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〈 Chapter 34 〉 Meeting (4)
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I needed to get to a secluded spot, and fast.
Right after a fierce flame shaped like an arrow melted away the iron door I had used as a shield, leaving no trace behind.
Like an old streetlamp that only flickered weakly despite its long lifespan, my thoughts, dimmed and flickering, were fixated on just that.
With every step I took, I couldn’t just unleash the avatar of nature, raging and turbulent, onto the town’s main street.
“Come, wind—”
Even with all my nerves focused on my two legs, I foolishly turned around.
But it was inevitable.
My body, conditioned by all I had seen, heard, and experienced, reprimanded my relaxed mind that I must not look away from whatever mysterious melody was ensnaring me.
After hurriedly retracting my promise to myself that I would not stop even if my lungs burned, I turned around and faced the owner of that voice resolutely.
At that very moment, the furious wind slapped my cheek, and a tattered old memory from my tumultuous journey unexpectedly flashed through my mind.
In those naïve days, I thought the wind could not be perceived, nor would it take form. Those foolish days, now colored like diluted paint on my retina, felt like a distant blur.
“Ha ha…”
I couldn’t help but let out a self-deprecating laugh.
It was undeniably an embarrassing and utterly foolish past.
I was determined to correct my mistake now.
The wind has shape, will, and it even possesses fangs that can bite someone’s neck.
Bang!
Before I could even find someone to proclaim such realization, my body was briefly suspended in the air by a powerful force, crashing to the ground, blocking the dead-end path.
It couldn’t be that the heavens and the earth were turned upside down. It was more accurate to say my body was flipped.
Watching my lame legs flailing helplessly from my view above, I couldn’t shake off the humiliation of feeling like a turtle flipped on a flat ground. I tried hard to disperse that feeling with a sheepish smile.
“Spirit magic is cheating… Apis…”
Crack.
Right then, beside where my face was, a kick filled with strong emotions slammed down with a thud.
“Grow up.”
Yes. I will grow up.
Knowing full well that opening my mouth would only lead to a few arrows flying my way, I silently answered the cruel voice that fell upon me.
◈◈◈
“Now, blow properly. Where the hell have you been all this time?”
“I was on a little journey to find myself…”
“…Are you dying?”
Just when I thought I could keep my mouth shut, an endless barrage of questions from Apis wouldn’t allow me to remain silent.
From where I had been living and eating to why I hadn’t contacted her, grilling me over petty matters—she resembled a mother visiting her child’s messy apartment.
In truth, it wasn’t a completely unfamiliar scene.
Due to the longevity gifted by her race, Apis, as the eldest member of our party, treated all of us, including myself, like younger siblings or nephews, though she was completely oblivious to it.
Apis and Dawna.
Seeing the two of them, notorious for clashing as rivals both inside and outside the party, I believed Apis’ inability to recognize her role was a major cause of their conflicts.
Dawna, who dedicated most of her day to reading and seemed to care little for her health, must have appeared rather unseemly in the eyes of Apis, who viewed her comrades as family.
Like clumsy parents unsure how to deal with their newly adolescent child.
Watching their daily squabbles over trivial matters, at least that was the impression I gathered.
“So, what you’re saying is that while we were sweating it out in the dungeon, you were just loafing around at the nearby monastery, living your life just fine. Is that right?”
“Y-Yes… that is indeed the case… I truly don’t know how to face this sin…”
“Really?”
“Uh?”
“Look me in the eye and tell me. Is that true?”
Her tone was firm enough to evoke the image of a parent trying to decipher a child’s lies.
Even I, who hadn’t spent a short time living together, felt completely at a loss in this strange atmosphere.
“A-Apis?”
“Is it true? I’m asking you.”
With my back pressed against the dead-end wall of the narrow alley, Apis closed the distance between us, as if to block my escape.
While I was only concerned about getting punctured by an arrow, the pleading look in Apis’ eyes made me feel I had no choice but to draw a line across my lips to soften the mood.
“Of course.”
“…Yeah. That makes sense. Of course, it does.”
As if a heavy burden had been lifted, Apis suddenly exhaled a sigh of relief.
But before I could even question her significant reaction…
“Found you, you male prostitute bastard!”
The loud shout of a man calling for something utterly nauseating echoed through the quiet alley.
◈◈◈
“Brother! That’s him! That guy! He’s the one who threw me against the wall, the frozen-to-death male prostitute!”
“Ha! So it’s you!? The no-good brat who threw my precious little brother against the wall!”
Even just casually listening to the tone revealed their build and status. One of the two familiar voices sounded particularly recognizable, making my gaze instinctively turn toward the sound.
The owner of the familiar voice was the large man I had unintentionally tossed against the wall just moments ago.
And standing next to him was a presumably similar-looking man with a bushy beard, whom I assumed to be his older brother.
Behind them were at least twenty rugged-looking toughs, each gripping a blood-stained weapon, filling the already cramped alley with the stench of sweat.
“They grabbed me out of nowhere while I was just passing by! I was dealing with a guy who’s got the makings of a male prostitute that only comes once in a century! And that bastard just jumped in and helped him escape! His looks are just the perfect fit for a gigolo! He’s definitely in cahoots with him!”
“Yeah! My little brother has suffered such humiliation! If I just sit here, I won’t even deserve to be called your big brother! Wouldn’t you all agree, boys?”
“Yes! That’s right, brother!”
As he pointed his finger at me repeatedly, the men beside him began to rally themselves, each filled with righteous anger at my expense.
It seemed I had unintentionally tangled myself with someone influential who was trying to repay their friend’s humiliation.
Their camaraderie, focusing on the pain of a comrade as if it were their own, was somewhat touching, but tears were not flowing.
Right now, I was just disgruntled at being wrongfully accused.
Having done a small act of kindness resulting in a huge misunderstanding, it was only natural for my head to ache.
“Hey… Um, looks like we have a little misunderstanding here…”
“Ha! Misunderstanding my ass! Hey, everyone! Skin that bastard alive right now…”
“Water, come—”
At that very moment, just as I was about to mediate the misunderstanding between us…
A sharp surge swept through my line of sight, and as the roar of the wave crashed upon my ears, I glimpsed pale screams tangled within it, gradually dawning on my slow-witted perception.
Without any warning, the eruption sent white froth swirling each time it twisted my body, and it was only too late that I realized the peril posed by the powerful force behind it.
Desperate to stop the instigator of this deadly torrent, I called out in alarm.
“Apis!”
Just after, the wave subsided, and the tragic scene concealed by the blue veil gradually revealed itself.
“Ugh, cough!”
“Gah!”
“My arm! My arm!”
It felt as though I was witnessing the aftermath of a tsunami washing over a village.
Walls collapsed in various places. The floor was caved in. The air was filled with the cries of pain from people bitten and torn by the raging waves.
But I had no time to spare focusing on those things.
“You… What the hell was that about… ‘male prostitute’…”
Her golden pupils, wild with rage, slid ominously across my soaked shirt.
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