A dark-skinned man with a turban wrapped around his head.
He wore exotic clothing, and on his carpet there were no goods — just an old trunk.
The turban hid his eyes, so I couldn't see his face well.
But there was no doubt about it. He was the street vendor I'd bought the bracelet from.
"Long time no see. The bracelet. Thank you."
"Hey, kid. Looks like that thing's been useful, huh."
"Yes. Is that bracelet a Legacy?"
When I asked, the street vendor laughed.
"Sharp of you to notice."
"Would you mind telling me what kind of Legacy it is?"
"Sure, but before that — can I ask you something first?"
"What is it?"
"You gave the bracelet to a girl, right?"
"Yes. I gave it as a token of my gratitude."
"And you got a thank-you for it, yeah?"
"Y-yes. Well, about that..."
"You didn't get one? I see. That's how it goes sometimes."
Is that how it works? It's a little embarrassing to say, but I feel like there's been a misunderstanding.
"No, um — it was a k-kiss."
"Huh? Wait. Hey. Hold on, hold on. So that's—right. You bought that many. I suppose one or two of them might kiss you…"
"Y-yes. All of them."
"Whaaaat?! H-hold on. Hold on. Hold on. All of them? ALL of them?!"
"Yes. I received a kiss from every person I gave one to."
When I said that, the street vendor looked at me like he couldn't believe it.
What?
"N-no, no, no—that's…is that even possible? Does that actually happen?"
"Hmm? What do you mean?"
"A kiss is the highest form of gratitude a bracelet can express. In other words, it means they like you."
"Um…?"
"Listen. The bracelet only does it once, but it manifests the feelings and sentiments toward the person you gave it to as a form of thanks. The lowest level is just the words 'thank you.'"
"Whoa…oh, but most of the kisses were on the cheek or forehead."
So it wasn't really the top tier then.
"That's probably because they've never kissed anyone on the lips. Or they wanted to, but hesitated over whether it would be okay. There's definitely affection there."
I see. But I had a question.
"I understand that much. But why didn't you explain how the bracelet works when I bought it?"
"That's my benevolence. If I explained it, you'd know exactly what the other person is feeling, right? If you give it to the person you're interested in and all you get back is 'thank you'—if you didn't know what that meant, you'd still be happy."
"W-well…I suppose that's true, but…"
"Sometimes it's better not to know the truth."
"But what if it causes a misunderstanding?"
"Well, when that time comes, that time comes."
The street vendor smiled ruefully.
"I mean, come on…"
"You'd have to be blind to miss that one."
"…That's also true."
Tough call. The street vendor crossed his arms and spoke with admiration.
"But to have that many bracelets—hey, kid. You're just like Wof."
"Gghh!? Cough, cough, cough, cough!"
"H-hey. You okay, kid?"
I couldn't help but choke.
"I-I'm fine. By the way, who… who's Wof?"
"You don't know? A giant standing two meters tall, and he's apparently the Witch's disciple."
"…Two meters tall…"
"On top of that, he's insanely strong, a total womanizer, a lady-killer, and an absolute pervert. They say he's the reckless fool trying to take down that first-ranked delver, 'The Impregnable.' So he's been called all sorts of things—'Night Conquest King,' 'Night King,' you name it. But lately, they've been calling him the 'Night Spear King.'"
"Th-the Night Spear King…?"
"He's a master of the spear, and apparently his 'Night Spear' is something else."
"…Huh."
What the heck is a "Night Spear"?! What the heck is a "Night Spear King"?!?
Two meters tall—am I some kind of monster?!
What is going on? This is getting worse.
What the heck did "Cerberus Turn" do to me?
Well, I didn't think I'd be able to put those rumors to rest with them anyway.
They just learned the truth — that I'm me.
I thought maybe it could ease things, even just a little.
I didn't think things would get worse.
Now it's all "Night Spear" this and "Night Spear King" that — I'm only hearing that kind of stuff.
Oh well, at least with the rumor about me being two meters tall, people can't figure out it's me anymore.
Though anyone who actually knows me would just go "what the heck is that?"
"So, kid. Bracelets — you gonna buy some?"
"You have them?"
"I made some."
"Oh, right — that's right, you do make stuff, don't you?"
These bracelets. The street vendor had made them himself.
"That's right. I figured there'd be demand since you bought so many last time, so I went ahead and made some... but it doesn't quite work out like that. How about a thousand oro each?"
"I'll buy as many as you have."
There would surely be more people to thank in the future.
The street vendor grinned.
"As always~!"
I bought everything he had.
The street vendor rolled up his carpet, packed up shop, and stuffed it all into a trunk.
I thought he'd carry it by hand, but lo and behold, he made the trunk float. Huh.
"Well then~ I made a profit in the end."
"Made a profit...?"
"The final sale had everything going for 500 oro apiece."
And he gave me this, calling it "the last one."
A case with a single plain ring inside. Well, it's not just any ring.
Apparently it's an upgraded version of the bracelet.
"Better than not selling it at all. Well then, buddy. See ya."
The street vendor laughed heartily and left Hydrangea.
Thinking back on it later, that street vendor...
Being able to create Legacies—they're no ordinary person.
I wonder who they really were.
Three weeks and five days had passed since then.
The excitement over the "Great of Browns" in town had cooled down.
Crime had dropped sharply, and only a handful of Grade-I delvers remained.
I saw Shiro off, and Alhazad-Abramilin off.
Chaibe headed back to his shop, and Munieka stayed behind.
In between all that, I gave bracelets to Dova, Sheshu, and Bid.
When Bid whispered something about mating season and pinned me down, I seriously had no idea what to do.
Also, I gave Ens, Thunder Fang, and Sword of Swords knives as thanks.
Ens and his wife had been staying at Thunder Fang's hideout.
They said they'd be heading back home soon.
Mineha and Emmy seemed to have somehow made up.
The Witch and Lurika had helped with that.
Lurika had returned to the fairial village. As chief, she couldn't stay here forever.
Mineha hesitated a little but decided to stay rather than go back home.
Once Sword of Swords had finished their quota of subjugation requests, they departed with Celest.
Megadia got Agaro completely drunk, then set off in high spirits to guard the caravan.
She'd said she was heading south, eventually making her way to the royal capital.
Along the way, Narsis decided to tag along because it looked like fun.
I felt a little lonely.
One day, I went to mine in the earth dungeon with the Witch's help.
We ran into Doha and the others, and ended up fighting an ancient Brigandine Golem in the ruins.
On another day, I tried to do something about the ballooning rumors together with Kelberostern — and failed.
What's more, I ended up having to fight Heleftu, a fictional monster that feeds on rumors and lies.
On top of that, I got exposed as the Witch's apprentice and had to duel with Syu. And the Haiarn Trading Company finally got established.
A lot had happened in less than a month.
Torquetam still hadn't returned. Though staying away for a month or two was pretty normal.
So I wasn't worried, exactly, but it did feel lonely.
"Whew... nice weather."
White clouds drifted lazily across the blue sky.
"Peaceful day today."
There wasn't anything in particular I needed to do, so I was weeding the courtyard.
Once in a while, this kind of thing wasn't bad.
"Huh, this herb. It's an herb."
And it was a potion ingredient. Lucky.
"Nah!"
Dagaa was chasing a butterfly with all his might.
"Hey. Don't fall over. Oh, this one's an herb too."
There were more of these around than I expected.
As I was relaxing and pulling weeds like that, something descended from the sky.
"What's that?"
It was a large bird with four brilliant, sparkling white wings.
It landed gracefully in front of me, then pointed its beak at its leg.
A small tube was tied there, and inside the tube was a single sealed envelope.
"This is..."
The sender was unknown.
Once I took it, the bird apparently considered its job done and flew off.
"...Wonder who it's from."
I opened the somewhat heavy envelope, and inside was a letter.
I unfolded the letter.
"Wof. You doing well? It's me. Your uncle."
"Uncle?!"
"I'm doing fine as usual. How's Hydrangea? For better or worse, it's a pretty decent town for a border settlement. Is the hideout coming in handy? I wanted to leave some food behind, but I wasn't sure whether you'd make it there. Sorry about that. Glad to hear you're doing well."
"I am doing well."
"I know you'll make a great delver. Also, have you gotten the hang of using your Relic? Your Relic is your lifeline. Don't let it tie you down — make sure you can use it properly."
"I know. I've been figuring it out lately."
"Got a girlfriend yet? You tend to get into dangerous situations... If you could just find a normal girlfriend, that'd be fine. That'd really be enough."
"............"
"Oh right. Speaking of the hideout — do you know the trade city of Heizen? That's a great town too. Above all, it's free. Well, maybe a bit too free in some ways, but I think that's part of its charm. It's also a town where passionate encounters await. You can immerse yourself in hot nights — tropical nights."
"What on earth are you trying to say, Uncle."
I was half exasperated. The trade city of Heizen, huh.
"That trade city of Heizen is where I have another hideout. My second hideout. If you're free and in the mood, would you go check it out for me? I'll give it to you. That hideout has... actually, no, you should see it for yourself. You'll definitely be surprised. Inside the enclosed envelope, you'll find a map and a key. Well then, I'll leave the rest to you. Let's meet again someday."
The letter ended there.
"The second hideout..."
I checked inside the envelope and found an old key and a hand-drawn map.
"You've gotta be kidding."
I muttered unconsciously, stunned.
Without thinking, I looked up. The sky was a clear blue, and the sun was a little bright.
Just then, Mineha-san called to me from the watchtower.
Waving back, I tucked everything back into the envelopes and put them in my pouch for now.
――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――
Thank you very much.
Season 3 ends here.