Grimgal of Ashes and Illusion - Volume 7 - Chapter 6

6. What is Living?

Whether they could go on or not, they had no choice but to try.

In addition to the 1 wen they already had, they had 1 ruma and 2 wen they’d found in Corpse Swamp, plus 2 wen that they’d gotten by selling the two swords to the blacksmith as scrap metal, for a total of 1 ruma and 5 wen. They were a bit short of the 2 ruma they would need for two meals, but if they negotiated with the giant crab who ran the grocery store to give them what it could, it would probably work something out with them. Sure, the grocer looked like a crab, but he (she?) was a good guy. Probably.

Haruhiro didn’t know what time it was, so he could only look at the ridge in the distance and judge if the strength of the flames was dying down, or if it was still fine, to determine if night was coming. Other than that, he could only rely on his stomach and his intuition. How did the people of Well Village keep track of time? They might tell him if he asked, but it wasn’t a question he could express with only gestures and an extremely limited vocabulary.

Though they had eaten, it felt like there was still time before night. If they were just going to sit on the ground in silence, that was pretty difficult in its own way. Shihoru was keeping awfully quiet, and he wanted to do something about that, but he didn’t know how.

“Bingoooo!” Yume suddenly let out a strange shout and jumped up. “Listen, Yume, she had an idea. How about startin’ a campfire?”

This was Yume’s plan. The forest was keeping them out, and it wouldn’t be easy to get inside, but they could at least find dry wood there. They would gather it, and make a campfire right outside Well Village. It’d warm them up. When night got close, they could rush inside the village. It probably wasn’t that dangerous next to the village, so they could sleep around the fire.

It was unanimously agreed, Let’s do it.

They left the village, gathering fallen branches at the edge of the forest. Yume identified the ones that were properly dry, putting the half-dried ones off to the side.

They set things up a little ways from the bridge. They put thick branches on the bottom, then piled the thinner ones on top. If they did that, the thick ones on the bottom would burn like charcoal.

Yume was good at starting fires. That was to be expected from a hunter. Once Yume had a brilliant fire going, she kept an eye on it, throwing more branches on the fire and blowing into it to make it stronger. If they left the half-dried branches near the fire, eventually they would dry out, and they’d be able to use them.

“That’s warm...” Ranta sat with his knees up against his chest, sticking his hands out towards the fire. “Seriously, seriously warm... It’s damn soothing... Fire’s the best... Greatest thing in all of history... Oh, the conveniences of civilization...”

“Um, Ranta.” Kuzaku was sitting cross-legged. “Are you crying?”

“I am not. It’s not tears, it’s snot...”

“Snot comes out of your eyes, huh...” Shihoru was sitting too close to the fire. “Gross...”

“Shove off! When a guy’s enjoying himself, don’t go dissing him and ruining it, you moron!”

Merry crouched down, putting her palms towards the fire, and closed her eyes. Her lips loosened a little, and she looked comfortable.

“If only we could catch some fish...” Yume was sitting between Shihoru and Merry with her legs in a w-shape, looking into the fire she started. “Then we could cook ’em, and eat ’em.”

“Fishing, huh...” Haruhiro was, of course, sitting in front of the fire like everyone else. “You think there’s fish in the Lukewarm River? I mean, it’s lukewarm...”

“Well, it wouldn’t be weird if there were,” Ranta said, snorting. “Like, there could be man-eating fish. Don’t you think?”

“If we started a fire in the riverbed,” Merry started to say, “it might keep enemies away, and then we could bathe in peace, maybe?”

“No, we’d be able to see then.” Kuzaku looked down for some reason. “That’s bad, isn’t it?”

“Oh.” Merry hung her head. “...That’s right.”

“I wouldn’t mind.” Ranta flared his nostrils. “Even if you can see. I’m generally okay with nudity. Actually, is it anything to worry about? Like, whether you’re seen, or not. It doesn’t matter. If it means you can take a bath, be ready to make some sacrifices. It’s a trade-off. In fact, go ahead and show off. I don’t care if you see me. So, all of you guys let me see you. It’s fair. There’s no problem. That’s that neatly resolved, huh? Okay. Let’s go do it right now.”

“Why don’t you go by yourself?” Shihoru said coldly.

But I do want to take a bath, thought Haruhiro. Like Kuzaku was saying, a campfire would light things up, so that’s no good, but isn’t there some way we could make it safe? Maybe we should seriously consider digging out a hole to use as a tub at the riverside inside Well Village. I mean, it’s not like the residents are guaranteed to get angry. They might be willing to overlook it. They might not even care. Maybe I’ll try asking the crab grocer, the blacksmith, or the well guard. Though I feel like I’d have trouble explaining what bathing is...

Haruhiro didn’t have the will to fight off the sleepiness that snuck up on him. He lay down and went to sleep. What if a wild beast attacked them? He’d deal with that when it came to it. It was a bad, haphazard way of thinking, but he was tired, and it was warm.

Please. Just for today. Just for today, don’—

“...ro-kun... ruhiro-kun... Hey... Haruhiro-kun...”

Someone was shaking him awake.

Shihoru. It was Shihoru.

“Huh...? What’s up?” Haruhiro sat up, looking towards the ridge in the distance. “Huh? Is the night not over yet?”

“Look.” Shihoru pointed towards the bridge.

“...Um, oh.” To say Haruhiro was shocked would be an understatement. “—Whaa?!”

There. It was right there. Something, in front of the bridge.

A horse? Was that it? Wasn’t it awfully hairy, and big for that? That horse-like creature was pulling a cart. Was it a cart? A wagon. It was awfully big. Just what was loaded in it? It was covered, so he couldn’t tell.

There was a humanoid-creature crouching next to the wagon. That creature, it reminds me of someone, thought Haruhiro. It had a terrifyingly muscular upper body, but extremely short legs.

Oh. The blacksmith. It had the exact same body structure as Well Village’s blacksmith. Maybe this guy who owned the wagon and the blacksmith were the same race?

This guy wore a hood low over his eyes, and had something like a pipe in his mouth that was giving off smoke. He was smoking tobacco, apparently.

Everyone but Haruhiro and Shihoru were still asleep. The campfire had gone out. The wagon had lantern-like lights hanging from it, so it was a little bright.

“...How long has he been there?” Haruhiro asked Shihoru in a whisper.

“Um... er...” Shihoru leaned in closer to Haruhiro. She must have been scared. “I woke to the sound of the cart approaching... It looked like it came out of the forest...”

“Out of the forest? A big cart like that was able to get through?”

“Off in the distance...” Shihoru gestured towards the northwest with her chin. “There’s a road or something there, it seems. The cart came from there, after all...”

“Hmm... A road, huh. —So? How long ago was that?”

“I couldn’t say... I thought I was having a strange dream at first...”

“Ohhh. ...Yeah, that makes sense. I understand. You wouldn’t expect something like that to come out of nowhere.”

“So, the cart stopped there. That person... got out. Then, after a little bit, I woke you.”

“Who do you think they are?”

Eventually, the giant chicken of Well Town cried, Boweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh, and the rest of their comrades woke. There was a confused uproar about the wagon, but that made the wagon’s owner look in their direction, and they all shut their mouths and tensed themselves.

“Y-Y-You wanna fight, bud?” Ranta said in an incredibly tiny voice.

Maybe the guy heard him. When the wagon owner stood up, Ranta performed a kowtow.

If it comes down to it, let’s offer Ranta up as a sacrifice, thought Haruhiro. Yeah, let’s do that.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t necessary. When the lookout of Watchtower C opened the gate, the wagon’s owner got back into the wagon. The hairy horse shook its head, then began pulling the wagon. The wagon moved forward.

Could it cross that bridge? It made it, just barely. It wasn’t just a matter of width. The bridge seemed just strong enough to support it, and every time the wagon’s wheels turned the planks of the bridge screamed. The bridge wasn’t going to break, was it...?

When the wagon made it across the bridge safely, it made Haruhiro want to burst into applause. Not that he was going to, though.

Haruhiro and the others all hid their faces and followed the wagon into Well Village. The wagon stopped in front of the blacksmith. Like they might have expected, the wagon’s owner and the blacksmith were chatting like close friends.

“Those two dudes, they’ve gotta be brothers, right?” Ranta started to panic all on his own, frantically explaining himself to Haruhiro and the others. “Wh-When I said ‘those dudes,’ it just came out that way! I-I totally didn’t mean to be disrespectful! Let me tell you, I respect them! Seriously!”

“Like I care...” Haruhiro sighed. “But, they do look like brothers, or relatives at least, huh. Do you think the cargo has something to do with the blacksmith?”

“Looks like they’ve started unloading,” Kuzaku said.

It wasn’t just the wagon’s owner; the blacksmith helped, too. They removed the cover on the wagon. The owner got into the back of the wagon, passing the cargo to the blacksmith. The blacksmith carried it beneath the smithy’s overhanging roof, laying it all on the ground.

“Hey, guys.” Ranta raised his thumb and pointed to the blacksmith’s shop with it. “How’s about giving them a hand? It might get us better prices in future, you know?”

“With a blatant ulterior motive...” Yume sounded exasperated, but it wasn’t a bad idea, for something coming from Ranta.

“Okay.” Haruhiro nodded. “Let’s help. Just us three guys, for now. If we’re not careful, they might get mad and beat us to death, so Yume, Shihoru, and Merry, you all stay here.”

Haruhiro’s fears were almost realized. The blacksmith raised up his hammer, trying to intimidate them and chase them off, but when Ranta performed a kowtow and desperately tried to explain, the blacksmith seemed to understand. Though the blacksmith looked at them doubtfully, he let them help with the unloading.

The cargo was charcoal. Haruhiro had heard back in Alterna that a blacksmith’s work required coke or charcoal. From what he had been told, coke had to be processed with coal, but charcoal could be used as is to produce high temperatures. It could also be used for things like purifying water.

It seemed that the wagon’s owner hadn’t just carried it here, but he’d also made the charcoal. There were a number of sturdy-looking axes in the wagon that Haruhiro figured could only have been meant for felling trees, so the wagon’s owner was likely a woodcutter, too. He was a charcoal burner.

When the unloading was complete, the charcoal burner started helping the blacksmith. The charcoal burner really seemed to enjoy it, but the blacksmith complained about every little thing he did. From the way they were acting, was the blacksmith the older brother, and the charcoal burner the younger brother? Maybe the younger brother had aspired to become a blacksmith like his big brother, but he hadn’t had the talent, so he’d become a charcoal burner to help his brother. Well, this was just Haruhiro’s imaginings, so it was all just a wild idea.

Perhaps as a way of paying them for their help, the blacksmith demanded to see Haruhiro and the party’s weapons, then he and his little brother worked on them together. The party was really grateful for that.

Then the blacksmith pulled out a sword. It was a beautiful greatsword that shone blue, it had complicated designs carved into the blade, and there were fine details on the hilt and pommel, too. The blacksmith had Kuzaku hold it.

The moment he did...

“Oh...!” Kuzaku cried out in surprise.

It was really light. He took a fighting stance, swung once, and then Kuzaku shuddered with excitement.

“This thing’s crazy. It’s absolutely crazy. It’s no joke. Even a guy like me can tell that. This is an incredible sword...”

The blacksmith took the sword back from Kuzaku, showed them a large coin, then raised five fingers, followed by eight fingers. Forty large coins... in other words the blacksmith wanted to tell them this sword would cost 40 rou. Haruhiro couldn’t imagine how much that was, but if he put it in Grimgar’s standards, would it be like 40 gold? The large coins seemed really valuable, so it might have been more than that. In any event, he knew it was expensive enough to make his eyes pop out of his head. It might have been the blacksmith’s most expensive item, or something close to it.

Later, while Haruhiro and the others were eating their meager meal at the grocery store, the charcoal burner’s wagon started to move. The wagon went at the same speed as a person walking. Haruhiro and the others tried going along with it. They intended to back off if the charcoal burner looked upset, but it looked like he didn’t mind.

When the wagon crossed the bridge, it went north for a while, then turned west. Shihoru had been right. A road. There was a road through the forest. The trees had been cleared from it, and there were wagon tracks on the ground. The wagon’s wheels fit those tracks perfectly.

The wagon was going at a good pace. The road meandered a little, but it was mostly straight.

They heard birds, or some other animal. Along the way, Yume noticed the wagon was emitting a strange noise. There were bell-like objects hanging from the coachman’s seat where the charcoal burner was sitting. They were making a low, heavy ringing sound. Was there some meaning to it? Like warding off beasts?

They came out into an open area. There was a little shack like a mountain hut. Next to it was a kiln with a roof and a charcoal shed. There was a stable, too. There was a great amount of firewood piled up. It looked like this was where the charcoal was burned.

The charcoal burner parked his wagon and went into the hut.

Haruhiro and the others took a walk around the site, then tried going into the forest. In this area many of the trees had been cut down and it was sparser, making it fairly easy to walk through.

In addition to the road to Well Village, there was another road leading off in a different direction. The wagon tracks were worn deep in this one, too. Where did this road lead? Were there villages other than Well Village?

When they returned to the coal burning site, the coal burner was sitting in front of his hut smoking. It looked like he was relaxing. He didn’t even look at Haruhiro and the others.

The hairy horse had been let loose, and it was eating grass. If that thing kicked them, they’d die instantly. Even being swiped by its tail would probably do some damage. It was probably best not to approach it carelessly.

“It feels like our world just expanded a bit... maybe?” said Shihoru.

“Yeah.” Kuzaku nodded in agreement.

“Not that it’ll make us any money.” Ranta crouched down, pulled out some of the grass, and twirled it around his fingers. “Oh, yeah, forgot to summon Zodiac-kun. Oh, well...”

“There’s more to life than money, isn’t there?” Yume hung her head. “...Yume is hungry, though.”

“Want to head back?” Merry hesitantly suggested.

Haruhiro was grateful for it. They had come out here on the spur of the moment, but it was hard to say they’d gained much for it. He didn’t want to say they’d gained nothing, but the truth was something close to that. He didn’t want to go home empty-handed. But what else could they do?

“Let’s go back!” Haruhiro tried to make it a strong declaration, but everyone looked at him funny, so he added a “...maybe?” and tried to muddy the waters.

How lame... he thought.

Yeah, he really was lame. He had always been uncool, but he felt like he’d been especially bad lately. Manato would have led them better, and more smartly. Tokimune would have pulled everyone along with his easygoing cheer.

What about Haruhiro? He could only do things his own way. What was his own way, though? Ultimately, what was it? What should he do?

Now that they’d been thrown into a ridiculous situation like this, his flaws were becoming all the more apparent. He was so flawed that, honestly, Haruhiro himself was depressed, and he was at a total loss for what to do.

He wanted someone to rely on. Desperately. He couldn’t cast his duty aside. He knew that, but he honestly wanted to abandon it. To throw it all away, and flee.

Haruhiro and the party were following the road through the forest back to Well Town. What should he be doing now? What should he notice, and what did he have to do about it? Haruhiro needed to think about that. He did, but... his thoughts were dominated by his dissatisfaction, his discontent, his displeasure, as well as his unease, his fear, and his despair.

Maybe he should just be open with them and say it? What if he said, Right now, this is how things are, you know, and I’m the leader, yeah, but I’m not acting like much of one, sorry, and apologize like that? If he did, he might feel better.

Haruhiro was the only one who would feel better. What would his comrades think? Ranta would snap at him for sure.

Like he cared about Ranta.

Would the girls sympathize with him? He could use some sympathy. He wanted them to spoil him a little. He wanted to be freed from this tension, this pressure.

The road was plenty wide, and it was easy to walk along, but they were in near total darkness, so Yume was carrying a lantern. Haruhiro looked back and saw Yume’s face, then he saw Shihoru who was walking beside her, and his eyes were drawn to a certain part of her anatomy. He immediately turned back around.

Oh, crap. He had been thinking something really weird there. No, it hadn’t been a thought. It was an impulse. Haruhiro was flustered now. He was disgusted with himself.

He had felt a sudden lust, and for some reason it had been for Shihoru. Maybe because Shihoru’s breasts caught his eye, and that had caused the sudden rise in his libido? No, the cause and effect relation between the two didn’t matter. What mattered was he had felt it. On top of that, his lower half was now in a state he found hard to describe.

Oh, no, oh, no, oh, no, oh, no, oh, no, oh, no...

The thing was, Haruhiro, like anyone, had a sex drive. However, he felt like his wasn’t that strong, and he preferred to keep things in moderation. He felt that he did, for the most part. I’m a young, healthy man, so I can’t help it was something he didn’t want to think. He didn’t want to think it.

I’m a young, healthy man, so I can’t help it...

Now, he had to use the line he had never wanted to use to console himself. Not that it consoled me at all, okay? What’s wrong with you, Haruhiro? You’re going crazy, Haruhiro. You’re tired, Haruhiro. Don’t tell me you’re turning into a sex-crazed animal? Here? At a time like this? Stooooooop...

While he was doing his best to hold off the urge to clutch his head and scream...

“—Meow?” Yume made a strange sound. “Just maybe, you know, there might be something out there?”

“Something? What do you mean?” Ranta gulped. “What is it?”

“S-S-Stop.” Haruhiro quickly raised his hand, but everyone had already come to a halt. “Yume, where is it?”

“That way, maybe?” Yume pointed behind them to the right. “There’s a sound. A presence, maybe?”

Kuzaku let out a deep breath, drew his sword, and readied his shield. “Should I fall back?”

“Um—er—” Haruhiro shook his head to clear it. “Well... Let’s see. Kuzaku, you go in the direction Yume indicated. Ranta, you’ll be... on Kuzaku’s left. I’ll be on his right. Merry, protect Shihoru. Yume, cover the rear.”

His comrades fell into formation in no time. He was the only one a little slow. Haruhiro couldn’t help but feel that way. His decisions, and his actions, they were slow.

I’m not hard anymore, right? He was exasperated with himself for suddenly thinking that. Am I stupid? This isn’t the time, is it?

For a while, he held his breath and stayed still. Nothing happened. He didn’t hear anything, either.

“You sure you didn’t imagine it?” Ranta asked quietly.

“Maaaaybe?” Yume didn’t deny the possibility.

“We’ll stay on guard for now,” Haruhiro looked around the area. Nothing here, he thought, and was about to do an about face. “Back to Well Village...”

There was a series of kohh sounds, and something that seemed to flash here and there. They were closing in on them.

Creatures? Not that big, though. More than one or two. Five of them, maybe six? More?

Kohh. Kohh. Kohh.

Was that the sound of them barking? Howling?

“Incoming!” Haruhiro yelled, saying what they all already knew.

Immediately, Kuzaku used Bash and sent something flying with his shield.

“Monkeys?!” Ranta swung his Lightning Sword Dolphin around. He didn’t hit.

Monkeys. They really were like monkeys. Their bodies were covered in black or brown fur, and they had tails. They kicked off the ground with their front and rear legs to leap at them, but they didn’t run like four-legged beasts. They grabbed trees with their front legs, and brushed branches out of their way with them. But their faces were less monkeyish and more doglike. They could be called inuzarus, dog-monkeys, maybe.

Haruhiro knocked an inuzaru away with the sap in his right hand, then tried to kick another one, but it dodged. Though he did knock the first one away, it was a weak hit. The inuzaru leapt at him again. He lowered himself and took aim with his short sword, but it dodged it.

“They’re quick little buggers! Leap Out!” Ranta launched himself forward, drawing a sharp figure-8 with his Lightning Sword Dolphin. “Followed by Slice!”

The inuzaru that was sliced up let out a dying Kohhhh... and collapsed.

Ranta lifted his Lightning Sword Dolphin aloft. “How’s that?! I’m awesome!”

Yes, yes, yes, yes, we get it, now stop wasting time and keep fighting, okay? was what Haruhiro wanted to say, but before he could, the inuzarus howled kohh, kohh, kohh, and began retreating.

“You think you can run away, huh?!” Ranta was about to go after them, but immediately stopped. “Well, we’ll just say they were properly terrified of me. I’m the ultimate dread knight, Ranta, after all! By the way, the ultimate there is about how I’m the ultimate dread, not how I’m ultimately powerful. Though, I’m that, too! Gahahahaha!”

“...I-Is everyone okay?” Haruhiro looked to each of his comrades. “You all are, right?”

“Yep.” Kuzaku lowered his sword.

“Meow.” Yume’s response was as incomprehensible as ever, but he could probably take it to mean she was fine.

“That surprised me...” Shihoru let out a deep sigh.

“There aren’t any more coming?” Merry still had her short staff at the ready.

For now, it didn’t look like anyone was hurt.

Ranta walked up to the inuzaru’s corpse. No, it wasn’t dead yet. It had cuts all over and was trembling. Still, it was clearly about to breathe its last. Without a moment’s hesitation, Ranta stomped on the back of the inuzaru’s neck and crushed it, killing the creature.

Haruhiro thought, Hey, is that really okay? But compared to dragging out its final suffering, it might have been kinder to finish it quickly.

Ranta crouched down, looking the inuzaru over before he turned to Haruhiro. “So, this guy, y’think he’d be edible if we cook him?”

Ranta didn’t call himself the ultimate dread for nothing, apparently. It was a self-proclaimed title. Still, the things he thought of were dreadful.

Naturally, the rest of their comrades did not give him a favorable response. Killing living creatures and eating them. It might seem cruel at times, but it was nothing if not natural. Still, even if they killed goblins, they would never consider eating one. The inuzarus were monkey-like, so they felt the same aversion to it, the same sense that it was taboo. However, they were also hungry, and they had no money with which to buy food.

“Think you can butcher it, maybe?” Haruhiro asked, a certain kind of determination hidden in his heart.

“Unngh...” Yume looked incredibly unhappy about the idea. “It’s not impossible, no. Yume, she doesn’t really wanna do it, but she can...”

“Skin it, and take out the organs, huh?” Ranta put an arm around Yume’s shoulder, acting way too chummy. “Should be a cinch, huh. Yume, I know you can do it! Go for it!”

“Hands off, dummy!” Yume brushed Ranta’s arm away. “Yume doesn’t wanna do it after all!”

“I’m not really up for eating it...” Shihoru gagged, then bent over.

“Yeah...” Merry covered her mouth with her hands.

“If you tell me to eat it, I will though...” Kuzaku said hesitantly.

Kuzaku, you’re a good man.

Yeah, that was right. It wasn’t like it was human meat. It was just from a monkey-like animal, that was all. Even if it tasted bad, it was better than starving. If they could eat, they had to eat.

“Yume, I’ll help, too.” Haruhiro looked Yume straight in the eye. “Do you think you can at least try for me? If you really can’t, just tell me how to do it, and I’ll do it.”

In the end, Yume didn’t refuse.

Haruhiro carried the inuzaru’s corpse off, preparing a campfire next to Well Village’s bridge. When the fire was ready, they began the work of butchering it. Once she decided to do something, Yume was reliable. Haruhiro was only able to lift it up, turn it over, and hold it still for her. Yume did all of the important work. Yume offered part of the kill to the White God Elhit, then started cooking the meat she had neatly put onto skewers over the fire.

When the meat was cooked, everyone dug in at once.

When they had chewed and swallowed, Ranta turned his head from side to side.

“Well, tastes pretty normal, huh. Not that bad, not that good. Be better with a little salt, maybe...”

“Murrgh...” Yume frowned. “Maybe it’s not that tasty...”