Chapter 682

TENKEN 682 Rumina and Aurel

As soon as we split up with Diaz, we went to the dungeon. We had come to the dungeon to report to Rumina about Zelos Reed too

She wasn’t showing as much anger as Diaz, but I wonder how could she not be concerned?

However, there was one miscalculation, or rather, one thing that I had not calculated.

「Aurel, why are you here?」

「Oi oi, is that how you greet people?」

「You’re alone?」

「I’m still an evolved and former adventurer, you know? In the current dungeon, where the difficulty level has been lowered, I won’t have any difficulty going in alone」

Certainly, Aurel has his strong body. In this dungeon, where Rumina has been weakened because of pushing herself too hard to evolve Fran, I think he should be fine soloing this dungeon on his own.

We’ve explained things to Diaz, so this might be a good chance to be able to explain things to Aurel and Rumina at the same time, saving us the trouble.

Fran then tells Aurel and Rumina the same explanation that she gave to Diaz before.

I was worried about how they would react, but after listening, both Aurel and Rumina showed a gentle expressions on their faces.

「I see... But that’s okay, I guess. Fran still has a bright future ahead of her. We can’t forget our past experiences, but we don’t have to be bound by them」

「I agree」

「Thanks」

「Kiara will probably be happier if you grow up healthy too」

Rumina smiled when she said that, but then sighed with a difficult look on her face.

「But then again, Diaz is still a kid, isn’t he? He hasn’t changed much」

「?? Diaz is a grandpa」

「Listen Fran. A man is still a kid at heart, no matter how old he gets」

Rumina gives her a faraway look as she says that. She seems to have had a bitter experience in the past.

「Men, you know, no matter how old they get, their mind will never age beyond that of a kid. Yes, no matter how long they live! You’d better remember that」

「Nn」

Hey, stop it! Can you not tell anything weird to Fran!? I’m aware that I’m not exactly a good adult, so it’s hard for me to deny her words with something like "That’s not true" or anything.

At the same time, Rumina’s lecture on men continued.

「At first glance, some of them may look more mature than others. But that’s just because they’ve learned to put on an appearance, and in the end, they’re all the same. In fact, they are even worse because they are indulging themselves in the idea of being mature」n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

「Is that so?」

「E-even If you were to ask me...」

Aurel slurred his words with a pathetic face. He perhaps had some idea of what Rumina had said.

This is bad, there’s not a man here who can deny Rumina’s words! Oh, right, Fermus! Where’s Fermus―!?

「This guy here was just a kid who grew up to be a big shot!」

「I just can’t say a thing when Rumina-sama says so...」

「Well, this guy is better than the others though. It was because he understood that he’s still a kid」

「Iyaah~」

「That’s not a compliment! Just beware of men who say they’re not a kid, okay? That kind of man is usually the worst. They don’t really understand themselves at all. They are nothing but kids who think they are more mature than others, don’t you think?」

W-well, isn’t that too much of a rant? But people who look at others and say, "That guy’s childish," or "I’m not like that childish person," are certainly not of high mental age.

Still, I feel like it would be better to say that kind of person as one that doesn’t really have the ability to understand themselves though.

「Oh well, I’ll talk to Diaz later. Anyway, Fran. You’ve come to Ulmut for another martial arts tournament, haven’t you?」

「That’s half of it. The other half is that I’m here to find Dimitris」

「Hou? You’re looking for Dimitris the Immovable?」

「Nn. Because of a request. Know anything?」

「Hmm. He has come to this place in the past. At that time, even though I knew he wouldn’t hurt me, I felt a terrible fear from him」

Rumina is pretty strong. She’s weakened now, but she must have been strong enough to be called a strong person before. That would have been stronger than the current Fran, wouldn’t it?

She wasn’t a Black Heavenly Tiger, but she had achieved evolution, had studied for hundreds of years, and had the power of a Dungeon Master.

There are not many opponents that Rumina would feel fear of. It’s no surprise, but it seems that S rankers are indeed exceptional.

「Dimitris should be staying at the lord’s mansion during the tournament. If it’s you, I’m sure you can get in touch with him」

「The lord?」

「You don’t remember him? You should’ve met at the awards ceremony though」

「?」

Ulmut’s feudal lord was a very plain old man, and we’ve only met him once after all. It was no wonder that Fran had forgotten him.

「Poor guy...」

Aurel shrugged with a wry smile as he realized that Fran had already completely forgotten about him. He must have known that by her gesture. It seemed that Ulmut’s feudal lord and Aurel had a reasonably close relationship.

「You’re close with him?」

「We’re not on bad terms at the very least. Well, I think he’s doing a good job as the lord of this town full of adventurers, and we were also peers at the royal palace. He’s almost like an advisor to me」

「I see」

While many nobles act arrogantly toward adventurers or want to interfere with guilds, Ulmut’s feudal lords are said to be very tolerant. It is even said that he is quite skilled in handling the adventurers.

This is mainly because he knows that without the help of adventurers, Ulmut would not be able to maintain its development.

Doesn’t this mean that he knows exactly what he’s doing and is able to see what’s going on around him? I only had the impression that he was a simple man, but he might actually be a capable fellow.

「That’s because he’s such a lord. I doubt he’d say no if it was a request from you, a high-ranking adventurer and tournament winner」

「When will Dimitris come?」

「As usual, a few days before the start of the tournament. I don’t think he’s here yet」

We’ve already taken lodgings with the intention of participating in the martial arts tournament anyway, so we’ll just have to wait for him. We should recognize him as soon as someone as famous as him enters the town too.

『Until then, should we accept some quest?』

「Nn」

I don’t think he could hear me, but Aurel then mentioned his request to Fran.

「Oh, right. I’ve got a request for the young miss. You mind accepting it?」

「What request?」

「It’s an escort mission for my granddaughter」

「Escort mission?」