Chapter 7: Hello World

Chapter 7:
Hello World

 

BY THE TIME Lily and the others finally brought the Lockwoods out of the ruins, the agents of the Albarn Empire had already vanished. It was clear, after that, that they had moved on, based on the fact that the bandits who had been rumored to be plaguing the border region had vanished as well; however, their trail was already cold. Even much later it was unclear if they had returned home to Albarn or if they had found another place to live somewhere within Tils.

Likewise, from that day hence, the broker never showed his face in the slums again.

What began as a major event, the kind that would send ripples through the capital—the unprecedented event of one hunter and two commoners disrupting an invasion by the Albarn Empire—was, in the end, reduced to nothing more than a footnote. The simple disbanding of a bandit gang. It was Margrave Lockwood’s own testimony, and that of his family, that supported this.

Even now, the Lockwoods were unaware that it was a group of agents from the Albarn Empire who had attacked them that night, or so said Margrave Neiham Lockwood. According to him, they were nothing more than a large group of bandits who had kidnapped the Lockwoods seeking ransom from the Crown. In fact, that was probably what the family themselves had been told by the agents.

As far as the young man from the slums, it was a more unfortunate story. Though he had been instrumental in saving the country from danger, the only compensation he received was whatever small reward the guild could provide and one modest prize from the stingy margrave. Of course, said young man, Veil, did not seem to mind. In fact, the one who seemed the most torn up about this was a certain woman who would have a drink and smoke a pipe and bluster about the truth of the incident to anyone who would listen down at the pub.

As far as anyone was concerned, Lafine Alstea’s stories were nothing more than the drunken ravings of a woman infamous around those parts for her general slovenliness. It would be a further reach still for anyone to believe the fantasy that she herself had been part of the group of just three people who had saved the Kingdom of Tils from danger.

And so, in the end, there was no dramatic change to the three of their lives. Lily Lockwood, however, was still satisfied. After all, the type of hero she wished to be was one who battled evildoers in secret. It was fine if no one knew what she had done. Whatever happened in the past, what made Lily the happiest was to be content right now.

…Still, it would be nice for someone to praise her once in a while.

“Hi-yah!”

A hand came chopping down on the top of Lily’s head.

“Ow! Lafine, that hurt!”

“It’s fine if no one knows what I did. I don’t need anyone to praise me. Sure. I get it. However, I need money. You don’t have to work. You don’t have to get up early. But I want money. I want enough money that I can just sleep the whole day through. I. Need. Money.”

Veil muttered, smiling wearily, “Heh! That’s just the kind of trashy thinking they talk about. Classic Lafine.”

“What?! Who’s the one sitting around here eating up our food while he’s talking trash?!”

“C’mon, Lafine, stop that! Don’t shout with your mouth full. It’s flying everywhere. You’re the one who’s making a mess around here.”

Lafine put a hand to the back of her head and gave a flirty wink.

“A little girl like you would never understand, but men find that very attractive in a pretty lady. Isn’t that right, Veil?”

Veil replied, with utmost honesty, “No. I wish you would stop.”

“What?!”

“It’s okay,” Lily comforted her. “Anyway, we wouldn’t be able to afford this food if Veil didn’t keep bringing us work. Besides, I’m the one who actually does most of the jobs as Hello World Mask. All you do is eat and sleep.”

“Hey! When did you start getting so responsible?”

“I’m not sure,” Lily replied, with complete sincerity. “I guess I’ve just thought that I need to get it together a little more if I’m going to raise you up right. It’s a lot of work, but it’s rewarding.”

Lafine’s fork tumbled from her hand, clattering onto the table.

“Wh…wha…r…raise…me…?”

She slumped lifelessly back into her chair, eyes going blank. Seeing this, Veil burst out into laughter.

The three sat around the round table, eating together, in the home of the Alstea family. Mornings were often like this on the days when Veil brought special jobs from the guild and when Lily went to help the orphans in the slums with their daily tasks. Before anyone even realized it, this had become their custom.

“So, what kind of job is it today, Veil?”

“It’s supposed to be guarding a merchant caravan. They’re going to a little village near the capital, so we should be able to make it back by nightfall. I can’t be away from the slums for too long,” explained Veil, shoving a fried egg into his open mouth.

“Supposed to be?”

“The real job is to lure out and capture a bandit troop. Apparently, they’ve been showing up a lot around here recently. They’ve been going exclusively after smaller wagons, so they should be a smaller group.”

“The guards gonna be inside the wagon?” asked Lafine. “Sounds easy, then. Guess I’ll tag along!”

“No, there’s actually going to be farming supplies that the village needs inside.”

“Then I’m out. Lame.”

“I mean, the delivery is really the point of it. The merchants’ goal is to deliver their goods, and the guild’s goal is to deal with the bandits. These kinds of jobs pay pretty well. It would be a big help if you came along. It’d be useful to have more skilled people around to cover the parts of the job where Lily is…less effective.”

As always, Lily’s magic was explosively powerful. Allowing her to use it recklessly would absolutely result in someone’s death.

Lafine shoved her own cleared plate aside and collapsed upon the table.

“No thanks. I’m going to sleep.”

“Why are you only awake when you’re eating?”

“Can’t sleep on an empty stomach.”

Lily grinned and nodded at Veil.

“See? I told you. It’s hard raising this girl.”

“I feel I understand this deeply.” Veil gazed at Lafine as though staring at a troubled toddler.

“Ughh… I don’t want to grow up! I want to stay a kid forever…”

“Aha ha, I think it’s already too late for that, Lafine.”

A tremor ran through Lafine’s body at this innocent scolding.

Once the meal was through, Veil and Lily stood up together.

“Well then, we’ll be going. Please clean up the dishes later, Lafine.”

“Whaaat? Can’t hear you…”

The pair both smiled wryly as Lafine, still lying down, covered her ears. She even went so far as pretending to snore.

Lily pulled her mask from her pocket and slipped it on. She then put her left hand on her right shoulder and rolled her right arm around.

“All right! Time to tear it up again today!”

“Yep. It could be dangerous, though, so don’t get too excited.”

“Okay.”

And so, Lily Lockwood flung the door open, and stepped out once again into the unknown of the great wide world.