Chapter 44: – Those Who Join and Those Who Leave. They May Have Left Their Hearts, but They Have Not Left Their Feelings.
After fending off the Kuronuri attack, we set about restoring the village quickly. Fortunately, there was no major damage to the buildings, but the wooden fence surrounding the village was so battered and damaged that it could no longer be managed with minor repairs and had to be almost entirely rebuilt.
While standing guard around the perimeter, the trees that fell in this battle were carried, processed, and combined to make a fine wooden fence. It was at times like these that I was tempted to use [Copy and Fake] but it was frustrating that I couldn’t use that for the fence because the durability would be reduced by a lot.
Nevertheless, on the second day, a messenger from this village brought a group of warriors to support us, and with the greatly increased manpower, we were able to set up more robust defenses than before in just one week. .. And today, we were finally leaving.
“I’m very grateful for all your help” Doben said.
“Don’t worry about it. I’m a Hero!”
“Ed-san, Tia-san. Thank you very much,” Mimir said.
“Hahaha. It’s fine. How many times will you thank us?”
“That’s right. If you keep thanking us so much, we’ll be even more embarrassed.”
We smiled and replied to Doben and Mimir, who were seeing us off on the behalf of all the villagers. When one was a member of the Hero’s party, they got used to being thanked on a daily basis, but still, this kind of heartfelt gratitude made me feel embarrassed.
“Hmm. However…. Yeah! If you’re that grateful, would you mind doing one thing for me as thank you?”
“Hmm? What is it, Ed? What do you want? I’ll do whatever that’s possible for me…”
“Promise?”
I grinned at Doben’s words and turned my attention to Waffer. Then, Waffer stepped forward and extended his hand straight toward Doben.
“Doben, I need you to come with me!”
“… … EH?”
“What’s with the dumb look? You said you’d do anything, right?”
“N-No!? I told you but… I have to carry this village… Owww!?”
Mimir kicked the confused Doben’s buttocks as hard as she could… somehow, I felt my buttocks tightening up too, but it was probably just my imagination, so I didn’t care. I should not care about it.
“Mou~! What are you talking about, Onii-chan! It’s just a coincidence that you were here this time, and you’re usually outside the village, so it’s the same thing, isn’t it!? Or are you just going to sit in this village for the rest of your life until Waffer-san defeats the Demon Lord!”
“I don’t mean to, However… but, because, I …”
Doben, stammering, looked at Waffer, his tail hanging limply.
“I’m… the guy who was defeated by Waffer, right….?”
“That’s not true! It’s true that I won that match and became a hero, but that was only for that time! Or is Doben a gutless crybaby for whom losing one time meant he lost for the rest of his life?”
“No, of course not! Next time we fight, I’m sure I’ll win!”
“Then, victory or defeat is just merely a process! The next match should be a cooperative competition to see who will defeat the Demon Lord!”
“Waffer… Che, I can’t help it if you go that far.”
With a bitter smile, Doben didn’t take Waffer’s outstretched hand, but instead … hugged his shoulder.
“The handshake will be held off until then. The last one to win gets to put his hand out…. how’s that working out for you?”
“Wafufufu. I’m not going to lose!”
A large Doben and a petite Waffer were hugging each other’s shoulders. At first glance, the scene looked threatening, but the wagging tails and shining smiles were absolutely delightful.
“I’m so happy for you, Mimir-chan.”
“Yes, Tia-san! Uwa~ my Onii-chan finally has a friend …”
“Oi, Mimir, you’re still talking like that! Even I have a friend or two….”
“Eh? Who?”
“Ehhh!? That’s, you know … those vigilante guys and …”
“I think those guys are scared of you and respect you out of fear, Onii-chan. However, aren’t they a bit different from friends?”
“Ugggghhhh … Oh, that’s right, Ed! See, even this guy’s a friend of mine! Right?”
“Me!? Well, yes, but …”
“Uuu. Good for you, Onii-chan. You now have two friends. …”
“Che!! Don’t give me that look!”
“I’m so happy for you, Ed. You’ve made a friend.” Tia said.
“Eh? Why are you dragging me into this mess? Stop, Tia! Don’t look at me like that!”
We laughed, joked around, said goodbye to each other, and then we set out on our journey. The power of Doben, the newest addition to the team, was unparalleled. After that, we overpowered the Kuronuri attacks that began to occur in various places and gathered information about the Demon Lord. … Then, finally, the time came.
“From this point forward, only Chemonians are allowed to enter this sacred place.” Waffer said.
“I see. Then that’s it for me and Tia.”
At first glance, it appeared to be just an entrance to a cave. But beyond that, there was a mysterious space where something was said to exist that was necessary to enhance the power of the Hero and defeat the Demon Lord. But I didn’t know what was beyond that. It was the same in the first round, and now it was the second round, and again, this was our final stop.
“Che! Oi, Waffer, can’t you do something about it!? There’s no way after coming this far we can discard these guys!” Doben asked.
“I know what you mean, and I feel the same way. But since we don’t know how long this ordeal will take, we can’t ask Ed and his companion to wait forever.” Waffer said.
“Then why don’t we party again when the ordeal is over?! How about it, Ed? I’ll send a message to the hunting shack when we’re done, and then we can――” Doben said.
Doben was trying his best to get us to stay, but I quietly shook my head.
“Sorry, Doben. It was fine with you and Waffer, but we humans can’t stay in this country for long by ourselves. We are unwanted guests after all.”
“Considering you two’s strength, you wouldn’t have to deal with all that! Waffer, with your title of the Hero… or no, go to my village! Mimir is there, she’ll welcome you with open arms!”
“No. If we settle down in the wrong place, we may be framed for massacring the villagers, and it may be used as an excuse for war. We can’t involve your sister in that.”
“No way!? That’s ….”
“Of course, I don’t think all Chemonians hate people that much, or that they are all bad people. But it’s also true that there are some … extremists, and there are limits to what individuals can do to deal with them. Well, we’ll just sneak back to the human kingdom and look forward to the good news of your defeat of the Demon Lord.”
“………………… Damn it!”
I wryly shrugged my shoulders, and Doben kicked the ground as hard as he could.
“… I have to admit, before I met you guys, I too had a little discrimination against hairless in my heart. So, I can’t deny what you’re saying. … Damn, damn it! What the hell is this? I’m just a little guy who can’t even guarantee a safe place for his friends!!”
“It’s not Doben’s fault. It’s just that a mere traveler can’t do anything about the inter-species problems that have built up over the years. But yes….”
I cut him off and looked up at the sky. The sky seen through the trees was clear and blue, and the color must have looked the same to both humans and Chemonians.
“If you guys defeat the Demon Lord and become famous, just remember once in a while that there are others like us. Maybe then the barrier between humans and Chemonians will break a little.”
“I understand. In the name of Waffer the Hero of Chemonian, I swear to you that I will never forget Ed and Tia.”
“Me neither! I ain’t got no title to swear by, but I wouldn’t forget the face of a friend!”
“That’s good enough. Then …”
“Waffer!”
And there, Tia, who had been staying quiet all this time, suddenly jumped on the Waffer.
“It was a pleasure traveling with you. … Take care.”
“Thank you, Tia. Now, you can stroke me around a little bit, okay?”
“Fufu…”
Waffer jokingly said, Tia chuckled and squeezed his arms. And like that, they hugged for about 10 seconds, and then Doben was next.
“And Doben. Be good to your sister.”
“Ehh, I don’t need you to tell me that. But… thanks.”
“Yeah. …”
“That’s why, Waffer, we would like a clean farewell.”
I told Waffer, making sure that Tia, who had left Doben, was back beside me. Then, Waffer’s tail wagged once and his round eyes looked straight at me.
“Ed and Tia, you’re both removed from the party. Thank you for your help.”
“Thank you. Good luck, you two.”
I gripped the offered hand and shook it firmly, and Waffer and Doben disappeared into the cave without looking back. We looked away, looked at each other and nodded, and Tia and I also firmly held hands… and soon our existence was completely banished from this world.