Chapter 367 - Responsibility (5)

She was nearly two meters tall. Still, her proportions were good and her muscles lean, so she didn't look bulky.

But...

'It feels strange being the one looking up at her.'

Had she removed her Bone Knight Essence after all?

Seeing Aynar again after so long, I found her oddly unfamiliar. Ever since she'd shrunk early on, that smaller figure was all I'd seen. Well, looking back, I could still recognize her face from before...

'... She looked so young back then.'

She looked far more mature than I remembered. Hmm, perhaps it wasn't her face that had changed so much as the air of experience she carried?

"Haha! Anyone can fall asleep reading a book. Are you discriminating against me because I'm a barbarian?"

"I... Th-that's not it. I-I really—"

"I'm joking! Joking! I promise I won't cause any more trouble, so let it slide just this once. Hmm?"

Her hearty manner radiated ease, and she'd become quite the talker. She kept the other person off balance while smoothly maneuvering them into a position where refusing was difficult.

Honestly, even I was impressed. She'd learned to use our race's traits to her advantage.

"... If you put it that way, all right."

"Haha, thank you! Oh, want some jerky?"

"... No, thank you. Also, food inside the library—"

"I know! I only offered because you're so scrawny. Now, off you go! You must have plenty of work!"

After practically shoving the librarian away, Aynar actually opened a book and began reading, apparently intending to keep her promise not to sleep.

'She can... read now, too?'

For some reason, my heart swelled. I was pretending to read my own book while repeatedly stealing glances at her across the way when...

"Hmm..."

Aynar frowned. Apparently she'd run into something she didn't understand. But even here, I could see how she'd changed.

"Hey, friend!"

She looked at me and struck up a conversation without hesitation.

"... Are you calling me?"

"Haha, you're a strange one! Who else would I mean? Could you come over and read this for me?"

Huh. Not only was she calling a human her friend, she was asking one for help.

Did I... look like a barbarian to her?

"Don't be scared! I'm not going to hurt you!"

"... I'm not scared, merely surprised. I heard barbarians disliked humans."

"That's all prejudice, prejudice! Well, I used to be like that myself, but I've gradually learned there's no particular reason to dislike you."

Hmm, at least she didn't seem to be mistaking me for a barbarian. And since seeing me didn't seem to remind her of Bjorn Jandel either, I obligingly moved over.

"I'm reading this part, but I can't make sense of this word. Could you tell me what it means?"

"This... reads 'logistics.' It refers to the branch of the military that manages and supplies materiel."

"Branch? What's that? Sounds like something you could eat."

Seriously, why was she reading military books when she couldn't even read this?

Dumbfounded, I answered her questions anyway. As I did, I looked at the stack beside her and saw all sorts of books, not just military ones. Most were about history.

'... She's reading these?'

"Anyway, thank you! Now I can keep reading!"

Once I'd finished explaining the words, Aynar immersed herself in her book again, and I returned to my seat.

How much time passed after that?

Eventually, unable to contain myself, I asked.

"But... why are you reading books like that?"

"Hmm? Are you picking a fight with me?"

"No, that's not..."

"Haha! Don't look like that. I know perfectly well I look unusual!"

Seriously, she really knew how to keep people off balance...

As I stared at her laughing heartily, her expression turned serious, and she murmured.

"The warrior I respected most used to read a lot."

"..."

"Well, doing this won't bring me anywhere close to his level... But there are still things someone has to do."

Her voice sounded strangely lonely. It reminded me of what Erwin and Raven had told me about how she'd been doing.

'After I died... she declared she would become chieftain.'

After the death of a leading candidate—me—she'd boldly announced that ambition before her grieving kin. They'd been skeptical at first, but over time, one by one, they'd begun to acknowledge her. Apparently, she was now practically considered the successor...

"By the way... what a shame."

Suddenly, Aynar looked at me and smacked her lips.

"... What is?"

"You look like you'd have been quite handsome if you'd been born a barbarian."

"... Really?"

"Anyway, fate brought us together here, so why don't we introduce ourselves? I'm Aynar, Pheneline's second daughter. And you?"

"Rihen Schuitz."

When I gave her my alias, she repeated it as though committing it to memory, then handed me several books from her stack.

"Why are you... suddenly giving me these?"

"A gift to celebrate our friendship."

Who gave library books as gifts? I couldn't even take them out of the building.

"... Thank you."

Ridiculous as it was, I thanked her out of politeness. But what was this now?

"No need to thank me. It's only natural for an Advanced variety."

"... Advanced variety?"

"Oh, is that too difficult a term? You wouldn't know this, being human, but..."

Aynar glanced around before speaking quietly enough for only me to hear.

"Barbarians are actually the most superior race in the world."

... Huh?

"Read those books and you'll see whether I'm telling the truth."

Without thinking, I checked the titles of the books she'd handed me.

[The Secret of the Heart: The Selfish Superiority Factor]

[Barbarians III - Why Did Mages Covet Their Hearts?]

[Seven Reasons Not to Make Enemies of Barbarians: Lessons from the Sacred Relic War.]

... Those were their titles.

* * *

"Aren't you going to read them?"

"... I am reading them."

She kept giving me pointed looks from across the table, leaving me no choice but to read the books she'd given me. Honestly, I was curious, too. Perhaps only the titles were like that, and the contents were surprisingly sensi—

'... Like hell they were.'

I didn't know who'd written these books, but their contents were all the same: praise for what an amazing race barbarians were.

What on earth had they been thinking when they wrote these? If they'd written a book, they probably weren't a barbarian. And no sane person would have published one with barbarians as the target audience.

TAP.

Giving up on understanding it, I closed the book. Across from me, Aynar looked at me with sparkling eyes.

"What did you think? A good book, isn't it?"

"... It was certainly an interesting account."

"Hehe, don't let it discourage you too much. Humans aren't all that inferior a race. We're simply exceptional."

"..."

"Did you know? The barbarian illiteracy rate is ninety-nine times that of humans. And yet we've preserved and passed down traditions from thousands of years ago. No other race has managed that."

"..."

"Oh, and do you know why barbarians can't float? It's actually because our souls are overwhelmingly denser than those of other races."

"Excuse me, but do you know what density means?"

"... Ahem, there's also a reason Spirit Seals only work on barbarians!"

So she didn't know.

"It's because no souls are as pure and clean as ours..."

I stood up.

"... Hmm? Where are you going? I'm only getting started."

"Sorry, I just remembered something I need to do. Perhaps we'll see each other again."

"... Really? Can't be helped, then. Goodbye."

It was good to see Aynar, but staying any longer seemed likely to mean listening to this all day, so I made a quick escape.

Then...

'She won't spot me here, right?'

I moved to a secluded seat and read some newly selected books.

Most covered recent developments. There were quite a few books that compiled a year's worth of newspaper articles and the like.

'I heard the royal family had introduced a lot of policies for low-floor explorers. So these are what they meant.'

As I pored over the books gathering information, the hand turning the pages stopped before I realized it. A familiar name had appeared in an article from a year ago.

[Explorer Guild's Seventh District Manager Nile Urbans Announces Voluntary Retirement: Personal Reasons, Not Political Conflict.]

That man had retired?

Intrigued, I read the article carefully and soon reached its end.

[Regarding his sudden decision to retire after being active enough to run for guildmaster just two years ago, his acquaintances unanimously suggest that his daughter's death a year earlier may have prompted a change of heart.]

His daughter's death, a year earlier.

"... Was she his only daughter?"

Well, I didn't know that much. We hadn't exactly been close.

'Still, I should check.'

While I was at it, I fetched a volume of articles from a year earlier and checked them one by one. Before long, I found what I was looking for.

[Urbans Family's Eldest Daughter, Julie Urbans, Announces Marriage to Alminus Trading Company's Headquarters Director.]

It began with an engagement announcement.

Then...

[Julie Urbans Dies on Her Wedding Night.]

The death notice appeared three months later. The cause was an accidental fall. According to the article, she'd been drunk and fallen headfirst from a third-floor terrace...

[Facing a Compensation Claim, Nile Urbans Again Firmly Insists Death Was an Accidental Fall, Not Suicide.]

It left a bitter taste in my mouth. We hadn't been close, but knowing all too well what her circumstances might have been, I couldn't help feeling partly responsible.

'Enough. Let's head home for today.'

Tsk. Maybe I shouldn't have looked...

* * *

One day, two days, three days, four...

As always, time in the city passed especially quickly. Well, there was plenty to do at the start of the month. Between redeeming the slips and selling equipment, time truly flew.

Then came the time to divide the proceeds.

"This should be more than enough to pay off all the debt."

"Th-then we don't have to sell the house!"

"About that. I'd like to put off repaying the debt for a bit."

"W-why...?"

Because there was still plenty of time before it was due. And there was something else we needed to invest in first.

"I-if that's what you want, Mister... I-I suppose that's that... But what could you possibly need all that money for...?"

"I'm buying a boat."

"... A boat?"

Erwin tilted her head, while Amelia nodded as though she understood what I had in mind.

"True, if we're not going to keep participating in the war, having a boat would be wise."

"Exactly. And our destination for the next expedition is on the sixth floor."

I'd joined the war as a mercenary because we were short on money, but we'd reached our target amount in just one expedition. There was no reason to participate again. Judging by the daily pay this time, it would be lucrative, but I had more important priorities.

"What destination...?"

"Underground Island."

"... Underground Island? Was there an island by that name on the sixth floor?"

As Amelia's reaction made clear, it wasn't a widely known island. Well, someone like Raven would probably know it, of course.

Anyway, after I briefly explained its features, Erwin and Amelia both looked as though they'd heard of it.

"An island hidden beneath the sea... So that's the place you meant."

"I think my sister told me about it once!"

"But can just the three of us get there? We don't even have a navigator."

"That's why we need to start looking for one."

"... We'll be busy for a while again."

Fortunately, both agreed to follow my expedition plan without any particular objections. Starting the next day, we began seriously pounding the pavement in search of a boat and a navigator.

And so time continued to slip by...

"Where's Erwin?"

"Sleeping."

"Really? You don't have to come either, you know."

"... Still, you never know. If you don't want me here, I won't come next time."

Uh, I hadn't said I didn't want her here...

"Ahem, I meant thank you."

"... How does that mean thank you?"

Couldn't she just take my word for it?

I chuckled and checked the clock on the table.

Then...

"I'll be off, then."