CH 41

Chapter 41: The Return of the Hero

It has been 5 days since Ageha arrived at Flowtier.

She said that it was about time she returned.

For that reason, we had lunch at the Bear’s Keg Inn to have lunch together and send her off.

We sit around the table with the usual group and with Ageha.

Teo: “Sister Ageha, I know you said you’re leaving for Ligaleo, but if you came this far, why don’t you go to the Rishu mainlands and go see your family?”

Ageha: “Oh uhhh….it’s okay. It’s a bit bothersome to go there right now, and it takes 2 days by boat from Seasualgo.”

The Port Town of Seasualgo is the closest city near Flowtier. If you’re going to the island of Rishu, it is a good place to catch a ship.

The fish caught at Seasualgo is transported and arrives fresh on the dinner tables of Flowtier.

Cyril: “What is your family like, Miss Ageha?”

Ageha: “My home is located in a port town called Kaisei and runs a merchant business there. Back in the day, they used to be the covert ops organization for the General, but now we just run a normal business.”

Ageha answers Cyril’s question.

Yeah, I kind of remembered that her family did some sort of merchant business in Rishu, but I never heard any more details.

Henry: “I thought about 50 years ago, there was a Civil War in Rishu?”

During my days at the Fezard Kingdom, I did learn a little history.

Ageha: “Yup yup. We made a fortune off that war, and then the family jumped into being merchants after that. Well, we still retain and pass down the Cloudy Plains Style though.”

Teo: “So they started an import and export business with the Alvenia Kingdom. As a representative on this side of the sea, my grandfather, who was the little brother of the head of the household at the time, came to Flowtier…..and immediately fell in love with my grandmother and decided to settle in this area.”

Ageha: “OHH!! I remember that story. They play the story at the theatre at the beginning of every new year. I haven’t seen it since I became an adventurer, but are they still doing that?”

Teo: “Yes, that hasn’t changed at all. Grandfather wants them to stop though because it’s getting too embarrassing for him.”

Family talk.

But I see. I’ve only run into Teo’s grandfather a few times, but I have new respects for him.

And with that Lana brings over the lunch meals on two large platters.

Lana: “Here’s today’s Lunch Special! I’ll bring the rest right out.”

Henry: “Oh, food’s here.

Today’s Lunch Special has chicken steak as the main course.

Everyone gets their plates served, and we start eating.

Ageha: “Ohhhh….it’s so good! Maybe I’ll quit the frontlines and work around here for a while.”

Henry: “I know how you feel. The food in Ligaleo is always so-so.”

Ageha: “Yeah, the trade routes are all dead so there’s just not enough food to go around. No matter how many demonic creatures we kill, they just keep coming back.”

Hence, any transported supply wagons will always need guards, and because of that, large-scale imports of goods are not possible. The supply chain is just too restricted and limited.

Cyril: “Why not use those Teleport Gates that we saw in the Capital? It might cost a lot to use it, but wouldn’t it be worth the trouble?”

Henry: “They say that the Magical Corruption in the area is too dense for Teleport Gates to function.”

Yeah, it’s a common line of thought, and I answer Cyril’s question.

Magical Corruption is Magical energy that absorbs Demonic energy and properties. The Teleport Gate uses Magecraft to function, and it uses Magical Power as its source of energy. The density and concentration of the Magic Corruption will interfere with the Magecraft Spell Inscription, and the disturbances it causes makes it impossible to connect the Gates.

Ferris: “Well, people much smarter than us have been thinking of a solution before our time, so if we haven’t come up with something now, it must be very difficult to do.”

Henry: “Just like Ferris said, the upper echelons of the Grandes Church and the top authorities of the Kingdom’s Armies are trying to come up with a solution, but nothing has worked so far.”

Since I’m the one who left the frontlines to go eat more delicious things in a peaceful place like this, I’m not one to speak, but I still wish they do something about it.

Ageha: “That’s why I’m going to eat as much as I can while I’m here! Can I have the Mixed Fried Lunch meal with rice!!”

She’s skinny, but she can eat a lot. Well, it’s important to eat when you can. That’s one of the core tenets as an adventurer.

Ageha gobbles up the additional lunch meals she ordered.

Henry: “Wait, Ageha. Aren’t you running all the way back to Ligaleo? Wouldn’t eating this much cause issues for you later?”

Ageha: “I’m good, I’m good.”

I hope so.

……..but if she’s the one saying so, it must really be okay.

<<<<>>>>

We sip our post-meal coffee and relax a bit.

Teo: “Sister Ageha, I’ll keep practicing what you taught me.”

Teo strikes up a conversation with Ageha.

Oh yeah, they were practicing something together.

Ageha: “Yeah…….but uhhh…. If it’s about Adventuring stuff, listen to Henry well. If it’s just about fighting, I’m stronger, but as far as all the bothersome stuff you have to do as an Adventure, Henry’s got more skill in that area.”

I guess this is Ageha’s way of worrying about her cousin.

Well, regardless of whether Ageha asked me to or not, Teo’s part of my party so of course, I’ll teach her what I can.

Henry: “Yeah, you can leave it to me, Ageha. But that’s strange. I’m pretty sure I’m stronger when it comes to fighting.”

I had to make sure she knew that I wasn't going to brush off a comment like that.

Ageha: “What? What are you blabbering about, Henry? I took down a Demon General by myself, but what did you do again? Oh yeah, you just hid behind Old Man Ezeal and were poking that General from behind like a coward, weren't you?”

Henry: “You’re forgetting that Demon General Bazeraldo had lower combat skills compared to all the other Generals. And you caught him off guard and took off his head before a fight even happened. I admit that your assassination skills are something else, but that and general combat fighting skills are different.”

Ageha: “.....you wanna test out that theory of yours?”

Henry: “......any time. You can go back home crying after your loss.”

We both rise from our chairs and gesture to each other to step outside.

*Ke ke ke, do you really think you can beat me after stuffing yourself full? You won’t be as sharp or as fast as usual like that.

But there was sharp <SLAP!> <SLAP!> and our fighting mood is dowsed and extinguished by Cyril’s chops.

Cyril: “No fighting you two, okay?”

“ “ ……...yes ma’am. “ “

She smiles in a not so kind way, and both Hero and Heroic Warrior sit back down with heads bowed.

Ageha: “Can’t be helped. Next time I see you, we’ll head to the training field. I’ll let you know who’s stronger when that time comes.”

Henry: “There’s plenty of time to train here in Flowtier. You really think you can beat me?”

Ageha: “How much of an idiot can you be? You can get stronger by just taking off more heads.”

Yeah, that only applies to Natural-Born Adventurers like you.

……….wait, Adventurer? You’re more an assassin than anything else.

Cyril: “Oh, I never got to ask, but Miss Ageha, why do you go after the necks so much?” Ageha: “Hmmm? Um, there’s really not a reason.”

Henry: “Cyril, don’t bother asking. We’ve asked her this same question over and over, and we’ve never gotten one single useful piece of information out of her.”

We all had to finally conclude that that’s just the kind of living organism she is.

Cyril: “But wouldn’t fighting like that incur significantly more unnecessary risk?’

Ageha: “Yeah, just like you say, Cyril, there are times if you only fight a certain way, it makes the fight more difficult. But I'm dedicating my entire life to beheading demonic creatures.”

……….her life? Well, she is definitely very determined to stick to that style, and her weapon is actually….

Cyril: “Iーis that so……”

Henry: “And actually, Ageha’s godly equipment is an Uncommon-Rank even though she’s a hero. It’s called the [Neck Critical Short Sword].”

When it hits the heck, its effects increase drastically.

It’s not as popular as the [Chest Critical] weapons, but for its additional difficulty, it does even more additional damage.

Jend: “Uncommon-Rank…? Then it’s the same as my [Blaze Blade].”

Yeah, Jend’s Fire Sword is also an Uncommon-Rank. So as far as rarity goes, even a lucky beginner adventurer can receive an Uncommon-Rank weapon.

Ageha: “That’s true, but if you just want a weapon with a specific attribute, the difficulty of receiving one goes up exponentially. When I first became an adventurer, I went after this short sword……….never mind. I don’t like thinking about those times."

Oh yeah, there were rumors of a girl that was hunting demonic creatures solo and without speaking a word.

Henry: “How many times did you have to draw?”

Ageha: “I stopped counting after 5,000…..”

Yeah, that’s way too much.

Ageha: “Aーanyways, the moral of the story is, if you have a goal, it makes your day-to-day adventuring all the more exciting. Cyril, you said you wanted to go to the frontlines, but did you have a specific reason?” Cyril: “.....I do.”

Oh, Ageha asked the question that I’ve been wondering how I should approach Cyril. Alright, good for you, Ageha. Keep the question going. Let’s see if it’s enough of a reason to go...

Cyril: “But it’s a secret!”

........and she dodges the question.

Now I know it’s something she can’t just readily spill.

……..really, what should I do? The other 3 are fine. Cyril’s personality is the least compatible with the way of life over there, so I really want to change her mind if I can.

Ageha: “HA HA! Well, yeah, you don’t need to tell me the reason. Alright. I’ll be going then.”

Henry: “Yeah, it’s starting to get busy, and we’re all done eating.”

Well, I do feel some sadness for her leaving, but it’s time to say farewell.

<<<<>>>>

We walked with Ageha to the Flowtier’s outer walls to send her off.

In these last few days, Ageha’s face is pretty well known, and she got a lot of attention from adventurer’s on their way to or back from an expedition, but none of that mattered to her.

Ageha: “Thanks for seeing me out. Teo, keep working hard and get stronger, okay?”

Teo: “Yes, please be careful as well, Sister Ageha.”

Ageha: “Don’t you worry about me. I’ve gotten used to how things work there, and I’ve made a lot of friends. There’s nothing to worry about now.”

Ageha laughs merrily.

……..but this is just Ageha reassuring Teo, and it’s not like she’ll let her guard down. There’s no one who can be overconfident in an environment where Upper-Tier Demonic Creatures come down upon the city like an avalanche. If there are any overconfident adventurers there, it would just be the stupid ones.

……….correction. Now that I think about it, there were a ton of those idiots.

Ageha: “Cyril, Jend, Ferris, it was a lot of fun running expeditions with you guys. Let’s do it again!”

Cyril: “Yes.”

Cyril answers Ageha in place of everyone.

Ageha: “Alrighty, Henry. You be well.”

Henry: “Yeah, you too.”

We bump fists.

We finish saying farewell. I start wondering if she’s serious about running all the way to Ligaleo. But she carries a small sack over her shoulder and begins to stretch and warm up.

Henry: “You’re really not going to use the Teleport gate?”

Ageha: “I don’t like waiting, and it’ll be faster if I run.”

…….only for you!

……...sigh…

Henry: “Ageha, tell everyone said hi when you get back. And don’t forget to give Yuu her gift.”

Ageha: “Yup, got it! See ya!”

And with that, Ageha began running.

………...and like always, she’s fast. Too fast. A horse carriage going past didn’t know what just passed by them.

Cyril: “.........wow, she was a like a storm.”

Henry: “Yeah…”

But, well...even though I basically ran away from Ligaleo and came here, it was still touching to know there were people willing to come see me all the way here.