novelraw Chapter 67 : Spy(ies) (3)
Chapter 67 : Spy(ies) (3)
Spy(ies) (3)
After eating rice balls as a late-night snack, I began sparring with Ralph.
Cha-cheng!
I gripped the Flowing Sword.
Because Keil's primary sword style was the Flowing Sword.
Therefore, normally, Strong Sword-user Ralph should have had the advantage.
Tuk! Puk!
"Krrk."
Bigjaw big brother couldn't keep up with my sword path.
Ralph seemed deep in thought, and his openings were clear as day.
Ka-ga-gak.
Of course, I deliberately targeted Ralph's right side.
As much as he lost his field of vision, keil was bound to exploit that too.
"Huff. Huff."
Ralph gripped his sword tighter, gasping for breath.
He looked quite exhausted.
"Let's take a short break."
"Huff. Sure."
He didn't even ask how the duel had come about.
After all, keil had taken Ralph's squad leader position and even cost him his thumb.
It must be for revenge from the sparring tournament.
'A duel between a one-eyed man and a man without a thumb, huh.'
It's obvious who'll be at a bigger disadvantage.
Humans are creatures that rely heavily on vision.
'And enough time has passed for Keil to have finished adapting, too.'
On top of that, everyone in the village knows about my food's effects.
Keil will no doubt find some way to eat my food before the duel as well.
Even if I don't sell it to him directly, he'll have his men get it, or find someone else to buy it.
'Of course, the buff Ralph receives will be much greater..., hmm.'
In the end, what matters is whether Ralph can adapt to his new physical condition—the penalty.
Cha-cheng! Cheng!!
Before I knew it, the night turned to dawn.
Despite the considerable time that had passed, Ralph was still struggling.
No, he hadn't improved at all.
"Huff. Huff."
Ralph's lack of talent was plain to see.
There was a reason why he'd stayed in the 2nd-rank for such an awfully long time.
― A short hope and eternal despair for the talentless. Kukuk.
Jeros' unlucky words came to mind, and I lowered my sword.
"Let's stop here."
"Huff, huk. Not yet, not...done."
"If you push yourself more, you'll hurt your body. You know that well."
Ralph bit his lower lip hard.
"... Right. Huff. You're right."
Watching him, I felt a bitter taste in my mouth for no reason.
"Let's go get something to eat."
"At this hour?"
"You need to replenish your strength to keep going tomorrow."
Ralph hesitated a moment, then sheathed his sword.
*
We shared a steaming hot meat and vegetable rice porridge.
A late-night meal after a good sweat tastes like nectar.
〈 Customer—Ralph Nagel acknowledges your food 〉
〈 Gained 1 'Recognition'. 〉
Ralph, too, gave his acknowledgment for the first time in a while.
Sensing my chance, I spoke casually.
"You know that voice you heard during succession?"
"Yeah, the voice of enlightenment."
"What did that voice say to you, Ralph?"
Ralph looked at me strangely.
"I don't remember. You probably don't either."
"... I'm just curious if there was any difference. You don't even remember how the voice felt?"
"All I remember is that I heard a voice. Nothing else. Just, it was an ecstatic voice, that's all."
As I thought.
If the content itself lingered in memory, it would be called the 'words of enlightenment,' not the 'voice of enlightenment.'
"Everyone who's gone through succession is like that, right?"
"Of course."
It was all as I expected, but not exactly welcome news.
In the end, it means I'd have to undergo succession again myself,
or ask another outsider who'd experienced succession.
Anyway, I'd asked what I was curious about,
so it was time to get to the main point.
"Ralph."
"I told you to stop apologizing."
"No, it's not about that."
"Then what? Why are you lowering your voice like that?"
I took a deep breath and opened my mouth.
There were things that needed to be said.
"About the duel with Keil."
Factoring in all variables, Ralph's chance of victory was, at best, about 40%.
'Even if Ralph gets a stronger buff than Keil and chooses a more advantageous sword style, it won't be one-sided. But if he fails to adapt to the changed field of vision, he's still more likely to lose.'
But it was unlikely Ralph would improve much within a few days.
And in such evenly matched fights, things often end with someone seriously injured or even dead.
That's why I said the following.
"If it's not going well, just acknowledge defeat straight away, rather than pushing it too far."
Even before I finished, anger radiated from Ralph's entire body.
He glared at me fiercely, eyes flashing.
And then the wooden spoon in his hand snapped with a crack.
"Don't you dare sully my honor, Ian."
"Isn't that better than getting hurt or killed?"
Grit.
Ralph stared at me with unrestrained wrath, grinding his teeth.
His eyes burned furiously.
"Don't talk bullshit. I won't lose to a bastard like Keil. No, I can't lose."
Seeing him so enraged reminded me of before the sparring tournament, when I first made fondue bread.
When I offered him fondue bread, he hurled curses at me, demanding pumpkin soup.
'Even back then Ralph was preparing for his match against Keil.'
Even now, this reaction showed me that the history between Ralph and Keil went deeper than I had imagined.
'So it was mutual hatred.'
For someone like Ralph to hate that much, what kind of guy could Keil be?
Well, just seeing how he challenged Ralph to a duel as soon as Ralph became one-eyed showed he wasn't just any average bastard.
Probably the same type as that green-eyed Hank.
'... Suddenly, I'm starting to understand Ralph.'
But, even if Keil was a piece of trash, Ralph shouldn't risk everything recklessly.
You only get one life, after all.
"So tell me, how do you plan to beat Keil?"
"Training. And your food."
The answer was so obvious that I was almost lost for words.
Fine, then I'd crush him with modern logic.
"Keil's going to do exactly the same. Train and somehow get his hands on my food—"
Pfft.
"?"
Ralph suddenly let out a short laugh.
What's going on now?
"Ian, you're a funny guy."
"... Am I?"
"You, who didn't back down or avoid the duel with Sergeant Fav, are telling me to just do my best and acknowledge defeat? You, of all people, Ian?"
... So I was the one who risked everything with my one and only life.
People would say birds of a feather flock together.
"Ian, no matter what you say, it's the same. I'm going to fight. And I'm going to win, just watch."
People like Plerine and the others who tried to dissuade me from my duel come to mind.
So this is how they must have felt when watching me.
That's why I knew exactly what Ralph was going to do.
'There's no way he's going to back down.'
Even if his abilities seemed inferior,
even if it meant getting seriously hurt or dying,
Ralph would never avoid it.
No matter what I said.
That was the realm of emotion, not logic.
"Haa."
I didn't bother to hold back my sigh.
After all, it was my fault that Ralph was facing this crisis.
The guilt weighing on my chest just grew heavier.
So in the end,
'This is how it turns out.'
People can't have everything,
and nothing ever goes according to plan.
Yeah, that's life.
Time to let it go.
"So all you're saying is, you're going to fight Keil with training and my food? No other way?"
My voice sounded noticeably lighter.
"That's right."
"If you get hurt or die, I think I'll feel really rotten about it."
"......"
"No, I might not just feel rotten. I might wind up crying every night, missing your jaw."
Before I knew it, Ralph's anger vanished, and he spoke gently.
"You idiot Ian, listen up. I don't blame you at all. If anything, I'm grateful."
His warmth was palpable.
I'm glad Ralph's this kind of person.
My burden grew lighter.
"As I've said many times, everything was my own choice and judgment."
"Well said. In that case, so is this."
I put my hand in my pocket.
I felt the touch of cold mineral.
Whoosh.
I tossed it at Ralph's face.
The Arirang Orb traced a blue arc and landed right in Ralph's hand.
Strike.
"...?!"
Ralph's wide eyes darted busily.
He looked between the OOPArts in his hand and me.
I enjoyed the feeling of relief in my chest.
"It feels a bit too expensive to be used as a free meal coupon for life. So I'll give you a refund."
I'd be lying if I said I felt no regret,
but given my personality, this was exactly right.
"Y-y-y-you crazy bastard! Isn't this a mage's artifact!!"
"That's right. It's an OOPArts that massively increases mana efficiency. That's why I'm giving it to you."
"What?"
"With that, you'll see things you couldn't before, and you'll be able to overcome the weakness in your field of vision."
It was advice from someone who'd experienced a real jump in power,
but Ralph recoiled dramatically, barely holding onto his wits.
"N-no! This isn't mine! How could a mere security squad leader like me accept such a precious thing...?"
Haaa. Here he goes again, acting like Ralph.
"I can get stronger in the future. I'm still young with so much ahead. Plerine's already more than strong enough. But Ralph... you're not."
I bit back the words, 'You don't have a speck of talent,' and continued.
"Just as I respected your choice, I hope you'll respect mine..."
Drip. Roll.
Drip, drip.
Ralph's face twisted up,
and a single thick stream of tears began to pour from his one good eye.
'Ah, geez.'
He squeezed his hair, stared at the Fragment of the Firmament in his hand,
then bowed his head.
The tears didn't stop in the meantime.
I waited quietly for his decision.
"... Thank you."
Having let out all his emotions through his one eye, Ralph spoke softly.
"Thank you, Ian. Khruuk."
Ralph began sobbing again.
I couldn't bring myself to joke, "Please pay for your meals from now on."
〈 Customer—Ralph Nagel is moved by the service 〉
〈 Gained 1 'Emotion'. 〉
Yeah. This is plenty.
*
To be quick about the results,
the duel ended with Ralph's victory.
After a long and back-and-forth, bloody battle, Ralph made a comeback and won.
—Or at least, that's what was publicly known.
'The truth is, it was Ralph's acting.'
As soon as Ralph put on the Fragment of the Firmament, he got significantly stronger.
He said it was like seeing a whole new world.
I only had a moment to marvel at how broken the OOPArts was,
before I had to beg Ralph to just barely scrape by and win.
Everyone predicted Keil would have the upper hand,
so if Ralph won overwhelmingly, the minor Demon Realm would come under suspicion.
'Even after I explained all this, Ralph insisted on at least cutting off one of Keil's fingers, and I was at my wit's end.'
In the end, I had no regrets about giving Ralph the Fragment of the Firmament.
But I was left with another sense of frustration.
'To think even after giving him the OOPArts, our closeness didn't reach 100%.'
I was aiming to clear the quest too,
but as my [Regular Customer], Ralph's closeness stopped at 98%.
I had no idea what more I had to do to hit 100%.
'There are mountains of quests, tasks, and things I need to know. Would it really have hurt if this one thing was resolved?'
Anyway, as I was pondering the future after Ralph's duel ended,
Harper came to me with a very serious expression, holding something.
It was a report titled 'Happiness Gukbap Expansion and Development Plan.'
Just as expected from a true food-service management expert, knowing what needs to be done without being told.
The report made three key points.
First, at the current profitability rate, we wouldn't be able to pay the blacksmith their four golden before spring.
― First of all, we need to raise prices, and we also have to find new sources of profit or ways to make money.
Second, the employees' work fatigue was piling up.
― Maybe senior Plerine is fine, but senior Naba and I definitely aren't. Honestly, it's tough.
And following from that, third, we should stop late-night service and quickly hire experienced staff.
― Alcohol isn't selling well, and night sales are weak, so it'd be better for us to rest at that time and hire someone to help with the workload.
I decided to accept all of Harper's suggestions.
He's truly dedicated to running the restaurant and has a solid education, so how could he be wrong?
As a result, a new face showed up at our shop.
"Hello! I'm Clara!"
A freckle-faced woman in her twenties greeted us cheerfully.
She flashed a sweet smile and spoke in a slightly cutesy, nasal tone.
"I'm counting on you, senior!"
Clara grabbed Naba's hand and gave it a gentle tug.
The kid blushed as Clara's face came close.
"P-pleased to meet you..."
The senior, the first employee who used to intimidate Harper, was nowhere to be found.
"Tall-senior, I'm counting on you too!"
Harper responded in much the same way,
clearly flustered.
"Ah, sure, er, haha..."
In terms of looks alone, Plerine is much prettier, but both Harper and Naba seemed completely captivated by Clara's charm.
"Enough with introductions—let's get to work!"
With the employees' lively responses, business began.
The experienced newcomer not only worked well, but was also very popular with customers.
Those who recognized Clara greeted her warmly.
"Huh? Why is Clara here?"
"I started working here today!"
Clara greeted customers with a bright smile.
It was a manner completely different from our previous staff.
Her overall attitude toward people was cute and lovable, so to speak.
'No wonder she became the mascot of Wyvern Tail.'
Clara used to be the ace at Wyvern Tail, the top best local food spot in Granfen before we moved in.
I'd been prepared to recruit her no matter the cost, but she came along more easily than expected.
From my perspective, I was glad I could get the best experienced employee without much expenditure.
After Clara joined, a week passed before Plerine commented.
"She's good at her job."
It was a rare, Plerine-style compliment, and I felt satisfied for having recruited her.
That's when unsettling rumors started spreading in the village.
'A strange rumor that Special Investigator Legion had died.'
And it took less than two days for the truth behind that rumor to come out.