Arifureta Shokugyou de Sekai Saikyou Zero - Volume 2 - Chapter SS5

Searching for my Beloved Synergist

Three people stood in front of a small village inn that stood at the edge of the Crimson Desert. Two guys and one girl. The guys looked like hardened adventurers and were both creeping up on thirty. One had his hair cropped short, while another had an unruly mop of it. Standing between them was the girl, who at first glance looked like a simple villager. She was dressed in traveler’s garb and had striking indigo hair, which she’d bound in a short ponytail. Her eyes were small and cute.

“Good afternoon.”

The girl flashed the innkeeper a charming smile as she walked into the building. She looked so cute that she’d make for a perfect poster girl for any establishment.

“Welcome, travelers. Looking for a place to stay?”

The innkeeper, Kantas, stroked his voluminous mustache and smiled amicably at his guests.

“Actually, we’re looking for someone, sir. Have you seen anyone who looks like this?”

“Oh, on a search, are ya? Must be tough, having to look for people at your age, young lady. Let’s see who yer looking for.”

Kantas figured the two adventurers flanking her were probably guards she’d hired. He leaned forward and looked at the poster the girl held out. The picture on it was surprisingly detailed, and there was even a field of roses filling the background. The man on the poster looked on the young side. He had a refined air about him and wore a pair of black spectacles over his sparkling eyes.

“W-Wow, you sure can draw, young lady.”

“No, I’m nowhere near good enough! This picture doesn’t even bring out a tenth of Oscar-san’s overwhelming eminence! In fact, I’m ashamed to have ever drawn something so unflattering!”

“I-I see. My apologies.”

Kantas was so shocked by her outburst that he started using more polite speech.

“Don’t you think you’re exaggerating a little there?”

“Well, Aisha-chan does think awfully highly of Oscar.”

The girl was none other than Aisha, the waitress of the restaurant in Velnika that Oscar used to frequent. And the two adventurers with her his friends from the capital. The man with the cropped hair was Losere, while the man with the mop head was Scardy. The two of them sighed and exchanged glances. According to Aisha, Oscar had given her a tearful farewell on the eve of his departure, but she knew he wouldn’t be able to bear the loneliness, and so she’d set out to search for him and support him in his solitary quest. Of course, all of this was part of Aisha’s delusions and hadn’t actually happened. 

She’d been hunting for him for a few months now, and Losere and Scardy had gotten used to her frequent rants about how amazing Oscar was. She’d roped them into helping her in her quest by begging them in tears, and at this point, both of them were completely disillusioned by her.

Incidentally, Aisha’s job was Artist, which was why she could draw so well. Apparently, she hadn’t been aware of her talents until her love for Oscar had awoken them. Or at least, that was what she said. And finally, after countless dead ends, she’d managed to catch Oscar’s trail.

“Hmm, can’t say I’ve seen anyone around with such sparkly eyes, but...I think I remember those glasses. Actually, I think that guy stayed here.”

“You’ve gotta tell me more!” Aisha leaned closer to Kantas as he shouted those words. Most guys would have loved to have a cute young girl come onto them, but Kantas just backed away. Not because he didn’t find Aisha pretty, but because her attitude was scaring him. Her eyes were bloodshot, and she was panting in excitement.

“S-Sure. I’m pretty sure he stopped by around two months ago.”

“Two months ago. Did he say where he was headed?”

“Yeah, he said he was going to the desert. He was traveling with this pretty lady companion and—”

“Was that girl Miledi-san!?”

“Oh, yeah, probably. I don’t remember her name, but that sounds about right.”

Overwhelmed, Kantas straightened his back and responded as best he could.

“I knew it, the two of them are together! I can’t believe thy eloped... No, wait, they can’t have! I’m sure there’s another reason why they’re traveling together!”

Sweating profusely, Kantas timidly asked, “Um, young lady. May I ask what your relation is to that bespectacled man?”

“I’m his wife.”

“Like hell you are.”

“Stop spreading lies about Oscar. You’ll ruin his good name.”

Losere and Scardy stopped Aisha before she could slander Oscar further. The longer this search dragged on, the scarier her obsession was becoming. However, Aisha was a maiden in love. She wouldn’t be deterred.

“Innkeeper, Oscar-san and Miledi-san didn’t share a room did they?” Aisha’s eyes glimmered with a fierce light as she asked that question. On the other hand, Losere and Scardy were curious if Oscar had finally ascended the stairway to adulthood, so they stared at Kantas with unbridled anticipation. Unable to withstand the pressure, Kantas confessed the truth.

“Th-They... did.”

Aisha slammed her fist onto the countertop with such force that the wood creaked. If she’d hit it any harder, it might have splintered.

“Give me the same room they stayed in!”

“Y-Yes, ma’am!” Kantas obediently yelped as he handed over the room key. Naturally, Losere and Scardy rented out a separate room.

“Sorry about that, innkeeper. Girls in love are like crazed beasts.”

“You two must have it rough...”

The two adventurers and the innkeeper shared a tired smile. 

The next morning, Aisha and her escorts plunged into the desert. After numerous close shaves with death, they finally arrived in the city of Chaldea. There, they learned from an apprentice irak merchant where Oscar had gone.

“Oscar-san? Yeah, I know him. See this irak? She’s called Suzanne. Her old owner, Naiz-san sold her to us because he was joining Oscar-san on their journey.”

“This Naiz-san is a man, correct?”

“Huh? Of course he is, I just called him ‘he,’ didn’t I? He’s as manly as they come, too. I think he’s a soldier. That’s probably why Oscar tried so passionately to persuade him to join them on their journey. Oscar-san seemed really happy that Naiz-san was finally joining them.”

“What... did you say?” Aisha looked as though she’d been struck by lightning as he asked the man to repeat himself.

“I know Oscar didn’t go out with too many girls, but I didn’t think he was actually gay!” Losere muttered as he exchanged a glance with Scardy. Had Oscar been present, he probably would have asked the young merchant apprentice to pick his words more carefully.

“Um, was there this really pretty blonde girl with them?”

“Oh, you mean Miledi-san? Yeah, she was there. She was saying something about how the three of them would have so much fun now.”

If the apprentice had added ‘on their journey’ after that, there wouldn’t be any misunderstandings. However, Aisha nearly fainted as she thought the merchant boy was implying the three of them were having heated threesomes every day. 

“First the slender Oscar-san, now this muscular Naiz-san... How far will you fall, Miledi-san? And Oscar-san, you already have me, so why are you turning to men now!?”

As expected, his words caused a very unfortunate misunderstanding. Naturally, imaging such acts was too stimulating for a pure young maiden, so Aisha eventually collapsed from a massive nosebleed, causing the merchant boy to back away and her two adventurer guards to drag her to an inn to rest.

A few days later, Aisha and her party arrived in the town of Liv. They were once again able to find information on Oscar, this time from a certain restaurant. However, this time, things went differently. When Aisha unveiled her glowing bronze statue of Oscar to the shop owner, he screamed.

“Th-Those glasses!? I-I have no idea who you’re asking about!”

The man tried to feel his shop. However, Aisha blocked him off and used her intimidation skills to force the owner into talking. He explained how during their stay, Oscar and Miledi had attracted a lot of attention. They were both good-looking and foreign, and it seemed to everyone that they made for a harmonious couple. When he’d mentioned that last part, Aisha had slammed her fist into the innocent restaurant owner’s wall. The cracks that formed represented the cracks in her own heart. Afterward, the owner went on to explain how the two of them had started getting close to a pair of local sisters. At that, Aisha stamped her foot so hard the stone floor cracked. Finally, the owner went on to explain how Miledi had kicked a bishop to death, and Oscar had slaughtered a bunch of templar knights. At that, Aisha finally fell silent. 

“Huh, what do you mean?”

The owner tried to escape while she was still confused, but Aisha once again trapped him. This time, even Losere and Scardy wanted to know the details.

“Holy shit... Oscar, you’re insane. What’re you thinking, turning into a heretic?”

“H-Hey Aisha. I think it’d be better for you if you returned to the capital,” Loser suggested. His argument was a logical one. However, Aisha spent the rest of the day mulling over what she’d heard and eventually came to the conclusion that...

“It’s the church who’s at fault! We need to hurry up and find him so that we can help him!”

“Why did it come to this...”

Losere and Scardy attempted to escape their charge’s clutches, but Aisha wasn’t about to let them run. She had plenty of blackmail material on them that, if she made public, would ruin their careers forever. They were now faced with the choice of abandoning their jobs, or continuing to search for Oscar and hope that the excuse of “We’re looking for the heretic so we can punish him,” would fly with the clergy. 

The choice was clear. The group obtained information that Oscar had traveled west to the ocean and headed to the port city of Epona. There, they learned plenty of other things that caused more misunderstandings with Aisha, such as the fact that Miledi had stripped, Oscar

had grabbed her by her kneesocks, and that Miledi had then been eaten.

“Come, Losere, Scardy! It’s time to depart!”

“Someone please save us...”

“I wish I had the courage to just tell her no...”

Aisha continued her quest to find Oscar, unaware that she’d just sailed by the ship he was on. It would be much later that Aisha learned Oscar had long since left Andika, and hurriedly returned to the mainland. No one, not even god, knew if she would ever catch up to her beloved Synergist.