Vol.4 Ch.84 - We Got a Sudden Letter

It’s been about a week since Aaron left for Great Hiana. Things areprogressing slowly, but it’s not like we don’t have our highlights. Notably,my ban on playing with Nelly was finally lifted (Hooray!) and Anna and Icouldn’t be happier with our day to day lives. Wake up, help around therestaurant, play with Nelly and talk to Cecily in our free time, check up onArthur and sometimes accompany him on walks… Yep, it’s a good life.“So,” Anna said while we were finishing up our picnic date, “On a scale of 1to 10, how would you rate today’s food?”“Hmm, I’d say… 8.5 out of 10.”“Geez, aren’t you supposed to up the score because I’m your girlfriend?”“Sorry, but I can’t do that. Honesty is valued above all else in a relationship,and I certainly wouldn’t want to lie to you.”She gave a wry smile while playfully punching me on the shoulder, “You…!Always with the perfect retorts to anything anyone says, at this point I’mstarting to fear that you’ll grow into a sly liar in the near future.”“You think I can pull that off?”At these words, she burst out laughing, all the while adding on comments likeDon’t try it and If you do, I’m leaving you. Well, at least I now know not tobecome a lying scum thanks to Anna (though I knew that even before).“Speaking of, you think Arthur approves of us dating yet?”“Hard to say, I think that no matter how much you try to appeal to him as agrandson-in-law, there’ll always be a part of him that detests the idea.”“Harumph! I don’t see why he’s so against it, though, I think I’m a pretty goodguy for you, after all.”“You? Nah, not even close. It’s more like I’m the perfect girl for you.”Oh? And what exactly is the difference between the two? Don’t get toococky, girl, we Saints take great pride in our competitive nature!“Alright then,” I said as I leaned in for a kiss, “Then shall we end this littledispute right here and now?”“Wha-! H-Hey, s-stop it! Not out in public!”I paused to examine her flushed expression with a curious gaze, but after awhile I couldn’t take it anymore and still gave her a peck on the lips. Heh,what’d I say about a Saint’s pride?“Guys! Guys!” An extremely loud voice rung out from the direction of thehouse. “Quit yer’ flirting for a sec and check this out!”“C-Cecily! We weren’t flirting that much!”“…” Cecily gave Anna an annoyed side-glance, “Right… Maybe don’t saythat after smooching out in the open.”“Y-You saw that!?”“Bah! The air around you two is suffocating. Just shut up and read this.”“What is it?” I asked.“A letter. It came in the mail today, it’s from Lune.”“G-!”Grim! So he’s alive after all? Thank God…! Wait, this letter hasn’t beenopened yet. Could it be Cecily wanted us all to read it together…? Ah, I seenow, she’s being considerate of my feelings after I berated her the otherday… God, I don’t think I can ever live this feeling of shame down in mylife…“Ahem…!”“Yo, Ed! If you’re reading this, I’m already dead!”“WHAT?!” Anna and Cecily both screamed in unison.“Just kidding. Heh, gotcha’ dude!”“That damned idiot…! Joking about dying at such a crucial moment!”I certainly agree that it wasn’t the time nor place to make such jokes,especially if he was expecting me to read this out to Anna and Cecily…Well, then again, Cecily was supposed to have stayed back in Great Hiana,so I guess he didn’t account for her being here then? In any case, I continuedreading the letter out loud.“No, ozbiljno but seriously, I am alive and well even now, so no need toworry. I;m staying in the Island of Exuul right now, ludo crazy, right? Inany case, if you’re free, come over here, I’ve got some exciting things toshow you! Meet me at the courtyard at high noon on the 24th!-Lune”Is… Is that all? I mean, this is amazing news, yeah, but… I mean, it’s beenthree years since we’ve seen each other, and that’s all you have to say? Idunno, isn’t it a bit, y’know, brief?“This…” Cecily uttered.Right, she wasn’t mentioned even once in this letter. She’d obviously feel abit sad… Then again, maybe Grim sent a letter to her personally in GreatHiana?“This is incredible news!” Cecily finished her sentence.“Eh?”“Oh, thank the heavens! He’s alive and well! I’m… I’m so glad…!”At these words, Cecily started to gently cry tears of pure joy. I mean, she didlose her brother all those years ago, so I’m sure she couldn’t care less aboutanything else than hearing that Grim is 100% proven to be alive all this time.I mean, if I applied Anna and me into this equation, then I probably wouldn’tcare less about not being mentioned in Anna’s letter, I’d just be glad she’salive, so I guess it makes sense.“So what’re you gonna do, Ed?”“Isn’t it obvious?” I said while opening the door to the house, “I’m going outfor a bit!”***“Dobar dan, gospodine, i dobrodošli u našu državu. Prijatan boravak!” Theforeign border guard welcomed me to Cardina.“Dobar dan!”Ahh~, the fresh saltwater scent of Cardina is one I could definitely get usedto. And the blue motif is definitely an added bonus. As to why I’m in Cardinawhen Grim specifically mentioned the Island of Exuul, it’s because I can’tactually just board a boat ride directly to there. You see, the Island of Exuulwas actually a place where prisoners used to get, well, exiled for committingunspeakable crimes back in the past. That’s when Schnell came by one dayand petitioned for it to become a full-fledged country when the prisoneventually shut down. Apparently, this odd decision was made in honor of adeceased friend of his.“But why the IoE, Grim? Don’t tell me they reopened the place up just foryou, heh…”I joked about this, but knowing Grim’s troublemaker tendencies, I honestlywouldn’t be surprised to see him in a prisoner uniform. Let’s hope it doesn’tcome to that, though…“Good day, I’d like to go to the Island of Exuul.”“Heh,” The person working at the Southeastern Dock chuckled, “Old habitsdie hard, eh?”His rhetoric question confused me a bit, but judging from his demeanor, Isuppose it’s nothing bad in any case. Even still, I kind of had to ask what he’stalking about at this point.“What do you mean by that, sir?”“You haven’t heard? That famous inventor got married and bought the entireIsland for him and his wife. Pretty generous of him, don’t you think? Eh, inany case, apparently he legally changed its name to Lichtstadt.”What? But isn’t the Island of Exuul… a country?! Isn’t that way too generousfor a wedding gift?! Also, what the heck is that name? God, thank goodnessAnna didn’t accompany me here, otherwise she’d nag me about buying herthe entirety of Secundis until the end of time (and I don’t have that kind ofmoney!). But wait, famous inventor…?“…Are you talking about Sol?” I said as I showed him my holsteredfirestarter pistol.“Oh whoa! Dude! Where’d you get that? That’s like, an antique at this point!”Oh? Is it really that difficult to attain now? Well, Adam did tell me that Solstopped making weapons, so I can imagine that this is a rare sight. Heh, kindof makes me wanna brag about it… But I’ll refrain.“Well, you’re right, though.” The dockworker said as he inspected Sol’ssignature on the handle of the pistol, “That’s the guy I’m talking about. Getthis, he married one of the Grys’ Maids to boot! Could he ask for anythingmore in life?”“He married Mariabelle?!”While I was happily thanking God for giving such kind people a happyfairytale ending like that, the man gave me a blank stare as he handed me myticket.“Mariabelle? Eh, never mind, safe travels.”“Thank you very much!”After making it to the Island, I double-checked the time and place of ourmeeting from the letter Grim sent me, and everything seemed to check out.Apparently, after stepping foot on the Island’s dock, I was to enter thecourtyard of what used to be the prison. Then, I was to wait for him to showup.“How odd, I never took Grim for someone so mysterious and cool… Butdamn, I’m actually gonna see Grim after so many years. It’s actually kind ofmaking me nervous, heh. I wonder how much he’s changed. He had startedgrowing out his hair a bit last time I saw him, he could even tie his hair into adorky little ponytail back then. Even though everyone told him it doesn’t suithim, he’d shut them all up with a simple ‘It’s cool! Plus Cecily likes it, andthat’s all that matters!’ before storming off. Man, I wonder if it reached hisbutt by now, he’d look like a hermit, heh…”I kept imagining how he’d look like, but nothing could’ve prepared me forthe sudden scare I felt as a sensual voice whispered something in my ear,jolting me as I lost my train of thought.“Thinking so much about me, did you miss me that much?”It was him. That was Grim’s voice! All I had to do was turn around and I’dsee him, weirdly yet sensually whispering in my ear! (wait, why did he dothat again?)“G-Grim?! What the heck!?”“Heh, gotcha’. Or did you like my ASMR?”ASMR? Nah, screw that, that’s not important right now. Look at him! He…looks completely different? His hair is short, shorter than it’s ever been, andit’s dyed black? He looks a lot frailer, and his skin’s really pale. W-Well, atleast I know it’s him when I look at his… eyes? Oh, h-he’s converted his Irointo Purple, eh? S-Stylish…“What’s the matter, Ed? Cat got your tongue?”“N-No, it’s just… y-you’ve changed your appearance quite a bit, so this is abit jarring, heh…”He didn’t really acknowledge my words, instead he simply scanned me fromhead to toe before making a comment of his own.“So have you. It’s been three years, after all, we’ve all changed in someways.”“Well, yeah… Oh, by the way, what are you doing over here? I heard thisplace got bought recently. Are you allowed to stay here?”Grim gave me a blank stare before explaining, “This ol’ island? I bought it.”“W-WHAT?!”“Yeah, thinking of turning it into a resort or something like that. Imagine anArthur’s here on an abandoned island in the middle of nowhere. That’d behilarious! We’d get so many interesting shipwrecked adventurers come in!Phahahah!”E-Eeh? He certainly hasn’t changed, but what does he mean by that? Isn’t Solthe guy who bought that place for his wife?“Oh, by the way, I’ve been getting into tinkering a lot recently.” Grimoffhandedly said, “It really calms the nerves, and you’d be surprised by howmuch money you can get from it.”“Hmm, cool…” I responded without paying much attention to his words.How did Grim get the money for this? Why did that dockworker tell me a lie,then? Nothing adds up, ugh…“I even got a cool nickname I like to use instead of my own name. It’s reallyconvenient!”“I see…” I still wasn’t listening all too much.“Yeah, it’s Sol. Pretty cool, right?”S-Sol… Interes-WAIT WHAT!? G-GRIM WAS SOL ALL ALONG?!?!“E-EHHH?!?!?!” I shouted in surprise, “B-But then-, wait-, you mean-?”So that’s why we got all those gifts when we came to pay Adam a visit. Andhow that apothecary worker knew about Anna and me! Now it all makessense! ...But hold on… that means that what that dockworker told me wasn’ta lie. Which means…“Sup, Ed.” A female voice could be heard calling out to me from behind.“M-Mariabelle?”“…We need to talk.” She said as she took hold of Grim’s hand.***“Ed, we need to talk.”“Mariabelle?” I chuckled nervously, “D-Don’t tell me, you were… withGrim? A-All this time?”She knew what she had done, and you could tell from her face that she feelsbad about it. She couldn’t even find the courage in her heart to apologize, buther silence was enough to prove she couldn’t help it.“You’ve met my wife Marina before, so I’m glad I don’t have to introduceyou two-!” Grim said without missing a beat.“You shut up! I don’t wanna hear anything from you for now! I wanna hearwhat Maria– wait, M-Marina?”“Y-Yeah,” Marina (apparently) sheepishly started to explain, “Like Sol,Mariabelle is also a fake name we came up with to escape the ITA’sclutches.”So I was right, they really did fake their deaths to no longer be bound by theITA! But still, isn’t this taking the farce a bit too far?“Ed,” Grim calmly spoke up with a resolute look, “I am lawfully married toMarina. This is no joke.”“D-Dude…” I chuckled, as I couldn’t take his words seriously, “Y-You gottabe kidding me, right? T-This is just a really elaborate prank, right?”Saying nothing, they both gave me a serious look. On their face, I could seeso many emotions welling up. Fear, anxiety, resolution, happiness… it wasall there. They should both know about Cecily and Nelly, but reading theirminds with Analyze only proved their sincerity.“You two are sick!” I jumped from my seat, “I can’t fucking believe you!”“Ed, have a seat.”“No, fuck you! I should just punch you right now-!”*plop*“?”*stab*W-Huh?! W-What the fuck? G-Grim started raising his hand against me, b-butthen all of a sudden dropped it to the table and stabbed it with a knife!?What’s going on here?! What does he think he’s doing? Marina’s unfazed bythis?!“Ed, take a good luck at my hand.”“O-Oh God, we gotta stop the bleeding-!”“Ed, calm down. I do this all the time, it’s normal.”What part of this is normal, dumbass?! You just stabbed yourself in thefucking hand!“It’s called bloodletting. It relieves stress. I do it when I’m tense… Or whenI refrain from beating a person up for saying some really insensitive things.”The latter part of the explanation was definitely directed at me, it seems. Sothat’s why he raised his hand at me like he was about to strike me beforestabbing it. He was refraining from hitting me, huh? Marina doesn’t seem alltoo pleased with his actions, but her lack of input on this sudden turn ofevents is certainly odd.“Y-Your finger!” I finally looked at his hand, which was missing a pinkie,“What happened to it?!”“I lost it in the dungeon.” He went on to explain, ”The passageway we werepassing through suddenly collapsed. It killed Genevra, one of our partymembers, but just barely missed me. You remember that asshole, Linus,right? He was with us, and had the brilliant plan to chop my pinkie and ringfingers in order to free me.”“I see? And then what happened?”Grim then paused for a second, trying to compose himself before finallycontinuing with a tearful expression.“Marina went back to the dungeon to pick up my ring finger and managed tosomehow reattach it. You’re still interested in medicine, right? She’s a Dola,so I’m sure you two’ll get along well.”Dola?! Isn’t that the world renowned family of doctors?! N-No wait, Imustn’t get swooned by this cheating bastard!“…Just finish the story, jackass.”“Ed, I’m trying to say that she saved my life. Multiple times. Not only that,she made my life worth living. When everyone around us died, she keptmaking me smile with her jokes. When we just washed up on the shores ofNorthern Cardina, she was the one who encouraged me to go on. When she-”“Grim.” I stopped his rambling, “Cecily and Nelly are waiting for you. Youcan still make things right.”“…” He paused to think of his next words very carefully, “But things areright, though.”This asshole…!“Nelly’s three!” I shouted at him, “She’s three, and you know what she saidto Cecily the other day?! She asked who ‘Daddy’ is! Cecily still hasn’tfucking recovered from that, you sick fuck!”“Heh, she can already talk? Daddy’s little girl-”*whack*I punched him in the face for making such a disgusting and out of touch withreality comment. I didn’t intend to do this, it just sort of happened on a whim.I felt immediate regret and discomfort, while Marina’s face was riddled withfear.Without saying anything, Grim slowly took out a dirty picture of Nelly out ofhis pocket. He gave it a kiss, and with tears streaming out of his eyes, hegave me an utterly terrifying gaze. If I wasn’t so angry at him right now, I’dbe shitting my pants.“I wanted to show off a bit to my best friend. Helped you out on your journeyfrom the sidelines, gifted you a pendant that represented our childhooddream. I helped make the foundations for turning Arthur’s into a global brandthanks to my accumulated wealth. I wanted to brag to you about gettingmarried and living happily, and this is how you treat me?”“…You’re sick. You sure that rockfall didn’t hit your head as well? Heh,maybe that whore sitting next to you is just manipulating you into staying withher.”At these words, Grim slowly took out the knife from his hand and threw it tothe side, all without breaking eye-contact with me. It was a bone chillingaction. Still, he clutched his bleeding hand while Marina silently bandaged itup, before finally speaking up.“You wanna get your ass beat by your ol’ pal that badly?”I didn’t even wanna give him the pleasure of answering his question. Theonly thing I did was spit in his face as he clutched my shirt’s collar.“…” With spit in his face, he opened his eyes with his eyebrows pointeddown into a frown, and while barely keeping his composure, he uttered, “…I’ll take that as a yes.”