Chapter 49: Great of Rounds ⑥
Meat skewers, huh. Or is it skewered meat? Which is it?
They cut meat into dice-sized pieces, skewer them with vegetables, and grill them.
While grilling, they season with salt and pepper. Some shops brush on sauce once it’s cooked.
There are also seafood skewers. Or is it skewered seafood?
In the end… which is it?
“Ha-fuh, ha-fuh… so good!”
Narcissus-san was holding a skewer and eating happily.
What a great appetite. The stall owner gave her an extra skewer as a service.
Taking it as a good deed, Narcissus-san pulled her hood deeper over her head.
Her eyes aside, the purple hair stood out. There are Legendary and Legacy items to disguise oneself, but wearing the hood… I figured she didn’t want to use those.
“Ha-fuh, ha-fuh… nom nom… yum!”
“Sauce. It’s on your mouth.”
“Wipe it.”
“Huh?”
“Both your hands are holding skewers, so you can’t wipe it yourself.”
“……”
“Wipe it.”
“…Alright, alright.”
I reluctantly wiped the sauce from her mouth with my handkerchief.
By the way, I also cleared away the empty skewers.
Well, I didn’t feel bad; the money for these skewers belonged to people who were gone.
Traditionally, when burying the dead, one also buries some money—called “grave money.”
But everything has been erased, so there’s nothing left. No choice but to ignore it.
I do wonder if scavenging corpses is really right.
But doing useful work like this helps, so maybe it redeems their sins a little.
Still… these kinds of things really don’t decrease.
I understand that the festival brings more.
I wish there was some way to get rid of those like ticks and cockroaches.
They went from stall to stall—two, three, four—and Narcissus-san had a satisfied smile.
“The flavors of the city aren’t bad either.”
She said that, but she had eaten quite a lot. More than I had.
After all that, I wonder how she’ll manage dinner.
Well, I ate a fair amount too.
Looking past the food stalls, I noticed a knife.
“Oh, welcome.”
A male vendor with a turban called out to me.
His wares were displayed on a tattered rug on the ground.
Scrolls. Small stone statues. Monster horns. Several rings, necklaces, and bracelets.
Each piece was carefully crafted, especially the bracelets, each with a unique design.
“…Huh?”
Among them, a lone knife caught my eye.
A silver knife with a rare cross-shaped design.
“That one’s sharp-eyed of you. Found it in a desert dungeon.”
“…Can I take a closer look?”
“Of course. Examine every inch.”
I picked up the knife.
It didn’t feel particularly heavy. Single-edged, well-maintained.
“You like it?”
“It’s a bargain. How about 4,000 Oro now?”
“4,000…”
That’s not bad.
Then Narcissus-san spoke authoritatively.
“Too expensive. I command you—make it 2,000.”
“Uh… half price is a bit much.”
“Still, 4,000 is too high.”
“…Then how about 3,500?”
“3,000.”
“…3,200?”
“3,000.”
“…Fine, fine. 3,000 Oro it is.”
“…“
“Now hurry up and buy it.”
“Th-thanks.”
I paid 3,000 Oro.
Narcissus-san was already distracted by the next stall. Still eating?
The vendor chuckled.
“Ah, you’ve got me there.”
“Sorry.”
“No, no, this kind of haggling is part of the fun.”
“Oh, then—uh, I’ll take all these bracelets.”
“All of them? Are you sure?”
“Yes. Please. Actually, these were what caught my eye the most.”
I felt a bit guilty but it wasn’t a lie.
The variety of shapes and colors was perfect.
It fit exactly with what I had been planning for some time.
“Then each one… let’s say, 1,000 Oro is fine.”
“Really?”
The vendor smiled.
“I told you, haggling is part of the fun. Bulk discount, that’s what it is.”
I thanked him and paid.
“Thanks as always. But what will you do with so many?”
“As a small gesture of thanks, I’ll give them to the people who usually help me.”
“…Actually, these bracelets, I made them all myself.”
“Really?”
“Haha. Making these is my real work. Your words made me happy.”
“Wof. Let’s go to the next stall.”
“Y-Yes. Right.”
“Ha ha, thank you.”
I waved lightly and parted with the vendor.
A good purchase.
After that, Narcissus-san kept buying snacks at stalls.
The money for six people was safely spent. Empty now.
We entered the park, which also had stalls.
“That looks tasty.”
“You’re still eating?”
“How rude. That makes me sound like a glutton.”
“You can’t beat Fairial.”
“I’m not competing! How rude.”
I chuckled.
“What about dinner?”
“This is dinner.”
“Ehh… I’ll pass on that.”
“Oh, so argumentative.”
Narcissus-san sat on a bench and immediately patted the spot next to her.
I understood and sat. Her purple eyes gleamed from under the hood.
The atmosphere felt different.
“What’s wrong?”
“…I’m sorry.”
Suddenly, she bowed her head and apologized.
“W-What for?”
“For trying to kidnap you… about Alweld.”
“Ah, right.”
I had completely forgotten.
Yes, that was the cause.
It hardly seems like it, but it was.
“I’m truly sorry. It was my fault.”
“That’s fine now.”
“So please, don’t fight Alweld.”
“That…”
She lifted her head.
“You’re completely in the wrong, and no matter what happens, you can’t complain to me.”
“That’s not my intention. I won’t do anything.”
“Stop fighting Alweld.”
“Why?”
“Because you’ll lose.”
“……”
I couldn’t say anything.
Narcissus-san looked at my expression and seemed apologetic.
“It seems you haven’t given up yet.”
“Even so….”
“I understand that you’ve grown stronger. But Alweld is stronger than you.”
“Even so…”
“Why do you want to fight Alweld so badly? It’s presumptuous for me—the cause—to say this, but I still want to hear it.”
Why… why is that?
I thought about it. At first, I was frustrated.
No matter what I did, even using Generous, I was completely defeated for the first time.
That frustration made me want to win at all costs. I couldn’t admit my loss.
There was this raw, sticky feeling inside me.
“I wanted to win because I couldn’t accept losing—it frustrated me, and that’s why I wanted to fight.”
“I understand that. But if you fight again, you’ll experience that all over again.”
Of course. I understand that. I can’t win in my current state.
Even so… precisely because of that. No… something feels different.
“I want to fight.”
“Huh?”
I was surprised even at my own words, spoken unconsciously.
So… that’s it. That’s how it was.
“I want to fight. I don’t really like fighting, and even as an Explorer, I tried to avoid it. But now… I want to fight.”
“That… Alweld?”
“——Yes. I want to fight Alweld.”
“Even if you lose?”
“I think it’s wrong to fight expecting to lose from the start. If you fight, you fight to win. Besides, I don’t think Alweld would want it any other way.”
“That’s true. He…”
She started to say something but stopped.
“Narcissus-san?”
“…Right. I also want to win, after all.”
“Yes.”
“If that’s the case… I also have apologies to make… but… there’s no time… and that witch… this… hmm. I should check… yes.”
She muttered to herself. What should I do?
“Wof.”
Narcissus-san stood up.
“Y-Yes.”
“Sorry. I just remembered something I need to do, so I’ll take my leave here.”
“Y-Yes.”
“Wof. I misunderstood a lot. You’re a good person. And it was fun. I didn’t dislike this at all. Well… it was okay.”
“That’s good to hear.”
“Then I’ll be quick. Goodbye.”
“Y-Yes. Goodbye.”
Narcissus-san ran off, disappearing in an instant.
She felt like a whirlwind, and somehow younger than I expected.
“She wasn’t a bad person…”
I was glad to understand that.
Ah… I forgot to ask her about Vanish. I’ll ask next time.
Leaning back on the bench, I looked up at the sunset sky.
The stars were beginning to twinkle faintly.
“…I’ll win. I want to win… but… just one more step.”
The final puzzle piece is missing.
Just one more.
I reached out.
I felt like I could touch that star.
Night.
A deep, black night without stars or moon.
I held my breath.
“Come, come over here.”
A witch, wrapped in a single black sheet, smiled gently and beckoned me.
This isn’t a room.
So the three of them aren’t here.
It’s just me and the witch.