Chapter 160.1

Chapter 160.1 \n<h1>Chapter 160 Return</h1>\n\n　The journey was fun but the return was even more fun.　After a few days of riding in the horse-drawn carriage, I arrived at the huge gates of the Imperial Capital of Zebrudia for the first time after a month.　A lot of things happened when we were going on our vacation, and we made a lot of stops, but the trip back home was over in a snap.

　After all, going there took ――.

　Then I came back to myself, held up my fingers, and counted.　On the way, it took seven of us: me, Liz, Sytry, Tino, Black, White, and Gray, and on the way back, there were me, Liz, Sytry, Tino, Lucia, Luke, and Anthem. If you only count the number, there was no increase or decrease in the number of people.

　But then…… Leaving aside Black and White, where did Gray-san go…… I completely forgot about him.　His collar had been removed, so there wasn’t a problem, and in the first place I didn’t see his face since then, so I guess he was gone, but I wanted to say goodbye to him.

　Lucia, who was reading a book, noticed me wondering and looked up.

“Don’t tell me, you forgot something? Leader” (Lucia)

“…… No. Well, it’s alright.” (Cry)\n

　I am sure he is doing well. Rather, all of our Party Members have quite the strong character, so it might be better for his mental health to go home alone rather than riding in the same carriage with us.

　Half of the carriage was filled with souvenirs we bought at Surus. I bought a lot of stuff to show off my vacation to my Clan Members and Eva.　Most of them were Onsen Dragon Manju, Onsen Dragon eggs, and Onsen Dragon Bath Salts, but there were also coffins containing the corpses of the subterranean people. They were the things that Luke and the others hunted. Monster materials were also one of the sources of income for Treasure Hunters.

　My Party often uses a carriage but they rarely ride it. Most of the time, the natural flow of the consensus was that Liz, Luke, and Anthem would be outside, so there was more space. Sytry would be in charge of being the coachwoman and Lucia would be my escort.　This time, it seemed that Tino was also running with Liz.

　The Imperial Capital’s gates, which I hadn’t seen in a long time, had large holes in them and seemed to be under reparation. The knights which were on guard were lined up in a row with strict vigilance, a far cry from the city of Surus.　I heard from Lucia that there was some kind of commotion going on, but apparently, it hadn’t calmed down yet.

　Well, this kind of thing happens, doesn’t it. I stretched widely and yawned.

“After being gone for so long, I am going to get some good sleep when we get back home.” (Cry)

“………… In my eyes, it looked like you were taking a good and long rest all the time though……” (Lucia)

“Right, Lucia you have to charge one of my Relics. I had already used 『Realize outer (Longing for a foreign country)』.” (Cry)

“………… I am tired too, you know…… I will  punch you, okay?” (Lucia)\n　My daily life has returned. I gave a half-hearted smile to Lucia, who gave me a sullen look, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

 

 

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　Not only the gates, but the inside of the Imperial Capital had also changed drastically from what I remembered. How could this happen, after only a month or so of absence?　I wondered if a bomb had exploded, several houses were half-destroyed, many roads were torn apart, and the knights were desperately controlling the traffic. The trees that used to grow beautifully along the side of the streets and the coffee shops that used to be one of my favorites were all damaged, to the point where I could think that a war broke out.

　Fortunately, we are now at the end of the commotion. The houses may have collapsed, but there were no dead bodies lying around, and the people in the city seemed to have already gotten accustomed to this situation.　I know it is unbecoming of a Hunter, but I am not used to looking at dead bodies. I don’t know what happened, and I don’t want to know the details, but I am really glad that I was outside of the Imperial Capital at that time.

　In any case, I wouldn’t have been able to do anything even if I was there――.

　As usual, I left the carriage in Sytry’s hands and climbed up the stairs of the Clan House with a lighter heart than usual with boxes of Onsen Dragon Manju as a souvenir. \n　I tapped Lucia on the shoulder as we passed each other. And Lucia let out a high-pitched *Moh moh1* yell.

　I ran up the stairs, *nikoniko* smiling and out of breath. And then, screams came out of the Lounge.

 

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