CH 293

Chapter 293 – Feigning Normalcy

“N-No. I’ve never heard of a way to bring someone back to lif―” (Dion)

“Even if there’s no way, I’ve decided to search for it. Please take care of the Special Morgue. I’ll handle the fee.” (Lewin)

With that, I left the Special Morgue alone. The hazy feeling I had on the way here had cleared up a little after confronting Ahmed’s current condition and deciding on what I needed to do.

Of course, I felt sad, but I didn’t have the time to mourn over her and cry. For now, I returned to Ponpokotei and checked in with Ruth’s mother, who must have been worried about me.

Tomorrow, I would go to Aruna and Rosalie and explain the situation to them. We formed the party at my request and now I would be asking them to temporarily disband due to my own selfish reasons… I would definitely have to apologize profusely and ask for their understanding.

With all kinds of barely controllable emotions threatening to well up within me, I quickly made my way through the commercial district and returned to Ponpokotei.

The next day arrived.

Immediately after returning from the dungeon, I had run all around Landaust, so my body should’ve still been exhausted. However, I had still woken up without being able to get much sleep.

An unpleasant, indescribable feeling continued to linger in my chest. Even a day later, it still hadn’t changed. I felt like I would be unable to move if I let up for even a moment, which might have been one of the reasons why I couldn’t sleep.

After getting ready in a nearly thoughtless state, I set out for Araku Village.

I didn’t know where Aruna was staying, so I thought it would be best to ask the owner of Araku Village, who would be the most likely to know.

Going to Araku Village first was the best choice because the place didn’t close until early in the morning anyway. In which case, there might be a good chance that Aruna was still there. Even though she grumbled and complained about the place, I felt like she was the most relaxed and comfortable when she was at Araku Village.

Thinking about this and that as I left the commercial district, I arrived at Araku Village and went right in, disregarding the ‘closed’ sign hanging on the door. There didn’t seem to be any customers as it was quiet in the bar, but I could hear the sound of someone washing dishes in the back.

“Good morning. Sorry for coming in when you’re closed.” (Lewin)

She seemed to be trying to recall where Aruna was staying, but she looked like she might have forgotten.

“Hmm… She mentioned it before once, but I forgot because I wasn’t listening that closely and I’ve never been there. Sorry.” (Araku Village Owner)

“I see. Sorry to visit when you were busy closing up the store. I’ll come back again for our next reflection mee―” (Lewin)

“Ah! What about Rosalie, who’s also in your party? I’ve seen the two of them going back home together a few times.” (Araku Village Owner)

“…..That’s true. I’ve noticed them go together once in a while. Thank you. I think I’ll go find Rosalie then.” (Lewin)

Rosalie was living in the employee housing provided by the Adventurer’s Guild, so I could just ask for her address from the Adventurer’s Guild. However, since this time was urgent, I had to speak to Alex directly. There was a chance they might not tell me because it was personal information, but if Alex, the Vice Guild Chief, was there, it would be fine.

My plan to find Aruna first and Rosalie second ended up being reversed, but I hurried to the Adventurer’s Guild nonetheless.

I entered the Adventurer’s Guild, which was just as unpopulated as yesterday, and immediately began to search for Alex, but… I didn’t expect to find Rosalie herself in the Adventurer’s Guild. She wasn’t wearing her usual equipment. Instead, she was dressed in her Guild employee uniform, so it seemed that she was working.

“Rosalie-san.”

“Actually, I was looking for you and Aruna because I have something urgent to tell you two. Do you have time right now?” (Lewin)

“U-Ummm… Please wait a moment!” (Rosalie)

Rosalie ran to the back of the Adventurer’s Guild, carrying a large stack of documents in her hands. Shortly after, she came back out in her regular clothes.

“Sorry to keep you waiting! I got permission from Alex-san, so it’s fine!” (Rosalie)

“Are you sure it’s okay?” (Lewin)

“Yes! It seemed that there was some trouble due to an incident that happened while we were in the dungeon, so I offered to help out on my day off. I’m supposed to be off anyway today, so it’s no problem if I step out for a bit!” (Rosalie)

I see. In other words, due to the attack of the Demon King’s Army, the Adventurer’s Guild had their hands full. Then after hearing about the situation, Rosalie came in to work on her day off…

“Sorry to bother you when you’re busy. It’s an important matter, so I want to tell Aruna at the same time. Do you know where Aruna lives?” (Lewin)

“I do! I have a feeling she’s sleeping right now, but I’ll bring you there!” (Rosalie)

We left the Adventurer’s Guild and Rosalie led the way to Aruna’s house. For some reason, I had imagined that she was renting a place in the commercial district or was staying in some high-class inn, but the place we were heading to was at the end of Dungeon Street. It was certainly nearby and a good location for dungeon diving, but I didn’t think she lived over here.

As I silently followed behind Rosalie, not engaging in any particular conversation, Rosalie seemed to sense what was going on and spoke to me.

“….Lewin-san, are you alright?” (Rosalie)

“Huh? I’m fine. What’s up all of a sudden?” (Lewin)

“N-No… It’s just that you look a lot paler than yesterday. Sorry, it’s all good as long as you’re okay!” (Rosalie)

I knew that they would figure something was wrong once I asked them to temporarily disband the party, but Rosalie seemed to have caught on before I had even said anything.

I was very reluctant to make Aruna and Rosalie worry unnecessarily, and I was aiming to speak to them about it as I normally did, but… my depressed feelings must have leaked out without me noticing.

As we made our way to Aruna’s house, I pinched my arm as hard as I could and reseated my expression, determined to give it my all in acting like my usual self.