Volume 3, Intermission: Villainous Thoughts (2/2)

Name: Ryutanu Organdia

Race: Human

Level: 78

Job: Expert Adventurer; Subleader

Possessed Skills: Strong Arm; Axe Mastery B+; Bat Eyes; Kleptomaniac; Hundred-Demon Slayer

Divine Protection: None

Attributes: None

“So you’re Ryutanu? I heard you’ve been a bad boy lately.”

Ahh… I know this is a dream, but… it’s so nostalgic.

Elder brother, Touri.

“Hah? Who the hell are you?”

That must be me when I was just a little hoodlum. What a horrible face. My eyes are rotten… Well, I did spend everyday without any hope, so I was basically just rotting away.

Right. That time I was beaten black and blue… And I realized I could never win against him.

“…Are you ok?”

Ahh, what a sorry sight. This was also when I met elder sister (Pale). She called Touri elder brother and followed him from behind like a baby chick.

At that time, I… Right. It’s embarrassing, but at that time, I thought she was a princess.

Ridiculous, really. I’ve never even seen one.

“You’re a big guy.”

After being beaten black and blue by elder brother, she looked at me with an odd look as I laid sprawled over the ground.

I remember her face even now. Her golden hair fluttered in the wind as she looked at me curiously with those dazzling jewels she had for eyes and walked around me.

She was brimming with curiosity, but she also seemed a little scared of me.

Now that I think about it, that might be when my heart was stolen by the princess.

I lived a sheetty life through and through, but that meeting is the one thing I take pride in. We may have lost everything, but the one saving grace was that she didn’t get caught up in this sheetty war.

“As promised you’ll be joining us. Ryutanu… Oi, Pale! You’ll be looking after him!”

“Ehh!? I will!?”

“From now on you’ll be in charge of the new recruits.”

“You never said that!”

“Well, I thought of it just now!”

Elder brother laughed and elder sister made a troubled face as she rested my head atop her knees. A lap pillow, in other words.

I was red to the ears.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

A stupid question. Looking for a place that didn’t hurt would be easier than the opposite.

“Nah…”

Until then, the only women I’ve known were prostitutes. It was my first time seeing such a beautiful princess.

I don’t know how to put it, but boys have their pride.

“Allow me to introduce myself. I am Pale Symphoria. I started following leader 6 days ago.”

“…Ryutanu.”

Elder sister smiled at me just like a blooming flower. Who would’ve thought someone like me who has never studied poetry would think such flowery thoughts.

A few days later… I can’t remember where we were then, but the skies were clear that day.

“Ryutanu, you don’t have a last name?”

“For a ruffian like me, just having a name is plenty.”

“Really?”

By entering the Elks Clan I found a place I could belong. I was no longer in that rotten alley, but a bright place that the sun could reach.

“Then let’s give you one.”

“It’s fine, it’s not like it bothers me.”

“That’s not true. We elves put a lot of importance in our ancestors.”

Elder sister sat beside me and gently patted my good-for-nothing head.

“Ryutanu, one day you’ll find a wife and have children, and then those children will also get married and have children of their own… And what connects all of you is your last name. So a last name is very important!”

I didn’t have any parents or siblings, so to me, the only thing I could call family was the clan itself.

“Hmm… How about ‘a gentle person’ (Organdia)?”

“Erm, how about something cooler?” I said with much embarrassment.

Elder sister shook her head and laughed. “I know your secret, you know. You secretly use your salary to buy sweets for the young new recruits.”

“T-That’s…”

I panicked. I never thought I was being watched.

When our clan welcomed the juvenile vagrants officially, I saw myself in them, the old me who had nothing to eat and desperately endured the hunger, so I wanted to help them.

“That’s why Organdia. Because at the very least that’s how I see you.”

I fell in love with the princess. That might seem like such a weak thought for such a big man, but what can I do, I fell for her.

Unfortunately, she only ever had eyes for elder brother.

I wasn’t blind. I could tell. So I stopped thinking about it.

The princess and I were too different, anyway. I had to start calling her that too, because otherwise, I really wouldn’t have been able to keep my feelings in check.

Elder sister was really special.

You could call her a tactician. As long as we followed her, every battle could only end in victory.

That was the Soar to Freedom (Elks Clan) that we built up for the last 10 years.

Elder brother came to be known as the “Herald’s Wings” and elder sister came to be known as the “Silent Moon”. I also received an embarrassing second name: Strong Arm; but in truth, it was the two of them who supported the clan.

What she gave me was a warmth no one else could replace.

That’s why when she went back to the forest, although I felt sad, somewhere someway, I heaved a breath of relief. After all, I knew just how ugly a war between humans could get.

I wasn’t so foolish as to believe that our happy streak would continue forever. That’s why I happily saw her off.

Elder sister, please be happy.

I’m sure… everyone thinks the same.

I’ll do something about the remaining members. Maybe we’ll become bandits or something… I’m sure I can at least protect a bunch of brats.

So… I don’t mind even if it’s just in dreams, but just a little, let me hear your voice…

◆◇◆

“Tch…”

“Elder brother!”

“Shut it.”

I woke up my creaking body. When I saw the blood-dyed bandage wrapped around me, it finally hit me that an arrow had penetrated me.

“How long was I out? What’s the situation, Sophia?”

“Ah, you were out for a day. Dagger of Webrus hasn’t attacked at all since. Kirina is currently scouting.”

“I see… When is she coming back?”

“In 2 hours.”

“Good. Get ready. Since they’ve found our location, they’ll definitely come again. We should leave before then.”

“But your wounds…”

“Hey, hey, something like this is just a scratch. What do you think Master Ryutanu the Strong Arm is made out of, huh?”

It was cramping, but I somehow managed to squeeze out a smile.

Suddenly, something hit the door and everyone tensed. Glancing at Sophia, I signaled for her to see who it was.

She opened the door slightly, and…

“Kirina!”

“Ku… Sorry! They got me!”

Immediately after, Kirina jumped into the room. On her back were 2 arrows stuck to her body.

Seeing her grasping for her life, the flames of wrath burned within.

“They’ll pay for this…”

Very soon blood flowed from her back.

“We’re fighting back. Buy us some time!”

At my command, Sophia and the others started shooting arrows through the windows.

“Elder brother… I’m sorry. El, der.”

She probably couldn’t see anymore, but she reached out, and I grasped her hands.

“Don’t worry. A little blunder like this won’t faze this elder brother of yours. I am Master Ryutanu the Strong Arm. Everything will be just fine.”

Her breath gradually grew fainter. Damn it. Damn it all. She’s not even of age yet.

“El, de…er, I… El, er…”

Just like that another life passed in my arms.

Tightly grasping her cold small hands, I burned its warmth into my heart, then I put on my leather armor and took out my axe.

Bastards, all of you! You’ll pay for this! You will!