Chapter 26
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Well, it has been an extremely enjoyable time.
I took Milan around until the sun went down, so I ended up escorting her home.
On the way, this happened.
「Big brother! I know I accepted it on the spur of the moment earlier, but I really think four gold coins is too much to receive!」
「I don’t mind at all. More importantly, can I ask for your help again tomorrow?」
「You say you ‘don’t mind’, but I do mind! What should I do, this is definitely way too much to accept────-」
Despite being a cheeky kid, Milan turned out to be honest and sincere, which moved me in a way.
Milan was fretting with her hands on her hat, saying 「What should I do!」, but then she suddenly grabbed my sleeve as if struck by an idea.
「Hey big brother! Since you haven’t decided on an inn yet, why don’t you stay at my place! Mom and my little sister will definitely be thrilled!」
In hindsight, I should have declined this offer.
No matter how much fun I was having, I should have finished my business quickly and returned to Sena right away.
At that moment, I was clearly in high spirits.
Being on the surface for the first time in a while. The enthusiasm of the people. The stupid shopping.
And Milan, who calls me 「big brother」, somehow resembles my little sister I left behind on Earth.
Just like how my sister laughs and says 「Oh brother, you’re such an idiot」 every time I screw up, Milan’s carefree expression overlapped as she said, 「Geez, big brother, that’s so typical of you.」
But no matter how many causes I list, I can’t change the outcome.
○○○
It started with a casual conversation.
「Speaking of which, big brother, you spent over 100 gold coins just today, right? How on earth did you make that much money?」
「If I told you I have money because I’m a noble, would you believe me?」
「There’s no way I’d believe that! You, a noble? That’s such a bad joke!」
I know, right! I get it! I do.
「I mean, your clothes don’t look fancy, your mannerisms and attitude aren’t refined at all, and most of all, your eyes look a bit dead.」
That’s going too far! Isn’t that last part just an insult!
As I hesitated about whether to grab her temple with my iron claw to make her understand not to run her cheeky mouth, Milan said,
「But I like you way more than those stuck-up nobles! You’re kind of an idiot!」
You just had to add that last bit, huh.
Does this warrant making her understand?
「Take this!」
「I don’t want it! Big brother, that’s the kind of thing that makes you seem like a nouveau riche!」
Huh!?
Far from making her understand, I was unconsciously about to give Milan a gold coin. Was I that happy to be complimented even in this way? Even so, I…
As I was fearfully facing the dark side power of money,
「Anyway, how did you become rich, big brother?」
「Despite how I look, I’m a fairly competent adventurer. I’ve got some skills, you know?」
「Whaat! An adventurer! That’s so cool, big brother! Whoaa!」
Upon hearing I was an adventurer, Milan suddenly became excited, to an extent that seemed a bit over the top.
「What, are you interested in adventurers, Milan?」
「Well duh! All my friends say they want to become adventurers too!」
Milan moved her body enthusiastically to express how popular adventurers are.
「Everyone looks up to the Hero!」
○○○
My face froze. That’s what this means.
No, calm down, me.
I mean, there must be lots of heroes out there.
Like, there are over ten heroes just in Dragon Quest.
And in the side stories, there’s Abel, Dai, and others.
She must be talking about a hero living somewhere far away, separate from the Hero.
「O-Oh, is that so? You look up to the Hero, Milan?」
Milan cheerfully replied 「Yep!」 and continued,
「But well, Hero is a rare job. It’ll be hard to become as strong as the Hero.」
「I mean, there are other jobs considered excellent besides Hero, and even if you’re not blessed with a good job, at worst you can still───」
Milan eagerly chimed in, cutting off my words.
「That’s right! As expected of you, big brother, you say good things!」
At this point, I had no clue where Milan’s somewhat excessive enthusiasm was coming from, but then,
「Hero is the most popular, but among my girl friends, the job popularity goes mage, sword saint, then saint!」
With her mentioning those jobs, I started getting an ominous premonition rushing towards me like a runaway truck.
Hero, then saint, mage, sword saint.
Doesn’t that sound just like the members of a certain hero’s party?
「Since Hero and Saint are such one-of-a-kind jobs, it’s not easy for everyone to say they want to be the Hero or Saint.」
「O-Oh, I see.」
As I replied with a sigh,
「In contrast, the Mage and Sword Saint, who teach that effort is what matters, are adored by all.」
Milan continued passionately, eyes sparkling.
「Even among girls, little kids who don’t know anything love the sparkly Saint. But friends a bit older all admire the Mage, who’s famous for her hard work.」
The Mage who’s famous for her hard work…
Please let this be a misunderstanding!
「I respect the Sword Saint.」
「And why is that?」
「You don’t know, big brother? About the Sword Saint!」
「No, big brother doesn’t know. Please enlighten me.」
As I pleadingly asked, at my wit’s end, Milan puffed out her flat chest and said 「Can’t be helped then, ahem.」
「First of all, the Sword Saint is said to possess talent, humility, and diligence – all of these qualities.」
It can’t be, it can’t be, it can’t be, it can’t be Eris────
「There’s an essential episode that comes up when describing the Sword Saint.」
「And that is?」
「It’s the episode of the ‘Sixteen-Hour Devotion’.」
○○○
Her impassioned speech began, but it seemed to be about an episode I’d heard somewhere before, where a certain sword saint spent a demonic sixteen hours training every single day at the guild’s training grounds.
Oh no! It’s almost a perfect match!
What the heck is going on! This is bad! Really bad!
The runaway truck of my dreadful intuition was already barreling towards me, its headlights glaring menacingly in my face.
Paying no heed to my inner turmoil, Milan thrust out her puffed chest even further, as if boasting of her own achievements.
「Apparently, even the S-rank adventurer Orphelia of the 《Sword Dance》, who happened to be working in that town, saw that training and rambled drunkenly at the tavern, 『I could never do that even if it killed me!』」
It’s a complete match!
What is the meaning of this!
Have I not been allowed to escape from my own story, no matter how far I’ve fled to this remote area?
Then, a thought suddenly struck me.
I should have just let it slide inoffensively, but I had to go and think of something unnecessary.
「Hey, is this sword saint a person named Eris?」
「What! You know about her, big brother!」
The runaway truck of ominous premonition, heavily loaded, was already bearing down right in front of me.
I asked Milan, who had her cheeks puffed out.
「That hero’s party had one more guy, right?」
As I was speaking, my tongue stiffened for a moment.
Maybe it was a sign from the gods telling me to stop asking any deeper.
「You know, the holy knight.」
「Oh, yeah there was.」
「What was his deal?」
Milan’s expression turned clearly contemptuous.
「There’s no ‘deal’, big brother!
I mean, that’s────」
The word she uttered then was the very embodiment of the runaway truck of ominous premonition, and in this moment, it struck me head-on, sending me flying.
「────the Runaway Holy Knight Yamada, right?」
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