NT: First of all, sorry for the delay… I had things to do and… well… I ended up delaying a bit… Second… I wanted to inform you that I plan to buy one of WordPress’s plans, and that it is possible that, after that, I modified the blog a bit, so things could start to look a little different from one moment to another, also, after buying the “plan”, I also plan to change the option to monetize the blog, I mean, I will start to add ads, it will not be at the level where you end up being redirected to a random page just by pushing somewhere on the screen, but even so… you will see some ad in some parts, such as at the beginning or end of each entry, and… well, that’s all i guess (Errrm, I really do not understand how the ads work, so I would appreciate if you deactivate the ad blocking program you have if you are using any).
Ah, I’m not sure when I will start this. I may do it today, or within 3 more weeks (I don’t know if I have enough money to buy the WordPress plan right now…)
「Kru… Krull-sama?」
David said, with a surprised look, as he stared at Krull, as if trying to confirm that she was really there. Despite having already turned 21 years old, she didn’t look any different than she looked three years ago. She looked young, and at first glance looked like a beautiful doll very well made. Her long, silky hair of an unusual deep blue color wiggled gently because of the wind.
It did not matter from what point she was looked at, there was no doubt that it was Krull, however, the atmosphere around her gave a more mature feeling compared to a year ago.
「You… Where have you been all this time!?」
「… I’m sorry I left without saying anything before, but-… Kya!」
Krull, who began answering Palna’s question as he entered the Bar like any other Adventurer, let out a scream the moment he slipped on a rag, which had been used to clean the floor before she arrived, causing Krull to fall to the floor.
「Ooh, but it’s Krull-san」
「Certainly. I felt a little nervous when she arrived that way, but it really is Krull-san! Welcome back, Krull-san」
「What about that reaction!? Please stop acting as if I was the kind of person who committed this kind of accidents often」
After hearing her answer, Tina began to drink a glass of milk in front of her, while letting out a sigh, 「*Fu~*」. Krull on the other hand rushed to stand up again, with her cheeks flushed, while staring at Tina and Alice, with a critical look in response to treir rude comments.
「So? Where have you been all this time? David was looking for you everywhere, you know? He did it for days you know!? Because he was unable to fill the void you left in his heart after you disappeared, this perverted old man ended up going through a long depression」
「Enough, Palna-sama, you can stop talking about it. Now, Krull-sama, would you mind explaining what you have been doing recently?」
「… I sent a message to Krull」
「… What do you mean by that?」
Rex said before Krull could answer. At that moment, David looked at Rex with a sharp look, and some surprise, after hearing his sudden words.
「A day, after I started with my training … I began to feel anxious. The days I spent training were… a real hell. I am sure that my Master had to live something even worse until he reached level 999. But… I could not help but begin to think that maybe, my Master, who carried out such a painful training, could not accomplish his task alone」
「You will not be saying that… do you think he could die trying?」
「I don’t want to believe it. But… it’s been three years. I want to believe that he is alive and continues to strive to achieve his goal, but… he is alone, and if he does not succeed… I am afraid of that」
Rex said as he laughed at himself as he showed a miserable look that seemed to be saying, 「What kind of … Cowardly hero am I?」, While covering his face with his hands.
David had no trouble imagining the psychological damage that Rex, who was originally quite proud, had to have suffered after seeing him show that part of him. No matter if he is a hero or not, he was still too young. It was normal for him to end up feeling anxious after having no news of Kagami, who went somewhere unknown. For that reason, David couldn’t help blaming himself for not realizing that before.
「The message he sent me only said,『I am preparing to follow my Master. I plan to move on』. At no time did he ask me for help 」
「Then… why did you leave?」
「It is true that Rex-san’s message made me make my decision. However, I had already considered the idea of going after Kagami-san from the beginning. But… if I were to go with a low level, it wouldn’t be useful to Kagami-san at all. That’s why I went with my Father 」
After hearing those words, everyone remembered Krull saying, 「…I must go check something」, before disappearing. Palna, who soon understood the relationship that had with the current situation, asked Krull, 「What did you check?」.
「My Father, as you know, is one of the Administrators of this world. Because of that, I thought that, like Estellar and the Dark Dragon, he should know who went to the Next Stage before and what their levels were at the time. So I went to ask him… What was the level of the person with the Role of Sage who had passed to the Next Stage!」
「…And what did you do after discovering it?」
「I thought that if I could not reach it, I will not be able to go to the Next Stage. However, I wanted to see Kagami-san. That’s why I started training 」
At that moment, Krull displayed his Status Window. Everyone could see the number 172 written next to their Level. Both Tina and Palna, showed a surprised look before the fact that Krull had managed to grow much more than anyone else, except for Rex.
「How did you become stronger than me !? What did you do!?”
「Since I had already considered going after Kagami-san, I had been training in secret… But I finally started training seriously 1 year ago… And it was a real hell. However, I finally managed to reach the average level that the Sages who had crossed to the Next Stage had when they went there」
Krull couldn’t help showing a distant look as she remembered the days she spent training. Seeing her in that state, Rex shouted, 「I understand you, I fully understand you!」, While showing a sympathetic look.
「… Krull-sama. Even so, why didn’t you tell me anything when you left to take this training trip? I looked for you everywhere」
「Sorry David. I’m sorry I worried you so much. But I didn’t want anyone to intervene in my training. I am sure that, even if you did not stop me, if you would have done everything possible to go after me. Also, I thought if you came with me… I would have ended up relaxing too much」
David, seeming to understand what Krull wanted to say, said, 「I am honored that you think that」, while letting out a deep sigh at the same time he trying to give her the ticket that moments before he was going to deliver to Menou.
「It’s all yours. I hope you find… Kagami-sama 」
「David… Thank you!」
At that moment, Krull extended his hand to take the ticket while showing a big smile.
「… Wait!」
The bar door was opened while generating a thunderous sound. At that moment, everyone turned to see the origin of that sound, and there they saw a certain existence that could undoubtedly be described as the embodiment of brute force, wearing a battered pink dress, which seemed to have worn out after passing for a series of battlefields.
「That ticket… is mine!」
The creature, whose body seemed to possess many more muscles than it had three years ago, who had a firm-looking figure and possessed peculiar-looking lips, also known as Takako, proclaimed that while looking at Krull with a determined look.
NT: As always, if you find something weird, whatever, just tell me in the comments