Chapter 85
This might be the first time we’ve seen Yamada’s assessment of Purume
Purume’s flags continue to stack up
○○○
Purume En Dynast.
She’s the elf guildmaster who was in charge of Greeneyes, the first base I established when trying to conquer the Mirror Dungeon.
There’s no way I wouldn’t know her.
「I’m going to talk with her tonight,」 Sensei declares.
Her expression is somewhat nostalgic, and she’s undoubtedly excited about chatting with a long-time friend (how long has it been exactly?).
On the other hand, I flinch when Purume’s name comes out of Sensei’s mouth.
It’s not because I fear or dislike her.
Rather, it’s the opposite.
I respect her noble character and the kindness hidden beneath it, and I trust her as a person.
I mean, isn’t that right?
After all, it was the Knight Commander who hammered sword skills into me, and although it was a joint development, it was Angie who taught me magic to this extent. And it was none other than her – Purume – who went out of her way to teach me the basics of dungeon exploration when I had zero experience as an adventurer.
I reflect on my memories with her.
First of all, she’s an incredibly beautiful woman, the likes of which I’d never seen in my original world.
I didn’t know it at the time, but apparently, she’s exceptionally beautiful even among elves, who are said to be all beautiful.
When I first arrived in Greeneyes, I was particularly inexperienced with women, so I’d get embarrassed in front of her and even find it difficult to make eye contact.
Looking back now, she must have noticed my behavior, being much more mature than me both mentally and emotionally.
That’s why she gradually closed the distance between us.
For example, although it’s apparently unthinkable under normal circumstances, whenever I sought her teachings, it was usually in her office – the room assigned to the Guildmaster.
And that day was her lecture on the tools necessary for adventurers.
As soon as I arrive at her office, she hands me some documents.
「You can look through these as we go. I’ll explain each item one by one. Make sure you remember them.」
She says in a somewhat flippant and cool manner.
Someone who doesn’t know her might think she’s an untouchable embodiment of beauty, especially given her good looks.
Thanks to the Other World Translation Ability I gained when summoned, I can understand not only conversations but also written text. As I flip through the documents, I see neat, rounded handwriting. It’s such cute handwriting. And it even comes with hand-drawn illustrations.
The content is concise enough for beginners to understand, yet comprehensive enough that if you memorize it all, you’d graduate from being a novice.
I sense an incredible amount of effort put into it.
As Mika and I are chatting next to each other, saying things like 「Look at this illustration」 and 「Wow, it’s really good!」 and 「Yeah, especially this slime,」 I notice Purume’s ears turning red.
The illustrations are indeed cute.
The documents contain not only tools like flasks and herbs but also numerous monster illustrations. They’re cutely deformed but still capture the essential features.
Mika, in particular, seems touched and keeps praising them, saying, 「This is nice, this is really nice.」
I never dreamed that Purume herself had made these by hand.
You wouldn’t normally think that someone as cool as her would draw such cute illustrations herself.
Mika continues to shower praise with mysterious enthusiasm.
I nod along.
Purume’s face gets redder in proportion to our comments.
「It’s fine to praise, but that’s enough. Turn back to the first page. We’re about to start the lecture.」
It’s only when I notice her blushing face that I finally realize she had made these documents herself.
I never imagined that she, already swamped with Guildmaster duties, would take the time to create these documents for us on top of her regular work. She could have delegated it to her subordinates or outsourced it. If she wanted to cut corners, there were plenty of ways to do so.
Purume is like this in everything she does.
Behind her cool and blunt way of speaking, she’s always sincere. She didn’t slack off on the troublesome task of educating me and tried to be involved as much as possible herself.
That’s right.
Although it was for less than a year, I owe her a great deal.
There’s no way I wouldn’t feel indebted to her.
So why didn’t I have a very good expression when I heard Purume’s name?
It’s because Purume is not only a reliable woman for me but also the guardian of Angie – the mage now known as the wise.
○○○
My memory jumps to after that fierce battle to the death with the Angel, the boss monster of the Light Dungeon.
At that time, I was overwhelmed by an inescapable sense of emptiness.
Just as I let my guard down, thinking I could finally return to town after a life-or-death struggle as precarious as walking on thin ice, the partner I thought I was in love with jumped into another man’s arms right in front of me. The shock was immeasurable.
Originally, when Purume first brought Angie to me, it was right after Mika had left me, and I was basically a shut-in.
Just like last time, with my partner gone, I was at a loss and about to choose the option of becoming a shut-in again – no, even that was impossible.
Both towns were filled with too many memories of them.
Even if I tried to suppress my emotions, there were reminders of them everywhere in town, inevitably evoking memories of the good times. It was unbearable pain. It naturally made me aware of my own loneliness.
Thinking about it, I couldn’t sit still.
I couldn’t stay there anymore.
That feeling even surpassed the sense of emptiness.
I immediately consulted the Guildmaster about the next dungeon and town.
Three days later, I left town in a hurry.
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