“Then, let’s have a toast to the inauguration of Waffer as a Hero!”
“”Cheers!””
We clinked wooden mugs together in the corner of the biggest bar in the town of Pounir. We had taken the liberty of renting a private room, so we didn’t have to worry about the eyes of other people here.
After that, when I joined Tia and the others and returned to the arena, the match was already over. So, I couldn’t see the fight between Waffer and Doben in person….
“Oh, here, here. I dodged this with a paper thin margin and stepped in, which affected the subsequent attack and defense.”
“Yeah. If he had stepped back as quickly as he could at this point, I would have hated it very much!”
“Really!? Damn, but that wouldn’t have led to the next attack, would it?”
“That’s――”
A magical tool that recorded images. I had secretly set it up in advance to make sure I didn’t miss it, and we would be able to look back on the fight. Waffer and Doben and I were excitedly discussing the game from our seats, while Tia and Mimir were beside me, drinking their drinks with a delicate look on their faces.
“Mou~ I don’t understand … what’s so great about it, but …”
“As expected it’s difficult for Mimir-chan to understand. It’s not so bad looking at it, but I’m sure I would be beaten in the blink of an eye If I actually had to face him, you know?”
“Really!? Tia-san, you are so strong. … Hah, I knew my Onii-chan was amazing.”
I glanced toward Tia and Mimir and overheard them talking about it.
By the way, “getting defeated in the blink of an eye” didn’t mean Tia was weak, but that she didn’t stand a chance in a match that was focused on close range with no prior use of support magic.
“But it’s still amazing. Hey, Ed, where the hell did you get this?”
“What? No, I just bought this from a random peddler, so I don’t know the details….”
Suddenly asked by Doben, I replied with a subtle expression on my face. This thing I was using this time was bought during my trip with Alexis and the others, so I was not sure if there were similar magical tools in this world. I had never heard of it, at least not in my first round, so it probably didn’t exist.
“Not from the country of hairless? I’ve never been to one, but I’ve heard that in hairless countries there are lots of useful tools like this!” Waffer said.
“Really? Che, I’d like to go there at least once if they didn’t give me that condescending look,” Doben replied.
“Hahaha ….these advanced magical tools are often made by individuals, so I just happened to get lucky,” I said.
“Hmmm, I want to be lucky too!” Waffer said.
“Oh! It’s good to be lucky, isn’t it? After all, when you’re lucky, everything works out, right?” Doben replied.
“That’s so awesome!”
“”Hahahahahahahahaha!””
“Mou~ you’re way too drunk, Onii-chan! Waffer-san, you too! I can’t help it.”
Waffer and Doben, who had gotten friendly and drunk, looked at each other and laughed as I made a fool of myself. There was not the slightest hint of animosity between the two, and Mimir didn’t look gloomy as she looked at them. I guess Tia did a good job on that side. Yoshi yoshi. At this rate, we would be able to overcome the last hurdle.
And so, after a pleasant victory celebration, we returned to our respective lodgings, to our respective rooms. But tonight, Tia sneaked into my room again.
“What? Call――”
“Yes, yes. Come in.”
“What a bummer.”
Smiling at Tia, who lightly brushed me off with an apologetic look, I made my usual cup of tea and put it on the table.
“But still, that was a really great match between the two of them.”
“Yeah. I didn’t expect Doben to be that strong.”
“Hey, Ed, what would you have done if Doben had won?”
“Hmm? In that case, We would have had to accompany Doben. He would surely accept the two of us if we honestly told him ‘We have a reason why we have to accompany the Hero.’ “
“In other words, you were fine with either of them winning? That’s very smart of you.”
“It’s natural, don’t you agree? I’m not stupid enough to take a gamble without insurance.”
It was true that I was rooting for Waffer and believed in him, but that didn’t mean I was just a fool not to be prepared for any unexpected outcome. That was the case if it were just me; but now that Tia was with me, it was even more logical to work it out so that I could win no matter which side I bet on.
“So, I think we got this one figured out, but what about that other dude?”
“It’s fine. I just knocked him out like Ed told me to, so I don’t think he’s in any trouble.”
“That’s fine then. I don’t think they’re going to try to make a fuss about reputation, because it’s public backstage, and if that’s the case, this will solve the problem.”
“So, was there someone important working behind the scenes?”
“Ah. The minister Brute, who recommended Waffer as a hero candidate, was the mastermind behind it. I didn’t think I’d get to meet him, though.”
There was no reason for Brute himself to be the one to negotiate with Doben in that situation. In fact, considering the possibility of being attacked by an angry Doben, it was only natural to send an appropriate messenger.
And yet, Brute was there. Perhaps it was his own sincere intention as a “person who is loyal to the nation even if it means getting his own hands dirty.” Well, I didn’t feel sorry for him, and I didn’t think he would want me to feel sorry for him, because it was just a matter of self-satisfaction.
“Anyway, I don’t think they’re going to do anything more since Waffer has become a Hero. So, the last remaining obstacle is …”
“The Kuronuri attack on the village where Doben was born.”
I nodded with a mysterious look on my face at Tia’s words as she put down her teacup.
“It would be best if we could prevent the attack itself, but that’s not going to happen. As I said before, I don’t remember the exact date and time, and there’s no reason to let Waffer stay in the village with us. But we can’t stay separate from Waffer, either.”
Waffer, now that he had become a Hero, must now go around the country and solve various problems. Under such circumstances, we couldn’t let him stay in a small village in the countryside for a long period of time without a reason, and if I and Tia went off on our own, we didn’t know what kind of decision God would make.
If it was nothing, or just that the count didn’t go forward for the amount of time we were away, it wouldn’t matter, but we did not want to reset the count or, conversely, be deemed “expelled” and deported just for being away. Even though I’d like to leave eventually, I won’t be able to sleep peacefully if I was sent back when I knew the enemy was coming in this world.
“Can’t we take out the Kuronuri beforehand, or fortify the village?”
“That’s just absurd. We still don’t know the laws that govern the outbreak of Kuronuri, so it’s impossible to defeat them in advance, and the village is protected….. What would Tia do if a stranger came out of the blue and said, ‘Let’s fortify the village’?”
“What would I do? Well… I would kick them out.”
“Right? That’s the answer.”
If someone who was only an acquaintance of Doben’s created something that was not needed currently in the village, at best they would be kicked out by the entire village, at worst they would be caught and put in jail, and in some cases, they might even be killed.
On the other hand, there was no way I could build a wall or a turret secretly, nor could I operate it alone, so I could not think of a way to make the “village being attacked” itself not happen.
“I’ve already prepared for an attack, so even if they are attacked, it shouldn’t be serious. So, in reality, it is just a matter of adjusting where Waffer is going and being as close as possible to the village around the time of the attack.”
The world was full of irrationality, and there were some things we could not change, even if we knew the future. But even if we couldn’t change the beginning, we had proven that we could change the end.
“We have a little more than two months before it happens. If we and Waffer train hard in the meantime, the Kuronuri raid won’t be a big deal.”
“I agree. The moment they attack, let’s get together and fight them back!”
Tia also clenched her fists in front of her chest and fired up.
If all went well, we would only have a few more days left to stay in this world. We would make it all the way to the end.