CH 182

Episode 182 – Men’s Dinner Party

“I see. So that’s what you’ve been up to since we left Grezesta. It seems like you happened across a wonderful teacher, and you probably have gotten a lot stronger.” (Smash)

“Yeah, definitely. I’ve heard of Kirty from the Knights of the Royal Order. Everything she was involved in always ended up turning into an amazing feat somehow, so I kept hearing about her from time to time.” (Dion)

“Kirty-san is really that famous, huh?” (Lewin)

“Well of course. Aside from the S-rank adventurers, she’s probably one of the most famous people in Grezesta.” (Smash)

When I told them what I had been doing in the last year, the topic that had caught their interest the most was the fact that Kirty had been teaching me swordsmanship. I was expecting them to say something about the Venom Troll, but Kirty was way more of a celebrity than I could even imagine. I guess it was true that even the members of [Iron Gear] knew a lot about her as she was the first female Captain of the Knights of the Royal Order. She was also a master swordsman and was even personally summoned to the royal capital on numerous occasions.

After hearing yet another party’s perspective on the matter, I realized all over again that there was normally no way that someone as amazing as Kirty would have taught someone like me. Once again, I felt nothing but gratitude towards Kirty, and I definitely had to repay her for teaching me by fulfilling my promise to her one day.

“So did the [Azure Alliance] come to Landaust immediately after leaving Grezesta?” (Lewin)

“Strictly speaking, we did go to the royal capital once… But we only stayed there for about a week. We were in Landaust for almost the whole time after we left Grezesta.” (Dion)

“We were actually planning to continue our adventurer work in the royal capital, but Eliza said that she couldn’t stand it one bit… The contract for the house that I rented there ended up having to be cancelled after only one week. I had to pay a cancellation fee, and it was a huge mess.”(Smash)

Yup, that sounds like Ahmed alright.

I could tell how tough it was for them from the looks on their faces, but I couldn’t suppress a knowing smile upon hearing their little anecdote.

“Yeah, it’s just as Smash-san said. Ahmed-san doesn’t have any concept of saving money, so Smash-san and I had to pay the cancellation fee. Well… thanks to the Dungeon of Landaust, at least we were able to earn back the amount of the cancellation fee in about 2 months.” (Dion)

“Hoh! The Dungeon is that profitable?” (Lewin)

Ah, they’re probably referring to those reporters like the ones that had surrounded me after my first Dungeon-clearing attempt.

I guess they had been getting paid for doing interviews for Dungeon newspapers and books such as “The Dungeon of Landaust in One Book”. I thought for sure that Ahmed wouldn’t have liked that sort of thing, but it seemed that these two were primarily the ones doing it.

“Now that you mention it, the day before yesterday when I went down to the Dungeon for the first time, I was surrounded by people who looked like reporters.” (Lewin)

“Ooh! That’s a money-making chance right there. So you also jumped into the Dungeon right away too, Lewin? Who did you go with?” (Smash)

“Ah. I don’t have any acquaintances or anything, so I went by myself.” (Lewin)

“Alone in the Dungeon?! That’s way too dangerous!! Even in the lower levels, there are lots of dangerous monsters!!” Dion exclaimed loudly, unable to keep his voice from rising as his face colored with outrage.

I was startled at the sudden change in his expression and volume, but I suddenly remembered that Dion and Smash weren’t aware of how much I had grown. Even though I had told them that I had been taught by Kirty, it had only been about a year since the time I had still been fleeing from the likes of Goblins.

“Dion-san, Smash-san, it’s alright. I’ve gotten stronger so that I can adventure with you guys,” I told them with a heartfelt smile, grateful that they were seriously worried for me. The two of them turned to look at each other.

“…..Come to think of it, you did make a promise like that with Ahmed-san at the time when we were leaving Grezesta, huh?” (Dion)

“So you were training under the Captain of the Knights of the Royal Order all so that you could fulfill that promise… When Eliza hears about this, she’ll be so happy that she’ll cry.” (Smash)

“It’s a bit embarrassing, but the reason I trained so hard was just as you said, to fulfill that promise. As a result of my efforts, I’ve gotten strong enough to defeat multiple Ogres by myself… And so, I came here to Landaust to ask Ahmed-san to let me join the [Azure Alliance].” (Lewin)

“Being able to defeat multiple Ogres…? Looks like the little fella who was always hiding behind us as he picked grass has gotten a lot stronger, huh?” (Smash)

“Yeah, seriously. If even I’m glad about this, Ahmed-san would be even happier to hear this.” (Dion)

“I sure hope that’s the case, but…” (Lewin)

“Tomorrow when you’re in front of Eliza, hit her with everything you’ve got and then she’ll give in easily. Eliza has a soft spot for you, Lewin.” (Smash)

“So we’re finally going to be in a party with Lewin-kun… I’m very much looking forward to it, and I welcome you with open arms, Lewin-kun!” (Dion)

In this way, the dinner party with Smash and Dion continued until late at night, with conversations bathed in a relaxed, friendly atmosphere and a welcoming mood from the both of them. I hoped that Ahmed would be as receptive and welcoming as the two of them, but I wasn’t sure. At any rate, I was looking forward to being able to properly talk to her tomorrow for the first time in a long time.