Editing/Standardisation: Medicine Melancholy
Original Translation: Medicine Melancholy
Scarlet
“Gramps, still alive?”
With trepidation, I spoke to the old man beside me.
Although he got back up and was holding the reins again, I was actually scared to death when he was knocked out cold earlier.
“Unfortunately, yes. Your ‘little’ stunt almost killed me, though.”
“I did warn you in advance! Just plug your ears!”
“But you didn’t say it’d be THAT loud, you dunce!”
“It was an emergency situation, okay?!”
We shouted at each other until we ran out of breath, and sighed.
“So, uh… Is it common to see something like that around here?”
“No way. This is my first time seeing that thing, too. Apparently you might encounter it if you travel further west, but that’s beside the point.”
“… I see.”
In other words, that was some ungodly bad luck that we encountered such a monster on the middle of the road.
“Well, in any case, thanks to you, we’ve made it to Count Roland’s territory in one piece. You have my thanks.”
“Oh please, I got to ride straight to my destination and even got paid for it, I can’t be any more grateful right now.”
“…Heh.”
“Hahaha…”
“You could have earned more than that, you know.”
“Really? I didn’t give it much thought about it…”
We both shared a laugh together, the tense atmosphere from when I revealed my identity mostly gone.
The trust we built over the past few weeks, sharing meal and sleep, made us comfortable enough to be frank and casual to each other.
Ah, it’s going to be tough to part ways with him.
Once we passed this checkpoint, it’s only a few more hours to the capital. Depending on the situation, this could be farewell…
“…Huh? Gramps, what’s going on here?”
“Hmm… I have no idea myself, too.”
I was brought back to reality when we were suddenly stopped dead in our track.
The last checkpoint before the capital were full of people who wanted to pass. However, there was no sign of the gate being opened.
“Come to think of it… when you sent that thing running away, it headed toward this direction right…?”
“I-It’s unrelated, probably! Even if it were related, it was self-defense!”
Besides, it wasn’t that long since I repelled that monster.
It was hard to believe that such a big crowd of stranded people would form in such a short time. Probably. Surely.
The old man continued to stare at me with a suspicious gaze.
“…Okay, I get it. Let me go ahead and see what happened…”
Defeated by that look, I reluctantly got off the carriage and went to look for the guards.
…Please, let there be no compensation this time, I don’t want to go broke again…
“Excuse me, sir… what’s with the traffic lockdown?”
When I saw an opportunity, I asked one of the guards standing by.
In response, he turned around with a weary expression and looked at me with irritation.
…Well, he’s probably fed up with having to answer the same question so many times.
“You’re… a merchant’s escort? Listen, beyond this point, there’s a special alert due to increased monster activity. The road is expected to be closed for a while, so you better find an inn quickly.”
“Increased monster activity?”
“Don’t ask me about the details. I’ve been in this post for a while, but this is the first time something like this happened. So, just move along already.”
A slightly older middle-aged guard said dismissively, seemingly about to shoo them away.
I had a bad feeling about this.
Driven by an unclear anxiety, I persisted.
“As you can see, I’m quite the fighter. Could you let us through if I cooperate with you on this matter?”
“…Is that a spear you’re carrying? Unfortunately, this isn’t a situation where that will be useful. There have been reports of wyvern sightings…”
Wyvern, he said.
It’s totally, one hundred percent not my fault, right?
As a matter of fact, if it’s flying opponents like wyverns, then this bad boy on my back was going to have a field day with them.
Just as I was about to seize the opportunity and spoke up…
“Sorry but interrupting, but could you let us through too…?”
“Like I said, no is no-”
The guard cut off mid-sentence.
Turning around at the same time, I saw a young man with blue hair.
He had two long swords hanging from his waist, both showing signs of considerable use.
On the contrary, his face was handsome, his demeanor was gentle, to the point of attracting admiring glances of women sneaking glances at him from a distance.
…Looks like a prince or something. Why wouldn’t handsome guys like him just explode?
“…Zell, is that you?”
“Long time no see, Uncle Josef. I’m glad to see you’re doing well.”
“You too, boy. I heard you’re working for a well-known mercenary company now? You’ve grown up so much.”
“Yes, I was out on another job, but circumstances changed, so we’ve returned with just a few of our comrades.”
Behind him stood an armed group.
It’s not just the guy with blue hair, all of them seemed pretty capable.
…One of them, the archer with a huge bow who looked like a thug, was glaring at me.
Well, archers who could tell what kind of weapon I was carrying usually gave me that kind of look anyway. They considered me some kind of heretic who went against the way they’d been trained or something.
Still, he didn’t have to glare at me like that, asshole…
I was contemplating returning the favor when…
“By the way, you, with the red hair.”
“Me?”
Apparently, the guy with blue hair had finished his business and suddenly addressed me.
“You said you were quite the fighter, didn’t you? Since we both have business ahead, how about you join us?”
“You sure?!”
“We could always do with extra firepower. Besides, the thing you’re carrying, is it what they say has been circulating in the southern continent lately?”
So even apart from the archer, who was like a rival profession, this band of mercenaries easily discerned that the weapon I was carrying is still relatively rare in this world.
“…Well, I wasn’t trying to hide it or anything. Is that a problem?”
“Not at all. By all means, use it however you like. I’m sure we’ll need it.”
“Alright, nice to be working with you.”
Saying so, I shook hands with the blue-haired guy.
And with that, after promising to meet again with the old man who had come this far together, we set off once more.
And so, after another three hours.
We finally caught a glimpse of the capital city that is our destination…
Iris
Atop the eastern gate of the capital city Rolandia.
“Iris-chaaaaan!”
“…Ack?!”
As soon as I stepped outside to visit Milly-san, who was stationed on top of the gate, my face was suddenly buried in something soft, and my vision went dark.
“Thank goodness, nya… You made me really worried, you know?!”
“Okay, I know that, just release me, please…!”
“Sorry, nya, I just had to make sure you were okay with my own eyes… I’m really sorry!”
After finally being released, I took a deep breath.
…Something about this felt terribly familiar.
“*panting*… I’m sorry for making you worry…”
“It’s fine, as long as you’re okay…”
She pulled me into another embrace (thankfully this time she’s gentle about it), making me realize how worried she’d been. So, I quietly yielded to her embrace.
As I remained like that for a while, eventually she released me again and rushed over to Hayato-kun, who had been guarding me from behind.
“You’re the kid who were with us in Diamant Valley, aren’t you? Mhm… Looking at you now, you’re quite pretty… exotic, even. That’s it, nya!”
“Huh?!”
“I think I’ve taken a liking to you, nya!”
And just like that, Hayato-kun’s shoulders came under Milly-san’s firm grasp.
Caught off guard by the sudden embrace of an older, beautiful woman, he turned red and seemed flustered.
But… being liked by Milly-san… wasn’t necessarily a good thing.
“Kiddo, are you interested… in crossdressing?!”
“Cross… What the heck are you on about?!”
Hayato-kun, who was blushing red like a tomato, yelled in panic.
Since Milly-san had a similar look in her eyes to the one she occasionally gave me, I figured that must be the case. I smiled wryly behind them.
“I’ll try to make it as boyish as possible! Is that no good, nya?!”
“I’m a guy, dammit! Don’t force me to wear girl’s clothes! That’s it, I’m outta here!”
With that, he shook off Milly-san’s arms, used “Cloak” to make himself vanish and ran off.
“Oh dear… I got rejected, nya.”
“Yes, yes, apologize to him later, please.”
“Will do, nya…”
Milly-san weakly laughed. But soon, her expression turned serious, and I straightened myself.
“The repair of the Clarte Iris is going to take longer, nya. I’m so sorry, I really wanted to fix it as soon as possible…”
“No, it’s my fault that the outfit you made for me got damaged in the first place…”
“You don’t have to apologize. I adore my creations, but clothes is for protection first and foremost. Iris-chan’s safety is more important than anything else… Be sure to remember that, nya.”
“…Yes, thank you very much.”
I relaxed and smiled at her hand gently stroking my head.
“Moreover, your abilities have improved since you first received that outfit, so I wanted to upgrade its performance to match your level… it’ll take a bit longer, just wait for it.”
“I’ll look forward to it.”
“And… regarding the new material, I’ve figured out how to use it.”
“…I see. Please go ahead.”
The material she talked about was Blanche-sama’s… in other words, the Sirius’ brilliant white fur.
Much like the powerful Phantasmal Beast that was Blanche-sama, her fur would make an excellent material to make clothing with.
As part of her final wish, she wanted us to make good use of the fur she left behind. The Count had collected it and left it in the hands of Milly-san as material.
“For now, if I weave the fur into fabric, I can make three coats out of it and another surcoat for Ayame-chan to wear over her armor while still having some in reserve. As for the armor, I think we need to order them separately…”
“Um, Milly-san… What about you? Don’t you want to make something for yourself?”
“Hehe, thanks for asking, but I already got that covered, nya.”
Said Milly-san with a smug face.
I was worried that a magician who’s focused on offense like her would have problem with defense, but she seemed to have thought it through, so I felt relieved.
“Iris-chan, I just want to ask… Is it urgent for us right now to strengthen ourselves and our equipment?”
“I think so… after what happened that day, I realized that at the moment, we’re nowhere near powerful enough.”
It’s a real possibility that our battles would become more and more intense in the future.
Sooner or later, Nii-sama, Reiji-san, and all the other players who had been sent here would find their current equipment inadequate… I had a strong feeling about that.
The equipment that everyone originally used after coming to this world was much better than what could be found in ordinary stores.
However, they were just substitutes for the main equipment that had become unusable due to post-reincarnation level reset.
“So we have Milly-san to handle protection clothing, as for the rest…”
“…We need to find a craftsman, correct?”
“Do you have any contacts who might be able to do that?”
Since Milly-san was the guild master of a production guild back in the game, I figured I could ask her about it, but…
“Hmm… I don’t think any of those guys got sent over here… We might have to start from scratch, nya…”
“Is that so…”
Things never went smoothly for us, did they?
The only thing we could do was adapting to our situation, and that meant returning our focus to the battle.
Although our position hadn’t come under attack yet, the Count and everyone else was already engaged in combat.
“How’s the battlefield looking?”
“Well, skirmishes have been occurring sporadically around the castle and the mountains for a while now, nya. We occasionally see flashes of magic, but… it seems to be under control. There haven’t been any serious injuries reported, right?”
“Yes… So far, there have only been two cases of children falling ill due to environmental changes, and a few minor injuries due to small troubles.”
And those cases had already been dealt with by the doctors and pharmacists there like Aini-san, who were stationed there.
Things were still relatively peaceful around here. Truth be told, I wanted to use this downtime to continue treating Reiji-san and Saul-niisama…
“Don’t rush it, okay? Their conditions are currently stable, right?”
“…Yes.”
She patted my back to reassure me.
It seemed that anxiety was written all over my face, and she knew it.
“Trust me, they won’t just disappear and leave you behind, Iris-chan. And neither will I, nya.”
“…You’re so kind, Milly-san.”
“Nyahaha, if you want to thank me, call me Onee-chan would do. You can start doing it right now if you like! Come on, just do it!”
“That’s a bit…”
Although I sometimes forgot about it, back in our old world, this girl was Ayame’s classmate… so she’s the same age as my little sister.
Calling her Onee-chan was just too much… so I only smiled wryly.
“Gnnnn… Iris-chan is being so mean to me…”
“I’ll let you know, I may look like this, but I’m actually older than you-”
As I composed myself and retorted a pouting Milly-san… our vision was enveloped in light.
“Iris-chan, that light just now…”
“It’s… a yellow signal flare!”
One of the scouts hidden in the mountains must have fired that signal flare.
With my hands on the parapet of the gate, I leaned out and saw the lingering yellow light in the distance.
As I stared at the light in amazement, Hayato-kun, who had just dropped his stealth, also noticed.
“Onee-chan, what was that just now?!”
“Um, yellow is… ‘Unexpected danger, be cautious’… right?”
The other two nodded at my words.
By the way, a red signal flare meant ‘Evacuate the city immediately’.
“What on earth…”
“I have a bad feeling about this, nya…”
I stared intently at the mountains.
Soon enough, several shadows were coming from that direction toward us.
“Are those… birds?”
No, they looked too big for birds.
I cast Eagle Eye on myself to enhance my vision.
Hayato-kun seemed to have used a similar skill, as he too began staring in the same direction.
“No way… Whatever those are, they aren’t birds.”
Hayato-kun muttered in shock.
What appeared in our enhanced vision was…
Long, giant body covered in scales and sharp tails.
No front legs, but instead, large wings with membranes spread out.
And heads that look like dragon’s.
“…Wyverns?!”
Not just one or two.
From beyond the mountains… shadows of the same creature were flying toward us, one after another.
APM - Translation 