Volume 4 Chapter 16 Deciding The Future
After preparing a generous amount of vegetables along with the meat for cooking, we finished cooking and brought Clay and Toxy out to the garden.
Moruru explained that she had hunted for the two of them, Clay's eyes widened, and Toxy teared up a bit with joy.
"Thank you. Moruru-chan, you're so kind."
"Thank you, Moruru...! I'll get better soon, I promise...!"
Clay patted Moruru's head, and Toxy hugged her tightly with her right arm. Moruru blushed playfully at their affection.
Alex returned, along with Ridge who had been taking lessons at home, and Windy accompanying them, joining in the barbecue fun.
"Here, this is for Clay, and this is for Toxy."
"Thank you, Wade-kun."
"Wade, thanks! ...It's a bit much, so I'll give some to Clay."
I served the grilled meat and vegetable skewers on plates to the two with physical disabilities. Clay held his with one hand, while Toxy placed hers on her knee due to her one missing limbs. I couldn't help but slightly frown.
But it wasn't a somber atmosphere. I took a deep breath, returned to the grill, and took care of Moruru, who quickly ate and asked for more skewers.
"Papa! More! More more more more!"
"Here you go."
"Mmm! Delicious!"
"Say it's tasty."
"Papa says it's tasty."
I slowly ate the meat skewer I had prepared for myself and exclaimed,
"Tasty!"
"Tasty!"
Yay! We high-fived as father and daughter. Yeah, the barbecue was delicious. I was teaching her strange things.
Then Ridge approached quietly.
"Wade-sama, this is delicious, isn't it?"
"Say it's tasty!"
"Eh!?"
Ridge was shocked at the unreasonable request.
"Tasty, desuwa...?"
"Good job..."
"Wade-sama, could you please stop teasing me like that?"
"When someone is close to their enemy, they tend to tease them, right, Windy? Spin around three times, and when you say 'woof,' you get a meat skewer."
Windy spun around three times.
"Woof!"
"You're not hesitating at all. Here's your meat skewer."
"Thank you for this happiness."
"Say 'woof'!"
"Woof!"
"Alright..."
I handed Windy the meat skewer. With sparkling eyes, she took it in her mouth, looking at me as if asking for praise.
I told her,
"You're human, so use your hands to take it."
"Eh...!"
"Wade-sama? Windy seems to be awakening to something, so let's stop playing around here, okay?"
Seeing Windy blushing and trembling, Ridge intervened with a doctor's stop.
"Shall I take over for Ridge?"
"I respectfully decline."
"Then let's offer Ridge a vegetable skewer."
"What? Do I have to do something good to get meat?"
"You fool!"
"Eep!"
"Vegetables are delicious too..."
"Y-yes..."
"Ice! Come collect Wade, he's messing around with the lord group!"
Toxy intervened, and I was taken away by Ice.
"Hey...! Come on..."
"I'm sorry."
"The First Lady is indeed strong."
Sandra commented as she watched me being scolded by Ice.
"Do papas usually joke around like this?"
"When I joke, I joke a lot. Probably because I'm drinking a lot while grilling meat, right?"
Toxy explained to Moruru, "It's fun to watch Wade-kun after he's had some alcohol," and Clay nodded in agreement.
Feeling the atmosphere becoming lively and pleasant, I glanced at Alex. He had been quietly eating meat in a corner and nodded when he noticed my gaze.
I walked over to Alex and then turned to everyone.
"I'm sorry to interrupt your fun, but can I talk to you for a bit?"
As I spoke, Toxy teased, "Are you okay with alcohol in your system?" I laughed it off and reassured her.
Then, I said.
"I've talked with everyone over the past few days. The two who were seriously injured said they have no intention of quitting being adventurers. They said they would follow me."
As my words sank in, the atmosphere grew quiet. I continued.
"So, I've made up my mind. I'll choose the toughest path, the one where I can grow the most."
"The toughest path?"
Moruru tilted her head as she approached me. "Probably quite tough," I replied with a smile, mirroring her gesture.
"I wonder what will happen."
Clay asked, and I answered,
"We'll rely on Mudi."
"...What?"
"I said we should rely on the platinum torch adventurer, Mudi."
When I said that, everyone except Alex looked confused. I could understand their feelings. Even I would be confused if someone said something like that to me.
"Alex."
"Ah, then I'll take it from here."
Swallowing a piece of meat, Alex stood up next to me.
"I understand your doubts. One of them is, 'Is that even possible?' right? Mudi may seem like a thug at first glance. Whether he will buy into this story is your main concern."
Pointing a finger, Alex chuckled.
"Fortunately, we are in a situation where negotiations are easy. Because the payment for helping you, except for a partial advance, is still uncertain. That's where we can make a move. He's in need of money, so if I shake him up with a debt to me, getting him to listen won't be a problem."
Next, Alex raised a second finger.
"'Is Mudi's training effective?' is probably what you're wondering about. To put it bluntly, it depends on you. Mudi's combat skills are not just Transformation Magic. The question of whether that magic will suit you or not is definitely there."
But, Alex laughed fiercely.
"After all, it's platinum. I guarantee it's not a bad bet to try. It will cost quite a bit, but I'm also interested. I'll put up some money for it."
"That's the plan. I believe we can make it with Alex's help in this direction. Anybody have any questions?"
"Can I ask something?"
Toxy raised her right hand.
"Clay and I, well, we're in a situation where we're missing body parts, right? We plan to get used to prosthetic limbs, but Mudi's magic seems more focused on the physical aspect."
"Wade, can you confirm?"
Alex asked, and I nodded. Alex began to respond.
"It should be fine. That's because I don't think Clay or Toxy will be directly instructed by Mudi."
"...So, does that mean we won't receive guidance from Mudi-san?"
In response to Clay's confirmation, Alex replied with a meaningful smile, "Probably not."
"Well, let's wait and see. It's a matter of interpretation. If my prediction is correct, it won't be a bad thing."
"That's it. Alex is being mean about it, so he won't tell me either."
"Hey, Wade."
"But I don't think there are any more people in the party who don't trust Alex. He's done a lot of good for us, and he even lent a helping hand this time. If Alex says it's okay, let's believe in him to some extent."
When I said that, Clay and Toxy agreed, saying, "Indeed, I'm the one most involved, so I trust him," and "Well, if Wade says so, we have to believe it," respectively.
Finally, Sandra raised her hand.
"Yes, Sandra."
Actually, I met Mudi once when I was a child through my parents' acquaintance. I don't think Mudi remembered me, though."
"Oh, is that so? And then?"
Sandra said in her usual expressionless tone.
"I'll probably be training under Mudi. I think it will be tough even for Wade. When Mudi was still a silver adventurer, several of his party members ended up dead."
The air froze silently.
"That's all. I'm not against it. I'm actually looking forward to learning the secret of Mudi's strength."
Excitedly, Sandra clenched her fist while maintaining her expressionless face, and Toxy gave her a chop.
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