Good Friends (4)

The world’s coldness wasn’t just because we were heading towards the Empire and winter was approaching. The black roots tangled in the dry soil were shamelessly exposing themselves towards the road, causing our wagon to move erratically, but this wasn’t the only reason for our discomfort.

They say fights end quickly, but their aftermath lasts long. Although the two had awkwardly declared reconciliation in front of Mille, verbal contracts were as meaningless as promises written on tissue paper. Like elf con artists insisting they hadn’t lied, the two maintained a solid state of tension.

The fact that we were on the brink of catastrophe in a way neither the hero nor I had anticipated was still sudden and baffling to think about. Had there ever been a time when Lena’s mockery of Ashuria’s religious views was as sharp as today?

Although Ashuria had occasionally expressed negative feelings towards Lena, had she ever stood up so strongly as she did now? Fights and fractures occur more unexpectedly than one might think. When you play an excessive prank on a man who was in a bad mood that day, when someone who heard a meaningless comment spouts curses in a drunken rant.

Of course, the cold war between the two had never directly affected the mission. Even when we suddenly encountered a demon raid party and had to fight, Lena still fulfilled her role, and when Lena was injured, Ashuria treated her.

Of course, even during treatment, the two engaged in petty emotional battles like turning their faces away while extending their arms, or intentionally tightening the bandage a bit more.

“…Are they children?”

In this suffocating atmosphere where they were neither fighting viciously nor reconciling, it seemed only Mille felt that the party had returned to normal. While the hero was exasperated, covering her face, and I was letting out a hollow laugh, Mille was only saying how fortunate it was that the two weren’t fighting.

“Hero. Now that those two have made up. Why are you so gloomy?”

When Mille said that with a smiling face, it was impossible to publicly address the party atmosphere.

And so, unable to discuss the conflict without Mille, unable to resolve this awkward relationship in front of Mille, and unable to strongly demand attitude correction as it wasn’t interfering with the operation, this precarious and uncomfortable relationship continued until we reached the border.

Our discussions about this issue always followed the same circular pattern.

“Old man. How are we going to handle the operation like this?”

The hero’s question persisted even as we approached the cave that was our operation target. Lena and Ashuria hadn’t spoken to each other since leaving the capital. While the two hadn’t been very talkative to begin with, this silence was both ordinary and chilly.

I observed the two. Their avoidance of eye contact was clearly visible even from the high ground.

Ashuria was organizing her bag. As she was tying up her small bag with a string, a water bottle popped out and rolled away. It fell at Lena’s feet, who was in a relatively lower position. Lena glanced at the bottle, reached out to pick it up, and then threw it towards Ashuria.

Catching the lightly thrown bottle, Ashuria turned her head sharply as if to demonstrate that she was still angry, and shoved the bottle into her bag.

“Hmph!”

Lena looked at this behavior as if dumbfounded, then, as if competing, turned her body while making a nasal sound.

“Hmph!”

I let out a hollow laugh. Perhaps because they had fought over something trivial, even their fighting behavior was trivial. Should we be thankful that Mille had jumped in before things escalated, resulting in this awkward situation?

“…They’re not children.”

But looking at this, I thought that while the journey might be a bit uncomfortable for now, there wouldn’t be any accidents during important operations. Weren’t they both professionals when it came to work? Ashuria was a person who devoted herself wholeheartedly to defeating demons, and Lena was someone who knew she had to do her best to face the Black Society.

Petty emotional fights couldn’t wedge their way into such important matters.

I said to the hero:

“They’re people who know how to separate public and private matters, aren’t they? They won’t cause accidents during the operation due to personal conflicts. I’ve been in similar situations. There was a time when I was about to undertake an important task in the Empire, but I had an emotional fight with a colleague right before.”

The hero asked:

“Wh-what happened?”

“When the operation started. There was no time to worry about such things. Everyone’s like that. We promise to fight later, work up a good sweat, and then feel deflated wondering why we fought over such trivial matters. Then we just end up reconciling.”

“…Are you saying things will go back to normal once the operation starts?”

Our operational target was clearly visible before us.

My face kept contorting because the feeling of the soil under my feet was unfamiliar. I remembered this forest. Trees of various species were planted indiscriminately in the vast forest, so when autumn came, the entire forest looked like a child’s messy watercolor painting. Just a little further ahead, there was a valley with clear flowing water, and during the right season for holidays, colleagues would gather for a simple autumn foliage viewing.

Sitting in the shade of trees at the point where coniferous forests and maple trees met perfectly, appreciating the flowing water and sharing drinks, red and yellow maple leaves would flutter down like snow, coloring the valley.

But all of that was now something we could no longer see. The soil that once stained my combat uniform was now pitch black, and the trees that once filled the ground were now stretching out their limbs sharply like twisted statues.

The cave, which was hidden by trees and known only to those familiar with the area, was now gaping open like an infected wound spewing pus.

“…Once the operation starts, they’ll forget everything. We’re first-class, aren’t we?”

The hero still seemed unconvinced. But there was no other way.

We couldn’t turn back now, and we couldn’t dismiss Lena and Ashuria for such reasons and find new party members. There were no nuns as capable in both healing and combat as Ashuria, and it would be hard to find an assassin with as good a personality as Lena.

I said:

“Hero. You must trust your comrades.”

As I approached closer, the hero’s face reddened and her eyes darted around. It was a bit unfair to the hero, but sometimes appealing to emotions rather than logic was easier for persuasion.

“O-okay… If, if you say so, old man…”

The hero nodded and turned her body, fidgeting with her hands like a shy woman, and I suddenly realized how feminine the hero’s body was. When I thought she was a man, I hadn’t noticed, but even in armor, her body’s lines were extremely feminine.

Unaware that I was admiring her back view, the hero called the party members together.

“Everyone gather round. We’re going to have an operation meeting.”

Both Ashuria and Lena walked in side by side with expressionless faces, as if determined not to engage in a battle of nerves in front of the hero.

---

“We don’t know anything about this cave, do we?”

As soon as the operation meeting started, Lena raised her hand and spoke up. Everyone nodded at her words. Even if it was once used by the Imperial army, now that it was a secret base for assassins, the information I had was useless.

In my memory, there were no devices like trapdoors or crossbows that shot poison darts when stepped on.

The hero added to Lena’s words:

“We also don’t know much about the Demon King’s Army’s construction techniques. We can’t know how they’ve modified the cave interior.”

Ashuria nodded at the hero’s words and said:

“But we need to go in. If we keep waiting here, we’ll be caught and might even be ambushed. So, this time, it seems right for Lena to take the vanguard and for me to support from behind.”

Ashuria wasn’t surprised by Lena’s words. Lena looked indifferent and displeased, but she didn’t object to Ashuria’s suggestion.

“Right. That’s probably best. Me, Ashuria, old man, and then the hero and Mille at the very back. In case things go wrong and I get taken out, the hero needs to survive and return.”

Seeing them seriously discussing the operation as if they had never fought, the hero seemed a bit relieved. The hero made a strange expression as if about to cry, then barely managed to compose herself and smiled.

“Hahaha…”

“What’s that, hero? It hurts my feelings a bit when you laugh at the idea of me getting taken out.”

“Ah, no. I’m sorry, Lena.”

Looking at Lena’s expression, I saw she was smiling a little. Ashuria glanced at Lena, then said to me:

“Porter. You should remember that in this operation, you’re essentially playing the role of a meat shield. If Lena and I happen to fall, do your best to buy time so the hero can escape.”

“Understood.”

Lena looked at me apologetically and said:

“Sorry for the ominous talk, old man. But it’s a Black Society base, right? Even I can’t guarantee anything.”

While I thought their cool-headed attitudes were professional, the realization that we had truly arrived at a secret base of assassins made my heart sink.

The hero, too, was taking deep breaths to calm her nerves.

We might die.

But

I want to go further than this.