The well-Balanced Yamamoto-san Gets Caught up in a Death Game

Chapter 45

Time passed, and it was the day before the Grand Martial Festival.

After my morning routine of collecting seawater, I headed to the Commerce Guild and then straight to the Seaweed Drift Inn.

“Mungaga-san, are you back?”

“What’s all this racket…”

Oh, looks like he’s just returned from his morning shopping.

The sight of him wearing a triangular bandana over his slicked-back hair is quite surreal, but I’m glad he’s here.

“I got the information about our food stall location from the Commerce Guild, so let’s discuss it.”

“Well done! Sit down right there!”

So, my partner for the food stall was Mungaga-san.

I thought food that gives you [Poison Resistance] just by eating it, while ensuring safety, would sell like hotcakes to adventurers.

Plus, it’s a win-win strategy that also helps Mungaga-san, who’s struggling with his shop’s sales!

Moreover, if this strategy succeeds, it might even improve the standing of Mungaga-san’s shop a bit.

Based on these ideas, I decided to invite Mungaga-san to run the stall together. He agreed without a second thought.

By the way, I submitted the stall’s genre as “Poison.”

Katze-san made a terribly unpleasant face, but when I insisted, “Just give us a space, even if it’s at the edge of town!”, it somehow got approved.

Maybe that thing about being Milène’s prized pupil had an effect?

Well, in the end, true to those words, our stall was placed at the edge of town where there doesn’t seem to be much foot traffic, but…

“Oh!? Is it okay to be placed in such a corner!? You idiot!”

“Well, we’ll have to be patient until word of mouth spreads. Fortunately, the Grand Martial Festival lasts for multiple days, right?”

“Of course! Three days for preliminaries and two days for the main event, five days in total! If we can’t make a profit during that time, the shop will go bankrupt!”

Wait, how much are you staking on this Grand Martial Festival!?

“But is it really okay? Serving poison soup? Wouldn’t it be better to serve more luxurious poison dishes?”

“Mungaga-san, you’re too enthusiastic about service. Soup is enough. We’ll make our money back with that. If we make it too lavish, we won’t be able to recover our costs.”

Mungaga-san tries to provide service at every opportunity.

Thanks to that, my [Storage] is also stocked with a large amount of poison dishes.

Because he keeps trying to make me eat poison dishes at every turn. Even when I say I can’t eat anymore, he keeps saying, “You can still eat more, right? You can still eat more…”

It’s delicious, but Mungaga-san’s cooking, which somehow always pierces through my [Status Ailment Resistance], is scary because I never know when I’ll be poisoned. Lately, I’ve been saying “I’ll eat it later” and leaving it to die in my [Storage].

I hope the day comes when I can eat these dishes without worrying about poison…

By the way, my skill level has risen to 8.

“You said you’d prepare the stall and utensils, right!? Are you ready!? Huh!?”

“Everything’s perfect on that front. Is Mungaga-san also perfectly prepared with two types of poison soup?”

“I’m still in the trial stage! I’ll finish by tomorrow!”

“You’re just adjusting the amount of poison, so you don’t need to be too particular about the taste…”

“Are you an idiot!? A first-class chef serves the best they can to their customers! If you’re going to serve something half-baked just to get by, don’t bother!”

I won’t take your life…

We continued discussing for a while after that, but the only issue seemed to be Mungaga-san not having decided on the seasoning. There didn’t seem to be any other major problems.

At this point, I have almost nothing left to do.

So, I left the seasoning to Mungaga-san and headed towards today’s main event.

■□■

On top of a hill at the very edge of Forzine’s cliff.

There, a single flower is blooming now.

It’s the [Thousand-Changing Flower] that no one wants anymore due to oversupply.

A man and a woman face each other across this [Thousand-Changing Flower]—

“What’s the idea, calling me out to a place like this?”

“Take-kun…”

One is Take-kun, a one-armed Yeti species covered in pure white fur.

And standing resolutely before Take-kun is Lili-chan.

And me, intercepting their conversation from afar with [Whisper Talk], a level 5 [Wind Magic].

[Whisper Talk] is a magic that allows you to converse with distant party members or eavesdrop on conversations from a distance.

And as the magic name suggests, when you use it, it feels like someone’s whispering in your ear, which can be quite ticklish.

I wonder if people who are sensitive to this find this magic quite uncomfortable?

Well, I’ll endure it somehow.

“Ah, I see… So you’ve finally made up your mind to cut ties with me.”

Take-kun takes the lead in the conversation with Lili-chan.

He seems to have imagined the outcome when told there was something serious to discuss.

It’s kind of exciting, like a breakup talk between lovers.

“That’s right. There’s no point in taking care of a useless one-armed guy like me. You’re in perfect health, so it’s better for you to abandon me and join a different party. I see, I see.”

Take-kun is talking a lot by himself.

And his persecution complex is severe!

“Fine! Go ahead and leave! Abandon me! There’s no benefit in being in a party with someone like me anyway! Go wherever you want!”

“Take-kun…”

He’s quite desperate, isn’t he?

I wonder if I’ve pushed him to the edge mentally by dumping [Thousand-Changing Flower] on the market?

But even in that desperation, I think there might be a small part of him that cares for Lili-chan.

“You’ve changed, Take-kun.”

“Huh…?”

“When we first met, you reached out to me even though I was weak and slow, always encouraging me that things would work out somehow, always moving forward positively…”

“That’s… Anyone would change if they lost an arm…”

“That’s not true. Right after you lost your arm, you were fired up, saying you’d definitely make a comeback, become even stronger than before…”

“Back then, I couldn’t see reality…”

“No, that’s not it… It was me who needed to change back then… Before Take-kun fell into despair, I should have become Take-kun’s hope… But I remained weak and slow… clinging to Take-kun… I selfishly assumed that Take-kun would somehow fix everything someday… As a result, I pushed Take-kun into a corner…”

“…It’s all over now.”

At least for Take-kun, was Lili-chan a burden?

It’s hard to read Take-kun’s expression because of the Yeti species’ long fur, but his voice sounds gloomy. Maybe he’s regretting the past.

“It’s not over! If anything, it hasn’t even begun!”

“Begin? What’s supposed to begin? It’s over. Maybe for you, but… for me, it’s already over…”

“No! It hasn’t begun for you either, Take-kun! It still hasn’t started!”

“What are you…”

Take-kun is at a loss for words.

Lili-chan’s expression must have been that serious.

While Take-kun was just sulking and doing nothing, Lili-chan worked hard and gained the confidence and ability to match her efforts.

Lili-chan isn’t someone who would be intimidated by a Take-kun who’s aware of his own sulking and feeling guilty, let alone the original Take-kun!

“I’ve changed… no, I’m going to show Take-kun that even someone like me can change. So, won’t you change too, Take-kun? I want you to go back to being the kind and reliable Take-kun you used to be.”

“It’s not that easy to change…”

“The Grand Martial Festival.”

“Huh…?”

“I’ve decided to participate in the Grand Martial Festival.”

“…Don’t. You’ll just embarrass yourself.”

“If it was the old me, I might have agreed with Take-kun… Saying it’s impossible, doing nothing, yet complaining about the current situation, not even trying to change anything myself…”

“…………”

“But I’ve changed. I’ve been preparing for the Grand Martial Festival. So I want Take-kun to watch me participate. I want you to see how much even weak and slow me can change. And seeing that, I want you to believe that you can change too, to believe in yourself…”

“I…”

Take-kun starts to say something, but the words don’t come out.

I wonder if he’s at a loss for an answer due to this sudden development?

Well, the girl he thought was weak and couldn’t do anything without his protection suddenly says she’s going to participate in the Grand Martial Festival and make a name for herself.

It’s no wonder Take-kun is confused.

“I’m going to change. So it’s your turn next, Take-kun.”

“…………”

“That’s all I wanted to say. Sorry for calling you out so suddenly.”

Saying that, Lili-chan walks away.

The remaining Take-kun stands still, lost in thought.

As Lili-chan’s figure disappears, I quietly emerge from behind the tree where I was hiding.

Now then, shall I go and light a small fire under this boy’s pride?

■□■

“Hey. Doesn’t it frustrate you to hear all that?”

“W-Who are you!?”

Take-kun shows a surprised face at the sudden appearance of a mysterious person while he was brooding.

But he quickly seems to remember my appearance, showing his wariness with an “Ah, you!”

“Are you the one who deceived Lili!”

“Deceived? That sounds so bad. I just gave Lili-chan confidence and courage.”

“So that’s why Lili came to look down on me…!”

“Look down? Why?”

“Why…!? Because I’m still in this state, sulking…”

Take-kun lowers his gaze.

I deliberately let out a sigh.

“So when you first invited Lili-chan to your party, were you looking down on her? Did you invite Lili-chan to your party thinking, ‘This girl is slow, I’ll feel superior with her around,’ or something like that?”

“Of course not! Lili… she was trying hard, but wasn’t getting results! She was feeling down… That’s why I wanted to help her, to cooperate with her! I didn’t form a party with any intention of looking down on her!”

“Then it’s the same for Lili-chan.”

“What…”

“She’s working hard with the sole intention of helping you, of doing something for you. But because her current strength isn’t enough, she’s trying to change herself, believing that if she changes, you’ll change too. And you’re making a face like you’re bearing the world’s despair, constantly denying Lili-chan’s words. Aren’t you ashamed to live like that?”

“What do you know! You’ve never lost an arm, what could you possibly…!”

Huh?

You’re still whining after all that?

I’m getting a bit annoyed now.

“Then I just need to lose an arm, right?”

I swiftly cut off my left arm with the sword Gaga-san made for me.

…………

Gyaaaah!? It hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts!?

I’m dying! I’m dying! What is this!? This isn’t pain a human should feel!

Suppressing the urge to roll around on the spot, I clench my teeth and endure the pain with my eyes closed, using a shortcut to use [Mysterious Regeneration Potion].

In the next moment, my left arm returns with a flash of light.

Ah, I thought I was going to die! I won’t do that again! Never again!

“J-Just now, your arm…”

“This is to show you that there are potions like this in the world. Without even trying to find out about such things, you keep whining, clinging to Lili-chan’s kindness. Take an objective look at how uncool you are.”

I point at Take-kun with my right hand, but… no good, I’m worried if my left arm is really attached.

I can feel my left arm, but there’s something like an afterimage of the pain from earlier, and it hurts so much I can’t stand it.

I feel more like sulking than Take-kun!

“There must be magic that can heal lost body parts, right? Without even looking for such things, do you have time to despair? Isn’t that what Lili-chan meant by changing? That’s all I wanted to say. The rest is up to you to think about.”

“…………”

If he’s still sulking even after all this, I’ll just assume that’s the kind of person he is at his core.

But I hope my arm-cutting wasn’t in vain.

It really hurt!

It really, really hurt, okay!?

Please, I’m begging you!