Vol 2 Chapter 2 (1/2)
LEVEL 2: Everything is Precious, Nothing is Replaceable
Chapter 2: Inept Executive
“…And that’s kinda how it happened!”
Haruhiro still couldn’t get over what had transpired even when he related the story to his cozo, shi+horu, and Mary were all sitting at a corner at the back of Sherry’s Tavern, but it wasn’t just the too The attention made Haruhiro a little embarrassed
He cleared his throat and went on “Anyways, Tea That orc Ishh Dogrann seeht Renji was done for But he wasn’t Not for real, anyway It was like he was faking it, kinda like tricking the orc Even I was completely sure that he couldn’t use his left arrann”
“Whoa!” Rantathat his disadvantage was really his truer disadvantage?! Screw that! Goddamn showoff! fuck him! I can do that too! I can do that one hundred percent!”
Yulared coldly at him “So you’re okay with dyin’ if you mess up?”
“I won’t mess up! There’s no way I could mess up! It’s a known fact!”
shi+horu, who ended up having to get a new hat, also looked disdainful “What makes you so sure?”
“What? Uh, it didn’t see Instead he said, “Stupid! I don’t need any shi+tty reason! I just know it! SELF-CONFIDENCE! It’s all about self-confidence!”
Mary sighed softly as she brought her cera to her lips “I think that’s true”
“See?! Mary agrees with uys are all a! Amateurs!”
“But overconfidencefully at Ranta
“Er—” Ranta seemed to be at a loss for another comeback
Mary had spoken the truth She knew better than any other Three of her original party had died this way Because things went so well for the their own ability, falling into disaster
“B-but still,” uttered Mogzo As usual, his prized hel We all arrived here at the same time, but they’re miles above us…”
Once Haruhiro had finished “The Legend of Renji”, the other clients who surrounded their table to listen in laughed good-naturedly and slapped Haruhiro on the shoulder
“Work hard and catch up, Goblin Slayers!” they told him, and went about their own business once more
Ranta stuck his tongue out at them and hissed, “piss off Don’t take us for losers!”
“Don’t get so worked up,” Yu her chin in both hands “Yuoin’ at our paces”
“Youin agreeree I mean, now that I’ve seen Renji in action first-hand, it’s like he’s cut from a different cloth We couldn’t imitate him even if we tried, and to be honest, I don’t even think we’ll get anything out of paying attention to him…”
“To force ourselves…” shi+horu started, but quickly fell silent
Her gaze dropped to the floor, as if she was trying very hard to keep herself fro whatever it was she wanted to say Perhaps she was recalling their own precious, lost friend
“And if we end up in a situation where we’ve got no way out, we ,” Haruhiro pointed out
“You guys have no ambition!” Ranta pointed from Yuuys sound?! No pain, no gain! No guts, no glory! No risk, no return! If you want a high return, then you gotta man up and risk it all!”
Haruhiro felt his te “I think it’s better to minimize risks and maximize returns as best we can In fact, that’s e’ve been doing all along”
“All along, huh” Ranta scoffed disdainfully “I’ll say it right here and now: That’s e’re rock bottoet it? Guys, look around you!”
“What’s there to see?” Haruhiro said skeptically, but looked around the tavern nonetheless
When he did, he realized Ranta’s point Out of all the other Criathered at Sherry’s, their appearance was the shabbiest of all But Haruhiro felt they couldn’t do anything about how they looked Most of their ar in the shared lodge with no locks, they carried all of their valuables with them
It didn’t matter whether they were in Da no matter where they went To be sure, it did y and dirty
“Did you guys even think about it before?” Ranta said ier “So what if Renji’s on a completely different level? He started out e did! Don’t keep saying shi+t like ‘there’s nothing we can do about here’ We’re in a different position now!”
Mogzo dipped his head, and he looked up at Ranta “What do you mean by that?”
Ranta continued “From what I hear, a new batch has arrived We’re not the newest arrivals anyroup, there was a batch of three Actually, they haven’t even bought their Cri of a deviant case anyway Now, our group elve, but this next group’s even bigger They’re all still training with their guilds now, but that’s gonna be over soon They’ll for in Damro”
“So what?” Yureedy and wanna keep the area all to ourselves what are we gonna do if we get into trouble? And Yume reckons with obbie groups”
Haruhiro acknowledged Yume’s opinion, but Haruhiro found that he couldn’t welco Mary, Haruhiro’s party was the least experienced of all Crimson Moon members They couldn’t help it if they were the weakest and most ineffectual
But it was just as Ranta said Haruhiro realized they were rock bottom now, and when they were the newest of rookies,they could do about it But their situation was about to change very soon They would no longer be the newcomers
If they took it too easy, they would be surpassed by the new batch Wasn’t that just… beyond pathetic?
“I don’t think it’s a good idea to be too impatient,” Mary said, as if she had read Haruhiro’s mind
Maybe she’s right Even if they wanted to rush to advance, they were only capable of doing so much Maybe sohts, but not Haruhiro Running risks would be fine if failure et back up and dust themselves off, but failure could very well mean death Better to advance step-by-step, slowly and cautiously
But… A small voice inside Haruhiro whispered Are you sure you’re advancing at all? Are you sure you’re stillcircles around the same place?
“What if,” Haruhiro ventured, purposely keeping his gaze down at the table rather than meet anyone’s eyes, “and this is a very hypothetical ‘if’… but what if we tried sooblins forever, right? I don’t think it would be a bad idea to go somewhere else, maybe Of course we don’t have to et stuck in a rut if we’re in Daht get careless or so fresh and exciting But I mean, it’s just an idea…”
“Haruhiroooo,” said Ranta, grinning froood ideas once in a while Only just once in a while! And of course I’m completely for it!”
“In that case,” Yu a beat, “Yume ain’t”
“Then me neither,” shi+horu said
Clearly Yu dislike of Ranta Mogzo didn’t reply right away, but his expression was that of soht What about Mary? What did she think? Haruhiro could glean nothing froe
“I’ the back of his head “It’s just hypothetical So to think about, maybe But we’ve explored Daood idea to think about e’re going to do next”
“Do next?” Yuht then left “If things were nice today, ain’t that good enough? What’s wrong with doin’ the saotten ourselves into any really dangerous fights lately, and we’ve been savin’ up our ht with the way it is”
“That’s ‘cause you’ve got no desire to ue out at her “Maybe you’re not even hu in its stall!”
“Baby piggies are just darlin’!” Yus, they’re not as cute, so Yurow!”
“What?” Ranta said “Why are we talking about piglets all of a sudden? What do piglets have anything to do with anything?! I have no idea what you’re talking about!”
“That’s ‘cause Ranta’s stupid Not Yume’s fault,” Yume replied curtly
“Quit bla other people all the time! And I’m not stupid, you’re stupid!”
“Idiot! retard! Jerk!”
“fuck off!”
“Could both of you please stop?” Mogzo said, but too gently for his words to have any effect
Haruhiro took a sip of le Was he in too much of a hurry to advance? He couldn’t co the need to pick up the pace, but he wasn’t really considering catching up to Team Renji either They were on a completely different level, after all Even so, was it okay for them to just remain the way they were?
He could understand where Yu from, but what if they really were surpassed by the next batch? Haruhiro was definitely not okay with that Maybe he would be kind of upset if that happened Perhaps even… quite upset
What was their oal? For all practical purposes, it was and had always been survival, at least for the ti To live from day to day and to
They had their Criot to stay at their current lodge for free It was shabby, but it served to keep the wind and rain out And since housing was no more than a place to sleep, theelsewhere orth it Cheap food was available if they were careful in picking the right places, so minimal food expenditures were entirely possible
But staying in shabby lodgings and scri on food made for a hard life It would be nice if they could rent a room equipped with a lockable door for a month, or even at least a week or so There were more personal possessions all around lately, so they were carrying a good amount of stuff with them everywhere they went
If they continued working in Da… one day They wouldn’t have to take any risks, and they wouldn’t have to push themselves too hard What if they decided to take on a new challenge and ended updisaster?
Maybe they’d die Notdisasterless Like Manato Haruhiro didn’t want anyone else to die He didn’t want to iven the utravity
Which raised the question—if life was at stake, then rong with just doing what they’ve been doing? However, when Haruhiro thought about it, he realized that after they had bought their Cri to Damro day after day for money to learn new skills with, or spells, or to buy weapons and ar it without any real purpose
Everyone’s enthusias to accoency—a need to constantly push the stronger, they would never be able to succeed in their desire to avenge Manato
But those days were over It was a job well done, a mission completed
Or so it felt to Haruhiro Was he able to say that somewhere between then and now, everyone hadn’t become lax? That everyonehadn’t become comfortable and complacent?
That wasn’t to say that carrying on as they were noas bad It meant simplicity and an easy life But Haruhiro couldn’t help but think that eventually, it would really come back to bite them in the ass
When no one offered any further opinions, the discussion ended without reaching any real conclusion
shi+horu tiht?”
Haruhiro and the others got up, said their goodnights to Mary at the exit, and started on their way back to the lodge Halfway there, Haruhiro stopped
“You guys go ahead,” he told the others “I’ to, uh…”
“You’re goin’?” Yu?”
“Err… restroom! Yeah, the restroom! I don’t think I can hold it all the way back, so…”