Chapter 150

Chapter 150 \nTL Note: Okay, for some reason it didn’t schedule for last Sunday’s, I apologize for that.

 

　My reunion with Rose was also the beginning of a new ordeal.

　A mock battle to see how much I’ve grown since I finished my journey. I had to go toe to toe with Rose, who, to put it mildly, could be described as more of a monster than me.

　To be honest, I can’t even imagine my power coming through.

　But as much as I felt despair, I also wanted to know how well I could fight against Rose right now.

 

“Nea, your room is here.”

 

　After finishing my talk with Rose, I left the office and took Nea, who had woken up from her stupor, and led her to the room she would be living in.

　In the room I was led to, Nea was in a bad mood.

 

“Wait a minute, someone’s living in this room though.”

“You know, the basic rescue squad uses one room for two people. I’m no exception to that.”

“…… I’d rather have you than live with a stranger.”

“In case you haven’t noticed, you’re a girl too. You can’t have a guy and a girl in the same room.”

“Wait, why did you just say ‘in case you haven’t noticed’?”

 

　I ducked Nea’s question, and carried the futon into the room.

　I’m not sure if it’s a good idea to enter the room without permission from the owner, but I have Rose’s permission, so there’s no problem in terms of appearance.

　Nea, holding her training uniform, which is the rescue squad’s normal clothes, glared at me with a fierce look.

 

“You don’t have to give me that irritated look, it’s a girl just like you who lives in this room.”

“……”

 

　I don’t know why she’s in an even worse mood than before.

　I looked around the room, not sure what it meant, but it seemed to be cleaned properly, the futon on the bed was folded and well organized.

 

“…… Hmm, I guess I’ll have to carry the bed for Nea later.”

 

　It’s clean now, but it was originally a storage room. I guess I’ll just have to put up with this for now.

　With that in mind, I put the futon in the space on the opposite side of the room from where the bed was placed.

 

“Okay, I guess this is okay for now.”

“——ah, I’m tired again today ……, hmm?”

“Hmm?”

 

　A voice from behind me.

　I turned around at it and found myself eye to eye with a brown-skinned girl with silver hair and horns.

　After a few seconds or so, when she recognized me and Nea, she backed away bloodily.

 

“Y-y-y-y-y-ou lot! What are you doing in front of my room, ……, Usato?”

“Oh, I’m back. Ferrum.”

“Oh, welcome back…… my foot! Why, of all people, are you in my room without permission? Also, was it today that you’ll be back?”

 

　Well, I would be angry too if a man suddenly walks into my room.

　I decided to honestly apologize to Ferrum, whose face turned red and angry.

 

“I’m sorry about that. I only just got back, and the reason I’m in your room is because a new member of the group is going to be living in the room with you starting today.”

“Huh!?!?!”

 

　I introduce Nea to Ferrum, who is bitingly surprised.

　When Ferrum found out about Nea, she got angry as expected and pointed at Nea.

 

“Why do I have to live in the same room with this thing!”

“That’s what I’m talking about! I don’t want to live with a little prick like you!”

“What the hell? You milk monster!”

“Shut up! You goat-head!”

 

　Words for words.

　I knew they were going to fight, but I didn’t expect it to go this far. It was as if I was watching an exchange with Amako.

　Nea and Ferrum grab each other’s clothes and start to fight as I sigh and pull them apart.

 

“Alright girls, let’s not fight, okay?”

“Usato! I don’t like her! WE don’t get along!”

“Ferrum may not talk much, but she’s just not honest with herself. You’re older than her too, so you can turn a blind eye to that—–“

“I don’t like how she gets carried away.”

 

　I sigh at Nea, who turns her face away with a huff.

　This girl’s mental age is too low. The 300 year old is annoyed for a moment at her apparent stubbornness, but then she looks at Ferrum.

　She’s as cautious as a cat, but she’s easy to deal with as far as I’m concerned.

 

“Ferrum, do you want a convincing reason?”

“Yeah!”

“The Leader’s decision.”

“…… Damn it!!!”

 

　In an instant, Ferrum’s anger was extinguished and she held her head in her hands.

　She had experienced firsthand the horror of defying Rose, so she could understand why she would do so.

　The only thing to do here is to cajole her without provoking her badly.

 

“Ferum, you’re the senpai here, so you should teach Nea a lot.”

“…… You should be the one to teach her since you’ve been traveling together. …… together.”

 

　That was kind of a stinging way to put it.

 

“I’ll teach him too, but so will you, my roommate, as well okay? I’d like you to be friends with her too if you can. ……”

“”I can’t do that.””

 

　Surprisingly, they do seem to get along.

　I chuckle at the two of them answering at the same time. They look like they don’t get along, but they seem to be surprisingly compatible.

　Just like Amako.

 

“Anyway, don’t fight too much, okay? I’m sure Ferrum knows that, but Nea…… if the Leader catches us fighting, ……”

“I-If we get caught ……”

 

　Nea swallows, no, it sounded like she gulped an entire water.

 

“…… No, I’m not going to tell you. I don’t want to scare you.”

“Oh, come on, just say it! I’m even more scared now! What’s that horrible woman going to do to me?”

 

　Nea was trembling, and Ferrum was looking pale, probably remembering the time when Rose was punishing her.

　Seeing the two of them, I decided that they were fine and decided to head to my room.

 

“Well then, I’ll be going to my room soon. Oh, I heard that all the rescue squads are going to get together for dinner today, so come earlier than usual, okay?”

 

　I said to them and left the place.

　There’s still time before dinner, so after changing ……, I’ll rest a bit until that time.

 

 

 

　After unpacking and changing, I decided to lie down on my bed and take a short nap.

　I’ve slept in all sorts of places, from the wild to beds in kingdoms, but I felt most at home in this bed, and I fell asleep in the blink of an eye.

　My roommate? I woke up when I was poked by the tongs of the “Mere Old Man”, and I got up, kicking at the strong face that was too shocking to wake up from sleep.

 

“……yawn……, it’s already this dark?”

“Y-You bastard got some nerve, flying at someone’s face with your foot. ……!”

“I’m sure a kick will suffice for anyone who pokes someone in the head with force.”

 

　I was very offended by this, as well as disturbing my sleep.

　I didn’t need to feel guilty, because I could see the look on his face as if he had played a prank with a lot of enthusiasm.

 

“I thought you’d be a little more polite back home, but you’ve still got that damn cocky attitude, dude!”

“Eh, polite? Do you have any respect for anyone but the leader here?”

“Huuuh?”

“Huuuh?”

 

　We grabbed each other by the chest and glared at each other.

　After a few seconds of silence, Tongue twisted the corner of his mouth as he pulled his hand away.

 

“Apparently, you’ve never learned to be polite, but you don’t seem to have lost your gut.”

“Of course I haven’t. You wouldn’t forget the teachings of this place so easily.”

“Ha, no.”

 

　All the members of the group had experienced Rose’s hellish training.

　It’s not just the body, it’s imprinted in the mind, and it’s not something that can be forgotten.

 

“It’s dinner. Almost everyone’s already there.”

“All right. Then let’s go right away.”

 

　I left the room with Tongue and headed for the dining room.

　While I was there, I decided to ask Tongue about the latest developments in the rescue squad.

 

“Did anything happen here while I was gone?”

“No, nothing really happened except that Nack joined the rescue squad. If I had to guess, the only thing that happened was that Mill cooked something without permission and made the leader mad.”

 

　My hands trembled as I remembered the fierce attack that had taken place in the rescue squad.

　I can’t forget the violence to my taste buds and the foreign feeling that even healing magic can’t heal, even if I wanted to.

 

“Huh? Did he make something like that again? He never learns, really.”

“From my point of view, I’d like to know what I can make to piss off the leader like that.”

“The less you know, the better.”

“I-I guess so.”

 

　After talking with Tongue for a bit, we soon arrive near the entrance to the dining hall.

　Then I saw Nea and Ferrum there, as well as two men and two women, Olga-san and Ururu-san.

　Upon spotting me, Ururu-san smiled and waved at me.

 

“Ah, Usato-kun! Welcome back!”

“I’m back, Ururu-san. How about the both of you …… Nea and Ferrum?”

“This woman is making me squirm. ……”

“I still don’t like her. ……”

 

　I nodded my head at Nea and Ferrum, who seemed to be out of breath.

　For now, I let Tongue go to the cafeteria first and ask him to talk to them about why they are in this state.

 

“Um, you and Ferum are close, aren’t you?”

“Yes, we are. I was a little scared of her at first because she’s a demon, but once I met her, it wasn’t like that at all. In fact, we’re so close that I end up being mean to her because of her cute reactions.”

 

　Saying that, Ururu-san stroked Ferrum’s head with her familiar hand.

　The actual Ferrum looks incredibly disgusted.

 

“D-don’t touch the corner! Don’t touch my hair! Don’t stroke it!”

 

　Ferrum, who brushed off Ururu-san’s hand, ran straight into the cafeteria.

　Ururu-san regretfully saw it off, but she hugged Nea, who tried to run away after her, and captured her.

 

“Guh!”

“Hey, hey, this girl! I heard she’s Usato-kun’s demon?”

“Yes, her name is Nea. Please make friends with her.”

“Hey, Usato! This girl seems to be just like Suzune.

“Nea-chan, let’s have dinner together! I have a lot of questions for you!　Oh, there’s a seat right next to Ferrum-chan!”

“Nooooooooooooo!”

“Don’t cooooome near meeeeeeee!”

 

　You’re so tough. Ururu-san.

　Her cheerful personality is one of her strong points, and she’s not afraid to take on Rose.

　It’s a good thing that the rescue squad has expanded the friendships between Nea and Ferrum.

　 …… In that sense, Ururu-san’s gung-ho personality may be a boon.

 

“Hahaha, you’re still the same, Ururu.”

“Olga-san.”

“Welcome back, Usato-kun. I’m glad to see you’re back in one piece.”

 

　Olga-san smiled at me, and I smiled back.

 

“How was your trip?”

“It was tough, but I got a lot out of it. …… Personally, I enjoyed it.”

 

　Olga-san nodded kindly at my words.

 

“If that’s what you think, then I’m sure it is. As for me, I’d like to listen to you talk about your trip at length, but …… I’ll let him have it here. Yeah.”

“Him ……?”

 

　Olga-san’s eyes turn to the back of my head.

　If I look behind me to match him, I see Nack, a boy in a rescue squad uniform, standing there with an expression of surprise and joy combined.

 

“I thought it was the usual dream, but this time it was different ……!　Usato-san, you’re really back……!”

“It’s nice to see you like this, Nack, as a member of the rescue squad. Are you a little stockier now?”

 

　I feel like he’s getting tougher.

　I’ve seen him on Mia Rak, but I haven’t seen him in person since we parted ways in Lukvis.

 

“How’s life here?”

“Well, it’s not so bad, so much so that I can’t even think about it anymore.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. I understand. I can’t even put it into words.”

“Yes!”

 

　Since he couldn’t express it in words, he had to substitute the word “hell” for now, which was Rose’s training.

 

“But I’m just a kid, so the training isn’t that tough, she says. Personally, though, it was even more unreasonable than the training I received from Usato-san…….”

“She’s the leader of the group. Well, she’s definitely more capable than me as a leader, so the results should follow properly.”

 

　…… It’s time to move on, we can’t keep talking at the entrance of the cafeteria forever.

 

“Let’s take a seat for now. We can talk as much as we want then. Would you like to join us, Olga-san?”

“Yes, I guess so. I think I’ll sit down too then.”

“Oh, I’ll go get three seats, then!”

 

　I chuckled at Nack as he ran into the cafeteria to get a seat.

　You’ve really grown a lot since you were in Lukvis. When I first saw him, I had the impression that he was a weak boy, but now he’s an accomplished member of the rescue squad.

　As someone who had trained Nack, even if only for a short time, I was both happy and somewhat itchy at his growth.

 

“It’s really getting crowded, isn’t it?”

 

　Olga-san, who was looking around the cafeteria next to me, murmured with deep emotion.

　Looking at it again, there are nine people in the cafeteria, including the five strongmen, Ferrum, Nea, Nack, and Ururu-san.

 

“Yes, …….”

“I’m really glad you’re here.”

“Huh?”

 

　I can’t help but look at Olga-san’s sudden words.

 

“Thanks to you coming, our …… no, Rose’s stopped time has finally started to move.”

“Stopped, time?”

“Yes, for Rose, Usato-kun, you are…”

 

　Olga-san was about to continue to speak in response to my question, but then was hit in the head with a hammer.

　”Fuooo!!?” she made such a sound as Rose hit Olga-san in the head.

 

“Don’t say unnecessary things.”

“I’m sorry, …….”

 

　I’m not sure if Rose was taking it easy on the weaker Olga-san, but she immediately stood up and glared at her.

　Olga-san shifts her gaze to me with a twitching smile on her face.

 

“Ha, well, that’s how it is, then. ……”

“Y-yeah …….”

 

　Holding my head, I watch Olga-san’s back as she heads towards the seat that Nack has prepared for us.

　What was Olga-san trying to say to me?　Was she trying to say that I’m Rose’s …… sandbag or that I’m her best disciple?　

　I’m personally quite happy with the latter, but I don’t think it’s that sweet.

 

“…… Hey, Usato, how long are you going to stand there like that? Get to your seat.”

“Yes, I understand.”

“Oh, and——“

 

　I was about to turn around, but Rose continued to speak.

 

“Today is also the occasion to celebrate your return. It’s okay to ruffle a few feathers, but don’t leave any fatigue for tomorrow.”

“Yes, I understand!”

 

　After a bow, I headed for my seat this time.

　I guess I don’t need to think about what I am to Rose. Maybe Rose will reveal it to me when the time is right.

　That’s why I’m just going to go about my daily life as a rescue squad until that time comes.