Chapter 62
Chapter 62
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 62
>Chapter Title: Fun Times My Ass
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Greentown's central square featured the inn known as the Sun of the Meadow.
The mage Obern sat in the empty dining hall, silently staring down at the table.
‘…….’
Thirteen years old, by appearance.
Perhaps due to his overall delicate, refined features.
He looked a couple of years younger than his actual age.
But that was only skin deep.
Anyone who peered into Obern's eyes would never underestimate him as a child.
The light in those eyes was unyieldingly firm, their depths unfathomably profound.
And yet, for some reason.
“Fuu.”
A shadow of worry flickered across Obern's sunken gaze.
‘What in the world should I do?'
Obern tapped the table lightly with his slender fingers.
The 4th Base Camp, nestled deepest within the Hamern Great Forest.
It had been several days since he'd left it on his master's orders and arrived in Greentown.
His esteemed master's command to Obern had been simple.
- An old friend will help you. No reply yet, but it's certain. We owe each other debts.
So, he was to go to Greentown and wait.
- He can't come himself, but he'll send someone. Go there and greet them personally.
His master's eyes had brimmed with conviction as he spoke.
Absolute faith that his old friend—someone he hadn't sought out in decades—would surely aid him.
A trust incomprehensible to ordinary folk.
Decades, after all.
Even comrades who'd shared life and death could be dulled by peace.
No matter how grave the debt exchanged in dire times, debts of the heart fade easiest.
But.
'He'll... surely come.'
He would come.
Obern harbored not a shred of doubt in his master's words.
His master never spoke idly.
And if such a man placed faith in someone, Obern had no cause to question it—even if he'd never laid eyes on the man.
There was just one problem.
“Mage, sir, have you given it any thought?”
Obern lifted his head at the voice.
A single man sat before him.
Rough-looking.
His bulk was twice Obern's own, his eyes bulging like a tiger's.
Yet that brute's gaze was utterly forlorn.
The rough man pleaded with desperate eyes.
“Please, just spare me. Back to the Hamern Great Forest? Really... really, that's no different from telling me to die.”
“......Hm.”
Obern clamped his mouth shut, at a loss for words.
No, truthfully, he had plenty to say.
'The contract... didn't it only cover up to returning to the 4th Base Camp?'
That had been the deal from the start.
Round trip from the 4th Base Camp to Greentown.
The man—mercenary Riley—was duty-bound to guide him.
Advance payment already generously provided.
Generously? That was an understatement!
- Considering the risks... shouldn't you pay double?
Even after doubling the standard rate, he'd agreed to double it again.
An outrageous gouge, but no alternatives at the time.
- Hmm... out is one thing, but back? Sorry.
- Ngh. Why not just bail too, mage sir? I can't do it.
With renowned pathfinders all flat-out refusing.
In that mess, the sole volunteer had been this man.
Riley.
But...
“Mage sir, please, I beg you. Yeah? Cancel the contract, please?”
Several days into their stay in Greentown.
And now he wanted out?!
“Mr. Riley, this is...”
Obern tried to say it was difficult.
But Riley cut him off.
“I get it. You're in a bind too. How're you gonna find another pathfinder now? Yeah? I know how you feel.”
“Hm.”
Exactly that.
A few days earlier, and it might've been feasible.
The Destrow stirring deep in the forest.
Monsters from the outer fringes being pushed outward by the fallout.
The crisis had escalated only recently.
But now...
'Fuu.'
Even those unaware of the Destrow shunned the forest's changes.
In this situation, yeah.
Truth be told.
'Infuriating. Utterly infuriating...!'
“But sir, mage. Truly, truly sorry. I've gotta live too, right? Yeah?”
Obern was stuck, unable to advance or retreat.
'What am I supposed to do...!'
Considering Riley's plight, letting him go was the right call.
The contract? Sure.
It specified round trip, but what mattered more than a man's life?
Dragging someone terrified of death under contract pretense was wrong.
But.
'...The Destrow must be stopped.'
Could he reach the 4th Base Camp properly without a pathfinder?
Probably not.
In normal times, maybe he could manage somehow, but the current Hamern Great Forest was pure chaos.
He desperately needed a skilled pathfinder!
This was... in other words...
'Sacrifice the few for the many? Or... save the few before me?'
A true dilemma.
Amid the tangle, Obern pressed his throbbing temples.
Meanwhile.
A glint flashed in Riley's eyes as he watched.
A pitiful expression.
'Heh heh.'
Inner thoughts at odds with it.
'Almost got him!'
Riley smirked inwardly at the naive mage before him.
Truth be told, this had been the plan from the start.
'What? Round trip to the 4th Base Camp and Greentown? Am I nuts?'
Even a standard monster wave would send folk packing to distant safety with their gear.
Destrow incoming, and back in?
Ridiculous!
Yet he'd taken the job for one reason.
'Gotta leave anyway—might as well go safer. Huh? Young, sure, but decent skills, right?'
Plus, score a nice payout.
Sure, a scumbag move that might get him killed by the blade.
But who was Riley?
Decades as a pathfinder.
He could spot them at a glance.
Spot what?
'That guy's got sucker written all over him. Tug the heartstrings, and he'll cough up guts and gall, yeah?'
Of course, word gets out, and his rep tanks.
But who cares!
'Heh heh, pad this haul and settle as a landowner in some quiet village.'
Unlike hit-and-run mercs, Riley had steadily saved.
This job filled his retirement fund!
'Alright, time to seal it...'
Riley timed his pause, then drove the nail home.
“Fuu... No helping it, then.”
Face screaming utter reluctance.
Riley pulled out a bundle of parchment and offered it to Obern watching him.
“This is...”
“My forest map.”
“......!”
Obern's eyes widened in shock.
He knew what maps meant to pathfinders.
“I wouldn't trade it for my life... fuu. No helping it. Take this, and let me go?”
Worry etched Riley's face.
Like a parent handing over their child.
But.
'This trash? Just scrap paper now. Heh heh.'
A pathfinder's map held all their experience—but the Hamern he'd traversed inbound rendered it obsolete.
The ecosystem had shifted so drastically, the knowledge was worthless.
But.
Obern didn't know that—his pupils quivered faintly.
No wonder.
'Should've dosed it just right.'
Useless now, but he'd pored over it nonstop inbound.
For this very moment!
So, he'd believe it held the way.
“H-How can you give away something this vital...”
Riley swallowed a grin at Obern's trembling voice.
'How? Just dumping it on you.'
But his spoken words brimmed with grim resolve.
“Gotta do what I can. I'm a coward fleeing like this... but you bear a mission, mage sir? If this aids slaying the Destrow even a little, I'd be honored.”
“......Ah!”
A soft gasp escaped.
Riley was certain.
'Got him!'
The soft-hearted mage had fallen.
Obern's words confirmed it.
“Then... I humbly accept, with deepest gratitude.”
No explicit agreement, but the game was over.
But something more crucial remained.
“No, mage sir. I'm the sorry one. Now, about the penalty fee...”
“You've given something dearer than life... I'd say Mr. Riley's role is fulfilled.”
Riley clenched his fist unwittingly at Obern's awed tone.
'Perfect!'
Now, just bolt Greentown ASAP and settle somewhere cozy.
'Couple days to unwind first.'
Laze about, scout rural spots. Build a nice house, buy land. Scout around.
“Then, may I take my leave?”
“Ah, but how do I read this map? I heard pathfinders code theirs...”
“No worries. I've added annotations.”
Anticipated question—Riley answered smoothly.
The days in Greentown? Precisely to add them.
Conscience, y'know? Couldn't hand total garbage.
Neatly noted inbound observations.
'Though... no guarantee it'll help on return.'
“Then, I'll be...”
“Yes, Mr. Riley. I'll never forget this favor.”
“No, mage sir. Achieve your heart's desire.”
The deceived and deceiver.
A happy ending for all.
The situation wrapped up oh-so-heartwarmingly.
Then.
'......Huh?'
Riley sensed something off right as he stood.
Empty Sun of the Meadow first-floor dining hall.
Himself and the dimwit mage.
Just two tables occupied.
Yet a stranger sat at one.
“Hmm...”
Wearing an odd mask, as if he'd been there all along.
Propped on an unusually pale hand, chin resting, gazing up.
Eyes visible through the mask's slits chilled to the bone.
“......Wh-who are you?”
Riley blurted unwittingly; the masked man ignored him.
He merely turned to the dimwit mage.
“Name?”
“Uh, uh...? Wh-who might you be?”
“Tch. What's your name.”
Blunt as a hammer.
Yet swept up, perhaps.
Obern's mouth flapped a few times before spilling it.
“I-I'm called Obern.”
“Master Rihim, right?”
“Uh, y-yes... that's right.”
“Good, found the right spot. Alright, Obern. Call me senpai, casually.”
The masked stranger nodded.
Riley snapped out of his stunned daze around then.
“Ah, uh... you're the contact he was waiting for. Have a great time, then. I'll just...”
Riley hurried to leave.
But.
The chilling voice pinned his ears.
“Freeze.”
“......!”
“Fun times my ass. You the staff?”
“N-No, but...”
“Our friend. Cut the crap, sit here. One second. Fail, and you die by my hand.”
The sharp voice stabbed his ears.
Riley's mind reeled.
“One second. Tick-tock.”
As the voice hit, stars burst at his vision's edge.
Thwack!
A solid impact rang out, needless to say!
“Urk... wh-what the... why...”
Riley protested the injustice, but the masked brute didn't stop.
Merely.
“One second. Overdue?”
Spouting nonsense, swinging fists.
Caught in the sudden violence, Riley teetered between life and death.
“......”
Obern gaped, mind fractured by the dissonance.
Amid it, meaty thuds echoed relentlessly. Riley's screams wailed softly between.
Obern's first impression of Aster...
'...Master was right.'
Before departing, master had said.
- Ever met someone who's spun 360 degrees crazy?
Baffling words.
A 360 spin just completes a circle. Back to normal, right?
But master meant otherwise.
- Spin a man 360 degrees mad, and he looks perfectly sane on the surface. That's my friend. Worries me.
- ......?
- The one he sends won't be sane either. Hopefully not, but don't let it rub off.
Now, Obern deeply grasped his master's meaning.