Chapter 127, Gratitude and Permission

Translator: Barnnn

 

“Who ARE you?”

 

The question sounded like something straight out of a philosophy text, but Hal knew that wasn’t what the Lord was truly asking.

Faced with Lord Gruash’s direct, unwavering stare, Hal began with the most visible truth.

 

“We’re adventurers from the Kingdom of Lazulseed.”

“In a sense, that’s accurate. But you–” the Lord pointed at Fieda. “Fieda, I believe you ARE an adventurer. The way you offered your formal bow was clearly the mark of a trained swordsman. However…” his finger shifted to Hal, “…YOUR bow was one I’ve seen often among the merchants of Abrol.” Then, at last, he turned to Ize. “And you… your bow wasn’t noble, nor adventurer. It was the curtsy of a lady’s maid. So how is it, then, that YOU carry something like THAT?”

 

He gestured vaguely to the memory of the notepad. His voice dropped slightly, confused now rather than accusatory.

 

“You’re mismatched, all of you.”

 

Finally, he leaned back heavily into his seat.

 

Hal raised a hand politely. “Before I answer your question, may I ask one of my own?”

“…Go ahead.”

“Do you hate Heroes? In particular, the infamous Black-haired Hero?”

 

As a man who had had to endure many injustices just because of the color of his hair, the question was a spear thrown straight at the heart of an old wound.

And yet, Lord Gruash answered without hesitation.

 

“I did.”

“But not anymore?”

“That’s right. Not since I met the Fire Dragon — the one now called Bardveles.”

 

Bardveles, the Fire Dragon wounded by Fuya — it held the knowledge of that man’s past, as well as of Fuyuya, the village he had founded.

 

“You met it?”

“Only once, when I was still an adventurer.”

“And it told you about the Hero?”

“For three days straight,” the Lord replied, his eyes drifting to no particular point in the room. “Truly a crash course on the Hero’s story.”

 

There was no bitterness in his voice, nor any hatred in his expression.

 

“What did you think of it?” Hal asked.

“Fuya… he was just a man. A man thrown into a world he didn’t know, doing his best to meet the expectations piled on him.”

 

A flash of ferocity ignited in Gruash’s eyes. His mouth twisted into a sharp smile, canines barely visible like a wolf baring its teeth. Ize shuddered instinctively.

 

“The real fools then, and even now, are the nobles of this kingdom,” he snarled. “They chase profit and turn away from their own sins.”

 

The hatred wasn’t for the Hero, nor was it for the blood of a Sage that ran in his veins.

Realizing this, Hal’s shoulders relaxed. A small smile touched his lips.

 

“I see. That’s a relief.”

“Now it’s your turn,” Gruash said. “I’ve pieced most of it together, from your questions, Volhelm’s odd behavior, and your own evasions. But as a local Lord, I need to hear it from you.”

“Fair enough.” Hal turned to the others. “Fieda. Are you okay with this?”

Fieda nodded. “Yeah. Go ahead.”

“Ize?”

“I’m fine,” she said quietly.

 

It was a conversation they had prepared to have from the beginning. If the black-haired noble was willing to take the Mandragora conservation seriously, they would tell the truth.

They hadn’t quite decided how they would do it… but it did feel right to go ahead with it right now.

 

“Um… could I maybe leave the room?” the secretary asked, raising a hand. “If I go now, I can still pretend I didn’t hear anything, right?”

“Shezel,” Gruash said without looking at him.

“Yes, sir!?”

“You’re staying.”

“Knew it…”

 

The secretary slumped in place, groaning. His eyes flicked over to Ize.

 

“Little miss.”

“Yes?”

“You’re doing something, aren’t you?”

“Am I?”

“I’ve got a skill — Magical Sight. I can see where magical energy flows and sticks. Helps spot hidden traps or people, y’know? And right now, I can see the energy drifting around you, and it’s clinging to your friend over there.”

“Oh wow, that’s cool,” Ize said sincerely, clapping delicately with her fingertips.

Hal leaned in, eyes sparkling. “That IS pretty cool.”

 

Eye skills — truly a superpower that kindled his nerdy spirit.

Gruash’s voice cut through the moment,

 

“As Lord of this land, I’m ordering you — remove the magic.”

“…Yes, sir,” Ize said hesitantly, hands trembling.

Hal leaned in. “It’s all right, Ize.”

“Y-yeah…” She nodded. “Okay, I’m disengaging my skill now.”

 

In an instant, the color of their hair and eyes shifted from the false hues they had worn back to the black they were born with.

Ize looked up, meeting Gruash’s gaze head-on, her nearly black eyes calm and clear.

 

“I knew it,” Gruash murmured. “You’re Heroes.”

Hal gave a small nod. “We were summoned to the Kingdom of Lazulseed last year.”

“I heard four were summoned. That means… the other two are still there?”

“There were actually six of us. So there are still four remaining.”

“Did Lazulseed permit you to leave?”

“Honestly, I’m not sure they even realize we were there in the first place.”

“What do you mean?” Gruash narrowed his eyes.

Shezel flailed in place. “Wait — Gru! Isn’t this… bad? Like, international-incident-level bad!? Should I be hearing this!?”

“It’s fine,” Hal said. “We ran off right after the summoning. Chances are, they never even got the chance to count us.”

“That’s NOT fine at all!” Shezel yelled, throwing his hands up and flopping backward. “OMG, this is so illegal!”

“So they say that here, too,” Ize chuckled.

“Maybe they got it from an American who screamed it after being summoned,” Hal added with a thoughtful nod.

“Have a little sympathy for the poor man,” Fieda said with a sigh.

“Well, maybe we should leave the explaining to you, then,” Hal declared, gesturing grandly.

“Yup, all yours,” Ize chimed in, raising her palms in surrender.

 

Fieda gave them both a look of pure exasperation. They were so clearly the center of this chaos — and yet neither of them had any intention of taking responsibility. He let out a resigned sigh and turned to the Lord and his still-reeling secretary.

 

◆

 

“Hey, should we just make an explanation kit next time?” Hal suggested, his voice far too casual for the gravity of the room.

“A what now?” Ize tilted her head.

“You know, something we can hand out whenever our identities get discovered again. Saves us from going through the whole story every single time. Maybe a little picture book or something. ‘Not very long ago, but just recently, a bunch of Heroes popped out from who-knows-where…'”

“Nope, I’m out,” Ize said firmly. “My artistic sense is just too avant-garde for anyone to understand. And your writing skills, Hal, are a complete disaster.”

“Fair point.” Hal smirked. “How about we all try drawing Sato and let it pick the best one? It can judge the writing too.”

“Also fair. Let’s delegate everything to Sato.”

“Hey!”

 

Smack! Smack!

 

“”OUCH!””

 

Two karate chops landed atop their heads, courtesy of Fieda’s hand.

 

“Be quiet while I’m trying to explain.”

“”Yes, sir,”” the two said in unison.

 

Unbothered as ever by discipline, Ize and Hal immediately began setting up an Earth snack spread on the table: mizumanju, red bean ankoro mochi, assorted yokan, potato sticks, and chocolate bread.

The sweets were clearly overrepresented… not that cucumber kimchi would go well with anything else. And while they briefly mourned the absence of rice crackers or kaki-peanuts, they made do.

Then came the forks, plates, and tea. The setup was complete.

While the grown-ups engaged in serious discussion, the two younger ones leaned back and sipped tea, perfectly content to wait for their cue.

 

“Now, what should we do for the next five months?” Ize mused, her voice dreamy.

“Besides Dungeon crawling, you mean?” Hal asked.

“Well, yeah. We went a little too hard last winter.”

“Sure did,” Hal agreed. “When we finally stepped out of the Jasted walls for the first time in months, I couldn’t stop thinking, why’d we stay cooped up for so long?”

“Mm-hmm… we’ve got Sooryab ahead of us, too. Better to stay sharp, but not overdo it.”

 

At that point, the secretary, Shezel, couldn’t hold back any longer.

 

“Why not go all the way? Full clear! C’mon, Dungeon crawling is fun!”

“…Are you nuts? We’re D-rank,” Hal said dryly.

“But you’re Heroes, right? Don’t you have awesome skills or something?”

“My combat skills are water and wind,” Hal replied modestly. “I’ve got plenty of magical power reserves, and it recovers fast, but nothing flashy.”

“Hal can do lightning, too,” Ize added.

“Whoa, lightning? That’s cool. Real Hero vibes. What about you, little miss?”

“Light and darkness…”

“Oho! Total opposites! Even better — double Hero vibes. Come on, we HAVE to go Dungeon crawling!”

 

It was clear Shezel was a serious Dungeon enthusiast. His eyes gleamed with pure excitement.

 

“So, Mister Secretary,” Ize said curiously, “Are you a–?”

“Yeah, yeah — name’s Shezel. Used to be in the same party as Gruash back in our adventuring days. After the Deluge, I became his secretary.”

“And you’re STILL adventuring?”

“Of course! That was one of my conditions for me to take this position.”

“Wait, the Lord made you keep at it?”

“Oh, no, it’s not his conditions — It’s mine. I told him I’d be his secretary if I got to take extended breaks for Dungeon runs.”

 

Ize and Hal looked him up and down with open skepticism. Slender, not particularly muscular — he looked more like a scholar than a fighter.

Yet the man had apparently walked both paths.

 

“If you agree to join his expeditions,” came Gruash’s voice suddenly, “I’ll authorize your access to the deeper levels.”

“Wait, what?” Hal blinked.

 

The Lord had evidently finished his discussion with Fieda and now turned his attention back to them.

 

“He goes in for ten days at a time. Organizing a team each round is a hassle.”

“Hey, come on,” Shezel protested. “It’s good training for the soldiers!”

“It is… But when the team changes constantly, you can’t properly focus either. Let the captain handle training for a while. Just enjoy the exploration.”

“Gru, you’re the best!” Shezel beamed.

 

It seemed Shezel wasn’t allowed to go into the Dungeons alone. The accompanying soldiers served a dual purpose: protecting him and receiving field training. Hiring adventurers wasn’t exactly an option either, as outsiders working too closely with the Lord’s secretary created political risk. If anything happened to Shezel in the deeper levels, blame could fall squarely on the adventurers.

What Gruash really wanted was for Shezel to enjoy Dungeon crawling without burdens.

 

“…Hal,” Ize whispered, “do you think there’s a market for grumpy-but-secretly-kind older guys?”

“Well, last I checked, Vegeta is pretty damn popular…” Hal mused. “And hey, with a handsome face, dark skin, and a semi-tragic past, maybe that adds to the appeal?”

“Ah, so it didn’t work with Fieda because he’s missing other key traits.”

“I guess middle-aged men with beards just don’t hit the same.”

“Yeah… poor Fieda. Stay strong, man.”

“You two…” Fieda’s voice was a low, gravelly growl.

 

They had thought they were whispering… but of course, Fieda was seated right beside them.

His gravelly voice grew even deeper, heavy enough to send a chill down both of their spines.

There was no karate chop coming this time — and that silence was worse.

 

“Ehe… heh?” Ize chuckled weakly.

“F-Fieda?” Hal said, scooching away back.

“I’ll teach you something useful,” he said, cracking a half-smile.

“Uh… what’s that?” Ize asked.

“A Dungeon fundamental for soldiers,” Fieda said, his tone still far too pleasant.

“A fundamental?”

“Yes. Don’t carry unnecessary weight.”

“Well… sure, that makes sense. So what’s–?”

 

Fieda’s smile widened, wicked and gleaming like a villain that even pirate captains feared.

 

“So be glad. Because when you explore with the Lord or his secretary, the only food allowed is standard adventurer rations.”

“…Standard?” Hal repeated.

“…Adventurer rations?” Ize echoed.

 

In their minds, the memory reared up — that flavor and texture.

 

“NOOOOOOOOOO!”

“I REFUSE!”

 

Two stomachs took critical psychic damage.