Reason to Fight

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“Ajifu! Ajifu! Ajifu!”

Even though the fight had ended, they continued to chant.

“Mr. Ajifu!”

Lutma rushed towards me before crumbling to the ground and sobbing violently.

“That was scary, wasn’t it? But it’s alright now.”

I said as I patted her on the shoulder. And though she was crying, there was a slight look of discontent in her expression.

And then the other adventurers came down and pried the wyvern’s mouth open so that I could free my prosthetic leg. The iron board had been bent out of shape. The mere thought of how strongly it was biting down on it filled me with terror.

Still, I would not be able to walk like this. Damn it.
As I sat on the ground, one of the Adventurers approached me.

“Ajifu. You really showed it. Your pride as a man.”

“Well, I had no choice with all of that shouting.”

I took his hand and got back to my feet. Only, since my prosthetic leg was bent out of shape, I lost my balance.
And so Lutma quickly stepped in and offered her shoulder. Ah, how perceptive.

“Thanks.”

But she turned her face away from me. What?

“That was quite a show!”
“You were amazing!”
“Well done!”

And so I walked through the crowd of people as they all patted me. It wasn’t just Adventurers, but soldiers and miners as well.
Hehe. Indeed. The effort had been worth it. Praise me more.

“We’ll carry the wyvern for you!”

Said some of the miners.

“Uh, thank you. But, why are you here?”

“We heard that something interesting was happening down here, and so we came to look.”

He said as he hit me on the back. I was starting to feel like I had been put on display at a festival. But it could not be helped.
And so I answered their cheers with a wave and left the mines behind me.

“Mr. Ajifu.”

Now that it was just us two making our way back to the church, Lutma started talking to me. She had a very serious expression. Well, I better hear what she has to say then.

“What is it?”

“What was the reason that you had to protect me?”

“Could we just say that it’s because we’re from the same church?”

“That does not explain it!”

I see. That being said, I could not tell her she was my ticket to getting out of here so that I could cast Reverse Age again and hopefully regrow my leg.
Still, I was put on the spot. So might as well be direct.

“I am thinking about leaving Rokuidol.”

“What!?”

“There is something that I want to acquire. I can’t talk about it to others, but it’s important. And for that reason, I cannot stay in Rokuidol forever.”

“I can’t believe it!”

Lutma’s eyes were full of shock.

“But there is so much work to do at the church. I didn’t want my departure to cause trouble for the church and the people who I owed a debt to. And so I need you, Lutma, to continue to support them in my absence.”

“Y-you put yourself in so much danger to protect me…just for that?”

“Well, even without that reason, I wouldn’t have abandoned you to your death. I suppose this other reason gave me a little more motivation.”

“B-but! I-I have just started to think about actually seeing you, Mr. Ajifu! And yet you are going away…”

“What? Do you mean you weren’t seeing me before? That doesn’t sound very nice.”

“I don’t mean it like that! Well, maybe I did… Uh, I’m sorry…”

I had only meant it as a joke, but Lutma looked down with a crestfallen expression. I had no intention of blaming her.

“No, there is no need to apologize. But I do think it would be good to broaden your view, and look at others more. There is still plenty of time.”

I said lightly, so she would not take it too hard. However, Lutma suddenly raised her head and looked at me as she said with a firm voice,

“But, you will not be here by then, Mr. Ajifu! So it will be too late!”

And as she said this, her eyes were filled with tears.

I was still leaning on her shoulder, and so her teary eyes were at a close distance to mine. Lutma was about a head shorter, and so she had to look up at me.

I suppose being rescued in such an exciting way had caused her emotions to rise.
Still, now that she mentioned it, I did feel that she was trying to look at me differently now. However, that was not why I had helped her.

Besides, that direct, earnest stare was a little too bright for this old man.

“Lutma, that is enough to make me think it was worth doing. And it is not too late. Now, when I think back on Rokuidol, I will not have to imagine your sad face.”

That was all that I could say. However, I could not say them while looking back into her eyes.

Lutma became silent after that.
And while it was a little awkward, we continued on our way back to the church.

“Mr. Ajifu! Are you hurt!?”

When I arrived at the church, while leaning on Lutma’s shoulder, Linel was alarmed.

“No, it’s just my prosthetic leg.”

He brought out a chair for me to sit on, and I removed the leg.

“Sorry, could one of you bring me the spare leg from my room?”

“I will get it.”

Lutma said as she went running to my room.

“That’s right! Mr. Ajifu!”

Linel suddenly said as if remembering something.

“We just received word from the Adventurers Guild. They have defeated the sand worm! Apparently, the people from our church did very well!”

It was funny to think of priests helping Adventurers.
However, that meant they would be returning soon.

“By the way, Gairo, how much MP do you have left?”

“Hardly any patients came in this morning, so I only had to use Heal once. And since I recovered some MP, I can use it two more times.”

“I see. Lutma and I used a lot at the mines, so I can only use it once. We might have to use potions then.”

While I was worried, thankfully, thanks to the sand worm being defeated swiftly, and the fact that the miners were taking the day off, there were fewer patients than usual that day.

“Ajifu, I heard all about it! Well done!”

Ms. Pemeri whispered with a grin as she moved her face close to me. So the word had spread to the guild already. Well, I had done my best, after all.
Besides, it wasn’t something I had to hide. And so I answered proudly.

“In spite of appearances, I can be quite capable. But I heard that you also contributed a lot, Ms. Pemeri.”

“Ah, aye. A little. Ajifu, I am surprised by how casual you are about it.”

She said. Indeed, while it was a strong enemy, I didn’t think it was some kind of unprecedented achievement for me.

“By the way, there is something I wanted to ask you.”

“What? What is it?”

“What does it mean in Rokuidol? Being able to defeat a wyvern by yourself.”

Upon hearing this, Lutma and Ms. Permeri looked at me as if they could not believe their eyes.

“Eh? Surely you did it in order to show that you were the man who would protect Lutma?”

“What?”
“What?”

Lutma and I said in unison.

“WWWHHHAAAAAAATTT!?”
“WWWHHHAAAAAAATTT!?”
“WWWHHHAAAAAAATTT!?”

And then Ms. Pemeri’s voice joined ours, as it echoed through the Rokuidol church.

Next Chapter

Ossan Boukensha no Jimichi na Isekai Tabi