The Retired [Armed Merchant]’s Laid-back Journey Across the Continent 12

Chapter 12: The Rip-off Artist Tells an Old Story.

A small village near Alanis.

That’s my hometown.

I remember it as being in the middle of nowhere, its main sources of income being lumber from the forest and fish from the lake.

I moved to Alanis when I was ten.

My mother, who had lost her husband—my father—early in an accident, was remarrying, and we moved to Alanis where her new husband lived.

My stepfather was a gentle merchant, a sharp and capable man.

He taught me, who had spent every day in labor until then, how to read, how to do math, and… how to use magic.

I still remember his overjoyed face as he gripped my shoulder tightly when I made a leaf float by waving my staff.

He reported to my mother that I had a talent for magic… and asked me, who had only just become his son, if I wanted to attend a magic academy.

I, who had been nothing until then, felt for the first time that I could become something, and I nodded.

It was a little sad to leave my new family, but if I became a magician, I could be of use to my father.

And that would surely make my mother happy too.

…With that in mind, I enrolled in the magic academy in the neighboring territory when I was thirteen.

“But maybe I shouldn’t have left.”

Al looked at me with worried eyes at my self-muttering words.

I gave her a wry smile and continued.

It’s in the past. I have regrets, but I’ve swallowed them.

“That winter, the Traon flu swept through the entire eastern region.”

It was just after I had turned fifteen.

Just as I was about to trade my gray robe for a black one and start thinking about graduation… that epidemic spread death throughout the entire eastern region.

The lung infection, said to have originated from a monster, spread from person to person in an instant, creating a mountain of dead in no time. It’s recorded that the population decreased by about twenty percent.

And the records of the victims included the names of my parents.

“Every city was on lockdown, and even the magic academy ordered self-study in our rooms. All the competent magic users who could have been instructors were dispatched to the various cities. And it was only after information from the cities started circulating via Mail Bird that… I learned my stepsister was all alone.”

An acquaintance of my stepfather sent me a letter, telling me that my stepsister—Mifa—was all alone in a shelter in Alanis.

At that time, my sister was only nine. Not an age to be left alone.

So, as soon as the lockdown was lifted, I quit the magic academy and returned to Alanis.

“I didn’t know when or where another lockdown might happen, so I dropped everything and went back.”

“Was your sister okay?”

“You’ve met her once, right? As you can see, she’s perfectly fine now.”

My sister had returned to Alanis once after graduating from the preparatory academy, and she had met Al then.

Well, she’d become a bit citified and her personality had gotten a little sharp, but as long as she’s living healthily, that’s all that matters.

“So, after taking Mifa in, I first became an adventurer. There aren’t many jobs a fifteen-year-old can get, and Alanis had plenty of work suited for adventurers.”

My stepfather’s fortune had been completely plundered in the chaos, and nothing was left.

To me, who desperately needed money for Mifa’s upbringing, becoming an adventurer seemed like the best solution.

An adventurer with knowledge of magic is treated rather well.

Magic is very useful in the dungeon, and it’s also good for kicking monsters around.

In addition, I was quite greedy and quite talented at the magic academy.

“I’d dabbled in all sorts of things at the academy… I could brew potions, and I was used to handling magical artifacts. My range of spells was a bit lopsided, but I knew more than the average magician.”

“You were talented even back then.”

“I was desperate. Call it the fruit of my labor.”

“So, what did you do after becoming an adventurer?”

“Well, I did that for a while, but…”

The adventuring business was dangerous, the income was unstable, and there was a lot of trouble.

Especially when it came to payment, there were many disputes, and my youth made me an easy target.

Sometimes, it even came to life-or-death struggles.

“So, I got tired of being in a party and started working alone. That way, all the profits were mine.”

“But isn’t it dangerous to be alone?”

“Yeah, it is. And so… I collapsed in the dungeon. The cause was my own lack of preparation, my naivety, and bad luck.”

I flicked my fingers lightly as I recalled that time.

That was a really close call.

But if it hadn’t been for that, I wouldn’t be who I am today.

“And then, just when I thought it was the end… my master saved me. A fat old man with a strange name, Cornet.”

“Your master’s master has appeared, but you’re being so casual about it!”

“You say that, but it’s the truth, so what can I do? But that man taught me a lot about adventuring and business. Caution, appraisal, signs between merchants, how to deal with people… he was truly my master.”

At first glance, he looked like just an old man, but he was well-adapted to the dungeon.

He had the definite skill to turn the moss growing nearby into a wound salve, or to appraise the spoils of battle on the spot. And to my surprise, he could even handle fights with monsters with ease.

Despite his round belly, he was incredibly agile… and a tough warrior.

“I would have liked to meet him.”

“He was a mysterious person in many ways. He drilled the ins and outs of being an armed merchant into me for a year, and then he just disappeared somewhere.”

—”You’ve done well to persevere until today. There is nothing more I can teach you.”

My master, his bearded face crinkled into a smile, was gone from Alanis the next day.

Perhaps the reason I wanted to disappear so cleanly when I retired was because of my master’s influence.

Maybe I wanted to imitate my master, who was so carefree and left like the wind.

I can’t explain it well myself.

“And so, I continued to be an armed merchant after that. Until about a week ago.”

“Why did you take me in?”

“I wonder why. Maybe it was fate, or something. You were only interested in my wallet at first, weren’t you?”

At my words, Al’s eyes darted around.

When we first met, she had a terrible mouth and was quite a handful.

I struggled to teach her polite language, and she ended up with the strange way of speaking she has now.

“You looked like an easy mark… I was really hungry, and my judgment was clouded.”

“You took off running so fast that I caught you just as fast and ended up hurting you, didn’t I? That’s why I started to worry about you.”

“It was my own fault. Honestly, I thought you were going to kill me.”

Al chuckled wryly.

As a memory, it’s a bit grim.

“Well, a lot of things happened… and now here we are. It was a long story, wasn’t it?”

“I’m happy to have learned about you, Rody-san. I want you to tell me more.”

“Like what?”

“Like… what you really think of me…?”

Al tilted her head and gave me a devilish smile.

She’s really grown up, hasn’t she?