Rising Life Volume 1, Chapter 19

Episode 19 Tracking

「Oh, no. Rober-danna.」

　The employee muttered in disbelief as he looked up toward the cliff where the Griffin had disappeared.

「Farufaru!」

「Funnelwing!」

　On the other hand, the members of the "Falcon Clan" are gathered around the heavily injured cat-haired swordsman.

「Guhh......I think I'm going to throw up.」

「It's all right for now. The bleeding stopped.

「Farufaru, are you okay?」

　Roses, the delinquent monk, nodded with gravely, while Francisca looked at the young man, the leader, with concern like a child who had lost a parent.

「Funnelwing, you might want to step back.」

　Serena said with a worried brow as she put the large sword that was lying on the ground back into its sheath on Funnelwing's back.

「Judging from the color of the blood, there was a good chance that your wound had reached your internal organs. If left untreated, it could be fatal.」

「Damn ......, damn ......!」

　Funnelwing swore as he punched the ground with his gloved hand.

「What the hell are you guys doing? Hurry up and go after Robert sir!」

　An employee of the company came and shouted.

　The members of the Falcon Clan looked at each other.

　Serena stood up and turned to the two men.

「I know. The three of us are going to track it down now, so you guys go back to the city with Funnelwing. When you get to the city, report to the guards or the Adventurer's Guild. A Griffin has been spotted. Ask them to send backup to the road in the West Woods as soon as possible.」

「U-Understood!」

「Hey, wait a minute, Serena.」

　The delinquent monk, Roses-Pitt, stands up.

　Francisca sat up beside him, looking uneasy.

「Hey, Serena? Are we going alone?」

「This is the result of a fight with this many people, including former senior adventurers. How are the three of us supposed to fight?」

「This is no time to complain. If we don't go, our client will surely die.」

　Serena said with a raised eyebrow.

　However she also knows the difference in strength, and her face shows a tragic determination.

　From the expression on Serena's face, Roses and Francisca seemed to have read that she was planning a suicide mission.

「Damn, you're insane. We're going to die!」

「Without Farufaru in the vanguard, who's going to attract the Griffin? Serena can't be the vanguard on her own.」

「It's not impossible!　...... not impossible」

　Serena shouted once, then muttered quietly to herself one more time as if to say to herself.

「This is bullshit! I'm not going! I'm not going even if I die!」

「Did the wind of cowardice blow you away?」

「Ahh!? Then go on your own. Have you ever thought about how I'd feel if you just followed from behind and recovered, you bastard!」

「...... Are you going to let me go alone?」

　Right, Serena's voice trembled strangely as she squeezed out the words.

　Roses-Pitt sniffed mockingly.

「What, you don't even have the courage to go alone?」

「If the Griffin flies away, I won't be able to do anything. I need Francisca at the very least.」

「Ahh? I'm not sending my precious friends to die! You're on your own!」

「You don't think I'm one of you?」

「That's right!」

　Roses pushed Serena's shoulder away.

「You always fight like you want! Think about the people who recover, you bitch! I don't know if you're a silver wolf or what, but you're making it hard for me to fight with you!」

「Wha............!」

「You know, you once told us that you were left behind by your tribe. Isn't that because you were useless? You can't do anything but wield a sword, and you're talking nonsense like a maniac! Isn't it true that your former comrades left you behind because they didn't think you were necessary?」

「That's not, true.」

「How can you be so sure? In addition, it's not like your skill with the sword is all that great. You often look at other swordsmen and say that this or that is not good enough, but isn't that because you have no confidence in yourself and you're having a shitty one-man critique like that?」

「――――!?」

　At Roses-Pitt's words, Serena's complexion flushed red.

　All the fur on her silvery tail stood upside down and hung lopsided after a beat.

　The next time she looked up, her face was in a shape that could have killed the delinquent monk with just a glance.

「 ......Take it back, Roses-Pitt. You just stepped in a place you shouldn't have.」

「What the hell, you want to fight!?」

「Take it back.」

「Y-you two, let's not fight.」

　Finally, the "Falcon Clan" started to split up.

　The two male employees who were looking at the situation in confusion looked at each other anxiously.

「Um, so about Robert sir...」

「You're going to help him, right?」

「...... We're withdrawing.」

　Funnelwing grunted as he held his bloody stomach.

「It's frustrating, but chasing after him now won't help Robert-san. We'll retreat and seek instructions from the guild.」

「N-No way!」

「What's going to happen to Robert-danna!? Don't screw with me!」

「If you want to save him, you two should go. We're retreating. We don't want to die in vain.」

「......! ...... Damn you, ......! What kind of adventurer are you, you coward!」

「What should I say to Esther-chan ......」

　Two men kneel on the ground.

　Funnelwing stood up on the Roses-Pitt shoulder.

「We're pulling out, everyone. All we have to do now is tell the guild exactly what happened here. Serena-san?」

「I can't accept that.」

　Serena said, her mouth tightly tied in a line.

「Then go alone, shit!」

「Serena-san, it's fine for you to stick to your principles like that, but please don't get us involved as well. Are you planning to take Francisca on a suicide mission with no chance of winning? Please don't be silly.」

「Hey, let's stop fighting, okay?」

「...... All right. I'll go alone.」

　Serena said with a few words.

「I am a proud Silver Wolf. I will never run away, and I will help my client. I will fight alone.」

「Hah! Have it your way, you idiot!」

　Roses sneered at her, but Funnelwing shook his head.

「We're a party now, and we're even jointly and severally liable for various penalties. If you want to kill yourself, you'll have to go to the guild and sign the papers to leave the party. ...... Please don't bother us any more than you already have」

「――――!　......!」

　If Serena went on a suicide mission by herself and the party abandoned her, there would be various restrictions, including a penalty for the death of a member.

　Funnelwing and the others would be in debt for a small amount of silver.

　My life is mine alone―but I can't bother the other members with my selfishness.

　If she went after him now, Robert would have been eaten.

　If she only wants to collect his belongings, it is definitely better to leave it to the party of senior adventurers who will be sent to kill it later.

　Serena clenched her fists.

(I.........What am I doing? What do I want to do? Get my friends in trouble.)

　What she had in mind was clear impatience.

　It's also the Silver Wolf tribe's unique spirit of "Never abandoning your friends" that has caused deep cracks in the party members.

　There had always been a difference in the way she thought with the Falcon Clan, but this time she didn't think she was making a very wise choice.

(Abandoning the client you are supposed to protect ....... I'm .......)

　Because I don't have enough power.

　Because I'm not powerful enough.

　Serena felt as if her soul was rotting away in blackness.

「 We're going back」

　Funnelwing said, turning on his heel with Roses.

　Francisca followed, the two men slumped on the ground and Serena was the last one left.

　That's when Serena suddenly realized that he was not there.

「Wait.」

「What, is there something more?」

　Serena continued to look around at Funnelwing, who looked back at her noisily.

「He's not here. That Azrairian ...... Kian.」

「Now that you mention it, he's not here.」

「Really, where did he go?」

「He must have run away already, that coward of a 'Garbage Scavenger'.」

　Serena narrowed her eyes.

「The axe that the client, the big man, was carrying is gone. ......」

「 He's taken advantage of this situation, huh? You really can't save him, that 'Garbage Scavenger'.」

　Funnelwing shrugs his shoulders, saying so in a dumbfounded tone.

「............」

　Serena looked back towards the cliff as she grabbed the two men's arms and pulled them up.

(He picked up an axe ....... So does that mean to say that he went to fight? All by himself? That's ridiculous.)

　In Serena's mind, she saw the face of a shabby man who was smiling without the pride of a warrior.

　The man who had declared by her to be "weak", all by himself?

(No way. ......)

　Serena shook her head and pushed the men back to leave the place.

　I hope he is the helpless man who stole in the crisis situation, ...... with a dark thought somewhere in her mind.

　　× × ×

『Bypass the cliff from the left. There seems to be a narrow passage over there.』

「I thought you were a clunker, but you're pretty useful, you know that?」

　Kian, whose path was blocked by the cliff, replied and quickly ran off to the left.

　He was grateful for the special ability of the glasses, as he had been considering the option of climbing the cliff.

(I didn't expect you to be able to not only locate the treasure but also grasp the simple topography of the neighborhood.)

『Kufufu, aren't I useful?」

「It's a useful tool. If only you didn't talk every now and then, it would be perfect.」

　On the right-hand side, he finds a loophole with a loose staircase of dark-colored rocks.

　This seemed to be the pathway.

　If he goes up from here, he can go over the cliff.

(There is a lot of gravel, and the rocks are sedimentary. The vegetation has diminished dramatically. If we fight here, we can use the terrain to my advantage.)

『Where would you choose for a battlefield?』

　Glasses asked him as he was flying up the rock with his hands on it.

(The main battlefield is where I caught up with the Griffin. I can't just pick and choose where to fight to save Robert.)

『What's your plan?』

　Kian looked up at the sky.

(Griffin's strength is that it can stay in the sky all the time. If it can stay in the sky, I had no choice but to attack with "Shoot". But "Shoot" is not as accurate as other basic techniques.)

　Until now, the only way to practice "Shoot" was to take a lot of energy pills and be prepared to sleep for a day. The Kian on the surface had been foolishly practicing it for more than ten years after he was banished, but in terms of frequency, he practiced it far less than the other basic techniques.

(If you're going to use "Shoot," aim for the right place at the right time. If possible, I want to hit its wings. The blade-like part is hard, so it's the wing membrane.)

　If he can bring it down from the sky, then he can slash each other on the ground.

　The absolute prerequisite for victory is to take the wings from the Griffin.

(Armed with two clubs, a wooden sword, a slingshot for throwing stones, and a small amount of gunpowder and spice bombs.)

　I wish I had some kind of flashbang, but I'm out of those now.

　A club can't do any real damage except to the head.

　The same goes for a wooden sword.

　A slingshot might be useful as a check.

(But...)

　Kian's eyes narrowed and he focused on his back.

　The axe that Robert had dropped.

　It was an ordinary axe with no magical effects, but it was very strong, easy to handle, and had been well taken care of.

　He wiped the blood and grease from the blade, and it looked like it could be used as a slashing weapon.

(With this, I can aim at its vital point.)

　The aim was inside.

　Carve it up and weaken it by making it bleed.

　If its movement slows down, he'll aim for its vital point covered with hard muscles - the nerves in its neck.

　It has few feathers, so the blade should be able to pass through as long as the basic technique of "Impulse" is given to the weapon.

『Kian.』

「Yeah」

　He slid down the slope and rolled around in the grass to catch himself.

　Now, he could clearly hear the roar of the lion and the reverberation of the hawk in the distance.

　In the meadow, he can see a windmill hut that has been abandoned.

　The hiding place of the ancient equipment that the glasses had highlighted in red earlier must be in this vicinity.

「......, ......!」

　He kneads his chi.

　With all the strength in his legs, Kian kicked the grassy ground and took a big leap forward.

　The basic technique, "Blink".

　With tremendous speed, he approached the windmill house with its broken roof.

『Be quick. If it has reached the nest, it will try to tear its prey apart with its claws so that it can easily eat it with its beak.』

　In the middle of the glasses' words, he heard a man's pitiful cry from the top of the windmill.

「Shit, don't come here! Stay away from me! Goddamn it! You fucking turd! Fuck! Get away from meeee!」

(He's alive. ......!)

　Kian's eyes widened and he put his hand on his axe.

　If he's alive, he's in combat with a Griffin.

　Calming his mind, he first checked his surroundings.

　At the top of the windmill house, the lion's roar and the eagle's reverberation exploded again.

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