Chapter 22

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“That was your fault, Yulg!”

After that, I was dragged to the Mercia household… and made to sit on my knees. In all the wide kingdom, the only person who can make “Skysunder” Yulg kneel and get scolded is probably Rolo Mercia. Well, maybe auntie too.

“Why would you say something like that without even talking to us first?”
“I was planning to tell you eventually.”
“Even so, why say something like that at all?”

Rolo sits right in front of me, looking up at me with a serious gaze.

Crap. He’s seriously pissed.

“I mean… I thought the villagers would never feel at ease while I’m still here.”
“You’ve said that before. But the pioneering and city-building are already underway, aren’t they? Isn’t it time to stop worrying so much?”
“Maybe so, but… Fimia’s new to the village, and even she’s heard those grudges more than once. I might end up dragging you all down sooner or later.”

Even someone as thick as me can come up with a few concerns. The biggest problem is that, by having Rolo protect me like this, I might end up taking away his place too. Even if I’ve come back a little more decent, with the kind of crap I pulled in the past, I can understand why the villagers can’t trust me.

If Rolo and Fimia want to keep living in this village—or rather, in this budding frontier city—then the best move is to remove the unstable element: me.

“Yulg, I’m sure people will come around. Mr. Tanto, Mr. Thomson, they’re already seeing you in a different light. Even Conti the materials guy thanked you, didn’t he?”
“Exactly. I’ve also heard people praising how you’ve been protecting the village.”

A bit overwhelmed by the two of them, I let out a wry smile. You don’t have to go that far for a guy like me.

“Relax, I didn’t mean I’d leave right now.”
“Well, you’re the one who made it impossible to relax, Yulg.”

With a big sigh, Rolo stands up and holds out his hand to me.

“When you do leave, I’ll go with you.”
“…Is that really a good idea?”
“Why not? You’re the one who said I was capable, remember?”

I take his hand and slowly rise to my feet. He used to be all skinny and flimsy—when did he grow up this much?

“I’ll be coming too. Don’t even think of leaving me behind.”
“You too, Fimia?”

Well, of course. If Rolo goes, she’ll definitely follow. When I think about it like that… it actually sounds kinda fun.

“My, you all seem to be having a lively little chat, hmm?”
“S-Saran!?”

A swirl of white smoke forms into a figure—Saran appears. Crap, I totally forgot he gave me a job to do.

“Honestly. I was starting to wonder what happened since Yulg never showed up in the new district… and you’re planning a trip without me now?”
“That’s not it! Don’t twist it, you scheming glasses-wearer!”
“Oho, from ‘sinister glasses’ to ‘scheming glasses’? That’s quite the upgrade. So? What are you all discussing while shirking your duties?”

Saran taps his shoes against the floor, eyeing us without a hint of patience. I let out a long sigh at his unhidden annoyance.

“We were talking about going on a journey. You wanna come?”
“Of course. I am an adventurer too, after all.”

Pushing up his glasses, the scheming strategist lets out a small smirk.

♦

“All right, let’s head out.”

With Rolo and Fimia in tow, I walk along the creek where we once encountered the grayback bear. We’d managed—with Katie’s help—to hand out all the requests Saran had prepared. But we couldn’t just sit around doing nothing now. So we decided to head out into the unexplored region ourselves.

Among the adventurers who had come to the frontier, there were also rookies. If anything happens, we’ll be in position to back them up.

“Still, I had no idea there were al-mi’rajs around here.”
“Yeah, I only caught a glimpse myself, but they’re out there.”

The al-mi’raj is a large hare, about the size of a bear. On top of being huge, it’s got a single horn growing from its forehead—an ingredient highly prized in alchemy. They say farther up north there’s a creature called a unicorn, another horned beast, but you don’t see those around here.

Saran’s after the al-mi’raj itself. Its horn is medicinal, its fur used for noble coats, and its meat is rich and nutritious. In short, just the fact that “it’s here” is enough to attract adventurers. It’s a highly profitable monster. If we play it right, it could be a great promotional draw for “Frontier City Marhas.”

“I saw it deeper in the woods. Bit dangerous for someone completely new to the region. It’s a good gig, so let’s bag it ourselves.”
“If we manage to kill it, I’d like to keep a little of the meat. I want my little siblings to try it.”
“Bitts maybe, but isn’t monster meat a bit too early for Arco?”
“I think it’ll be fine. Besides, monster meat’s going to become more common at the dinner table, right? I want the first monster they try to taste the best.”

I nod at Rolo’s reasoning. He’s right—bad monster meat can traumatize a person for life. Especially kids.

“Well then, let’s give it our all!”
“Yeah. If we can just spot it, I’ll take it down.”

I’d even brought along my heavy crossbow. It was something we bought with our old party’s funds back during the “Silhasta” days. I’d left it in Advante to reduce baggage… but Saran, ever the thorough one, had brought it over for me. Might as well put it to good use.

“It’s quiet… but I don’t sense anything either.”
“Yeah… maybe Scarr retreated farther in?”

The monster appearances are still abnormal, but since that last time, no one’s reported seeing the wounded one again. It’s hard to take that as a “good thing.”

Monsters with intelligence are the scariest. And if one of them has survived this long and already caused harm, that’s even worse. Saran’s been working fast, but if that thing goes berserk now, it could take the whole frontier town—and Marhas—with it. We’ve got to finish building up our fighting force and pacify the monsters around here, fast.

“Hmm?”

Just then, my eyes catch movement in the woods ahead.

“Hey, Rolo… did you see that?”
“Yeah. That was a person—and it looked like…”
“That guy Albert, right?”

Sharing a strange sense of unease, we both lock eyes—then stare silently into the forest where the shadow disappeared.