Chapter 178

Chapter 178 \nAfter finishing dinner at the Rescue Squad, I was standing in front of the Leader’s office, a little nervous.\n

 

　Thinking back, Rose’s appearance at that time was more emotional than before, but also had a slightly different atmosphere …… as if she was determined to do something.

　I come to the Leader’s office with the assumption that I have something important to say, so I raise my hand, which feels heavier than usual, and knock on the door.

　Opening the door slowly at the sound of “Come in”, I found Rose sitting in her usual position, hands folded, looking out of the window in silence.

　The papers had already been taken care of, or perhaps the pile of papers that had been there during the day was neatly gone.

 

“Make yourself comfortable.”

“Yes. Excuse me.”

 

　Following her words, I sat down on the chair that had been prepared beforehand.

　As I was feeling a little uncomfortable in the silence for a while, Rose suddenly opened her mouth.

 

“A while ago, I was remembering the time when you came to this world.”

“By me coming, was it when I was caught up in the summoning of the heroes?”

“Yeah.”

 

　Rose’s words made me think of the time when I came to this world too.

　When I think about it, it would be fair to say that the present me started from that day.

　Well, I was forced to join Rose’s team from the very beginning, and it was like a hell of a full house, so I have a lot of feelings about it.

 

“In retrospect, it must have been a miracle that I found you.”

“Huh?”

 

　I was taken aback by Rose’s words as she muttered that without taking her gaze off the window.

　It may sound rude, but I was surprised that the word ‘miracle’ came out of Rose’s mouth. It doesn’t fit the image of her…… at all.

　Being taken aback, Rose finally turned her head toward me.

 

“Usato, you are a genuine ordinary person. It should have been impossible for you to have been caught up in the summoning of a hero and come to this world.”

“Well, I don’t have any qualities or talents as a hero. And there’s no way I could have been summoned normally.”

 

　The talent as a magician and the sense of battle are far superior to that of senpai and Kazuki.

　The amount of magic power is just a little more than normal.

　The only thing I’ve done up until today is to train my body.

 

“If I hadn’t been taken out of the castle by you when I came to this world with senpai, I’m sure I would have taken a different path.”

“I suppose. You would have learned magic from Welshy or Olga and become a proper healing magician.”

 

　They wouldn’t have had to use their arm strength in melee combat like they do now, or run in the middle of a battlefield.

　Feeling a little emotional, Rose twisted the edge of her mouth.

 

“What? Would you have preferred that?”

“No way, I like myself the best here and now.”

 

　Rose said teasingly, to which I replied with a chuckle.

 

“Besides, there are people who have been saved because of my training here.”

 

　The images that come to my mind are of the people I met in the kingdoms I visited on my journey to deliver the letter.

　Sometimes I was in a pinch, sometimes things got out of control, but in the end I was able to help them.

 

“In my original world, I was really just an ordinary student. I wanted a chance to change myself, and I wished that my irreplaceable daily life would change. But after I came to this world, that idea changed.”

 \n

　As my daily life changed drastically, my thoughts gradually changed as well.

　I believe that the catalyst for this was senpai and Kazuki, the two heroes and the rescue squad.

 

“At first, I wanted to help my senpai and Kazuki, so I tried my best to train hard. I didn’t want to be a nuisance to the two of them, and I thought I might be able to use my talent of handling healing magic to help them.”

 

　At that time, I feel like I was pushing forward self-motivatedly along with the training of the rescue squad.

　In other words, it could be said that I was trying to move forward for vague reasons.

 

“Then, in the battle against the Demon King’s army, I ran across the battlefield to save the lives of all the knights. The battlefield was …… terrifying, but I’m still glad that I was able to save senpai and Kazuki.”

“……”

“So, I thought about it.”

 

　I’d been pushing forward on my own, but somehow I’d found the path I’d been directed to.

　A path as a rescue squad, healing those who are wounded on the battlefield—

 

“I want to protect the everyday life where someone can laugh and live a normal life. If there are people who are sad, I want to reach out to them, and if there are people who are hurt, I want to help them.”

 

　When I said this, Rose looked at me and fell silent for a while, then put her hand on her forehead.

　For some reason, her expression looked grim.

　I’m not sure if I said something that offended her or not. No, I think I said something embarrassing, but…

 

“Usato.”

“Uh, yes.”

“…… I guess your idea is a compliment. I’d like to praise the idea myself, but …… you haven’t said what you really think yet.”

“Huh? No, that’s not true …….”

 

　I was dismayed, because I hadn’t expected her to say that.

 

“Usato, what did you see on the battlefield?”

“……”

 

　I feel as if my heart has been grabbed by the point.

　This person has the same role as me, so there’s no way she can’t understand.

　I’m aware of that, but I’m so upset because I thought she wouldn’t point it out again.

 

“Maybe you’ve already got over it. You’re not telling anyone but you’ve got the answer and the will to do it……. I didn’t even let myself notice it until now. It’s really a big deal, you know.”

“Leader, I’m …….”

“But you should get it out when you can. There’s not a single good thing about having something like that. Fortunately, you and I are the only ones here.”

 

　I was silent for a while, but once I looked at my palm, I gave a small nod.

 

“…… Yes, that’s right.”

 

　Indeed, Rose was right, I had hidden my true feelings.

　Of course, I meant it when I said it.

　I want to help someone who is hurting, and I want to keep the peace in my life.

　However, my underlying feeling of wanting to help people in pain came from a different place.

　I think it was during the battle against the Demon King’s Army that I developed this feeling. ……

 

“It was during the battle against the Demon King’s army, that’s what I’m talking about.”

 

 \n　Thinking about it, this might be the first time I’ve told anyone about this.

　Once again, I stare at my palm as I think about it, and speak up as if I’m squeezing it out.

 

“I can still remember it vividly. The faces of those who ran out of power right in front of me.”

 

　In the first battle against the Demon King’s army, I wasn’t able to save all of the lives.

　There were people I couldn’t save.

　There were people I was so close to, but couldn’t get to in time.

　There were people I grabbed, but they were already cold.

　The next time I saw the person I had saved, they had collapsed and had stopped moving.

　Even so, I kept running through the battlefield. There were still people fighting, so I couldn’t stop.

 

“They all wanted to live. And yet, I couldn’t help them.”

 

　I didn’t think that I could save everyone. Still, the helpless regret of having nowhere to go remains.

　If only I had been a little bit faster, if only I had been able to reach out to them ……. No matter how much they thank me and praise me, somewhere in the back of my mind I keep thinking about it.

 

“I will continue to do reckless things. I’m sure I’ll get myself into trouble, like I’ve done in my travels so far ……, but still–“

 

　I’m sure it will be easier once I break it off.

[It can’t be helped.]

[I did the best I could.]

[I tried my best, but it was impossible.]

　If you think about it like that, you can erase the regret that is weighing on your mind. …… But I will never allow that.

　I decided to carry this regret with me forever.

 

“I don’t want to regret not being able to help someone out there again.”

 

　I clasped my open palm tightly and locked my gaze on Rose.

　Hearing my monologue, Rose uncrossed her arms and–

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

　Those were the words of apology she uttered.

　At this unexpected apology, I revealed my agitation.

 

“Why are you apologizing, Leader?”

“No matter how exceptionally strong your heart is, you were a seventeen-year-old child living in a peaceful world. It was I, of all people, who put you through such a painful experience.”

 

　I did feel that it was painful.

　But at the time, I don’t think I thought of it as a reason to resent Rose.

　It was because I had gained so much more from the rescue squad.

 

“I don’t resent you, and I’m glad you brought me here. I’m more surprised that you apologized…… Leader. That kind of thing, you never do that– Bufu!”

“Sigh, even though we’re talking seriously. You’re still a man who can’t read the air.”

 

　A healing spell shot to the forehead in the manner of a pin hit me and I fell back lightly.

　I was rubbing my forehead with a wry smile, and Rose was smiling in disgust.

 

“It’s been a long time coming, hasn’t it? …… It’s time to get down to business.”

“…… Yes.”

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　Rose put her elbows on the desk and folded her hands.

　I’m a little nervous too, but I wait for her to start talking.

 

“…… Nero Argents. If we’re going to talk about him, we also need to talk about the reasons that led to the creation of the rescue squad.”

“The reason why this place was created……”

“First, let’s talk about when I was a battalion Leader in the Kingdom of Ringle.”

 

　A battalion Leader, I don’t know how high a position it is, but I know it’s a high position.

　In the first place, there is no way that this person, who has outstanding physical ability and even the ability to judge the situation, is only a soldier.

 

“I was a captain in the Kingdom of Lingle before the creation of the Lifesaving Corps, and I was in charge of a small group of troops.”

“And the members of that unit were …… Tong and the others?”

“No, they were my men before them. They were a troop of troublemakers that I had hand-picked. There were only seven of us, but we were all known for our abilities and were unbeatable in group battles.”

 

　I feel like they are similar to the current members of the rescue squad.

　Especially the fact that it was made up of troubled kids.

　In addition, the fact that Rose is guaranteeing their abilities means that they are quite capable.

　I was quite interested in my former subordinates and decided to ask them a question.

 

“How are those people doing now?”

“They’re dead. Before the battle with the Demon King’s army started.”

“……What?”

“Don’t worry about it. I didn’t dare tell you. It’s no wonder you don’t know.”

 

　The people who used to work for Rose.

　Those people are no longer with us. I could immediately guess what that meant. Because I was able to guess, I was ashamed of my too blunt question.

　She didn’t seem to be particularly bothered by my inappropriate words, and continued.

 

“Those guys, they never acted right, all of them. They were causing problems everywhere, so I dragged them into the unit by hand to teach them a lesson.”

“So that’s the same as the current rescue squad …….”

“Not at all. You remind me so much of those guys.”

 

　Why is it just me ……?

　I feel like there’s a connection between me and the people who worked for Rose.

　If those people were still alive, maybe we would have hit it off…….? I would have liked to have talked to them if I could have.

 

“…… Fortunately, I have plenty of time. I’ll tell you about them, those guys.”

“Are you okay? It must be hard for Leader to talk about …….”

“Again, don’t worry about it. Besides, telling you about them is something that …… I need to do it as well.”

 

　As I was thinking about this, Rose began to tell me about her subordinates, one by one, whom she used to lead.

　Rose’s subordinates who were different from what they are now.

　They were truly a mass of individuality.

　Rather, they were people with such strong egos that if they weren’t so good, they would have surpassed even the strongest men except for their appearance.

　I wondered for a moment how such a group of people could have been put together in one unit, but then I remembered that the captain was Rose, and my doubts were instantly resolved.

　However, while I was surprised, Rose’s expression seemed somewhat amused as she talked about them.

 

“That’s the seventh one. …… Yeah, I know. This one looks a lot like you.”

“What, to me?”

“The gender is female, though.”

 

\n　I felt that Rose’s words were more emotional than the others’ introductions.

　Is she that memorable?

 

“Her name was Aul, and she was entrusted as the second-in-command of the unit, the one who can be considered my second-in-command.”

“Aul-san, is it?”

“She was not much older than you. She was ridiculously cheerful, but at the same time she was a cocky person who couldn’t keep her mouth shut.”

 

　It’s like she’s saying I’m too cocky to talk ……

　I’m aware of the fact that I can’t talk down to Rose, but…

 

“Aul was the one who hated to lose and would bite no matter how much I tortured her.”

“Ah, you’re right, she’s a lot like me.”

“Right?”

 

　The only thing I have going for me, aside from my healing magic, is my competitive nature.

　When I was training with Rose, I got through it with nothing but my thoughts of ‘I’ll never give in’ and ‘I’ll never lose! I’m sure she got through Rose’s training with only those thoughts of ‘I’m never going to give in!

 

“But on the other hand, she had the mental strength to keep looking forward without wavering at any time.”

“At all times ……”

“Even in the midst of a situation that would break anyone’s heart, Aul can look forward without wavering. It’s a dangerous part of the game, but her mental strength to not despair and just keep moving forward gives energy to her friends.”

 

　She’s just so positive.

　That’s how I would put it, but I think it’s great to be able to remain unfazed in any situation.

　To not give up is a power in itself.

　If there is just one person who is willing to keep moving forward, even if it is just one person, the people around them who are in despair will be inspired and will rise up as if they are being pushed.

　I’m sure that Aul-san is a person who has that kind of power to inspire others.

 

“If I’m being honest, there were a few times when I put you on top of Aul. It was the same when I appointed you as my vice Leader.”

“Oh, because Aul-san is the vice captain therefore I’m the vice Leader. ……”

“And it was almost the same thing we were doing. The fact that no matter how many times I blow her up, she still keeps coming at me, and the way she keeps talking down to me and my friends.”

 

　If you ask me from the side, she sounds like a tough and rude person. ……

　Rose looks fed up, but nostalgic.

 

“Well, these are the men from the squad I was leading.”

“What can I say, they’re tremendous. Even before the rescue squad was formed, you were leading people who were thick in many ways.”

“That hasn’t changed, though. Besides, it’s like half of them were brought here by you.”

 

　Ah, you’re talking about Nack, Ferm and the others.

　It’s true that I’m the one who brought them here.

　I can’t speak for others either, I thought, smiling bitterly to myself.

 

“—–So, you know. There’s a reason why I told you about my former men.”

“Reason?”

“Which, I’ll tell you now. I’ll tell you about my history with Nero Argents and why the rescue squad was founded …….”

 

　I listened to Rose’s former subordinates, but still, I knew too little about this man.

　With this renewed understanding, I concentrated on her words, making sure I didn’t miss a single word.

 

Author’s Note:

 

If I go into the past chapter, it might take up more than half of Volume 8 rather seriously, so I’ve decided to tell it from Rose’s mouth. ……