Chapter 43 – After the Subjugation (4)

Right now…

There’s so much I want to ask…

But with that look on her face, staring at me like that…

My head’s a mess…

Ugh… well, first…

“But… where’d all the money come from to rebuild the town…?”

Didn’t you say you were scraping the bottom of your savings when you asked me to take the job…?

“Noah, what do people call me in this world?”

“Uh, Priestess?”

“Exactly. So I used a bit of my priestess authority. Huhu…”

Rubia’s face was full of mischief.

“When did you…?! You’ve been with me all day…”

“Remember when I spoke with Miss Jure alone? That’s when it was all decided. Well, it was easy since Miss Jure is quite capable.”

“You’re too kind.”

Rubia and Jure exchanged a knowing smile.

What’s with them… They both look like villains.

“But even so… that’s way too fast. Miss Jure was still here the whole time, wasn’t she…?”

I mean, even if you move quickly, there’s no way things could progress this fast. Isn’t the Central Guild in the capital?

You mean to say you managed to do all that back and forth in just one day…?

“Oh, Miss… I mean, Noah, since it’s you, I can trust you with this secret… I handled it using my unique ability,” Jure explained, tapping her temple.

“My unique ability allows me to communicate with others over long distances, so it wasn’t too difficult.”

Telepathy…!

But wait.

Didn’t the game have an NPC with that power?

Telepathy and… um, something else.

In the final battle, wasn’t there a commander character…? Was that Jure?

“C-Can you speak to multiple people at once?”

“Hmm? Yes, I can. But for now, about 20 is my limit.”

“For now…”?

So she’s still growing stronger?

Then that commander in the game… it must have been Jure!

Jure… wow, she’s a big deal.

“Amazing…”

“It’s really not that impressive. Haha… Ahem! Anyway, I have some work left, so I’ll take my leave. The reconstruction should be done in about a month.”

“Oh, yes. Please take care of it, Miss Jure. I hope we can meet again soon.”

“It would be an honor. Please take care.”

With that professional smile back on her face, Jure bowed politely before disappearing among the adventurers.

Once Jure had completely vanished, Rubia spoke carefully.

“Oh, right, Noah. I wanted to tell you… I’m thinking of donating all of Luchi’s subjugation reward to Hablon’s reconstruction… what do you think?”

I nodded vigorously.

Of course, that’s a good idea!

“Yes, of course…!”

“Phew… I figured you’d agree, but thank you for being so understanding, Noah. Really, thank you.”

Rubia gently stroked my head.

“It’s nothing… really… And I didn’t need to give permission…”

“Noah, this money belongs to you, so of course, I had to ask.”

“N-No, it doesn’t…”

It wasn’t like I earned it. It was all because of Luchi.

So obviously, the right thing to do is to use it in a way he’d approve of.

“Well… as long as it’s being used for something good…”

“Still, thank you, Noah.”

“Um… yeah. Oh, and… why didn’t you… oh, never mind.”

I wanted to ask why she hadn’t told me earlier… but there wasn’t really a reason for her to tell me.

It’s all Rubia’s money… and it was all her work, anyway…

So she didn’t have to tell me, but…

I guess, as her friend, I felt a little left out…

I let go of Rubia’s hand, feeling a bit down.

I fidgeted with the jelly Rubia had given me earlier, rolling it around in my hand.

The more I squished it, the less I wanted to eat it.

But somehow, the soft, squishy feeling calmed my nerves.

“…You’re wondering why I didn’t tell you?”

I was lost in thought, squishing the jelly, but Rubia seemed to have read my mind.

How does she always know…?

“N-No, it’s fine… You didn’t have any reason to tell me… Really, it’s okay…”

Not wanting to show my childish sulking face, I quickly turned my head away.

Rubia gently pulled me into a hug.

“I was… just a little embarrassed. If I’d used my name as the priestess earlier, I could’ve helped a lot more villages. But I didn’t… I turned a blind eye… pretended not to see…”

There was a faint trace of regret in her voice.

See…

I feel silly for acting all upset now…

“Well, you can just do it next time.”

“Huhu… Maybe. I’m not sure if I could do it again, though…”

Rubia turned her head, gazing around at Roholon.

“If Roholon had collapsed… would I have put in the effort to rebuild it?”

I don’t know what happened after I passed out.

But the villagers’ faces… the expressions I could read after gaining my senses…

They didn’t particularly like us.

And no one seemed to mourn Luchi’s death, either.

But still.

“You would’ve helped rebuild it, Rubia… because of Hephaestus.”

As long as there’s one person…

Just one person who’s helped us, Rubia would’ve done it.

Whether in the game or here.

Rubia’s always the same.

She’d complain about the world, say she hates it, and that she’s full of resentment.

But in the end, she’d always sacrifice herself with a smile to help the world.

“And even if Hephaestus wasn’t here, you would’ve helped Roholon. The Rubia I know isn’t bad. In fact, she’s too kind and… a little foolish. That’s why I’m worried.”

You always give in when I beg you for things…

You’re too kind, Rubia.

And you’re kind of a fool.

You need to learn to say no.

You can’t just do everything I ask for!

“So… I guess I’ll have to stay by your side to protect you. Can’t have you getting scammed or anything.”

Rubia’s arms squeezed me a little tighter.

“Haa… Sometimes, Noah, you sound like you’re trying to woo me. It’s really strange…”

Gasp…!

She’s joking, right…?

“N-No, no way…!”

“Huhuhu… You’re usually so clueless, but now… I just can’t keep up.”

Rubia pulled back and gently tugged at my cheeks.

“But that’s part of what makes you great.”

Rubia’s expression as she looked at me…

It was filled with happiness.

If anything…

It felt like Rubia was the one wooing me.

“Bleeehh!”

“Well, shall we head out and run our errands?”

Rubia let go of my cheeks and reached out her hand again.

Even though it was a hand I’d taken without hesitation countless times before…

For some reason, today…

I was a little more aware of it.

It’s all because of that smile from earlier…

It’s so annoying.

***

“Oh! You’re here!”

Hephaestus had finished getting everything ready and was waiting for us.

“T-The wagon…!”

“You found a nice one.”

Behind her was a neat wagon, not too flashy but not too simple, with two horses.

One was the annoying horse we’d ridden before.

The other was a bit smaller and looked much more well-behaved.

Our luggage and Hephaestus’ bags were neatly piled beside the wagon.

“Did you pack everything by yourself, Hephaestus?”

“Yes! I had nothing else to do while waiting!”

“Why go to all that trouble alone…”

“It was no trouble! Please, come on board, Unnies.”

With a bright smile, Hephaestus gave a bow like some kind of butler.

“Haha… You’re quite good at that.”

“I saw it in a play once and thought I’d try it out! Did it look okay?”

“Yes, it was very natural.”

Smiling softly, Rubia walked over to Hephaestus.

“And… um… there’s something I wanted to tell you, Hephaestus…”

Rubia’s gaze shifted to me.

Then, in a voice only we could hear, she whispered,

“Noah, do you want to tell her?”

“M-Me…?”

“Yes. It’s your idea, after all. Wouldn’t it be nice to show your ‘unnie’ side?”

“U-Unnie… I don’t like being called that…”

“Then think of it as showing your cool side instead. Since there are so many scary rumors about you, Hephaestus might be a little frightened. This could help calm her down.”

I looked over at Hephaestus, who was staring at us, clearly curious about what we were talking about.

Hmm…

Cool side…

The red beast that tears apart monsters…

If she’s only heard those scary rumors and seen me kill monsters…

She’s probably terrified…

“And… she could become a new friend, you know?”

“A new friend… A new friend…”

Not Hermilla or Rubia…

A new friend…!

“Ahem…! Hem! Uh… Hephaestus.”

“Yes?”

“Um… We’ll help you.”

Hephaestus tilted her head in confusion.

“Help me with what?”

“We’ll help you climb the mountain… I don’t know what it is you need, but… we’ll help you.”

“W-What?”

Hephaestus’ voice trembled.

Ugh… Now I’m getting nervous too.

“We’ll help you reach the top of Karahan Mountain—no matter what! Uhh…”

Ack! My voice cracked!

“B-But why…?”

“Ahem… Because you helped us, so… it’s only fair to repay you.”

I patted the greatsword strapped to my waist.

“I… I don’t have any money, so I’ll pay you back with my strength.”

Hephaestus’ face scrunched up.

Maybe she was smiling and crying at the same time.

Her expression was… kind of funny.

“You… You keep saying things like that… If you keep crying while laughing, you’ll grow hair on your…! Oof…!?”

“Stop with the jokes…”

Rubia jabbed me in the side and whispered.

It wasn’t a joke though…

It’s true…

“Sniff… Hic… B-But it’s dangerous… You got so hurt during… during Roholon, too…”

Hmm…

Well, I’m older than Hephaestus and…

I have to show her a cool, reliable side…

I hate this, but I guess I have no choice…

I walked over to Hephaestus, gently wiped her tears, and puffed out my chest, tapping it confidently.

“You saw how strong I am, right? So… Just trust your unnie…!”

Hephaestus, who had been staring at me blankly, suddenly let out a loud sob and hugged me tightly.

But because she’s much taller than me, she ended up lifting me off the ground.

I had to stand on my tiptoes just to barely touch the ground.

This is exhausting…

“W-Wait, Hephaestus?”

“Aaahh! Thank you… I was so scared… So, so scared that I thought I might die… I was so scared—hic… Thank you, Unnie… Thank you so much…”

Hephaestus was crying so hard, letting out huge, heaving sobs, tears and snot mixing together.

And all of it was soaking into my clothes…

I just washed these today…!

Ugh…!!

With no other choice, I reached out and gently patted Hephaestus on the back.

“Mm… Just trust your unnie. I’ll protect you. So… can you stop crying now…?”

“Waaahhh!”

Good grief…

She’s crying even harder now.

Now she’s even drooling…

I turned my head to look at Rubia, silently pleading for help.

But Rubia was just staring at me with a slightly annoyed expression.

“Waaahhh! Noah Unnie!!!”

“Uh, y-yeah… I’m Unnie…”

I think I’m going to lose my mind…