Ex-Hero, Now Freeloader – Chapter 57
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Translator: Kobracon
Editor: jturtle136
57 – Eleanor’s Desire
After dinner, Eleanor came rushing in, possibly fresh from a mission.「Sir Rain! Is it true that you ran into Florence?!」
I asked Ferris to tell Eleanor I wanted to talk to her about that if she happens to see her. I guess she came running as soon as she heard. I asked the kids and the white fox to go ahead to the baths first; and then I left Ferris to lead them. Mika isn’t back yet, so it’s just Eleanor and me in the room.「Just done with a mission? Good work.」
「Thank you! Wait, no! We’re talking about that woman right now!」
「I met her. Florence. She even showed me around my home.」
Eleanor groans in annoyance.「Gr… I thought things would be fine for a little while longer but… I see. She would be on the streets catering to festival matters, so it was possible to just run into her…」
「Are you two on bad terms?」
「No, nothing like that… We meet on occasion, boast about Sir Rain’s splendor… We also share information too.」
「Really? Then why don’t you want her to meet me?」
Eleanor was silent in thought for a moment, but then opened her mouth before long.「She…clearly aims to make Sir Rain her main squeeze.」
I think about the meaning of those words.「Main squeeze… You mean, like a…lover or something?」
At my words, Eleanor nodded shyly.「Y-yes. That’s it… Personally, I hope you can find a partner naturally only after you have become accustomed to normalcy. I wish to help you attain such a future…but she is different. She is gunning for you at present.」
「Gunning…」
「She’s like a huntress.」
「Huntress…」
「She has the position, wealth, and drive to make that happen.」
「Is…that so?」
「It is! If I have a mission, I have no choice but to leave your side. However, even if Florence had a meeting pertaining to her job to attend to, she can reschedule it to prioritize you. For better or for worse, she can do it.」
「I see, I get it now.」
Now that I think about it, Florence and Celine had a similar conversation. Unlike the other six, Florence is the only one who is flexible because she is at the very top of her organization. The other six ultimately prioritize their work – albeit abusing their authority on occasion. While they are busy, they somehow save up time to spend with me, but they can’t do it on a whim like Florence can.
「But, well, everyone feels indebted to me and wishes to meet me again, right? So…not letting her see me just because of a difference in opinion is a little…」
Guilt spread across Eleanor’s face.「Yes… It is as you say, Sir Rain. I have no right to limit who can meet Sir Rain. And of course, even Florence should have the opportunity to meet with Sir Rain again… I was mistaken.」
「Uh, hey, I’m not blaming you or anything, Eleanor.」
She smiled weakly in response. 「I understand.」
「I just… You know, I only just reunited with you guys and there’s so much I don’t know. Just today, I heard in town that you have the nickname “The Silver Teleporter”.」
Eleanor’s lips were bent out of shape out of shyness. 「Y-you heard…? Yes, well, there are those who call me that.」
「I believe there are many, many more things just like that that I do not know. But still, I don’t think the Eleanor I’ve come to know since our reunion is the kind of person who keeps her friends out of the loop.」
「Sir Rain…」
「Yeah, so I wondered if there was a reason you didn’t want me to meet Florence, apart from the one given just now.」
Eleanor opened her eyes wide and then dropped her shoulders in resignation.「I am no match for you, Sir Rain. It is as you say.」
Eleanor looked at me.「We, who are called by many as The Seven Prodigies or The Seven Maidens, worked hard in order to repay our debt to Sir Rain. All to one day rescue you from the hands of Humanity.」
「Yeah.」
「However, before we realized it, this country itself became important to us. Louto is involved with nurturing future generations, and she cherishes the academy and its students. Vivi senses dangers to the country in advance via her intelligence network and runs around day after day to take countermeasures. Lejie does not like fighting, but she has an overwhelming talent for wide-area offensive magic. She may have chosen a job that has no relation to battling; but she chose to be the royal escort, which is an important job in this country. Monana creates various Magic Tools as a Magic Tool engineer, and they all aid the nation. Madge actively hunts evil demons, throwing herself into battle to bring about a peaceful tomorrow. And then there is I, who fulfills her mission as a Space elemental user, as one of the Demon King Army’s Big Four.」
「…Yeah.」
「We all think of you dearly, Sir Rain, but we cannot abandon our work.」
「I mean, that goes without saying, right?」(Although, that might sound odd coming from someone who abandoned his mission as a Savior and became a freeloader at the Demon King Army.)
「Is that so? Florence will manage to adjust, if not outright abandon her duty, and make Sir Rain her top priority!」
「That’s only possible because Florence is the head of her organization…」I said.
「I am most certainly jealous of her!」
Eleanor’s expression was so pained and serious that I couldn’t say anything.「The only thing I excel at over her is my ability to use Space elemental magic. She has the power to eradicate those who disturbed the public security of the town. The allowance that I give Sir Rain is but a pittance in comparison to her wealth. In addition, she is beautiful and can act with you as her priority. …I am no match for her.」Eleanor is uncharacteristically sad.
「…This is about winning or losing?」I say without thinking.
「What?」cried out Eleanor.
「I met Florence and she showed me the house she prepared for me. Did you think my attitude towards you would change?」
In response, she shook her head in panic.「N-no, most certainly not…! It is just a sense of inferiority on my part…」
「Cos Florence is pretty, rich, and can do whatever she wants?」
「Yes…」
「But, you’re the one who brought me here, right?」
「…!」Eleanor looked at me in surprise.
「You guys were thankful for what I did five years ago even till now. To be completely honest, I had forgotten about the whole thing until I met you again. …No, that’s not right. I remember it happened, but I never thought twice about it.」
「Well, that is because various missions were imposed upon you as a Savior…」
「Nah, it’s not that. It was just another mission to me. But not to everyone else. It was a life-changing event for you guys. Of course, it was. One minute, you thought you were gonna die, but you lived instead.」
「Yes…」
「So, I started thinking. Would the same be true if the reverse happened.」
「The…reverse?」Eleanor looked at me curiously. What is natural to you may not be so to the other person. Perhaps it’s better to be honest in conveying one’s feelings than to be at odds.
「Yeah. So, I’ll tell you. To you, everything you said to me that day after we reunited was obvious and natural things. But to me, they were unexpected and they made me happy.」
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