Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 187: An Ominous Turn
Ragune was evidently a highly capable warrior.
Tauro had given her so many medicinal herbs that he considered preparing a large basket for her journey. The bundle appeared far too bulky to carry normally, but Ragune declined.
“I possess [Magic Storage] of my own, so I’ll be fine.”
With those words, she made the entire pile of herbs disappear at once.
“Amazing! Ragune has several valuable abilities,” Aeris said admiringly.
“Naturally. I’m trusted as one of the finest warriors in the dragonfolk village. That’s why I was selected as one of the representatives sent to search for a cure to the epidemic.”
Ragune proudly thrust out her chest.
It seemed that leaving the dragonfolk village was itself unusual. Perhaps departure required special permission, which would explain why encounters with dragonfolk were so rare throughout the world.
“Your village must be very far away,” Tauro said with genuine concern.
If it lay somewhere in the Antas Mountains, as Ragune had explained, traveling there from Dansas on foot would require more than a month. Even with the medicine in hand, she might return too late to save everyone.
“The journey here took a long time, but returning won’t take nearly as long, so don’t worry. Now I must excuse myself. I want to help my people as quickly as possible!”
Ragune looked around, chose a direction, and sprinted away at astonishing speed—toward the south, directly opposite the northern Antas Mountains.
“Ragune! The north is the other way!” Tauro and Aeris shouted after her.
She was already too far away to hear them.
“Could she be hopelessly bad with directions?” Aeris wondered.
“I’m seriously worried about whether she’ll make it home.”
Their brief meeting ended with both of them deeply concerned about Ragune’s journey. Dusk was already approaching, so they returned to Dansas Village.
The Adventurers’ Guild was busy when they arrived that evening. Chloe, manager of the Dansas branch, was helping at the reception counter as usual.
“You two defeated this many goblins by yourselves?” she asked in surprise.
“Impressive, isn’t it?” Aeris said proudly. “We could probably have defeated even more if we hadn’t stopped to help someone along the way.”
It was the first time she and Tauro had hunted goblins together as a pair, and she was clearly pleased with their result.
“You helped someone as well? In that case, I see no problem promoting both of you to E-plus.”
“A promotion? Really?” Aeris immediately leaned toward the counter.
“Yes. Your age concerned me, but if the two of you can produce results like these together, you’ll be fine.”
“Yes! Now every official member of Black-Gold Wings is at least E-plus rank!”
Aeris happily took Tauro’s hand.
“There’s one more thing,” Chloe continued. “Shin and Rumeya just reported completing a quest with Yu and Ren. That result qualified them for promotion into the D-rank band, so they’ve advanced to D-minus.”
“What?”
“You remember the trouble outside the guild this morning? After that argument, Jet-Black Swords refused to form a temporary party with Yu and Ren. The women went to Shin and Rumeya in tears, and the four of them accepted the quest together instead. They completed it and submitted their report a short while ago.”
Chloe sighed before continuing.
“Yu and Ren have difficult personalities, but they’re capable adventurers. When they work with Shin and Rumeya, the four of them consistently produce good results.”
“Shin and Rumeya agreed to do that without us?” Aeris asked.
“They were reluctant at first and thought they should wait for the two of you. However, Yu and Ren persuaded them that they should seize the opportunity to enter the D-rank band while it was available. Promotion chances don’t appear whenever one wishes.”
“Those two…”
Quiet anger radiated from Aeris.
“Aeris, Yu and Ren are their girlfriends,” Tauro said. “Shin and Rumeya have their own priorities, so don’t be angry with them.”
“But—”
“We should respect their decision. They’ve always wanted to reach the D-rank band, and achieving that goal is a good thing.”
Aeris remained unconvinced, but Tauro didn’t believe Shin and Rumeya were wrong to place importance on their girlfriends. Tauro and Aeris, after all, had been the ones absent for so long.
Shin and Rumeya also worked remarkably well with Yu and Ren. Perhaps it was time to think seriously about the two men’s future—and even consider disbanding Black-Gold Wings.
Being trapped between their original teammates and their girlfriends couldn’t be pleasant. Shin and Rumeya were good men, and offering them a clear choice might ultimately be kinder.
Tauro decided not to mention the idea to Aeris yet. Raising it while she was already upset would only make matters worse.
After calming her as much as he could, the two of them left the guild and returned home.