only one in the world chosen by the goddess, would be punished for such a trivial matter, after all. That is why, Eto thought it’s better for him to forget about his unpleasant past and just focus on his adventure.

“Not getting involved with the Hero’s party anymore is already the best reward for me. If I was ordered to return to that party, I might have fled to another country. I absolutely do not want to meet the Hero and the master magician ever again. It will be unpleasant for me if I meet him again1.”

For Eto, the Hero’s party was just a thing that was already over. Although the feeling of frustration from being banned from using support magic is still lingering in his heart, at this point, he held no more hatred towards Ronaldo or Mirei. The only thing he felt was just a repulsive feeling that made him not want to get involved with them ever again2.

“How about the sword saint? She is your childhood friend who came from the same village as you, right?”

“Regarding Lana, I did feel really disheartened when I knew she believed in the Hero more than me, her childhood friend. But now that I think about it, I should have talked to her more about my problem. In truth, I know why I didn’t do that. I was simply embarrassed. Not only that, but I felt really pathetic to be discriminated against by the Hero. And I didn’t want Lana to know that, so I built a wall to avoid her,”

Recalling his past, Eto sighed deeply. If he could talk with Lana just like how he talks with his current party member, they might have a different ending by now.

“That’s simple. You just have to talk with Lana the next time you meet here again, right? I don’t think it is too late.”

Kohaku said, showing her concern towards Eto.

“That’s true.”

Although he didn’t know when such an opportunity would come in the future, Eto thought that he would properly talk to her then.