Chapter 293 Treasure Chest
Part 1
âWelcome back, Cry-san. How was the church?â (Eva)
âSo-So, I guess. It had been a while since I went there and it seems that Anthem is fitting well to the placeâ¦â¦â (Cry)
Clan House. On my way up the stairs to the Clan Masterâs Office, I ran into Eva and we had a chitchat.
Even though everyone is giving me strange rumors that hurt my reputation, Eva never changes, which is really healing. I hope everyone will learn from her.
âSo-Soâ¦â¦ So-so? â¦â¦â¦â¦ Cry-san, do you think I know nothing about what happened, do you?â (Eva)
âCalm, calmâ¦â (Cry)
As usual, Eva gives a small sigh of exasperation at my attempts to appease her.
But Anthem is truly amazing. Aside from being a Hunter, it must be really hard to fit in as a member of the church due to his sizeââDoes it mean that his personality outweighs his appearance?
In addition, according to AnthemââThere were a number of people besides us who noticed that the black knight appeared from the pendant. It seems that Priest-san told him that when he went to tell Priest-san about the black knight coming out of the pendant.
In other words, all the witnesses kept their mouths shut instead of blaming him. He wasnât even blamed for breaking the pillar, how much virtue did he have to accumulate in his previous life to be treated that wayâ¦â¦ As someone who is always being accused of things I didnât do, I really do envy him. But naturally, I donât envy him when he has to be caught up in Luciaâs advanced offensive magic.
Letâs learn from Anthem and live an honest lifeâ¦â¦ I am living an honest life, thoâ! I really donât know anything about whatâs happening, you know!
And then Eva looked at me *niconico* smiling, not understanding why.
âCry-sanâ¦â¦ Arenât you in a strange mood right now?â (Eva)
âAaaahâ¦â¦ Does it show?â (Cry)
ââ¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦ Why would you be like this even though such a big incident happened in the âLight Spirit (Korei)â Churchâââ (Eva)
It is not like I am in a good mood because an incident happenedââIt is because I got a souvenir at the very end. What you should have is an excellent childhood friend. Someday, I want to return something to him too, since I keep being on the receiving end.
âI heard that ãStarlight (Hoshi no Seirai)ã will somehow take care of the mess at the church. There has been a lot of fuss lately about the prophecy, but I think everything is finally coming together.â (Cry)
ââ¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â (Eva)
Too many things happened one after another, so I am tired. It is not because I played an active role, but I am exhausted just by watching it from afar as I lack physical strength.
And that is when I noticed Eva *jii* staring at my face.
She frowns while having a prudent look. She looks as if there was something on my face, so I involuntarily take a step back.
âWh-What is it?â (Cry)
âNoâ¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦ It is nothing. It is just that I am trying to see if I should buy it or not by reading Cry-sanâs expressionâ¦â¦ Because recently, it has been a mess due to repeated curse disturbances. A lot of people ran away from the Imperial Capital, you know. So if it is really going to come togetherâ¦â¦ Chances areâ¦â¦â¦â¦â (Eva)
Uuuuunâ¦â¦ I guess I shouldnât touch it too deeply. As she is completely doing her role as Vice-Clan Master, it is easy to forget that she is a former merchant of the Great Chamber of Commerce.
The Imperial Capital has been noisy recently. After the Akasha turmoil, the Dragon attack, and now this prophecy, anyone would be tempted to flee if trouble were to occur in such a short period of time.
âIt is fine if you run away too, you know, Eva?â (Cry)
Because I will run away with you.
Hearing what I say half-seriously, Eva stares in wonder and quickly shows me her right palm up. A familiar ring is on her ring finger.
âI wonât run away. You even gave me a Barrier Ringâ¦â¦ I have prepared myself.â (Eva)
She is too manly. I am wearing more than a dozen Barrier Rings, but I still donât have her readinessâ¦â¦
Well, as expected, I guess I will call it quits this timeâ¦â¦ I am already full of it. I already gave back the Symphonic Stone, so this time I am going to *daradara* laze around.
It seems that Lucia and the others also have time to spare due to the change in their schedule due to various disturbances, so maybe I should just call all of them and *daradara* laze around together.
Then Eva returned to her normal expression and unexpectedly said something I had expected.
âOh, by the way, Liz-san is here. She is in the Clan Masterâs Office with Tino-san.â (Eva)
â!! Everythingâ¦â¦â¦â¦ Is exactly as I simulated it.â (Cry)
âShe was in a very good moodâ¦â¦â¦â¦ Right. Something about her supposed to receive a gift or somethingâ¦â¦ Is it going to be alright?â (Eva)
âKukuâ¦â¦â¦â¦ Unlike the usual, this one is a brilliant prediction without faultââI am afraid of my own talent.â (Cry)
Is everything in the palm of my hand? Donât tell me my Divine Strategist talent is finally blooming?
This is it, this is it! For once, I can be forgiven for pretending to be badass and getting carried away. My eyes are not so bright, but I know all about my childhood friendâs personality. We havenât been together for a long time just for show.
.
I say to Eva, who looks at me as if she were looking at something creepy.
âCan you do me a favorâ¦â¦ Soon the Best Treasure Chest should be coming downstairs from the church. Ask someone to carry it for meâ¦â¦ Letâs see⦠To the Lounge, okay?â (Cry)
âWellâ¦â¦ This is fine for me. But a Treasure Chest?â (Eva)
Eva would be amazed too if she saw that. I have never seen a treasure chest that looked so much like a treasure chest in all my years as a Hunter. I am sure Liz will be delighted.
Howeverâ¦â¦ I didnât think there were that many treasure chests in the warehouse of the âLight Spirit (Korei)â Church. They said they had no idea which one I was talking about, so I can pick one out, but I laughed because I had no idea what was going on from start to finish.
§
In the Clan Masterâs Office, Liz was doing a chokehold on Tino. They must have been bored while waiting.
When she sees me, she *poi* tosses Tino, who is on the verge of fainting, out of the way and jumps towards me. Eva was right, her excitement was extremely high.
âCry-chaaaaaaaaaaaan~!â (Liz)
âGooood, good, good, Liz, good girl!â (Cry)
While treating Liz who has a big smile on her face with one hand, I check on Tino who is spread down on the floor.
Seeing her disheveled hair, were they having a mock battle? Please donât do mock battles in other peopleâs rooms just because you are bored.
I was afraid that if I scolded Tino carelessly, she might jump on Tino, so with my gaze I blamed Liz, who was not feeling guilty at all when suddenly, Tinoâs fingertips *pikuri* twitched and she quickly came to her senses.
When she wakes up, she *bunbun* shakes her head from side to side, she blushes when she sees me.
âMaster~ â¦â¦ You were here!? I am sorry I showed you something so embarrassingâââ (Tino)
âN-Noâ¦â¦ Tino is also a good girl.â (Cry)
Compared to the past, the recent sturdiness of my Kouhai is dangerous. Physically and mentally, her state is starting to go to a dangerous level. As her Master~, should I be happy about itâ¦â¦ Or should I be ashamed of not being able to stop Liz.
What do I do if Tino specializes in sturdiness and grows as big as Anthem?
Liz takes Tinoâs arm, who just got up, and pushes it toward me.
âItâs almost my turn to escort you, riiight? Itâs a little bit early, but I couldnât wait, so here I am! Iâll do my best, okay? You can use Ti as well! Well, there hasnât been any unusual activity since the attack in the Lounge thoââââ (Liz)
ââ¦â¦â¦â¦ Aaaah, something like that happened, right?â (Cry)
âMaster~, that was just a few days ago, you know!?â (Tino)
I seeâ¦â¦ Switching escorts on a daily basis was a countermeasure against surprise attacks, huh.
No, so much has happened since then thatâ¦â¦ It is normal that it became a little bit hazy! I mean, Gark-san, who was blown up by the explosion, was still alive and well! What is going on with that guy?
â¦â¦â¦â¦ W-Well, letâs leave the details aside. It has been a while since I have been this brilliant.
I solemnly say to Liz, who has a twinkle in her eyes and is *sowasowa* fidgeting like a dog that has been told to wait.
â*Kohon*, actually, I have somethingâ¦â¦ I want to give it to you, Liz.â (Cry)
â!!â (Liz)
âI thought it was unfair to only give it to Luke and the others and not to you, Liz.â (Cry)
â*Kyaaaa*! Cry-chan, I love you!â (Liz) n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
âO-Onee-samaâ¦â¦ You are being improper, desu.â (Tino)
Liz *pyon* jumps up, hugs me from behind and *surisuri* rubs me. Just by touching her hot limb, I feel like I am sweating.
I had somehow expected this kind of reaction and I am happy that she is pleased like that but how should I sayâ¦â¦ I donât know what is inside the treasure chestâ¦â¦ I thought she would be delighted even if it was empty, but now that she is pleased like this, I am a little nervous about it.
And I forgot about Tino, but Tino doesnât seem to have any complaints. Rather than that, she is more concerned about Liz, who keeps pressing her nose against my neck.
âI am having it carried to the Lounge right now, soâââ (Cry)
â*Kyaaaa*! Iâm so looking forward to it, letâs go! Neeeh? Letâs gooo~!â (Liz)
Liz goes in front of me in an instant like magic and pulls my arm. Her smile is so dazzling that it warms my heart.
Youâ¦â¦ You wouldnât cry if it turns out to be empty, right?
Contrary to my brilliant mode from earlier, I was about to be crushed by anxiety, when Tino looked at me and said.
âThe Loungeâ¦â¦ But I think it hasnât been repaired yetâ¦â¦â (Tino)
Ah, thatâs right. I wanted to show everyone the perfect treasure chest, so I specified the loungeâ¦â¦ But I completely forgot that it was half-destroyed.
§
TL notes:
Thanks for reading!
Itâs okay Cry, you gonna destroy it again with a new curse so it is good that it isnât repaired yet
Tchao à plus!