Volume 2
Chapter 2
I Asked the
Oldman for Help
Translator : PolterGlast
"Uh... umm, hello
there."
Even though I hadn't
intended to, I'd run into a familiar face, so I greeted him. It's important to
be polite.
The old man, on the
other hand, looked at me and let out a breath through his nose.
"Hmph, from your
looks, you didn't intend to come here. An unexpected turn of events. This is
not a place where you can enter unintentionally, you know."
He's dumbfounded. The
latter part sounded a bit self-deprecating, but there's no doubt he's
dumbfounded by me.
"..."
I responded with a wry
smile.
I felt that responding
with an apology wouldn't be right.
The old man wasn't
angry, but rather dumbfounded. That means he's not looking for an apology and
is simply surprised beyond belief at my behavior.
Apologizing to someone
who isn't looking for one would only upset them.
For a moment, I
thought we might be trespassing, but... according to the guild, no one owns
this forest. Apparently, no one has claimed or acquired ownership of this forest.
That means the old man
is probably just living here without permission. It's probably pointless to
think about whether or not it's trespassing.
As if affirming my
thoughts, the old man, who doesn't seem to want to blame me, just lets out a
sigh and closes his eyes.
Then, he opened them
immediately and began to change the subject.
"Well, never
mind. More importantly... they say that heroes are fond of women, but isn't it
too soon to move on to another woman? What happened to that blonde girl?"
"Kakyouin-san?
Hmm, I don't know either. She said
something I didn't understand and disappeared before I knew it."
I remember when I
parted ways with Kakyouin-san.
A black mud I had
never seen before, a ring that shone for the first time───unbelievable things
happened, and before I could understand them, everything was over.
I really didn't
understand.
Or rather, a hero? I'm
not one, nor do I intend to be.
"And now it's the
daughter of the Gilmburg family, huh? After that fierce girl, you've gotten
involved with another quite eccentric woman."
The moment the words
"daughter of the Gilmburg family" came out, Akana-san's shoulders
jumped for a moment.
The old man knows
about Akana-san too.
Could it be that
rumors have reached this part of the forest? If so, we might as well leave
right away.
Or rather, I'm not the
kind of pervert who would lay hands on someone.
I'm only with
Akana-san because I was asked to, and nothing more.
Well, if I deny it,
I'll probably get involved in a troublesome situation and this conversation
will drag on even longer, so I definitely won't say that.
"So? What are you
doing in this forest with the daughter of the Gilmburg family? There's nothing
in this forest that a noble lady would like."
"───"
I thought he would
berate Akana-san, but contrary to my expectations, the old man just threw
another question at me.
Unexpected. Unlike the
others, I thought he would ask about the rumors about Akana-san or believe the
rumors and insult her.
Anyway, I have to open
my mouth because if I don't answer the question, he'll get annoyed.
"Well, it's not
Akana-san who has business here, it's me, or rather..."
"Business in this
forest? What is it? You've been here once, so you should know. There's really
nothing in this forest."
"No, I'm not here
for the forest, I'm here for the ruins."
"……………What!?"
The old man widened
his eyes.
"Didn't I tell
you there was a god in those ruins!?"
"You did."
"Then why are you
going there!?"
"Well, I have to
go there regularly."
"Huh??? ...I see.
So you've formed a serious connection with a God, have you, boy?"
Perhaps he'd reached
some kind of conclusion, the old man looked at me with pity.
Come to think of it,
Chrisya-san said that in this world, Gods are considered on the same level as
demons and are also a symbol of misfortune, didn't she?
My situation, where I
have to meet such a being repeatedly, is probably the worst situation, so bad
that even someone I hardly know looks at me with pity.
Well, I don't think
that way at all.
Chrisya-san may have a
sharp tongue, but she's reasonable and will listen to my requests, so she's not
that bad.
And she also gave me
this ring.
I look at the ring on
my right middle finger.
The pure white gem
attached to the ring is sparkling beautifully in the sunlight.
Seeing my face like
that, the old man stopped looking at me with pity and returned to the same
indifferent expression as before.
"………Well, I
understand the situation. So you entered this forest on your way to the
ruins."
I smiled in response
to the old man's confirmation.
"So? Are you
taking the Gilmburg family's daughter with you?"
"!"
Huh? Could it be
that... he's worried about the Gilmburg family's daughter (Akana-san)?
Certainly, if I take
Akana-san to those ruins, she won't be safe. She'll definitely lose her life.
Normally, it would be worrying.
But because of the
rumors, the people's opinion of Akana-san is terrible. No one would worry about
Akana-san now. In fact, if they knew she was going to die, they might say,
"Serves her right."
I thought this old man
was the same as those people, but... I was wrong.
Did he have known
about Akana-san for a long time and the rumors had not reached here? Or is he
someone who doesn't believe in rumors? Maybe he's the type who doesn't care
about rumors.
I don't know why he's
so normal in front of Akana-san, but for now, I'll honestly tell the old man
about my plans.
"No, I shouldn't
take Akana-san with me. So, I was thinking of finding a good place and having
Akana-san wait there."
"That's a wise
decision. So, do you have a place in mind?"
"Ahaha, actually,
I don't. I was hoping I could find a good place on the way to the ruins. If
not, I might have her wait at the entrance to the ruins."
"It's not certain
that the golems (Garmas) won't be able to come out before the entrance, you
know. They might come out to eliminate any opponents near the ruins."
"Oh, that's...
possible."
"Good grief...
You have power, but I have to say that your thinking is shallow.."
"Ahaha, thank you
for your advice."
"Hmph."
The old man turned
away.
But it's true, I
hadn't considered the possibility of the Garmas coming outside.
I had heard from
Chrisya-san that those Garmas were there to eliminate intruders to the ruins,
but she didn't say they would never go outside. It wouldn't be strange if they
had a function to eliminate intruders in advance.
I had completely
forgotten because I had never been killed at the entrance when entering the
ruins.
Eh, then... it's
dangerous for Akana-san to wait at the entrance, is it?
...What should I do?
As I was seriously
pondering that, the old man, as if he couldn't stand it anymore, let out
another sigh and said.
"...What about
leaving her here?"
He made me such a
suggestion.
-----
Thank you for my Patrons !!
[Platinum]
Aiden Elliott
MaxKne
Swagaraga
[Gold]
B random
DavidA
[Silver]
blue shooting
Creris
Frédéric Bertrand-Hudon
Pristia
Anton Lim
Ctdela
Curious Panda
Read Advanced Chapters only on my Patreon
-----
