The carriage came to a halt, and after waiting for the call from outside, I stepped down onto the ground for the first time in hours.
The sun was setting, the world drenched in twilight, and a bright moon shone clearly against a cloudless vermilion sky.
From nearby came the sound of a flowing river. Travelers of old had likely used this spot as a waypoint to cross the Galrest Mountains. Compared to the surrounding area, the trees here had been unnaturally cleared away, leaving a space large enough not only to park the carriage but to set up camp for three Parties.
Of course, today we were the only guests. And we were probably the first guests in quite a while.
Citry, who had been out doing fieldwork with Riizu, approached with flushed cheeks and an excited look, hoisting up a black fang about thirty centimeters long—streaked with bits of meat and blood—as if presenting a great treasure.
"Look, Klye! It's a General-class Troll's fang! Even in these vast Galrest Mountains, you almost never get your hands on one. They're incredibly fierce—even Hunters struggle with them, so they almost never end up on the market. They're supposed to live deep in the forest, but these ones attacked us on the road even though it's an old trail! You can boil it, grill it, whittle it—it's a top-tier material!"
Trolls were a humanoid species of Monster alongside orcs, goblins, and ogres. They boasted extraordinary size, physical strength, and toughness, making them a particularly formidable category among the humanoid types. I hadn't known they inhabited the Galrest Mountains, but humanoid Monsters ranged over wide areas, and since Trolls were supposed to dwell in forests, encountering them here wasn't exactly surprising.
Beside her, Riizu raised both arms in satisfaction, stretching her back.
"Mmm… haah… aah… all that holding back was totally worth it! Barely any Monsters showed up on the way here, but Klye is still the best!"
"…Come on… my brother was there on the way too…"
"Anthem stands out too much, you know… Plus, even if Monsters had shown up, I'd just end up competing with Luke anyway…"
What exactly did they think I had done?
Riizu spoke in a cheerful tone. A few meters away, the three people Citry had hired sat slumped on the ground in various states of near-collapse.
Their heads were bowed so I couldn't make out their expressions, but their armor and cloaks were caked in blood, and the strength had drained from their hardened bodies. The contrast with my two childhood friends was stark.
Riizu and the others had also been utterly exhausted back when they were new Hunters, wilting every time they encountered some accident—a powerful enemy appearing, a natural disaster, and so on. But at what point had they become completely unfazed by such things?
And should I find comfort in how tough my childhood friends had grown, or feel a pang of loneliness?
"Now that I mention it… Big sis, you went way overboard. Stop scattering everything around like that! It's going to be a pain for anyone who comes after us!"
"As if I care! The people coming after us are probably Arnold's group, right? Apparently this road hardly ever gets used, so what does it matter? If combat's been greenlit here, then Klye must've intended it that way. Right?"
"No, that's not what I meant…"
In the first place, the odds of Arnold and his people successfully tracking us were slim. If anything, wasn't it more likely they'd be ambushed in the capital? I really needed to figure out how to deal with Luke and the others and bring them back.
Even as we exchanged light conversation, Citry's hands didn't stop. She started a fire, fed the horses that had walked the whole way, and prepared for a night under the open sky. Her smooth, practiced movements made it clear she did this sort of thing regularly.
But Riizu wasn't just idling around either. She whistled while keeping watch over the surroundings, and besides, Citry was the type who didn't like anyone else interfering with her work.
When they'd been active as a Party, Citry and Lucia handled camp prep, while Luke, Riizu, and Anthem took care of hunting and perimeter security. I'd been the one monitoring everyone's condition. …Or in other words, doing nothing.
"Klye, how about Tino-chan…"
"She's asleep. She looks pretty worn out."
She must have reached her limit. Her consciousness had been flickering on and off, and since Citry and Riizu were more than enough as additional escorts, it was better for her to get proper rest.
The fact that she'd been having nightmares… there was nothing I could do about that.
Citry pulled out a portable pot and a large knife, then smiled.
"Well then… it's been a while since Klye was around too, so I'll make something strengthening. I managed to get hold of a lot of ingredients."
"You're right… this is a bit nostalgic…"
Up until Elisa had joined the Party as a new member, Citry had been the only one among us who could cook.
Citry's cooking was extraordinary. It hadn't been anything special at first, but she'd improved at a remarkable pace.
The seasonings were standard store-bought ones, and the ingredients were animals hunted on the spot or wild vegetables gathered along the way, but… somehow, they suited my palate perfectly. I'd barely had the chance to eat her food since leaving the capital, so perhaps just this alone—being treated to her cooking—made coming outside the capital worthwhile.
I felt a swell of emotion, narrowing my eyes with a sigh.
Back before I'd established the Clan—when we were still adventuring together as a Party—I was constantly on the verge of death from the stress of Monsters and Phantoms attacking, the harsh environments, and the Treasure Hall challenges.
But even so, if you asked whether that time held nothing but bad memories for me, that wasn't the case. Talentless as I was—always catching flak from the Mask—at that time, Klye Andrich had truly been a Hunter.
Sitting here like this, I could recall those days of adventuring together as if they were yesterday.
I drifted in nostalgia for a while, then noticed Citry was watching me. I scratched my cheek and spoke.
"…Just standing around isn't doing anyone any good. I'll go fetch some water."
"…Yes. Please do."
"Oh, Klye! I'm coming too! There might be fish, you know?"
Riizu casually took my arm.
Citry sighed in resignation at her older sister, who hadn't changed one bit.
§ After walking toward the scent of water for several minutes, the view opened up and a wide river came into view.
Water sources were vital for people, for animals, and for Monsters alike. Without water, no living thing could survive. The only exception was the Phantoms of the past—the "Phantoms."
"Yay! It's beautiful… a Hunter's life really needs this kind of thing."
Riizu's eyes widened as she happily took in the riverside. The timing must have been fortuitous—there were no Monsters in sight.
The river was quite gentle and slow. The sun had set, and the dark water reflected the deep moonlight, glittering as it flowed.
"Is the water safe to drink?"
"Yep! And there are tons of fish!"
Looking clean didn't necessarily mean the water was fit for drinking. Hunters who'd absorbed enough Mana Material didn't get stomach upsets easily, but I wasn't one of them.
Riizu answered my question with sparkling eyes and energetic enthusiasm, then took a step into the water without the slightest hesitation.
They were up on a mountain, so the water temperature should have been low, but Hunters didn't flinch at something like that.
Riizu stretched her arms out contentedly in the water and said, "It's cooold… I got some blood on me too, so I think I'll wash up!"
Right before my eyes, she began to strip.
She tossed her arm guards—the armored gauntlets protecting her forearms—onto the riverbank, then reached behind her back without hesitation. She peeled off what was, by design, barely more than a chest covering, undid her belt, lifted each leg, and threw off her shorts. Under the moonlight, Riizu's polished skin was laid bare—though from my vantage point, I could only see her back. All that remained was a black undergarment with a surface area infinitely narrow compared to her back.
It was an absurdly nonchalant disrobing. Hunter or not, she was a girl—I wished she'd show at least a little modesty.
Her fingertips, equally without hesitation, touched the clasp of the black undergarment still clinging to her back—and stopped dead.
Only belatedly did I scramble to speak up.
"…Riizu, that's indecent."
"…Oh come on, it's fine. We're that close, right, Klye?"
What kind of closeness was that? True, I knew Riizu well, but I had plenty of reasons to say she was being far too casual.
If she just wanted to wash the blood off, she could have done so as she was. I hadn't come here to watch Riizu strip.
While I was still debating how to stop her, Riizu suddenly turned her head toward me with a smile.
"But… maybe I'll stop for today. It's a little embarrassing getting undressed while being watched, and it's our first adventure together in a while."
With an expression that seemed both bashful and subtly alluring, she raised her hands and undid her hair tie. Pink-blonde hair cascaded down, concealing her back.
And before I could say a word, she submerged into the water.
The depth apparently wasn't that great—she waded in up to just below her chest, then spun around.
"Klye, you should get in too!"
"…No, I need to fill the water container…"
"Oh well… too bad… I'm going to catch some fish!"
Riizu dove into the water with vigor. Her legs—wrapped in the Origin of the Heavens, which she hadn't been able to shed even in a moment like this—scraped across the sky for just an instant.
…Maybe Riizu had matured a little compared to the old days.
With an indescribable feeling stirring inside me, I dipped the water bottle Citry had given me into the river.
§ I carried a burden.
As Hunters who operated as a Party, where a single person's mistake could determine life or death for everyone, weakness was a sin. But Riizu and the others had never once made me feel that. And even after I'd stepped away from adventuring, they'd never seriously confronted me about it.
The fact that I could still recall those times as something that was—at the very least—enjoyable was thanks to them. Even Riizu, who seemed so thoughtless at first glance, had been considering my feelings.
"It's so much fun with you around, Klye… I'm really glad you came…"
I sat down by the river and ran my hand through Riizu's luxuriant hair, damp with water. The wet hair in my right hand had a strange weight to it, but it bore virtually no damage despite the fierce battles she fought daily. Each time my fingertips grazed her scalp, Riizu—seated at the water's edge with water up to her stomach—shivered slightly.
"Yeah, it's fine. No dirt. The blood's come off too."
"Thanks. A weird smell could cause me to make a mistake at a critical moment…"
Her voice was sweet and utterly relaxed.
The purpose had been fulfilled, but it felt like a waste to head back immediately. I wasn't Riizu's lover or anything—but Riizu hadn't suggested leaving either, so maybe something like this now and then wasn't bad.
The silence wasn't painful either. Unspoiled nature that hadn't been touched by human hands for a long time was beautiful enough to gaze at forever.
As we both stared out across the water's surface, Riizu suddenly spoke in a serious voice.
"Klye… you know what, I'm going to become a strong Hunter."
"…Yeah, I know."
I already thought she was a more than sufficiently strong Hunter, but those words carried a powerful resolve.
Strong, without arrogance, never neglecting her training, and beautiful.
Riizu was feared in the capital, but at the same time, she had countless fans. There was something about her that gripped the heart—something that stood out above the rest.
When I stood up, Riizu turned to look at me. Before my eyes was revealed her figure clad only in black lace undergarments that covered the bare minimum of her chest and lower body.
I couldn't help but let my gaze drift, but Riizu simply smiled without saying a word about it.
"Let's head back. Thanks, Klye. It's been so long since it was just the two of us… I had a really good time."
Riizu sometimes longed for quiet moments.
Perhaps she was trying to reclaim something she'd lost by becoming a Hunter.
"Will you come with me again?"
Of course.
I carried a burden. One of the reasons Riizu and the others had grown so rapidly was undoubtedly me. If I'd had talent on par with them, Riizu and the others could have grown strong in a more "proper" way.
But the reason I wanted to stay with Riizu and the others wasn't just about guilt.
Well, saying I would "come with her"—she was the one who'd followed me on this trip. But now wasn't the time for that.
As I tried to respond to the bashful Riizu with my usual smile, the bright expression on her face clouded over.
She furrowed her brows in annoyance, her tone reproachful.
"Klye… you know, I worked up the courage to ask you that, you know? The mood was really nice, wasn't it? This is just too much… aren't you terrible?"
"…Huh?"
Even without wind, there came a rustling sound from every direction—the eerie noise of leaves scraping against each other. I instinctively scanned the surroundings, but there were no Monsters.
"You thought so too, right? Why would a pack of Trolls that normally lives deep in the forest show up in such huge numbers out here?"
Riizu grabbed her hair and wrung out the water.
"Why were there no Monsters by the riverbank? Why was it so quiet? You thought about it too, didn't you?"
She equipped her gauntlets on still-wet hands, pulled on her clothes and shorts, buckled her belt, and tied back her hair.
"But still, isn't the timing awful? I mean, I know you, Klye, but seriously—isn't this just too much?"
From between the trees came the sound of something slithering and crawling. The noise was drawing steadily closer.
A big one. I knew from experience. When something this dangerous showed up, at a moment like this—it was always a troublesome Monster.
What was going on? I stood frozen in confusion, and Riizu spoke with a sour expression.
"I'm definitely making you make it up to me."