CH 183

Episode 183 – Ambush

TL Note: Decided to do a double release today. We’re only a little over 10 chapters away from catching up to the raw version, which is currently at Chapter 196. I hope you all have been enjoying the story thus far. Once the releases catch up to the raws, the release frequency will become around every 3 days, since the author releases a new chapter every 3 days exactly. Although I recently started school again, I will try to translate and release new chapters as soon as possible when they come out (unless I’m swamped with work). I might consider picking up a new Japanese or Chinese novel (prefer action/romance/isekai/fantasy genres) if I find that I have the time to do so, but it wouldn’t be daily releases. If any of you have any recommendations or translation pickup requests, please feel free to comment or shoot a dm to me (crescent) through the Foxaholic Discord, and I’ll consider them. Thanks!

It was the next day after the dinner party with Dion and Smash. We had been riding the rush of excitement from reuniting after such a long time, so it had been pretty late by the time we’d called it a night. As a result, I was still pretty sleepy, but I rubbed the drowsiness out of my eyes and crawled out of bed nonetheless.

The two of them had promised to bring Ahmed along at noon, so considering the time, I could technically still sleep in… But frankly, I doubted that Ahmed would show up exactly at that time that the two of them had confirmed. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust Smash and Dion, but just taking into account Ahmed’s personality, there was always a small chance she’d do something completely out of the blue.

And so, I decided to wake up earlier and head to the Dungeon as early as possible, just in case. Last night, they’d given me the name of the inn they had been staying at, so I could just head there directly if I really wanted. But I didn’t know how long I would be waiting for, so I decided to just wait at the Dungeon in the end.

After quickly getting ready, I left Ponpokotei. Padding quickly through the quietude of the morning Main Street, I arrived in front of the Dungeon without taking any detours. Hmm… As expected, the [Azure Alliance] is still nowhere to be seen.

After checking my surroundings once more to make sure the three of them weren’t here, I walked up to the Dungeon monitors. Here, I could kill time while waiting for the [Azure Alliance], and even if we were to somehow miss each other at the entrance, I would still be able to see them on the monitor. Stifling a yawn, I took a bite of the sandwich that I had gotten from Ponpokotei as I began waiting for the three of them.

About three hours passed as I waited in front of the Dungeon monitor, watching the images. The temperature was gradually starting to rise, and it started to feel like it was beginning to approach noon. As I continued watching the monitor, I suddenly heard a voice calling out to me from behind.

“OIII!! Lewin!! Come over here!” (Smash)

When I turned around in response to the shouting, I spotted the [Azure Alliance]. And of course, Ahmed was there too, staring like a deer in headlights when she heard Smash suddenly call out to me. It was currently a lot earlier than noon, so, in the end, it was the right decision to come early.

“Smash-san, Dion-san, Ahmed-san! I’ve been waiting for you!” (Lewin)

“My bad, Lewin. Eliza must have caught wind of what we were up to, so we ended up arriving a bit too early.” (Smash)

“It’s alright! I had a feeling something like that would happen, so I came here earlier than scheduled.” (Lewin)

“Fufu. As expected, Lewin-kun. You know Ahmed-san even better than we do.” (Dion)

I could see several red lumps on their heads that were not there yesterday, which made it apparent just how much they had persevered. While thanking them in my heart, I took a step closer to Ahmed, who immediately took a step back in response.

“Eliza, no running away. Lewin’s finally here. Let’s talk about this, alright?” (Smash)

“Exactly. I don’t know why you’re avoiding me, but I’ve come this far already so I can’t give up.” (Lewin)

“Y-you guys… You tricked me!” (Ahmed)

The moment Ahmed’s gaze turned angrily towards the two next to her, I quickly closed the distance and stood in front of them. When Ahmed noticed that I was standing right in front of her, her expression turned timid, but I spoke nonetheless.

“Ahmed-san, it’s been so long! How have you been since we parted at Grezesta?” (Lewin)

“Y-yeah… Well, I’ve been doing well,” Ahmed replied while averting her eyes. Perhaps it was because her hair had grown longer, but she seemed a little more mature than the time when we had parted. But after talking to her like this, it made me feel that nothing had really changed after all.

When I realized that this was still the Ahmed that I knew and remembered, I couldn’t help breaking out into a grin.

“That’s great to hear. It was worth coming to Landaust just to see you in good health, Ahmed-san!” (Lewin)

“Then that’s great! If you don’t hate me, there are so many things I want to talk with you about, Ahmed-san!” (Lewin)

“…I see.” Ahmed muttered quietly with her head lowered as her voice trailed off. I wondered for a moment if I had said something that might have pissed her off, but I soon noticed that beneath her downcast expression, the corners of her mouth were upturned.

Ahmed quickly hid her expression and looked back up… only to avert her gaze yet again. However, I could tell from her facial expression and her words and actions that, instead of hating me, she still cared about me.

“So… I didn’t come to Landaust just to talk with you.” (Lewin)

“Not just to talk? What do you mean, Lewin?” (Ahmed)

“Actually, I… came to Landaust to join the [Azure Alliance]! I came to fulfill the promise we made when we parted!” (Lewin)

I quickly made up my mind and told Ahmed that I had come to this city to join the [Azure Alliance]. I was actually thinking about bringing up this topic in a more convenient location to talk, but when I saw Ahmed’s state, I couldn’t bring myself to hold off on the subject.

But… the warm welcome from Smash and Dion… Ahmed’s happy expression and body language… and the hair clip I gifted to her, which she’s still using to this day.

After seeing and experiencing these things, I was sure they would accept me right here and now. I was convinced, so I conveyed my wish…

“Sorry, Lewin. That’s something I still can’t allow yet.” (Ahmed)

“……Eh?” (Lewin)

I was at a loss for words as I looked up at Ahmed, who now had the straight face that I was more used to seeing.