CH 36

Episode 36 – Frantic Search 

TL Note: Thanks again Jessie for sponsoring these two chapters! (2/2)

Note from the Author: This chapter is still in Ahmed’s POV.

“Oi! I won’t punch you, so answer my question!” (Ahmed)

When I told Bastard #4 this, he slowly looked behind him at his fallen companions and nodded his head while trembling in fear.

“If I k-know the answer to it, I will tell you!!” (Bastard #4)

“Okay, then didn’t you guys accept a request to go to Mount Cornello?” (Ahmed)

“Mount Cornello…? A request? That–” (Bastard #4)

“By the way, if you even think about telling a lie, I’ll kill your ass.” (Ahmed)

“…Yeah, we took that request! Uhh, we just came back!” (Bastard #4)

As Smash’s report said, these guys were the ones who accepted Lewin’s quest commission. But if that was the case, it was strange for them to be in the Adventurer’s Guild at this time. Smash said that Lewin put in the same quest commission information as last time, for a four day escort.

“What happened to the client?” (Ahmed)

“Well, umm…. T-that’s… uh…” (Bastard #4)

“Hey, if you don’t speak, I’ll rip you to shreds, so hurry up and spit it out. I’ll punch you until you’re beyond saving and there will be absolutely no consequences for me since I’m an “outcast”, isn’t that right?” (Ahmed)

The surroundings of the Adventurer’s Guild was starting to get noisy as people were starting to gather, attracted by the spectacle of the other three members lying on the ground bloodied and bruised. I didn’t really care, and continued to threaten the last remaining member. Gosh, this is so damn troublesome, I really want to just punch this guy out and get it over with…

When I thought that, Bastard #4 must have caught onto the fact that my patience was growing thin, and while trembling like a leaf, began to talk.

“On Mount C-Cornello, we ended up losing sight of the client, and we couldn’t find him so we came back.” (Bastard #4)

“Lost sight of, you say? You bastard, did you abandon Lewin alone on Mount Cornello?” (Ahmed)

“Lewin? W-who’s that?” (Bastard #4)

“Your client, you dumbass!” (Ahmed)

Without even thinking, my fist went flying towards his face, but Dion firmly stopped it once again. I couldn’t punch this guy until we got all of the information out of him. I took a deep breath as I told myself this over and over while holding in my anger.

“T-The client is at the mountain! It’s not that we left him behind, the circumstances just made it so we just had no choice but to return!!” (Bastard #4)

“No choice…? Hoh. Then that means you’ve already finished reporting to the Adventurer’s Guild that you lost sight of Lewin-kun, right?” (Dion)

“That’s r-right… Oh right! W-we just arrived here, so we were just about to go and report the situation!” (Bastard #4)

Dion probably already knew, but this was definitely a lie. These guys abandoned Lewin on Mount Cornello and when they returned, they did nothing but sit there and have a leisurely chat.

“……It’s okay now, right? Dion.” (Ahmed)

“Yeah, of course. Go at it to your heart’s content. If you weren’t going to do it, I wouldn’t hesitate to do it for you.” (Dion)

“I’ll do it.” (Ahmed)

After getting permission from the levelheaded Dion, I was finally given the okay to beat this guy senseless. I was holding my anger down time and time again while dealing with these guys, but my blood was still seething and boiling. Clenching my fist tightly, I imbued it with magic power.

“….Eh? I told you guys everything I knew though! Y-you said you wouldn’t punch me if I talked! I said what I knew! That… that fist, oh god…!” (Bastard #4)

“[Strike of the Fire Dragon].” (Ahmed)

Converting the magic power into overwhelming heat, I drove the fist straight into Bastard #4’s gut. He momentarily fainted in midair from the shock, but the moment he smashed into the ground, the searing heat surging from his abdomen forced him into consciousness with a painful gasp.

The technique I imbued into the fist had the effect of inflicting severe burns on the impacted area. The severe burns and pain would last for at least a month. And…it still felt like not enough, so I gave the same present to each of those bastards who had already collapsed on the floor.

“Dion, Smash. Sorry, but I’m gonna pass on this time’s quest commission. There’s something else I want to do, you see.” (Ahmed)

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll deal with these guys, so hurry up and go on ahead. Lewin-kun is definitely still alive.” (Dion)

“Yeah, that’s right. After dealing with these guys, we’ll cancel the quest commission we had lined up for today and then immediately go and catch up to you. Please go and help Lewin.” (Smash)

“Thanks. I’ll leave it to you guys.” (Ahmed)

These guys were always annoying me on a daily basis, but when it really came down to it, they always knew exactly what I was thinking. Somehow, I had come to rely on them quite a bit.

…I should really hurry. In situations like these, every second counted.

I dashed out of Grezesta and sprinted with all my might towards Mount Cornello. I was putting my entire being into running, working every fiber in my body so I could arrive even one second earlier. I didn’t even know why I was going all out, frantically searching for someone who was technically only my client that one time. I just couldn’t seem to put him down for some reason, and I was instinctively drawn to him. Sweat was dripping down from my forehead for the first time in a while, but I continued to push forward with everything I had.

Three hours after leaving Grezesta, I arrived at the base of Mount Cornello. The sun was still high in the sky, but I could only hope to be able to find him before nightfall… except I had absolutely no clue where he was. It probably would have been better if I asked them around which area they abandoned him, but even if I heard it from them I probably wouldn’t know exactly where he was at the moment. Now that it had come to this, I had to make use of my senses and search for him to the best of my own ability. Concentrating on enhancing my vision and smell, I ran all over the place, searching high and low.

I had been running for a while, but the wind wasn’t really blowing so I wasn’t able to catch any scents, and I hadn’t seen a single sign of him so far. When I got here, the sun was still high in the sky, but now it was already starting to turn dark. It seemed that I wasn’t getting anywhere by searching for him with my senses, so the only thing I could rely on now was my own intuition. In times like these, one of my rules of thumb was that relying on my intuition was usually the way to go.

It had been two hours since I stopped thinking and started using only my intuition to search. And finally, I felt something out of place for the first time. It was extremely faint, but I thought I picked up on the scent of Lewin in the air. I stopped in my tracks and closed my eyes to focus on the scent. It was coming from the south!

All I had to do was run in the direction of his scent!

It was already night so there were a lot of monsters out and around, but it didn’t hinder me much since they were all small fries. Dodging and evading what I could, I swung my sword to bisect any monsters that stood in my way.

And then–

“OI, LEWIN!! You’re up there, aren’t you? I’m here to help!!” (Ahmed)

There was a strong scent of Lewin coming from the top of this tree. It had to be this one!

“Ahmed-san!! I-I’m coming down now!” (Lewin)

Soon after I called out, I heard the emotional, teary voice of Lewin call down from the top of the tree. He really was here! Phew, at least he was safe….Hehehehe. I wanted to tease him a bit so I could see that amusing troubled face of his!

“Ufufu… you really were there! Okay, hurry up and come down from there.” (Ahmed)

I stood there for a while, eagerly waiting for him to climb down from the tree, when he finally appeared. Now then, what was he gonna say now? Maybe he would start with a ‘thank you’?

“Hehehehe! Lewin, I’ve come to help you! You don’t need to tha– oof! Hey!! Don’t hug me!” (Ahmed)

What the hell, this guy suddenly…?! I tried to tear him off me, but Lewin was crying his eyes out as he held onto me tightly.

….Strange. Seeing his crying face made my heart hurt for some reason.

“Aaahmeeed-san…! Thank you so much! A massive monster was t-trying to eat me! And then, I didn’t know the way home, and I didn’t know what to do, so I thought I’d never be able to go home… and then…” (Lewin)

“…….I have no clue what you’re saying, you know? Hey, stop crying, you’re a man, aren’t you?” (Ahmed)

“Sorry. I w-was just so relieved to see Ahmed-san… I couldn’t stop my tears right away…” (Lewin)

As Lewin was crying while blubbering some hardly comprehensible nonsense, my chest kept twinging in pain and my anger towards [White Feiler] reignited with a force. For the time being, I had to stay composed since Lewin was still in an unfavorable state. Sh*t… keep it together.

“Geez, such a hopeless guy… Get on my back. You can’t walk in this state, right?” (Ahmed)

“It’s okay. I’ll s-stop crying in just a second.” He said as he started wiping his tears with his sleeve.

“It’s fine, just get on already, or I’ll punch you!” (Ahmed)

When I forced him to get on my back, Lewin was holding onto me tightly, as if he was afraid of being separated again. He was still young after all, but he was pretty light and small. For some reason, I suddenly became overly aware of the feeling of Lewin on my back, and blushed in embarrassment.

“Oi, Lewin. So what in the world happened?” (Ahmed)

I asked Lewin a question to disguise the embarrassment I was feeling, but I didn’t receive any reply.

…

“Hey, Le–” (Ahmed)

I slightly turned my head to see why he was ignoring me, but I stopped when I saw him fast asleep on my back with a comfortable smile on his face. Hmm…! I thought for a moment that it would be funny to see what his reaction would be if I woke him up with a little knock on the head, but… I should really let him sleep, huh?

Carrying the sleeping Lewin on my back, I made my way back to Grezesta. I encountered Dion and Smash on the route home, and when they saw Lewin on my back, they both breathed a deep sigh of relief. Smash cracked a naughty, mischievous grin after seeing Lewin resting on my back, so I’d have to give him a punch on the head for that one later.