Chapter 49
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 49
Chapter Title: Isn't There?
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Someone knocked on Ian's door in the middle of the night.
With Ian's permission, Rin cautiously stepped inside.
"What's wrong?"
"Could we... talk for a bit?"
Her hair was still slightly damp from the bath she'd just taken.
With her face a little flushed, Rin entered the room and hesitated, stealing glances at Ian.
Late-night counseling out of the blue.
It was unusual, but not something to chase her away over.
It was just as Ian started to nod.
Sudden voices came from beyond the door.
- ...What are you two doing here?
- Li, Lia?
- Weren't you sleeping?
- This is... the captain's room. Were you sneaking around doing something?
- W-wait a sec...
Mika and Tanya. And Lia too.
Sounds of someone running and what seemed like a light scuffle drifted in from beyond the door.
Rin flung the door open in a panic, revealing Mika and Tanya with Lia gripping them by the scruffs of their necks.
"So."
In Ian's room, three people knelt on the floor.
Rin, Mika, and Tanya.
Caught lurking suspiciously in front of Ian's door in the dead of night by Lia, they had all confessed everything that had been going on.
"The reason you were all gathered in front of my room at night... was that."
Lia, who had burst out thinking they were thieves upon hearing footsteps late at night, shook her head in disbelief.
"These two, for now..."
Ian's gaze turned to Mika and Tanya.
As a brief moment of contemplation passed, Lia, standing behind him, chimed in slyly.
"To the underground dungeon?"
"...We don't have anything like that?"
"Isn't there?"
For some reason, Lia looked a little sulky.
"Go back to your rooms for now."
Right now, talking to Rin took priority.
"Rin, you stay. Let's talk."
A small lamp on the desk illuminated the bed.
It was the kind of late hour when everyone should have been asleep.
At such a late hour, one of the culprits behind the commotion—
Rin perched on the edge of Ian's bed, glancing sideways at him.
Ian had noticed lately that Rin's behavior was a bit off.
Especially since Tanya and Mika had been running around helping her, it stood out even more.
However, her status window showed no issues.
And her actions seemed more like diligent training than eccentricity, so he'd just let it slide.
"...That's how it happened."
With Rin seated beside him under the pretense of counseling, Ian had spent a long time listening to why she'd been up to such things.
Having heard the full story from Rin and sorted it out in his mind, Ian spoke.
"So... you came to seduce me because you're scared of getting fired?"
"I didn't say it quite like that...!"
Rin replied, looking a bit deflated after hearing Ian's words.
"I'm serious about this."
Of course, looking back now, it seemed foolish.
But Rin had felt so cornered that she thought she had no other choice but to try something like this.
Ian pondered again as he watched Rin's serious expression.
He knew what troubles she was facing.
She must have thought it wasn't something to confess directly to her captain, so she'd kept it hidden until now...
But with this chance for a serious talk with Ian, Rin ended up spilling every last bit of her thoughts without holding back.
"Rin. You're already growing pretty fast. No need to rush."
"But Lia's here too..."
"Lia... maybe shouldn't compare yourself to her."
It was hard to find a mercenary whose talents were as perfectly balanced as Lia's.
If anyone took her as a benchmark, they'd all feel inadequate.
"We have no intention of kicking you out of the mercenary corps."
Hearing Ian's reassuring words, Rin let out a small sigh.
Why had her heart become so anxious?
Rin herself knew it was a worry unbecoming of her station.
Lia was... of course, overflowing with talent to an absurd degree, diligent, and a veteran with far more experience.
It was laughable for a rookie mercenary like her to try to keep up.
From the start, Rin had never compared herself to people forging ahead like that.
Being a mercenary was just a job chosen to make good money.
If she could earn a ton and retire comfortably, great. That's all she'd thought when starting out.
And that goal... was going really smoothly.
Her current group was a promising mercenary corps, and she'd already made a good amount of money.
If she could just keep working steadily and retire safely like this, it would actually be the ideal mercenary life she'd hoped for.
What changed Rin's mindset...
Was the conversation she'd had with Ian not long ago.
Rin recalled the talk she'd had with Ian in the park.
"Captain. That thing you mentioned back then... you were serious, right?"
"...The park one?"
Ian caught on to which conversation she meant and nodded.
"Yeah."
"Then you'll need a ton of strong mercenaries. Like Lia."
He'd said it was a monster that could swallow the entire Labyrinth whole.
She'd enthusiastically said she'd help Ian back then.
But imagining what role she'd actually play if that situation arose...
Rin couldn't picture anything.
In her current state, holding the rear guard would be pushing it, wouldn't it?
Such thoughts were gradually making Rin's heart grow more urgent.
...It wasn't simple rivalry, wanting to take center stage.
She didn't have any reckless thirst for adventure, eager to dive into danger.
Just... in such a perilous situation.
On a dangerous mission where Ian and the others might die.
If she couldn't help at all and had to sit out alone while the party went ahead without her.
That... she couldn't just stand by and watch.
As she poured out her heart to Ian, Rin finally realized the true nature of the anxiety she'd been hiding from herself.
"Will I... be able to help by the time that comes?"
Rin fiddled with the bedsheet as she awaited Ian's answer.
Watching her like that, Ian thought quietly for a moment before replying.
"That... we'll only know when the time comes."
"Can't you at least say, even as empty words, that I will?"
Rin let out a deep sigh.
And simply nodded.
This honest answer was better, actually.
If she'd heard empty reassurances, she might have let her guard down completely.
"I'll do my best. Until something works out..."
"Good. I'll help you too, so no need to worry that much."
Rin admitted she'd been too hasty and nodded.
By the time they finished talking, it was already dawn.
Ian figured it was late and he should send Rin back, so he added one last thing.
"If you really need something, I'll get it for you. No need to force yourself into stuff like this."
Force herself...
Rin paused at Ian's final words.
It would have ended there if she'd just nodded.
But Rin wanted to correct that misunderstanding Ian had uttered so casually.
"......Not."
Something whispered in Ian's ear.
Rin's voice, as she mumbled with her head down, was so soft it seemed like she was trying to hide her embarrassment.
"Huh?"
"Not... force."
Ian, unable to catch it, asked again, and Rin repeated it a bit louder.
This time, Ian clearly heard what Rin said.
"It's not... that I came by force."
After all, it was the night she'd confessed all her worries to Ian anyway.
Without realizing it, Rin ended up pouring out even the deepest feelings she'd hidden away.
"It's because it's you, Captain... that's why it's okay."
As she continued, Rin's face grew redder and redder, until by the end, her whole face was flushed bright red.
Did I say too much?
Having blurted out the truth without thinking, Rin immediately regretted it.
She'd opened up her true feelings to Ian, and he'd listened seriously.
If she'd just said okay at the end and left the room, it would have wrapped up on a warm note.
After Rin's sudden confession, no reply came from Ian, and the atmosphere turned awkward.
Unable to lift her head, Rin stared at the floor with her burning face.
A hellish, prolonged silence followed.
After staring at the floor for a while, Rin glanced sideways and locked eyes with Ian, who had been peeking at her too.
"......"
"......"
The two quickly averted their gazes again.
...Hadn't there been a similar situation before?
Suddenly, Rin recalled a memory she'd buried out of embarrassment.
In the underground sewer, they'd sat side by side like this.
If only no one had come then...
As she thought that, Rin flinched.
If no one had come... what would have happened next?
As she pondered, Rin ever so carefully... tentatively moved her finger.
The tip of Rin's finger brushed against Ian's hand beside her.
Soon, Ian's hand moved to overlap hers.
Without a word, the two naturally clasped hands.
That was when...
The interruption had come.
Rin and Ian's eyes met again, and this time, neither looked away.
Slowly, their lips came together.