Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari (LN) - Volume 12 - Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen: Atonement 

“No . . . no way . . .” 
Itsuki led the way, and before long we arrived at his hideout, which was exactly where we thought it was. It was a residence in a relatively quiet area of Zeltoble. We took a look around inside, and apparently the building even had a secret passageway that led down into an underground tunnel. 
Witch must have already made her escape by the time we got to the hideout. The place was deserted. All that was left was a bunch of garbage lying around. It looked like they had been getting drunk and partying every night or something. What a mess. And it stunk of alcohol too. 
“I . . . I’m sure they’re just out at the moment. They probably sensed you were coming and made a run for it.” 
“Are you really going to keep trying to ignore the truth? What’s this? There’s something on the desk here.” 
Oh boy. This was the same penmanship I’d seen in Ren’s letter. I had a really bad feeling about this. Beneath the letter was a rather thick bundle of papers. I really, really did not want to read this. 
“Itsuki, can you read the writing of this world?” 
The letter was written in the official language of Melromarc. Every time I saw Witch’s writing, I couldn’t help but think how messy it was. She had a characteristic way of shaping her letters that was just plain ugly. The queen and Melty both had really nice writing, so why was that bitch’s writing so damned crude? 
“No. I can’t, because you refuse to tell me where to get the skill to understand the languages of other worlds!” 
“Not that again! Here, Ren. You read it. Or Rishia. I don’t care. And get Rishia to teach you to read already, Itsuki. That girl is a beast when it comes to learning stuff. It would put any hero to shame.” 
“Fehhh?!” 
Rishia let out a pathetic squeal when I called her a beast. It was hard to believe she had been fighting a fierce and heroic battle only moments earlier. 
“Mr. Naofumi, I feel like you could have phrased that a bit more nicely . . .” said Raphtalia. 
When she put it that way, I did feel like maybe I had been a bit harsh. But taking it back would be bad for my image. 
 
“Umm . . .” Ren began to read. 
“It was nice leeching off of you, but it seems we’ve just about sucked you dry, so we’re going to take our leave. Since we’re the poor victims here, we’ll be taking all of the tournament winnings you brought back every day. Yes, that’s right. Thanks to the Shield, we have become poor victims, forced to live hard lives, so your donation is appreciated.” 
As Ren continued reading the letter out loud, the look of disgust on his face grew more and more apparent. It was pretty much the same letter she had left him, after all. But really, would it kill that bitch to not leave letters like this? 
Ren started reading the second page of the letter. 
“Mald and the others have had enough too. Do you really not realize that no one can stand the way you act all high-and-mighty and constantly order people around? You’re always going on about justice this and justice that, and yet you fell for my lies so easily. It was hard not to laugh every time I saw your face. ” 
“Hey, Naofumi, I’m not misinterpreting this, am I?” 
Ren looked incredibly annoyed, like it was all he could do to not rip the letter up into little pieces. He handed it to me. 
“Just skimming over it, it seems your interpretation is fine. Some of the expressions are slightly off, but the meaning is the same.” 
I took the third page from Ren to read it for him. He was all tense with anger. I wasn’t sure how long I would last without losing my cool, but it looked like there wasn’t much left of the letter. 
“P.S. You’re weak, and neither your face, height, nor your personality are my type. If you have feelings for me, then defeat the Shield. We can meet again if you do that. Ha ha ha! Also, I’m leaving you a little gift. Thanks in advance for taking care of that! ” 
“Damn, she’s annoying!” 
I crumpled the letter up and threw it at the wall. I took the bundle of papers from the table and passed it to Itsuki. I was sure even he would be able to figure out what those were. He didn’t need to study the language to understand a bunch of numbers, after all. 
“Itsuki, do you know what those are?” 
“Wh . . . what are these?!” 
“I’m sure you can tell just by looking. They’re promissory notes. And it looks like they’re all stamped with your seal.” 
 
I’d ask the slave trader later how many merchants had lent money out based on these credentials. There were a bunch of the notes, and the totals were substantial too. Itsuki was red as could be. Financially speaking, that is. Honestly, paying all of those back would probably be impossible for him. Even with all of his earnings from the coliseum tournaments. 
“No way . . . I . . . Mald, Princess Malty, and the others all said they wanted to help rescue people. That’s why I was working so hard to save up all that money.” 
“Umm . . . According to information gathered at a nearby tavern, his companions were spending quite lavishly and thoroughly enjoying themselves. Yes sir. I’ve also been told that they spent quite a bit betting in various underground guild coliseum tournaments.” 
The slave trader had come to deliver an update. He had the worst possible timing. There were several other merchants standing behind him too. Itsuki fell to his knees and huddled over in despair. 
“You sure put your faith in the wrong place. I tried to tell you. Nothing good can come of trusting Witch,” I told Itsuki. 
I figured I might as well pour some salt on his wounds. I looked over at the slave trader. 
“Where are the people that actually created these debts? We should probably go after them if they’ve fled,” I said. 
“It’s likely that they escaped into the underground tunnels of Zeltoble. Yes sir. The merchant guild is currently on high alert and an order for their capture has been issued to the mercenaries and adventurers. However . . .” 
He wanted to say that it was unlikely that they would be found. They had probably prepared to make their escape beforehand. They would most likely get away. I let out a deep sigh and began to approach Itsuki, who was still doubled over in despair. It would just make things harder if he ended up unlocking another curse series now. 
“Mr. Itsuki . . . Please, stand up. I . . . I believe in you, Mr. Itsuki. Fighting for justice means always standing up again, no matter how many times you fall, right?” 
“Rishia . . . I . . .” 
Rishia reached her hand out to the despondent Itsuki. 
“This is a chance to start over again. As for the money . . . I’ll help you with that. We can work to pay it back together.” 
“But . . . It’s not just that . . . I made an irreparable mistake . . .” 
 
“Everyone makes mistakes. But you can always do something. If you give up now, it will only lead to the suffering of countless more people.” 
“Countless more . . . people?” 
“Yes. We went to another world. And we formed an alliance with the people of that world. They were our enemies. We thought they were evil, but we made peace with them. I’m sure you remember. One of them was the incredibly powerful woman with the folding fan who came out of the rifts during a wave.” 
Rishia had gone to the other world with us. She’d spent time with Kizuna, who had been trapped in a never-ending labyrinth. She knew about our agreement with Glass and the others, who we had fought multiple times before that. 
“I had no idea . . .” 
“But we also fought against an unforgivable enemy.” 
“There was an enemy that even you couldn’t forgive?” 
“Yes. And right now, Naofumi is preparing to fight another unforgivable enemy. To do that, he needs you and all of the heroes, who give our world hope, to help him. So please, stand up.” 
I couldn’t deny the fact that Itsuki was the Bow Hero. Just like with Ren and Motoyasu, if he powered up his weapon properly, having him on my side would make me feel a lot better. 
Keep it up, Rishia! You’re getting through to him, just like Eclair did with Ren! 
Itsuki started to make sobbing sounds. Rishia’s words must have been the final nail in the coffin for the curse, because the last of the sinister designs on his bow broke apart and disappeared. When they did, Itsuki collapsed and fell flat on his face. 
“Mr. Itsuki!” 
I took his pulse. He was still alive. Hopefully he wouldn’t have any consequences to pay for using the curse series. 
The slave trader was holding the other merchants back. They were all discussing how Itsuki should be dealt with. Damn it. Witch sure knew how to leave a mess behind! I would kill her for sure the next time I saw her. Or no, maybe I would make her pay back this debt that she had forced on to Itsuki using her own two hands. Itsuki’s own party members had been in on it too, apparently. L’Arc had mentioned that they looked like nothing but trouble, and boy, was he right. 
 
“I . . . I’ll—” 
Rishia stepped forward to stand up for Itsuki, who was still collapsed on the floor. She was going to tell the merchants that she was prepared to take on Itsuki’s debts. 
“Slave trader, have Itsuki’s debts transferred to my name,” I said. 
I had some money from peddling our goods. If I rounded up all of my Elixir of Yggdrasil and whatnot, and sold that too, I was sure it would work out one way or another. If that still wasn’t enough, I’d just have to pay the rest back later. Surely it wouldn’t be any more than what I’d paid for the slaves at the peak of the price bubble. 
“Mr. Naofumi . . .” Raphtalia whispered. 
She had a look of relief on her face. I looked at her and gave the orders to begin the search for Witch. Rishia looked like she was on the verge of tears. She bowed her head to me deeply. 
“Rishia, it’s your job to give Itsuki a thorough re-education, just like Eclair has done for Ren. Make sure that he never loses control like this again.” 
“I . . . I will!” 
“Aww . . . You really are a good guy, aren’t you, little Naofumi?” Sadeena said. 

“That’s our Mr. Naofumi! Seeing him shoulder the responsibilities of the foolish Bow Hero . . . That’s how a real man behaves!” Atla exclaimed. 
Foolish? She needed to be a bit more careful about her word choice. Itsuki was still a hero. 
In the end, we weren’t able to figure out where Witch and Itsuki’s companions had run off to. But we had managed to successfully capture Itsuki. It had cost me a lot of money, but Itsuki probably wouldn’t try to cause any more problems now. 
I’d gone ahead and invited Itsuki to my party before heading to their hideout, so I was able to use my portal skill to take him back to the village with us despite him being unconscious. I just hoped things would work out as well as they had with Ren. 
It was around noon the following day. Our search for Witch had ended in failure, so I wasn’t in a very good mood. Itsuki finally came to. He had been sleeping in one of the camping plant houses. I figured it was about time for him to wake up, so I went to check on him and that’s when I heard Rishia call out to him. 
 
“Mr. Itsuki!” 
Itsuki stood up and got out of the bed. He looked around. I stood there with my arms crossed and watched as Rishia ran over to him worriedly. I had Filo, Atla, and Ren on standby outside just in case Itsuki decided to cause any trouble. 
“Itsuki, you remember what happened yesterday, right? I shouldered all of your debt, but I still expect you to work to pay it all back,” I told him. 
“. . .” 
Expressionless and sleepy-eyed, Itsuki slowly turned his head to me and just stood there in silence. 
“. . .” 
The room was completely silent. Rishia was waiting for Itsuki to say something too, but it didn’t look like that was going to happen. 
“Hey! Say something!” I said. 
“Something . . .” 
What the hell?! That bastard! He had the nerve to try to pick a fight with me at a time like this! 
“Sorry, Rishia. It looks like I’m going to have to break my promise to you,” I said. 
He obviously didn’t regret what he’d done at all. A guy like that didn’t deserve to live. I’d just sell him off to the Zeltoble merchants. 
“Fehhh! Please, just wait a minute! Go on, Mr. Itsuki. Give him a sincere apology.” 
“I’m sorry.” 
Still expressionless, Itsuki obediently bowed his head and apologized. What the hell? Is this what kind of person he was? 
“Itsuki, what happened to you?” I asked. 
“I don’t know. Do you mean yesterday? Why was I so unhappy?” 
“Umm . . . Itsuki, don’t tell me you don’t know who you are.” 
Surely the consequence for using that ridiculous Justice Bow wasn’t amnesia, right? But considering what had happened to the other heroes, that wouldn’t have been all that strange. It was going to be a real headache if that were the case though. 
“No, I’m Itsuki Kawasumi. I’m the Bow Hero. I aspired to fight for justice, but I was defeated. And I was deceived, on top of that.” 
“So you don’t have amnesia, right?” 
 
“I don’t know.” 
How could he not know? 
“You better not be hiding something. What are you up to?” 
“Am I up to something?” 
“How the hell should I know?! That’s why I’m asking you! Don’t answer a question with a question!” 
What was wrong with him? It was like he’d lost all ambition. He was acting like a spaced-out junkie . . . No, this was different. Just a second ago, when I said, “say something,” he replied by saying, “something,” didn’t he? 
“Itsuki, do a handstand and take your clothes off while upside down.” 
“Okay.” 
Just as I’d ordered, Itsuki did a handstand and started unbuttoning his shirt with one hand. 
“Mr. Itsuki! Stop that!” 
When Rishia told him to stop, he got back up on his feet and stood there motionless. Hold on. Did that mean he would do anything he was told to do? 
“Itsuki, kill yourself.” 
“Okay.” 
Itsuki pulled a rope out of his bow . . . Not the bowstring, but a rope stored inside of the bow, like the one I had in my shield. He started looking for a place to tie the rope so that he could hang himself. 
“Fehhhh! Don’t do that, Mr. Itsuki!” 
“Okay.” 
“Itsuki, what do you want to do?” I asked. 
“What do I want to do? I don’t know.” 
Oh, come on, Itsuki! 
Also, Itsuki had always been so secretive and reserved that it was kind of creepy seeing him talk so readily. 
“Itsuki, do you not have any idea what’s going on? There are all kinds of consequences for using cursed weapon skills. Is that what this is?” 
I felt like I could sense some kind of inauspicious presence completely enshrouding Itsuki’s body. 
“When I was fighting in the underground coliseums in Zeltoble I used some special skills several times when things got tough.” 
Ugh. So now that Itsuki had been freed from the cursed weapon, the consequences had come crashing down on top of him, I guess. He was in bad shape. 
 
“Well, Rishia is going to take care of you, so just take it easy for now.” “Understood,” he replied. Itsuki gazed at Rishia for several moments and then looked back at me. “Should I be doing something?” “Is there something you want to do?” “Umm . . . I guess I should do something. Or maybe I should just stay still. If I move . . .” 
 
 
Yeah, he had obviously become indecisive. The consequence of his curse was probably a loss of volition or something like that. Sheesh. Why did all of the heroes that showed up at my doorstep have to be under the effects of a curse? Motoyasu wasn’t here, but he had been pretty messed up too. 
“Itsuki, spend some time thinking about what it is you want to do. And pay off your debts.” 
“Understood. I’ll work to pay off my debts.” 
“Mr. Itsuki, I’ll help you fight to atone for your mistakes,” Rishia said. 
Itsuki nodded at her docilely. Good. She could work and help Itsuki pay off his debts too. 
“Thank you, Rishia. I’ll do my best.” 
Itsuki shook Rishia’s hand and a single tear rolled down his cheek. 
“Mr. Itsuki?” 
“Huh? Why am I crying? Rishia . . . I’m sorry . . . for everything,” Itsuki whispered. 
And then he returned to being completely expressionless, as if he had finished letting out all of the feelings he had pent up inside. 
“It’s . . . It’s okay . . . It’s okay, Mr. Itsuki . . .” 
Rishia was crying. Of course she was. The guy sitting in front of us was a completely different person who only looked like Itsuki. He did exactly what anyone told him to do without complaint. 
I sighed. It would be easy to get Itsuki to talk, but we had a whole pile of other problems now. I wasn’t sure what to do. It seemed like I was constantly worrying about something or other lately. For now, I’d hammer the power-up methods into his head. Then I’d have him go recuperate at the Cal Mira hot springs, since they helped speed up recovery from curses. That seemed like a good plan. 
It wouldn’t be long before all four of the holy heroes had finally implemented all of the power-up methods.