CH 188

12-15 minutes

Ch. 188: The Adventurers and the Guys

In the living room of the Cries of the Stars Inn, I was speaking with Harold and Vincent from the Star Nights Party when the door of the inn creaked open.

We casually glanced to see who it was……and then Jend, who looked like he had the soul sucked out of him, came limping through.

Henry: “Hey, Jend! Welcome back.”

Jend: “YーYeah……thanks…..”

He walked weakly over to our table and crashed into an open seat.

Harold: “Looks like the training was pretty hard, Jend. …….hehehe, your dedication is impressive. I mean, it’s all because your date is currently held up in Yuu’s Clinic, but I’m impressed nonetheless.”

Henry: “Harold……go easy on him.”

Lately, when Ferris has a break, she has been taking half her off days to go help at the Clinic. It’s because Yuu was desperately complaining to her that there wasn’t enough help available.

……but actually, because of that, Ferris’ reputation has skyrocketed. Out of all the members of La Flowtier, she is probably the closest to becoming a Heroic Warrior.

Vincent: “Your beloved Lady Ferris has still yet to return. Too bad for you.”

Henry: “Vincent…..you too?” Vincent: “Harold and I do have a pretty lady to go out with on our off days, so you should tolerate a little teasing every now and then.”

Harold: “Hear, hear.”

And Harold and Vincent bursted out laughing together.

Jend has gotten really close to these two too. Though there is a bit of an age gap, we’re all guys, and we’re all Adventurers here. Stuff like this is pretty typical.

Jend: “Wait, huh? What about Miss Ruby and Miss Bianca? Since you’re all in the same Party, I assumed….”

Harold: “We knew them since we were all kids, so I can’t think of dating either of them.”

Harold replied matter of fact. But well, that’s probably the reason why a Party with a mix of men and women is working out so well.

For us…….well, if any of the couples have a fight, it might be a small issue, but right now, it’s not something we have to worry about.

Jend: “Geesh. I get how you guys feel but even still….”

Jend seemed pretty annoyed from the comments, so I decided to help him out.

Henry: “Jend, don’t let them have the last word. Always return insult with insult. That’s your duty as a man. Your duty.”

And turning around to Harold and Vincent, I decided to show an example.

Henry: “You guys, you really should get a girlfriend. It’s pretty nice being in a relationship. If you’re going to pick on us for having one, at least prove to us that you can pick up a girlfriend or two first, you loners.”

Harold: “UGH?!”

Harold’s jaws dropped in response.

Vincent: “......hey, putting Jend aside, you think you’re in a position to talk back to us? When you were here before, you didn’t have a trace of female relationships the whole time you were here!”

Henry: “I have one now so it doesn’t countーー”

Vincent: “Okay, you should not use that kind of annoying voice anymore.”

Vincent lifted an annoyed fist, and I immediately waved both arms in surrender. I think I went too far.

Henry: “Hey, regardless though, if you wanted a girlfriend, I’m sure there’s more than one or two girls interested in you, right?” Vincent: “.........for the money, yeah.”

Harold: “.........same.”

………since the Star Nights are good, that means they’re raking in the money.

And those guys usually are very popular………but of course, most women who show interest have a particular goal in mind. Personally, there’s nothing wrong with having very clear goals in your relationship…….but then again, I would not say yes to those kind of girls either.

Jend: “Ummmmm, what?”

Henry: “I told you about this before, right? Honey traps and stuff like that. You need to be careful.”

As a brand new arrival, La Flowtier has been garnering more notice lately, and many know about us now. We’re a solid Party working on the 2nd Line, and the amount of money we make has substantially risen. So……that means it’s around this time that we start seeing some people interested in us for different reasons.

But it’s also well known that Cyril and I, and Jend and Ferris are a couple. Even thenーー

Henry: “Very rarely, you might see a real, good-looking girl who just wants a one-night stand - no strings attached.”

Jend: “Oh……that’s kind of tempting…..I mean! But Ferris is the only one for me though…”

…..and men are stupid creatures. Even if they have a girlfriend, if a beautiful woman asks them out, most of them would sway on their decision. Some girls are very savvy with their invitation to make it look as innocent as possible.

Vincent: “There’s some who can go out with those girls off and on and keep floating around, but we wouldn’t be able to do that. So for us, we just head to the right establishments like healthy men.”

Jend: “.......healthy?” Vincent: “Of course it is. We only go to the ones with formal government approval.”

But for Jend, he started dating Ferris before visiting a brothel, so it might be hard for him to imagine.

……and for those risking their lives every day, it really helps to release some stress and anxiety.

Henry: “Well, putting that all aside, how did it go today, Jend?” Jend: “He drilled me to my bones today. Sir Grand’ezeal is a kind, generous person overall, but when we’re training, he’s turns into a complete ogre, I’m telling you.”

Harold: “C’mon. You’re being noticed by Sir Ezeal. What’s there to complain about? You’re really lucky, ya know?” And Jend sighed at Harold’s words.

Jend: “Like, I am really grateful and everything, but…..he always trains me just hard enough where it won’t affect my expedition tomorrow, and he somehow knows how to push me to that very limit every time……..and so……man, I’m just pooped. And plus, he makes me drink this special drink before I go home too!”

Oh yeah, that’s Sir Ezeal’s special nutrition smoothie. Apparently, it’s a recipe from his Vandelstein family lineage that’s been passed down for many generations, and it’s affects are amazing. It reduces the amount of fatigue you feel the next day. It’s pretty unbelievable…….but…….it tastes absolutely horrible.

And because Sir Ezeal really wants everyone to drink this, the members of the Black Knights Order have developed a phobia and find excuses every time.

Jend: “........but……….you know, why does he want to train me so much? That’s where I’m confused.”

Henry: “Yeah, that’s true……”

It’s not like Sir Ezeal has a long history or ties with Jend at all, so it seems a little odd.

But if I were to guessーー

Henry: “I bet he’s just excited to be able to teach Broadsword techniques to someone, don’t you think?” Vincent: “Ohーー....”

Harold: “.......yeah, then it would all make sense.”

Both Harold and Vincent nod in satisfaction at my explanation. Jend: “? …….ummmm….”

Henry: “In the Black Knights Order, Sir Ezeal is the only one that wields a broadsword.”

And even among Adventurers, I only know a handful that use broadswords.

The reason is simple. It’s because broadswords are incredibly hard to use.

First, you train with weapons from childhood. If a kid decides to wield a broadsword, they will need proper instruction and training, or otherwise, they will injure themselves easily.

And even if the kid is strong, it would be hard to use a broadsword without knowing how to use {Physical Enhancement}. Plus, defending yourself with a broadsword is tricky. Finally, it takes a lot to make a broadsword in the first place, so as a new Adventurer, if you try to upgrade from your beginner’s Common Rank weapon, the price is going to be much higher than other weapons.

So, because of all those hurdles, it deters a lot of people from using it.

If you become an average Adventurer going after Mid-Tier targets, you do want a weapon with a broader range……..but still, changing to a broadsword carries incredibly high risks.

I try to explain this to Jend as simply as possible.

Jend: “Ah yeahーー when I was a kid, I told my dad that I wanted to use a broadsword, and he immediately told me no. I remember that now.”

Henry: “I mean, it looks cool, and the Great Hero of Legend wields one, so a lot of kids like the idea, but most adults would immediately put a stop to it.”

Jend: “........but I pressed and I pressed my dad till he introduced me to my Master. It’s bringing back so many memories…..”

To use a giant sword, you need the proper environment, physical aptitude, and talent. Otherwise, it would be impossible to start learning as a kid.

So Jend and his disciple brother Ashley are actually incredibly talented and gifted in that aspect.

Henry: “But if you think about it, that’s why a spear is great to start with. Of course, all weapons are difficult to master, but for beginners, if they have no preference, they should all just use spears first. That’s my opinion.”

Because as long as you turn the pointy end towards the enemy, you’ve already fulfilled the bare minimum as a frontline fighter.

……..and yeah, it’s my preferred weapon of choice, so I do have some bias too.

Harold: “Hey now. You can’t use a long weapon like that in close quarters. That’s why a one-handed sword is best to start off with. You can hold a shield in your other hand or use any other tools as needed.”

Henry: “Harold, I think you forget that my weapon can turn into a one-handed sword too.”

Harold: “I’m not talking about your super-weird weapon. We’re talking about real weapons here.”

……….hey, that hurts.

Vincent: “Ha! You can’t forget that range is the most important aspect of battle. That’s why the bow and arrow is the absolute greatest. Yeah, I admit that it’s a difficult weapon to learn at first, but that moment when you nail your target from afar, it’s the best feeling in the world.” Henry: “Hey now, Vincent. You can run out of arrows, and what if the opponent was heavily armored? Then you need a spear. You can thrust, slice, whack, or throw! You can’t say spears aren’t the most versatile weapon ever made.”

Harold: “...........ha! Amateurs. Look, if you use one-handed swords…….you can DUAL-WIELD!! HA HA HA!! Take a look at my babies. What would happen if you were to weird a Flame Sword and Ice Sword! Just think of the possibilities!!”

What?!

Henry: “Hey, that’s cheating!!”

Vincent: “Harold, we both know dual-wielding is actually impractical, and it’s a complete tangent to our discussion right now, but………I’d like to see you try that next time.”

And the 3 male Adventurers continued to argue.

As the discussion was getting more heated, Jend quietly excused himself. Jend: “Hey, I think I’ll go take a bath….”

And left our table.

<<<<>>>>

That same night, I was on the top of the South Gate.

Vincent: “..........Henry, 800 meters ahead. 7 O’Clock a group of Creatures heading our way. ……it’s a mix of Low-Tier Middle-Class to Mid-Tier Lower-Class. I’m counting 40 strong.”

Looking through binoculars that were enchanted with night vision, Vincent gave me a quick rundown.

Once I knew what I was dealing with in general, he gave me more specifics about geographical locations, and the direction and speed of the swarm.

I nodded as I received the details, and in that small area above the gate, I trotted lightly and threw my spear.

Henry: “{Split up}”

As I mumbled under my breath, my Nyoiten spear raced towards the direction of the Creatures and separated into dozens of clones.

Tonight was a starless night and pitch black. That’s why I couldn’t see the results butーー

Vincent: “.......alright. You got them. There’s 2…….no 3 left. We can ignore these now.”

Vincent, who was my spotter, let me know immediately.

It was another Night Shift at Ligaleo. ……the ones who are fighting do not just fight on the front lines. For those with long-range weapons, there are these kinds of roles available too. In fact, I’m far more useful in this position. Even against Upper-Tier, Upper-Class, unless they are incredibly armored, I can take them out before they arrive.

Vincent: “Next…….1,200 meters away…….urgh, it’s a Ogre Tiger. We’ll need to take them out completely or we’ll lose some guys up front.”

Henry: “Understood. ………but Harold’s there too, so we should be fine.”

I glance towards Harold who is holding his one-handed sword, and backing up anyone who is struggling.

Vincent: “Don’t underestimate Upper-Tier, Middle-Classes.”

Henry: “I’m not, I’m not. Vincent should know that I take these fights seriously.

Vincent: “......whatever, get ready. Oh, and let me know if you need to switch. Unlike your messy area attacks, I can strike them down precisely with my bow.”

In that case, I would be the spotter butーー

Henry: “Whatever. I’ll keep throwing all night if I have to!”

And I readied myself for the next target.

……..and thus, another long night at Ligaleo passed.

<<<<>>>>

CREDITS

Semi-retired Adventurer Lives Leisurely

Written by Hisagushien

Translated by: ChonkyTranslator

Japanese Title:

セミリタイアした冒険者はのんびり暮らしたい

作者: 久櫛緑（ヒサグシエン）

http://kuontenrin.ehoh.net/

Original Source:

https://ncode.syosetu.com/n1161ft/188/

Book 15 - The Strong Ones

Ch. 185 - 199