Chapter 44: Epilogue 2

Vol 1: Epilogue (2)

After that, Dante and Mimino left the inn in search of Reiji. There wasn’t anyone resembling Reiji at the coach station where one might use to leave the city, but one of the masters told them he saw a child.

「He was taken by a man who looked to be an adventurer donning expensive armor?」

Listening to the master’s story, the first person that came to their mind was Oscar of Eternal Star.

As the two were about to head to the Adventurer’s Guild, the “Four Elemental Magic” user from the Eternal Star approached them from across the road. She seemed quite nervous.

「…I was saved by you yesterday. Thank you.」the mage said, and bowed.

「No, it’s alright. It is only natural to protect each other when fighting the same monster. More importantly, did you see the boy who was in our party?」

「Right, I – We are also looking for Silver Balance. It is about the boy.」

Dante and Mimino exchanged glances.

By the time they arrived at the Adventurer’s Guild, the mage had finished explaining the gist of it. Mimino learned for the first time that Reiji was pursued by soldiers — as expected, he left because he didn’t want to bother Silver Balance, she thought.

「If you wait in the Adventurer’s Guild, I think our leader, Oscar, should be back soon. But…」the mage said.

「But?」

「…It’s quite noisy.」

What she said was true. Although it was still morning, the noise in the adventurer’s guild can be heard all the way in the main street.

Mimino immediately understood what was going on.

Mourning.

The death of a companion for adventurers, who walk side by side with death, is something that happens often.

They can’t allow themselves to come to a standstill everytime it happens, so they mourn on that day. They drink cup after cup of alcohol and talk about their fallen companion. And the next day, they will take a new step again.

That said, the Adventurer’s Guild is usually not a place to drink. The guild only offers drinks when there is a great deal of rewards or a great deal of sacrifice.

The fierce battle yesterday caused many casualties. Therefore, surely the drinking in the guild would be quite rough, Mimino guessed. After all, the guild reeked of liquor and was still noisy even after an entire night had passed.

「The Great SilverShield has arrived.」the mage announced as she entered.

The guild immediately quieted down. Shortly thereafter,

「—UOOOOOOOOHHHH!!!!!」

A loud cheer roared.

「Is your body all right now?」

「I would have been dead without you, GreatShield.」

「It is the arrival of the hero. I’ll drink another cup!」

「Idiot, you’ve been asking for another cup before he even came!」

Foul-smelling men, who were still dirty and injured from yesterday’s battle, clamored around Dante and took him away.

「Ah, his burns haven’t healed yet, so don’t force him to drink.」

When Mimino called out, the men replied, “Ou!”

Oscar wasn’t in the guild. They have to wait here until he comes back.

Good grief! How do guys bond over alcohol so quickly – Mimino thought, but on the other hand, she felt their energetic spirit was somewhat like putting on a brave face.

The scars inflicted by the battle with the dragon, and the subsequent attack from Crysta, were so deep that if they do not forcefully cheer themselves, their hearts will be crushed emotionally.

「You’re finally here, Silver Balance.」

「Joseph-san.」

After the dragon was slain yesterday, Joseph ran around helping those who were injured. That was when Mimino and Joseph met again. They were already acquainted back when Mimino participated as Dante’s party member in the goblin horde subjugation.

Mimino noticed that Joseph’s eyes were red. She guessed that Joseph, who had made this city his home, must have lost many acquaintances.

「…I am glad this city is safe.」

「Well… I was thinking of ending the gloomy feelings with one last drink, but when I saw GreatShield, I felt like drinking again.」

「Sorry, he still has burns…」

「Ah yes, I know. I won’t force the hero who protected his friends to drink.」

Joseph then suggested to go over to a table away from the crowd.

「Joseph-san. Actually, I want to ask about–」

「Ah, wait a minute. There is something I want to tell you first.」

Something to tell? What does Joseph-san want to tell? …Mimino wondered.

「Actually, a reward has been paid to Silver Balance.」

「For the subjugation of the dragon?」

「Yes. Most of the scales were ruined, but in the first place, the dragon had a large body, so a good amount of scales can still be sold as raw material. Besides that, the fangs and eyeballs remained intact. A huge amount of meat and internal organs used for high-grade medicines were procured. Rewards were paid to the adventurers who participated in the battle and the families of deceased adventurers, but your party acquired the most rewards in the subjugation. My guess would be somewhere around several hundred federal gold coins.”

It was a number that would’ve made Reiji’s eyes pop out exclaiming, “Tens of millions of yen?!”

「T-That much?」

「You guys are not being treated specially or anything like that, so don’t hesitate to accept it. The submaster is a small-minded shitty bastard, but when it comes to bargaining, there seems to be not many who can top him. He overcharged a fair amount of money from the Duke’s House. Well, the soldiers were useless, and the Mithril-rank adventurer, Crysta-La-Crysta, traded fatal blows with the dragon which killed each other, it seems. So the Guild, which suffered the most losses, naturally got paid.」

「………」

「What is it? You’re getting a lot of money, but you’re making that face.」

「No… I couldn’t do anything.」

「…Did you come in at the very end? One of your comrades died, right? It must be hard.」

「Umm, what happened during the subjugation of the dragon? I saw something which looked like a black sword cut the dragon’s neck.」

「About that…」

Joseph leaned forward, and lowered his voice.

「…Since morning, the soldiers have been searching around for the boy who was with you guys.」

Nodding, Mimino told him that Reiji was gone and that they were also looking for him now.

「What did that boy do? To begin with, I knew there was something about him from the way he carried himself… Sorry, it’s not like you can answer that question.」

「Yes, but Reiji-kun is our comrade.」Mimino said clearly, slightly asserting the word “comrade”.

Even Joseph thought, for a small-looking child, the downswing Reiji displayed at the training ground and the movements when facing the dragon, both were comparable to front-line adventurers.

「—The brat is fine.」

A voice came from above the two who were sitting down.

When they looked up surprisedly, they saw a face with a dubious smile.

「Oscar? Where were you loitering around?」

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「M-More importantly, Oscar-san! Do you know where Reiji-kun is?!」

「Yeah, he’s out of the city. He escaped at the last minute.」

「Were you the one who got him out?」

Dante asked, from behind Oscar. Perhaps he came, noticing when Oscar walked into the guild.

「…Yeah. Repaying the debt is my style.」

「Thank you for the help.」

Dante bowed, and Mimino stood up from her chair.

「Hey, Dante!? Why are you thanking him!? We are looking for Reiji-kun, and–」

「Mimino, too loud.」

Dante signalled Mimino with his eyes towards a soldier on the main street watching the situation inside the guild.

Reiji is pursued by soldiers — as that fact overwhelmed Mimino, she slowly grew paler.

「B-But still…」

「Reiji knew he was being pursued, and wanted to leave the city as soon as possible. Right, Oscar?」

「Yeah, that brat is quite smart for his age. Kinda terrifying actually.」

「Reiji may be a lot smarter than we think he is. If he left the city right away, then there might be a reason.」

「But…」

「Mimino. This is my responsibility.」

Mimino was momentarily at a loss for words.

Dante looked to be more pained than he had ever before.

「Perhaps Reiji wanted to tell us everything. If he had told us everything, we would have tried to support him with everything we had.」

「Obviously.」

「But I was burned, so Reiji couldn’t say anything. If I was in his position, I would’ve done the same thing. I can’t move long distances in the state I am right now, after all.」

「That is just…」

「That is the fact, Mimino. He left all alone because of me.」

Dante, who seemed quite tired just from standing up, was holding a chair to support his body.

「But you see, Mimino. It’s not like I have given up.」

Thinking back, this might be the first time Dante became so talkative, Mimino thought.

That was how much he was worried about Reiji.

Dante looked at Oscar intently.

「If he left the city with the guidance from Oscar, we can even guess where Reiji is going.」

「I told that brat to stay away from Saint Knight Kingdom. It’s easier to travel within the Federation, so I told him to do that.」

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「That’s good. Instead of searching within this wide city, we have a higher chance of catching up to him down the highway as soon as I heal.」

「W-Wait a minute, Dante. Now that you’ve healed, you have to bring Non back to church, and…」

When Mimino hesitated to say, Dante just laughed slightly.

「Non will be keeping us company for a while. The church knows petrification can’t be cured so easily all too well.」

「Eh!? Cheating the church!?」

「Wai-Wait a minute, GreatShield. The petrification is healed…?!」

「Look.」

Dante showed his left arm to Joseph.

「What? How?!」

「Reiji cured me. That boy knew the existence of a medicine that we didn’t know about. At first, I suspected that Reiji was pursued because he possessed a prohibited item, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. Which means, him being a fugitive slave might be the reason.」

Neither Joseph nor Oscar said anything towards Dante’s guess. Not denying means they are of the same mind.

Dante then turned his gaze to Mimino.

「Mimino. I was saved by Reiji. Just as I was saved by you.」

「…Saved by me?」

「Yes. You didn’t abandon me when I thought I would die from petrification. You came all the way here with Non and I.」

「But Reiji-kun was the one who saved you—」

「And it was you who helped Reiji. So I’m alive right now because you were here. I can continue to live. To look forward to the future.」

「……Ok.」

「So, you can tell me what you want. It’s not a big deal to have the church wait a little while longer. I will do my best to support you.」

Those words made emotions swirl in Mimino’s heart.

She felt proud to be in the same party with Dante.

「Dante. I want to follow after Reiji-kun. I don’t want to say goodbye. If Reiji-kun is a slave, I want to buy him back!」

And Dante nodded, resolutely.

「I’ve clearly received your feelings. Let’s follow Reiji.」

「Yup!」

For the two of them, Reiji was already a member of the party. After only a few days together, he threw himself into the battle with the dragon, saved Mimino’s life, and cured Dante’s petrification.

(We feel a debt that we can’t return towards Reiji-kun.)

Strangely, it was the same as what Reiji was thinking.

The two said their final farewell to Raikira at his grave. His remains were buried in the adventurers’ communal graveyard.

The farewell was also the beginning of a new departure.

On this day, information about the appearance and subjugation of the dragon was delivered to each country through long-range magic communication. Also regarding the death of the adventurer Crysta-La-Crysta.

Officially, Crysta subjugated the dragon by trading fatal blows, but the New Duke, Daniel Achenbach, and the head of the federation, King Geffert, knew the truth.

—That 【Shadow King★★★★★★★】 was a skill which could kill even a dragon with a single blow.

They desperately searched for the fugitive slave, Lark. However, her whereabouts were completely unknown. Another slave, “Unnamed”, also vanished like smoke from the city.

It took three days for the adventurer party Silver Balance to heal Dante’s wounds, but they will embark on a new journey with the goal of finding their comrade.

And then — 4 years passed.

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