Chapter 54
I left the room after the discussion with Bordow and saw that Fiona was waiting outside . She seemed a little restless, which was quite the departure from her usually cheerful disposition . She was sitting in a chair with an uneasy expression, but quickly got up when she noticed us .
Asagi, Daniela!
Hey, its been a while .
It really has! We were both so busy, and we had no time to meet Wait, nevermind that . Is it true that you killed a wyvern? Are you hurt?
She began to pat me down as if looking for injuries . I pointed to my right thigh and she tapped it lightly . I nodded to show that there was no pain, and she finally moved away with relief .
Well, this was just from a broken blade catching me in the leg . I wasnt hit all that much from the wyvern .
Amazing It is like you came out unscathed .
Thats a bit of an exaggeration .
That made me sound like some kind of superhero . I walked with Daniela and Fiona and explained the story again . I was out camping and encountered a wyvern . It wasnt the longest story, and I finished when we reached the entrance .
Entrance Rex and several other adventurers were gathered near the counter . They looked familiar . They were his other party members . Looking at them again, I got the impression that they were very high level . A strong party . And yet, once Danny, their shield-bearer had gone down, the party had crumbled The field of battle could be very unpredictable . You really should have a healer with you . Seriously .
Asagi!
Rex called me over . I waved at him with one hand and the other members all waved back .
Ah, I just wanted to thank you . You really helped us back there .
Said the greatsword-wielder who had been the one to carry Danny during their escape . I accepted his offered hand and shook it .
Im glad to see you are well . How is your shield-bearer doing?
Theres no need to worry about him . We pooled our money together to put him up in the best hospital in the city . Hes resting nice and easy now, but hell be out before you know it .
Thats good . Do they accept visitors? I would like to go and see him .
Aye, I hoped you would . He said he wanted to thank you . Hell surely be happy if you visited .
It was great that he was doing well . I will have to go check up on him later .
After that, I talked with the archer and the other swordsman as well . They both wanted to thank me, which was a little embarra.s.sing . It was just not something that I was used to But I didnt hate it either .
After a while, the subject of the reward was brought up .
The total sum of the reward comes out as one hundred and forty gold pieces and a few silvers . This will be shared between us all . And there is no room for argument on this matter .
The total sum of the reward comes out as one hundred and forty gold pieces and a few silvers . This will be shared between us all . And there is no room for argument on this matter .
Rex declared . I had no complaints, and so I nodded .
Asagi, here is your share . Please count it .
He says as he hands me a leather pouch . It seemed a little heavy to meand I was surprised when I opened it . This didnt seem right . It was clearly almost half of it .
Hey, this
I split it . No arguments .
He says, and they all laugh . It seemed that they were all in agreement about this . I suppose that for them, words were not enough to express their grat.i.tude . And so I humbly gave in and put the pouch in my bag .
Alright, I get it . Thanks .
Aye, this is how it should be!
Rex wraps an arm around my shoulder and laughs happily . Ah, yes . I felt like a real adventurer now . It was something I had longed for ever since coming to this world . There were some who laughed and called me Black Rabbit, but there were great adventurers like Gardo and Ness as well . Adventurers who embodied real freedom . I wondered if I would be able to be like them one day .
Well, were off to the bar now . What about you two?
HmmI was thinking about going to an armor shop after visiting Danny . What about you, Daniela?
I asked her .
I do enjoy a bar . However, we should visit this Danny first .
Oh well, we were supposed to go to the armor shop tomorrow anyway . Also, there was something that I had noticed recently, which is that Daniela was usually hungry whenever she appeared restless . It was especially obvious when she became anxious and her eyes constantly shifted . Which seemed to happen a lot . What an unfortunate beauty .
And so we parted ways with Rex and headed for the hospital that Danny was staying at .
At first, Danny had been taken to the central guardhouse infirmary, as it was an emergency . He had been given emergency treatment there before being transferred to the biggest hospital in Spiris . Apparently, the high-pressure breath that had destroyed his armor left a nasty wound . Danny showed us the wound that had required the attention of a group of the finest physicians to heal . There was a giant burn-like scar that covered most of his stomach . It was incredible that he had survived this
It is thanks to you and the others that I am alive . That I am here right now . I cannot thank you enough .
Youve already thanked me enough . You better cover yourself before you catch a cold .
That didnt stop him from thanking me repeatedly after that, but I was happy to have been able to see what kind of person he was . It would have made me a little sad if the man I had helped was a jerk . We said goodbye to him and left the hospital .
As we were walking towards the bar where Rex and the others were waiting, Daniela began to talk .
Asagi, you must try to be less reckless .
Asagi, you must try to be less reckless .
I know that I should have considered you more Ill be careful in the future .
We are a party . I will be alone once again if you die . Listening to Bordow and seeing Dannys wound today has made me think . What would I do if you were no longer here?
She stared at the ground as she talked . It was true, one misstep could have meant my death . There had been a part of me that had hesitated about jumping into that danger . But hearing Rexs voice had changed all of that . It wasnt worth a life . But it was my skill that I had been weighing on the balance . I hadnt considered that my own life was there as well . Perhaps there was an arrogance in me at the moment, telling me that I could beat . That was what Daniela was talking about . The proof was that I had tried to hide the skill from Bordow .
If you insist on throwing your own life away to help others, I might have to break those legs to stop you . Understand this . You are important .
Daniela
It almost felt like a confession of sorts, but Danielas expression was the peak of seriousness . Likely, her ears were only reddening because she had imagined something horrible .
I understand . Ill think more before acting from now on . After all, apparently this body isnt really mine alone anymore?
I, I did not mean it like that!
Daniela became a little frantic as she pulled out her trusty mask from a pocket . That was too bad . The tips of her ears had become so red .
We were walking side by side . This was a path that we had once walked alone on . But we were walking together now . Having a trustworthy friend by your side was something that could not be compared to that night when I was alone . I thought of what I could do to this dependable and dear friend who supported me as we walked to the bar .