Chapter 47: Miserably Pathetic
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 47: Miserably Pathetic
Two days had passed since then.
I had received my quest reward from the Adventurer Guild as a supporter, but the one who came to deliver it wasn’t who I expected. It was Aslet, the maid dressed in black.
“Where is the Young Lady?”
“Which Young Lady are you referring to?”
“Lady Airune.”
“The Young Lady is currently finding it difficult to go out due to the fatigue from her travels and a backlog of administrative duties.”
Hearing those words, my heart honestly sank.
I didn’t know if it was the truth or a lie. Mirei’s party had also started avoiding me, using the excuse of being busy.
I didn’t say anything more to Aslet and simply turned away.
“She truly is busy. I will contact you as soon as the Young Lady has some free time.”
“Once she has some free time, right?”
Adding that in a hurry didn’t help; it was the same thing Krima used to do back in Lukart when she was walking on eggshells around me.
I bought a few groceries at the market and returned home. Then, I spent the next two days doing nothing but drinking the occasional sip of water, without eating a single thing.
Why did my chest feel so tight?
Or rather than tight, why did it feel like it was trembling faintly with a cold, sharp pain?
Don’t just sit there?
Don’t jump to conclusions if you haven’t seen it with your own eyes?
And what if I do that, only to be faced with a truth I don’t want to admit?
For instance, what if the Young Lady has decided to treat me as nothing more than a party member…?
If that happens, you’ll tear all of Hus apart?
Don’t talk nonsense.
[You’re the one making wild assumptions and talking absolute horseshit, Alto!]
Shut up.
What is it about this that makes you growl and even jump out of my mouth?
[You do realize that you’re insulting the daughter of the only master I’ve ever acknowledged, right?]
“…”
That was a slip of the tongue.
Yeah, you’re right.
I thought I’d gotten better after leaving Lukart, but it seems the wound was deeper than I realized.
Look, it hurts the first time, but if you’re abandoned twice, the only thing left for a stray dog is euthanasia.
The fear was just too great.
I pushed the blanket aside and curled into a ball, trying to suppress this dread. Even if I were abandoned, the world wouldn’t end.
Knock, knock.
Someone was knocking on the door.
This was the outskirts of the city; hardly anyone should be passing by.
I didn’t respond. I just waited for them to go away.
Knock, knock.
But the person was persistent.
Having no choice, I trudged over and opened the door.
“What is it…”
“Hello.”
A woman with bright brown hair reaching her shoulders stood there.
“Eris?”
“If you don’t mind…”
Eris showed me the water bucket and razor she had brought.
“How about a haircut and a shave?”
Her arms, holding the large bucket, were trembling from the weight.
“It’s free since I just opened for business.”
Yet, the girl was smiling brightly as if it weren’t heavy at all.
* * *
Since returning from Massa Village, I had done nothing but lie in bed. Naturally, the prickly stubble on my upper lip and chin felt rough against my hand.
“Eris, how did you find this place?”
“Well… all the prime spots have such territorial people. I thought I’d start my business slowly from the outskirts.”
She wasn’t using her dialect at all. Maybe it was because she’d come to the city.
“What about the village?”
“The villagers will take care of the village. I have more important things to do.”
“Like what?”
“Making a living in the city, right?”
It might be a prejudice, but coming from the countryside, she certainly had a strong will to survive. To think she’d try to earn a living as a barber as soon as she arrived in the capital.
It was something I, who had lived by hacking and beating things to death, had never even considered.
“And I have to repay the favor of you saving me.”
Right.
Old Grandma Maya, the captain, must have sent her. I wasn’t sure if it was Eris’s own will or not.
Eris skillfully tilted the chair I was sitting in toward the desk and covered my body with a white cloth.
“Tell me if it’s too hot.”
She then carefully placed a hot steamed towel over my nose and eyes. It was a bit hot, but it was relaxing enough to make me let out a long-held breath.
Scritch, scritch.
Shaving cream was applied to my chin, followed by the sound of a razor being stropped against a leather strap.
“I suppose you could call this fate, too?”
“What is?”
Her soft hand tilted my chin up.
“I really was just planning to start from the outside to find customers, but then I ran into you like this, Master Alto.”
“Is that so? Do you have some kind of divine intuition?”
“I do.”
The razor sliced through the hair with extreme precision, and Eris deftly wiped away the cut stubble along with the foam. The rhythmic, rasping sound made me feel even more at ease.
“They say my family used to be shamans a long time ago. So, strangely enough, when I follow my gut, coincidences like this happen.”
Grandma Maya had mentioned she’d dabbled in the magical arts for a while. Magic is something you can’t even look at without innate mana, so she must have come from a shamanic bloodline.
Eris showed the skill of a professional, never cutting too deep or pulling painfully.
“You’re good.”
“I used to do this as a side job back in the village.”
So she hadn’t just chosen to be a barber on a whim.
“Where are you staying?”
“I found a small room for rent. I had some money saved up.”
I wanted to ask more, but I stayed still as she started shaving my upper lip. During that time, I felt Eris’s focused breath brushing against my nose and cheeks. It felt as if I were being drawn into her rhythm.
“I’ll trim your facial fuzz and eyebrows too.”
“There’s no need to go that far…”
“In exchange, please call for me whenever you need a haircut in the future.”
“Can I just get a shave?”
“Of course. It’s 15,000 Dalk, including a simple scalp and shoulder massage.”
That was expensive.
But this feeling of someone treating me so delicately was strangely pleasant, almost addictive.
After trimming all the fine hairs on my face, Eris straightened the chair, took out scissors and a comb, and began cutting my hair.
“You like it short, right?”
“Yeah. It’s easier for moving around.”
“All men say that. The village chief was the same.”
The hair covering my ears was neatly trimmed away, and the hair at the nape of my neck was layered nicely.
“When is your next quest?”
“I don’t know. I’m taking a break for now.”
“Call me as soon as you get back from a quest. I can wash your feet and give you a foot massage, too.”
She really did have a strong drive to make a living.
Before I knew it, the haircut was finished. Eris tilted me back again and slowly poured the warmed water over my forehead.
“I’ll wash your hair for you.”
She didn’t just lather it up; she soaked my hair thoroughly and gave me a scalp massage, pressing down firmly. Perhaps because she used to be a fisherwoman, her grip was strong and refreshing. It felt as if the negative thoughts that had been tormenting me were being squeezed out through my head.
“There, all finished.”
“How much?”
“I told you, today is on the house.”
When I asked Eris, who was drying her wet hands and packing her tools, she shook her head in refusal.
“You look a bit depressed for some reason. Since you’ve had a haircut, why don’t you try going outside?”
“Outside?”
“The sun will be setting soon. My grandmother used to say that if you stay trapped in the dark without seeing the sunlight, you become the darkness itself. And when you become the darkness, your thoughts turn dark too.”
“I see.”
At Eris’s words, I threw on some clothes and stepped out the door with her.
“Want to go together?”
“Well, I haven’t finished unpacking in my room yet. I’m not the type to put off my chores.”
Holding the bucket, which was much lighter now that the water was gone, Eris gave a slight smile and walked away first.
“See you tomorrow morning, Master Alto.”
She said she had divine intuition, and it seemed she was right. She hadn’t seemed like it when she was a fisherwoman, but she was a beauty with sturdy yet gentle eyes.
Just as much as Mirei.
“…”
Yeah, no need to think about them. My mood had improved thanks to Eris, so why should I throw myself back into the pit?
The sun was still up, so I walked leisurely toward the plaza. Since I was out, I figured I’d stop by the bank. I didn’t know how long the line would be, but I wanted to check on the status of my loan.
As I was looking around for the way to the bank, a group of people called out to me.
“Yo! Mr. Adventurer!”
And it was a group of men.
The first one to raise his hand was that guy Fran, the one who had been hitting on the Young Lady last time. When my expression hardened, he flinched.
“Fran, what are you so scared of?”
“We didn’t come here to fight.”
A man with short hair and another with one eye covered greeted me next. Finally, a man with long hair brushed his hair back in a greasy manner.
“You’re Alto, right? We are the Four Handsome Heavenly Kings of Dakuren. I am Benjamin, the leader of the group.”
Good grief, do you guys even know what ‘Four Heavenly Kings’ implies before you use that title? If you were real Heavenly Kings, you’d be torn to shreds by me and the Old Man.
“As a man who has moved to Hus, it’s only right that we welcome you with open arms.”
“Yeah! I heard you’re the one who caught the Serpent brought into Dakuren this time? I want to hear that heroic tale.”
Benjamin and Fran stood on either side of me, patting my shoulders.
Could I… trust this?
“Honestly, if I’m being very honest, quite honestly, your looks aren’t exactly as outstanding as ours, Alto, but the fact that you have the strength to catch a Serpent is amazing. We should celebrate a man like you coming to our Hus.”
Stop being so ‘honest.’
Despite his strange way of speaking, their gazes were definitely more relaxed than before. Did they really mean well? It was suspicious, but their eyes were genuinely friendly.
“Instead of standing here, why don’t we all go to a salon?”
“A salon? What’s a salon?”
“Hahahaha! My, you don’t know what a salon is? Fran, what’s a salon?”
“It’s just, you know, a very nice place where you can drink tea, drink booze, have a meal, play cards, and do this and that.”
“And Fran said he’d treat us to such a nice place.”
“I-I did?”
When his eyes widened as if hearing this for the first time, Benjamin replied irritably.
“Didn’t you brag about your first girlfriend earning money this time?”
“Ah… of course! Fine, yeah, it’s on me!”
Hmm, there seemed to be some invisible hierarchy, but I felt it would be a waste to just go home today. I wanted to regain some energy. More than anything, I needed to get along with the men of Dakuren. I couldn’t live my life with my guard up and making enemies forever, could I?
Unlike Claude or Gerend, if there was a chance to get along, I wanted to take it.
“Alright, let’s go.”
“Great choice!”
“Once we sit down, tell us about catching the Serpent!”
Fran ran ahead, excited like a child, while the rest of us walked leisurely.
Hmm, hanging out with a group of guys. It didn’t seem so bad.
* * *
And there was someone watching this.
“Master Alto, how could you, when you have Lady Airune…!”
Fortunately, Alto didn’t seem to know what kind of place a salon was. A horrified Aslet ran and ran until she reached the Lord’s Castle.
“Now, Young Lady. You must take this long, thick sausage all the way into your throat without chewing, then pull it back out. For your information, this is a Bacchus Mountain Premium Sausage, so I will cook it for you later.”
“Ack…! Ogok…!”
“A bit more, just a little more!”
“Ugh…!”
Thud!
“We have a problem!”
“Guh!”
Startled by the sudden opening of the door, Airune accidentally bit through the sausage she had inserted. As Airune instinctively chewed the tasty sausage and the Countess looked on in disapproval, Aslet shouted urgently.
“Master Alto has been surrounded by the punks of Dakuren and is heading to a salon!”
“What?!”
The shocked Countess grabbed Aslet’s shoulders and shook her.
“Did he go there knowing what kind of place a salon is?!”
“Judging by how he asked the punks the same thing, it seems he doesn’t know. He naively followed them when they suggested becoming friends!”
“Go and bring him back this instant!”
“No, Mother.”
Airune, who had been quiet until then, stopped the Countess.
“I will go myself.”
“Young Lady?”
“Aslet.”
“Yes, Young Lady.”
Gulp.
Airune, having swallowed the chewed sausage, clenched her fist, and a terrifying cracking sound echoed.
“Bring me my armor, NOW!!!”