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Nozomanu Fushi no Boukensha (LN) - Volume 4 - Chapter 1.5




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Intermission: Rina Rupaage, Adventurer 

Quite some time had passed since that most peculiar encounter. It was an encounter with a Ghoul, a gentle one at that, with a series of complicated blue tattoos on its face. Rina’s life should have ended then and there, had it not been for the intervention of this most curious Undead. 

Thinking back upon it, it was a most bizarre experience. In hindsight, it might have been nothing more than a dream. Rina had prepared clothing and a mask for the Ghoul and was even complicit in tricking the guard at one of Maalt’s gates to allow him passage. It was the first real adventure of her life. A most mysterious adventure at that—if anything, it almost seemed like a tall tale. 

Even so...the more she thought about it... No. No matter how much she thought, Rina understood that letting an Undead into the city was an unforgivable act. Rina did have common sense. However, she’d gone and done it, even with the understanding that it was a forbidden thing to do. 

Her reasoning was that Rentt was supposedly not a bad person. Of course, had Rentt just been a normal Undead of sorts, Rina would have never done what she did. In other words, Rina had developed a deep sense of trust for Rentt in the short time that they’d spent together. In hindsight, however, Rina didn’t really have such an experience before—trusting someone so deeply, that is. 

Rina’s father was strict. He’d gone so far as to plan out her life for her, what she should and would do. Her mother was no better, often criticizing her for a perceived lack of elegance the moment she opened her mouth. After that topic had been exhausted, her mother would then move on to a seemingly endless tirade on potential suitors. One couldn’t exactly say that Rina’s parents loved her. However, they simply wouldn’t listen, even if Rina insisted on how she had things she wished to accomplish, things she wanted to do. The only one who would listen to everything she had to say was her brother, who was quite a few years her senior. 

Rina wondered what her brother was doing at this point in time... 

Her brother, Idoles Rogue, was the eldest son of the Rogue family—Rina’s rightful family, of course. He belonged to the elite First Knightly Order of the Kingdom of Yaaran. Having been born into a family of knights, Rina looked up to him and dreamed of becoming a knight, just like her brother. That was how she wanted to live her life. 

However, reality was...different. Female knights did exist in the Kingdom of Yaaran, but only to a certain extent. Her brother had even spoken of two female knights in the First Knightly Order, who were both dispatched on the same assignments as their male peers. 

But Rina’s parents couldn’t accept the fact that Rina had looked up to her brother, and had aspired to become a knight herself. That was where the problems began. 

Rina’s father was rigid in his views. He didn’t think women should aspire to be knights. Rina’s mother similarly opined that women should be happy to be protected by a nice gentleman, and thought of that as a woman’s ultimate form of happiness. As such, she refused to budge on the matter of arranging a marriage for Rina. 

Despite this, Rina didn’t completely think her parents were in the wrong. As nobles, her parent’s views were more socially acceptable, if not seemingly correct. But then, why did her parents have to be this rigid? Was it not all right to let up just a little bit? Rina wanted her parents to listen to her thoughts, and perhaps think about her future together. Just one conversation, if anything. 

Rina’s parents weren’t of the same opinion. The only one who acted differently...was her brother. He listened to her thoughts intently. He thought of ways to deal with the situation, and set about negotiating the affair with their parents. The outcome remained unchanged, however, as Rina’s parents refused to budge. Even so, her brother had done everything he could possibly do for her—so far as Rina had thought. 

Now that matters had come to a head, Rina’s brother laid her possible choices on the table. Plainly speaking, if Rina were to stay at home, she’d eventually, but surely, be married off to some unknown noble. That wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, but Rina wouldn’t have any of it, so her brother gave her one more suggestion: running away from home. Rina would find it most difficult to become a knight under such circumstances, though, since she’d have to stand on her own two feet, having severed all ties with her family. Having been born into such a family, Rina was raised in comfort, not knowing poverty or want. Could she stand on her own, and did she have the resolve for it? Her brother inquired as such. 

Now, Rina wasn’t completely ignorant of reality. She knew it would be a difficult choice to make. She also knew just how hard it was for a young girl to make a living on her own, in a world such as this. While her parents had wanted to protect Rina and prevent her from ever seeing the darker side of the world, her brother, Idoles, was different. In fact, he often brought her to such depraved and terrible places. Whenever her parents had left for some party or another, she and her brother would sneak out on such excursions, to suspicious backstreets and alleys, full of lurking dangers. Rina would wear tattered clothes commonly worn by commoner girls, while her brother would dress up as a street punk of sorts. Together, they’d walk the streets and alleys. 

Those days were an adventure in their own right. Rina remembered them with nostalgia. 

Perhaps it was strange that her brother, raised in a noble family, would know those mean streets so well, even how to blend in. Finding it somewhat mysterious, Rina questioned her brother on the purpose of these excursions, to which he explained they were to change her perspective, or at least to provide her with a new one. For her to see just how different the lives of commoners and nobles were, how difficult it could be. How the common folk had the courage and grit to live another day, all the while being uncertain whether they’d live to see tomorrow. Or even the means a woman would resort to if she had to live on, no matter the cost; the means and methods that those cornered by desperation had turned to. 

Of those who’d lost everything, and what eventually became of them... 

Under normal circumstances, the daughter of a noble family would never bear witness to such scenes. If anything, it was normal for them to be locked away in their grand mansions, as if living a sweet, peaceful dream. In that regard, Rina’s brother was different indeed. 


He’d probably already seen that this would happen from the very start, that Rina would eventually step off the path planned for her... Or maybe that she’d eventually run away from home. Maybe it was because of this reason that he thought to educate Rina on the harshness of the world, the painful realities of it. Maybe then, Rina would give up...and if she didn’t, then these experiences would prove to be important lessons. 

In reality, those experiences were exactly what Rina had needed in her life. Rina had become an adventurer because she’d understood something: that she had reserves of mana and spirit within her. With some honing, Rina could very well make a living as an adventurer, which she’d found out upon joining her brother during those excursions. Most nobles were known to have notable reserves of spirit or mana in them, but Rina was a little special in that regard. Her reserves were much more significant. At the very least, Rina had enough mana in her to put her on equal footing with a fair amount of monsters, though she did need some study and practice. Spirit was something that was constantly honed with its user, as one usually increased their spirit reserves with significant amounts of training and effort. While it was difficult for Rina to capitalize on that from the get-go, she had more than enough mana within her for combative purposes. 

In addition, Rina had also learned basic swordplay and combat techniques from her brother, all in the hopes of becoming a knight. With some mana and combat techniques, one would be able to function as an adventurer, albeit at the bare minimum. Such was Rina’s understanding of the matter. This was why Rina had made her choice. 

After pondering on the matter and discussing it with her brother numerous times, Rina decided to run away from home. 

A vague, ambivalent expression floated across her brother’s face as she made her choice known. Even so, he didn’t disapprove, instead offering his support, respecting that Rina had made her own choice. Though he did remind Rina to contact him from time to time since her family wouldn’t simply cease existing, no matter how far away she would go. 

Several days after the decision was made, Rina changed into some commoner clothing that her brother had prepared for her, equipped some cheap weapons and armor, and with a few weeks’ worth of traveling money, finally left her home. Rina would then, with her own two feet, make the journey to the adventurer’s guild and register as an adventurer. 

 

She’d taken this far too lightly. Rina was made aware of this unexpectedly quite early on in her career. 

She’d learned combat techniques from her brother, who was an actual knight belonging to an elite order. She had some capabilities of her own as well, and had assumed that making a living at the guild would be easy. But her hopes were soon dashed. 

For a few days, Rina accepted some simple, middling requests, saving what money she could as she scraped by. When that, too, had become unsustainable...Rina heard of a certain town by the name of Maalt. With the risk of running into her parents quite high should she stay in the capital, Rina decided to head to Maalt. But she didn’t have much of a pleasant experience upon her arrival there. Her beginnings here were equally difficult since Maalt was a rural border town. Staying alive was a fight in and of itself—that fact hadn’t changed. 

Her meeting with that particular Undead, Rentt, was what finally put an end to those days. 

The days Rina spent with Rentt were short, but interesting. To Rina, Rentt was a swordsman of considerable skill. She assumed his current appearance was due to some sort of special, unfortunate circumstance. Originally, he’d been an adventurer by the name of Rentt Faina. However, certain events happened, and he was like this when he awoke. Even Rina didn’t believe his tale in the beginning, yet she somehow knew this strange Undead wasn’t lying. And so it came to be that she spoke to, cooperated with, and slowly began solving the problems that plagued him. She felt a sense of achievement, of accomplishment, as their plan for Rentt to enter Maalt had succeeded. 

However, Rentt immediately suggested they should part ways. It was quite a shock to her. But thinking back on it, she realized Rentt was simply looking out for her in his own way. After all, the punishment for conspiring with an Undead, and eventually letting it into the city, was undoubtedly severe. She could be persecuted, hunted—or perhaps something worse. 

It was only now that Rina understood why Rentt had distanced himself from her. He probably felt like he had no other choice. No—she probably already knew this, deep in her heart, at that point in time. Rina just hated saying goodbye, and refused to acknowledge this fact. 

But with some time between now and then, and Rentt’s teachings in her mind... Rina turned toward the future. Rentt had listened to what Rina had to say on their journey, and had given her many pieces of advice. Perhaps that, too, was the Undead’s way of looking out for her. 

For instance, he informed her about what she could do to get herself out of her current, perilous situation as an adventurer. He gave her general directions, tips on useful hunting grounds, reputable merchants to trade with, methods of negotiation and haggling... Rentt taught her many things. If Rina put his advice to good use, she was sure she could continue making a living as an adventurer. She very much believed so. 

Rina was now heading to the guild, adopting a completely different set of behaviors and motives. She’d carefully analyze any given request, only taking on those suitable to her skill level. She’d no longer view solo adventuring negatively, but would instead do what she could. Rina now understood that it was imperative to prove her own mettle, to demonstrate her own strength, before thinking of grouping up with others in a party. She also sought information on other parties from the receptionist, as well as knowledge on what other parties were looking for when it came to recruiting new members. Rina had been working without this knowledge this entire time. Her brother was a knight, so of course he didn’t know much about the adventurer’s guild, or the general situation and challenges adventurers would face. 

This had all changed upon her chance meeting with Rentt. Slowly but surely, Rina took on a variety of requests, gradually honing her combative capabilities. She also attended workshops held by the guild, to learn as much as she could and commit to memory what she absolutely needed to know. As a result, Rina continued taking on request after request, and her success rate slowly increased with time. Eventually, a missive came for her, asking if she belonged to any particular party at that point in time. 

A small party had inquired, made up of a boy and a girl, both around her age. But they’d already been promoted to Bronze-class, and were supposedly skilled enough in what they did. One of them was a swordsman, and the other, a mage and healer. It was a well-balanced party. 

After some discussion of the usual terms and conditions, Rina decided to become their third member. 



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