Chapter 2: It Was Yet Another Day for Belgrieve

It was yet another day for Belgrieve—another day that found him loitering around the entrance to the village. He tapped his right peg leg against the ground.

“She can’t be long now...” he muttered to himself.

According to the letter that had arrived the previous week, Angeline should have been back by now, yet he hadn’t heard another word from her. She said she would return at the end of the month, and it was already the very last day. Only hours remained before it would be a new month entirely.

None of it had felt real to Belgrieve—at least, when the letter first came—but as the month’s end drew closer, he grew more and more restless. He found himself losing much time as he thought over what to say to her, what food to treat her to, and how they would spend their days together.

Through the good services of Kerry, he had arranged for a grand celebration for that anticipated day, but Angeline never showed up. Unbeknownst to him, that was around the time she set off for Garuda to hunt down a wyvern. While Belgrieve’s disappointment was beyond words, the villagers were quite content to relish in the extravagant meal that would have gone to waste.

From that day on, Belgrieve could be found waiting around the entrance to the village whenever he wasn’t working. He was quite a sad sight to see, so much so that the villagers didn’t have the heart to reach out to him.

“Is she doing all right?” he murmured to himself. “Did she come down with something...? Surely she’s not dead—no way, no how...” As his imagination took a turn for the worse, he found himself hunkering down and covering his face. “Oh... Ange...”

In the midst of his sorrows, Belgrieve heard the clattering of a leisurely carriage. His face shot up, and he immediately caught the peddler’s gaze. He narrowed his eyes to see if Angeline was along for the ride but did not spot anyone who looked the part.

“I guess not,” he said after a beat.

Belgrieve’s shoulders slumped, and for a moment, it felt like the phantom pain in his right leg was welling up again.

Once the peddler had reached the entrance, he cheerfully called out to Belgrieve. “A good day to you, sir. Am I right in assuming that this is the village of Turnera?”

“Yes... That’s right.”

“Thank the heavens. Oh, yes, if you could be so kind, could you also tell me where I might find a Mr. Belgrieve? I came bearing a letter for him.”

Belgrieve lifted his face, surprised. “Belgrieve? That would be me.”

“Oh, what good luck.” The peddler climbed down, took an envelope from his sack, and handed it over. “This must be for you then.”

It was certainly addressed to Belgrieve, and he was delighted to see the sender’s name—this was a letter from Angeline.

As the peddler made off for the village square, Belgrieve immediately broke the seal on the letter. His eyes breezed through the winding, wriggly penmanship. It was a short message.

“Hmm... I see, a sudden request...” He was overcome with relief—she was neither sick nor dead. According to the letter, she had received a sudden request to fight a wyvern in the town of Garuda and lost her chance to come home. In the near future, she intended to book another vacation and return for sure next time.

Angeline always had so many things to write about that, when push came to shove, she didn’t know what to write at all. Ultimately, her letters often turned out short and simple.

“She’s doing well. What a relief...” Now that the load had been lifted off his shoulders, Belgrieve headed home with a lightened gait. Bit by bit, the summer sun grew stronger, until walking beneath it was enough to draw sweat. There were heaps of reaped grass forming mountains by the roadside, letting off a sweet, summery scent.

In front of his house, ten-odd children of varying ages were swinging around wooden swords. They cheered as he came near.

“Ah, it’s Uncle Bell.”

“Are we on for training today?”

“Yeah, I got a letter, and I’m all better now. Sorry for worrying you.”

Ever since Angeline had left, Belgrieve would teach swordsmanship, herbalism, and mountaineering to any child who asked. At that age, a few of them did long for lives of adventure, but most just wanted to learn simple swordplay, and how to navigate the mountains.

However, Belgrieve had been so absorbed in waiting for Ange, he had postponed their training these past few days. The children had been left to swing swords on their own.

Belgrieve got them into an orderly line, having them practice swings so he could correct any unneeded movement and guide them to move properly one step at a time. Even the boy who had just turned six was beginning to look the part of a swordsman. The children learned fast, and while they improved at varying rates, they were steadily absorbing his teachings. By the time they grew up, these boys and girls would be able to reap the blessings of the mountains, and they would not need to fear wild beasts or fiends any more than was prudent.

Belgrieve gave a satisfied nod. “You’ve gotten a lot better while I wasn’t looking.”

“Really?”

“Hey, Uncle Bell. When can we go to the mountain again?”

“Let’s see... I’ll have to talk to everyone’s parents, so it will be a while.”

Some complaints arose from the children. Their adventures in the mountains were full of wonderful and stimulating experiences.

Belgrieve offered a wry smile. “I get that you want to go, but the mountain is a dangerous place. Remember what I told you? You don’t go there for fun.”

The children fell into a somewhat peeved silence. They were all raring to play. However, there were times when fiends suddenly sprung up in the mountains, and they were far more dangerous than any of the local wildlife. It was far too dangerous to venture out without the proper resolve.

Looking over the quiet children, Belgrieve stroked his beard and laughed. “As long as you understand. I’ll try to arrange it as soon as I can.”

“Really?!”

“When?! Today?!”

“It won’t be today or tomorrow... But I’ll only take the kids who listen to me without getting distracted.”

The children were suddenly all on their best behavior.

○

Angeline hummed a tune to herself as she sorted through the souvenirs she had amassed.

“Will dad like this one? Oh, that one should go to Kerry...”

After slaying the wyvern and taking care of all of the other miscellaneous jobs the guild brought to her doorstep, she finally managed to book some time off. She intended to board a stagecoach that afternoon, which would take her to Turnera in around nine days if nothing went wrong.

Now, what would she do once she was back? First, she would have her dad carry her, and give her a thorough head patting. Instead of writing, she could tell him in person how she became an S-Rank adventurer, and he would tell her she did a good job. They would eat together, sleep in the same bed, and yes, this time when they dueled, she would land a hit on him for sure.

Her expression softened as her imagination ran wild. At first, she had swiftly stuffed her clothes, provisions, and souvenirs into her bag. Then, once another idea struck her, she would take the souvenirs out again, and replace them with new ones that, perhaps, the folks back home would prefer. For a while now, she had been repeatedly carrying out this process.

Of course, now that their leader was going on holiday, Miriam and Anessa inevitably had quite a bit of free time on their hands, and they watched this scene in amazement. How could this possibly be the same quiet and cold Angeline?

Miriam lightly shook off these ruminations. “How much does she love that father of hers?” she whispered into Anessa’s ear.

“Yeah... It’s a bit surprising...”

“Right? I didn’t know she had that side to her.”

It hadn’t even been a year since the two of them formed a party with Angeline. Angeline had flown solo up until that point, and that was one of the things that made her so fearsome. It usually took several people working together to climb through the ranks.

Miriam and Anessa had been in another party together but had split off due to a difference of opinion. Before they had decided on what to do next, the guild petitioned them to team up with their little prodigy. Apparently, the guild was of the opinion that giving Angeline a team would help her more reliably tackle the higher difficulty requests.

At first, the two of them saw Angeline as a lone wolf, while Angeline had never been a girl of many words. They had mishaps, misunderstandings, and their fair share of strained moments. However, while she didn’t speak much, it wasn’t as though Angeline was a misanthrope, nor was she a zealot. They were all around the same age, in any case; they eventually warmed up to one another and became a close-knit party. Fighting shoulder to shoulder fostered a firm trust in one another. That said, it was only recently that Angeline’s bizarre love of her father had come to light. This was a bit much for them to keep up with.

Angeline, on the other hand, seemed as if she didn’t care in the slightest. She flaunted this hidden side of herself freely and seemed unhinged.

“I’m going ho-ome. ♪ This afternoo-oon. ♪ Gonna go and see dad soo-oon. ♪”

Once she had finalized her souvenir selection, Angeline danced around the room before turning towards the other two as if she had only just remembered they were there.

“Hey, are you sure you don’t want to go with me?”

“I mean, one of the conditions for your holiday, Ange, was for us to help out other parties while you’re gone...”

“Right, right. I am a bit curious about what sort of man your father is, though.”

“Mmm... I wanted to introduce him to you. But not much we can do in that case. Good luck with work.”

The two sighed as Angeline sent them an innocent smile and a thumbs up. Apparently, this kid lost a few brain cells whenever her father was involved. That did, in a sense, make her a bit more approachable, but it came with quite a conflicted feeling.

Noon came and went. Angeline headed off for the station to find a stagecoach headed north, and Miriam and Anessa accompanied her. Tomorrow, they would be supporting another party, but they had the day off.

“It’s as crowded as ever, I see.”

“Cough, hack... And dusty as hell, to boot. Ange, do you see one yet?”

“Hmm... Too many people to tell.”

But as they dawdled, someone burst into the station in a panic. It was a guild receptionist. After nervously scanning the area, she caught sight of Angeline and made straight for her, parting the crowds to get there.

“Ah! There you are! Angeline, big trouble!”

“Huh...? What...?”

The receptionist was out of breath by the time she reached them. Stooping down to collect herself, she began to prattle. “There is an outbreak of Calamity-Class fiends in Asterinos! The town is under siege—the adventurers stationed there are holding the fiends at bay, but they won’t last. Please, won’t you go to their aid?”

Angeline furrowed her brow. “You’ve got to be kidding me... I’m already on holiday! In a couple of minutes, I’m taking a coach to Turnera to see my father...!” she huffed angrily.

The receptionist fell to her knees, practically praying now. “Please make an exception! Please! The other S-Ranks are all out, and we’ve already suffered casualties! I’m begging you!”

“Grrrr...”

As Angeline bit her lip, Anessa placed a hand on her shoulder. “I get where you’re coming from, Ange. But if we don’t go, the town will be wiped off the map.”

“She’s right, Ange. It’s a shame, but just this once... Okay?”

For a while, Angeline stood rigidly straight and silent, but eventually, she shoved her bag of gifts onto the receptionist.

“Hmm? Er, what’s this...?”

“Keep it safe... What are we dealing with?”

“I-It’s a colony of giga ants, and they have a queen with them, but...does this mean...?!”

“Ha... Aha-ha... You goddamn insects... I’ll slaughter every last one of you!” Angeline roared as ferociously as a wrathful deity.

○

All who stood in her way were fated to be mowed down. She did not stop for even a second to linger over those feeble humans. It was all for the prosperity of the colony that she marched her troops to seek a site to build a better nest. The human town before her could not even be considered an obstacle—that was the natural order of things.

So what is this?

The giga ant queen shuddered at the monster standing before her. Such intensity, such bloodlust, such terror-inspiring presence—these were all emotions the queen had never felt directed at her before.

There had been humans who challenged her in the past. They were all so weak and pathetic that even trying to defy her was presumptuous. To her, they were nothing more than nutrients serving themselves up on a silver platter.

However, the human before her, burying her brethren one after the next, was different from any that had preceded it. This was no human. It was the personification of fear itself, come to kill her. The pitch-black-haired deity of death effortlessly carved through the royal guard, handpicked from the finest elites. Its black eyes took in the queen, and she could see herself shrinking back in the reflection. Is this me? Is this truly how a queen should be? she wondered, trembling.

She could hear bursts of magic in the distance. The reaper’s companions were slaughtering her brethren outside.

One step, then another. The raven-haired death drew closer and closer.

Driven half mad with terror, the queen shook her massive body to spray the area with a powerful acid. However, it did not work on that thing. Like an intangible ghost, its masterful footwork carried it beyond every drop and every swipe of the queen’s legs.

“It’s you... It’s all your fault! Have some damn consideration for one second before you crawl out, why don’t you... A mere ant!” the avatar of death muttered.

By now, the queen had gone completely insane. She cried out as she desperately flailed her limbs, doing anything in her power to sweep away the fearsome creature standing before her.

And then, out of nowhere, she felt the sensation of something passing through her body. She had already been cut. Her vision left her. The queen died, not knowing what had happened, and never regaining her mind in the end.

“It’s because you got in the way... You only have yourself to blame,” the personification of death muttered, and left, having completely lost interest.

Just like that, a colony of giga ants—an adversary that would usually take several parties of A-Rank or higher working together to defeat—was tragically annihilated by one seething black-haired girl and her friends.