Chapter 93: But There is Still Hope (2) |
Berserk, or rather, the Fighter class representative, was the most boorish and simple character in the original Legend of Heroes.
While other classes used themes of growth, tragedy, or expanding one's worldly knowledge in their stories, this person seemed to live strictly by the motto YOLO. She only did whatever she felt like doing.
That was it. A lot of problems cropped up when one lived too much of an unrestrained life, though.
Just by looking at her name, Berserk, you could tell this character was seriously aggressive. I mean, the words she shouted at the start of her personal story were literally, ‘I want to fight all the strong people in this world!’
Put nicely, she was very bright and cheerful, but in reality, she was just a fighting addict.
“Fights! Flowing sweat and pumping blood! How fun is that!”
I strained my neck and ground my teeth. In reality, I felt more annoyed than irritated, but right about now would be when my character would gradually start to become angry.
“Or are you actually scared?”
And as someone who lived on only his pride and nothing else, I couldn’t possibly ignore that provocation. I finally spoke up.
“Then why aren’t you standing up?”
“Because I have no intention of stooping to your level, barbarian.”
While I did think it would have been more appropriate to attack her outright at this point, verbally attacking her didn’t go against my character setting, either.
Hmm, it had been about 15 days since I put that seal on my arm, so it would be a bit strange if I still couldn’t control my anger and just started fighting with a normal person—in the sense that she had nothing to do with Demons—all of a sudden.
Moreover, with the Berserk… Whether or not I won, it would only be my loss.
If I won, she would just beg me to keep fighting until she won, and if I lost, I wouldn’t be able to tolerate that according to my setting, as defeat wasn’t in the Demon Knight’s dictionary.
“So you were a coward.”
However, that ‘You scared?’ she let out afterward really was taking it too far. My character settings aside, as a Korean, I couldn’t let this one slip.
“Hold it in.”
Was it because the sound of my teeth grinding grew more intense? The Archmage hurriedly grabbed my left arm. His expression seemed somewhat stiff, perhaps startled by what had just happened.
The Inquisitor sitting to my right at the round table had also stretched out her arm, copying the Archmage’s actions.
Since I’d made it clear I didn’t like people touching my right arm, she refrained from touching it, but it was clear she also wanted to stop me.
“Demon Knight.”
That gave me enough justification. I relaxed my body, leaving the Berserk disappointed. It clearly showed on her face.
With that, the tension of those around me was relieved, and Berserk just looked even more dejected.
“I thought I finally found someone strong after such a long time, but this is how it ended up.”
Berserk sighed deeply and sat down at an empty table.
“Owner! Give me the thing you told me about earlier!”
“Yes!”
The following order soothed the owner, who’d been worried a fight might break out inside his store.
“Man, looks like the storm has passed.”
It was only then that Deb broke the silence.
“The atmosphere felt so bloody that I thought I’d die, you know?”
I felt a little sorry when imagining him holding his breath while I was locked in a battle of nerves with Berserk.
“What a rude person. She didn’t even try to ask politely and instead forced their opinion on you. That’s just not right.”
On the other hand, the Inquisitor spoke up without any hesitation. Even if a fight had broken out because of this, nothing would’ve happened to her, given her defense was quite high.
Deb glanced at the Inquisitor, a slight nervousness filling his eyes.
“There are some people like that in this world. Still, I’m glad she just stepped down. Some such people don’t take no for an answer and just start fighting.”
“Preposterous! One-sidedly starting a fight isn’t something I can turn a blind eye to.”
A one-sided fight. I stirred slightly as I remembered when I first met the Inquisitor.
“Anyway, that’s not important right now. You held up well. So please… continue to do so.”
“If we stay here any longer, they might try to provoke you again, so let’s just go, okay? We all finished our meal anyway.”
In any case, just like Deb, I also wanted to get out of here as quickly as possible.
Going by what I knew about the character, Berserk wouldn’t say anything more to us at this point, but one never knew.
If we left now, there was no way the Berserk would join our party, right?
“That sounds good.”
“I just finished eating, as well. Let’s go.”
Fortunately, the Archmage and Inquisitor weren’t opposed to his opinion. We quickly left the restaurant and town.
“I hope we’ll never meet that person again.”
…However, right before that, Deb had to plant a flag. Well, I just hoped nothing would happen.
* * *
“This is Pa Enoch…”
We rode our horses for a few more days until we had to swap them out for camels. We then finally reached Pa Enoch, the city where Ainoxar was.
“Their inspections sure were strict. Probably because this is the front line.”
Deb’s grumblings weren’t without reason.
Unlike other cities, which we could enter in under a minute, Pa Enoch had us wait ten minutes under that scorching sun.
However, we still had it better than the general public—they had to wait for about three hours on average—but… as someone who had always enjoyed free passes, it was only natural for this to seem ‘strict’ to him in comparison.
“It would be quite dangerous if Demon followers were to enter the city, after all.”
“They’d still be able to enter even if they did this, though.”
“Well, it’s better than nothing.”
Right.
I agreed with the Archmage as I looked around Pa Enoch.
As one might expect from a desert city, houses made of earth were clustered close together, and the roads were narrower than those typically seen in other cities. It didn’t seem to be due to a lack of space but rather an intentional choice so they could drape clothes over them to provide shade.
“Wow, finally, some shade!”
Deb seemed to be most excited about that.
The Inquisitor was fine, thanks to her armor. The Archmage had clothes with temperature-controlling enchantments on them. And I, strangely, couldn't really feel the heat.
For that reason, he was the only one who had to suffer in the desert.
“It's a little better here.”
It seemed the temperature here was similar to Jacrati and Montata Island. Did it feel worse here because there was no shade and less wind?
“How weak.”
“You're only barely hanging on because of that armor of yours, so what are you calling me?”
“The Demon Knight is wearing four layers of clothes, though.”
“That's…!”
What?
“…Comparing me to Mister is too unfair.”
I could barely suppress laughter from leaving my mouth as I moved forward. I didn't feel hot, but I certainly wanted to take off the cloak and hood I had been wearing for various reasons.
The others quite vehemently asked me to wear it, leaving me without much choice, but this thing completely ruined my style!
“Let's first go to the Temple before going to Ainoxar or elsewhere.”
“The Temple's over there.”
We moved according to Deb's directions, ignoring the solicitors near the gate.
The Archmage was very knowledgeable, but in a place like this, no one was as reliable as Deb.
“I can't believe the Temple is so deep inside the city. This place looks even bigger than Somon.”
“This city is the central hub of the Southern Front, so it's not surprising that it's this big.”
“…Oh, it didn’t grow to this size because of the arena?”
“Correct. The arena is merely a byproduct of this city’s central role.”
The Inquisitor blinked at the Archmage’s explanation. She seemed to understand what he said but not what he meant.
Even I, who knew little more about this than the Inquisitor, was quite curious about this matter.
The Archmage said that because this place was unexpectedly peaceful, the arena was made to allow people to relax and let loose… I wondered just how much energy these people had for them to set up something like that.
“You don’t even know that? This arena is kind of like bait, so to speak.”
Deb butted in. It was a vague hint.
“Bait to keep the strong in the Southern Front.”
“…I’m not sure what you mean.”
“Ah, I mean…”
While Deb was teasing the Inquisitor, the Archmage sneakily approached me.
“Are you feeling okay?”
What he said next was something I’d heard him say at least once a day ever since we began nearing Enoch. And for the past two days, I’d heard this same question during breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
“I should have answered that question this morning already.”
Ah, considering the situation, I toned down my character’s temper to some degree.
I had to answer that question so frequently that I couldn’t stand acting the same all the time anymore. I mean, you could say it had already become a habit for me to report on the seal’s state every morning and evening during its development, so this should be fine, right?
With that in mind, I answered the Archmage’s question, after which he stepped back. He would surely ask me again in the evening.
I knew he was worried, but my mind was slowly getting tired of all that.
* * *
* * *
Bang!
That aside, was there some kind of rule in this city allowing others to fight right in the middle of the main street? Unless the city administration has become completely crazy, that probably wasn’t the case.
I reflexively raised my hand to stop the Archmage and Deb from advancing. The next to act was the Inquisitor.
Thud!
As soon as the Inquisitor went forward and raised her shield, stone dust rained down on the area.
“Wh-What happened?!”
It was good that I’d stood further back than the Inquisitor. That way, I could judge the situation more accurately.
They were at most five meters away. The Middle swordsman who’d cut through the cloth ceiling was lying spread out on the floor.
And the person who made the guy that way was…
“You got KO’d already?!”
It seemed to be a dark-skinned Middle man who had jumped from one of the building’s rooftops down onto the main street.
I initially thought it was the Berserk, so I was pretty surprised.
“Fighting like that in the middle of the main street!”
On the other hand, the Inquisitor was focusing on something else entirely. Being the principled person she was, she immediately pointed out the violations of laws and rules these people had committed.
One couldn't say that her reaction was overblown, considering the number of victims getting caught up in this fight was gradually increasing right at this moment. Since innocent people got hurt, this had turned into a criminal act she would never tolerate.
“Geez. I knew Pa Enoch's public security wasn't that good, but they sure went all out. Actually, it's not common for fights like this to happen in the open right in the middle of the main street.
“Are the guards not coming?”
The Archmage was looking around for security personnel, seemingly not wanting to intervene.
“I heard the guards are just really busy because there have been a lot of accidents happening here lately, but they should be here any minute.”
It was just as Deb had said. While the situation seemed a bit chaotic with all these people around, I could see a group running here from the other side. They probably were the guards.
But the situation seemed to be almost settled… Would there be any more reason for them to interfere?
“Hey, fighting in the middle of the street is prohibited!”
Then, someone stepped into the fight. It was a man with reddish brown hair sticking out in all directions like a lion's mane.
“It's Red Mane!!”
“Kankan!!”
“Please deal with that damn bastard!!”
He seemed quite strong to me.
I mean, although you couldn't really figure out someone's true strength level, didn't extraordinary people seem special even to ordinary people? That man was just like that.
“Kankan?”
“He's a rather popular fighter in Ainoxar. He isn't as strong as the champion, but just based on popularity, he could be considered among Ainoxar’s top ten.”
“I see…”
Kankan, the Red Mane, approached the dark-skinned Middle man with disdain visible on his face. His opponent's expression was also slightly distorted.
“Hah, and why should I listen to you?”
That was quite an interesting statement, but it certainly wasn't the right choice.
“Because this will happen if you don't.”
At that moment, Kankan leaped forward and grabbed the man's face. That person didn't seem to have grasped the situation yet, even after getting his head grabbed like that.
However, life would never proceed if one considered everyone.
Bang!
Kankan slammed his opponent's head into the ground. The street gave a bit, leaving the head buried slightly within it. That seemed quite painful.
Was he dead, perhaps?
“Uuurgh.”
“You seriously bothered people.”
It seemed his life had been preserved, hearing him groan like that.
“Hurry up and take him away.”
“Ah, thank you for your help, Red Mane!”
“I just came here to buy some snacks, so what's with this chaos?”
Just as Kankan was departing, the guards appeared and ultimately settled the situation.
The way they located the victims, took witness testimonies, arrested those who had fought, and quickly collected the tents that had collapsed during the fight made it evident they hadn't done this just once or twice before.
The street was returned to its original state in the blink of an eye.
“…He's strong.”
The Inquisitor then let out a short assessment. Since she probably wasn't talking about the guards, the one she was commenting on was Kankan…
It wasn't like she couldn’t do what he had, but more that she seemed surprised someone besides her was capable of this. After all, only she and I had been capable of such feats until now.
“I can't believe someone so skilled isn't the champion.”
I was actually pretty surprised about that, as well.
I hadn't seen anyone that strong until now, so I never thought I’d come across so many just by traveling to another region.
I felt a bit nervous, thinking that the Front Lines sure lived up to their name. I also wondered if things would start to get harder for me.
“Seeing how strong even those who aren't champions are, I’m rather looking forward to seeing the actual champion.”
Still, it surely wouldn't get to the point where things would become painful for me, right? I’d diligently raised my level, after all. Hmm.
“Are you fighters trying to challenge Ainoxar?”
In that instant, someone quietly spoke up to us. It was the red-maned Kankan who’d subdued that rampaging brat over there before seemingly going on his way.
The earring dangling from one of his ears sparkled particularly brightly through his hair.
“I haven't seen your faces around before. I'm guessing this is your first time here?”
He looked somewhat fatigued—like an office worker who’d come out to buy some snacks on his long-awaited day off—and lightly scanned over us.
He first looked at the Inquisitor, who stood at the front, then the tall Archmage, who stood out quite a bit due to his height, followed by Deb, who seemed to melt away in this heat, and finally me.
However, when he met my eyes, he seemed to stiffen a little. I had no idea why… He couldn’t detect Demonic Energy, right?
“Well… Fine. Try your best. But don't overdo it. Most of you look quite young, but plenty of people here don't even care if you're little kids. I'm not looking down on you, but please be careful and think about your future.”
Seeing that the atmosphere didn't turn for the worse, it seemed I had nothing to worry about. This was my first time seeing this guy, but he seemed to have quite a good personality, considering that he was giving us some good advice.
“Lastly… Don't meet Martial King.”
He’d really seemed like a nice guy.
“What?”
“Never, if you can. Although, there's no way to meet him other than inside the arena, anyway.”
“What do you…”
“I’m leaving now.”
But did he really bother talking to us just to give that one vague piece of advice? If he was going to give us some advice, he should at least explain it so we could understand.
“Wait, at least tell us what you meant by that…”
“I hope you'll do well.”
The Archmage tried to hold on to Kankan, but he avoided the grasp like a cat that hated to be touched.
Thus, this meeting, which couldn't be called harmful but was instead rather helpful, abruptly ended.