Chapter 398 - The Two Sides’ Reunion
At that moment, Oru spoke.
[Rinji-san, isn’t that Bigg-san?]
Rinji looked a bit awkward.
[……Yeah.]
The awkwardness———– I felt it too.
It was for the time before we headed to the Golden Demon Zone to level up.
Each Hero group was a.s.signed a mentor.
The Drunken Sword Party wasn’t in charge of my group.
However, I wasn’t completely unfamiliar with them.
Now, I’m about to meet someone who knew the me from back then.
It made me feel embarra.s.sed.
However, Lili’s father, Guaban, wanted to grow the party even bigger.
On the other hand, Rinji wanted to withdraw from the mercenary business.
To expand the party, their management approach became increasingly forceful during that time.
Rinji opposed that policy.
But Guaban stubbornly refused to accept Rinji’s retirement.
He always said……
“The Drunken Sword Party exists because of me and Rinji, the two frontmen of the group!”
But at one point———- Rinji disappeared with some members of the party.
Guaban’s resentment was apparently tremendous.
“I had made a firm vow with Rinji! To make the Drunken Sword Party the best mercenary group on this continent! And yet, that guy…… he left me behind without a word while I’m fulfilling our dream! Without even saying anything!?”
Two more things compounded Guaban’s grievances.
Lili looked at her comrades in the Drunken Sword Party, her trust visible in her eyes.
The members of the party who were familiar with Oru were now rejoicing at their reunion.
Rinji and Lili watched that scene side by side.
[……I don’t want anyone to die.]
[I wish for that too but…… this battle, I heard Vysis’ side had been fighting desperately. So…… it might be quite a tough fight. I wonder if we can even win……]
[Don’t worry.]
Saying this, he pointed towards me.
[We’ve got this guy——– a High-rank Hero on our side.]
[Heehhh…… We have a Hero from Another World here huh…… ——–Hmm? Looking at you again, aren’t you……]
Lili’s brows furrowed.
She approached and closed the distance between us.
[We’ve already met, haven’t we?]
Yasu pulled his face back.
[It’s——– It’s been a while……]
Rinji looked surprised.
[Arehh? What? You two know each other?]
Lili pointed to me with her thumb.
[Me and the others have been called by Vysis to train them Heroes. Well, we weren’t in charge of this kid…… ———-But still…… Who are you?]
[Eh? I’m…… Tomohiro Yasu……]
Lili closed her eyes, her brows furrowing further.
She crossed her arms, desperately trying to pull together the threads of her memory.
[No… I do remember, but somehow, the you now…… seem like a different person from when we were around?]
Yasu averted his gaze.
[Actually, since then…… a lot has happened. So———]
He bowed his head.
[I’m sorry for showing a lot of unpleasant att.i.tudes back then……]
Lili looked stunned, but her expression quickly shifted to one of understanding.
Her gaze caught Yasu’s bandages and wounds.
[……Well, you must have had a lot going on too. I’m not interested in digging it up. If you’re going to fight with us as an ally, then I have no intention of saying anything about the past. You seem more likable now anyway. I mean———- regardless of past att.i.tudes, I know your strength. Can I count on you?]
[I- I’ll do my best.]
Lili rested her chin in her hand and saying, “That said……”, she brought her face close again.
[The Black Flame Hero from back then is the same person as this guy huh…… The same goes for Fly King, it’s strange how there are so many discrepancies between my past impressions of people and now.]
(Eh?)
[……The Fly King? Are you talking about Belzegia-san?]
[Hmm? The way you’re talking…… have you met him?]
[Yes…… I owe my life to him, so to speak……]
[Heehhh…… We’re alive here thanks to the Fly King’s arrangements as well.]
[Um, have you met Belzegia-san too, Lili-san……?]
[Hmm.]
Lili pursed her lips, as if unsettled.
[I mean, we fought him in the past, or rather…… he saved our lives——— no, actually, before that, it seems I apparently met the guy behind Belzegia’s mask? Us being saved by him was apparently because he met us back then.]
Yasu was shocked.
[Eh? That means…… you saw his real face?]
[……Yes, but……]
Lili scratched her head as if shaking off a sense of discomfort.
[When I met the boy back then, and then again when I met him as the Fly King…… It’s hard to connect them between each other. At that time, he looked completely harmless……]
A young man.
It seems Belzegia-san’s true self is younger than expected.
[Did he go by the name Belzegia back then?]
[Ah, I didn’t ask for his name…… But if you check the name he wrote down during the recruitment for the Mills Ruins expedition, you might find out his real name. Well, there’s a chance he used a fake name there too.]
[………………..]
Could it be because of that mask and the Fly King outfit?
He gave off an impression that was somewhat inhuman.
But inside, he was definitely human.
(……I hope to see him again.)
As expected, I really want to meet him again.
Just like with Sogou Ayaka———– wanting to meet him as I am now.
The next chapter is scheduled to be updated on Sunday, October 27th, around 9pm.