CH 97

“We were saved by Lewin again, huh?” Lyra muttered to herself as we watched Lewin’s back while he walked through the gates into Grezesta. Last time, Lewin was quick-witted and resourceful in using burning Magical Grass to deter the Angry Wolves that were chasing us down the mountain. And this time, he slaughtered an Angry Wolf in a single blow. On the other hand, we could only hide in the shadows behind that rock as we watched his figure from afar.

“If it was just last time, it would still be excusable. But failing again this time… it’s just unforgivable,” I agreed with Lyra, admonishing myself. I had only said positive things in front of Lewin, but in reality the situation had dealt a large blow to my conscience. This was because we were the ones who made Lewin change the location from Nava Forest to Mount Cornello.

“Yeah. When that Angry Wolf caught up to Lewin, I really thought that it was over. So many regrets ran through my mind at that time… I don’t want to go through that ever again. I want to become stronger.” (Lyra)

That same thing happened to me, too. In my mind, I still thought that Lewin was the same person who fell on his butt while fighting the Angry Wolf last time. The moment I realized that the Angry Wolf had caught up to Lewin, I felt an intense wave of guilt and remorse wash over me, and everything suddenly seemed to move in slow motion.

“We shouldn’t have gone along with Lewin’s strategy. Even though he volunteered to be the decoy, we definitely shouldn’t have allowed it.” (Porta)

“Let’s take this matter seriously. Thanks to Lewin managing to live through this, we now have the chance to make up for this failure.” (Porta)

“That’s right. Just as we were saying to Lewin earlier, in order to not lose to him as rivals, let’s train with everything we’ve got.” (Byrne)

“Yeah! I’m feeling more fired up than ever before!!” (Lyra)

“……Me too. At first, I felt like I had no choice but to become an adventurer, but today is the first time I’ve felt like I actually want to aim higher.” (Nina)

“Anyway… what the heck is up with Lewin’s crazy growth rate? Byrne and I heard the details of his training, but is it even possible to grow so much from doing that?” (Porta)

“That’s true. It seemed that he had been training insanely hard, so I was somehow able to be convinced that he could build that kind of body… Even still, it’s hard to imagine that he could get that much stronger to the point of being able to slaughter an Angry Wolf in one blow within a month.” (Byrne)

“I don’t really get it, but doesn’t that mean that Lewin has a talent with swords? That turn-around into the swing… It was just so cool.” (Lyra)

“….I think he has a talent for fighting too. Last time, he was still weak, but he was able to display a quick-wittedness that wasn’t ordinary.” (Nina)

However, the Guild Chief of the Adventurer’s Guild told me when we gave our report on the last quest commission that Lewin had taken down a lone Angry Wolf by himself shortly before we met. I heard that he managed to do so by making good use of a number of items, but, after this incident, it made me start to suspect whether he was hiding the fact that he was strong.

“Hey, what if Lewin is actually strong and he’s hiding his strength fro—” (Byrne)

“No way, no way. I mean, you could tell from his movements last time! He moved like a normal person, and it was just that he worked hard to get stronger!”

“That’s why I was saying, he’s hiding his str—” (Byrne)

“Well, I guess you’re right. I need to put these doubts out of my head. It’s just that… his growth rate was so great that I’d started to have my suspicions.” (Byrne)

“That means his growth rate is just that fast. If you only put in an ordinary amount of effort, he’ll leave you behind in no time.” (Lyra)

“I’ve gotta come up with a proper training menu. It’s just about time for me to meet with Edward from [The Egg Club], so I’ll take the time to consult with him.” (Byrne)

“Agreed! I’m sure Edward would be able to give you some great training tips!” (Lyra)

As we continued to talk, we entered the city of Grezesta to finish the necessary procedures at the Adventurer’s Guild and report back on the quest commission.