Chapter 127
Chapter 127
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 127
Chapter Title: Galliante Island (4)
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Shirone’s party rented a carriage outside the port and headed to the western resort area. The beach, with its wide stretch of white sand, was beautiful even from a distance. Countless shops lined the streets, and accommodations were built along the mountain like village houses.
The place Rian had rented was a villa located halfway up the mountain. As expected of a building reserved for nobility, it was spacious enough for the four of them, and the sweeping view of the sea was more than satisfactory.
Shirone watched the sea from the terrace. The blue ocean was foaming as it washed onto the white sand.
Watching the people leisurely enjoying the beach helped him momentarily forget the unpleasant squabble at the port.
Shirone's group unpacked their luggage and lit a fire in the fireplace. Then, they gathered in the living room to briefly relieve their travel fatigue.
Having eaten nothing but snacks since they left in the morning until the afternoon, they were hungry.
Tess, who had been pondering what to eat to make it a meal worth talking about, clapped her hands as if a good idea had struck her.
“Aha, why don't we just cook for ourselves?”
Rian turned to her with a surprised expression.
“What? You know how to cook?”
“Hehe, of course. Did you think a swordswoman couldn't cook?”
“And here I was wondering. If it's military-style combat rations, I'll pass.”
“What do you take me for! I’m telling you, I know how to cook properly.”
Only then did Rian show a look of surprise. He never imagined that the tomboyish girl would claim to be confident in her cooking.
But this was exactly the kind of situation Tess wanted. If she could imprint a different side of herself on Rian, this trip would be a great success.
“I'll make you the most delicious meal, so all you have to do is buy the ingredients. How about it?”
“Hmm, should we? It feels a bit much to eat out on the first day, right? What do you think, Shirone?”
“I'm fine with it too. Food you cook and eat outside is always delicious.”
Amy cautiously opened her mouth.
“Then… should I cook too?”
Everyone's gaze focused on Amy. Of course, being different from Tess, it didn't seem like she couldn't cook.
But they hadn't expected someone with her prim and proper personality to offer to cook for the boys herself.
Tess, with a woman's intuition, saw through Amy's intentions.
‘To be precise, it's for Shirone, right? Hehe, she has a cute personality, unlike how she appears.’
Tess was all for it. If the two could reconcile through this opportunity, it would be perfect.
“Alright. Let's have a cooking competition! Rian versus Shirone! You two go get the ingredients, and we'll get ready to cook. How does that sound?”
Everyone agreed, and Shirone and Rian headed to the market with the ingredient lists the girls had written for them.
Once the boys were gone, the atmosphere became much softer.
Standing side by side washing dishes, Tess turned to Amy with mischievous eyes and asked.
“First time?”
“Huh? What are you talking about?”
“I can tell just by looking. It's the first time you've fought with Shirone, isn't it? It was obvious you were flustered even while arguing.”
Amy quickly turned her gaze back to the dishes.
“We didn't fight. It's not our first argument, either. And it's most certainly not a lovers' quarrel.”
At the very mage-like triple denial, Tess cackled with laughter.
People say mages are cunning because their insides don't match their outsides, but in a case like this, it seemed rather cute.
“But you were so meticulous with the ingredient list. Hoo, I see. Are you nervously trying to gauge his mood now?”
Amy stopped washing the dishes and fell into thought. Since it was just the two of them, it wasn't something she couldn't talk about. In the end, she surrendered to Tess's questioning and confessed her inner thoughts.
“Shirone… sometimes feels distant.”
“Hoo, distant? That's quite poetic.”
As if finding her own words strange, Amy let out a small laugh.
“But it's true. Should I say he becomes transparent? As if he could disappear from right in front of me at any moment. It's probably because Shirone has a different perspective from other people.”
“A different perspective? Don't tell me he has an eye in a weird place?”
“Maybe he does. Most people see the world from their own point of view. But some people expand their perspective to include the viewpoints of others. We usually call such people virtuous.”
“Hmm, by that logic, I'm definitely not a virtuous person. I can never figure out what other people are thinking.”
“Same here. But Shirone is different. He's kind and considerate, but I think the biggest factor is his different perspective.”
Tess’s cheeks puffed up in a knowing smile.
“Aha! So the point is that he defended those thugs and didn't take your side. Right? Am I right?”
Amy scratched her cheek, looking troubled.
“Well, yes…. But if he were just some naive, good-hearted guy, I would have just thought that and moved on. But Shirone is different. In a way, his perspective is different even from that of a virtuous person.”
“A different perspective? What other kind of perspective is there?”
Amy raised her index finger and pointed at the ceiling.
“An omniscient point of view, you could say.”
“Omniscient…?”
“Yes. When Shirone starts seeing the world from an omniscient point of view, he becomes faint. He becomes different from us, different from any human. It's probably because he has an extremely elevated perspective, one from which even his own existence seems like a mere dot.”
Amy still remembered it vividly. The moment Shirone unhesitatingly activated Immortal Function to save the entire student body.
How could he do that? It was on a different level from suicide. Sacrificing one's life for others was thousands of times harder than choosing death because of one's own suffering.
“When Shirone becomes transparent… the boundary between himself and others collapses. Even he becomes just one person, the same as everyone else. From that point, looking down at the world, what do you think governs him? I believe it's balance. If one side of a scale were to tip even slightly, Shirone would unhesitatingly step onto the other side. Even if that scale represented death.”
“Hey, no way. Who could be like that? That's literally a sage, isn't it?”
“But it's true. Because I'm someone who benefited from that balance. No, all the students at the magic academy had their lives saved by Shirone.”
Tess couldn't close her gaping mouth. A single student saved the entire student body. Just how much more would she have to be surprised before she could say she knew Shirone?
A lonely expression flickered across Amy's face.
“It just occurred to me. When Shirone stopped me, maybe I too was nothing more than a tiny dot seen from that high place. Shirone is different from me. No, he's different from everyone. That's what makes him an outstanding mage, but sometimes it makes me sad.”
Tess gently shook Amy's shoulder.
“Amy, don't think like that. Shirone genuinely cares about you. That's why he asked you to come, even though he knew it was a couples' trip. You're not just some random person on the street. You're always Carmis Amy.”
Amy smiled at Tess's heartfelt encouragement. But that didn't mean her thoughts had changed.
To Shirone, who could coldly cast aside even his own life, how much value could the existence of others truly hold?
“Amy, just tell Shirone. Ask him why he didn't take your side. Tell him you're so hurt and furious you don't think you'll be able to sleep. You can just say that, can't you?”
Amy chuckled and shook her head.
“Shirone probably knows. The reason he didn't argue with me was because he understood. Don't worry too much. It'll be resolved soon. It's just awkward because, like you said, it's the first time.”
Tess, with her straightforward personality, was frustrated. If feelings were hurt, shouldn't they confront the person and see it through to the end?
And yet, Amy concluded it by saying there was nothing to talk about because they both already understood.
“Hoo, I'll never understand the way mages think.”
* * *
Shirone and Rian arrived at an alley of general stores. Since the ingredient lists on their respective papers were different, it seemed they would miss dinnertime if they wandered through the entire maze-like shopping district.
Shirone thought it would be better to move separately.
“Let's split up here. We can just buy our things and head back to the villa.”
“Should we? But can you carry it all by yourself? It'll be heavy.”
Shirone stared at Rian with a dumbfounded expression. No matter how weak he was, could he not carry garlic, onions, and pepper? Rian may have taken a knight's oath, but Shirone had to refuse his concern over a shopping basket.
“It's fine! I'll buy my stuff, so you just worry about not getting lost. You know this is a cooking competition, right? The loser does the dishes.”
“Fine! I'll make sure you and Amy can do the dishes together. You'd better hope you lose. That is, if you want to make up with Amy.”
“Make up? We didn't even fight.”
“Huh? Didn't you two fight at the port? That's why things are awkward between you now, right?”
“Amy's not that petty. We just had a small difference of opinion. It's something that can happen anytime people exchange their views.”
“Haha! You idiot, that's what fighting is.”
Shirone gave up talking. It was the same then as it was now. Being called an idiot by Rian strangely made him feel self-loathing.
“Anyway, forget it. I'm going to buy the vegetables first. See you at the villa.”
“Then I'll go get the meat. I'm off!”
Shirone blankly watched Rian charge toward the butcher shop. Just seeing him run, he couldn't imagine how much meat Rian was planning to buy.
Shirone checked the note Amy had written for him. He didn't know what dish it was for, but there weren't any particularly hard-to-find ingredients.
However, the number of ingredients was greater than Rian's, so he had to move diligently to make it on time.
Shirone spent about 30 minutes wandering around and bought most of the ingredients. He also did some sightseeing along the way. Since it was a resort area, there were many unique and interesting shops.
Stalls offering games for prizes were popular, and various performances and street parades could be seen frequently.
For a single commercial district to be so focused on entertainment, a truly enormous number of tourists had to be constantly flowing in.
Indeed, the streets were overflowing with people, and the sounds of carefree laughter, something not often felt on the continent, embroidered the southern sky.
‘Wow, there are so many fun shops. I should hang out here tomorrow.’
Having finished his shopping, Shirone turned to head back to the villa.
At that moment, the door of a shop in front of him burst open, and a woman was shoved out, falling to the ground.
“Kyaa!”
“Kyaa?”
Shirone tilted his head at the strange scream. But he quickly came to his senses and approached.
It was a woman in her mid-twenties. She had short hair with straight bangs cut along her eyebrows, but thanks to her pretty face, it didn't look ridiculous.
“Wh-why are you doing this? What did I do wrong?”
The woman, having gotten up, covered her chest with both arms. She was wearing a low-cut dress like a barmaid.
Her eyebrows were thin and her eyes were sharp, but her expression, facing the large man, looked as gentle as a herbivore's.
“Kekeke, what's with this? I'm just asking you to have some fun with me.”
“I'm not that kind of woman!”
“Not that kind? Who are you kidding? Walking around a resort town dressed like that, it's a given. Stop playing hard to get and come have fun with me.”
The man intimidating the woman was named Gamos, a well-known wealthy man on Galliante Island.
He had a massive build, but it was far from muscular, consisting mostly of fat, and his abdominal obesity was particularly severe.
But the power of money seemed to be formidable, as he was flanked by two well-built bodyguards.
“Come along while I'm asking nicely. Honestly, you're not in a position to refuse, are you?”
“Help me! Please, help me!”
As Gamos grabbed the woman's wrist and began to drag her away, no one stepped in to stop him.
Tourists don't want to get involved in dangerous situations in a foreign place. And the locals were afraid of Gamos's influence.