CH 40

Episode 40 – Farewell 

After that, the receptionist lady explained the details of the compensation they would be providing me. In addition to a refund of the 4 gold coins for the cost of the quest commission, they would be paying me an additional 20 gold coins in reparation fees. The handling fees for future business transactions would be waived only if I was at the Grezesta branch of the Adventurer’s Guild, but I was still very grateful to have received 20 gold coins. The failure of the expedition was something that was constantly weighing upon my chest, but, after receiving 20 gold coins in lump sum, I ended up in a substantial net positive as a result. It seemed they were initially planning to give me more, but apparently Ahmed-san ended up forcing them to give her a bigger slice of the pie than they were expecting to. The receptionist lady was visibly unhappy about this, but I laughed it off. Looking at the results of this incident alone, aside from the burns on my hands, there wasn’t anything I could complain about, so I was completely satisfied with the outcome.

It would be no exaggeration to say that this pleasant outcome was thanks to Ahmed alone, so I felt like running over and thanking her as soon as possible. But… it would be better to return to the inn and rest first. The fatigue I accumulated from my first battle and the time hiding in the mountains alone was far worse than I expected. If I didn’t sleep very soon, I would probably reach my limit and collapse. I slept for a bit on Ahmed’s back on the way home, but I should have spent a little longer in bed before coming out to the Adventurer’s Guild. I felt that my physical endurance was pretty pathetic right now, but oh well. Stifling a big yawn, I returned to the rundown inn and slept like a baby.

Early in the morning four days later was the day of [Azure Alliance]’s departure from Grezesta. Thanks to the lump sum of 20 gold coins that I got from the Adventurer’s Guild, I didn’t have to go out of my way to earn money for a while. I asked Ahmed for a big favor, requesting her to let me tag along with them for a while.

Those three days were so much fun. On the first day, I accompanied the [Azure Alliance] to go buy goods for traveling, and later Smash rented out a house for the night, and we had a drinking party. On the second day, they said they were totally finished with all their travel preparations. After Smash and Dion heard the night before that I didn’t know the city at all despite having lived here for five years, they started a contest to show me the best places they knew of. Dion ended up introducing me to a fashionable Western-style clothing store. Smash introduced me to a magic item shop, which I initially thought would end up in last place. It was a neat little shop in a back alley, with a size that was not large by any means, but it turned out that the inside was amazing.

There were tons of captivating items on display that I had never seen before, and, although there were a lot of items of which I had no idea what their function was, it was fun to look at them anyway. It seemed that Dion and Ahmed didn’t know about this shop either, so they were having fun trying out the various magic items just like me. Since I didn’t know much about Western clothing or fashion, somehow Dion’s choice ended up in last place in my eyes. Because of this, Dion lost the contest, and that night’s drinking party ended up being his treat. He seemed to be pretty shocked by the outcome of the contest, so I felt a little bad for him.

On the third day, they each took turns training me in swordplay. At Ahmed’s invitation, she ended up giving me a special crash course in sword technique, but it made me realize all over again how weak I was. At least, thanks to Dion and Smash’s teachings, I managed to make some improvements, and I learned a special method I could use to train on my own. Ahmed’s way of teaching was pretty much just stringing along different kinds of sound effects and gestures to try and make a point, so I couldn’t really understand it too well. At least, seeing her movements and strength up close were helpful… somewhat?

That was how the three days I spent with the [Azure Alliance] went by, up until today. I had gone to the gates of Grezesta to see them off.

“Lewin-kun, thanks for coming to see us off.” (Dion)

“It’s alright, I’ll hold onto her present for her.” (Dion)

“Ah… t-thanks.” (Lewin)

Honestly, I wanted to hand it over myself, but it couldn’t be helped. I handed her present over to Dion.

“Man, aside from Lewin-kun, no one else came to see us off, huh?” (Dion)

“…………Let’s go.” (Ahmed)

Her voice sounded weirdly strained, but with that… they started walking off. I wanted to see her face one last time and properly thank her for everything she’d done for me, but… Seeing their backs disappear into the distance, I suddenly started shouting at the top of my lungs.

“AHMED-SAN!!! Starting from the first request, thank you so much for everything you’ve done for me! I didn’t know how to do anything, but thanks to your kindness, I was able to have a brighter future in this world! Also… the only reason I’m currently able to stand here right now is because you rescued me from that disaster! Someday, I will definitely become stronger and come to return this f-favor to you, so… so when that time comes, please l-let me join the [Azure Alliance]!!!” (Lewin)

Then… Ahmed, who was already quite a distance away, raised her hand, and without turning around, gave a resolute thumbs up.

“Oh, seems like Elisa managed to properly hear you, Lewin. Well… we’ll be off. I’ll be looking forward to the time we can travel together again in the future!” (Smash)

“As you can see, our leader is a bit shy. Sorry about that. What a troublesome personality she’s got…” (Dion)

“It’s alright. I understand that. Dion-san and Smash-san… thank you very much. Because I met you two, I could get used to Ahmed-san without having to be too s-scared. I’ll definitely go see you guys some day, so… please be kind to me next time too.” (Lewin)

“Fufufu, yes of course. I’ll be looking forward to the next time we meet.” (Dion)

Thus, I bid farewell to the [Azure Alliance]. It wouldn’t be an overstatement to say that they changed my life. I already said so many times that I would return their favor no matter what. Strengthening the resolve in my heart, I kept my head bowed until their figures disappeared beyond the horizon.