The Porter Is Not Interested in the Hero Party

78 – good friends (4)

The world is cold not only because we are heading to the Empire and winter is drawing near. The entangled black roots in the dry soil, shamelessly thrusting their naked bodies into the driveway, and the wagon’s unruly movement about it, were not all that made us uncomfortable.

The fight ended quickly, but the aftermath is said to last a long time. They were two people who clumsily professed reconciliation in front of Millet, but a verbal contract was as meaningless as an oath written on a piece of tissue paper. It was because the two of them were maintaining a solid tension, like elven tricksters sticking out their flippers for not lying.

Even thinking about it now, it was sudden and absurd that the catastrophe had come so close in a way neither the Hero nor I could have expected. There were many times when Lena made fun of Ashuria’s religious views, but was there ever a time when she was particularly sharp like today?

He sometimes showed bad feelings towards Lena, but has Ashria ever been as strong as she is now? Fights and rifts happen more unexpectedly than you think. When you play a prank on a guy who was in a bad mood that day, or when someone who overheard something meaningless spit out abusive language while getting drunk.

Of course, the Cold War between the two never directly affected their work. Even when she suddenly encountered a raiding party of demons and had to fight, Lena still did her part, and when Lena was injured, Ashria healed her.

Of course, even during the treatment, the two had a trivial emotional fight, such as turning their faces away with their arms outstretched, or intentionally tying the wound a little tighter.

“…Are you a child?”

It seemed that Millet was the only one who felt that the party had returned to normal in the suffocating and suffocating atmosphere where they neither fought like biting nor reconciled. The hero wiped his face in amazement, and I was also laughing, but Millet only said that it was fortunate that the two did not fight.

“Warrior. The two of them have now reconciled. Why are you so depressed?”

When Millet said that with a smile on her face, it was impossible to publicize the atmosphere of the party.

You can’t talk about the conflict except for Millet, you can’t release this ambiguous relationship in front of Millet again, and it’s not an obstacle to the operation, so you can’t strongly ask for attitude correction. there was.

Our discussion of this issue has always been on a squirrel treadmill.

“mister. So, how do you operate?”

The warrior’s question continued even before the cave, the goal of the operation. Lena and Ashuria haven’t spoken to each other since leaving the capital. Since the two of them hadn’t had a conversation in the first place, this appearance was normal yet cold.

I observed two people. Their refusal to make eye contact was evident even from the high ground.

Ashria was organizing her bag. As she was tying her small bag with a string, a water bottle inside popped out and rolled around. As it landed at the feet of Lena, who was in a relatively low position, Lena glanced at the water bottle, reached out to pick it up, and threw it at Ashuria.

Catching the lightly thrown bottle, Ashria shook her head and stuffed the water bottle into her bag as if trying to appeal that she was still angry.

“huh!”

Lena looked at him in amazement, then turned away while snorting as if they were competing.

“huh!”

I laughed out loud. Fighting was trivial, perhaps because it was a trivial occasion. Should I say it’s a relief that Millet jumped in and got into such an awkward situation before it caught fire?

“…not even a child.”

But looking at it, I thought that even if the trip would be a little inconvenient right now, there would be no accident in an important operation. Aren’t they both pros in their work? Ashuria was a person who put her heart and soul into exterminating the demons, and Lena was a person who knew that she had to do her best to confront the black society.

Petty emotional battles cannot even get into such an important issue.

I said to the warrior

“Aren’t they people who know how to distinguish between public and private life? You won’t have an accident because of a personal conflict in the operation. I have been like that too. It was my turn to do something important in the Empire, but right before I got into an emotional fight with a colleague.”

the warrior asked.

“Uh, how was it?”

“Because the operation is starting. There was no time to worry about that. Everyone does. Promise to fight later, and after a bout of sweat, you feel empty thinking why you fought over such a useless thing. Then you just end up reconciling.”

“…Are you saying you’ll go back once you start the operation?”

The objective of the operation was clearly visible in front of us.

My face kept contorting because the feeling of the soil on the floor was unfamiliar to me. I remembered this forest. Trees were planted in a wide forest without distinction of species, and in the fall, the entire forest was mottled like a watercolor painting played by a child. If you go a little further, there is a valley where clear water flows, so during the holiday season, my colleagues and I would simply gather to see the autumn leaves.

At the point where the coniferous and maple trees meet exquisitely, while sitting in the shade of a tree and enjoying the flowing water while having a drink, before you know it, yellow and red maple leaves flutter like snow and color the valley.

But all of that was something I couldn’t see anymore. The soil that stained my combat uniform was pitch-black, and the trees that filled the ground stretched out their limbs sharply like a twisted torso.

The cave, hidden by the trees and known only to those in the know, was opening black holes like contaminated wounds spitting pus.

“…Once the operation starts, everything will be forgotten. Aren’t we first-class?”

The hero was still unreliable. But there was no way.

I couldn’t go back now, and I couldn’t cut Lena and Ashuria for that reason and find new party members. There was no nun who was as good at both healing and combat as Ashuria, and it was hard to find an assassin as good-natured as Lena.

I said.

“Warrior. You have to trust your colleagues.”

As I approached, the hero rolled his eyes, blushing. It was a little sorry for the hero, but there were times when it was easier to persuade, putting emotions ahead of logic.

“…Ah, okay… … . Oh, when the old man says so… … .”

The hero nodded and twisted his hands like a shy woman and turned around, and suddenly I realized that the hero’s body was very feminine. I didn’t realize it when I thought of him as a man, but even with the armor on, the lines of his body were very feminine.

The hero summoned the party members, not knowing that I was admiring her back.

“Gather everyone. We’re going to have a strategy meeting.”

Both Ashuria and Lena walked in side by side with calm faces, as if they would not engage in a war of nerves in front of the hero.

******

“We, first of all, don’t know anything about this cave.”

As soon as the strategy meeting started, Lena raised her hand and took her luck. Everyone nodded at her words. Even if it was once used by the Imperial Army, the information I knew was useless now that it was a secret base for assassins.

In my memory, there were no traps that would turn off the floor or crossbows that fired poison needles when pressed.

The hero added the following to Lena’s words.

“Because there are many things we don’t know about the demon king’s construction technology. I don’t even know how they remodeled the inside of the cave.”

Ashuria nodded at the hero’s words and said.

“But you have to go in. If you keep waiting here, your tail will be caught and you will be attacked. So, this time, it seems appropriate to go in a way where Lena stands in the vanguard and I assist behind her.”

Ashuria wasn’t surprised by Lena’s words. Lena had a sullen and disapproving expression, but she did not refute Ashuria’s words.

“right. It would be best to do so. I am Ashria. mister. And the dragon love and millet at the back. If things go wrong and I get hurt, the hero has to return alive.”

Watching them seriously talk about their strategy as if they were talking about when they fought, the hero seemed a little relieved. The hero made a strange expression as if he was about to cry, but managed to control his emotions and laughed.

“ha ha ha… … .”

“what. Warrior. If you laugh when I tell you that I am being victimized, it makes me feel a little like that.”

“Oh, no. sorry. Lena.”

Looking at Lena’s expression, she was smiling at least a little. Ashuria glanced at Lena and said to me.

“Porter. You should remember that in this operation, you are effectively serving as a meat shield. Should Lena and I get attacked, please do your best to buy time for the hero to escape.”

“All right.”

Lena said to me with an apologetic expression.

“Sorry for the ominous story, mister. But isn’t it a base of the Black Society? I can’t guarantee it either.”

Even though I thought that the cold appearance of the two was professional, my heart sank coldly at the thought that I had now reached the secret base of real assassins.

The hero, too, took a deep breath and calmed down.

may die

But

I want to go farther than here.