MTLNOVEL Chapter 31
Sasha’s Thoughts
Sasha was writing documents in the clan master’s room.
Although she had hired a clerk, it didn’t mean her work as the master disappeared.
As the clan master, she had to write reports and documents herself.
Now, she wasn’t alone.
“Hey, Sasha… It’s such a beautiful day. How about we have tea outside?”
“Piasora… Sorry, but I’m busy.”
“Oh, you’re so mean.”
Standing up from the sofa, Piasora moved behind Sasha,
hugging her back and toying with her hair.
When Piasora’s hand reached for Sasha’s chest, Sasha lightly swatted it away.
“Hey, quit messing around.”
“But you’re ignoring me. I even have the day off today!”
“…Fine, fine. Let’s take a little walk.”
“Yay!! Hmm… Mwah!”
“H-Hey!?”
Piasora kissed Sasha on the cheek.
Without delay, they left the room and headed outside.
There, they found Reynold standing at the door with a large package.
“Oh, perfect timing. Sasha, the donut shop guy gave me a mountain of his new creations. Let’s eat together.”
“Oh, that sounds great.”
“Piasora too—”
Before he could finish, a piercing murderous intent stopped him.
Behind Sasha, Piasora was glaring at Reynold with veins bulging on her face.
Apparently, she wasn’t happy about her time with Sasha being interrupted.
But Reynold was used to her glares; it was nothing new.
“Let’s eat outside. I’ll prepare some tea too.”
“Yeah.”
“Grrrr… Reynoldddd!”
The three headed to the courtyard outside the clan home.
It was a small resting spot built in the corner of the training grounds.
Today, there were no teams training, leaving the space entirely to Sasha and her companions.
They placed the donuts on plates, and Reynold brewed tea he’d received from Tycoon.
The tea had a nice aroma.
“Reynold’s tea… It’s been a while.”
“Has it? Well, tea’s Tycoon’s job, after all. Here, Piasora.”
“…Hmph.”
Piasora accepted the tea and began munching on a donut.
Reynold gazed at the training grounds as he spoke.
“The secondary team recruitment’s closed, right?”
“Yeah. Even the lowest-ranking team has climbed to D-rank. Tycoon suggested we should bring in new teams to nurture.”
Clans often leaned toward recruiting high-ranking teams.
Having strong teams increased the odds of completing tough missions and boosted the clan’s reputation.
However, Team Sacred tended to recruit lower-ranked teams and focus on nurturing them.
The lowest team, Roland’s Thousand, had quickly risen to D-rank.
“Nurturing them is such a pain, though…”
“Don’t say that. I find it interesting. Besides… it’s rewarding.”
“‘Rewarding?’”
“Yeah. Watching someone who lacked confidence grow and become sure of themselves feels great.”
Sasha sipped her tea and reached for a donut.
Reynold added,
“That’s true. My shield-bearers are becoming pretty capable. Watching their progress feels good.”
“Not that I care.”
“That’s because everyone’s scared of you.”
“What was that!?”
Piasora glared at Reynold, who teased her back.
The usual scene made Sasha laugh.
And then, she recalled something.
“…I wonder if Haise could have grown strong with us if we hadn’t banished him.”
“……”
Haise.
The mention of his name dampened Reynold’s and Piasora’s moods.
“Not sure about that.”
“What?”
“I don’t know what kind of abilities he awakened to, but… I think it was being forced to fight solo after the banishment that triggered it. Honestly, letting him go was the right call. If he’d stayed, we would’ve constantly overextended ourselves to protect him.”
“Agreed. Becoming an S-rank adventurer is impressive, but on his own, he’s bound to die someday. Maybe that’s what he wants, though.”
“……”
Sasha placed her teacup back on the saucer.
“……”
“Come to think of it, I’ve never really asked. Sasha, how did you and Haise meet?”
“Our families were neighbors. Both are single parents. Maybe because of our similar circumstances, we played together every day. Adventurers visited our village occasionally, and we admired them… Later, it was discovered that both Haise and I had ‘abilities,’ and we swore to become adventurers together. When we were twelve, our parents were killed by beasts… With no family left, we supported each other, moved to the capital, became adventurers, and trained under Geist. Eventually, we formed Team Sacred.”
“I think I was the first to join after that. Brings back memories.”
“Then it was me, followed by Tycoon and Robin, wasn’t it?”
They reminisced about the past.
Piasora added with a mischievous grin,
“Haise started falling behind in battle around that time, didn’t he?”
“…Yeah.”
The memories brought a pained smile to Sasha’s face.
She clearly hadn’t moved on.
Haise was still important to her.
“Hey, Sasha.”
“Hm?”
“I’m here for you. So don’t make that pained face.”
“Reynold… Thank you. You’re always so reliable.”
“Well, yeah. You can rely on me more.”
“Yeah… I will.”
“Hmmph!! Sasha, Sasha, me too! Me too!!”
“Yes, Piasora, you too.”
“Yay!! Oh, Sasha, let’s bathe together again tonight! Hehehe… We’ll scrub each other clean! Hehehe.”
“…Don’t look at me when you say that. I’m not jealous, okay?”
Reynold secretly was.
Just then, someone approached their resting spot.
“Excuse me. S-rank adventurer Sasha, there’s a summons from the royal family.”
A royal messenger stood there, holding out a letter.
Sasha accepted it.
“Understood. Thank you.”
“Then, I’ll take my leave.”
The messenger left, and Sasha opened the letter.
It was an urgent royal summons.
“Sasha… That’s…”
“Yeah. A royal summons… This isn’t normal.”
“Grrr, interrupting our tea party! Unforgivable!”
“…I’ll go.”
Sasha stood, tucked the letter into her pocket, and left the clan home.