Chapter 40 : I’ll Grow Stronger and Return

“Ashuban. Where are you, and what are you doing?”

At those words, my heart sank like a stone.

I glared at the captain with wide, unblinking eyes.

He met my gaze in silence before asking,

“You’re not coming back?”

I bit down hard on my tongue. No pain.

“…I’ll come back.”

“When?”

My vision blurred. When I blinked, the Sherwood mercenaries were suddenly gathered around the captain.

Some sat by his side, some stood behind him with hands on his shoulders, some leaned against him, some crossed their arms, some propped their chins on their hands, some hugged their knees, and some slung arms around one another.

Crowding close, each one smiled at me.

“Ashuban. When will you return?”

Damn… it had been so long. And damn it all, seeing their faces again—dream or not—filled me with warmth.

I couldn’t help but grin.

“You bastards remember? That day I got beat up by that noble brat? You all mocked me half to death, didn’t you? Remember that, you sons of bitches?”

They snickered quietly. They remembered.

“You’d better remember. Because I do.”

I met each face with my eyes, then suddenly roared,

“You filthy bastards! I’ll come back strong as hell! So get ready to get your asses kicked! Wipe your asses clean, because I’ll boot them nonstop! Got that? Ashuban, stronger than ever, is coming!”

“Wahahaha!”

Their laughter exploded around the fire.

“Hahahaha!”

I laughed with them.

Around the campfire, we laughed until our stomachs hurt.

When the laughter died down, the captain smirked at me.

“Crazy bastard. You think you can beat me?”

I grinned back.

“You know what my wish is? To knock you flat. I live for the day I kick your ass.”

His smile deepened.

“That, I’d like to see.”

“You’d better.”

The captain spoke for them all.

“Come back soon.”

I nodded.

“Yeah. I’ll hurry.”

Then my eyes met the red-haired mage sitting beside him, watching me with warmth.

She spoke softly.

“I’ll wait for you.”

The moment I nodded, the campfire exploded.

Flash.

My eyes snapped open.

Crackle, crackle.

A shabby little fire danced before me.

Whoever built it had done a poor job.

I sat for a while, watching its clumsy flickering… then, by habit, checked my body’s condition.

The first word that came to mind—

Cold.

Chills gnawed at me from every wound, the lingering sting of where ice arrows had grazed me.

But at my back… there was warmth.

“…?”

The heat wrapped my waist like a band.

I tilted my head down.

Thin arms, clasped tight, were wrapped around my stomach.

“……”

I gently pried them loose and sat up carefully.

“Kh…!”

Not a single part of me was whole.

It felt as though my body had been scorched raw.

But I forced myself upright.

The Heavenly Demon’s voice greeted me.

[Awake at last.]

“Yeah, Master.”

[Tsk, tsk… barely survived, fool.]

“….”

Getting scolded the moment I rose—it was almost comforting.

I half sat up, glanced behind me.

Shushruta was curled up, purring softly in sleep.

“…What the hell?”

She had been hugging me from behind in her sleep.

I surveyed the scene.

A poorly built fire flickering weakly in front of me.

The little thief asleep behind me, clutching me tight.

And still, the bone-deep chill gnawing at me.

She must have been trying to keep me warm.

No wonder it had been snowing in my dream.

I quickly checked my belongings.

The Dagger of Ophosis was still on me.

“…Didn’t take it?”

I drew it out, studied the patterns etched on the blade. Exactly as I remembered.

The Heavenly Demon spoke with disdain.

[It’s not fake. Stop gawking.]

“Ah… right.”

[There wasn’t even time. That little one ran herself ragged saving your life. And instead of thanks, the first thing you do is doubt her? Tsk, tsk… pitiful.]

“….”

Before, I’d fallen asleep sitting up, so perhaps she hadn’t dared touch me.

But this time, I’d collapsed cold and unconscious.

And she hadn’t taken the dagger. She had saved me instead.

Her body bore witness: bandages were wrapped all over her.

I stared at the little thief’s sleeping face.

The Heavenly Demon chided me.

[Don’t just stare. Do something about the cold first.]

“…Yes, Master.”

Cross-legged, I stirred my inner energy.

I guided it through my meridians, probing every channel.

Frost clung everywhere—seeping in from the wounds the ice arrows had left.

So that’s it.

A terrifying spell.

Just a graze, and it had driven freezing cold deep into me.

If one had struck fully, my entire arm might have frozen solid.

I gathered the icy remnants into one place, then expelled them.

“Fuuuuh…”

Frosty breath spilled from my lips.

Warmth seeped back in, dulling the chill.

Growl.

I tore a strip of jerky, half-warmed it over the fire, and chewed slowly.

As I ate, my thoughts turned to the battle.

That mad mage… it had been the most dangerous fight yet.

I had planned, I had schemed, but still he had driven me to the brink like a demon.

In the end, I chose to flee—yet in that moment, my vision went crimson and strength surged.

What had that been…?

“Master.”

[Yes.]

The Heavenly Demon answered as if waiting.

“Was that you?”

[I did nothing. I merely watched with interest.]

“…I see.”

Irritation prickled.

While I’d been fighting for my life, he’d been chewing imaginary jerky in amusement, no doubt.

“Then what happened? What was that?”

[In short: several meridians connecting to your Upper Dantian burst open. Like a dam breaking.]

“Upper Dantian?”

[The one in your head. Normally, even with a lifetime of training, few ever open it. This is the first time I’ve seen it happen so abruptly.]

My eyes lit up.

“So that’s good, right?”

[Not entirely.]

“Why?”

[Power without control—what good is it? No matter how vast, if you can’t master it, it’s nothing but disaster. To be ruled by your own strength… that is the most pathetic fate of all.]

“…Fair enough.”

[It was amusing to see in that crisis, but from now on—suppress it. You nearly fell into deviation. The energy raged too wildly, battering your body inside and out.]

My whole body throbbed. That must have been the aftereffect.

I’d thought it was from the arrows, but no—it was the backlash.

Not that it mattered. It wasn’t as if I could summon that power at will anyway. It had switched on and off by itself during the fight with the mage.

“Got it, Master.”

I nodded obediently and checked my dantian.

Only the faintest trace of inner energy remained, like ashes after a forest fire.

I remembered how it had burned madly, blazing through my body as if it had ignited itself.

An enemy could strike at any moment. I needed to recover.

That was when I suddenly recalled the ginseng Shushruta had gathered.

I poked her cheek.

“Hey. Hey, alley cat. Wake up.”

“Mmm…”

She squirmed and cracked her eyes open.

“…Ashuban.”

“Yeah, it’s me. Get up.”

But instead of rising, she curled tighter and muttered,

“Cold…”

I clicked my tongue and fussed with the fire.

“You idiot. Of course you’re cold. You built it all haphazard so the heat leaks out.”

I stacked thicker branches close together to trap the heat, then fetched more wood to feed the flames.

Crackle, crackle.

The fire grew taller and steadier.

As the warmth spread, Shushruta wriggled like a caterpillar toward it.

“Better?”

“…Warm.”

I watched her melt bonelessly by the fire, and a thought struck me.

So even while freezing, she put me closer to the flames and hugged me from behind.

We sat in silence for a while, watching the fire crackle.

At last, her drowsiness lifted enough for her to glance at me.

“Ashuban. Are you alright?”

“I’m fine.”

“Give me your hand.”

I offered it.

She cupped it between her palms, feeling carefully, then nodded.

“Mm. Ice cold before. Better now.”

With a smug little smile, she added,

“My first aid must have worked.”

“…”

In truth, I’d purged the cold myself by circulating my energy. But I nodded anyway.

“Yeah. All thanks to you.”

She gave a self-satisfied little hum.

I glanced at her, then back at the fire.

“…So what happened? Why are we camping here instead of resting in the village?”

She smacked her lips before replying.

“We had no choice. Others showed up.”

“Others? Who?”

“Who else? Pursuers after the dagger. The battle was too noisy. They heard and converged, so we had to escape.”

“Ah.”

Right. That lunatic mage had gone wild, raining spells everywhere.

And because I’d wasted time chasing him, the pursuers had gotten dangerously close.

I nodded slowly.

“The kids?”

“Rescue should be underway by now.”

“Rescue? By who?”

“Once we’d shaken pursuit, I sent word to the Thieves’ Guild.”

I blinked.

“You even knew the location?”

“You mumbled it in your sleep. Said the children were underground.”

“Ah.”

Relief flooded me, the weight on my chest easing.

I nearly reached out to ruffle her hair by the fire… but stopped.

“Shushruta.”

“What?”

“You’ve got ginseng, right?”

“Ginseng?” She tilted her head.

“The one you dug up while I was meditating. I told you to save it for supper.”

“Oh.”

She rummaged in her bag and pulled out a large root wrapped in cloth.

Sniffing it suspiciously, she asked,

“Are you sure this is edible? Smells strange. Looks strange too.”

“It’s fine. Give it here.”

“Here.”

I scraped the dirt off with my dagger.

She watched.

“So how do you eat it?”

“Raw.”

“…Raw?”

She eyed me dubiously.

“Is it tasty?”

I nodded.

“Oh, delicious. Brings tears to your eyes.”

I’d intended to eat it all myself, but I figured I could share. After all, she had found it.

Mana, qi… close enough. Both were nature’s gifts. No harm in trying.

I snapped off a thick piece of root and handed it over.

“Chew it well.”

“…All right.”

But instead of eating, she kept sniffing at it.

I reached to take it back.

“If you won’t eat it, hand it over. Do you know how rare this is?”

“N-no, I was just about to eat it.”

She popped it into her mouth—then instantly spat it out.

“Blegh!”

Her reaction speed was miraculous.

“Hey! That’s precious!”

I smacked her head.

Thwack!

“Ow!”

Clutching her head, she glared at me with watery eyes.

“Why hit me?!”

“Because you just spat out something priceless! Do you know how rare that is?”

“B-but… it’s so bitter! Too bitter! How can anyone eat that?”

“Idiot. Haven’t you heard the saying? Bitter means it’s good for you. That’s why it’s medicine. Now pick it up and eat it.”

“A-all right, all right. Don’t get angry.”

She gingerly picked it up, brushed it off, and put it back in her mouth.

“Ugh…”

Then spat it right back out.

“You—!”

Thwack!

“Ow!”

She covered her head again, eyes brimming.

“Stop hitting me! I went to the trouble of digging it up!”

“Which makes it worse! If you won’t eat it, I will.”

She panicked.

“W-wait! Don’t! It’s filthy! My spit’s all over it!”

“Step aside. That little darling escaped your mouth because it wanted to live in mine. It yearns to explore me instead.”

Her face turned red as she grabbed at me.

“Don’t eat it! I’ll dig up as many as you want, just don’t eat that one!”

I bared my teeth dramatically.

“Not a single root shall remain—I’ll chew every bit to pulp!”

“I said don’t!”

“Graah!”

(End of Chapter)

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