Tsuyokute New Saga (LN)

Book 7: Chapter 4

“And this is what we’re dealing with…But, why?”

“Hell do I know. That’s what I wanna ask.”

The following morning, Kyle stood in front of the inn, holding this brief conversation with Seran.

“All right, let’s walk around ourselves.”

Lieze waved her hand at the two and then said these words to Urza, Minagi, and Shildonia. After a bit of discussion going back and forth, it was decided that boys and girls would be moving separately after all. Kyle waved at them with a faint smile, then glanced at Seran, to which they both sighed.

“Why do we two guys have to hang out together? I wanted to go with the chicks.”

“I’d much rather prefer getting a break without having you around, too.”

They both hissed at each other and yet it didn’t dampen the mood at all. This kind of talk was part of their daily routine even way before they had left Rimarze. Of course, neither of them had any particular plans for today, but rather than just rotting away in their room, experiencing the atmosphere and air of the town would be much more beneficial. For example, looking at the objects sold at the store would allow you to see what they regularly offer, and the expressions of the citizens spoke a lot about the life being lived and if they had any complaints. It was always a good idea to learn more about the place you visited through means like that. This being the holy capital, even pilgrims only stayed here for a short time, which dominated the mood of the town.

“You can stay back at the inn if you’d so prefer,” Kyle said as Seran continued to complain.

However, he suddenly showed a serious face and started walking in a certain direction. Kyle thought of this as weird, so he followed him.

“Something just feels off at that inn…” Seran muttered.

“What do you mean?”

Everyone including Kyle was satisfied staying at Dalia’s inn, so Kyle had trouble understanding what Seran was referring to. Not only that, he even continued to mumble to himself.

“A widow…Not bad…” He grinned but then continued. “An eerie presence…Well, it’s not something that distinct, but something just gives me the creeps about that place.”

“Really? I thought you liked the proprietress?”

“Rather than that, I’m curious about her. I’m sure she isn’t lying about that story with that old hag, but something doesn’t feel right.” Seran said so with a straight face, so Kyle had to take it in a similar manner.

“Is that your intuition speaking?”

“Sure is. If I had to guess, that old hag’s given Dalia the order to watch over us and report back to her.”

Hearing all that, Kyle remembered this certain country Phoraon Dalia mentioned. It was a relatively new human country, with a lot of beastmen living in the area before it was founded, causing a lot of strife. In that sense, there was a good chance the ones attacking Dalia’s town may have been beastmen. And for the Mera cult, it was common to show hatred and disgust for races other than humans.

So there’s plenty of a chance Dalia might belong to the cult, too.

Even if this wasn’t anything said in pure confidence, it was definitely wise to keep it in the back of his mind.

“That, plus I’ve been feeling gazes left and right the moment we left the inn. Seems like they’re following us.”

Hearing that, Kyle wasn’t so foolish to suddenly look around and search for those eyes following them, but he still glanced at his surroundings.

“Tailing us?” Kyle asked.

“Nah, it’s not that obvious. If you told me I was cooking up something, I’d have to agree.”

Seran was lacking confidence to speak for certain, so this was still just his intuition. However, he had often been on the mark when it came to these things, so much so that it helped him many times over in a battle to the death. His intuition had been trained to the limit. When it came to these things, Kyle knew Seran was much more experienced.

“I was hoping we’d finally be able to take a break…But at the very least, it’s convenient that they’re approaching us.”

What he was saying was based on utter intuition. In fact, it was rather rude to assume their good friend Dalia would be lying. That said, if Kyle was asked to choose between either of them, he would most definitely follow after Seran.

“Master said to wait…But I’m not the type to sit down and just let things happen.”

At the very least, it was better for them to target Kyle and Seran than going after the girls. So, he decided to invite them.

“Hmm, I don’t like this stiff atmosphere, really.”

After walking for a bit, Seran let out this complaint. Most people around him were faithful believers for some god in this holy hand, and some of them could be rather strict. Others were priests strolling the streets. Everyone was being serious going about their day, and yet Seran completely broke that apart.

“I guess a place like this has no interesting secret places,” Seran was referring to any stores or other institutions that couldn’t stand on the main street.

“Means we’re gonna enjoy our regular sightseeing.”

“How boring…Oh! They at least got a stall here.”

Seran spotted a stall selling grilled chicken sticks, so he headed there right away. On the way following him, Kyle spotted an amulet made of a blue crystal ball from another stall.

“Oh, you’ve got a great eye, sir. This is actually a popular charm for good luck here in our lands…” The person working at the stall gave a cheery explanation.

Getting a good look at it, however, Kyle quickly understood it was just a fake with nothing worth mentioning. However, its innate beauty, shining in a strong red and purple, caught his attention.

“Hm…”

The crystal ball would be something in Urza’s interest, is what Kyle thought to himself right as a voice called out to him.

“By the way, how are you and Urza doing as of late?” Seran munched on his chicken as he pointed out exactly what Kyle had been pondering about.

“Wh-What do you mean?”

“I mean, she’s clearly into you.”

“…”

Being told straight to his face, Kyle was at a loss for words. This was yet another problem he had ignored all this time, putting it on the back burner. He held feelings for both Urza and Lieze, and he knew that they were interested in him, too. Of course, Kyle had a thing or two to say himself. Being reunited with his loved ones at the same time was an unthinkable coincidence. And in his previous world, Lieze died before meeting Urza, so he never actually tried to go for the both of them. And of course, this may be a major issue in itself, but it was still only a personal problem that shouldn’t get in the way of saving the whole world—or so he told himself.

For that reason, he tried to keep his distance from them in that regard, but he didn’t want to grow distant, or even have them hate him instead.

For that reason, he’s been keeping a healthy level of distance where they shouldn’t come to hate him, preserving a bare minimum. Luckily, neither Lieze or Urza seemed to particularly mind, and they were still on good terms, so no major problems happened so far. However, despite all that, things would eventually start to crumble. And of course, Seran wasn’t so dense as to not realize what was going on.

“Knowing you, you’re probably afraid of burning bridges with one of them, so you’re keeping both of them at arm’s length, right?” Seran managed to pin-point Kyle’s feelings perfectly.

And although it was slightly bothersome, it wasn’t unpleasant for Kyle in the slightest. Hiding something from each other is a wasted effort. That’s how childhood friends like him work.

No, there is one secret…But what do I do about that even…

Kyle was keeping a secret greater than anything before from not only Seran, but the rest of his group, too. This still weighed heavily on him. He was afraid of being rejected, just like Seran pointed out.

“Anyway, I believe in you, Kyle. I know you won’t make the girls cry, but don’t regret anything.” Seran gave him a thumbs-up with a warm smile.

“…And how do you really feel?”

“I hope shit goes down south that you get stabbed in your sleep, you greedy bastard.” He turned his thumbs-up upside down, wishing for Kyle to drop down to hell.

Even so, this harsh comment was grounded in a valid point. Especially knowing Lieze’s tendencies to get jealous, paired with Urza’s fierce personality. Considering all that, the fate Seran wished upon Kyle could very well happen. That said, Lieze didn’t say much regarding Urza or Minagi up to this point, even willing to look after them, so she must have drawn some sort of line, too. Urza would get along with Lieze, too, and Kyle definitely relied on that.

“I…I’ve got a lot of things on my plate, too!” Kyle could only return this weak rebuttal.

“Shit…Why is it just you…! You’ve never been popular before, just like me!” Seran continued to grumble, and Kyle judged it would be more fruitful to forget about this conversation and change the topic.

“What about you, Seran? Wasn’t your wish granted, too? There are girls starting to like you too, right?” Kyle figured he’d shoot back with his own attack, leaving Seran with a sour expression.

“You know exactly what the answer is.”

Seran always openly stated his interest in women, but his personality made it hard for him to find any proper relationship. And yet, there were women actually showing interest in Seran. That said, one was one of the most influential nobles of all of humanfolk, and the other wasn’t even human in the first place. Seran honestly didn’t know which of those two was worse, nor what he should do.

“It’s a princess and the Demon Lord, of course. Destiny is a cruel mistress…But, you’ve got my support, so go get ‘em.”

Kyle chewed on a cold fruit he bought from a stall as he called out to Seran, but he had no intention of helping him whatsoever. Depending on how he treated either of them, it could lead to a war or worse, so he let Seran carry all the responsibility. More than anything, he trusted his childhood friend.

Well, even if it caused a problem, I’m gonna offer him as a sacrifice…josei

Kyle decided to leave himself out of the equation and reached this particular conclusion.