Epilogue 2: Me, a D-Rank Adventurer, Somehow Recruited into a Hero Party and Being Followed by a Princess
–Seriously, how did this happen?
“Hiii…hiii…what’s with her, way too persistent…why am I going through this…?”
Under a cloudless sunny sky, the refreshing breeze hits my cheeks as I race down the well-maintained road.
“….I’m sure I lost her. Just for a sec–“
“Jirei samaaa! …Huh, he’s not here. I could have sworn I heard his voice…Where did that man go?”
Too tired to keep running, I duck into an abandoned cafe to rest for a bit, but then the door slams open and I hear that scream, so I immediately cling to the ceiling to hide. Phew.
“I’m sure he’s the one who solved the ‘Devil Incident’… If so, it would be to my advantage in the succession battle! For the sake of my secluded lifestyle, I will definitely not give up…!”
Muttering, the person – Elena Timid Noblest, the sixth princess of the Magikosmaia Kingdom – energetically dashes out of the shop. Just in case, I stick to the ceiling.
After a few minutes, when I don’t feel her presence anymore, I land on the floor again and leave the shop without ordering anything. The staff looks at me like, “What’s wrong with this guy?”
After leaving the shop, I start to run, but a poster on the nearby wall catches my eye, so I immediately tear it down, roll it up, and throw it into the trash can in my [Space-Time Storage].
The poster read: Apparently, the recent “devil incidents” where children had their hearts torn out were solved by a mysterious “red-haired person,” so the king would reward anyone who brought this person to him.
Apparently…the king himself has taken a liking to this person and is eager to meet and speak with him no matter what. How nice.
Please, I really want him to stop. Because of this, Princess Elena has decided that the red-haired person = me and is now chasing me.
…Well, it really is me, so she’s not wrong, but still. There are tons of guys who wore red wigs at the Festival, so it should be virtually impossible to pick me out. Besides, I already dispelled magical disguise, so my hair is black now anyway.
…But even though I denied it, Rud and the academy students started clinging to me even more than before, and Elena concluded that I’m the one, and is chasing after me, asking me to marry her. Someone please help me.
“And Rud and the others have been crazy clingy too…What’s going on…On top of the ‘one person chasing me already’…”
It makes no sense that the number of people chasing and clinging to me is increasing. None at all.
“Right, I’m going to escape abroad. I told Charl [something came up, so I’m leaving], so it should be okay, and I also stole some escape funds from Aldi (my salary and prize money from the magic tournament). I should be okay for a while.
Oh yeah… When I magically contacted Charl, she seemed a little different than usual. Usually she says “Come by anytime!” but this time… her tone sounded cheerful, but something felt off. I’ll get back to her when I calm down – I couldn’t explain much except that I had to leave suddenly.
…But man, I’ve really had the worst luck lately. I got caught up in all kinds of crap and couldn’t relax at all, and my life plans got completely derailed. How did that happen?
Now that I think about it, it probably started going downhill after that “idiot hero” came and enthusiastically tried to recruit me into his hero party. Absolutely unforgivable.
“….Huh? What’s that…?”
While I was thinking that I must be cursed by misfortune, on my way to the border to escape abroad, I discovered an object that had fallen by the side of the road.
“No way. And this is the one I wanted… Why is it just lying here…?”
I immediately ran to the object – a mystical artifact – checked that no one was watching me, and then grabbed it. I have a mystical artifact!
“It was just lying here, so anyone could have taken it…If it was a bad guy, he would probably pawn it for money or something….So wouldn’t it be better if I, who loves and knows magic artifacts, picked it up?”
I mumble justifications to convince myself. …Yes, exactly. When the owner shows up, I can just return it, and until then, it’s better for the artifact to be looked after by me, who knows about mystical artifacts. No doubt about it.
After that, I throw it into the [Space-Time Memory]. It’s great to have this. It must be the return of luck for my recent losing streak. I knew that my behavior so far has been…
“–Woah!?”
I felt something sharp flying quickly toward me and immediately predicted the trajectory and caught it in my hand. Looking at it, it’s a simple red-bladed dagger.
“Teacher!? Are you okay!?”
I tell the nervous bystander to stay back while I check the area. Nothing seems particularly suspicious. Visibly at least.
“I know you’re in there. Come out.”
I call into the empty room. The response from [Magic Detection] was extremely weak and tiny, but someone is definitely there. They’ve erased their presence and seem undetectable at first glance, but they’re definitely there.
“This is a warning. Come out quickly or–“
“Well, I guess so. As expected, this level isn’t enough. I have to get… stronger…”
After a voice said that, a person with fiery red hair tied in two tails on either side – traits of her elven blood – and long ears appeared from the empty space.
“Why did you attack me? And you also attacked Rafi before, right?”
I stare at the person – Rina Antetman – and question her. Why did she suddenly appear and attack me? Don’t mess with me.
“You are – strong. Much stronger than anyone, no matter how much I try to break you, you don’t break…”
She mutters, lowering her face. Super sudden and scary, but what?
“There has never been anyone like you. I can unleash everything on you. You will understand me… Finally, finally I have found you… So…”
Rina hugs herself, looks at me dazedly and declares:
“I will – kill you. That’s all I’m saying.”
She disappears in an instant after saying that. …Looks like she’s no longer here – her presence has vanished as well. As expected from an assassin.
“Teach… did you make some kind of enemy…?”
Cain asks worriedly as he staggers over.
“……”
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I glance at Cain, then smile nihilistically and laugh. Without another word I sprint away. Full speed towards the exit.
“Hiii…Seriously, why am I going through this…What did I even do…!”
After the full sprint, I lean against a wall, panting and cursing my situation. I really don’t get it. What’s happening here?
“I’m…I’m sure I lost her. Just a short rest…I’m at my limit here…”
Ready to collapse, I sit down in the shade of a tree to take a short break. Exhausted. I could die.
“Fuu…Right, one last push and I’ll escape. I have to flee the country fast or…”
I try to break into a run, but see a familiar-looking boy standing there, so I stop.
The thirteen-year-old boy with faded gray hair kept trying to call out to the other boys playing ball in the square, opening and closing his mouth, but swallowing his words at the last moment.
Then, seeming to give up, the boy lowered his face and trudged away with a lumbering gait. …in the opposite direction of the square where the boys were playing. Away from them.
…What is he doing? Even though I erased his memories along with the memories of the victim boy with a bit of [Hypnosis]. The boys playing aren’t the victim boys-if he wants to join in, he can just go over–
“—-Hey.”
“Eep! W-what is it…?”
Seeing him like that irritated me until I couldn’t take it anymore, so I called out. He jerked in surprise and answered nervously, lacking confidence.
“I…don’t like sweets that much.”
“….Huh?”
The boy looks confused by the sudden address. I continue talking, ignoring it.
“So–I’ll give you this.”
I take out a large box filled with the Sharsette sweets Charl gave me in bulk from [Space-Time Storage] and forcefully make him hold it.
“Eh…these are from that famous store–?”
“…. I have way too many that I can’t eat. So I’ll give them to you.”
“Can’t eat that much…but. Oh, then I’ll just take–“
Although he should just take it silently, the boy takes just a little bit and dutifully tries to return the rest. Doesn’t he get it?
“….Well, how about you eat it with those guys over there? Kids love candy…Might help you get along with them–“
“Eh–“
Hearing that, the boy shifts his gaze to the playing kids.
“…..Well, I’m in a hurry, so I’ll go now. You can eat them alone if you want, or throw them out. It’s up to you.”
Saying just that, I turn my back on him and start walking without looking back.
What he has done is absolutely unforgivable. As a matter of law, he should be brought to justice. He did something that should never be done.
Even though I resurrected the victims and made it look like nothing happened, the fact remains that he committed a crime. Whether he was instigated by Enri or whatever, he should pay for it.
So… this is just self-satisfaction for me, pure ego.
“Uncle, thank you…”
“I’m not a uncle, brat!”
Without turning around, I yell at the insolent voice I hear behind me.
…Right, now I feel better. If I can just hide abroad, then–
“Aha! Found you! Eve! Over here, over here!”
“Shi–“
Just as I was thinking that, Letti jumped out from somewhere and spotted me, so I hurriedly took off running. This is the worst, I shouldn’t have wasted time on this.
“–Jirei! I can’t believe I found you here…! Hey, please, the students seem to want it too, so come teach at my academy!”
“—Sign up! Sign already!!! Sign!!!”
“—Ray, don’t run away. I definitely won’t make you regret it… It’ll be fun.”
“—Sir Jirei! You must be worried that I can’t convince Father! But don’t worry, I already have his approval! For some reason, he said he’d ‘chop you up’, but… That must be because of the wedding menu! So don’t worry! Let’s get married with peace of mind!”
“–Teacher? Why are you running… Ah! I see, this must be part of the training as well! Then allow me to join you!”
“–Jirei-Laro-samaa! I finally found you…! Please listen to me for a bit, just a bit!”
No matter how desperately I run at top speed, Ardi, Letti, Eve, Rafine, Cain, and Elena appear everywhere I flee and chase after me. What kind of hell is this?
…No, wait, this is really weird. What the hell is going on? Why do I have to be chased around like this?
I’m supposed to be a D-class adventurer. I became one to avoid trouble and to be casually lazy.
But for some reason, I am misunderstood and adored by everyone, recruited by an idiot hero and a silent white mage to join their hero group, and then hunted by the princesses of two different kingdoms. This world has gone mad.
“—Jirei!”
“—Gotcha!”
“–Ray!”
“—Sir Jirey!”
“Teacher!”
“—Jirei-Laro-samaa!”
As the wind whips my cheeks, I run frantically to avoid being caught without answering the voices calling from behind me.
–Seriously, how did this happen?
In my heart, I curse whatever God may exist with every fiber of my being for this incomprehensible situation. So vulgar, I wish the god would just die.
The cloudless sunny sky, the endless blue and the blazing sun feel especially irritating now. As if the god is laughing at this situation.
I look into the blue sky and shout, as if I want to make sure that the god hears me, if he exists:
“I just want to rest! Leave me alone!”
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