Chapter 5: Why So Sudden?
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 5: Why So Sudden?
“Sigh…”
By the time I stepped out of the adventurer guild, the world outside was completely draped in darkness.
Since it was still early summer, the nights in Lukart were quite chilly. Thanks to that, the heat that had flared up in front of the branch manager cooled down, if only a little.
It seemed quite late. It didn’t look like it had been long since midnight, but adventurers are a rough crowd, so it wasn’t wise to stay out too late.
Especially for a man alone; the chances of becoming a target for sexual assault were high. It wasn’t exactly rare for frustrated women to jump or kidnap a man without a second thought.
In my case, I could protect myself, but with the post-war gender ratio and the benefits that came with it, more and more men were neglecting their training. Occasionally, I’d hear tragic stories of men being passed around by groups of women.
“I should go pack my bags and get out right away.”
When you work alone for a long time without anyone to talk to, you start talking to yourself more. Whether it’s because I can’t stand the silence or the loneliness—or both—the reason is always a sorrowful one.
Funny enough, the male settlement subsidy worked like this: if you just told them your destination was the countryside when renting a carriage, they’d give you a free ride. Once you arrived at the local government office and verified your identity, they’d pay you out.
No matter how much of a boom or how peaceful the times were, there were always these loopholes in the administration. What if a man just kept moving from region to region to exploit it?
Of course, I only thought that to myself; I had no intention of actively reporting it or trying to fix it. I’m not a politician. I’m just an ugly, retired man.
Thanks to that system, I could leave for Hus without any extra paperwork, so I had no reason to complain.
“Alto?”
I ran into some unexpected people in front of the party house. It was Krima, the party’s priest, and Diane, the ranger.
Wait, they weren’t exactly “unexpected.” They were party members who lived in this house.
Since I had just resigned, I was no longer part of Mirei’s party, so I needed to pack my things and get out quickly. I wanted to leave quietly, but bumping into them like this made things awkward.
“Krima, are you just getting in? Did you have a good rest?”
“Gyahahahaha! Today was so much fun!”
Instead of Krima, Diane answered with a boisterous laugh. She seemed to be in a great mood. Usually, she’d give a blunt, short answer and walk away.
“Di-Diane!”
“I spent the whole day rolling around. And Ge—!”
“Diane!”
“Ah, whaaat—!”
The smell of alcohol was wafting off both of them. My guess was that they’d been rolling around in bed with Gerend all day before drinking late into the night. Gerend must have given them a “reward” after they bought him that new Archiyo wallet.
Krima and Diane probably paid for everything they did today. Men almost never foot the bill.
“Ge…?”
I deliberately pretended not to know. That was perhaps the last bit of consideration I could offer them.
“Games! We played board games with Diane all day.”
“I see. I like games too.”
“Did… you?”
Though I prefer a different kind of game.
Krima tilted her head at my words. Her long brown hair swayed slightly. She was a beauty with fair skin and a soft impression. She used to be so kind-hearted.
Or so I thought. That was why the sense of betrayal was so hard to handle when I found out she had tricked me into taking out a loan. Even now, I could still feel that sensation—the hair on the back of my neck standing up and a cold, heavy weight settling in my chest.
“Ah.”
I noticed a single hair stuck to the corner of Krima’s mouth. Because her skin was so pale, it was easy to see even in the dark. As I reached out to brush away that curly hair, Krima immediately pulled back, her expression turning cold.
“What are you doing?”
“There was something on your face.”
“Ugh…!”
Krima hurriedly wiped her mouth and checked the hair. Her face stiffened. She seemed to know exactly what kind of hair it was. Once again, I pretended not to notice.
“Were you playing with puppies again? You really do love animals, Krima.”
“Yes, that’s right. It wasn’t a puppy, though; it was a cat.”
“Do cat hairs usually have a wave like that?”
“There are all sorts of breeds, of course. Why are you being so nosy?”
Krima reacted sharply, perhaps worried I might stumble upon her “secret garden.”
Don’t worry, Krima. I have absolutely no intention of looking into that garden. Not now, not ever.
But for a secret, aren’t you being a bit too obvious with it out in the street? I was actually more worried about that part.
“Sorry.”
“Wait a minute.”
I was about to lower my hand awkwardly when, for once, Krima grabbed it.
“You’re covered in blood? What happened?”
I had completely forgotten. The wound I got from crushing the teacup at the adventurer guild. I hadn’t even pulled the shards out properly yet. The dried blood had hardened over the fragments, burying them.
Much like my heart. The only difference was that my heart was still bleeding in more ways than one.
“It’s nothing.”
Stop caring about me now.
“What do you mean ‘nothing’? You’ve bled this much!”
Do I still look like that ugly Alto who starves for your attention? Well, I suppose I’m still the ugly Alto.
“If the man in our party walks around looking like this, we’re the ones who’ll get criticized.”
“The man in the party?”
This is the problem with talking to yourself becoming a habit. Sometimes, thoughts just slip out. But I couldn’t help it.
The man in the party.
That phrase felt so foreign. So they did perceive me as such.
“What is wrong with you today?”
Krima seemed to sense something was off.
“What’s wrong with me?”
Despite making it obvious, I played dumb, which only irritated her further.
“Sigh, fine. I’ll heal you, so give me your hand.”
“No, it’s okay.”
“Don’t be stubborn.”
She seemed angry. I could tell she was speaking through gritted teeth. But I just didn’t want to. I didn’t want to be touched by them anymore. Even when she grabbed my hand earlier to check the wound, I hated it.
Unable to bear it, I eventually pulled out a small knife. Then, I dug out the teacup shards embedded in the side of my palm.
“Alto?”
Once I’d dug them all out, I took out some powdered medicine I kept on hand and smeared it over the wound.
“There, first aid finished.”
“What are you doing right now?”
“Krima, we’re on break until the end of the week. You don’t need to waste your energy healing a small scratch like this. Everyone’s exhausted from the last quest, right? Recovering your condition comes first.”
It was the first lie I’d ever told them. It came out quite naturally and convincingly. I felt a strange sense of satisfaction at that small success. Perhaps that was why my expression remained calm despite the smell of blood.
Just like that, I had become a liar, just like them.
“Did something happen?”
“Nothing. What about you, Krima?”
“I told you, I was resting with Diane. You’re the one being weird today, Alto. Don’t hide it and just tell me.”
A dispute between two liars trying to uncover the truth was about to begin. I simply didn’t want to talk to her anymore, so I snapped.
“Why are you being so nosy?”
When I threw her own words back at her, Krima looked flustered. I just stared at her with a faint, lingering smile. Normally, I would have been too embarrassed to maintain eye contact and would have looked away first.
The difference in attitude when feelings are gone is truly immense.
“Alto! Give me some allowance! I’m so~ broke this month!”
“Di-Diane!”
And now that I had stepped away from my unrequited feelings, I could finally see their brazen behavior for what it was.
Allowance? Following the current social norms, I should be the one receiving an allowance. The man should be getting it from the women.
Even though all of my national subsidies went toward the party’s operating funds, all of them had been whining to me for months about being short on personal spending money, taking more from my share.
“I don’t have any money.”
“Whaaat! No way! A man can’t be out of money!”
“Diane!”
The priest hurriedly tried to restrain the drunken, short-haired ranger. She was quickly scanning my face.
Wow. Finally.
You’re actually reading my mood.
It’s likely temporary, but it felt truly novel.
“I took out a loan recently, remember? I have to pay that back. It’s from the Central Bank, so if I fall behind on interest, they’ll put a lien on the party house. The money I have now is for the interest.”
“A loooan?”
Diane, swaying as she searched her memory, suddenly clapped her hands.
“Ah! The loan! Right!”
She raised her hand high and approached me. Reflexively, I raised mine, and she gave me a high-five.
“Thanks! Thank youuu~! Thanks for the loan!”
At that moment, I didn’t know what kind of expression I was making. Of all things, the hand Diane high-fived was my injured one. It wasn’t that I winced from the pain.
On the contrary, it felt like I had lost my ability to make an expression. My face didn’t feel like my own.
“I’m going in first.”
“Ah, Alto!”
I paused for a moment, but I didn’t bother looking back at Krima.
“What are you doing tomorrow?”
“Checking the inventory in the warehouse.”
“And the day after?”
“Buying supplies we’re low on and heading to the guild to check the quest status?”
“Then… what about the day after that?”
“I don’t know. I’ll have to see. Maintenance needs to be done immediately.”
“If you don’t have anything scheduled that day, would you like to go on a date with us?”
Don’t say something so disgusting.
I almost shouted it reflexively, but I held it in. Krima seemed as strange as I was today. Isn’t this the attitude you wanted from me? For the ugly guy to stop clinging, just do his job silently, and hand over the money.
I’m doing exactly what you wanted, so why are you pretending to be nice now? When I craved a carrot so desperately, you wouldn’t even swing the whip.
A bitterness lingered on the edge of my lips, as if I’d just drunk coffee.
“Eeeh~? With Alto? I don’t want to! People will definitely tease us for him being ugly!”
“Diane!”
See? At least Diane is honest.
“Alto, I…”
“Haha.”
A self-deprecating laugh I couldn’t hold back interrupted Krima. She couldn’t bring herself to say anything more.
“Goodnight.”
“Al…!”
In the end, I didn’t look back as I entered the party house. The front door didn’t make a single annoying creak as it opened.
Of course it didn’t. I was the one who oiled and maintained this house every single day.