Chapter 22: The Gift of Freedom and a New Encounter

“Everyone’s working, what are you doing just barging in?”

“Oh, they said it was alright to look.”

“I didn’t say it was alright to disturb adults while they’re working.”

“That’s not what I meant…”

Renki tried to retort but quickly closed his mouth.

“I’m sorry.”

He mumbled, pouting, his head bowed.

‘I hadn’t meant to scold him, but it ended up sounding like a reprimand. Still, I had no intention of correcting him and saying I wasn’t angry.’

“Let’s go.”

Hay gestured towards the street with his chin. As he led the way, Renki followed close behind.

“By the way, what did you buy? Is it a sword?”

“I picked up the dagger I left for repairs last month.”

“Oh, right. You mentioned you were getting a sword repaired.”

It seemed Renki had completely forgotten about it.

Hay paused his steps for a moment, perching himself on a nearby stone wall. He then handed all the boxes to Renki.

“Open them.”

“Are you going to let me see?”

Renki’s eyes sparkled as he untied the string and opened the box lid.

“Huh? This is that dagger that was always in your bag. Did you get this repaired too?”

What Renki held in his hand was the very dagger adorned with ivory.

“Renki, do you know what the rune embossed on that ivory and the one engraved on the blade’s spine mean?”

“How would I know about runes?”

Renki shrugged in response. Having never learned runes, it was only natural he wouldn’t know.

“That one means ‘life’.”

“Then what about this one?”

This time, Renki pointed to the runes on the blade’s spine and asked.

“It means, ‘It’s your life, live it however you please’.”

“Huh?”

“To put it more elegantly, it means, ‘It is your life; forge your own path as you desire’.”

“That’s cool. It’s a good saying.”

Renki managed a wry smile.

“It means to live freely, right?”

Renki asked.

His eyes seemed to plead for an answer, but Hay offered none.

“That’s yours. Even if you don’t like it, use it.”

“Mine? Why a sword for me…?”

“We’re going on a monster subjugation in five days, and if by any chance things get dangerous, shouldn’t you have a way to protect yourself? I prepared it for that reason. Don’t you like it?”

“No, that’s not it at all! But didn’t you say this was a sword you received as a gift a long time ago?”

‘It was a gift, alright. From that old geezer.’

“Stop talking and open the other box. That one’s yours too.”

Renki hesitated before opening the lid of the smaller box.

He alternated glances between the box and Hay, his face etched with surprise.

Inside the box was a new mask for Renki to use.

“It’s a reward for diligently following your training for the past four months without slacking off. Discard the old one and use this.”

“…Thank you. I’ll truly cherish it.”

“You can use it roughly, you know. It’s sturdy.”

“Even so! Since it’s from you, Master, of course I have to cherish it.”

He mumbled his reply, seemingly quite touched.

‘If I gave him something even better, he’d probably kneel and prostrate himself on the ground.’

“You probably didn’t see her, but there’s a blacksmith named Retina at that forge. She also has a knack for crafting artisanal items. That was made by her.”

“She must be very skilled. But it doesn’t seem like cloth. It’s a bit heavy, isn’t it?”

“That’s right. It’s a special fiber made by drawing iron into extremely fine threads and weaving them with fabric. Retina is apparently developing it to create clothing that won’t be cut or pierced by swords, even without wearing armor. I asked her to make one when I went to get the dagger repaired. It’s durable; it won’t break easily.”

“Try it on. Let me see if it suits you.”

Renki hesitated, then placed the dagger back in the box and turned his back.

He untied the strings of his old cloth mask from behind his head, put on the new one, and then turned back around.

The mask was black with subtle, ash-gray embroidery. It covered Renki’s forehead and cheeks completely, leaving only his mouth exposed, so his scars were barely visible.

“It’s a little big, but it suits you well.”

Hay offered a slight smile and adjusted the slightly crooked mask. Renki smiled shyly.

“It’ll fit you perfectly when you grow taller.”

“Me? Haven’t I grown a lot already?”

“Not yet. Shouldn’t you at least grow as tall as me?”

“As huge as a door, like you, Master?”

“Even if you become as big as a gate, that’s fine.”

Renki chuckled, finding it amusing.

“Renki, do you know what the good thing about masks is?”

“The good thing about masks?”

“You can hide who you are, and you can conceal your expressions, thereby hiding what you’re thinking.”

“Then are there any bad things?”

“Well, people who don’t know you can’t tell who you are, and others can’t tell what you’re thinking, can they?”

“In that case, masks only have good points then.”

“Are you saying you wish no one knew who you were?”

“What does it matter if others know me? Having just you, Master, know me is enough. Isn’t that right?”

Hay was uncharacteristically flustered by his words, which implied he didn’t care about others.

Renki blinked his innocent eyes.

Hay opened his mouth to say something, but found no other words.

‘He must be saying such things because of his status. As a ‘s*ave,’ he can’t have proper friends or family.’

Hay’s gaze, fixed on Renki, grew heavy.

“Master?”

Without a word, Hay stroked Renki’s hair. The fine, thread-like strands coiled around his fingers.

“Renki.”

“Yes.”

“If you could live as freely as this sword suggests, what would you most want to do?”

“What I want to do?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm…”

Renki rolled his eyes, pondering deeply. After a moment, he looked directly at Hay and spoke.

“I want to scold them.”

“What? Scold? Me?”

“Ahaha, no! Not you, Master.”

“Then who?”

“The people who abandoned me.”

Renki said in a cheerful voice.

“Anyway, Master, the sun is setting now. Shouldn’t we be heading to ‘Estuman’?”

Renki skillfully changed the subject. Indeed, dusk was beginning to settle across the sky.

Hay was about to ask who had abandoned him, but he closed his mouth. If Renki had intended to talk about it, he wouldn’t have changed the subject.

Hay looked up at the sky, then rose from his seat.

“Alright, let’s go. We’ll be late for our appointment.”

It was the twilight hour, as agreed upon with the Fortune-teller.

****

Upon arriving at ‘Estuman,’ the Fortune-teller, who was already there, spotted Hay and waved her arm enthusiastically.

“Mr. Unemployed! Over here!”

Just as Hay hadn’t come alone, the Fortune-teller also had two companions by her side. They all appeared to be mages.

“And these people?”

Hay asked as he approached the table. At his presence, the three mages rose from their seats.

“These are my friends! This is Adel, and this is Chen. They’re all mages! We’ll be working together, so I thought it would be good to introduce you beforehand! Is that alright?”

Hay nodded.

‘He himself had brought someone without asking permission, so two companions were hardly an issue.’

“Yes, of course, that’s fine. But Fortune-teller, what about you?”

“Me?”

“Your name.”

“Ah!”

It seemed the Fortune-teller only then realized they hadn’t exchanged names.

‘Even just now, she’d called him ‘Mr. Unemployed’ because she didn’t know his name.’

Finding it amusing, the Fortune-teller clutched her stomach and let out a peal of laughter. It was a clear, joyful sound that brightened the mood of anyone who heard it.

“Oh, my goodness! I can’t believe I haven’t even told you my name yet! I’m Lexa! Lexa Morgenstern!”

Lexa abruptly extended her hand, offering a handshake. Hay took her hand and gave a brief shake.

“I am Hay Styles.”

Then, the woman Lexa had introduced as Adel rose from her seat and offered a handshake.

“I heard you’re a Spirit User. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Yes, it’s a pleasure.”

Adel was a woman with short, dark blonde hair and amethyst-colored eyes. Slender and as tall as Hay himself, she resembled a model.

“I’m Chen! Wow! Are you really a Spirit User? Can you perhaps show us a spirit?”

The man who spoke brightly, his eyes sparkling, was a youthful boy who looked barely twenty. The boy with night-sky-blue curly hair had dark, black eyes.

“It’s a bit difficult to show a spirit in this setting.”

“Then please show me later! I’m so curious! Oh, I have another question! Is it true that even if they’re the same type of spirit, they materialize in different forms for each Spirit User?”

“Yes.”

“Whoa! What does your spirit look like, sir? Oh, can I call you sir?!”

“No.”

“Then, Mr. Styles!”

‘This guy is really high-energy, isn’t he?’

It seemed he had never seen a Spirit User before. His eyes, fixed on Hay, were alight with excitement.

Hay gestured to Renki, who was standing behind him.

“Ah, this is Renki.”

“Hello, my name is Renki.”

Renki, perhaps a little nervous, bowed his head stiffly.

The gazes of the three people changed. It was the look one gave to a ‘s*ave,’ not a person.

‘A gaze akin to spotting a pet dog out for a walk on the street.’

“He always dines with me, so I brought him along. Would it be alright if he joined us?”

‘In truth, bringing Renki without asking their permission was a rude act. Who would want to share a meal with a s*ave, who isn’t even considered a person? It was like placing a shedding pet on the dinner table without permission. If they were displeased, Hay intended to turn around without a second thought and go to ‘Angel’. If they were displeased, then they were displeased; he saw no reason whatsoever to care what they thought.’

“Of course! Right?”

Lexa said. The other two also readily nodded without a moment’s hesitation.

‘It was unexpected, but honestly, he felt relieved. If Renki were to be openly shunned, it would be Renki himself who would be hurt.’

“Oh, but we’re short one chair. Just a moment!”

Chen even pulled over a chair for Renki to sit on.

“Why is your face covered? Are you injured?”

Adel showed interest in Renki.

Just as he had done when first meeting Briana Lamperche, Renki hunched his shoulders and became shy again.

“Let’s all sit down now. Oh, Mr. Unemployed, do you like beer? We’ve ordered some beer.”

Lexa said.

“I’m crazy about it.”

“Another beer here, please!”

Chen called out.

“Renki, do you drink beer? What would you like?”

Adel asked, resting her chin on her hand as she looked at Renki.

“I’ll just have a cup of tea.”

The beer arrived quickly. Hay spoke to the server.

“A cup of chamomile tea, please.”

“We ordered the food before you arrived, Mr. Unemployed!”

“We weren’t sure what you’d like, so we ordered one of each type: beef, chicken, pork, and lamb!”

“They all taste quite good. Oh, do you like vegetables?”

Each of them offered a remark. Hay simply nodded vaguely in response to whatever they asked.

Chen was the most talkative, and he was also the most curious. Perhaps it was the alcohol, but his cheeks were flushed.

They were all mercenaries who had signed free contracts with the Kranz Mercenary Company. Chen and Adel were both Class 4, and apparently, they were a couple. Lexa said she was Class 5. However, among the three, the most useless was Lexa, despite being Class 5. This was because after casting one powerful spell in a subjugation battle, she suffered from severe motion sickness and vomited repeatedly.