26th Day Midnight In front of the Omui gate
Right after we came out of the dungeon we were told to return to town immediately.
A nearby village had apparently been wiped out.
There had been magic communication. It was a monster attack.
But even the village that sent the message went silent.
The next target in that direction was this town, so the adventurer guild issued an emergency summons.
Right now we are in front of the gate, building barricades, lighting bonfires, and preparing for battle.
We had finally gotten some peace.
Haru-kun had given us that peace.
All by himself, fighting in the forest.
So this time we will protect him for sure.
Even Kakizaki-kun and the others, who had been bedridden, joined us.
Their equipment was in tatters, but Odachi-kun and the others had given them spare gear.
It would not be strange for the monsters to come at any moment now. In fact they are already late.
The guild people had apparently been preparing for interception since before noon.
Even the lord's daughter is up on the gate, armed and ready.
It must be that serious. It must be important enough to risk the survival of the town. But we are here.
We were protected by Haru-kun. He even risked his life… No, that story… Haru-kun had been ready to throw his life away the whole time.
"Sorry for being an idiot." That was not about Kakizaki-kun and the others. It was definitely Haru-kun's last will… his final words… Everyone understands that.
We were protected again. We could not do anything again. We let him get killed again.
But he came back. The person who came back seemed somehow unconvinced… but he came back.
It must have been a fight where no one even imagined Haru-kun would survive and return. He had gone there ready to die.
We failed again. We could not protect a single thing. We could not save a single person. We only get protected and saved. Even after getting stronger we cannot do anything. We could not protect the one thing we wanted to protect most. We lost it. That is what everyone had been thinking. But even that, Haru-kun himself saved. He saved himself. And then he came back.
So this time we will protect him for sure.
Because it is the strength Haru-kun gave us.
So this time we will save him.
Just like he did for us.
And we will protect Haru-kun too.
Maybe Haru-kun will be fine.
I still cannot understand that Haru-kun is weak.
But even though he looked normal, his body must actually be in tatters. He must be covered in wounds.
There is no way he is fine. Kakizaki-kun and the others had their arms and legs torn off by that opponent. He had been taking those attacks nonstop, trading himself for all of it, for our sake.
There is no way he is okay. Yet he still came back, with a normal face, and said "I'm back."
So today we will protect him. At least so Haru-kun can rest properly.
This is the only thing we can do. This is all we can do.
Luckily Haru-kun is not an adventurer, so he was not summoned.
I am worried that Kakizaki-kun and the others have not seen him, but at least for today, let us protect him.
Because we still have not repaid anything. Even though we received so much.
At least while Haru-kun is healing his wounds, let us protect him.
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And yet… the monsters are not coming...
Then Haru-kun showed up?
"Why is everyone doing a campfire? Why am I being left out? Is it because I am a loner? I come back hungry and everyone is having a BBQ? The fruitcake already proved I did nothing wrong! I wanted to do BBQ too. If you are going to bully someone do it to the otaku? I finally caught them? …Why only me? Also, I am hungry."
Um, he seems hungry? …BBQ?
"Um? Haru-kun? We are not leaving you out or anything, okay? Also, this is not a campfire. It is dangerous here so let us go inside, okay?"
I do not know when the fruitcake proved Haru-kun did nothing wrong, but we cannot let the current Haru-kun fight a huge swarm of monsters.
He is not saying anything and acting normal, but his body must be completely wrecked. He is in no condition to fight. Even if potions healed the injuries, the accumulated fatigue and damage must be immeasurable. Exhaustion shows on his face. He looks like he could collapse at any moment.
"You see, a nearby village was attacked by a sudden monster outbreak. So next this town is in danger. The soldiers and adventurers are preparing to intercept them right now, and we are also here to protect the town. So you can rest easy. This place is fine, okay?"
Was my explanation too long? Partway through Haru-kun started grilling fish? And the moment he put soy sauce on it, a crowd formed around him.
Everyone is staring hungrily. Haru-kun eats it looking delicious. The fragrant smell of burning soy sauce spreads, and everyone swallows.
Some people started talking to Haru-kun, and then he put his hand on the ground. Suddenly a table appeared from the ground, and Haru-kun lined up fish and started grilling?
Before I knew it a line had formed. People receive grilled fish from Haru-kun and hand over money. A stall? Ah… the prices are pretty expensive.
Huh? A huge swarm of monsters is supposed to be attacking, right? Why is everyone happily eating fish? Was this actually a campfire after all?
Haru-kun will get yelled at if he starts selling on his own like that, right? Why is even the guild master in line? Why is the lord's daughter biting into the fish looking delicious? Why is he giving Vice Class Rep B the biggest fish? Also, when did she get in line? Huh? We are supposed to be fighting right now, right? We are supposed to be protecting the town, right? Why am I in line too? If my fish is smaller than B-san's I will not forgive it! I absolutely will not forgive it!!
They are not coming, huh?
Haru-kun is deep in conversation with Odachi-kun and the others.
He should not be here because it is dangerous.
Haru-kun got dragged off to the guild master?
They seem to be arguing about something. It was probably that stall after all.
Even the lord's daughter was called over? Did something happen?
For some reason the daughter is stomping her feet. For some reason Haru-kun is also stomping his feet. Why is Haru-kun stomping with a puzzled look on his face?
The guild receptionist older sister came to call me? I am supposed to be at my post, but is it okay?
"Never mind your post or vigilance or searching. Please come. We need a translator. Not a linguistic one…"
I think that is bad, but I follow her… Ah~
The culprit was Haru-kun.
"Well? No one asked me? I did not know about any monster attack? Something came out so? I was punching it? Kind of? Eh? Since morning? Because they kept coming out? Yeah, all the way until night? Attack? It was a bulk-buying tour? Apparently some town is super popular right now? No, I did not hear it? Who? The orcs? Yeah, there were some. Orcs. They had orc-like faces. Eh? No, they were orcs? No, I was just punching them? Why? Because they kept coming out? Yeah, the whole time. There might have been prizes, right? Eh, monster bashing? But it might have been master of monsters, right? So I kept bashing the whole time, but there was no prize! I am the victim, right? I did not get anything! I cleared it though. Eh? Clear? Orc king. Yeah, that one? No? I got tricked? Because they kept coming out? I worked hard? Even though I was hungry the whole time? Why? No, I was just punching them? I did nothing wrong, right? Because if a monster comes out you punch it, right? Normally? See, I did nothing wrong, right? …You punch them too, right? Everyone?"
No one seems to understand what he means. I do not either. It really does not seem like a linguistic problem.
But whenever Haru-kun says "I did nothing wrong, right?" he is usually the culprit.
He has never once been innocent so far.
The truth is always that Haru-kun is the culprit.
As the sun started to rise, everyone headed to the scene of the crime under the culprit's confession.
The monster corpses had disappeared, and at the scene there were enormous piles of magic stones and clubs covering the entire area.
Monster corpses apparently disappear after a few hours, leaving only magic stones. So this is the crime scene. Caught red-handed in a massive massacre.
Normally when someone repels a large monster attack they are treated as a hero, but becoming the culprit is pretty rare, I think...
But there is no room for leniency. Because he acted like nothing happened and sold grilled fish, making a huge profit.
On top of that, his recidivism rate is extremely high. He is a habitual offender. His recidivism is high and he shows no remorse.
Verdict
It was another lecture after all.
26th Day ended and we entered the 27th Day.