Day-28
...
After parting ways with Mary, we all headed toward the market as planned. To buy a helmet for Mogzo.
I felt a little guilty for not being able to help pay for it. Well, I had something I needed to buy too, so what could I do?
Not only did I have to save money, I also had to put some aside, and buy the things I needed.
Living here was truly difficult. With an income that wasn't particularly large, I had to be able to manage it.
While they bought the helmet, I decided to split up with them along the way to buy something I needed as well.
Walking through the market streets, which weren't very crowded, there weren't many people in the afternoon.
Many of the shops had already started closing, with only a few still open.
The sun that had been blazing overhead was beginning to dim its light, covered by the orange sky above.
With my slow steps, I passed through the various stalls, passing them by.
And eventually, I found a shop that sold equipment. I planned to buy a shield.
I thought my previous shield was no longer fit to be used. So I had fought without using it for a while, and it was really uncomfortable.
I couldn't fight calmly without it.
Buying a new one might be one solution.
I tried choosing a shield from the several that were there. For the size, perhaps medium. As for the material, I wanted something durable and light.
But my gaze was always drawn toward a shield with a flat top that tapered toward the bottom.
I thought it was a pretty good shield, not too wide, and it provided enough protection for me.
I turned toward the shopkeeper, who was sitting at the counter waiting for customers.
"Hey, how much is it?" I said while pointing at the shield I wanted.
He seemed to think about it for a moment before replying.
"Hmm, give me 25 silver and it's yours," he said.
"Expensive," I thought at the time.
"Uh, could you lower the price a little?"
He seemed to sigh.
"Alright, 24 and take it."
Damn, that was still too expensive.
"How about just 15 silver?" I offered.
"Hah?! Do you think I'm an idiot?" He looked annoyed, but it quickly faded along with a sigh.
"Alright, because you're the first person to come here today."
"For you, 17. That's my final offer. If you still don't want it, then just get out of here."
And after that, I got myself a new shield that wasn't too expensive, of course.
Happily, I walked out of the shop, back onto the streets, and eventually reunited with my party members.
After that, while eating at a shop. Talking and chatting as usual.
Talking about what they had bought, Ranta boasting as usual, and some other small conversations...
It felt like we had returned to the past.
Really, just like back then. I never thought we could return to how things used to be.
Little by little, I felt that we were beginning to become like we used to be again.
The relationship that had grown a little distant, those threads that had been slightly torn, were beginning to mend themselves.
All of it made me feel happy...
As the sun was swallowed by darkness, replaced by the moon illuminating the night.
We all decided to go to the tavern as usual. Mary didn't seem to come to the tavern tonight, we didn't see her.
While sitting around the same table. Ranta started the conversation.
"Seriously, that girl really is cute. Just like Yume," Ranta said, starting his usual small talk. "She doesn't greet anyone, she doesn't say thank you, and she doesn't apologize. Good grief. That girl is only sweet on the outside, but her heart is rotten. She's really sexy, though. Although not as sexy as the elf in Soma's party, I guess... "
In the end, it was about appearance, 'yeah.
"B-but..." Mogzo spoke up, replying to Ranta's words. "The last time Mary healed me, she apologized to me. "
"Stop lying, Mogzo," Ranta said. "She's not that kind of person. "
"I'm not lying. When I was injured on my head that time, she touched my wound and said she was sorry if she had hurt me. "
I just listened to their conversation, resting my head on the palm of my hand.
Then I remembered that. "Ahh, unfortunately, she didn't heal my wound that time, so I had to endure the pain. "
That's what I thought. I was a little disappointed, but whatever. It was only a small wound anyway.
"That's true..." Haruhiro said, and I turned toward him. "So, that's what she said at the time. She apologized. "
"She protected me during the last battle," Shihoru said in agreement. "She's not friendly, but I don't think she's cold-hearted, or a bad person. "
"Mary is super cute!" Yume declared.
"I deliberately observed Mary today, and—" Haruhiro began explaining what he had seen.
From his explanation, it seemed that Mary cared in her own way. It was just difficult to see or know because she didn't talk about it.
Well, that was the gist of it, or at least what I understood.
Besides, I understood her well enough to know that without needing her to say it. She wasn't complicated at all like other people thought. In fact, she was quite similar to someone in my memory.
A person who didn't have a single name for me to call him, he was just a loner who rarely spoke, always sitting quietly in the corner of the classroom, and remained that way until graduation.
Carrying the burden of his parents' expectations, and eventually being unable to bear it, until he threw away everything he had and started a journey.
And eventually, he lost his identity.
His personality was quite similar to that person. They were cold, but actually kind-hearted, but it was other people who couldn't understand them.
I suppose that's how it was.
"I think if we make an effort to understand why she does everything like that," Haruhiro continued. "Then we'll definitely be able to work together with her. "
"Why do you go through all that trouble to understand her?" Ranta mocked, taking a drink of his beer. "As long as that bitch does her job, isn't that enough? And I'm not even sure she can do her job properly in the first place! "
"It's the way you think that's wrong," Haruhiro said.
"What's it to you? Just ignore my opinion. "
I could only sigh, knowing where this argument was heading. Just like before, it was always like this.
"Don't be selfish. "
"I'm not being selfish. I'm just saying that that bitch is an outsider, and so am I. "
"Don't worry, Ranta. I don't think of you that way," I said, jokingly.
"Shut up! I don't want to hear that from you!" Ranta shouted at me.
I only chuckled at his response.
Ranta, he really was always like this.
But that's what made him the Ranta I knew.
Basically, he wasn't all that different from Mary in this party.
Watching them joke around with each other again. Listening to the noise in the background.
Time seemed to slow down. A smile appeared on my lips.
Seeing everything return.
"Hey, Manato, you were right... This is a great party. "
...