Reset Life – Chapter 85

Chapter 85: You, Become a Big Shot (2)

Drinking tea woke me up. Looking at the sky, it seemed to be around 2 AM. I’ll have to get some more sleep later.

As I was quietly looking at the night sky, the man suddenly spoke.

“Your horse?”

“Huh? Ah, that guy? Yeah. My horse. His name is ‘Finder’.”

“Finder? A treasure hunter?”

“Well…… If you consider her a treasure, then yes.”

What words could I use to describe Levidian? What is she to me? I haven’t seriously thought about it yet. The only definition I’ve vaguely come up with is that she’s someone I want to cherish.

Well, I guess it’s fine to call her a treasure. She’s a famous sword, a treasured sword, after all.

He nodded at my ambiguous words. It seemed like a gesture of convenience, but it wasn’t.

“A woman.”

“Eh?”

“For men, the treasure that isn’t a treasure is only a woman.”

“Who told you that?”

I thought of Lucy (Male) again. Because that mage-like yet more mage-like than any other mage often said that to me.

He stared blankly into the air and then lowered his head.

“It just came to mind.”

“Ah, okay.”

I shrugged. Well, if you look around, there’s bound to be someone else who thinks like Lucy.

And Lucy would agree a hundred times over with my thought that a beautiful woman is a precious natural resource. Since there’s a part of my opinion that aligns with his, it wouldn’t be non-existent in others.

“What’s your name?”

“My name?”

“Since I heard your horse’s name, you should tell me yours.”

I said jokingly. It would be unfair to exchange a horse’s name for a person’s. Finder might be angry. At least if he had common sense, he’d respond with a joke.

He pondered for a moment and then pointed his finger to the side, saying,

“I named this rabbit Bugs Bunny.”

“Oh, okay.”

He has a sense of humor, but it’s awkward since he says it with a face that looks like it could lose its expression if you stuck one on. Plus, it’s a strangely high-level joke. Naming a dead rabbit. What kind of books does he read?

I shook my head and said,

“I’m Risel. My real name is a secret for certain reasons.”

“Neral Tines. Al.”

“Al? Simple and nice.”

Somehow, it was a nickname that suited him.

Generally, people start with introductions and move on to the main topic. But Al and I stopped talking right there, and a long silence followed.

Al finished his tea and took out a map and compass from his backpack. Then he took out a sextant, checked the constellations, and was trying to find his current location.

I glanced up at the map…… and remembered Sera’s scribbles from when she was young.

Quite a few lines were drawn on the map with a pencil, going east then south, northwest then northeast, with no sense of direction.

After fiddling with the sextant for a while, he finally seemed to have found his current location and drew a line with a pencil.

The line that was heading southwest abruptly turned and drew a straight line eastward.

“Hmm.”

He nodded, seemingly satisfied. It looked like a randomly drawn straight line, but it still had direction. It was definitely heading east.

I tilted my head and then remembered him saying he was out of ignition powder. And I understood.

“Are you, by any chance, directionally challenged?”

“Lotuan was quite far.”

He said without a hint of embarrassment. I couldn’t see it clearly because of the campfire, but looking closely, his appearance was quite shabby.

The ignition powder in an ignition canister can light a fire at least 300 times with one fill. Even if you leave it alone, the ignition powder lasts for 100 days. To use it all up means he must have been lost quite a bit.

Why would someone with a compass be like that?

“Is your compass broken?”

“No. I’m not used to it.”

I scratched my head looking at the compass, its rim shiny with fingerprints. Not used to it?

Well, you can get lost even with a compass. A compass points north, not to your destination. My junior during my military service before I died couldn’t find his way with a compass either.

I shrugged.

“If it’s Lotuan, that’s where I’m headed. We should arrive in two days. But you get lost even on the Pipe Road?”

“While hunting.”

“Ah, okay.”

I don’t know how they get lost since I’m not directionally challenged. But I roughly understand.

To hunt, you have to move away from the Pipe Road, and while hunting, you lose track of where the Pipe Road is. Then you keep wandering and finally find the Pipe Road and go back, but you’ve used up all the food you got from hunting while wandering.

To secure food, I need to go hunting, and to hunt, I need to get away from the pipe road…… and so on and so forth.

There’s not much game around here that could be used as food for a few days. At best, rabbits or wild birds. So I’ll run out of food quickly, and I’ll have to go hunting again soon.

It’s the unfortunate fate of a directionally challenged traveler.

“Let’s go together in the morning? It’s common for travelers heading to the same destination to travel together.”

“Sure.”

I was bored anyway, and he didn’t seem dangerous.

He might be a dangerous person beyond my imagination, so he might usually keep quiet, but my gut feeling told me he wasn’t dangerous.

Rather, it seems like it’ll be an interesting connection.

I chuckled and got into my sleeping bag.

June 15th, Imperial Year 375.

Did I say an interesting connection?

Retraction. Repeal. Withdrawal. Demolition.

“Al-!”

“Hmm.”

Lucy (Male) came running, stomping his feet. His face was full of joy, and he was running with his arms spread wide, as if trying to embrace the whole world.

He’s smaller than Joey, but with his fairly large physique, when he runs towards you so passionately, you instinctively feel a threat to your purity.

Yet, Al just quietly nodded and slid towards Lucy. When they got closer, I thought I’d see a warm hug between close friends.

Whoosh!

Lucy’s right hook. And his left uppercut almost simultaneously drew a cross in the air.

“Huh?”

Al smoothly dodged the attack, which had enough power to kill a horse with one blow, and jumped into the air……

He landed a splendid spinning kick on the back of Lucy’s head.

Whack!

Wow. That must have broken it.

“Gah!”

Lucy let out an unsightly scream and fell flat on the ground, while Al landed softly.

Suddenly, the surroundings became quiet.

“Ah, Al?”

I called out to Al in a fluster, but he didn’t even glance at me and approached Lucy. Then, standing next to his back, he took a deep breath and jumped up.

A downward strike?!

“Heave-ho!”

Lucy wasn’t knocked out, as he quickly rolled to the side and dodged, and Al landed…… no, he didn’t. He grabbed the ceiling rafter and threw himself forward.

Thwack! Thud!

Three kicks in the air.

“Ugh!”

Hit in the face, solar plexus, and abdomen, Lucy screamed like a monkey and rolled backward, then jumped up. He seemed completely unharmed.

“Hey! You really hit me without warning! I said it was a joke!”

“A joke? Then why did you attack?”

“It was a prank~!”

“I see.”

Al, who had once again taken a fighting stance, immediately relaxed his guard at those words. But I wanted to take a fighting stance at that nasally voice.

Lucy grinned and approached Al, slapping him on the shoulder.

“Ooh! Al! How long has it been, my friend!”

“You seem healthy.”

Al nodded and patted him on the back.

Absurdly, I realized the situation anew at that moment.

Al was Lucy’s friend!

Oh my god! What a thing to happen!

“Huh? Risel? What are you doing here?”

“You’re quick to notice.”

I had been there since Al arrived, but Lucy seemed to have just noticed me, his eyes widening.

The macho mage Lucy, whom I met after a long time, was no less than he was before, if not more.

Thanks to Al’s fantastic sense of direction, Lucy had spent a longer time in Lotuan than expected, and during that time, he had been enjoying Lotuan’s beautiful nights.

Therefore, even though it was broad daylight, there were four women fawning over him.

Al seemed used to it and ignored them.

“I apologize again for being late……”

“No, it’s fine. Thanks to that, I met such a wonderful connection! Umhahaha! Risel, what happened to that beautiful lady?”

“Who?”

The moment he said”beautiful lady,”three people came to mind. Levidian, Aila, and Namia. Aila is a girl, so is she excluded?

“The lady with black hair. You’re not together? Huh! Don’t tell me you got dumped? As expected! The age difference is an insurmountable wall? That’s something to pity. Oh! Then are you still a virgin? Did you force yourself on her?!”

“Die.”

I quietly raised my middle finger. I’m twenty-nine this year, the same age as Levidian, but he seems even more immature than he was three years ago.

Anyway, I joined them and learned roughly about their relationship.

Al and Lucy were friends who grew up together in a rural village near Lotuan. One took the path of a mage, the other the path of a warrior. At that time, they promised to meet in Lotuan ten years after leaving the village.

The promised date was June 1st, but Al, with his fantastic sense of direction, was two weeks late.

Naturally, Lucy didn’t mind. He seemed rather happy.

Looking at the four women, each from a different background and completely smitten with Lucy, I sighed once again at the mage’s formidable ability.

One looked young, one had large breasts, one had short hair, and one was a maid from some house. I couldn’t understand how he managed to attract such a diverse group.

To make people feel envious and pathetic at the same time. It’s not something just anyone can do.

After a while, Lucy sent the yearning ladies away. He seemed to have the capacity to notice that Al and I didn’t particularly welcome that kind of atmosphere.

He held a beer mug that could hold at least 1,500cc and smiled as refreshingly as the beer.

“But it’s unexpected. Al had a promise to meet, but you, Risel? Judging by your appearance, it’s like you were kicked out? As expected, did your father decide to drive you out?”

“Please, I’m begging you, stop turning suspicion into certainty. Just listen to what people say. Okay? By the way, why were you fighting like that earlier?”

“The letter Lucy sent said this. Let’s share the joy of reunion with our fists, like men.”

“Are you an idiot?”

“Uhaha! That’s what friendship between men is all about! You punk, you’ve grown taller, but your mind doesn’t seem to have matured at all? Come to think of it, you’re still short?”

I sighed. I had grown about 15 centimeters compared to three years ago. I’m still shorter than Lucy, but a height close to 180 centimeters can’t be considered short.

“You’re not the standard of the world. Tsk. The reason I’m here is complicated.”

“Hmm, is that complicated reason related to that female teacher? Hahaha!”

At Lucy’s words, I turned my head and ordered the same size beer that Lucy had ordered. Al just said,”2,000cc,”with sparkling eyes.

Lucy immediately felt a sense of rivalry at that.

“What? 2,000cc? Mister! 3,000cc here!”

“Then I’ll have 5,000cc.”

“Eek! 3,000cc and 2,000cc more……!”

“That’s enough. Are you auctioning now?”

Hmm. It’s nice to see close friends. But I don’t envy this kind of pointless competitive spirit. I adjusted their orders to a reasonable level.

Lucy smacked his lips and said,

“Tsk. But is it really because of that teacher?”

“Partly, for various reasons. Anyway, what have you been up to, Lucy?”

“Huh? Ah, I went back to the association, but my master said, ‘You idiot! An Inquisitor?! You should have at least brought back a sample!’ so I ran away. If I stayed there, he would have told me to catch a demon or something. After that, I just wandered outside the Empire. Al, you?”

Al looked into the air for a moment, as if thinking.

“Me…… Training. Actual combat. Training. Actual combat. There were quite a few places to fight. Orknesia was quite good.”

“Oh? You haven’t changed since two years ago. Still training? With your skills, you could join any Knight Order, right? In the mercenary world, you’re incredibly famous as ‘Barehanded Al’, right?”

“My colleagues often mention your name too.”

Lucy smiled, and Al calmly lowered his gaze.

Suddenly, I made an interesting discovery. The way they looked at each other was different.

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