Chapter 22 /// To A New Journey ///

Shion decides that there is no need to tie up the five people who are unable to move due to the heavy damage.

Four of his followers were still unconscious, and Randyll, who had finally woken up, was still breathing.

“Hahaha, I lost, huh? You’re too strong, Axe-senpai…”

“Sorry, but I’ll keep my mercy to a minimum”

After slashing Randyll’s eyes with a flash of white blade, Shion quickly sheathed his sword and turned on his heel. He did not take the ring of the Hero, nor did he destroy it.

“…… I ain’t quitting. It’s a position I’ve come a long way to acquire”

“Well, keep trying. The only thing I’m gonna take from you is those two eyes. I doubt we’ll ever see each other again”

He gets on Haku’s back and runs straight up the bleachers and jumps off the arena.

On the way back to the inn, Haku asked something that was really bothering him.

‘Are you sure that was a good idea? You could capture him and send him to war as a soldier’

“Even if we’re doing it, we’re the ones who’ll get caught. There’s too much difference between Randyll and us in terms of trust among the residents. Besides, I don’t want to help > by doing it. That’s why, it’s okay”

Shion knows that there is a technique called [Mind’s Eye] that can be used without using the eyeball, but that alone cannot be a big deal.

“For the Hero of Divine Eye, his two eyes are equal to the life span of the hero. Randyll won’t be a hero for much longer”

The people’s support hasn’t disappeared yet, so I thought he’s still retained his title as a hero? Haku wondered, but since it was Shion’s words, he accepted it.

When they arrived at the inn, Shion hesitated for a moment before turning to Haku with a mysterious look on his face.

“…… Haku, I’ve made up my mind. I will try to live in this world until the end. We may not be able to change the whole world, but we can live according to our hearts”

‘I think it’s wonderful’

“I’m going to retrieve all of the Magic Crystals scattered around the world. Once I’ve collected all of it, I’ll work to make the world a better place to the extent I can”

Haku smiled and nodded his head, and Shion also showed his white teeth and said with a bit of embarrassment.

“I won’t ask you if you’ll follow me anymore”

‘Fufufu. So, we’re all in this together, right?’

“Yeah, you’re right. Let’s have a few more days of fun here, then we’ll move on to the next city”

‘Yes, sir. Now let’s get a good night’s sleep’

Back in their inn room, Shion and Haku went to sleep peacefully. It was obvious from the perfect timing of their sleeping breaths that they were compatible beyond their species.

_______________________________________________________________

For three days, Shion enjoyed the sightseeing in Organ, while doing this and that for the adventurer’s guild and the living guild.

And on the morning of the first day of my journey, he first went to greet Lily, the receptionist at the Adventurer’s Guild.

“Thank you very much for your help. We’re going to the next town. Ranks and such will be transferred, right?”

“It’ll be transferred over, but…… are you really going to leave? Oh no, today of all days……”

I don’t want you to go, says her damp eyes which made Shion startled.

Her shoulders were shaking as if she was seeing off a boyfriend who was going away. The reason for this is revealed by the Guild Master who comes from behind.

“I’m sorry to hear that, Lily. Even though you’ve decided to confess your feelings today…”

“Whoa, don’t say it out loud, Master!”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. But you should try it. You might change his mind”

Uuu… Lily glanced at her master for a moment, then glanced at Shion’s face. He seemed to be lost in thought, but he seemed to have made up his mind, and her expression turned radiant.

“No, it’s fine. I believe that you will become a big shot like Axe-sama. There’s no way I can keep you”

“No, I’m the one that ……”

“It’s okay, you don’t have to say anything!　Just shut up and eat this!”

What she handed him was a cookie. She was probably trying to give it to her as a present along with his confession. Although embarrassed, Shion accepted it.

“It’s a shame. You guys could’ve been the ace of the Third Branch. You’ll have to work harder out there, okay?”

“Thank you very much for your help. I’ll be stopping by again when I come back to Organ”

As Shion bowed, Lily dashed forward and grasped her hand tightly.

“That’s a must, okay!?”

“Yep!”

After being seen off by an extremely energetic Lily and Master, as well as other enthusiastic guild members, Shion left the third branch.

As they were heading to the next living guild, Shion noticed that Haku was smirking.

‘Popular men sure are different… Hehehe!’

“Stop teasing me……”

‘It might have been possible for you to go out with Lily. Even if she should cheat on you, it would be with Mr. Axe!’

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. We’re here”

In the living guild, Sablan was working amiably today. He was in the middle of consulting with other members, so he waited for that to finish and then became very depressed when Shion explained the situation to him.

“…… I see. I was prepared for you to leave sooner or later, but you’re very early”

“Mr. Sablan has been good to me”

“You too! The remaining 1,000,000 points will be transferred to you, of course, and you can keep that card as well. Oh, and if you’d like, you can have this too”

Whether he had prepared it or had some left over, Sablan brought in a large amount of vegetables and chicken meat from another room.

“Today was supposed to be the guild’s anniversary and we were going to celebrate, but the master came down with a cold. The preparations were in vain”

“But, is it okay for us to have this?”

“Both of you are our saviors, Lord Shion and Lord Haku. I’m sure it’s hard to pay for Haku’s food, etc”

“Well, I’ll take you up on that”

After thanking them and making idle small talk, Shion and Haku left the living guild. Sablan, who came to see them off outside, kept waving at them until he couldn’t see Shion anymore.

They were walking towards the gate, having already greeted the people who had taken care of them, when Shion noticed something strange about Haku. His eyes are squinting, his tail is sloppy, and he looks dead.

“I know how you feel. It’s hard to say goodbye to the good people you’ve met on your journey”

‘It’s totally different!’

“What? Am I wrong?”

‘Please try to remember. What Mr. Sablan said just now!’

I don’t know what he’s so upset about, but even when Shion thinks hard, he still has no idea what’s going on.

‘It’s this particular sentence! {I’m sure it’s hard on Haku-san’s food budget, etc}. Did I eat that much in front of Sablan-san?’

“There’s a certain essence that drifts in the air…”

‘Even though I’ve been told that Demon Foxes are smart. I want to be seen as an intelligent character too. ……’

He seemed to be rather serious about it, so Shion put the meat and vegetables he had just received from the [Dark Pouch] in front of Haku and pretend not to be interested.

‘Meat? Vegetables? I’m not interested. I’d rather read a book’

Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom.

What’s that sound? It was the sound of his tail wagging violently from side to side. It was buzzing like a happy puppy in front of its master, and there was no way to hide it.

His facial expressions were definitely trying to be cool, but his body language was ruining it.

“……Yeah, well, I think it’s a good idea……”

‘Phew. Well, this is what I’m supposed to be”

Deciding not to go into too much detail, Shion hurried to the entrance. Just then, he saw an unusual crowd of people in the vicinity and checked the situation to see what was going on.

A man with an interesting face climbed up on top of a high platform and addressed the audience.

“I’m not a brave man who stays indoors and hunts only small fry. I swear I will use my power of observation to make you happier!”

The young man showed the excited audience the ring he had firmly placed on his finger. Shion and Haku looked at each other. The ring was worn by Randyll the other day, which means that he either gave it to that man or it was taken from him.

Shion was sure it was the latter.

“As a rule, a brave man can’t refuse a duel for the ring. It’s common for them to be targeted when they’re sick or depressed”

‘It’s really severe…… Did you anticipate this when you left him alone, Shion?”

“Organ have been draining Heroes of Divine Eye’s power for generations. In other words, there are many people with that kind of ability. Just as Randyll was watching us, maybe he was being watched by someone else too”

It may seem harsh, but that is what it means to inherit the ring of heroism. You have to work to make the world a better place, but you also have to protect your position.

It is not uncommon to be trapped in a sneaky trap.

The end result like this was predictable to Shion when he had both Randyll’s eyes crushed.

‘Shion, I think you’re the one who seems to have future vision’

“I don’t need future vision if I’m going to be so distracted by the future that I lose sight of the most important thing, the present”

‘Wise words’

Shion left Organ, sincerely hoping that the new hero who would protect Organ would be clean.

When they stepped outside, Haku and Shion looked out at the clear blue sky, and then he pointed in the direction where he could feel the Magic Crystal.

“That’s the direction. And it’s far”

‘We might have to cross the country! There must have been a lot of beastmen over there. I used to live there a long time ago’

“Oooh, that’s reassuring”

‘Do you want to take it easy? Or are we in a hurry?’

“It’s not a hurried trip, so let’s take it easy. But I feel like I want to be enthusiastic at least at the beginning”

Sion touched Haku’s back and shouted to him to get into the spirit.

“I’m sure there’s a lot of fun waiting for us over there. Let’s go!”

‘Whoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo!’

A solidly built white fox ran across the earth with great vigor. He runs like an arrow, leaving animals, travelers, demons, and even carriages behind.

The journey of the mysterious white fox and the young man wrapped in black who rides on top has just begun. -