CH 4

C4~ Can I Talk?

When I opened the door of the Adventurer’s Guild, Leticia was the first one who noticed me and stood up.

As she recognized me, she stared daggers at me with a sharp, piercing gaze. It seemed that I had yet to completely get rid of her.

I think she chased after me and gathered information here. Once she knew what was happening she waited since I would be coming back anyway.

And I was angry at the very fact that she was waiting for me to come back … Thanks to today’s excursion I have come to value my freedom more than anything.

I refuse to go back to the old days!

I exchanged a glance with Leticia .. but I chose to ignore her in the end..

“I’m sorry. I’d like to ask you to buy the material …”

Without reacting in any was in particular, I slipped through the side and talked to the receptionist.

“What?” Letica cried to her disbelief.

It seemed that my rebellion was too shaky for her to bear.

It seems that she didn’t even think of the possibility that I would completely ignore her. Indee, such a thing would have been considered absurd a few days back. Even the receptionist was astonished/

Hound Wolf’s fur and fangs were lined up in front of such a receptionist.

“I want to ask for a purchase. I’m sure the guild also accepts it, right?”

“Yes, that’s okay, but …”

The receptionist looked behind me as she exchanged glances with Letica. It was truly an unusual development for her. After all, to her the Hero Letica was still the kind hearted and benevolent goddess she had always known her to be.

I think the receptionist can’t ignore it since Leticia was worried.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhh … Harrruuuuu!!!”

The voice echoed from the bottom of hell. It made shivers run down my spine.

“Huh …”

It was truly a hassle. Why doesn’’t she just leave me alone?

It’s very annoying.

However, it seems that it cannot be ignored as it is.

I looked back to the one who called out to me.

“what?”

“you……”

I think I had a very cold voice at that moment so much that Letica froze in shock.

I have never made such a reaction, at least not to Leticia.

Therefore, Leticia couldn’t speak, seeming she was a little confused.

However, it she was soon to regain her momentum.

“Hmm … !!!!! So now you are courageous enough to ignore me, even though I care for you Haru? I don’t know why you left my party … Haru! You won’t be able to survive. You’re too weak for this world!”

“I just left your party. I didn’t run away with any money or equipment, and I didn’t cause any other problems either. I don’t think there’s any reason for you to complain?”

“You are nuts! Haru is mine! You can’t just silently do whatever you want without your master! Don’t you know that much? You’re so crappy, stupid, and useless! !! “

It indeed caused me to shiver how she could spout so much poison with that kind of beutiful face of hers.

Leticia was furious with a bloody momentum.

I couldn’t even understand half of the things which she claimed.

“I don’t care even if I am weak?”

“What !? Garbage like Haru is going to give me his opinion now? What are you going to say? Are you going to leave my party and keep saying something silly? No jokes! I can’t forgive that! Haru is mine … “

“Is it okay for the hero to repeat such dirty words in a place where there are so many people?”

“……!?”

It seemed that I had touched her soft spot. It was always one of her secrets only I knew.

Leticia flinched as she looked around in a hurry realizing how dire the situation was.

But it was already too late.

Adventurers gathered in the guild, as they overheard the hero who cussed and seemed to have a trashy personality. Her words were ridiculous … and the staff couldn’t help but be stunned.

“Ku …!”

Leticia regretfully bit her tongue to stop herself and bring her back into control. She was panic stricken and I knew she was in trouble.

When I see such a face, it makes me soft, but …

Those emotions of adoration that I had once held for her had now become empty.

We can’t laugh like we used to.

It makes my heart feel heavy whenever I am reminded of such a fact.

“… Come to the square just outside the South Gate tonight, where I’ll continue the conversation.”

Leaving that in a voice that only I could hear, Leticia left the Adventurer’s Guild with a rough footstep.

The stunned adventurers and staff soon returned to me …

What was it now? These were the people who had refused to believe me before. What happened to them now?.

“… That was the hero right now, right?”

Alice, who also returned to me, spoke softly.

“Did the hero have that kind of personality?”

“Ah … well, that really is a long story.”

It’s not something I can explain in one word … and truth be told I didn;t want to be involved with anything that was connected to Letica.

Above all, it’s not a story where there are many people suffering. It had always been me. All I can do is cover my wounds and let it heal.

The rotten personality that Letica had was only in front of me. With my disappearance her true self that had been hidden in front of others would never be able to resurface.

“For the time being, do you want to update my adventurer card?”

“… Well, if Haru says so, let’s do it.”

It’s helpful that Alice did not try to pursue it too deeply.

I thanked Alice in my heart.

――――――――――

After that, I updated my adventurer card …

It turned out to be ridiculous.

“…”

“…”

“…”

Me, Alice, and the receptionist.

Seeing the updated adventurer card, all three are stunned.

My official level is … 82.

And the formal profession is … a sage.

It is a magical expert who can attack, recover, and even assist at the same time.

I’ve been told and cussed by Leticia almost every day, so I came to believe it. I thought that I was a level 7 dropout wizard …

Does that mean the truth is different?

“Level 82 … What do you mean? Traitor has this kind of power … I mean, the hero is definitely level 55, so he’s higher than the hero …?”

“A Sage is not a rare profession that only a few people can be … but … oh yeah. I’m convinced. Figures that you can use recovery magic and you can cast ridiculous fire.”

The receptionist and Alice were surprised, but I think the one who was most surprised was probably me.

At the same time, I was confused.

From the very beginning, I didn’t know anything …

But, Leticia was different.

You knew that my level was really high and that my profession was a Sage.

But why did you lie and do that …?

“… Were you fearful of me, who is higher than you? So, is that why you repeated that kind of behavior?”

If that was the case, then that must mean that I was hoping for a false dream that could never be achieved. It means that there was no relationship of trust from the beginning.

I thought Letica was amicable before and had changed over time. But it seems she was rotten to the core from the very beginning.

It was my selfish belief that we could go back to the time that we were friends that had led to my current state.

Our relationship worked out well at first. But…

Maybe, from the time we went on an adventure together …

No, before that.

Since I used to play with her in the village as a childhood friend, maybe ever since then Leticia hated me and felt lonely …

“Haru?”

I noticed that Alice’s face was close in front of me.

“Are you okay? Your complexion looks really pale.”

“that is……”

“Let’s go to the inn for the time being. Isn’t it okay?”

“……Ah”

I can’t do anything now … it was tue that I felt no strength in my legs.

As I was told, I moved to the inn with Alice.

We took a room and we were completely alone.

“…”

“…”

The silence was painful.

Even if I disregard everything else, at the moment we were indeed a party. It would be unsightly of me if I didn’t trust my partner and hid things from her.

Do I have to explain it to Alice?

“Actually, I …”

“Don’t say anything.”

“a……”

I was hugged by Alice.

My head sunk into her chest, but it didn’t make me feel uncomfortable …

Rather, I was able to calm down and feel at ease.

“You don’t have to say anything to me now.”

“… So is Alice good with it?”

“To tell the truth, I’m really worried. Haru’s non-standard power and the hero … I want to ask this and that.”

“If …”

“But I’ll stop now.”

“why?”

“You can’t ask anything unreasonable from someone who is about to cry.”

“Am I about to cry?”

“It looks so.”

“I see … is that so …”

I’ve completely given up.

I was banished from the party.

But…

Still, Leticia is a childhood friend.

We’ve been together for a long time. Part of me probably wishes that all of this was a lie. Maybe somewhere in my heart I had hoped that she might realize her mistake once I left her behind. Bit I see now… all of that was but a foolish hope.

Even if she hadn’t.. At least I had considered her a close friend.

Losing something is really painful, it’s painful … in the end, it hurts my heart.

“What if I cry?”

“I don’t know … you can cry when it’s hard. It doesn’t matter if you’re a man or something like that … you can leave it to your heart. So … cry.”

Throughout the years that I was abused I had never cried. But in her warm embrace, I couldn’t help but cry for a brief moment.