CH 70

Chapter 70 – Glasses boy and the cute evil god statue

“You’re regretting it, aren’t you?” I asked Lisse.

She stayed silent.

“You’re regretting it now, right? You’re thinking that you shouldn’t have promised that, right?” I asked Lisse.

She remained silent.

“How do you feel? Hey, how do you feel? How does it feel to be pushed to the bottom right after you convinced yourself that you’ve won, after you used filthy means to forcefully win over a man that you dislike?” I asked her next.

“Shut up! I’ll take it properly!” Lissi shouted.

Alright. I think I have gloated enough over her.

I refused her many times, but Lisse persistently stuck to me, so in the end, I gave up.

But I couldn’t simply accept it for free.

There was a very real risk that this could become a recurring offense, so I had to emphasize that this would be a one-time deal.

… And also, it was a way for me to get rid of that trouble.

“So, uhn… Eil, this is… What is it?” Lisse asked me.

For a moment, she seemed to be taken over by anger, but then it passed just as quickly as it came.

After all, there was a stronger feeling going over her right now… It was anxiety.

It was understandable. This thing made me feel anxious during each second that I looked at it, and now I was not only looking at it, but holding it.

“Like I said, it’s a cute doll.” I replied.

Lisse insistently asked me to accompany her on the hunt, and I eventually gave in, but with one condition.

The condition was that she’d take over the cute evil god statue. And that she could not throw it away, couldn’t destroy it, and she had no choice but to keep it.

When I told Lisse that I’d go with her if she took over my cute doll, she happily agreed to it, but this surely exceeded anything that she could have imagined…

“You said it was a cute doll, right? But this isn’t cute! It is… What it is!? Just what is this!? It’s definitely a demonic wooden statue, isn’t it!? This is way too terrifying!” Lisse protested.

I agree with all of her words.

But unfortunately, the reality is different.

“Its creator said so, so there is no doubt it. This is just a cute doll.” I told her.

“What weirdo made this!?

“… Eh? Am I really going to take this over…? Won’t I be cursed if I keep it with me…?” Lisse wondered out loud.

“You made a promise. You can’t break it.” As I said that, I snatched the cute evil god statue from Lisse’s hands, then muttered, “An assassin that easily breaks a contract that they already signed… That’s a pretty big problem, isn’t it?”

Then, I once again offered the cute evil god statue to Lisse, as I really don’t want to keep on holding it, “You understand what I’m saying, right?

“And you cannot throw it away, destroy it, nor sell it. That’s part of the promise.”

“… I-I know.

“… I-I-I’ll take it over…

“… Uugh. The more I look at it, the more cursed it seems…” Lisse muttered as she took the statue from my hands.

Hooray! I finally succeeded in pulling the cute evil god statue away from me!

I was very happy with this result. Way happier than I was when I received a passing grade from clearing the road.

But well, that’s enough of this topic. Let’s go over my end of the deal, “So, when and what are we hunting?”

Before we returned home to have this discussion, both me and Lisse bathed at Goertz.

Right now, we were sitting down at the living room’s table for the first time since I arrived at this house.

I’m going to eat dinner after we’re done, but I’d like to talk about work first, as I might need to do some preparations and buy things, so I’d rather do that before eating.

“Alright…” Lisse, with a visibly uneasy face, put down the cute evil god statue on the table.

Then, her expression turned to a serious one, and she stared at my eyes, “I think the Chalk Chicken is a good target. Do you know of it?”

“I know a bit.” I replied.

I saw a picture of it in the encyclopedia that I got in the assassins’ village.

It’s a flightless bird that looks like a huge plump parrot.

It was written that the Demon Beast was huge, but unable to fly.

However, it is a Demon Beast that can jump incredibly high, and that moves quickly and is hard to predict.

And its meat is quite tasty.

“It lives in the forest at the foot of the nearby mountain. It’s a Demon Beast that is active early in the morning.

“I’m thinking of leaving tomorrow before dawn. This way we can return to the city in the morning.

“What do you think?” Lisse asked me.

“It seems good enough?” I replied.

The nearby mountain must be that mountain. The mountain that has the assassins’ village on its other side.

It’s certainly way too dangerous to try going there at night, but if we start hunting after sunrise, then she won’t be depending entirely on me at least.

“Let me just make sure of it. I just need to find this Demon Beast, right?” I asked Lisse.

“Yes. I’ll defeat it, so you just need to find it.” Lisse replied.

“And what if you fail?” I asked.

“You can abandon me and run away.” She replied.

Lisse then averted her eyes from me and poked the cute evil god statue. She made a visibly disgusted face as she stared at it.

“Look, it’s not a bad idea for you to accompany me. We’ll be splitting the loot equally, and even if our interests don’t match, I won’t be unilaterally making use of you. I can take care of myself.

“Besides, it’s much better to partner with someone that you know, than with an adventurer you don’t know anything about. Things can go really wrongly if you work together with someone that you can’t trust.” Lisse told me.

But that’s the problem. I don’t trust Lisse.

Though well, I guess it can’t be helped. If she is going this far, then I can’t really complain about what she wants to do.

“Okay, but just to be clear. I really can’t fight this Demon Beast. In case of an emergency, I’m really going to abandon you, because I really can’t help you.” I told Lisse.

“I know.” She replied plainly.

I really wish she understood it.

I sighed, “So, let me be clear. Because it might be the last time we talk… I don’t think you’re strong enough.”

Our physical abilities, stature and lifestyle are all similar. Lisse and me should probably be around the same in combat capability. That’s the conclusion I obtained after competing with her on the road.

Essentially, I don’t think someone as weak as me is able to hunt the Demon Beasts here.

The reason why I don’t want to go to the hunting grounds together with her, is because I think the chances of us both dying are way too high.

I did say that I would abandon her in case of an emergency, but… I know myself enough to know that I would try helping her if needed.

That said, if it did become impossible to help her out, then I may have no choice other than abandoning her.

But if I do abandon her, I’ll definitely regret it and sleep badly because of it.

I tried moving the conversation forward, but the feeling of not wanting to go did not disappear in the slightest.

“Hmph. Just who do you think you’re talking to?” Lisse asked me.

“I don’t know, I don’t want to know, and I don’t need to know.” I replied.

“… Well, you made this much clear.” Lisse sighed.

This really might be the last time we talk. There is no need to hold anything back right now.

“It will be fine, so leave it to me. I have a Gift that is good for this.” Lisse told me.

… I see, alright.

I suppose I really have nothing else to say.

******

After dinner, I got everything ready, slept a bit, then left the city before morning, while the sky was still dark.

The outline of the mountains were shining in the distance. It looked like the sun was about to rise.

“Let’s hurry.” Lisse told me.

Lisse was wearing light clothing and had two swords at her waist.

I was also wearing light clothes, and I carried my bow in my back, as well as some simple luggage.

It was not gear for a big trip or for hunting. It was the minimum necessary gear to let me find and lure a prey.

And right now, Lisse seemed to be extraordinarily confident in herself.

… Though I can’t wipe away the feeling that she has no idea about what she is getting into.

It’s almost dawn.

If we’re planning on coming back in the morning, then we need to hurry, as I want to train today.

“Alright, let’s go.” I told Lisse.

Then, the two of us started running towards the mountain.