The liveliness of the bar at night always made it feel like a festival was going on. Loud laughter could be heard from those who had too much to drink, and the smell of alcohol and greasy food filled the air. The Orc’s Club, a bar exclusively for Seekers, was no exception, and everyone was taking part in the tiny festival in high spirits.
「Ehhh!? Hey Wolf, you got rejected again!? Ahahaha, that’s hilarious!」
Leisha cackled with laughter while holding a mug of ale in one hand. The foam from the ale was stuck to her mouth like a mustache.
「Shut up! That woman simply doesn’t have an eye for men!」
The person who had yelled bitterly was a young man with brown hair and masculine looks. It was Wolf, the leader of the party that Leisha belonged in, Lightning Bite.
Wolf was well-known as a Seeker, and his looks weren’t bad either, but he was completely unpopular with the ladies. As all outstanding male Seekers were normally popular with women, a case like this of continually suffering crushing defeats was rare.
「You say that she doesn’t have an eye for men, but aren’t there far too many women that don’t have an eye for men~?」
Kitty, who was sitting at the same table, retorted sharply with a laid back voice. She belonged to a race with curled sheep horns growing from their heads—gnomes. She was also a member of Lightning Bite, and her Job was Mage.
A sexy beauty with wavy silver hair tied in a ponytail, she had on a loose, knee-length black one-piece dress with a cape over her shoulders. A grimoire was also kept on a belt around her waist. It was an item that enhanced the power of her magic Skills.
「I don't think that it's good to blame the girls for Wolf's grossness, you know~?」
「Gr, grossness!?」
Wolf was dismayed by Kitty's harsh words.
「No matter how you look at it, isn’t that too terrible!?」
「Gross, gross~. You’re too desperate to be popular~」
「Like I said, don’t call me gross! I’ll cry, you know!?」
The other members at the table laughed at the exchange between Wolf and Kitty.
「Didn’t I advise you before? Wolf, your face is on the nice side, so I’ve already told you that if you keep your mouth shut, most girls will fall for you. Once you speak, it’s over, yup」
The one who had said that while laughing was Oscar, a cat beast-man. Cat beast-men were the most numerous among the beast-men in the imperial capital, and their only beast parts were the ears on their heads and tails. His Job was Spearman. He was equipped with light sleeveless leather armor, and had a spear that had been separated into three parts thrust into his belt.
In contrast to Wolf, Oscar was a very popular young man. He had neat short blue hair, regular but amiable features, a cheerful and open-minded personality, and was a Seeker, which was a job that was popular with women. There was no way he wasn’t popular with all those good points. There were many cases when being too popular led to bloodbaths, but the person himself seemed to be enjoying the thrill.
「How am I supposed to woo women without speaking!?」
「With your eyes」
「With my eyes!? ......Isn't the difficulty level too high?」
「In Wolf’s case, I think that the difficulty level is higher when you speak though」
「What’s that supposed to mean」
「It means exactly what I said. Wolf, you have a fatal lack of conversational skills, you know?」
At Oscar’s merciless reply, Wolf leaned backwards with a frown.
In Lightning Bite, Wolf and Oscar knew each other the longest. It seemed that they had been in the same year at the training school, and had been friends for about three years. For that reason alone, the weight of his jibes was different.
「Certainly, Wolf should understand a woman's heart a little better」
A small-sized, muscular young man, Eugene, a dwarf, said while stroking his beard.
He spoke maturely, but Eugene's age was no different from Wolf’s. He wasn’t yet twenty years old, had a chiseled face and gentle eyes. He liked to be fashionable, so his long brown hair and impressive beard were all braided beautifully.
His Job was Gunner. He wore a fur coat and carried a shotgun in a gun case on his back.
By the way, he was the only married person among the members.
「You’re going to be single for the rest of your life, aren’t you?」
「D, don't say such frightening things……」
Wolf shuddered and raised his voice reproachfully.
「I don’t care in the least whether you’re popular with women or not. However, don’t shame yourself too much in public」
Gareth, an intellectual young man with black hair who wore glasses, was the one who said that. Like Wolf, his race was human. His Job was Healer and he wore a white robe.
He was the brains of Lightning Bite, and other than his role as the Healer, he also managed their finances and handled the information gathering.
Inevitably, he had a heavier workload than the other members, and everyone, including Leisha, couldn’t stand up to him because they owed him so much. For that reason, there was a tacit understanding among the members of Lightning Bite to never anger Gareth.
「You’re our leader. Consider for a moment what people will say」
「I, I know……」
Even Wolf, the leader, couldn’t talk back to Gareth. When Wolf hung his head and sulked, Gareth laughed as if troubled.
「Well, a woman who’ll come to love the leader will appear one day」
「......When is this “one day”?」
「That is…… perhaps some time in your next life?」
「Won’t I already be dead!?」
As Wolf shouted with tears in his eyes, Leisha roared with laughter.
By no means did it mean that she looked down on Wolf, rather, she did respect him as a leader, but there was no use trying to support him when it came to his problems with love. If she recalled correctly, this latest one was his 17th defeat in total. It was impossible for them to not mess with him.
However, as Leisha herself had never dated anyone, she wasn’t in a position where she could make fun of Wolf……
「Changing the subject, but does everyone know about Blue Beyond?」
At Gareth’s question, Leisha tilted her head.
「Blue Beyond? What’s that?」
「I might have overheard a conversation about them in another bar. I wasn’t interested so I didn't ask for details, but it's a party that has been formed only recently, right?」
When the Oscar replied, Gareth nodded.
「Yes, it's a new party. Almost all of their members are fresh graduates from the training school. Their leader, Lloyd, a Swordsman, was the top graduate from the vanguard course, I believe」
「Even if he’s the top graduate, isn’t he ultimately just a novice fresh out of training school? ……To have been brought up in conversations, it seems like they’re quite a special party, right?」
At Eugene's words, Gareth nodded.
「That's exactly right. Blue Beyond is strong, and scarily so at that」
「Hmm, isn't that interesting? Tell me the details」
Wolf leaned forward over the table with his eyes shining.
「That’s my intention. First, take a look at these」
Gareth took some documents out of his bag. Recorded on them were the precise likeness, personal characteristics and history of the members of Blue Beyond.
「This is the information about Blue Beyond that I looked up. It's still not complete, but you'll get a rough idea. Everyone, look through the documents」
「Let’s see…… Wow, a handsome man. I want to get to know him better~」
Kitty blushed when she saw the likeness of Lloyd, the leader of Blue Beyond. Certainly, he was quite a handsome guy. Gareth was good at drawing—or rather, he was good at making exact copies thanks to his photographic memory, so the likenesses should be the same as the real thing.
「Oscar, this girl called Tania, isn’t she incredibly cute?」
「That’s true. She is amazing, isn’t she!?」
Wolf and Oscar were also absorbed in the likenesses for personal reasons.
Seeing the three of them like that, Gareth sighed with an exasperated expression.
「You guys, I didn’t look into them for the sake of matchmaking, you know……」
Leisha smiled wryly as she looked through the documents.
「A Talker!? Did Blue Beyond let a Buffer into their party!?」
Just when Leisha noticed『a certain something』, Eugene shouted in surprise.
「I don't believe it. To think that their party can function with a Buffer as one of their members……」
It was quite natural for him to be surprised. Buffers, which included Talkers, were the weakest among all combat type Jobs. Under normal circumstances, no one would willingly become allies with them.
There were two main reasons for that.
First was that they had fewer self-defense measures compared to other Jobs, and there was a high possibility of them dying unless they were constantly protected by someone.
Second was that while they had strong buffs, they also had Skills with major drawbacks, so they couldn’t be used unless the Buffer had the ability to accurately judge the battle situation in the first place.
These two were the reasons why Buffers were rated as the weakest. In other words, they were peaky and lacked versatility and stability.
As someone to entrust your back to on the battlefield, they were far too unreliable. For that reason, no one wanted them as allies. And as a result, such circumstances also made it difficult for a proficient Buffer to appear.
「Oh, it’s true. It says, Talker Noel Stollen. This girl is also cute, isn’t she……wait, he’s a guy!? Even though he has such a cute face!?」
Holding the documents of Noel in his hand, Wolf yelled in disappointment.
「That Talker is the linchpin of Blue Beyond」
Gareth pointed to the document.
「He’s different from the other Buffers. He possesses both the martial arts to cover the weakness of not having direct combat abilities, and a high level of commanding ability in combat. Because he is there, despite it being less than three months since Blue Beyond was formed, they already rival us」
Leisha and the rest were startled by those words.
「……To rival us, are they so strong?」
「They’re strong. Those who know their fighting style call them the『big-eater rookies』. If it’s only about who gets talked about more, they’re a more popular topic than us」
When Gareth declared that, Oscar waved his hand in a fluster.
「No way, no matter how you look at it, that’s impossible! No matter how incredible that Talker is, it’s impossible for them to have grown rapidly to our level with that alone!」
「It’s not that I’m doubting Gareth, but I find it hard to believe…… Certainly, it’s a great advantage to have a Buffer who doesn’t have weaknesses, but……」
「That's right…… Isn’t it a little bit too unrealistic……」
Eugene and Kitty also agreed with Oscar. But Wolf was different.
「I believe it. Strong guys are strong no matter what others say. That’s the absolute truth. It’s not like his actual strength will change just because we doubt him」
When Wolf pointed that out astutely, Leisha and the rest couldn't help but admit that he was right.
Certainly, it was exactly as he had said. Lightning Bite was a party that was called promising rookies because of their rapid growth. In that case, there wasn't anything surprising about the appearance of people who surpassed them.
The reason why they hadn’t admitted it easily was because of their worthless pride. Having noticed their own flaws, Leisha and the rest looked at one another with bitter smiles on their faces.
Wolf was the only one who had the strength of heart to not waver even with the appearance of outstanding juniors. He was helpless when it came to his personal life, but as a Seeker, there was no man as dependable as Wolf. That was the reason why Leisha and the rest had chosen Wolf as their leader.
「Blue Beyond, huh? I'm looking forward to the day we meet them……」
It was at the moment when Wolf folded his hands behind his head and leaned back in his chair.
The door of the bar opened and a group of four youths appeared.
When those newcomers who weren’t regulars made their entrance, it caused a stir in the bar. However, Leisha and the rest knew their faces quite well.
「Speak of the devil……」
A smile that was a mix of bewilderment and excitement appeared on Gareth’s face.
「Everyone, that’s Blue Beyond」
†
†
Lloyd, a Swordsman who had fiery red hair, was wearing white armor.
Tania, a Healer and the only woman in the group, had long blonde hair, and was wearing a green robe.
Walter, a Warrior who was big and muscular, was wearing rugged armor.
And finally, Noel, a Talker who was a short youth with womanly features, was wearing a black long-coat.
The members of Blue Beyond had entered the bar boldly with their heads held high. They had attracted the attention of all those around them, but they didn't look abashed. They had sat down at a table a distance away from Leisha and the rest, and were confidently ordering food.
「They have that air about them, don’t they…… They don’t look like newcomers at all」
When Eugene was impressed and muttered that, Leisha nodded.
「They have an aura, they’re all quite strong」
In bars where Seekers gather, there were entry restrictions based on the Seeker’s standings. If this tacit rule was broken, it was customary for the Seekers who were the regulars to gang up and beat the offender up.
In view of this custom, someone in the bar would normally pick a quarrel with Blue Beyond, who were newcomers. But no one meddled with them. Everyone in the bar knew that if they messed with Blue Beyond carelessly, they would get the tables turned on them.
Blue Beyond were exuding an aura of having that much strength.
「Woah, are you serious…… Those are fresh graduates? I’m losing confidence now……」
Oscar stuck his tongue out with a bothered expression.
「Hmm~, Noel is a Talker, right? Isn’t he pretty well-built? The way he moves is better than the two vanguards though…… Is he really a Talker?」
Kitty tilted her head in confusion.
「He’s probably training himself in an extraordinary way, right? ……If not, he won't have reached that level. I believe he can most likely win easily against average vanguards」
Leisha had though of him as a wild beast. The last time she saw him, she had already felt that he wasn’t a normal person, but looking at him again, he was an abnormal existence after all. Moreover, he seemed to have grown even stronger in these last few months. She wondered just how much horrific training he had gone through……
「Why is Noel not the leader?」
Wolf asked Gareth while staring at Noel.
「I don't know the details. However, it seems like Noel should have been the leader originally. Well, the other three probably couldn’t accept it as he’s the youngest among them」
「Hah, what nonsense! No matter how you look at it, isn’t Noel better than that red-haired show-off!? Red-haired seems skilled, but you can tell at a glance that they’re in a different class!」
Wolf wasn’t saying that without consideration. It was an evaluation based on sound insight. Lloyd was undoubtedly also an excellent Seeker, but the intense sense of extraordinariness that Noel had couldn’t be felt from him.
「I still have another interesting piece of information about that young man」
Gareth continued with a smile.
「I didn't list it in the documents because its authenticity is unclear, but he is apparently the grandson of『Over Death』. In other words, he is the successor who received his teachings and love」
「「「OVER DEATH!?」」」
Over Death was a Seeker of days gone by. However, the various achievements that he had accomplished were all simply amazing, and he was such a great hero that he was still brought up in discussions over who was the strongest. If that was true, then they could understand the reason for Noel being abnormal, but……
「For all that, he doesn't look like what I’ve heard, does he……」
Oscar muttered wonderingly.
It appeared that Over Death was a stern-looking giant that looked like an Orc. In contrast, Noel’s appearance could be mistaken for a girl’s.
「We’ll know once we try to find out the truth」
Wolf suddenly stood up.
「Find out, you said…… What are you going to do?」
When Leisha asked, Wolf grinned.
「Hehehe, well, just watch!」
Wolf headed towards Blue Beyond’s table in high spirits. Looking at his back, Leisha heaved a deep sigh.
「That idiot Wolf is going to pick a fight, isn't he......」
「Shouldn't we stop him?」
Kitty looked worried, but Leisha shrugged her shoulders.
「We probably won’t be able to stop him even if we try」
「I think that we don’t need to stop him as well. At times like this, it’ll be useless no matter what you say to Wolf. We should just let him do as he pleases」
「Even if it’s him, he probably won’t blow it out of proportion」
It seemed like Oscar and Eugene were also saying that there was nothing that could be done about it.
「Besides, it’s a good opportunity to see the real ability of Over Death’s grandson. Now that things have turned out this way, let’s have Wolf play the role of the villain」
Leisha nodded at Gareth’s words. Wolf wasn't the only one who wanted to see the strength of Noel, the grandson of Over Death.
Before long, Wolf was standing beside Blue Beyond’s table.
「Hey, Blue Beyond. Aren’t all of you acting like quite the big-shots despite it being your first time in this bar? How about newcomers like you know your place a little better?」
「What did you say, dirtbag?」
At Wolf’s provocation, Walter stood up.
「Hey! If you're picking a fight, then I'll take you up on it!」
In terms of physique, Walter was bigger, but Wolf had a composed smile on his face.
「Only your stature is fully-fledged, isn’t it? You big lug」
「You cur! I'll make it abundantly clear to you whether or not it’s just my stature that’s fully-fledged!」
It was when the enraged Walter raised his fist.
「Walter, stop it」
Noel quietly but sharply restrained Walter.
「The current you can't beat that guy」
「Don’t mess with me! You can’t know something like that without trying――」
「I told you to stop it. This is your last warning」
He spoke forcefully in a threatening voice. Walter’s face twisted in frustration, but he lowered his fist and sat back in his seat violently.
「Hyuu! What amazing killing intent! You’re giving me the shivers!」
Still seated, Noel looked up at Wolf, who was whistling joyfully.
「You're Wolf of Lightning Bite, aren't you?」
「Yeah, I'm Wolf. Looks like you’ve properly investigated us beforehand, huh? But I know about you too, Noel of Blue Beyond. They say that you're the grandson of that Over Death?」
「And if that’s the case?」
「Let me verify if that’s true or not」
Wolf beckoned with both hands. The corners of Noel’s mouth twisted, and he started to stand up.
「That's enough!」
But before he could, Lloyd kicked his chair aside and stood up.
「I'm the leader of this party. If you want to see our strength, I'll be your opponent」
「You’re the leader? I can only see a small fry though?」
「Wh, what did you say!?」
At Wolf's merciless sarcasm, Lloyd’s face flushed red with humiliation.
「Uwaa…… that’s intense…… Being too straightforward like that is the reason why Wolf isn’t popular with women, isn’t it~?」
Leisha smiled wryly at Kitty's words.
Even if he was picking a fight, there should be no need to speak so ill of them. But Wolf couldn’t lie. Everything he thought came straight out of his mouth. Leisha liked his straightforward personality, but it was also a fact that he sometimes disappointed and hurt others greatly.
「Lloyd, you back off too. This guy is calling for me」
Noel stood up and met Wolf’s gaze.
「I'll say this just in case, but our two vanguards are much stronger than me. However, it's different if it's a fight against a person. I don't feel like I'll lose, even to you, you know?」
「I’m looking forward to that. --Where do you want to do it? Choose a location you like」
Wolf said that while looking at Noel's waist. It was hidden in his coat, but from the slight strain on his body, Wolf could tell that he was carrying a gun. In other words, he was telling Noel to choose a place where he could use it to the fullest.
「Anywhere will do. There's no need to choose a location」
「That’s a great deal of confidence you have there, but it’ll be too late when you regret it later」
「I always conduct myself as if I’m on the battlefield. At any rate, there's no need for me to use a weapon. I'll finish it in an instant」
When Noel said that matter-of-factly, a ferocious smile appeared on Wolf’s face. That smile was just like a wolf baring its fangs.
「Noel, you're the coolest」
The two of them were confronting each other with their killing intent. Unnoticed to them, spectators had gathered around them. The air between them was so sharp and tense that the spectators could feel their skin prickling with pain.
「Oh, this might be bad……」
While everyone was watching them with bated breath, Leisha calmly analyzed the situation. If they fought like this, both of them would get seriously injured. It wouldn't end in a simple fight. If someone didn't stop them, disaster awaited.
She made her decision quickly. She slid in, fast as the wind, and pulled the two of them apart.
「C, calm down! Any more and you'll kill each other!」
The two of them were taken aback when Leisha suddenly intervened. She used that opening to grab Wolf’s head and lowered it forcibly.
「Uwaa!? What are you doing!?」
Taking no heed of Wolf's protest, Leisha kept pushing Wolf’s head down with all her might.
「I'm really sorry that our idiot caused trouble for you! I'll pay for your bill today, so forgive him! Well then, enjoy your meal~!」
Then, grabbing Wolf by the scruff of his neck, she hurried back to their table. Fortunately, Noel seemed to have already lost interest. He had sat back in his seat, and was talking to his allies.
When Leisha returned to their table, she was greeted with a small round of applause.
「Good job stopping it」
「Leisha, fine play~」
「Wolf, you idiot. Seriously, just die」
「Here I was, thinking that you won't blow it out of proportion, but you went too far. Can’t you think of a way to quit, you fool?」
Voices praising Leisha and criticizing Wolf could be heard. It appeared that his allies had recognized that it would have been dangerous if it had escalated any further.
「Shut up! It’s fine since I fulfilled my role, isn’t it!?」
Wolf sulked and planted himself in his seat forcefully. However, once he had gulped down the mug of ale on the table in one breath, he immediately had a satisfied look on his face.
「I realized it once I confronted him directly. That guy is the grandson of Over Death after all. If we had fought as things were, I might have lost, you know? I completely couldn't read what he was going do. There’s no way a normal Talker is that strong」
Wolf didn’t act a sore loser and was talking with an innocent, child-like smile on his face. Seeing him like that, Leisha inadvertently pressed a hand to her head.
「Good grief, guys are such……」
She wondered why they so loved playing the ruffian. Leisha couldn’t understand the mentality behind their actions at all.
「I don't care about that, but Wolf will come up with the money for treating Blue Beyond, right?」
「Huh, are you serious!?」
Isn’t that only natural? Leisha said, as she glared at him.
At any rate, when she thought things over once more, it made sense for Noel to be the grandson of Over Death. Over Death was a great hero, but there were many bloody stories behind him. His grandson, Noel, should have learned his grandfather's methods as well.
It wasn’t wise to approach him easily. He was someone whom she should distance herself from as much as possible. Leisha came to the conclusion that she would probably never speak to him again.
But things didn’t work out that way――
Honestly, even though I shouldn’t have noticed it earlier, my brain sort of glosses over the fact that Grandpa Stollen’s nickname had the word Demon in it. Isn’t it interesting that Noel is being called Demon left and right too? Granted he’s Snake as well now, but he was definitely referred to as Demon a lot before he created the clan. That’s also a hint that Grandpa Stollen may have been a hero but he also did things that made people call him Demon as well.
Wolf has kinda been the lovable, relatable character so far but this really developed him as a character, don’t you agree? I can finally see why such a goofy guy is recognized as the leader by his allies and the reasoning really fits him.
Walter is back after so long and he’s shouting “Kora!(コラ)” and acting like a bad boy…… 濡れるッ! (<-hint: Busujima)
Well, Lightning Bite chapter this time. I kinda like this party a lot more now that they’ve been properly fleshed out. Will we see Gareth vying with Noel in the main story to come? I can’t wait. But before that, more from the elf and the snake. What’s going to happen next? Stay tuned!
Character designs for Kouga and Leisha are out! Check them out in Discord!
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