CH 152

Episode 152 – Departure

After saying my goodbyes to the grandma, I left Elf’s Tears and headed to the entrance of the city. There were too many things on my mind since yesterday that it felt like the depths of my heart were tearing in pain. I trudged onwards through the city, completely muddled with emotion. But when I reached the entrance of the city… I saw them.

Standing in front of the city gates were the members of [Iron Gear].

“Lewin, morning!” (Lyra)

“Lyra, good morning!” (Lewin)

When Lyra noticed me, she was the first to run up and greet me. Immediately returning her regards, I greeted the other three. And also…

“Edward-san, thank you for accepting my escort request. It’ll only be for a short time, but I look forward to working with you!” (Edward)

This time, it was indeed Edward who I asked to escort me to Landaust. I was originally going to ask [Iron Gear], but Edward came forward to be my escort instead. It seemed that he had just finished training a party, so after he explained that he happened to be available, I immediately asked him to escort me.

There was a part of me that was hesitant about going on a long trip with someone I wasn’t very close to, but I had heard great rumors about Edward from [The Egg Club] for so long. Plus, judging by the light conversation we had last time, I decided it would be fine and asked him to be my escort on the spot.

…More than anything, I felt a bit shy to ask [Iron Gear] to escort me on a long journey at the moment, so I was very grateful that Edward offered to be my escort.

“Hohoho, don’t worry about it. I was the one who came forward after all. I’d like to thank you as well for giving this job to this old man.” (Edward)

“Actually, we wanted to be the ones to escort you though.” (Lyra)

“That’s right. We wanted to express our gratitude by sending you off properly at the end of our exclusive contract.” (Porta)

“Sorry, even though you guys went out of your way to sign up to be my escort, I had to turn you guys down.” (Lewin)

“….It’s okay. I know that you turned down the request because you were thinking about us.” (Nina)

“Yeah, exactly! You’re always so thoughtful, but you can rely on us more! …Or so I want to say, but that kindness is one of your good points, Lewin!” (Lyra)

The four of them were looking at me with pleasant smiles. When I realized that my intentions were revealed, I immediately felt embarrassed.

“…Rather than making time for me, I wanted you guys to spend more time on yourselves. Byrne finally made a complete recovery, after all.” (Lewin)

“That’s true. After you won all the mock battle tournaments last time, we needed to use our time for ourselves in a way that worked for us. Lewin… even when we’re apart, we’ll still be rivals. We’ll only be looking towards the future and getting stronger—so next time we meet, don’t let me down, okay?” Byrne said with a daring smile.

‘Rivals’. I could feel the heat rising excitedly in my body when I heard that word. In order to live up to the expectations of the people who thought of me as their rival… I would definitely become strong one day.

“Yeah! I’ll definitely become stronger… So when that time comes, let’s have another mock battle!” Responding firmly to Byrne’s words, I met his outstretched fist with my own. I bumped fists with Lyra, Porta, and Nina afterwards as we each vowed to one another to become stronger.

“Mock battles are great and all, but I want to travel with everyone! When we get stronger, we can go anywhere! Then we can travel to different countries, eat delicious food, and fight against strong people and monsters…! Doesn’t that sound interesting?” (Lyra)

Hmm… I kind of feel like I’m being tricked into something here, but… oh well.

It was just a matter of me earning enough money so that I could hire [Iron Gear] in the future.

“Hohohoho. Well then, should we get going?” (Edward)

“……..I guess so. Let’s go,” I agreed with Edward, who interjected in the conversation at a good time. I still felt like we hadn’t talked enough, but if we kept talking like this, I’d never leave for my whole life. I was a bit reluctant—but it was time to depart.

“Well then. The four of you, thank you for coming to see me off. I’ll become stronger like I promised.” (Lewin)

“Looking forward to it! Go for it, Lewin!” (Byrne)

“Lewin, we won’t lose to you!” (Porta)

“Next time, we’ll beat you to a pulp!” (Lyra)

“…I’ll always be looking forward to the day we meet again.” (Nina)

“Eh?! The Captain of the Knights of the Royal Order?” (Lyra)

I unconsciously started turning around when I heard Lyra’s exclamation, but….

“Hah, hah… Lewin!! Don’t turn around, just listen!!” (Kirty)

When I heard Kirty’s out-of-breath voice, I immediately paused and faced forward again. We had already said our goodbyes yesterday, and her vacation was only supposed to last until yesterday, so I didn’t think she would come to see me off.

At the sudden sound of her voice, I felt tears threatening to well up once more. I desperately tried to hold them back, to prevent a reappearance of the waterworks that I thought had completely run dry yesterday.

“This is the last thing I have to say! Listen up! I’ve always been hesitating to tell you, but I’ve made up my mind! You don’t have a talent in swordsmanship that surpasses me, Lewin!” (Kirty)

I had stopped in my tracks and started to feel the tears roll down my cheeks, when I suddenly heard these harsh words come out of Kirty’s mouth. She seemed to be holding back those words since that time we made our promise, but now they came tumbling out cathartically.

I was already painfully aware of what Kirty was talking about, and it was for this very reason that I made the decision to leave Grezesta. But suddenly hearing this directly from her made me feel like crying all over again, albeit for a different reason from before.

“….However! You have a talent for hard work, Lewin. And, you have plenty of talent for fighting! Lewin… listen here—no matter what happens… you have to believe in yourself… and keep moving forward! If it’s you, I know that there’s no doubt you’ll surpass me one day!!” (Kirty)

“Yes!! I will definitely surpass you one day, Kirty-san… so you can wait on me with high hopes…!” (Lewin)

I felt Kirty’s passionate words resonating in my heart, but I didn’t look back. I started taking one step after another, desperately trying to hold back my tears as I moved onward.

I could hear Kirty sobbing behind me, but I didn’t stop.

“…Looks like you’re truly blessed with great people, Lewin.” (Edward)

“……Yes. I feel unworthy… They’re all just so good to me.” (Lewin)

“Hoho. You don’t need to hold back your tears anymore… The people behind us won’t be able to see after all.” (Edward)

“―Yeah… Excuse me…” (Lewin)

At Edward’s gentle remark, the tears I had been holding back finally flowed down my face like a waterfall. All this time, I had been trying my hardest to keep myself together so Kirty and the members of [Iron Gear] standing behind me wouldn’t notice. With snot and tears dripping down my face, I left Grezesta without looking back.

And thus… after coming to Grezesta 7 years ago to work for the Healer’s Guild, Lewin Jade departed for Landaust, the Dungeon City, where the [Azure Alliance] was said to be located. The boy who had just been doing odd jobs as the weakest in the Healer’s Guild became stronger through his encounters with various people—and took his first step to becoming the strongest person in the world.

Author Note: Thank you for reading! This chapter marks the end of Arc 3! Thanks to everyone’s continued support, I was able to continue writing to this point. Thank you so much! Lewin’s journey will continue from here on out, so I hope you will continue to support me.

Also, if you found this story even a little bit interesting, please give it a good rating ☆☆☆☆☆! Each and every person’s encouragement inspires me more than you can imagine.

TL Note: To everyone who has read this far, and to those who have supported me on Ko-Fi, thank you so much. This chapter marks the end of Arc 3 – Departure from Grezesta. The next arc is titled “Dungeon City”. The story has definitely been slow at times so far, but I think it starts taking off from here, so please hang in there!