Chapter 126: A Break
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 126: A Break
“Bro?”
“Huh?”
Mars’s voice snapped me back to reality, and I took my hand off the hilt of my sword.
That was close.
I almost went on a rampage.
To think I nearly lost my cool over something so trivial.
I need to reflect on my actions.
Then again, this wasn't exactly trivial.
Everything I’d done for Mars had just been rendered completely pointless, hadn't it? All my time, effort, and money, flushed right down the toilet.
So, don't I have the right to be angry?
As I was seriously pondering this, Mars spoke to me.
“What are you thinking so hard about?”
“It’s nothing. Have you been well?”
“I’ve been doing alright. Just like we talked about, I’ve been traveling, made some companions—”
Ah, fuck. I was hoping it wasn't true, but this confirms it. Iries, you bitch. So this is how you’re gonna play? Just you wait.
“Bro?”
“Ah, yeah. What is it?”
“From your reaction, I can tell you weren't listening. You’re still the same old you, bro. How have you not changed one bit?”
“‘Not changed,’ you say… That could be a good thing or a bad thing, but in your case, it sounds like a bad thing. Maybe it’s because it’s been a while, but your respect for your big bro seems to have faded. I feel the need to remind you.”
As I cracked my knuckles, Mars’s face paled slightly, and he quickly changed the subject.
“Uh, more importantly, bro, you’re the Hero?”
“Trying to change the subject? It’s a cheap trick, but I’ll let it slide for now. Am I the Hero? Yeah, that’s right.”
“Why didn’t you tell me? Do you have any idea how shocked I was when I heard your name as the Hero who defeated the Four Heavenly Kings?”
“And you would have believed me if I told you?”
“Uh… I guess not…”
“See? So what’s the point? Anyway, who are those guys over there?”
I asked, pointing to the three people watching us from a distance. Mars reacted as if he’d just remembered something important.
“Oh, right. I completely forgot to introduce my companions.”
“…Right.”
I’d pretty much guessed, but hearing the word “companions” directly from Mars’s mouth sent a sharp pain up the back of my neck.
Sigh, it’s fine.
I’ve done so much for Mars. He must have changed at least a little. Maybe, unlike in the game, they’re just normal companions.
Mars brought his companions over and introduced them.
I wasn’t interested, so I only half-listened to their names.
The blond tanned thug’s name was Hyou, the second pink-haired slut was Christina, and the bald vulture was Bomuro.
“I see. By the way, that pink—”
“You weren’t about to say ‘pink-haired slut,’ were you?”
“Is the lady with the pink hair just a simple companion of yours?”
“Christina is…”
Mars trailed off, then walked over to the pink-haired girl and took her hand.
“My lover.”
“…Lover? As in, girlfriend?”
“Yeah.”
Mars nodded. I glanced over and saw the pink-haired girl blushing with her head down. The blond thug and the bald pig were snickering as they watched. It looked like they were mocking him, but maybe I was just imagining things?
Agh. The back of my neck is killing me.
Am I getting a herniated disc at this age?
I should ask Katarina for a massage when I get back.
“Hyou, Christina, Bomuro. Let me introduce you. This is my older brother figure I told you about, Cloud.”
“Ah, hello! I’m Christina, Mars’s lover. I’ve heard so much about you. You helped Mars a lot when he was going through a tough time… It’s, it’s a pleasure to meet you!”
The pink-haired girl bowed deeply as she greeted me.
“Ah, yeah…”
Next, the blond thug, Hyou, came up and offered a handshake.
“I thought he was just bluffing, but you two really know each other… I’m Hyou, his companion. A pleasure to meet you~.”
Huh?
His tone and face were fucking annoying, but he was surprisingly polite. Had they really become just normal companions? As I accepted his handshake, he flashed a greasy smile.
“You said you’re close with Mars, right? I’m pretty close with him too. So, how about you introduce me to some girls sometime? I hear the Hero is surrounded by beautiful women. Word is your companions are quite the lookers, too~.”
He licked his lips with a lecherous look on his face.
Hmm.
“Guards? Could you all step out for a moment?”
“Sir…?”
“It’ll just be a minute. Please.”
The bewildered guards eventually agreed and began to file out of the guardhouse one by one. I turned my head to Mars.
“You step out for a bit, too.”
“…Why?”
“What do you mean, why? When your big bro tells you to get out, you get out.”
“Well… I don’t mind stepping out, but the look on your face is worrying me. I have a feeling that if I leave now, something very unfortunate is going to happen.”
“What do you take me for? Nothing’s going to happen, so don’t worry and get out.”
“No, what is it? Stop pushing and tell me. Bro? Bro—”
Click.
I shoved Mars out the door and locked it. Then, I drew the curtains over the windows.
Good. Now no one outside the guardhouse can see what’s happening inside.
At least for a little while…
“You son of a bitch!”
That’s all the time I need!
I rushed forward and slammed my fist into Hyou’s cheek.
Smack—!
His body lost its balance and crumpled to the floor. He’s going limp from a single slap?
What a weak piece of shit!
“Kugh… What the hell are you doing all of a sudden… Gack!”
As he scowled and tried to get up, I kicked him in the stomach. His body bent like a bow. Not only is his core weak, but his back is too. How did he ever manage to satisfy a woman with a body like this?
“Gaaah! What… what the hell! What did I do to deserve this?!”
“You… You crossed a line you never should have crossed. You let a word that should never have passed your filthy lips escape. And that is something I absolutely cannot tolerate!”
“What the fuck is this bastard talking about… Ugh!”
Instead of kicking him again, I lifted my foot and began stomping on him relentlessly.
“Why the hell are my companions’ names coming out of your mouth? Huh? Hey. Tell me. Why did you mention my companions with that fucking look on your face?!”
“M-my smiling face has always looked like th—”
“Then you should fix it! If it makes other people uncomfortable, you should fix it!”
“That’s absurd…”
“What’s absurd is your face!”
“Pfft…!”
A fat, wheezing laugh.
I glanced to the side and saw the bald vulture laughing as if to say, serves him right.
“You laughing?”
I slammed the pommel of my sword down on the crown of his head.
“You laughing? Huh? You think this is funny?? You wanna get your head split open, you motherfucker?”
“Ugh! Ack! Ack! Gweck!!”
As I was stomping on the blond thug with my feet and beating the bald vulture with my sword, the stunned pink-haired girl finally came to her senses and shrieked.
“Wh-what are you doing?! Who do you think you are, hitting them like that?!”
“Me? I’m a friend of Mars. Who are you?”
“Me? I’m Mars’s girlfriend!”
“Bullshit. I don’t acknowledge pink-haired sluts!”
“Aaaah! What are you doing?! My hair! Let go of my hair!!”
CRASH! BANG! BOOM!
The sound of the door being smashed to pieces came from behind me.
“B-Bro?! What are you doing?!”
Mars rushed in, hooked his arms under my armpits, and tried to pull me off. After a moment, he must have realized it was futile, because he wrapped his arm around my neck in a chokehold.
Is this bastard crazy?
“Let go! Let go of me, you bastard!”
“You said nothing would happen! You said nothing would happen!!”
Mars’s arm tightened around my neck.
Is this kid for real?
“Mars, you! You can’t do this to me. Do you know how much I went through to make sure you could live like a decent human being?! I taught you how to use a sword, huh! I sent you living expenses, huh! At my age, I even poked a hole in the back of my hand and spouted some cringey, chuunibyou-like lines, and now you—huh! After all that, huh!”
“I know! I know you helped me a lot, bro! But why are you bringing that up now?! And what’s this about poking a hole in your hand?”
“It’s a long story!”
“So what is it?! No, this isn’t the time for that. Guards! Don’t just stand there gawking, help me!!”
“Uh…? Ah, uh, right. Sir Hero, please calm down!”
The guards finally swarmed in.
“Hey, let go of me. I said let go!”
.
.
.
.
.
.
“I got a little too worked up. My bad.”
I offered an apology to the three people at the table across from me. All three of them still had sour looks on their faces.
Hey, I healed you with a potion and even gave you a small settlement fee. Can’t you lighten up a little?
Not that it’ll make me give you any more money.
As I sat there with an equally sour expression, I heard the bald vulture, Bomuro, muttering something under his breath with his eyes lowered.
“Jeez, how is someone like that a Hero… He’s just a thug… The guards are crazy too… Just letting a one-sided assault like that slide… Isn’t this an abuse of power…? The Hero abusing his power to oppress ordinary citizens… I wonder if it would be okay for such a rumor to spread among the public?”
His voice was just loud enough that it was clearly meant for me to hear, not just a thought spoken aloud. The proof was the shitty grin he gave me when our eyes met.
“You asking if it’s okay for rumors to spread?”
I stood up and hopped onto the table.
“It’s. Fine. You. Fucking. Pig.”
I grabbed Bomuro’s few remaining hairs and slapped him across the face repeatedly.
“Ugh! Ack! Ack! Aaargh! St-stop…”
“Ah, bro, calm down…”
Mars intervened, so I reluctantly let go of the man’s hair.
“Trying to threaten the Hero. You must have a death wish.”
“Ugh… Uuuh…”
Bomuro clutched his bruised cheek and trembled. When our eyes met again, he quickly looked away.
…A shame.
If he had glared at me, I could have hit him some more.
Licking my lips, I turned to Mars.
“It’s good to see you after so long, but I have things to do. I’ll point you to a decent inn nearby, so go rest there for now.”
“But, aren’t you close with Mars? Then shouldn’t you at least get him a high-class inn, if not a room in the palace…”
“Both the palace and the high-class inns have been destroyed. So how about you shut your trap and go where I tell you to go?”
“…Yes.”
The pink-haired girl shut her mouth.
I pulled Mars, who was looking at her with pity, aside and told him the location of the inn.
“Are you staying at that inn too, bro?”
“Am I crazy? You think I’d stay in the same inn as those animals?”
“Bro, please, your words…”
Mars said, glancing nervously at his companions. Seeing that reminded me of when he was a kid, always watching Isabelle’s expression, and I couldn’t help but sigh.
“I’ll come find you when I’m done with my work. Don’t wait up for me, though. If you have things to do, go do them.”
I patted Mars on the shoulder a few times and left the guardhouse.
A few guards stared at me, but when I put a finger to my lips, they nodded in understanding.
I’ll say this for being famous—it makes things like this convenient.
*
“…So, what you’re saying, Archbishop, is that Ophelia coincidentally overheard the conversation you and Saint Candidate Marietta were having about replacing the saint candidate in my party, and according to the testimony of the clerics, Ophelia seemed extremely unstable on her way back to the inn?”
“Unfortunately, that is correct.”
Archbishop Vedic nodded, his face a mask of regret. I leaned back in my chair in silence. Archbishop Vedic started rambling on about endorsing Marietta as the saint candidate, but his words went in one ear and out the other.
There was only one thought dominating my mind right now.
I want to smoke.
Should I ask Leah to send me some?
If I receive them secretly and smoke them secretly, it should be fine, right?
No, what have I been suffering for all this time? I can’t throw away all my hard work just for a cigarette.
Ah, but I’m really dying for a smoke…
Leah, you are working hard, right?
You didn’t forget because you were too busy playing Elden*, did you?
Leah.
I pray I don't have to melt you down with my own two hands.