Translator: Shizukuku

Editor: Lilia

Read at Watashi Wa Sugoi Desu!

Chapter 094 – Is [ Good Luck ] Really Happiness?

“By the way, Sage-san, how did you know where we were?”

When I asked him, he gave me a look that said ‘The answer should be obvious’ before continuing to explain. 

“You drew this place on the magic circle earlier,” he said. “I’m familiar with Monto’s farm, so I recognized it right away.” 

“Is that so?” 

I see. I guess that makes sense. 

I nodded my head and Sage-san asked me, “First of all, can you tell me what happened to Crash? I could sense Crash’s unusual magic, and I panicked and rushed to bring Emily. Then I saw that Raymond guy standing right in front of me, Crash got tangled up in some strange plant thing and disappeared, and now I have no idea what’s going on.”

Sage-san sighed and rubbed at his forehead, and I desperately told him about what had happened. After all, it was a wild development. Vidello-san’s short-term assignment here, my first meeting with Raymond in his carriage, being abducted after bumping into Crash, and the fact that Crash was on the verge of going berserk, so I bound him and flew him here using a magic circle.

Sage-san seemed satisfied with that messy explanation.

I also understood why Sage-san had asked Crash about his memory at the beginning. If he didn’t remember, he wouldn’t have gone berserk.

“I see,” said Sage-san, as he narrowed his eyes and patted Crash on the head, “You did your best.” It was a fatherly gesture, and my face broke into a smile.

After sipping his tea and taking a breath, Sage-san began to speak.

“Fifteen years ago, the territory of Tre was controlled by the Duke of Greenbird. The daughter, Sara, had incredibly high magical power and was chosen to be a member of the team that would defeat the Demon King. Only Alford and Emily managed to return home after defeating the Demon King. It is said that Sara lost her life during the subjugation of the Demon King. Upon hearing the sad news of his daughter’s death, the disheartened Duke gave up his title and withdrew into seclusion. Subsequently, the Marquis de Raymond took over as the lord of Tre. At the same time, however, Emily had established an Adventurers’ Guild that was not subject to tax collection. Raymond, that greedy bastard, did not receive as much income as he had imagined he would, and because the Adventurers’ Guild had begun to handle purchases and sales of goods, the sales at the private stores that were paying taxes were also slowing down. So Raymond plotted to somehow unseat Emily.”

And that somehow led to Crash’s kidnapping?

“Of course, he had no direct hand in the kidnapping or the murder of Laius¹. But there is no doubt in my mind that he was the one who ordered it.”

“At that time, some big guy was saying all kinds of bad things about my mom right in front of me, and I remember hearing someone calling him Raymond. But then my dad collapsed in front of me, and I couldn’t think about anything else. And I couldn’t bring myself to tell my mom that afterward.”

“Ah, yes. Crash was like a shell of a man who never cried or laughed. Emily was so worried.”

“Mom was?” 

Sage-san stroked Crash’s head again as he looked down.

Monto-san, Vidello-san, and I listened to Sage-san’s words without interrupting him. I could feel myself raising my eyebrows and leaning forwards in anticipation as I listened to Sage-san’s story. It was like I was seeing it play out before me. 

“Emily couldn’t avenge him herself because she was told that if she used her power, she would be bound to the palace and separated from Crash. I told the king about Raymond’s deeds in a straightforward manner, but the king was a terrible bastard.”

“They call him the ‘Sage King’, you know?”

When Monto-san interrupted him with a dubious look, Sage-san chuckled.

“Yeah, I know. The ‘Sage King who would sacrifice the weak to help the strong’. For a king, I guess it’s the right attitude. Unless you are one of the ‘weak’ ones, that is. Emily is the best example of a ‘weak’ one that was sacrificed.”

Sage-san lowered his gaze and appeared to be thinking about Emily-san, who was now confronting her husband’s murderer. He stared at the small ripples floating in his tea with a somber expression that you wouldn’t see inside a dungeon.

“As a king, he didn’t want to give the Adventurers’ Guild, and by extension, Emily, too much of an official status. If he didn’t, he could call himself a hero. That’s why he settled the story by saying that the kidnapped Crash was safe and that Emily’s late husband’s death was a tragic accident. He tried to offset Raymond’s blame by having him resign from his position as lord. With Crash being used as a possible pawn, Emily couldn’t object to any of this. Emily is a brainiac, but she couldn’t think straight in a situation like that. I’m a little surprised at how competent the guys around her are, considering she is still the Guild Master.”

He regained his normal tone of voice, making the place feel more relaxed.

Sage-san took a sip of his tea and again wore a peaceful expression on his face.

“But you know what? Raymond has done it again and this time, it’s over. It was good timing, really. After all, Emily is getting to take her frustrations out on him in a big way as we speak. That’s why I left him alone until now. Even the king would not be so kind as to give him a second helping of warmth. It seems that the recent attack on Crash was also traced back to Raymond. The little fish that Emily was trying so hard to catch escaped to Raymond’s crew, and that’s when the trouble started.”

“Good timing?”

Crash and I tilted our heads together in confusion. Sage-san glanced at Vidello-san again.

“The gatekeeper was summoned here because of a problem. So because the gatekeeper came here, Mac also came here and encountered Raymond on the way. Raymond, who was greedily looking for a way back up because of what happened in the past, set his sights on Mac. Mac refused him, so Raymond forcefully abducted him. And coincidentally, this also occurred at the same time that Mac was with Crash, who had come to Sei on business. Crash chased after his friend and ended up meeting Raymond. Then Crash remembered Raymond and his magic power started to go out of control. We noticed that and rushed to the scene. Normally, it would be impossible for such coincidences to overlap. Really, [ Good Luck ] can be so powerful it’s scary.”

“Eh? Could it be that all of this happened because of Vidello-san’s [ Good Luck ]?”

When I thought about it, it really seemed like an impossible series of coincidences led us to where we were right now. 

It felt like everything was going to turn out okay, and we were going to get the best possible outcome.

When I turned to the side, Vidello-san was quiet, his gaze downcast.

“But Sage-san, even if things turned out for the best, the process along the way just doesn’t seem the best to me. This situation happened because of my carelessness, and Vidello-san did his best to prevent something like this from happening. But I let my guard down, and I got stuck in that carriage… I should have found a way to escape, but I ended up putting Crash in danger instead.”

If I hadn’t messed up like this, even Crash wouldn’t have almost gone off the rails.

“Sorry Crash… for worrying you and giving you a hard time.”

To me, this wasn’t [ Good Luck ] at all. It only exposed what a screw-up I’d been.　

I looked down and bit my lip, and Sage-san let out a stunned laugh.

“You know Mac, it’s almost a miracle that all of us are safe after being kidnapped by an aristocrat. You should also realize that it was thanks to Mac that everyone is safe and that Crash’s magic didn’t go out of control. This ending would not have been possible if not for Mac and [ Good Luck ]. Next time, I’ll teach you my special magic circle. If you can do it properly, then you have a talent for magic.”

“Ah… Thank you very much.” 

Sage’s comforting words made my nose tingle. He could have just blamed me. Crash and Vidello-san, too. 

I bit my lip tightly, and I heard a faint thud and vibrations from afar.

Sage-san chuckled.　

“Alright, Crash. Let’s go pick up Emily together.”

“Let’s go!”

Crash stood up after Sage-san, who had stood up, and, without hesitation, grabbed onto Sage-san’s left hand.

“Monto, thanks for the tea. It was delicious, as always. I’ll be back.”

“Oh, yes. You’re welcome anytime. You too, brother.”

Monto-san waved his hand, and the two disappeared. Sage’s magic circle was something else. His hand movements were so fast that you wouldn’t even know that he was drawing something. I wondered if I could ever become that skilled. But just by flying this distance, I lost about half of my MP, so Sage-san flying between towns was really incredible.

As I was thinking about this while watching them disappear, Vidello-san’s arm reached out to my shoulder.

I yelped as he pulled me in.

“Vidello-san?”

“Mac…”

Vidello-san’s lips kissed my hair.

His somewhat somber voice made me a little worried. That was a lie just now; actually, I was really worried.

“My [ Good Luck ] is what made Mac look like that…”

“That’s not true. I was just hating myself for screwing things up. If Vidello-san’s [ Good Luck ] had anything to do with it, then it’s probably why Crash will be safe from now on.”

Without being let go, I glanced at Monto-san.

Because I didn’t know what to do, or what to say.

Vidello-san… I didn’t know how he perceived his own [ Good Luck ], and I had only just learned about [ Good Luck ] from Monto-san to begin with. 

I would have asked for a helping hand, but Monto-san quietly got up from his seat and left with a knowing look on his face. It was a quiet and graceful movement that you couldn’t imagine from his usual movements.

In the room alone, Vidello-san hugged my shoulders and I stuck close to him in return. And then I spoke my wishes, my thoughts.

“I wish the [ Good Luck ] that Vidello-san has could be triggered just for him and he could always be happy and smiling.”

That’s what [ Good Luck ] should be all about, right? It’s not good luck to get others involved or to make a big deal out of it. That’s why Vidello-san’s expression sank when he found out about my good luck. It’s hard to think about it the same way people described it to me before. I mean, this wasn’t [ Good Luck ] at all.  If I could, I would give all the [ Luck ] I have to Vidello-san. Even my [ Luck ] value, which was not that high, can make me so happy, so maybe it would be enough to make him happy, too.

“I am just so incredibly lucky that Mac responded to my feelings, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Always. I’ve loved you ever since you came to that town and started talking to me, Mac.”

Vidello-san began to talk about when I first met him as the gatekeeper.