Chapter 20: The Suffering of Not Getting What One Desires [Third-Person Perspective]
“No… that’s impossible…”
“…Huh?”
Loin glared at Plum and Natalia with a wry smile.
“No, no, no… No matter how you look at it, this is just too much…”
“Eh… W-why is that?”
Plum and Natalia genuinely didn’t seem to understand.
Loin sighed deeply.
“Why, you ask…? Have you forgotten… what you did to me?”
It wasn’t just Ghuftok who had treated Loin cruelly and kicked him out.
Just like Ghuftok, they too were the ones who had banished Loin.
Moreover, when they kicked him out, they had hurled some pretty harsh insults at him.
There was no way Loin would make them party members.
“B-but…! That’s why we came here and apologized, didn’t we!”
“Nah… That’s a bit much… After all, you only came crawling to me because you figured Ghuftok was done for, right?”
“Ugh…”
“Besides, it seems like you know I’m ranked 5th… Honestly, it’s so transparent it’s disgusting…”
No one wants to team up with people who are only after their money or status.
Loin knew all too well what happened when people became obsessed with status and money, having seen it with Ghuftok.
“Th-then…! You don’t have to forgive us!”
“Huh…?”
“You don’t have to forgive us, just let us join your party! We’ll do anything… okay?”
Plum said, pushing her chest forward with her arms to emphasize it.
However, Loin already had Salina-san.
He wasn’t the kind of man to fall for such tricks.
In fact, such a seduction attempt from someone like Plum, whom he even felt contempt for, only filled Loin with disgust.
“Nah… That’s impossible…”
“N-no way…! Please! We don’t have any money or anywhere else to go!”
However, no matter how earnestly they tried to persuade him, Loin wouldn’t nod his head in agreement.
Giving up, Plum and Natalia quietly left.
Of course, they wouldn’t return to Ghuftok.
They set off on their own, searching for their next path in life――.
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In a simple bed in the stables, Ghuftok waited alone, like a wet puppy.
But, no matter how many hours he waited, there was no sign of Plum and Natalia returning.
Yes, Ghuftok had been abandoned…
“Damn it… Those brats aren’t coming back at all! Next time I see them, I’ll kill them…!”
However, Ghuftok couldn’t move from that spot.
At this point, all he could do was wait for death there.
To an outsider, he looked no different from a homeless vagrant.
“Pathetic… So lonely…”
Chewing on feed dropped by the horses, Ghuftok endured his loneliness.
Just then, a certain group passed by in front of Ghuftok.
They seemed to be an adventurer party, wearing decent equipment.
Ghuftok, being an adventurer himself, could tell.
However, one of them appeared to be unconscious, carried on the shoulder of a large man.
Yes, that adventurer party was the Hero Party that had been defeated by Loin.
The party members were muttering complaints to each other in low voices.
Ghuftok, who had nothing better to do, listened in.
“Damn it… That brat named Loin…!”
“Loin…!?”
Before he knew it, Ghuftok had shouted.
He never expected to hear a name he knew.
“…? Hey, what do you want, bastard?”
One of the adventurer party members, the large man Geord, glared at Ghuftok.
Well, of course, if a vagrant suddenly shouted, everyone would be wary.
“Ah, no… That guy used to be in my party.”
“What…!? You know that brat named Loin!?”
“Y-yeah… He was a damn weakling, so I kicked him out.”
“Huh…!? Are you sure you’re not mistaken? We’re talking about Loin Canberras, who’s currently ranked 5th…”
Ghuftok doubted his own ears.
(Loin Canberras, currently ranked 5th!?)
Could that really be that Loin Canberras…?
“If it’s Canberras, then that’s the Loin I know! What’s going on! Tell me!”
“I see… We were beaten by that Loin. Apparently, this guy Loin suddenly jumped to 5th place by cleaving an Elder Golem in two with a single strike…”
“…!?”
Ghuftok once again doubted his ears.
(Loin was the one who cleaved an Elder Golem in two with a single strike…!?)
So, it really was Loin who had saved Ghuftok back then!
When Ghuftok realized this, a strange feeling came over him.
“Well, you probably shouldn’t get involved with that Loin guy either… We lost face, so we’ve decided to leave this town… We plan to base ourselves in the frontier for a while.”
Geord said this and then left Ghuftok.
Ghuftok was still confused.
“S-so… I was saved by Loin, and now… I’m in debt to Loin…!?”
According to guild regulations, an adventurer who is rescued must pay a reward to the adventurer who saved them.
Loin had wanted to make that payment anonymously.
So, the guild had paid it upfront, and Ghuftok just needed to repay the guild.
That’s why Ghuftok hadn’t realized it until now.
“Aaaaaaaaaaaahhh!??? I’m in debt to someone like Loin…!?”
Ghuftok screamed at the heavens.
In the rain, forgetting he had a cold, he jumped out from under the roof.
“Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!”
He stomped furiously on the muddy ground, churning it up even more.
“And he’s ranked 5th…!? What the hell is going on!”
Why couldn’t he get anything he wanted…?
Why was that Loin so blessed, rising up through the ranks so quickly?
Ghuftok thought this and cursed his fate.
As if to push Ghuftok further into despair, some adventurers happened to pass by.
As usual, they were gossiping about Loin.
“Hey, did that Loin guy really defeat the Hero…?”
“Yeah, apparently so. According to someone who saw it, it was a complete victory.”
“Seriously…? A terrifying newcomer has appeared…”
“Apparently, his equipment is monstrously strong.”
Hearing such a conversation, Ghuftok came to realize.
(So that means… the adventurer who was unconscious earlier was… the Hero…!?)
Loin had defeated the Hero.
This fact was, more than anything, unacceptable to Ghuftok.
Ghuftok was hit by a wave of dizziness so intense he felt his sense of self might shatter.
And then, right there, he lost consciousness.
The next time he woke up, he was already thinking about preparing to return to his hometown.
Being an adventurer wasn’t for him.
He had realized that.
However, the debt he owed Loin still remained.
It was only after returning to his family home that he realized this and went even more insane.
One day, an employee from the local guild came all the way to collect the debt.
If he were still an adventurer, paying Loin back would have been easy.
But Ghuftok, having returned to the countryside, had no way to pay such a large sum.
Moreover, with his arm useless, he couldn’t become an adventurer again.
Furthermore, he couldn’t even do farm work properly.
It’s not hard to imagine how much he suffered after that――.
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From the next chapter, we’ll be back to hack-and-slash developments using Loin’s rare drop skill!
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【★Afterword★】
The first volume of the book version will be released by BK Books-sama on July 5th.
Pre-orders have started on various online retail sites.
It’s packed with new episodes due to significant additions, so I’d be delighted if you’d buy it!
I’ve started a new work in the “Guaranteed” series.
If you’d like, please come and read it.
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