Chapter 69
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 69
Chapter Title: Anniversary - 3
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Unfortunately, the timing wasn't right.
At the forest entrance, the only one I could find was Delion, who had just come on shift.
Koon had already gone home.
"It doesn't seem like that applies to us."
"Because of your duties?"
"Yes. Even if it's a festival, it's hard to relax and enjoy it fully. And if you drink, it'll affect you until the next day."
It was admirable professional spirit.
They knew their role was the minimum safeguard for the village's safety.
Even if the village was safe for 364 days out of the year, tomorrow could be that one missed day, so they had to stay vigilant every single time.
"We can't afford to let our guard down. It's funny for us to say this in front of Earthbound Spirit, who we've had to rely on so pathetically time and again."
Diligence was just an attitude, not power.
When something beyond their capabilities happened in the village, they asked for my help, and I responded to their dedication.
My desire for the village's safety was no less than theirs.
"That's all thanks to you guys moving fast."
"If it was any real help, then we're glad."
On the day Fria caused trouble, or when the giant slime appeared in the middle of the village, they were the first to move.
Even though it wasn't their shift.
"We can't get drunk, but if we have some spare time, we'll enjoy the atmosphere for a bit before going. Our shifts aren't all day, just half anyway."
In other words, they meant they'd give up part of their precious half-day rest to attend.
Knowing his schedule as a guard, I couldn't show any outward disappointment.
Like I had with others, I asked if he wanted anything from the festival.
Delion pondered for a few seconds before giving a dry response that nothing came to mind.
"Ah, should I pass on what I heard today to Koon as well?"
"No. If I run into him tomorrow, I'll tell him myself."
"Understood."
If we were holding a festival, I hoped it would be one the whole village could enjoy.
Ellie's request office just needed to close for one day.
The restaurants could sell food from stalls instead; only the location would change.
But the duties of the village's two guards couldn't be taken off on a whim.
It seemed Koon and Delion were the only ones who couldn't fully enjoy the festival.
If only I could cover their shifts for just one day...
"What if someone else stood in for you guys on guard duty? Would that be okay?"
"Someone to cover our shift?"
"Hypothetically. Just suppose it was possible. How about it?"
"Well... we'd be able to relax then. But if our replacement can't enjoy the festival, it's the same thing, right? Someone has to hold the post."
Something occurred to me.
It wasn't a person, but it could do the job.
"No, don't worry about that. It'll be fine."
"I have no idea what you mean."
"I'll come back once it's properly prepared. Sorry for bothering you."
"No problem. See you."
Holding Delion any longer would just interfere with his work.
"Heading back to the inn now?"
"Yeah. I need to check on that thing I mentioned to Delion."
"I've been curious too. Who exactly is going to stand in for guard duty?"
"Well..."
I started to explain, but then thought, I don't have to be the only one suffering here, and shut my mouth.
Ellie hadn't explained to me what the commemoration for the festival was either. She'd whispered it to everyone else.
"I'm not telling."
"Huh?"
Like Ellie had done, I flashed a playful smile.
"What's with that look? ...No way, is this your revenge?"
I didn't tell her even when we parted ways in front of the inn.
She'd find out on the day of the festival anyway.
Raymond, who had been wandering the inn's hall, approached me.
"Out all day and only now coming back?"
"I still couldn't finish with everyone, so I'll meet the rest tomorrow. Plus, I only gave a brief heads-up; we haven't even started proper preparations."
"You're really serious about this festival prep. Is it because Ellie wants it?"
I cleared my throat awkwardly.
I was helping out because I liked her plan too, but the biggest reason was probably...
"Don't overdo it from day one. You've got 20 days left, right?"
"It's only 20 days. By the way, have you gone to see the village chief?"
"Ahem, I was busier than expected today..."
As if you have anything to be busy with.
"I'll definitely go tomorrow! It's not that I don't want to help, okay?"
"I'll believe you."
"You can. No one fits the word 'trustworthy' better than me."
I gave a light farewell and headed to my room.
The direction was the same, but my destination wasn't my room.
I knocked on the door of the room next door.
"Not in?"
There was no sound from inside.
If she'd gone to bed early, no response at this hour made sense, but given the times I'd spotted Sua around the village, she didn't have a particularly healthy sleep schedule.
She probably hadn't returned yet, so I decided to just wait simply.
It took a little over 30 minutes.
"Coming back late."
"Huh? Why are you out in the hallway instead of going in?"
"One job for you."
"What job?"
"You know summon magic, right?"
I remembered her using it effectively in key spots even before floor 40.
Even without me climbing, it would already be a familiar spell for Sua at this point.
"I do, but... h-here?"
"Might be a bit risky. Let's go outside."
"Eek? I just got back─."
We went to an open area where there wouldn't be any damage nearby.
Here, she could cast summon magic freely without issue.
"Summon magic out of nowhere?"
"On festival day, we need manpower to guard the forest entrance instead of the guards."
"Festival? What's that?"
"Ah, I didn't tell you either."
I'd only thought about visiting the villagers and forgotten about Sua, a fellow adventurer.
"There's an event like this, and you're only telling me now?"
"I only explained to others today too. The idea just came up recently, and some people haven't even heard yet."
"I thought I'd be higher on the priority list."
Maybe because she'd been guild master for so long, she reacted like she was used to quick reports.
"I barely see you around, so I forgot for a sec. When you're not hunting with me, where the heck do you spend your free time?"
"Huhu, enjoying my overflowing free time leisurely."
"You're a total bum."
"Hey."
I steered the conversation back before it derailed.
We'd come out here to plan replacing guard duty with Sua's summons.
"Any summon will do?"
"Not the flying ones you ride around on. Among the puppets, the ones with spears and armor. If you make them human-sized, can you handle about 10?"
"...Even the first-string guys don't know my summons that well."
A fireball formed in her hand, stretching into a long shape.
Armor wrapped around the surface, and it gripped a spear in one hand.
"Like this? I only summoned one for now."
"Keep the form here, but dial down the firepower."
"Is that even possible...?"
"Not reducing the mana allocation for the summon. Just thin out the elemental intensity."
The blazing flames weakened.
But its size didn't shrink.
"Perfect. Ideal for a stand-in."
"Every time this happens, it hits me again that you're a regressor. You know my skills better than I do."
It couldn't be helped.
Not just Sua, but I deeply understood the abilities of adventurers I'd climbed with.
To counter their powers, I had to know how they used them.
"Thinking about it, it's so unfair. You know all about me."
"You know plenty about me too, right? In the tower, only a handful knew my traits."
"I only heard about your climbing days secondhand, not from experiencing it. All I saw was you grinding slimes on floor 1 every time, or coldly rejecting my recruitment offers."
I knew Sua from multiple regressions.
Sua knew me from her single timeline.
Even if she thought we had a long connection from my floor 1 days, and even if her guild investigated my routine thoroughly, it wouldn't be enough.
The gap in what we knew about each other was like floor 1 versus floor 150.
"Back when I didn't know why you weren't climbing, sparring with the swordsmanship instructor was the only time I could gauge your strength."
"You were trying to recruit me steadily even before that. Before you figured out my skill."
"Well... I invited you to come along, but you never did."
Was it camaraderie from floor 1? Friendship?
Pity?
Curiosity?
What was it that made her pull along a straggler?
"Right around when I was about to give up, I happened to see you wielding your sword like a madman. What could I do?"
"So your goal changed from then on?"
What started as simple goodwill turned into greed once she recognized my true value.
Seeing movements incomparable to other adventurers, she must have thought recruiting me would speed up their clears.
That would boost her guild's standing among adventurers.
The result, as we know, was a total bust.
No matter the conditions, I had no intention of climbing.
The offers grew excessive, and guild members tailed me everywhere on floor 1 in hiding.
The desire to bring a strong person into the guild morphed into obsession to uncover the source of my strength.
"It got worse because I bragged to the other guild masters."
"Huh?"
"We'd gather for these so-called normal meetings, but it was all posturing, so I thought I'd show off a bit..."
"You spread it around even though I never agreed to join, and that's what caused all that trouble?"
"Back then, I thought you'd cave with just a little more push."
All guilds focus on recruiting talent.
Managing numbers matters, but snagging key players is top priority.
A straggler on floor 1 everyone ignored turns out to be overwhelmingly skilled, and I, who spotted it first, approached him.
No better way to one-up the competition.
The problem was, unlike what I boasted, I never joined Crimson Flame Guild, leaving a juicy target wandering floor 1.
'So the rumors about me spreading among guild masters and rankers, and them bugging me on floor 1 for a while, weren't malicious—it was just her bragging?'
It was another reminder that Sua's biggest flaw was blowing things up without thinking ahead.