Chapter 218
Growth Period
Translator : PolterGlast
While Ginia and Aoi were resting at the inn, I decided
to head to the Battenberg residence
alone. Ginia didn't seem to have
taken that much damage, and I briefly considered asking her to accompany me,
but... I judged it would be better for her to stay and attend to Aoi, so I decided to go by myself.
When I rang the bell at the Battenberg residence, Edward,
the butler who had attended to us last time, came out. He seemed to remember my
face; after a slight bow, he immediately returned inside the house and then
came back out.
「Graham-sama, please come inside.」
「Is it already okay for me to go in?」
「Yes. Duke-sama is present today, and I have already confirmed it with
him, so it is fine.」
「You work too fast. In that case,
I'll intrude without reserve.」
Guided by Edward,
I was shown to the same reception room as last time. As I sat in a chair and
waited, Sonia, Zola, and Duke soon
entered the room.
「Graham, it's been a while. I'm sorry I was away from home when you
came to visit the other day.」
「No, I'm the one at fault for
visiting so suddenly. Don't worry about it. More importantly... your impression
has changed quite a bit.」
It hadn't been that many days since we last met in the Royal Capital, but Duke gave off a much more mature impression now. He had grown
taller, making me directly feel the growth that comes with youth.
「Is that so? I don't really feel it
myself, but if that's how it looks, it might be because I've just hit my growth
spurt. My growing pains have been terrible too.」
Saying that, he rubbed his joints. His voice also seemed
slightly deeper; he truly looked like someone right in the middle of a growth
period.
「You had a childish impression
before, but now you completely feel like a young man. Does having terrible
growing pains mean you haven't been able to capture the dungeon much either?」
「Yeah. I think you've heard from Sonia and Zola, but ever since we were taken down by the Kaonashi, we've barely been able to dive into the dungeon.」
「If the pain is terrible, it's no
wonder. Capturing a dungeon involves a lot of moving around, and it's not
something you can do while enduring pain.」
I had harbored some doubts when I heard Duke was taken down by the Kaonashi,
but if he was also dealing with growing pains, I think a large part of it
couldn't be helped.
「You're aiming to subjugate the Kaonashi, right, Graham? If I can provide any information, I'll gladly cooperate. I
learned a lot from you, after all.」
「I appreciate the sentiment, but...
the reason I visited today isn't to get information. I came to report the
subjugation of the Kaonashi. I
received valuable information from Sonia
and Zola, after all.」
When I relayed that, Duke's
mouth fell wide open and he froze solid. Sonia
and Zola also had their eyes wide
open; it seemed they hadn't expected it to be a subjugation report.
「Zola and I provided that information just the other day, didn't
we? You subjugated that Kaonashi in
this short amount of time?」
「Yeah. We coincidentally encountered
the Kaonashi on our first capture
attempt. We had Sonia and Zola's information too, so we were able
to subjugate it going with the flow.」
「...As expected, you're a monster, Graham. I thought you were no ordinary
person since you kicked the Demon King's
Army around in the Royal Capital,
but... to instantly subjugate an irregular opponent like the Kaonashi, you're just too amazing.」
「We fought it once, but we didn't
know how we should fight it. Even though we gave you the information, to
subjugate it on your first try... your strength exceeds imagination, Graham-sama.」
「I feel bad interrupting your praise,
but I wasn't the one who subjugated it this time; it was Ginia and Aoi. The
reason they aren't here is because they still have lingering damage.」
At that additional information, the three of them froze once
again. It seemed they hadn't thought Ginia
and Aoi were this strong either.
「...So you weren't the one who
subjugated it, Graham!? Does that
mean those two are monsters as well?」
「I heard Aoi-sama was B-Rank and Ginia-sama
was D-Rank, so this is the biggest shock of the day. We were told you were
D-Rank too, Graham-sama; Adventurer
Ranks really are unreliable, aren't they.」
I actually rose to C-Rank just recently, but since it wasn't
worth going out of my way to add, I kept quiet.
「Please train
us sometime. We'd like you to teach us how you subjugated the Kaonashi as well; would it be alright
if we visited you soon?」
「Of course, that's fine. We're
indebted to the Battenberg family,
and I'll welcome you when you come to visit Biodasdal. When that time comes, I'd like to spar with a fully
recovered Duke whose growing pains
have subsided, too.」
「I don't feel like I'd be a worthy
opponent, but I'm curious about those two's abilities as well, so I'll
definitely come visit. Also, please drop by next time you come to the Dungeon City. I'd like to try a joint
dungeon capture.」
「A joint dungeon capture, huh. That
sounds interesting; I'll definitely come visit again.」
After exchanging such promises, I thanked Duke and the others once more and left the Battenberg residence. It's hard to say our initial encounter itself was a good one, but I'm glad we're able to build a good relationship like this. Being right in the middle of his growth period, Duke will likely grow even further from here on out... I'm looking forward to his future growth.
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