Chapter 5
Alone
“Hey, what was that supposed to mean earlier!?”
I wonder if the atmosphere will shift to where it would be okay to finish quickly or just leave.
Thinking that, Haise, who was hiding alone on the terrace, was suddenly approached by the second princess, Myuane, whom he had just turned down for the company.
Second Princess Myuane. Sixteen years old. The same age as Haise.
Because she was a princess, Haise found it somewhat troublesome, but he engaged with her nonetheless.
“What do you mean by that?”
“About traveling together. Are you dissatisfied with me… or rather, with the idea of me joining you?”
“It’s not that. I just want to go alone.”
“That’s a contradiction!! It’s a contradiction!!”
Myuane sharply pointed her finger at him.
How troublesome… Haise thought to himself as he spoke.
“As I said before, the Sacred Mountain Gagazia is a dangerous place. I don’t have the confidence to protect you while advancing alone without my comrades or team.”
“Rest assured. With my ‘ability’, there is no need for protection. In fact, I won’t be traveling with you anymore. I’ll be joining Sasha’s team.”
“I see.”
“Yes.”
“………”
“………”
“Um, is there something else?”
“No!! Did you seriously turn me down just because of that!? Listen, it’s a tradition that S-rank adventurers, after receiving a request from the King, undertake it together with royalty.”
“Then, it should be the other S-rank adventurer, not me.”
“That’s true, but…”
Myuane pouted.
She’s acting like a child. Haise thought and bowed his head.
“As a substitute, I will definitely collect the Eternal Moonlight Herb.”
“………Okay.”
“Well then, excuse me.”
Haise was hesitating, wondering if he should leave the venue after this exchange, when an unexpected person called out to him.
In the end, he couldn’t leave the terrace. It felt as though his escape route had been blocked.
“Haise───… Wait, Dark Stalker.”
“…What is it, Brynhilde?”
Sasha and her companions.
Now, with Cress included, Myuane was hanging onto Cress’s arm.
Sasha spoke.
“Myuane-sama will be under my team’s care.”
“I see.”
“Well…”
Sasha hesitated. Haise waited for what she had to say.
But it was Piasora who spoke first.
“Still going solo, huh? With that attitude, you’re going to get yourself killed one day.”
“Why don’t you talk, you’re still here, huh?”
“…Huh?”
“Cutting off the weak and replacing them with the strong, that’s how you guys do things, right? Piasora… I can’t believe someone as weak as you is still in the team.”
“───Huh?”
Piasora’s face twisted, veins bulging on his forehead.
Myuane let out a small gasp at the furious expression.
Then, Tycoon pushed his glasses up.
“As usual, you’re so shallow. You only see the surface of things. Now, looking back, I think kicking you out of the team was the right choice.”
“Well, thanks to that, I learned something. Tycoon, bits of knowledge that books alone can’t give you.”
“……….”
“We shared the same interests, after all. It was nice, talking about the genres of books we liked.”
“………Hmph.”
Then Robin.
“Hey Haise!! Let’s team up again!!”
“You idiot!!”
Reynold stopped her, but Robin wouldn’t stop.
“Let’s do it like we used to!! Haise, you’ve got some amazing ‘ability’ now, right? If it’s you and Sasha together, you can even clear the Forbidden Six Labyrinth!!”
“No way.”
“Haise…”
“I don’t want to die.”
“Ugh.”
Sasha gasped.
Then Haise gently touched his right eyepatch.
“For example, if someone told me where the potion ingredients grow and I eagerly set off, only to find a dragon in a place that shouldn’t have been dangerous…”
“………”
Sasha’s face turned pale, and she trembled.
“I heard that dragons had settled in that place long before. The guild had kept it a secret… But someone kindly gave me the location to erase a blemish on the team, and I, the ‘useless’ one, went there and ended up awakening my ‘ability’, coming back and cutting the dragon to pieces.”
“Enough, stop.”
Reynold stepped forward, shielding Sasha.
He put his arm around her, protecting her.
“Reynold. As always, you’re a fine Guardian Guard. Protecting your master from unpleasant truths.”
“Shut up. I’ve told you many times, that you were kicked out because you were weak. Without any abilities, you couldn’t keep up with us, so we had to expel you. Now, we don’t need someone who can’t understand that kindness in our team anymore.”
“I see.”
In the first place───Haise had rejected them too.
Even if he trembled in guilt, shed tears, or was resented and begged.
He had already made up his mind.
“I don’t believe in comrades anymore, and I don’t need them. Even if I have to die, I will live until that moment.”
“…Haise.”
Sasha looked at Haise.
She was his childhood friend, the one with the most memorable smile, but that smile was long gone.
But───Haise smiled.
“Sasha.”
“!!”
“Congratulations on becoming an S-rank adventurer. I did too. I’ve become an S-rank adventurer just like you.”
“…Ah.”
“Let’s keep striving for our ‘dreams.’ I’ll keep doing my best, too.”
“…Haise.”
Then, the smile faded.
“You aim for your own ‘strongest.’ Because now───there’s no place for me anymore.”
“…!!”
Haise smiled and turned away.
He wouldn’t leave the terrace. With his back turned, he rejected Sasha and the others.
There was nothing more to talk about… His back said it all.
◇◇◇◇◇
“………Sigh.”
After Sasha and the others left, Haise stood alone on the terrace, looking up at the sky.
“……….”
He had gotten more excited than he expected.
And it brought back memories.
The day he───was expelled from Sasha’s team, Sacred.
And the day the decisive ‘incident’ occurred.
“……..I’m thirsty.”
“Here.”
“───!”
At some point, Geist had appeared behind him.
He was holding a glass and offering it to Haise.
Haise took it and took a sip.
“It’s nostalgic.”
“Huh?”
“That day too… It was a night like this.”
“……….”
“The day you awakened your ability and lost your eye…”
“………”
The stars shone brightly.