Volume 3 Chapter 98 Did I… Like Sarah…？
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
Kian apologized without hesitation.
When dealing with women, there’s one golden rule.
If they’re mad, just apologize.
”My bad. You’re right. I won’t do it again.”
He bowed his head, looking like a dog who’d been denied food.
Ms. Aliona once said this was the secret to getting along with women.
And it worked on Natra, so it should probably work on Sarah too.
Kian kept his head down, glancing at Sarah’s full chest, but then──whack!──he got smacked in the back of the head.
”Ow.”
”Well, I did hit you.”
When Kian looked up, Sarah was glaring at him with utter disappointment.
”That’s harsh, Sarah. But… I guess I deserve it.”
Inside, Kian thought, Christy wouldn’t hit me though…
If it was her, she’d get mad, then cry with those beautiful black eyes and hug him.
She’d say: “Don’t do anything dangerous again…”
At first, Christy was just someone he fell for by accident.
But now, thinking about it, she’s seriously a great woman.
Sarah… well, she can’t clean, she’s picky with food, she’s got gorilla-strength, and she’s kind of a hassle.
Looking at her now, the fantasy’s gone.
No, stop. He shouldn’t go there.
She’s Azrael, Kian’s precious childhood friend who helped him.
That fact will stick with Kian until the last second of his life.
”Can you stop pretending to be sorry? Trying to look good and cover up with some tea is just pathetic.”
”Then what do you want me to do?”
”Don’t do stupid things. Charging alone at 50 Bloodsucking Kinds in the middle of a pitch-black swamp with the worst footing and visibility? That’s suicide! If you told some random advanced-rank Adventurer about it, they’d faint right there.”
”Alright, alright. I get it. I’m sorry.”
”No, you’re definitely not!”
”But to get stronger, you need some risk. There are experiences you can only get from life-or-death battles. You get it, don’t you? A sword that’s used for murder won’t stay sharp unless it cuts.”
”Why do you want to get so strong, anyway?”
Sarah’s expression drastically changed to one of sadness.
She shifted from a casual slouch to a proper, lady-like posture.
She fixed her gaze on Kian with slightly moist eyes.
”Why? Do I need a reason?”
”You’ve got Natra and Rufna, and Ms. Serena as an ally. You’re tight with the top Witch of Châtillon and the Princess of Izerland. Plus, you’ve got a cute, young court magician as your lover. Isn’t that enough? What more could you want?”
”You, who’s aiming to be an advanced-rank Adventurer, are saying that?”
”Answer me. I wanted you to live happily, Kian. You could have done just fine without living a life surrounded by death and danger, just using your abilities, right?”
”Well, maybe it was too much to ask.”
”Liar. You can cook, you’re skilled with your hands, you can speak 3 languages, and you graduated from Azrael’s monastery. Why did you become an Adventurer, then?!”
”To come get you. I got stronger to take you back from Jibril.”
Then there was his unhealthy obsession with the sword…
And his pride that sought ever more power.
Now, he just wanted to be strong enough to protect himself when Aliona or Christy found out about his affair and came for him.
”Please, don’t push yourself. I don’t want to lose anyone else close to me.”
”Sorry, I was wrong.”
”It’s okay, as long as you’ve reflected on it.”
Sarah let out a small sigh and finally relented.
Kian tensed up and leaned towards his childhood friend with the brown skin.
”So, did you find out anything about Rean?”
”I’ve got some additional info. Ms. Ninini and Ms. Serena are waiting at the tavern. Let’s talk there.”
* * *
The information Sarah gathered from the Wolfmen warriors could be summarized in 3 points.
First, a few days ago, a human male with golden hair was thrown into the prisoner shed.
He’s weak, but still alive.
The tent where the man is locked up is a 15-minute walk from the food storage, and only 3 minutes away from the shared restroom.
It’s far enough from the camp’s perimeter to make escape difficult, which is why this tent was chosen for the confinement.
As for the blonde high elf──Vestacia──she doesn’t know anything about her.
Apparently, she hasn’t been captured as a prisoner.
”Rean, I’m so glad you’re still alive…”
”But I still don’t know what happened to Ms. Vestacia.”
Sarah said apologetically as she continued.
”The possibilities are that, like Ms. Ninini, Ms. Vestacia escaped by herself… or she’s locked up in a completely different location from Mr. Rean. If it’s the former, she might be heading for Izerland through the forest. Ms. Vestacia can use magic, but if she jumped into the woods alone without any gear, she could be in serious danger.”
”As for the latter, we still don’t know what the Wolfmen’s group is planning.”
”If they just happened to find her during patrol, they’d have thrown her in the same tent without bothering to separate her.”
Serena said, licking the tip of her ale slowly.
Rean was too weak to move properly and had a spear wound to his stomach.
Keeping them together would make it harder for Vestacia to act on any escape plans, since Rean would be a psychological anchor.
So, what’s the reason for separating them and locking her up in a different spot?
Of course, it’s still possible that Vestacia has already escaped and is wandering the forest alone.
”Tomorrow, I’ll walk around the ‘Storm Herd’ camp and make a map. I think I can figure out where Mr. Rean is being held based on the camp’s layout.”
”Thanks, Kian. If she made the map, no one would be able to read it.”
”Why not?”
”Sarah’s handwriting is terrible. She can’t even draw a straight line on paper. My maps are much easier to read.”
”That’s a fatal flaw for a scout.”
”──If I had more time, I could make it neat! If Kian wasn’t here, I would’ve made the map myself!”
I mean, even if the handwriting’s a mess, as long as you can tell the shape of the land, it should work as a map, right?
Sarah puffed her cheeks out as she said it.
You can tell from stuff like this ── Sarah can be pretty sloppy sometimes.
For Kian, who’s always so meticulous and uptight, sometimes he just couldn’t deal with her way of working.
It had always been like that, even back when they trained together at the monastery.
He still remember the time in the herb-gathering class when Kian carefully arranged the herb roots to dry them, and then Sarah came over, yelling, “What the hell are you doing, taking so much time on that?!” and scattered them all over the place.
He still can’t forget it.
Back then, he smiled weakly and said, “Sorry, Sarah,” but inside he was screaming, “Aaaaaaaaaahhh!”
(Wait… did I like Sarah…?)
”What?”
Sarah nudged Kian’s knee with hers.
She was sitting right next to him.
Being as sharp as she was, Sarah seemed to know exactly what Kian was thinking.
”Sorry I’m such a clumsy idiot.”
”I haven’t said anything yet. Stop with the tantrums, alright?”
”You two really do get along, huh?”
Serena said, her voice completely lacking any tension.
Sarah immediately denied it, “We’re just stuck with each other.”
Then she added,
”Here’s some extra info. I got the details on a magician named Barghest who’s currently leading ‘Storm Herd.’”
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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