Month 13 (2)

Once again, I am walking through the ruins of District 7, dressed in the special outfit Amelia had given me.

Step, step,

As I walk along the uneven roads that can hardly be called streets, soldiers hurry about their duties, paying little attention to a lone passerby like me.

Well, not completely uninterested. They did glance my way, but quickly returned to their tasks, brushing it off as if they’d simply been mistaken.

It was all thanks to the clothes I was wearing today.

The Crimson Party Suit.

Like the “Golden Mask” I once obtained in the Blood-Tinted Fortress, this was a piece of equipment that could only be acquired from within a rift.

It didn’t grant any bonus stats or combat effects, only the ability to alter the wearer’s physical appearance as desired.

Even so, this outfit was extremely rare.

It could only be obtained from a ninth-floor rift, and the activation conditions for the hidden piece were so bizarre that simply going there wasn’t enough.

I regularly checked auction houses and even went out of my way to search for it, thinking it would be useful to have at least one set. However, ever since I awoke in this body, it had never once appeared on the market.

And yet Amelia suddenly showed up with it and tossed it to me, so even I couldn’t help but be surprised…

“Seriously, where did you even get this?”

Unable to suppress my curiosity, I kept repeating the same question, and Amelia’s facial muscles twitched slightly.

At first, I thought she was annoyed at my persistence, but it didn’t take me long to realise that she was actually amused.

I wondered why she wouldn’t answer, but now I could tell: she just wanted to enjoy watching my reaction a little longer.

“Hmm…”

“It’s not even that important, why are you so curious?”

“I’ve tried endlessly to get this and never could, and you just show up with it. Of course I’m curious.”

Seemingly satisfied with my reaction, Amelia finally relented. “I asked Astarotta Berun. I wanted to know if they had one available and if I could borrow it.”

“Ah…”

Well, if it’s the royal family, it makes sense they’d have something like this lying around.

It was a rather anticlimactic reply, but still… a part of my chest felt warm.

She even went to meet him just for my sake.

“Thanks.”

“…It’s nothing.”

“So… if I said I lost it, what are the chances I’d get to keep it?”

She fixed me with a cold, unimpressed stare. “Does he look like someone that would work on?”

Hmm, well…

Well he did seem a bit easygoing at times. Still, it was better to play it safe.

“…Fine. I’ll return it properly later.”

“Good. Better not give them a reason to take issue with you. The royal family’s old way is to take twice as much as they give.”

We continued talking, drifting from one topic to another as we walked through District 7, and somehow, that alone helped lift my mood quite a bit.

The only change was my height, now reduced to that of an average human, yet no one recognized me.

‘Nice…!’

At the same time as I felt a strange sense of freedom, my heart grew heavy whenever I looked around. District 7, the place I had come to think of as home, lay in ruins once again, this time in an even worse state than after the first invasion. The eastern area was scorched black, stripped of all color by the fires, and the central part of the district had been completely obliterated by two strikes of Thunder.

‘Well… I guess it’s still better than District 8. Didn’t that place get completely burned to the ground?’

Nevertheless, the war had swept across several districts this time, and with District 4 completely lost to the Noarkans, the city had grown even smaller. The remaining districts were now so overcrowded with displaced citizens that the palace was even considering temporarily opening Gnometree.

‘And yet, a festival…’

It made me wonder.

What was this festival even for?

The refugees who had lost their homes wouldn’t be in any position to enjoy it.

So, was it for those who hadn’t lost anything, or for those who had lost less?

I don’t know.

If it were up to me, I’d skip the festival and just get some work done. The problem was that someone in our clan had threatened to leave if I didn’t go with her.

‘…Can’t be helped.’

As I gazed at the city reduced to ash and rubble, one thought lingered in my mind.

Step, step…

Even if everything seems to have collapsed, it will eventually be rebuilt.

Just as it always has.

***

As expected, District 5 was in a festive mood.

To be honest, I thought it might feel a bit subdued after the war—but instead, the streets were crowded, and the voices of merchants and passersby were full of energy.

And somehow, that made it feel even more strange. District 5 was the only place besides District 4 that had become a battlefield. Naturally, the restoration work hadn’t been properly finished yet.

“Be careful! There’s a big pit right in front of you!”

In the outskirts of District 5, ruined roads and broken buildings were commonplace, but, for some reason, people moving about in the early morning were all smiling as they took in the festival.

However, I decided to think positively.

‘It’s not like they’re truly happy either.’

They were probably just trying to forget reality for a while.

Or maybe they were here to fill their stomachs with the free food and alcohol distributed by the royal family.

“Jandel, what are you doing? Why aren’t you following?”

“Ah… alright.”

Even after entering District 5, I followed Amelia. Since it was Amelia, she likely had a schedule planned for today.

When I froze in place, Amelia took my hand and gave it a firm tug, urging me to keep moving.

“Don’t resist and come quickly. If we get separated, it’ll be hard to find you in this crowd. Since you’re short now…”

“Ah… Oh… Okay, I get it.”

It was a perfectly reasonable argument, so I gave up resisting and let her lead me through the streets.

“Emily… where exactly are we going?”

“Wherever our feet take us.”

“…Don’t tell me you don’t have a plan?”

“…Isn’t it nice to do this sometimes?”

No, I thought you at least had something you wanted to do.

That’s why I even cleared my schedule to come…

‘Well… this isn’t so bad either.’

It felt a bit empty, but wandering around without a plan was actually quite nice.

We strolled around watching people, ate whatever looked good, browsed a weapon shop and got shocked at the inflated prices…

“…… A three-stage transforming doll? It turns from a goblin into an orc, and then from an orc into an ogre?”

I went to the Alminas Central Exchange to participate in a festival-limited event auction, only to get a slap on the back from Amelia for wasting money on useless things.

I didn’t have any specific plans, but as I wandered around doing little things here and there, time flew by.

Ah, and finally, we stopped by a pub to fill our stomachs, but…

“Man, it’s obviously Bjorn Jandel…!!”

As soon as we walked in, I saw a drunkard shouting my name loudly while arguing with his companions. Since the table happened to be nearby and my name was being mentioned, I unintentionally ended up eavesdropping, and the content was quite interesting.

 

“Who among the explorers right now has accomplished as much as Baron Jandel? In the first place, the reason we can laugh and chat here is all thanks to the Baron cutting off that traitor’s head!”

“I admit he has achieved great things. But it’s hard to accept that Baron Jandel is the strongest. Take the Great Navigator Pikma, for example. He achieved great things, but apparently his actual combat ability was quite low.”

“…Pikma? Are you seriously comparing Baron Yandel to a mere navigator right now?”

“No, I’m just saying…”

The topic of the two drunks’ conversation was ‘Who is the strongest.’ Fortunately, they weren’t deciding the ‘Greatest of All Time’ by competing with figures from the past, but were rather discussing the ‘Strongest Under Heaven’ at this current point in time.

“Hey, still, Baron Jandel is certainly worth mentioning as the ‘strongest’.”

“Right, we used to think he was only good at group combat, but this incident proved that’s not the case.”

“They say he finished off that Demon Eye in a single blow?”

“I heard he also took out the Corpse Collector…”

“He even survived after being hit by thunder several times…”

The argument quickly ended as other drunks chimed in.

“You’re eavesdropping quite intently.”

“Ah, sorry. It was just a bit interesting.”

Hearing them, it really hit me how people’s perception had changed. Before, I was highly rated for my leadership, spirit of sacrifice, courage, and achievements as an explorer, but now, even my pure combat power was being recognized.

‘Well, I haven’t really taken down any big names one-on-one until now.’

The battles in the Goblin Forest and the Ice Rock Expedition hadn’t been true duels. But defeating the infamous Demon Eye, in front of so many witnesses, had firmly proven my strength.

“This topic is quite interesting to me as well. So, what do you think yourself?”

“Huh?”

“Do you think their evaluation is correct?”

Tsk, why is she asking this all of a sudden? I gave a short answer with a smirk.

“Well… they’re not wrong.”

I don’t think I will lose to anyone now.

***

My outing with Amelia started early in the morning and went on until early evening. Though by the time I returned to the sanctuary, it was already late at night.

Step, step.

After washing up and changing clothes, I stepped outside for a walk.

With no destination in mind, I wandered, enjoying the breeze…and before I knew it, I arrived somewhere.

Coincidentally, someone was already there.

“Hikurod?”

“……Ah. Is that you, Jandel?”

“You said you were going out today too, when did you get back?”

“I arrived a little while ago. I thought I’d try to change my mood, but it didn’t go as well as I thought. How about you?”

“…I think it helped me quite a bit.”

“Haha, well, that’s a relief.”

For some reason, the dwarf’s back looked smaller today.

I let out a quiet sigh and sat down beside him.

“You’ve got another bottle, right? Hand it over.”

“Got a cup?”

“Do you carry a cup on you?”

“Haha… I really can’t win against you…”

We sat quietly, drinking side by side, until the dwarf spoke first.

“Do you remember? That day on the third floor, when we all saw that sight together for the first time.”

“You mean the day Dwalki was scared out of his mind.”

“He was a pure one. It was his first time being attacked by plunderers, realizing that ideals and reality are different.”

“That’s something every explorer goes through… Anyway, didn’t Rotmiller wake everyone up in the middle of the night to console him?”

“Perhaps he wanted to show us… that even though the labyrinth is full of sorrow and hardship, there are still good things too.”

“…Same for me.”

The conversation died out, and we drank in silence for a while.

Eventually, it was the dwarf who spoke again.

“It’s starting to get a bit cold now that I’m tipsy. I’ll head back first.”

With that, he staggered off.

I stood there for a while before heading back to my quarters.

And somehow… there was someone waiting in front of my room.

“Misha? What brings you here at this hour?”

Misha Kalstein.

One of the three remaining original members of our loser team, and my first, unfulfilled love.

Hmm, I guess technically, she isn’t my first love?

Maybe it was all the late-night drinking, but for a moment there, I found myself getting oddly sentimental about love.

“Make some time for me tomorrow… There’s somewhere I want to go with you…”

“…Huh?”

“If you don’t come… I—I’ll leave the clan too!!”

…What kind of situation is this now?

I stood there, dumbfounded, and before I could even respond, Misha disappeared right in front of me.

“Whew…”

Seriously, what are they all trying to do, one after another…? Do they have some kind of group chat or something?

“At least tell me what time we’re meeting tomorrow before you go.”

Well… I guess I’ll just wake up early.

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