018 Let’s Call It Even
A day passed, and two days after the commotion.
Higaki and I were staying at an inn for the night, using the substantial sum of money Ms. Iris had given us as a reward for defeating the monsters.
We had each taken separate rooms, but perhaps because we both had something on our minds, we ended up sitting knee-to-knee in one room like this.
Well, you know… it’s like that.
As Ms. Iris had said, I had gotten carried away, and in future leveling, I would likely be using the Fire Sword and False Saint’s Flash frequently. If I was going to be hindered every time, I wouldn’t be able to cope, so I thought it was time to have a frank talk.
“Um, well… I’m sorry,”
Higaki was the one who broke the silence.
She removed the Sword Saint’s sword from her waist and slowly placed it in front of me.
“Looking back, what I did was robbery. And I even used my position as a disciplinary committee member… No matter the reason, it was still a wrong act. It’s only natural that you would be angry and want revenge.”
I listened to her words quietly.
Without reaching for the sword placed before me, I waited for her to continue.
“I was immature. I was foolish. I spat on the efforts you had built up and unfairly hurt you. …I’m truly, very sorry.”
She said that and lowered her head.
It would be a lie to say that I had no thoughts on the matter, and there were things I wanted to say.
But if she, who had been so twisted, was bowing her head this low to me, whom she probably hated from the bottom of her heart, then accepting it properly would probably lead to what Ms. Iris meant by “respecting” each other.
“Well, you know… I also trespassed into the dungeon without permission and did whatever I wanted, so I was causing trouble too. And I was saying rude things back then…”
“But,”
“We both had our faults, so I’m not saying we should just call it even… But, yeah. I’ll accept Higaki-san’s apology, and on top of that, I’ll have the sword returned.”
Saying that, I picked up the sword that had been placed in front of me, lifted it, and then placed it in front of her.
She looked at me with a puzzled expression, and I met her eyes, then slowly lowered my head.
“I’m also sorry for all the trouble I’ve caused so far. I apologize.”
“…Ah, I accept your apology.”
She picked up the sword and returned it to her waist.
This series of exchanges was to settle things between us, and while the ownership of the sword was mine, it should still be in her hands for the sake of proper procedure.
“Ah, Higaki-san. Um, well, we can’t challenge the Tower for a while, and to discuss what to do in the future, how about we go grab some food somewhere… or rather, shall we go?”
“That sounds good, let’s do that. And you don’t have to worry about honorifics, you can just call me by my first name.”
“I’d appreciate that, AoaO. Feel free to call me whatever you like too.”
“Is it normal to suddenly call someone by a nickname based on their first name just because they told you to? Isn’t that the kind of thing that’s not okay?”
“Seriously?”
“Well, now that it’s come to this, I don’t really care what you call me. But please don’t do it in public, it’s embarrassing.”
The nickname “AoaO” had come out on the spur of the moment because it was what she was known as among her fans, but I had to be careful about things like that.
Come to think of it, I wonder if everyone on the Higaki Ao single thread on the internet bulletin board is doing well?
That space where the screen would be filled with a chorus of “Aoo, Aoo!” once an hour was surprisingly comfortable, as it allowed me to let loose. Thinking about it now, both the people doing it and me watching it were pretty creepy.
“Is something wrong, Sakurai? Did you forget something?”
“Huh? Oh, no, it’s nothing.”
For now, let’s call it even. It wouldn’t be good for either of us to keep dragging this on.
I made that decision and followed her out of the inn.
I left the choice of where to eat to her, as she was in charge of gathering information, and I pondered what to do during the week that I couldn’t challenge the Tower.