Three Months of Lying Low
Operation: Reclaim Grand Dream would not begin until next spring, and the three months leading up to it felt too long for Hikaru.
Since there would be a lot of people involved, Hikaru knew that there were many things that needed to be done, such as securing food, establishing communication methods, unified training, and some minor adjustments. He also knew that it would be dangerous to set sail during the winter as the sea tended to get stormy.
All in all, it was hard for Hikaru to sit still and do nothing for three months. He wondered what was happening to the continent during this time. The sooner they launched an offensive, the better. Anxiety constantly gripped him—what if it was already too late? Six months had pa.s.sed since they returned to this continent.
Hikaru received no news about Drake after the drakon returned to his hometown. It would have been nice to know whether he was doing well or not, at least.
「Is that so?」
「The highlight of that play—」
「I would like to go see one again—」
Despite all this, there were a few good things. The days were calm and peaceful, if not intensely cold. Luka, who came to Ville Zentra bringing trouble, had really gotten along well with Lavia and Paula; the three girls mostly spent time together.
While searching for employment, Luka"s skill with musical instruments landed her a job at the hotel they were staying at. The guests loved the gentle tune of her stringed instrument resounding throughout the lobby.
Lavia translated for the people of Dream Maker at the Adventurers Guild, and went to the library to study new spells, though half of it was most likely to indulge herself in her hobby of reading.
Paula, known to the locals as the Masked Saint, offered her Healing magic to the orphanage and church, and sometimes visited her bodyguards as the Masked G.o.ddess.
When they had the time, all three of them went to watch plays together.
And here I am…
Silver Face was frequently summoned by Doriachi. The Master Swordsman and Beastman King constantly approached him, demanding a match. Hikaru"s days were filled with troubles.
Why am I surrounded by filthy men anyway?
Hikaru couldn"t find an answer. He wanted to find out if there was any chance of Luka and Claude reconciling before the day of departure arrived. Claude and the boys lived in one of the Einbeast army"s tents, spending their days training.
That place has got to be the filthiest of all.
Hikaru really didn"t want to go, but he steeled his guts, telling himself this was for Luka.
「What the?」he blurted out.
「You"re so strong, Lord Claude!」
「Look at Lord Ivan"s arms! They"re so thick!」
「Kyaah!」
Hikaru found tents built on a field, but what he saw caught him off guard. Female beastmen wearing frilled outfits surrounded Claude, Ivan, and Roy.
「I-I guess. I"m moderately-skilled with the sword, if I do say so myself.」Claude said.
「Hahaha! Wanna touch my arm?」Ivan asked.
「Can you please leave us? We have training to do…」Roy said.
Am I seeing things? Why is Roy the one serious about training? Isn"t Claude married? Hikaru, with his mask and black hood, approached the group.
「It"s you!」Claude quickly got up on his feet.
Looks like they know about Silver Face, Hikaru thought.
「Wow, all black!」
「What"s with the mask? Terrifying.」
The female beastmen"s thoughtless remarks struck Hikaru deep in the chest.
「Lord Gerhardt seems to acknowledge this man"s abilities.」Claude said.「Don"t worry. No need to be scared. I"m right here.」
「Aw, you"re so dependable, Lord Claude!」
The women kept squealing. I wanna leave, Hikaru thought.
「Claude Zahard Kirihal.」Silver Face spoke.「I believe you"re married to a girl from Ludancia.」
He emphasized the word “married” as hard as possible.
「You"re married?!」
「Huh? Uh, y-yeah…」
「I see… But stealing you from your wife sounds more exciting!」
One woman clung to Claude. Hikaru didn"t expect this reaction at all; all he could do was watch the giggling and squealing get progressively worse.
「Please let go of me.」Claude said.「I need to talk to this man.」
The women looked surprised, and so did Roy and Ivan, even Hikaru.
Once the female beastmen were gone, Hikaru was invited into the tent.
「Those women are prost.i.tutes who"ll serve the soldiers.」Claude said as he poured tea into a cup.「Since we"re treated as guests here, they think we"re loaded.」
「Is that so…」
「It"s actually a little annoying, to be honest.」
Your sure didn"t look annoyed, Hikaru thought. With expeditions as large as this one, the issue of s.e.xual appet.i.te was just as important as food. Many of the beastmen in particular had strong s.e.xual desires and were accompanied by more prost.i.tutes than other countries.
The women were also strong-willed, and since the expedition was well-paid for by the military, they served with great enthusiasm.
「So what are you here for?」Claude asked with a serious expression.「I have questions for you too.」
He would"ve looked good, if it weren"t for the lipstick mark on his upper right arm. Hikaru had to lower his voice even more since he knew these guys.
「My intel says you guys are from Forestia. You said you were guests. I want to know how that happened.」
「Why do you want to know?」
「Because I"ll be joining the expedition. We wouldn"t want Forestia and Einbeast brawling out of nowhere.」
「Hmm…」Claude crossed his arms.
Roy whispered something to him.「I heard Silver Face joined the meeting the other day. He"s clearly more knowledgeable than us about the operation. Apparently, he"s been to the New World too.」
「Good point.」
Hey, Roy. Shouldn"t you be working under League? Are you sure you should be goofing off around here?
「I don"t like people being suspicious of me.」Claude said.「It also might be a good idea for a third-party like you to know about the circ.u.mstances. I don"t mind telling you, but promise you won"t tell anyone.」
「Sure.」
Claude seemed to have made up his mind and spoke.「You know that I"m married to my Lu— I mean, Luka Lordgrad Ludancia, right? Because I"m here alone, you a.s.sumed I had a fight with her, and therefore was in bad terms with Forestia. Is that correct?」
Claude wore a triumphant look, but Hikaru already heard everything from Luka.
「Yes.」he answered.
「I already talked to her about this. She gladly allowed me to join this expedition.」
『Doubt.』
「I"m sorry, what was that?」
「Uh… I-It"s nothing. Please continue. So why did you join the expedition?」Hikaru was flabbergasted at Claude"s blatant lies.
「Actually, there"s someone I need to surpa.s.s. I realized Einbeast was not enough for me to do that. I need more experience to become stronger.」
「Really, now?」
Hikaru racked his brains. Did something happen in Forestia while I was gone? Maybe he"s fighting that someone alone without Luka knowing.
「Yeah.」Claude nodded.「His name is Hikaru.」
Hikaru spat out his tea.
「Are you all right?! Was it not to your liking?」Claude half-rose to his feet.
Hikaru raised a hand and wiped his mouth with a towel.「Uh, no. It just went down the wrong pipe.」
Wait a sec! Why am I involved in this?!
Claude continued with a serious look, oblivious to the fact that the person he wanted to surpa.s.s was right before his eyes.
「He helped us…」
「Ridiculed us…」
「Made us undergo h.e.l.lish training…」
Claude, Roy, and Ivan all followed up each other"s statements, as though they rehea.r.s.ed it beforehand.
「He threw Forestia into chaos, but we also owe him big time.」
「He completely smashed…」
「…our view on life.」
「Come on. That"s going too far.」Hikaru muttered.
「What?」
「Uh, I mean, you guys look quite matured. Surely he couldn"t have changed your view on life.」
「You have no idea since you haven"t met him. He"s… incredible.」
「He"s a monster.」
「He"s the Devil himself.」
Hikaru desperately wanted to scratch his head off at these horrible accusations.
「Anyway…」Claude continued, holding his teacup with both hands.「We joined the King Selection tournament to test our abilities and made it to the final round where we quickly lost. I thought losing wouldn"t bother me that much, but it was very frustrating. Roy and Ivan felt the same.」
「We realized that losing meant everything that Hikaru taught us was invalidated.」
「Exactly. Even grouped up, we never could beat him no matter how much we tried. We wanted everyone there to know that our master is much more incredible than we were.」
Hikaru felt his chest sting. Professor Mikhail only suggested the tournament casually, but the guys took it seriously as training.
「I thought I still had a long way to go. I need to become stronger to protect Luka. The expedition to the New World is my chance in gaining experience. Luckily, Gerhardt had taken a liking to us and encouraged us to keep trying. So I applied to join the expedition squad.」
After a while, Hikaru left their tent. A cold, piercing wind blew by. His breath was white in the frosty December air.
「What now? So ultimately, this is all my fault?」he muttered.
He was at a loss, and no one could answer his question.