Chapter 45
The next day, after resting at the inn and recovering properly, Ruche and I decided to leave the city of Rondarm.
Rondarm was a convenient place to get started as adventurers, but given my history with House Edvaughn, perhaps I should have left sooner.
Though now, perhaps there was no need to hurry after all.
In any case, the Dungeons that appeared around here tended to be relatively low-level.
Sooner or later, I would have had to leave to continue working as an adventurer.
“But are you sure about this? You got caught up in all of this too, Ruche. If you wanted to stay in Rondarm, I wouldn’t have minded staying here a little longer...”
I owed Ruche a huge debt for the Skill Book from 〈Frenzied Smoldering Fang〉.
I couldn’t very well leave without repaying her, so if she couldn’t leave Rondarm, I’d planned to stay here a while longer.
“Of course I don’t mind! Your father-in-law entrusted me with looking after you, Elymas-san!”
Ruche declared, pumping her fist.
“Father-in-law...?”
“But... in the end, he never apologized. As soon as that girl lost, he ran off without even having a proper talk with you, Elymas-san.”
“He’s not exactly in a position to apologize casually... He’d cleared the area of onlookers, and I doubt any of the Guild staff would be reckless enough to spread the story around. I’m just grateful this didn’t get even more complicated with him making a fuss about losing face.”
“U-Um... If you’re satisfied, Elymas-san, then I’m fine with it, but...”
Even as she said that, Ruche didn’t seem satisfied.
I couldn’t help giving her a wry smile.
“A noble is finished the moment people start looking down on them. In that sense, not bowing your head is practically part of the job.”
I knew Aizasu’s personality, so I wasn’t particularly surprised that he hadn’t apologized to me at all.
If anything, I was surprised he’d said something like, ‘Please look after him,’ to Ruche.
How could he say that with a straight face...? Still, perhaps that had been Aizasu’s way of apologizing to me as best he could.
Even when he cast me out, Aizasu gave me enough money to get my equipment in order. And when the discussion over whether I’d cheated grew heated, he’d clearly been displeased with the idea of a mock battle.
If I hadn’t agreed to it, Aizasu would have quashed Malice’s proposal.
Perhaps in his own way... not as a noble, but as a father, he’d been worried about me.
“Not bowing your head is part of the job... I guess that must be hard in its own way, but I can’t say I like it. ...Please don’t become like that, Elymas-san, okay? If anything happens, I’ll apologize alongside you, all right?”
“...It’s not that I won’t become one. I just can’t become one anymore.”
I gave a small cough.
After all, I’d gone from being the heir apparent to being stripped of my family name and cast out.
“W-Whoa! I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean it like that—I wasn’t trying to be sarcastic! Um, well...”
“N-No, it’s fine. It’s not like I’m bothered by it. If I said I was glad to have left that house, it might just sound like I was putting on a brave face... But there’s no doubt that my life now suits me better.”
My memories and values from my previous life were mixed in with who I was now.
There were many noble customs and ways of thinking whose necessity I understood, but couldn’t accept.
Being cast out as a disgrace to the family because I was a Heavy Knight was one example. There were others too, like Life Transfer, which used criminals to gain levels, and suicide troops, where poor people were hired as soldiers and saddled with dangerous Skill Trees.
I was sure I would have reached my limit sooner or later.
And even if I hadn’t, the thought of becoming completely steeped in noble customs was chilling in its own way.
In any case, judging by Aizasu’s attitude, he probably wouldn’t try to do anything to me from now on.
The real problem was Malice, though...
“...She wasn’t like that in the past.”
Aizasu had always seemed strangely reluctant to let Malice and me see each other, so most of what I knew about her came from our childhood. She’d been an odd girl, but she’d never done anything to put someone else down.
Or maybe I’d simply failed to notice.
“What’s wrong, Elymas-san?”
“Oh, it’s nothing.”
I lightly shook my head, trying to brush it off.
Whatever the case, as far as I was concerned, things were finally settled with House Edvaughn.
Until now, I’d told myself it didn’t bother me, but some part of me had always been hung up on it... I’d said my goodbyes to Aizasu, and he’d offered me words of encouragement, indirect as they were. At last, I could move forward without anything weighing on my mind.
If Ruche hadn’t pressed Aizasu at the end, I probably wouldn’t have felt so relieved.
“Anyway... I’ve finally reached the point where I’m no longer a beginner and can work as a proper adventurer. From here on, I’ll be able to focus on leveling up and going after high-value item drops.”
I struck my fist against my open palm as I said it.
“Yes! Now we can finally do some proper leveling and go after high-value item drops...”
Ruche smiled as she said that, then her eyes widened.
“Does 〈Angel’s Toy Box〉 not count as proper leveling?!”
Startled by Ruche’s loud voice, I flinched.
“W-What’s wrong, Ruche? Why are you suddenly raising your voice...?”
“N-No, b-but... isn’t that strange?! We’ve already made around sixty or seventy million Gordo!”
I wasn’t sure what she meant by strange.
To me, it felt like I’d only just finished the tutorial.
After all, Ruche and I were both D-rank adventurers who had only just made it into the Lv. 40s, and our equipment had barely changed since the beginning.
We’d only just managed to gather a set of basic Skills.
My 〈Frenzied Smoldering Fang〉 still hadn’t reached its full potential, but at least I’d finally secured a decent means of attacking.
At this point, aside from activating 〈Death’s Edge Rampage〉 to finally deal heavy damage with 〈Shield Bash〉, I was still an inferior version of a Sword Saint. Even so, clearing Dungeons had gotten much easier.
As I leveled up and had more Skill Points to spare, I’d finally be able to show what a Heavy Knight—the class called a balance breaker in 〈Magic World〉—could really do.
“This is where we’ve finally finished the bare minimum of preparation and things are getting interesting. First, I need to upgrade my equipment, but from now on, we’ll be able to pursue far more substantial leveling and high-value item drops than before.”
Getting 〈Frenzied Smoldering Fang〉 at this stage had made a huge difference.
Without it, our progress from here on would have been much slower.
“W-Will I be okay? Can I really keep up with you, Elymas-san...?”
Ruche clutched her head anxiously.
“Once again... I’m counting on you from here on, Ruche.”
I smiled and held out my hand to her.
Ruche pressed her lips together with resolve and took my hand.
“Y-Yes! Elymas-san!”