Chapter 24. The Hero's Party's Mage (2)
Chapter 24. The Hero's Party's Mage (2)
It wasn't that she had a particular dislike for men.
She disliked people in general, regardless of gender. It was just that men tended to annoy her more often, so she'd naturally kept them at a distance.
'Honestly, these lumps of fat have never once been helpful in my life.'
From childhood they'd grown relentlessly, and even into adulthood they'd kept swelling, these cancerous masses on her chest that dragged down her shoulders.
Their weight had naturally ruined her posture, and for the crime of looking unsightly, the old fossils at the Magic Tower had never stopped nagging her about it.
'And those fossilized bastards kept sneaking glances too. Couldn't even straighten their own backs, but they had no trouble getting their equipment to stand up.'
After she earned the title of Grand Archmage, that particular irritation vanished, but those frequent experiences had driven the wedge of her innate misanthropy so deep it could never be pulled out again.
Naturally, the fact that the newest party member was a man could only leave a bad first impression on Ymir.
'Not that I think any better of the women.'
Clicking her tongue, Ymir shifted her gaze to the woman standing blankly beside the man.
A young-looking woman with short silver hair. Unlike Ymir's hunched, haggard frame, this one still lingered with traces of girlhood.
She'd grow up someday, but at present she hardly looked capable of leading humanity.
But what grated more than her appearance was the stare fixed intently on her own chest.
'There she goes again.'
At least she wasn't blurting out exclamations like "Whoa" the way she had at their first meeting — something to be grateful for — but for some reason, her gaze was fiercely hostile.
If eyes could shoot beams, the sheer heat alone would've melted her breasts. That was the thought that crossed Ymir's mind.
"It's dangerous, no matter how I think about it, it's definitely dangerous. I might lose them if I'm not careful......."
She was propping her chin in her hand and muttering gravely. Apparently the sight of Ymir's chest was giving her all sorts of concern.
'As long as she doesn't cause trouble, I don't care one way or the other.'
Yes, that was the sole criterion by which Ymir judged people.
Did they get in her way or not?
In that sense, Berdia, who had used her official authority to drag her in, was someone she'd gladly kill a thousand times over, but no amount of preaching or magic ever worked on a muscle-brained idiot, so she simply kept quiet.
She only hoped no further annoyances would arise.
"So you're the Black Crystal Ymir I've only heard about."
Thus Ymir found herself facing the newly recruited porter and general dogsbody as planned.
The voice directed at her held no small amount of admiration, but she'd heard such assessments so often her ears had calluses — by now she couldn't care less.
Rumors like that meant nothing when it was blindingly obvious they'd just stare at her chest anyway.
"That's right, I'm Ymir, the Magic Tower's youngest mage. And you're the one the little hero over there brought in... Hm?"
But when she actually faced him, what Ymir felt was surprise.
The golden-haired man with tan skin, Dave, tilted his head in puzzlement, not understanding what it meant.
"What is it?"
"...No, it's nothing."
Ymir pushed up her glasses, which covered her bloodshot eyes. Then she roughly grabbed the hand Dave extended and accepted the greeting.
"Anyway, you're the odd-jobber who joined the party this time, right?"
"Ah, yes. Please call me Dave. I look forward to working with you, Ymir!"
"Yeah, yeah, nice to meet you too, odd-jobber. Let's keep out of each other's way and stay strangers from now on."
Ymir answered in an annoyed tone and released his hand with indifference.
When she turned her gaze away and propped her chin on her hand afterward, Berdia, who found this attitude displeasing, began to furrow her brow.
"Ymir, did I not ask you to get along with Dave?"
"Don't expect any more goodwill from me than this. This is already me making an effort."
Those weren't empty words. Simply accepting the handshake was, from Ymir's perspective, an enormous act of generosity.
'That man... was it Dave?'
Yes, Ymir had been unable to avoid getting a unique impression from the man who'd joined the party.
Because every human she'd met until now had, without exception, stared at her chest first when facing her.
Men, of course, and women too, children as well as the elderly — no exceptions.
'But this fellow looked me straight in the eye.'
Meeting her eyes directly instead of her chest at their first encounter, and asking for a handshake at that.
As indifferent to people as Ymir was, she couldn't help but feel a pang of pity for him.
'What's this? Is he impotent?' From Ymir's perspective, she could only see it that way. ***
What the fuck.
What the hell did that bitch eat growing up to get tits that huge? Did her ancestors have minotaur mixed into the bloodline or something?
Lucky I blew off a few rounds with Serika before coming here. If I hadn't, I might've been so fixated on her chest at first meeting that I couldn't have managed a proper greeting.
I'd have to be careful going forward. Making them wary from the start would make staying in this party difficult.
"Dave, were you getting along well with Serika?"
"Yes, thanks to the funds you provided, Berdia, we were able to have a decent holiday. Though we ended up spending all of it, so I couldn't buy any equipment......."
"That's nothing to worry about. The two of you growing closer is also of benefit to the party, so you can consider it a necessary investment."
Well, of course. Would one of the Ten Greats of the Continent skimp on money for raising the hero?
"However, while it's good that the two of you have closed the distance, unfortunately circumstances are such that you'll have to be apart for a while."
"What? Apart......."
At Berdia's solemn words, Serika's face went pale.
"You're not saying... you're expelling Dave from the party?"
"That's not the case, so you needn't worry. If anything, the fact that you and he are compatible is reason enough to keep him in the party."
That was a relief.
Since those expelled from parties frequently make life hell for the people around them under the guise of revenge and whatnot, people kicked out of parties tend to carry a rather poor reputation.
Of course, I wasn't particularly attached to my position as an adventurer, but since I'd infiltrated to kill that damned woman, it was best to avoid any such mishap.
"It's just that while I somehow managed to succeed in bringing Ymir back, fetching the one remaining party member seems likely to take quite a bit of time."
"Ah, you mentioned there was one more party member, right?"
"Yes, one of the different races residing in the Great Forest."
The Great Forest was where the elves lived. And a hero party representing humanity basically followed the rule of recruiting at least one member from a different race.
Not only was it to raise goodwill among the different races hostile to the Demon King's army, but the long-lived species in particular had centuries of experience fighting the Demon King's army, so their advice was invaluable for navigating the path ahead.
"The problem is that there's now trouble on the Great Forest side. An officer of the Demon King's army has established a position nearby, so the kingdom of humanity has also been asked to help defend the area."
"An officer of the Demon King's army......?"
An officer was staying in elf territory.
Since I'd been away from headquarters for quite a while, I had no idea how the situation was developing.
"Which officer is it?"
Even if it was a grunt, they were still a member of the Demon King's army.
When I asked with interest, Berdia promptly answered my question as if it were nothing.
"The Orc King. Do you know of him?"
"Ah, yes. That's... Balmash, right?"
"You know your stuff. I've felt this since our first meeting, but you're quite well-informed about the ways of the world, Dave."
"Oh, no, the officers are all famous, so word gets around easily enough."
Casually brushing it off, I privately sorted out the situation.
In short, Balmash, an officer of the Demon King's army, had established a position in elf territory, and the elves, on guard against him, were maintaining a standoff. The elf chosen for the hero party couldn't abandon her kin and had joined the defensive line — that had to be it.
It certainly wouldn't be easy for her to return.
The Great Forest was vast and self-purified actively, but orcs were a species with a preposterous breeding ability, capable of impregnating life of any species. Their stupidity meant they could barely band together on a tribal level. But with Balmash the Orc King present, thousands upon thousands of orcs would move under his command, and they'd have the firepower to reduce a place like the Great Forest to scorched earth.
"...Is it dangerous?"
Serika asked cautiously, having apparently grasped the general situation.
But for a conversation that had brought up someone of officer rank, the atmosphere with which Berdia continued was utterly calm.
"No, the other side is after something as well, so they're not engaging in that degree of destructive sabotage. Since the elves and the kingdom's forces also wish to avoid direct friction to minimize damage, they're maintaining a policy of simply eliminating stragglers that break from the main force until we know what it is they're after."
Well, sure. Even with high breeding rates, when the numbers grow large, there are bound to be no small number who fall outside the main force.
And individually, orcs ranked fairly low among the threats to humanity.
In other words, they were a perfect hunting target for a trainee who'd just barely shed her novice status.
"I think I get the picture. So in short, you're revising Serika's training grounds from artificial dungeons to exterminating those orc stragglers, is that right?"
"Yes, I think the time has come for Serika to experience real combat. Is there any part of this you find unacceptable?"
When Berdia, after answering my question, turned to ask, Serika nodded in affirmation.
Meaning she understood the content itself. However, a fair amount of dissatisfaction was written on her face.
"I understand the training plan. But why do I have to be apart from Dave during my training? If we're in the same party, wouldn't it be better to go together?"
"That's because while I'm assisting you with the orc extermination, I'd like Dave to stay here in the city with Ymir."
"What!? Dave with Ymir!? Why!?"
Serika burst out in shock at Berdia's words. Berdia wore a troubled expression as she glanced over at Ymir.
At the mage with zero social skills who was still staring at a distant mountain with her chin propped in her hand even while the conversation was in full swing.