CH 181

Episode 181 – Reason for Fleeing

As I watched Ahmed disappear in the distance, Smash and Dion were also looking surprised with their mouths agape.

…Why would she run away when we had just met up after so long…?

I tried to recall what might have happened, but the last time we had talked was when we had said our farewells to each other, which I thought went well. I really couldn’t come up with anything.

“……….Ummm, why did Ahmed run away?” (Lewin)

“Sorry, I don’t know the exact reason either… I really didn’t think she’d just run away like that.” (Dion)

“Maybe she was embarrassed because she hasn’t seen you in such a long time… but then again, it’s difficult to imagine Eliza being like that.” (Smash)

If these two, who were always with her, couldn’t figure it out, then there’d be no way that I would understand either. If there was a clear reason for it, it’d at least be manageable with an apology or something.

A long moment of silence passed as I kept thinking on the matter without being able to make any progress, and Smash eventually forced himself to say something in an attempt to dispel the awkward atmosphere.

“For now, let’s go somewhere where we can get something to eat and take our time talking.” (Smash)

“That’s right. It’s been a long time since we’ve last seen you, so I also agree that we should take our time to talk in a relaxed environment. Are you free after this, Lewin?” (Dion)

“….Ah, yeah. Of course,” I replied to the two of them, and I soon left the Adventurer’s Guild while following behind them.

After that, we arrived at a small bar on Main Street. From the way that Smash had spoken, it seemed that the three of them frequented this place.

“Welcome, Smash-san and Dion-san!”

“Thanks, Lillian-san. We’ll be in your care again today.” (Smash)

“Don’t worry about it. It’s great for us to have customers come. Ara, how unusual… Did you bring someone else with you today instead of Ahmed?” (Lillian)

“This guy’s called Lewin… Back at our old base city, Grezesta, he was a good friend of ours.” (Smash)

“Nice to meet you. My name is Lewin.” (Lewin)

“Ara ara, there’s no need to be so nervous. You’re a guest here after all, so make yourself at home. Well then, I’ll show the three of you to the usual room.” (Lillian)

Lillian led us to a private room in the back of the establishment. Once we entered the room, Dion and Smash sat down in a familiar manner at what were probably their usual seats. I took a seat across from them.

“Sorry, Lewin. We just got back from the Dungeon, so we probably stink, don’t we?” (Smash)

“…No, not really though?” (Lewin)

“We really do. It might have been better for us to go back to the hotel first and tidy up a bit.” (Dion)

“Yeah, but then Eliza’s probably at the inn, and I’d rather not see her if possible.” (Smash)

It was a little hard to see his expression behind his thick, scraggly beard, but I could somewhat tell that he seemed to have an unpleasant look on his face. I still didn’t know the reason why Ahmed ran away. I kind of wanted to ask him if he had even the slightest inkling.

“Are you sure the two of you don’t know anything about why Ahmed-san ran away?” (Lewin)

“I don’t know… When we parted ways with you one year ago, there didn’t seem to be any problems whatsoever, and she even seemed to think of you favorably. She was even in good spirits on our way back from the Dungeon, so it wasn’t like she wasn’t in a bad mood or anyth―Ah, well actually…” (Dion)

“…?” (Lewin)

“Actually, we brought up going back to visit Grezesta several times. But every time the topic came up, Ahmed-san would always refuse with everything she had.” (Dion)

“Ah, I remember that. Eliza’d always try to come up with all kinds of ways to refuse.” (Smash)

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So something like that happened…

The two of them did say they didn’t have any clue, so in the end it was very likely that something had happened without me noticing. In that case, the only way to find out was to ask her directly.

“For now, I guess I won’t be able to figure it out unless I ask Ahmed-san directly. I’ll look for her tomorrow and see what she has to say.” (Lewin)

“Then… I’ll take you up on it.” (Lewin)

“Yeah, leave it to us. Well then, let’s turn things around and drink to our heart’s content! It’s been such a long time since we’d last met, and we have tons of things to talk about!” (Smash)

“We also want to tell you about our current state, so just like Smash-san said, let’s have some fun!” (Dion)

“Alright. Then, I’ll start by telling you what happened after you guys left!” (Lewin)

I was worried about Ahmed, but I did as they said and pulled myself together nonetheless. I began to chat away happily with Smash and Dion.