A Normal(?) Friend Like You

I swiftly pulled out my sword and promptly slashed, and what happened after felt like it came straight out of an action game.

A massive deluge of blades overwhelmed the training grounds like a locust swarm, shredding everything it touched and even blocking sunlight. Rendered speechless, I stood in the center of it all, crossing my arms up in an attempt to block any incoming hits.

Until now, I’d refused to remember such an embarrassing, disastrous memory in the tutorial zone, but… thanks to Wymond’s encouragement, I’d stopped feeling so ashamed of it.

So, looking back now, I’d remembered that my own fists could still work as a counter shield, just like they did for my first ever slime encounter. I held my defensive stance with this reminder, bracing for those inevitable hits.

As I thought, all the strikes meant for me successfully bounced off my makeshift shield, including the ones behind my back. Still, the massive swarm continued relentlessly without any sign of stopping.

As fast as I could, I turned toward the nearest imprint and promptly snatched it, effectively ceasing the swarm in a matter of seconds.

Sunlight greeted me back with its warm embrace, along with the plains’ cool breeze. Exhausted, I collapsed on my rear with a heavy sigh of relief. “Phew, that was crazy!” I said.

“Yooo! Haruma, what the heck was that?!” asked Dahlian, running after me. “That was badass! It was like… like a huge swarm made of swords!”

“You alright over there?” asked Ashrenne.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine,” I said, sprawling onto the grass. “I think… I need a little break after that though.”

“Yeah, sounds good. I’ve been meaning to ask you something anyway.”

“Oh? What’s up?”

“This may sound random, but do you know Orobowa Island?”

“Orobowa Island?” Erudios’s Version of Japan? “Yeah, what about it?”

She rubbed her chin. “Your skills just now remind me of one of their clans that uses some sort of shadow cloning technique. Do you know about it?”

“A clan using some shadow cloning technique? That sounds like the Amagiri Clan’s specialty.”

Sloane’s ears twitched.

“Ooh, yeah, that might be it,” said Ashrenne. “I didn’t really get to chat with them much, but your skills resemble it, almost. Not to mention, your name does sound like it hails from their lands too.”

“Ooh, you reckon Haruma might have ties with Orobowa Island then?” asked Dahlian.

Ashrenne shrugged. “That’s why I’m asking. What do you think, Haruma?”

Well, I am from Japan. It’s just not this world’s version of it. “Well… uh…” I scratched my head and shrugged. “I’m not sure, honestly. I’ve never been there yet besides what I’ve seen from my visions.”

“Do you think your parents might be from their clan?” Dahlian gasped. “Maybe you’re cursed because your family fled when they’re not supposed to!”

“Okay, that’s stretching it too far. I’ve never known my parents before.” In-game versions, that is. “But there’s no way that can be true. The Amagiri Clan may be pretty bloodthirsty, but they wouldn’t go so far as to curse their own people.”

“Dang, you don’t know your family either? You and me, brother.” He scratched his chin. “But that doesn’t mean that theory isn’t entirely impossible, right? You don’t really know if you inherited some family curse or something.”

“I still highly doubt it, but I guess I can’t prove against it.”

“His curse does not belong to them,” Sloane interjected. “I can verify that.”

“Oh, really? You know the clan?” asked Dahlian.

“Mm, I’ve interacted with some during my time in the war and The Assassin’s Guild. They prefer to hunt down their enemies rather than leaving lifelong curses, and even if they did curse Haruma, he should be long dead by now.”

I shuddered. “I-I guess I’m lucky it’s not, haha…”

Sloane nodded, yawned, and went back to his nap. “Lucky indeed…”

With a grunt, I stretched my arms and stood back up. “Alright, I’m ready for round two.”

“Alright,” said Ashrenne, summoning another new horde of training dummies. “Let’s see more of what you got!”

“Ugh, I’m not excited to find out, but… I gotta hold my weight eventually.”

“That’s the spirit!” said Dahlian, pumping his fists. “You got this!”

I took a deep breath, pulled my sword out of my head as always, and charged, ready to uncover more new chaos.

⮽⮽⮽

Nightfall arrived when my training session finally concluded for the day. I collapsed back onto the ground for the umpteenth time, drenched in sweat and out of breath. Even Dahlian collapsed beside me, even though he didn’t do anything besides eating plenty of unfortunate wildlife that got too close to our activities out of curiosity.

“Woo! I’m stuffed!” said Dahlian, burping and patting his stomach. “That was the best hunting session I had in a while!”

“Ugh, I’m glad you’ve had a fun time, at least,” I croaked.

“Goddamn, Haruma,” said Ashrenne, wiping sweat off her brow. “I think you’re ready to take over the world by now.”

“You’re making it sound like I’m going to be some demon lord,” I said.

“I mean, anyone who sees those crazy powers of yours would think so.”

“Then I’ll just avoid using them.”

“Something tells me you’ll be using plenty of it from now on.”

I groaned and covered my eyes with an arm. “I guess you’re right. Thanks for helping me out, Ashrenne.”

“Don’t mention it. Today was a fun day.”

“I guess so…” I stood up and glanced at each of my team, who all wore content expressions. Even Sloane, who also didn’t do much besides healing our minor injuries, had a peaceful look in his slumber.

“I wonder what he’s dreaming about to look so relaxed,” I murmured.

Sloane opened an eye. “Do you want to know?” he asked.

“Uwah! You’re awake?!”

“Mhm, this whole time.” He yawned and got up. “It seems like everyone is ready to head back.”

Ashrenne stretched her arms and started strolling away first. “Yeah, I’m beat. Time to go home.”

Dahlian jumped back to his feet and followed her, and I also started joining them, but a hand gently cupped my shoulder.

“Haruma.”

I looked over my shoulder and met Sloane’s gaze. “What’s up?” I asked.

He glanced at the two walking ahead of us, and after they walked out of hearing range, he whispered, “I’ve been meaning to tell you something. Do you have time?”

“Of course, what is it?”

The elf resumed his walk with me beside him. “You were curious about my dream, yes?”

I nodded.

He glanced up at the stars. “Well, it was about… my final memories with Citrine, moments before I chopped it down.”

I gawked at him. “Eh? Y-you were reliving your worst memories?!”

“I suppose it counts as one, but it was an important one nevertheless, one that I refused to remember until now.”

“So you’ve been reflecting, huh?”

He nodded. “The thing about Florathea’s curse on our trees, you see, is that the process is slow and agonizing, like an infection. I thought, as long as Citrine remained in control, I could save it before the curse took over completely.”

He quietly sighed. “But you’ve already seen the results. I’ll never forget the guilt I felt that day when I was too late to find a cure. Citrine ended up losing its mind and slaughtered my people. All because I made a foolish decision to spare it.”

“I... I’m so sorry for your loss,” I said. “But I don’t think it was foolish. I would’ve done the same for a friend.”

“You are too kind, Haruma. I appreciate it.” He paused, and I stopped as well. “But I’m not here to talk about what I’ve already said before, of course. It’s about Citrine’s final words.”

I tilted my head. “What did it tell you?”

He briefly cast down his gaze in reluctance before facing me. “I… happened to remember it thanking me… for choosing a normal companion to be my friend.”

“Oh…”

“Your words back in the rift instance made me realize that my own choice, even if they’d caused dire consequences, still… made Citrine feel happy and valued like it’d always wanted in its last moments. I just wanted to express my gratitude for that.”

I shyly scratched my head. “Oh, it’s no problem at all. I’m glad my words reached you then. I thought I should be the one apologizing for hitting and yelling at you like that.”

Once again, Sloane made another new expression I thought I’d never see from him: a genuine, warm smile.

“Don’t apologize. That was the wakeup call I needed. From now on, I’ll be sure to put more effort into our missions, so please look forward to it.”

I returned the smile and nodded. “Yeah, I will.”

With our morale lifted, the two of us caught up with Ashrenne and Dahlian and walked back home together.