Volume 3 Side Story
Insect’s Temptation
Translator : PolterGlast
I had never felt so
sure that I was in love with someone as I had felt at that moment.
I remembered being at
a loss for words when she smiled at me.
"Hello. I am Lisa
Hounds, nice to meet you!"
The red-haired girl,
born to an adventurer father and mother, came to Oire village, her mother's
hometown, after her father passed away.
Oire Village. A small
village in one of the small nations that make up the Confederation of Small
Nations.
"I heard that
Lisa's mother is an adventurer. Ken, why don't we go talk to her?"
Without fully
listening to my friend, who was looking a little excited next to me, I simply
nodded my head half-heartedly, while fawning over the sun-like smile on Lisa's
face.
It was the so-called
love at first sight .......
The days I spent with
her were peaceful, yet it turned the grayness of my daily life into a vivid
colorful experience.
Being the same age, we
naturally started hanging out together.
Lisa had traveled to
many places with her parents, who were adventurers, and she quickly became
accustomed to the village and, before I knew it, she became very popular.
However, I could never
express my feelings to her. Partly because I was too shy, and had never
expressed my feelings to anyone before.
But the biggest reason
was the best friend beside me. Nozomu Bountis.
He was also attracted
to Lisa. But I didn't mind.
The three of us were
always together. Lisa, Nozomu, and I were always equal to each other.
But that started to
fall apart little by little.
What was the first
trigger?
Maybe it was that
incident about a year after Lisa's arrival.
"Get the hell out
of our playground, stranger!"
"What are you
saying? You said the first one to arrive gets to play for the day, so at least
keep your word!"
Mujiru, the brat
general of Oire village, lashed at Lisa, and she retorted not to be outdone.
And behind him stood several of his cronies.
A lone pine tree stood
on top of the hill that surrounded the village. It had been a playground for
the children, and we would compete over it.
After finishing our
work at home, we arrived first, as usual. We were supposed to be able to play
there until sunset.
"Shut up, my
father is the village chief!"
But on that particular
day, Mujiru was very demanding. Perhaps he was being scolded or something while
helping out at home.
Mujiru was the son of
the village chief and was so big that none of the children his age could
disobey him, but things changed when Lisa came to this village.
She had a fearless
personality and, perhaps having been trained by her adventurer parents, she was
as strong as a boy. She even overpowered Mujiru and became the leader of the
children.
Naturally, Mujiru was
not happy about this.
On this particular
day, his frustration grew worse when he was scolded by Lisa, and he ignored the
rules he had set himself and ordered us to leave.
"What do you mean
by bringing that up!? What does your father have to do with it!? Besides, don't
you think it's pathetic that you can't even follow your own rules!"
"Shut the fuck
up, you parentless bitch!"
"~!?"
Parentless. Hearing
these words, Lisa's eyes widened for a moment and she froze as if her chest had
been pierced by an icicle. Her eyes trembled and her lips twitched in a
straight line.
Then Mujiru shoved
Lisa's motionless shoulder roughly.
"Ouch~......!"
Lisa let out a small
shriek as she fell to the ground on her butt. Tears welled up in her wavering
eyes.
"Uuu......"
Normally, she would
retort, "What did you say!?" but she was unable to move, perhaps
remembering her late father.
Perhaps convinced of
their advantage by her behavior, not only Mujiru but also the other cronies
began to verbally abuse Lisa.
While I was at a loss
for words because of her fragile appearance, which was hard to imagine from her
usual strong personality.......
"You son of a
bitch!"
Nozomu's face turned
red with anger and he pounced on Mujiru. He used his momentum to push Mujiru,
who was bigger than he was, down.
"A......"
"Apologize to
her!"
Light returned to Lisa's
frightened eyes. Seeing this, I immediately pounced on Mujiru as well.
The two of us beat the
crap out of Mujiru's face, but since they outnumbered us, they quickly pulled
us off of him.
"H-How dare you
two do this to me!"
Mujiru's face was
swollen and his eyes were full of tears as he gasped for air.
"Bring it
on...... you orc-nose!"
"Bubu!"
At that moment, the
recovered Lisa delivered an all-out dropkick.
The brat general was
hit in the face with a powerful kick, and fell to the ground with a bleeding
nose.
As it was, the brat
general was knocked out. His cronies spat out a few words of warning and ran
away, carrying Mujir on their backs.
But we were no longer
in the mood to play.
All three of us said
nothing and just kept staring up at the sky with our backs against the lone
pine tree.
When the sun was over
the hills, Lisa finally spoke up.
"I guess I really
am an outsider after all."
"Eh?"
Her soliloquy began.
She talked about the times her mother and father, who were adventurers, took
her to various places.
"I really enjoyed
my travels. The city of the water lakes in Aburyues, the freedom cities of
Rivetas and Araena."
The village spread out
beneath the hills, but much further away. Her story went on, reminiscing about
the time she was traveling.
"When I was
traveling, everything seemed new and sparkling. Sure, there were days when it
was cold and I couldn't sleep or eat a full meal, but my father and mother were
always smiling."
For her, at least, every
day was a day that she could truly call happiness. Until her father passed
away......
Although Oire Village
is a remote village, fortunately, it has never been subjected to any major
calamities since we were born. There was no famine, no ferocious magical beasts
in the vicinity, no war, only peace.
"Certainly, I am
now not in any danger. I can always sleep in a warm bed and never freeze. But
......"
"Do you want to
be like your father, Lisa?"
Lisas nodded her head
in response Nozomu's question.
That immense warmth
when she could not sleep because she was afraid of the darkness of the night or
the howling of the demonic beasts.
The heat of that
warmth smoldered deep in her heart, along with the many places her father had
shown her during their travels.
"Don't worry,
Lisa. Once Lisa grows up, it won't be a problem. You can go on a journey, and
I'm sure your mother won't be opposed to you becoming an adventurer like your
father."
"That's right.
Since your mother was an adventurer, too, I'm sure she would have no objection
to you becoming an adventurer."
Such irresponsible
words from children. But our words made her smile.
"Un, I've made up
my mind. I'm going to be an adventurer!"
Lisa declared her
dream very clearly, as if to say it to herself.
That was the moment
she decided to become an adventurer.
"My father told
me. He said that some of the greatest people on the continent gathered and
built a special town. There they have the biggest school on the continent,
where people can learn everything there is to know about the world!"
From this moment on,
she decided to go to the Solminati Academy.
And after that, we
decided to go straight back to the village.
"Umm...... Thank
you, both of you."
"N-no...... don't
mention it."
"U-Un......"
The words of gratitude
Lisa gave me on the way home made my heart beat faster.
But at the same time,
I noticed it. When she looked at Nozomu, there was a warmth in her eyes that I
had never seen before.
And as I watched her
walk away with her sister, Nozomu and I made a promise.
We promised to support
Lisa's dream which was to eventually leave this small village for the vast,
dazzling world.
We decided to go to
the Solminati Academy, and while going about our daily lives as before, we
continued to train and study in our own inadequate ways.
As the years passed,
we grew taller and gradually became more mature.
And so did the
relationship between the three of us.
Even though it may not
look the same from the outside, it certainly has changed.
Lisa's eyes became
even brighter as she gazed at Nozomu, and her tone of voice became noticeably
more cheerful when she spoke to him.
Every time I saw her
like that, I felt a suffocation like a choking sensation in my chest.
But that was okay.
Because Nozomu is a
sincere and good guy. I was a little pained, but at the time, I was genuinely
hoping that the two of them would work things out.
[You, can you see me?
It's the first time I've seen a human being like you!]
"What are
you......?"
Then, under that lone
pine tree, I met a girl with light blue wings.
Her small body and
shining wings reminded me of fairies in fairy tales. Lights, fluttering around
as if dancing, give off an air of holiness. Her appearance made it clear at
first glance that she was something special.
[I am Mefi. I am a
water spirit. Hmm~~, you seem to be special.]
"Spe-cial?"
And then I found out.
That I was a special human being.
A feeling of elation,
almost like trepidation, ran up and down my spine.
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