Grimgal of Ashes and Illusion - Volume 14.2 - Chapter 3.05

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5. That is That

After that, Haruhiro went to the craftsmen’s town with Moguzo. They were going there to pick up the weapon, of course. Moguzo had apparently been thinking about going by himself, but ultimately he decided to wait for Haruhiro. They had gone to the workshop together in the first place, so he wanted to do the pickup together, too. The reasoning kind of made sense to him, and kind of didn’t, but it was very like Moguzo, and Haruhiro was kind of happy about that. It was like they weren’t just comrades, they were friends.

On top of that, there was a surprise waiting.

There was a familiar figure standing in front of the narrow road that led to Workshop Masukaze.

“Merry?!”

“Merry-san?!”

“Oh...” Merry looked their way, started to wave, and then stopped. She hung her head, but looked up again immediately. There was something resembling a smile, but it was awfully awkward.

She was acting shy.

When she showed an expression like that, Haruhiro didn’t know what to do. Moguzo was fidgeting, too.

Yeah, man. I know. I’m not sure what to do, either. I mean, it’s not a problem. But what is it?

Haruhiro’s heart was racing.

“Erm...”

No, this is no good.

If Haruhiro kept panicking, he’d make it awkward for Merry.

Work up the courage. Courage? No, I don’t really need courage. This isn’t a situation that requires that I be bold. I don’t think it is. It’s probably not. Probably.

“H-Huh? Wh-What’s up, Merry? I-Is this a coincidence? It’s... not, right...?”

“Yeah...” Merry brought a hand to her chest, taking a breath. “I thought you might be coming soon. To pick up the weapon. We came together, so I thought...”

Merry was saying something that kind of made sense to him, and kind of didn’t. But he got it. He did. It was that kind of thing. Haruhiro and Moguzo looked at one another. Right? You might wonder what exactly was right, but right now, Haruhiro and Moguzo definitely both thought “Right?” It was something Ranta probably wouldn’t get. This was something only he and Moguzo could both understand.

Moguzo wasn’t the proactive type. Neither was Haruhiro. He wasn’t outgoing like Kikkawa, and he couldn’t come out and say everything he thought. He couldn’t open up and become friends with just anyone. He wasn’t that kind of person.

And, probably, Merry—or at least the current Merry—was the same way. Despite that, she came.

She must have struggled with it. Though she managed to overcome indecision and come here, she still would have had to wait a long time. Maybe she even tried to turn back. But Merry still stayed. She waited all this time. —Right?

Seeing this sort of thing makes you pretty happy, huh?

“Ohhh, I see! I see. In that case... you could’ve come by the lodging house. Right, Moguzo?”

“Y-Yeah. Th-That’s right. Yeah.”

“...I considered it.” Merry’s voice was awfully tiny. It was as quiet as a mosquito’s. “—Sorry. I felt a little... hesitant to.”

“No need to apologize! Right, Moguzo?! She doesn’t have to apologize, right?!”

“R-Right! In fact, we should, because of that, right?!”

“Yeah! I mean, there was that thing!”

“Th-That thing, right?!”

“That thing, yeah! You know the one, right?!”

Haruhiro and Moguzo slapped each other on the shoulder, going on about that thing, but what even was it? Haruhiro didn’t know. He didn’t have a clue. Moguzo probably had no idea what that was, either.

It didn’t matter. They didn’t know. That was that. Besides, Merry burst out laughing, and though it was just a little, she smiled, too.

I could stare at Merry’s smile forever. I can’t deny I feel that way. Moguzo probably feels the same. But if I did that, I feel like it’d be awkward for Merry. So I won’t.

“Well, let’s go, then! Everyone’s here!”

“Y-Yeah! Let’s go, Merry-san!”

“S-Sure.”

If anyone was watching them, they’d make for an odd group, and it was kind of awkward. But so what? This was way better than how they started out. Eventually, they’d be able to interact more naturally. They just had to take things step by step. It was fine to get there slowly but surely.

“Helloooo...!”

Moguzo opened the door to Workshop Masukaze cheerfully, and with incredible vigor. Haruhiro went “Whoa...” despite himself.

They were greeted by that Trigon, as before, but it was larger than last time, for some reason. He couldn’t say what it was exactly, but the shape was different, too. It had a threatening air about it, like it was coming at them. Though it was made of iron, it felt raw, like it was alive. It seemed oddly real.

“Th-This is...?”

Moguzo was weirded out. Merry cocked her head to the side, just staring at it.

“Hello, welco—” Riyosuke the blacksmith poked his head out from the back of the shop, then pulled it back in. Actually, he’d retreated into the smithy in the back.

Haruhiro went, “Huh?” and looked at Moguzo and Merry in confusion. “H-He ran away... right? Just now? Why...?”

“No, no.” Riyosuke came out again, this time scratching his head. “I kid, I kid. Welcome. What business brings you to this workshop?”

“What business...?” Moguzo looked quickly around the workshop. “Um, obviously, I’m here to pick up the weapon I left with you.”

“Oh, ho. And what sort of weapon might that be?”

“Wh-What kind of weapon...? I-I left it here, right? Y-You’re not going to tell me you forgot, or something...?”

“Hrm...” Riyosuke crossed his arms. “Nngh...” He looked up to the ceiling. “Hmmm... What was it again...?”

“No, no.” Haruhiro laughed despite himself. “There’s no way you don’t remember. Not a chance. We left Death Spots’ sword with you, right? You gave us an estimate and everything. It should be done by now, right?”

“Did you?” Riyosuke asked with a serious look on his face.

“What is with this guy...?” Merry muttered. She could say that again. What was with this guy? Was this bad? He had seemed like a bit of a weirdo, but maybe it was far worse than that. Had he tricked them into letting him steal Death Spots’ sword?

Haruhiro suddenly noticed Moguzo was shaking. His hands were balled into fists, and he was trembling.

Is he mad...?

“It was supposed to be done, right?”

Moguzo’s voice was super threatening. But still polite. He was managing to just barely suppress his anger, but he could go off at any second. Riyosuke seemed to pick up on the fact he might have a dangerous customer on his hands. He suddenly smiled. “I kid, I kid,” he said, “Yes, done... is what it was supposed to be.”

“But?” Haruhiro asked.

“Well...” Riyosuke rubbed the back of his head bashfully. “I did plan to finish it. While I was working on the design, I got a bit ambitious.”

“...Ambitious?” Merry cocked her head to the side.

“Yes, it’s a bad habit of mine. I want to do this. I want to do that. I have to do this. —Once it occurs to me, I can’t not do it. I think all craftsmen are like that to one degree or another.”

“So, basically...” Haruhiro said, looking at the Trigon, “It’s not done yet?”

“Precisely.”

“You admitted that easily...”

“Because it’s a fact, you know.”

Riyosuke nodded sagely. Why was this guy so happy?

Moguzo’s voice quivered as, “Wh-When...?” he asked the obvious question. “When will it be done by?”

“About that...” Riyosuke put on a serious look and pointed straight upwards. “‘God only knows’ is all I can say.”

“You know that’s not going to cut it, right?”

Nice, Merry. That was scary.

Riyosuke was a bit spooked.

“I-If you give me a day or two...”

Immediately, “That’s too vague,” Merry coldly pressed him.