Chapter 96 - Still, There is Hope (5)

Redmane Kankan sighed as he faced the door in front of him.

It was because he had absolutely no idea whether he should step through this door or not.

If it were up to him, he would have just walked away. Why on earth would he meet with a scumbag who had murdered several innocent employees and even attacked his friend of thirty years? The bastard had always had a nasty temper anyway, making him wonder why he had even bothered being friends with him.

But what the hell was up with this so-called friendship. What was up with his oath as a Norda warrior. He ended up standing once again in the very spot he had spat on a week ago.

Without anyone's coercion or pressure, entirely of his own free will.

"Hah, fuck."

Of course, he didn't sympathize with the guy the moment he killed civilians. It was a rule for Norda warriors not to touch civilians except during moments of plunder, and anyone who broke that rule was unworthy of being a warrior.

Even so, the reason he stood here was, simply put, because as a friend of thirty years, he couldn't bear to watch his buddy become any more corrupted.

"... This bastard should be grateful to me."

Reporting him was blocked, he was threatened to keep his mouth shut, and he was even physically attacked.

Where else in the world would you find a friend who, despite suffering all those hardships, still tried to stop his final corruption and advised him to turn himself in instead of cutting him off?

He even offered to stay by his side and go through it together if he only agreed to pay for his crimes.

At the very least, he was definitely a friend too good for that bastard Martial King. Kankan thus painted his own name in gold.

"Hey, hey. You in there?"

And so, ultimately overcome by thirty years of attachment, he knocked on the gate.

Even knowing it wouldn't work, it was the right thing to do. He did it because he believed it was the path for his friend.

"Hey, you punk! Punk, hey!"

But even with a friend like this, some sons of bitches simply refused to choose repentance to the very end.

"Fucking piece of shit...!"

Kankan finally kicked the gate hard. If he had truly kicked it with all his might, the door would have shattered, but he held back on that much at least.

He had done that last time and was told to pay for the door—along with condescending remarks about whether he knew how precious wooden doors were—so it was only natural.

"I'm never coming back, you hear me?! You fucking bastard! Today is the end. I'm telling you, this is it!"

Instead, he spewed his anger wildly. Even though he said this, he would likely be loitering around here again tomorrow, but he couldn't stand it if he didn't spit it out now.

His friend of thirty years was no longer a friend, but an enemy itself.

BANG!

Kankan kicked the gate one last time before leaving the area. Perhaps because it was a street where mostly fighters lived, no one paid any attention to the commotion.

"Did you get rejected again today?"

Instead, some people who knew a bit of the situation giggled and poked their heads out. Those bastards were just as damn awful.

Kankan's face crumpled.

"Shut up."

It would be one thing if they were close, but these worthless nobodies he wasn't even close to were just poking at him.

When he had first arrived here, there weren't many guys like this, but lately, there were plenty of these morons. Guys acting more like gossips than fighters.

"Look at that pride."

Kankan flipped them the middle finger and made his way out of the street. It was reeking more and more of a foul stench here, and he didn't want to stay any longer than possible.

"... This stench, seriously."

Do these bastards not even clean up their own shit?

Some of them didn't smell at least, but the rookies who suddenly seemed to be rising through the ranks all smelled awful. The same went for his damn friend.

Anyway, there wasn't a single guy he liked.

He grumbled and twitched his nose.

Then, he suddenly remembered the rookie fighter he saw earlier today. That bastard with the half-and-half hair, which he had seen for the first time in his life so it stood out in his memory, while at the same time giving off a subtly similar scent to this street, putting him in a bad mood.

He did look somewhat strong though, so maybe they would meet in the arena in the near future?

He left the area, thinking that he would rather not meet him if possible. It really was a day of terrible luck.

"Huh, aren't you the one I saw earlier today...?"

"What is it."

It truly was a day of terrible luck.

He prayed not to meet him in the arena, only to see his face in the Temple.

* * *

I sat in the Temple's chapel, feeling my body ache all over.

It felt like I was wasting time in the middle of the day, but given the situation, it couldn't be helped.

After all, they asked me to refrain from acting alone just in case. And naturally, I couldn't enter the desert beyond the walls, which was full of demons.

Even if I scoured the Adventurer's Guild, the only quests available were for demon hunting, and scouting strong fighters while watching arena matches had become difficult because of the earlier incident.

Since I wasn't the one who started the fight, I didn't have to pay for the repair costs, but I had been slapped with a ban from entering as a spectator.

If I really needed to enter, I could use the loophole of entering as a fighter—they even said I was welcome as a fighter, as if that was what they wanted—but was there really a need to go that far? I'd rather just hole up in the Temple.

Besides, it wasn't all bad. Perhaps because the Temple itself had a function to suppress demonic energy, they didn't say anything about me acting alone as long as I was here.

The Archmage still seemed to hint that it would be good to have one person stay with me... but he didn't insist, since it was true that there was no one left to stay behind. I guess I benefited from our small party size.

Anyway, a limited freedom was still freedom. I was planning to stay holed up in here all day and just meditate. I had a lot of things I wanted to confess anyway, whether I called upon this world's god, our world's god, or whoever else.

"Have mercy upon us. Hear our prayers..."

Above all, there was one thing I desperately wanted to pray to this world's god for.

"Oh God, bestow your benevolence, mercy, and love upon your servants."

I prayed earnestly while tagging along during the evening mass.

'Please, with your benevolence, mercy, and love, do not let the Berserker join our party... I don't care about anything else, but please spare us from her... Please protect my body and my Archmage's stomach...'

If the god had a conscience, it was a wish they ought to grant.

"We seek your wisdom above all else, so please help us overcome the trials and tribulations we will face."

Of course, if you said I sounded too much like a Berserker anti-fan, I'd have nothing to say. But honestly, even if you weren't an anti, I think you'd still pray this much.

Yeah, my concept was enough for a damage dealer who couldn't be reasoned with in our party! Me being the one who refused to coordinate and just blindly charged straight ahead was plenty!

On top of that, everyday life was also a problem.

It might be one thing if we had actually settled the match, but since it was called off halfway, she was probably seething with rage. It was obvious she would challenge me again if we met, and if she joined the party, there would be no way to avoid it.

I—I really didn't want to fight her again... At least when fighting an enemy, I wouldn't need to hold back my strength, but I couldn't exactly do that against the Berserker. I didn't want to fight.

"We will now conclude today's prayer."

But she was still going to join, wasn't she... Of course, looking at the party's current attitude, they didn't seem likely to let her join easily, but it had been the same back with the Thief. Sob.

I swallowed my tears and stood up. Regardless of my plan to stay in the chapel, the person sitting further inside seemed to want to leave.

"Huh, aren't you the one I saw earlier today...?"

But why the hell was it you?

I looked at his reddish-brown hair and rummaged through my memory for his name. Was it... Kankan?

I had been so focused on praying without caring who sat around me that I hadn't even realized this guy was in the seat next to me. The fact that he was covered in the cloth—a consecrated one—handed out by the Bishop before mass probably played a part too.

"What is it."

Regardless, whether Kankan was sitting next to me, in front of me, or behind me didn't change much. It wasn't my concept to gather information and report back anyway, so this coincidence was ultimately meaningless.

I sullenly glared at him.

"Hm? Ah, ah..."

Kankan seemed to have acknowledged me without realizing it. When I glared at him, he scratched his head as if feeling awkward. His somewhat aged face turned strange.

"...smelling so foul... first time seeing someone like this go to the Temple..."

He muttered something as he did, and the contents were rather unpleasant.

What did he just say? Foul smell? A foul smeeeell?!

Do I stink?!!?

I was in shock. First, at Kankan's manners in bluntly telling someone they smelled, and second, at the fact that I actually smelled.

Hah, do you know how thoroughly I washed myself? I even paid the bathhouse fee, which was ten times more expensive just because it was a desert, to cleanse my body. And I had just washed up a little while ago, right before this!

And I reeked of a foul stench!!

And so I ended up losing my mind... is what I wanted to say, but I couldn't bring myself to do it and clenched my fists instead.

'I'm going... I'm going to wash up again, goddammit. As a civilized person who lived in modern times, I can't be a smelly person.'

"If you have no business with me, piss off."

More importantly, the people here generally didn't wash up well, so just how bad did I smell for even someone like him to say I stank?

Hah, wow. Wooow. Was it a problem with the soap? Or was it because I scrubbed myself gently due to the bruises covering my entire body?

I was going to lose it, really.

"Uh, sorry."

Filled with irritation, I covered my body a bit more with the consecrated cloth.

The cloth was clean, so it should mask the smell a bit. I felt somewhat sorry for the person who would have to wash this, but I couldn't just sit still after being told to my face that I reeked. I couldn't even buy perfume because of my concept!

I gritted my teeth at Kankan, who kept glancing at me as he left his seat. I was thankful he let me know I smelled, but he was still a hateful prick.

"Ah, Sir Redmane. We meet again in the Temple."

'Ah, my fragile mentality... my pride as a civilized person...'

"You...! Are you following me again?!"

"Hey now, saying I followed you leaves so much room for misunderstanding. It is merely a coincidence, you see?"

"Coincidence my ass...!"

But why was that guy getting involved in some weird incident instead of leaving?

"You must have come to monitor me...!"

"What dreadful words! How could I possibly monitor you, Sir Redmane? There would be no reason for me to do so."

I knew it was rude to eavesdrop on other people's conversations. But in this situation, before talking about being rude, weren't the people loudly chatting where others could hear them the bigger problem?

Of course, they seemed reluctant to let the Temple people hear them, so they were leaning in close and whispering... but didn't they think there might be someone with good hearing around here? Were your secrets a joke to you!?

'Do that kind of stuff where there aren't any people! Don't do it in the chapel!'

"Even if you don't follow me, I won't say a word."

"I have no idea what you are talking about..."

"I won't drag others into this, so don't ever appear before my eyes again!"

'Ughhh. Why did I have to read so many literary works to the point of becoming thoroughly versed in clichés?'

'I have no intention of interfering, but I can already guess the whole situation, you guys! Or what, is this a side quest?! Is that it?!'

"Haha, I'm not quite sure what you mean, but as expected of the Champion's friend. Hating to drag others into things, I mean."

They even mentioned the Champion.

I stayed seated and lowered my head so the cloth draped over me covered my face. My expression had turned quite cold as I quickly racked my brain.

There were rumors that the Champion was suffering from madness.

There were also rumors that his madness had resulted in deaths and injuries.

And Kankan was the Champion's friend and was being monitored and threatened for some reason...

'My, my.'

It seemed the Martial King was destined to never join our party. The foul stench wasn't coming from me, it was reeking from this whole situation.

"Fucking bastard!"

After the unknown blackmailer left, Kankan vented his anger by slamming his fist into the chapel door. Seeing how it didn't shatter or crack, he at least had enough presence of mind to control his strength.

"Brother, is something the matter?"

"...! Ah, no, Priest."

"I do not know what has angered you so much... but perhaps you had a dispute with that merchant from Gridana?"

"Not at all! Why would a lowly fighter like me have any problems with a merchant?"

No, anyone would think there was a dispute after seeing that display just now. Was he bad at lying because he was a brawler?

"... That is a relief, then."

The Priest seemed to feel similarly to me, but he didn't press the issue much. He merely left an opening, saying Kankan could always consult him if he had a problem.

"Um, Priest."

'Wait, he was grabbing onto that opening right away?'

"Could you... bestow a blessing upon me?"

'Ah, guess not.'

"What blessing do you seek?"

"That I might win... no, you said things like that aren't allowed because of fairness. Then..."

I quietly watched Kankan, Redmane, as he pleaded with the Priest who was much smaller than him.

"Please bless me... that I can help someone precious to me. That there is still hope. Please grant me that blessing."

I could see his red eyes shining with determination, as if he had made up his mind about something.

I couldn't be sure what exactly was wrong with the Champion, the Martial King, but it was a moment where I could clearly tell that the guy had one hell of a good friend.

The very next day, a match was scheduled between Redmane Kankan and the Champion, the Martial King.