The Hunter’s Story, and… (3)
The Hunter’s Story, and… (3)
#
The black-haired, heavyset middle-aged woman who flung the door open and barged in plopped herself right down in front of us and started firing off questions.
Who were we, did we know where this place was, who did we say we'd met? What was our relationship with her, and what exactly had she said?
It felt as though I was being interrogated, yet I couldn’t object. She acted as though the house were her own and overwhelmed me with sheer force of personality. Then there was the rapid-fire way older women like her talked. I’d been completely swept up in it...
"...So after accepting Yuri's request, we..."
"A request? What kind of request would she make?"
Like this!
From the moment she arrived, this woman had no intention of listening to anyone through to the end. She seized only the parts that caught her ear and cut me off! After she’d interrupted me like this several times, there was no way to carry on a calm, logical conversation!
"She told us there was an anomaly in a dungeon located in her management zone. So we came to investigate it together..."
"Management? Who's she to be managing dungeons?"
"She said she was a retired ranger. That managing the dungeons was her job..."
"A raaaaanger? What kind of ranger is she supposed to be?"
...What? She wasn't a ranger?
I wasn't the only one who realized something was off. Reni tilted her head quizzically, then raised her hand.
"Is Yuri not a ranger?"
"Who told you she was a ranger?"
"Yuri did..."
The middle-aged woman's eyes went round. She shut her mouth for a moment... then burst into outright laughter.
"Ranger, my foot! She’s just a hunter’s daughter!"
...What?
"..."
...Right! I had thought something seemed suspicious! The way she trailed off whenever rangers came up, and how awkward her behavior was!
While Reni and I stood dumbfounded with our mouths hanging open, the door flew open again. Yuri stood there flushed and panting. The moment she saw the middle-aged woman, her mouth opened and closed like a goldfish’s.
Not a retired ranger... a hunter!
No, that wasn't right either! A hunter's... daughter...!
"Agh! Auntie! You can’t just come over whenever you want because Mom’s away!"
She was her aunt!!!
The middle-aged woman took one look at Yuri and burst into outright laughter.
"Yuri! You told them you were a ranger? You've really gone up in the world, haven't you?"
"Agh!! Seriously!!!"
"Now that I look, you bought yourself new clothes, too. Are those new boots?"
"Ack!!!!! Honestly!!!!!!!!"
...No wonder she kept stumbling when she walked—it was because her new boots weren't broken in yet!
-Ding!
[Yuri Fogswaithe's Trait 「Bravado (B)」 has been confirmed.]
[Yuri Fogswaithe's Trait 「Boastfulness (B)」 has been confirmed.]
"..."
I was so incredulous words failed me.
Yuri’s aunt cackled for a while, then inspected Yuri from head to toe and clicked her tongue through half-lidded eyes.
"Tch. Yuri, dear. Wearing clothes like that—have you stopped to think how many times your father's going to tan your backside over it?"
"Urk..."
...Her father spanked her?
No, more importantly—father? Now that I thought about it, she just said something about "my mom." She told us her parents were dead!
"Uh, where exactly are Yuri's parents...?"
"Ah, those two. They caught a wild boar a little while back, and were lucky enough to get a magic stone from it. They sold it and went off on a trip!"
...So that was it.
So that was what she had meant by saying they had gone far away.
Right. Technically, it was not a lie. She had deliberately phrased it ambiguously to invite misunderstanding...
...This felt strangely familiar.
"Hey, it wasn't a lie, right? I said I was sad because I hadn't seen them in a long time."
Yuri looked around at us brazenly, but her pupils were trembling... She knew what she’d implied, didn’t she?
"..."
I was so dumbfounded I didn’t have the energy to say anything more. Yuri’s aunt continued chattering regardless.
"Yuri, dear. I was already wondering why you didn't go with them. Was it because you wanted to stay in the city and snag yourself a sweetheart?"
"Huh? No..."
After saying that, Yuri’s aunt gave my face and body a long, appraising look. D-don't look at me like you are evaluating merchandise!
"He’ll do! You chose well!"
"Auntie!!!! Please stop it!!!!!!!" "He is NOT my sweetheart!!!!!!!"
Yuri and Reni shrieked at the exact same moment.
What a mess...
#
Yuri's aunt spent a good while teasing Yuri like that, then left. It really felt like I'd been caught up in a storm and then spat back out.
At last, only Yuri, Reni, and I remained in the house.
Now then... I'd better subject this con artist here... to a little interrogation...
"...Look here, Ranger."
"...."
"Hunter's Daughter."
"...."
"How old are you?"
"...I'm twenty..."
She was even younger than Reni! The wolf had vanished, and all that remained was a deflated little fox cub.
"Haaah... Alright. Let's talk openly."
"Oh, is that so? How old are you, mister?"
"M-Mister...!"
No, that wasn’t what I meant by talking openly! And ‘mister’? This brazen girl!
I heard a snickering laugh and looked back to see Reni struggling to hold hers in. Reni, even you...!
[The Holy Sword asks what you think of having her call you "mister" from now on.]
You damned scrap of metal...!
...
Once I told her my age, the cool beauty disappeared and was replaced by a girl who felt like a junior from university. I couldn't handle such a drastic transformation...
"Oh, really? The age gap’s barely anything! Then can I just call you Yoo-jin?"
...Now she was even speaking casually. I couldn't handle this kind of cutesy act...
"...Fine... Do whatever you want..."
"Honestly, keeping up that concept was exhausting, so this worked out great. Heehee."
Right... It was a concept...
Walking as if she were a model, clack-clack... The way she subtly twisted her body this way and that... The way she deliberately dropped her voice low and acted like she was indifferent and chic... It was all a concept...
I was exhausted in more ways than one...
I slumped into a chair, too drained to speak, so Reni took over the conversation.
"Yuri. So, is the story about the dungeon true?"
"Urk... I'm sorry. The dungeon story is true. That's why I was going to West Keep. For real."
I couldn't stop myself from getting one word in.
"Right. And while you were at it, you went ahead and bought new clothes, new boots, the whole lot, didn't you?"
"Ah! Stop bringing that up!"
There was no calm wolf... All that was left was a yipping, rampaging fox cub...
The contrast between her image and reality was shocking. Very shocking...
The moment Reni and I shot her looks of suspicion, Yuri started to panic. She launched into a desperate, frantic defense.
"It's true! The story about the dungeon is true! If it wasn't, my dad would kill... ahem. Anyway, that part is true."
"What business would a hunter's daughter have with a dungeon?"
"I just... I want to be an adventurer, too... Actually, the work rangers and hunters do is pretty similar, you know? For real. So I've gone to look at that dungeon a few times before. And that goblin really did turn up there. I wasn't using it as an excuse to go to the city. For real. But hey, you saw me shoot that bow earlier, right? I shoot pretty well, don't I? So what do you think, at this level? Think I could become an adventurer? And by the way, that holy sword? Where did you get it? Can you tell me, too? And is it that obvious I'm wearing new clothes? Do they look awkward on me? I don't think they do, though—don't they suit me?"
"..."
She had a talent for talking at length without saying much.
"Yuri. Please tell us about the dungeon. We came all this way; we can't turn back now."
Seeing Yuri like this seemed to calm Reni instead. Good. She could handle the talking for me.
....
Over a light dinner, we discussed what to do about the dungeon. Surely she hadn’t been bluffing about that too?
Fortunately, Yuri’s story contained details too specific to dismiss as lies. Judging from the story alone, it sounded credible enough... but I couldn’t trust her.
"If it turns out I came all this way for nothing..."
"Ah, right! I said I'd treat you, didn't I!"
Yuri cut off my growl, produced a bottle of wine from somewhere, and held it out to me, but...
"Gahk! This is vinegar!"
"..."
"Ah-ha, ah-haha. Sorryyy~"
The wine had apparently been stored badly and turned to vinegar. Could I really trust this girl? A sigh escaped me.
At any rate, the dungeon was supposedly about a half-day's walk away, across a valley.
Since we had no idea what the inside of the dungeon looked like, there wasn't much more to talk about besides the distance. A half-day's distance. With mountain trails, we'd need to set out a bit early. For now, we decided to wrap up the conversation and sort out our luggage, but...
Watching Yuri's luggage spill open, I couldn't keep myself from saying one more thing. Seeing something like that, I just couldn't help myself.
"Those are all new clothes, aren't they? What's that book? A novel? Why on earth did you buy so many of those? So that's why you didn't even have money for a room and had to sleep rough—"
"Ah, come on! I spent my own money!"
This damned girl... Here I was, running myself ragged because I was worried some monster might gobble your eyeballs right out of your head, and you have the nerve to...
Right at that moment, Yuri launched a surprise attack on me.
"So... Reni, why don’t you sleep with me? Okay?"
Huh?
"Mister—no, Yoo-jin, I’ll make you a bed out here in the living room. The other rooms have been empty so long that they’re a little... dusty. Heehee. Sorry?"
Huhh?
"Eh?"
Reni wore a bewildered expression, too. She looked back and forth between me and Yuri, then shot me a flustered look as if begging me to do something about it, but...
You were the one who told her we weren't anything! If you categorically stated that, what am I supposed to do now?!
"Well now, shall we go?"
"Eh?"
Reni let out a strange little grunt, and was dragged away by Yuri.
...What a storm of a day.
#
"Hnnght... haht..."
"..."
"Nnnht...."
"Hhk...!"
What the—!
A pleasant weight and sensation pressing down on my lower body, and a slight dampness. I opened my eyes with a start, and...
"Ahhng... hff..."
Reni was mounting me!
This priest... she was having sex with me in my sleep! She’d been waiting for her chance, and now she’d finally done it!!!
"Re—!"
Reni clapped a hand over my mouth and whispered softly.
"Shh! Be quiet! You'll wake Yuri!"
I pulled Reni's hand away and whispered back just as quietly.
"What do you think you're doing!"
"Tomorrow... haht... we're going to the dungeon, so... hnnnht... I need to... amplify... nnnht..."