Chapter 75

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As cherry blossoms danced in the wind, Misaki opened the old diary and read the words of the promise written there.

Leire, who had only brought Zangiri to the counter and left him there, leaned on the counter with her cheek in her hand, and watched the middle-aged hunter standing in front of Zangiri with a sly smile.

Zangiri, feeling uncomfortable and somewhat embarrassed, bowed his head to the middle-aged hunter, Solion Uriarte, who is Shiral's uncle.

"---I only came here because of Eistia's request and got involved with that female knight."

Zangiri said this with a frown.

It wasn't that he was unhappy about being brought here without being told anything by Leire or that Banis was looking at him with a smug expression. No, it was more that he was bothered by being called 'light' by Banis. It wasn't that he was bothered by being told that his sword was light. Zangiri was an ordinary person, and living without submitting to the Snow Whites was the heaviest burden for him. To be told that his strength was light or heavy by someone with a different position and ideology was like asking a mole to understand the resolve of a bird flying in the sky or a fish swimming in the sea.

But what was he really bothered by?

Zangiri couldn't figure it out, and he was feeling frustrated and irritable.

Solion frowned at Zangiri's words and let out a groan.

Previously, and even in everyday life, Solion had called Eistia a traitor. He didn't know how to react when told that everything was due to Eistia.

Leire, watching Solion from behind the counter, smiled even more slyly.

"I also thanked that female knight. But, she is..."

"You don't know my situation. I was here and took that request, and it's true that Eistia's request influenced me to some extent."

Zangiri once opposed Shiral, but he listened to her request due to Banis' coercive cooperation request, Eistia's request to become a hunter in Baruk, and a slight sympathy for the kidnapped girl. Shiral's bowing only had a minimal effect of bringing Zangiri's feelings closer to the state before he was attacked by Shiral.

Even if he was thanked for something he didn't want to do, Zangiri didn't know how to react.

"...I understand. Please thank Eistia for me."

Solion, who seemed to be deep in thought, finally lowered his head with a guilty expression and hurriedly left the bar.

What a hassle. What's going on?

Leire, who was looking at Zangiri with such eyes, laughed while leaning on her cheek.

"Ask Eistia yourself. But, it's been a while since I've seen Solion make such a face."

Leire's teasing smile turned into a nostalgic one.

Zangiri gave up on getting the story from Leire, who didn't seem to want to talk, and roughly threw a handful of nuts, which were a bar snack, into his mouth.

"Banis caused you trouble."

As Zangiri was eating the nuts without drinking any alcohol, Akikawa, who was at the same table as Banis, came to the counter where Zangiri was.

Banis seemed to be having a drinking contest with a burly man who looked like a hunter at the table where Akikawa had been sitting.

"If you think so, stop her."

"I can't, sorry."

Akikawa answered immediately.

Zangiri was taken aback by the speed of the answer.

"…Have you been like this for a while?"

"Uh, well, maybe once or twice every two days."

"…Almost every day, huh. I feel for you."

Akikawa, who didn't stop Banis' aggressive behavior.

Or rather, it might have been that he couldn't stop her.

In this case, since it involved a human life, Akikawa probably had no choice, but if this was the daily routine, there would be no day of peace, right?

Thinking this, Zangiri noticed that Akikawa's head seemed thinner than before he was summoned.

"…You seem to be having a tough time."

Akikawa laughed weakly with a distant look in his eyes.

Zangiri, feeling sorry for Akikawa, who was being tossed around by a woman over fifty and under thirty, poured cheap alcohol into a wooden cup, cooled it, and placed it in front of Akikawa.

Akikawa, saying "Ah, sorry," took it and took a sip.

"…This kidnapping was not the work of the submissionists, but the work of the independents pretending to be submissionists."

If the Uriarte family refused to negotiate, they could incite hostility towards the submissionists by killing the daughter. If they accepted the demands, the independents could save the daughter in front of the Uriarte family and raise their name. If the ransom was paid, it would become the basis for future activities.

But the fact that they didn't consider the failure suggests that it wasn't a well-organized group.

"That's right. It's completely counterproductive."

"Well, it doesn't matter to me."

"…Huh."

Akikawa glanced at Banis and sighed.

"You're having a tough time too."

"Uh, no, it's not that bad. Just a little tiring, that's all."

Zangiri, feeling sorry for Akikawa, poured more alcohol for him.

On the 15th of the White Moon, Zangiri sent Yuki and Azurona back to Dragon Mountain first and stayed with Eistia.

He might have wanted to resolve his lingering frustration.

Before reporting to Baruk, Zangiri hugged Eistia as if to vent his frustration.

"You're quite rough today."

Eistia, still under the blanket on the bed, said in a slightly reproachful tone.

Zangiri, sitting on the bed, answered with his back to Eistia.

"Yeah, sorry. A lot has happened. And, as promised, I went to North Baruk. Baltis, Donorbo, and another place whose name I forgot."

"Thank you."

Eistia's tone suggested she already knew.

"Did you know?"

"Hehe, just because I'm a prostitute doesn't mean I'm bound by debt. I have my ways."

"I see."

"Hey, aren't you going to ask? I think you were told something in Baltis."

"If you want to talk, I'll listen."

Eistia, hearing Zangiri's response, laughed happily.

"You're so kind. It's not a rare story, just a common one."

Eistia started to talk as if it was nothing.

A bedtime story between a prostitute and a customer. It was exactly like that.

Eistia was chased out of her village by thieves when she was young, lost her parents, and sought refuge with relatives in Baltis.

The family she sought refuge with was not particularly wealthy, but rather barely getting by. However, looking back, the people of Baltis, including her relatives, were very supportive.

But Eistia felt uncomfortable with this. She felt guilty for being taken in by her relatives when life was not easy for them.

She might have been eager to stop being a burden as soon as possible.

One day, she fell in love with a man from Maranova who visited Baltis, and without saying anything, she left Baltis