Forgotten But Not Lost

27

Manato walked along with the rest of his party towards the barracks that was provided for the Reserve Forces to stay in. While the day had not been profitable, Manato was secretly glad that they didn't run into any goblins. At least, not after that incident with the Pit Rats.

The cat sized little monsters had swarmed them and bit several of his party members deeply before they had managed to drive the quill covered rodents off, requiring him to heal them. Three back to back heal spells. They had drained him of nearly half of his magic reserves.
When he was in Priest's training and learning his art, he had been told that he had quite a bit of talent as a Priest, and that the ability to cast seven [Cure] spells in a single day without collapsing was above average for such a fresh Rookie. Now seven [Cure] spells didn't seem like so much. Especially when it was the boundary between life and death for his party.
He did his best to hide his tiredness and worry from his team, who were already demoralized enough at having been beaten up by a bunch of Pit Rats. "Twenty coppers for two rooms, and if we tighten our belts, twelve coppers a day each for food." Haruhiro said, ticking off their expenses as the four boys went to check out their room. Even though the barracks was free to everyone who had a Crimson Moon Badge, there was only two other occupied rooms at the barracks, so they were told to just pick whatever room them wanted. "If it hadn't been for Yume getting all that money from her senpai, we would only have enough money to last us a week. I guess we should count our blessings."
"I suppose we should." Manato agreed with a chuckle. While Haruhiro wasn't the most cheerful person around, Manato was glad to have someone else who seemed to be grounded around. Having someone else worrying made it feel like he could afford to worry a little less himself. He was already very worried as is.
"Man, this place sucks." Ranta said as they walked into what could generously be called their room. An eight by seven foot shoebox with wooden bunk beds on either side of the wall, along with a very small dresser that doubled as a table top at the foot of each bed. The only kind of bedding their seemed to be hay and the entire thing smelled of rat piss. If all four boys were standing in the room at once, it was awkwardly tight. "No wonder no one lives here. Hey Manato, you sure we can't afford to go somewhere else?"
"It's better if we save all the money we can for equipment and skills. Sorry Ranta. If it makes you feel better, we will probably only be using this place to sleep in, and not spending much time here." Manato said, giving the boy a reassuring smile. He needed to get Ranta, Moguzo and Haruhiro into passable armor as soon as possible. If he couldn't heal them every time they were injured, he had to make sure that they got injured less.
There was a knock on the door. "That's probably the girls, here to bitch about the rooms." Ranta said smugly.
"You mean like you were just doing?" Haruhiro countered.
"Shut up, sleepy eyes!" Ranta shouted back as he pushed past Moguzo to get to the door. "What do you gi…!" Ranta started as he opened the door, looking down slightly as he expected to see the girls standing there. Instead, he found himself having to tilt his head up to look at the man standing in the doorway. Ranta stared up at the man for a second before he staggered away from the doorway in surprise.
The guy was nearly as tall as Moguzo with rusty red hair and golden eyes. His shoulders were broad, and he was rather muscular. But what got Manato the most was the look on his face. The sort of blank, unconcerned look. It reminded him of Renji. Everything about this guy made him think of a red haired Renji.
He had remembered how Renji had judged and weighed each one of them with his eyes when he had chosen his team. It had really made Manato feel sick, the way the guy had acted, pushing his weight around. With this guy seeming so much like Renji, Manato was immediately on guard.
"You're the new party of Rookies, right?" He said, his voice as level as his expression.
"Yes, that's right." Manato responded with a nod. "Can we help you?" The man smiled in a way that didn't seem to reach his eyes.
"I was about to start making dinner. Your group is welcome to join if you want." The man said.
Manato blinked in surprise at the offer. "Oh… that would be nice." He admitted. They had only eaten a little in order to save money, and so all of them were still a little hungry. It just seemed too strange to get the friendly offer from a guy who looked like he should be handing you your ass for looking at him funny. "I hope that we won't be intruding."
"Dinner will be ready in twenty minutes." The guy said before giving them a nod and walking away.
"Well… at least our neighbors are friendly." Haruhiro said with a nervous laugh.
"That guy was too intense for someone who was just saying hey to the neighbors. He didn't even introduce himself." Ranta said with a nervous laugh of his own. "Well, I'm not about to say no to free food."
Moguzo put a hand over his own stomach. "Ah, yeah." He said, nodding in agreement to the prospect of food.
"Well, we should get everything squared away, then we can take him up on his offer. Haruhiro, can you go tell the girls we were all invited to eat." Manato said.
"Sure thing." Haruhiro nodded in agreement.
There was a little bit of time left before they had been told to meet when the boys arrived at the kitchen to find the red-haired man busying himself with preparing the food. The smell coming from the pot was amazing, and he seemed to be baking fresh bread as well.
As they walked in, the man glanced at them before returning to his work. "It will just be another few minutes. If you could set the table, that would be appreciated. The plates and forks are in the cabinet over there." He said gesturing towards the cabinet. "Including those two girls of yours, there will be eleven of us, if no one else feels like dropping in."
"Oh, sure." Manato said moving to get the dishes and things along with Haruhiro. Moguzo moved closer to the man, glancing at what he was doing with a thoughtful look on his face. Ranta just sat down in a chair to wait for food. "We didn't have a chance to introduce ourselves earlier. I'm Manato, it's a pleasure to meet you."
"I'm Haruhiro."
"You can call me Lord Ranta."
"…Moguzo."
The red-haired man nodded, to show he had heard them. "I'm Shirou." He said, before moving the large pot of soup up in order to take it off the flame but keep it warm. Things got awkward again as the boy moved on to grab a few plants and a cutting board, slicing the greens into pieces over the pot.
"So, Shirou. How long have you been around here?" Manato asked him.
"I got back just before your party arrived." Shirou said with a small shrug, not looking up from his work.
"Ah… I meant how long have you been in the Crimson Moon Reserves." Manato clarified.
"Oh. I've been in this world for just under four months. I was a part of the group that came five before yours." Shirou said putting down the cutting board before starting to mix some cheese slices he had prepared into the soup.
"Four months? You're party must really suck if you guys are still living in a dump like this." Ranta huffed.
"Ranta…!" Haruhiro hissed at the curly haired red-head, though Shirou didn't seem to take any offense.
"We've had our ups and downs, but my party is actually pretty well off. It's just easier to remain living here." Shirou said calmly. "It isn't so bad once you fix a few things. By the way, after dinner, I have some furs you can used to line your beds with. Its to hot out for using them as blankets, but they will be more comfortable than just the hay and hard wood."
"That's… very kind of you." Manato said with a bit of wonder. He had seriously misjudged this man. It just goes to show that you can't judge a book by its cover. He seemed so distant and tense on the outside, but he was really actually very nice and helpful.
Shirou nodded as he went to take the bread out of the oven. "There are also some natural pesticides that are planted out front that you can mix into the hay bedding to keep the bugs away. Yume can show you which ones I'm talking about."
"Huh, you know Yume?" Haruhiro asked, picking up on the casual mention of their teammate.
"Hm… she didn't tell you about me?" Shirou said, sounding a little puzzled himself.
"Senpai!" Yume shouted happily as she came in through the door, she ran up and latched onto the man's arm in a hug. "Yume didn't know that senpai was here."
"That is because you didn't scout the area upon arrival." Shirou said, seeming to give the girl a small smile, the closest thing to a real smile the boys had seen out of him so far. "Perhaps I didn't train you well enough."
"Hmph, that's not fair. Yume is in the city and it's been a long day for Yume." The girl pouted.
"Well, you can tell me all about it after we eat. I don't want to have to tell sensei that you choked to death after all the effort we put into training you." Shirou teased, raising his unhindered arm and tapping on a small gong that was placed above the counter. Its low sounds carrying throughout the building.
Something dropped to the ground out of seemingly nowhere, scaring the crap out of Ranta who fell backwards out of his chair. A young girl with bright green hair and a sleepy expression was standing there dressed in the white and blue of a Priest. "Food?" She said in a dazed voice, as if she had just been woken up. She seemed to have been sleeping in the rafters of the kitchen ceiling.
"Where the fuck did she come from!?" Ranta shouted. "Secret Thieves everywhere! And all of them better than Haru!"
"Hey!" Haruhiro shouted indignantly.
"Yes Niko, it is time for dinner. Could you get the others for me?" Shirou said as if nothing was out of the ordinary, and for all Manato knew, this was the ordinary around here.
"'Kay." Niko said before leaving the room at an unexpectedly fast pace.
"I hope you all are hungry. I've made plenty." Shirou said as he filled up a bowl with the strong-smelling soup, handing it to Yume before moving on and filling another one.
"…and Yume tried to hit them with Kaa-tan, but they just did this thing where they twisted about in the air, and then Yume would miss." Yume said before returning to her soup. Luckily it would be very difficult for her to choke on the soup. That had been the entire reason why Shirou had chosen to prepare soup that day.
"Yes. That little tumbling maneuver that the Pit Rats do is rather effective, isn't it? But it is always just a four-inch twist to the side. If you predict it, then you can still land your hit." Shirou said with a small nod. "It's just another thing you have to get used to. Were you careful to try and memorize their movement patterns? Most of the lessons you will learn as a Hunter will come from the wild itself, so you have to pay careful attention."
"Yes senpai. Yume thinks she was." Yume said with a nodded.
Shirou of course knew exactly how everything had gone down with the Pit Rats. He had been trailing them the entire day without them noticing him. He had a day or two to burn before Rin returned, and so he figured it was best to give the newest group some time to singe their fingers before he gave them an equipment upgrade and any advice. He'd be on hand in case things got out of hand.
"So you are Onii-chan's disciple then?" Megumin said, tilting her head and looking at Yume. "If that's the case, shouldn't you be calling him sensei instead of senpai?"
"Hm? But Yume's sensei was sensei, so Yume called Yume's senpai senpai." Yume said, looking up thoughtfully. "Yume supposes she could call senpai sensei."
"Senpai-sensei! You should call him senpai-sensei!" Megumin shouted happily before descending into giggles.
Realizing what Megumin was saying, Yume laughed as well. "That would just be silly. Senpai-sensei." Yume said, laughing into her hand. "Oh, since senpai-sensei would have been a sensei for less time than sensei has, would that make sensei sensei-senpai?" Megumin started to laugh even harder at the ridiculousness of it all.
"The heck are they saying?" Ranta asked Haruhiro.
"Don't try to listen. Down that path lies only madness." Haruhiro responded, trying desperately to focus on his soup. Something that was helped by it being damn good soup. Honestly, if this Shirou guy opened up a food cart, he could put Dory's Kebabs out of business for sure.
"So you are the senpai that Yume kept mentioning." Manato said, trying to strike up a conversation with Shirou. "I'm not sure I know what I was expecting, but I guess I should count myself surprised. Thank you for taking such good care of my friend, and for feeding us all tonight."
"It's fine." Shirou replied with a small nod. "I'll be making breakfast in the morning tomorrow as well. I won't accept you trying to tough it out without proper nourishment. An army marches on its stomach. You won't be able to perform your best if you are all hungry, and that could cost you lives."
Manato flinched at the casual mention of the possibility of death. "Well then, I suppose we will meet you for breakfast." He said, trying to hide his reaction.
Megumin gave a small squeal from the other side of the table as Yume and grabbed her in a hug. "Hey, what do you think you're doing?" The little mage said as she struggled against the Hunter.
"I can't help it. You smell so nice ~yan." Yume said as she rubbed her cheek against the girl's head.
"Like the heat of the sun on your face, mixed with the smell of burning incense." Shirou said with a knowing smile.
"Yeah, exactly like that!" Yume said with a nod.
"What you're smelling is her magic. Megumin uses a very potent form of fire magic." Shirou explained. "This sense of smell would have awakened as you used your energy more and more, am I right?"
"Yes, that's right!" Yume said with another nod.
"Hunters are able to smell magic? I didn't know that." Manato said, rubbing his chin.
"No. Smelling magic isn't a part of Eldritch's blessings, nor is it part of the Hunter's training. However, individuals who are capable of smelling magic often join the Hunter's Guild." Shirou explained. "Most of the Guilds have traits that are associated with them which are not and cannot be taught. Rin, our party leader, believes that these traits are the reason why we end up in the Guilds that we did. Even if we didn't know it ourselves."
Manato thought about it, trying to make sense of what he had been told, but he was jarred out of this thinking when Ranta began to laugh. "Of course! I was destined to join the ranks of the Dread Knights all along!"
"Yeah, of course you were." Haruhiro said with a sigh.
"Shut it, sleepy eyes!" Ranta spat back.
"He might have been. Does he often act like when things happen, that they were what he had intended to happen all along?" Shirou asked, his tone a little too serious for a joke, but the party couldn't help but to smirk anyways.
"Yes, he is very good at taking credit for everything that happens. The sun only rises because it is part of his master plan." Manato said, and Haruhiro snickered at the comment.
"Like hell it does! I want nothing to do with the sun!" The Dread Knight shouted, crossing his arms in defiance. "It's the sunset that is part of my master plan!"
"A flexible perception is important for people who interact with demons. It helps keep them from losing their minds to the demon's own chaotic nature." Shirou explained. "Dread Knights are also rather famous for being a lucky bunch, managing to survive where others wouldn't."
"Yes, that is me, Ranta, the Lucky King!" Ranta said, liking what he was hearing. The rest of them just rolled their eyes.
"W…what about the other Guilds?" Shihoru asked up, her curiosity enough to get her to raise her voice.
Shirou glanced at her and she shrank back down again, still shy as ever. Or maybe she was intimidated by his strong gaze. Manato didn't know which. "Mages need to have a strong bond with an Elemental type in order to use their magic. It is actually a pretty rare trait, and yet all of the people who try to enter the Mages Guild as their first choice all have it. You would have already been tested for your affinities, correct?" Shirou said before sniffing at the air. "You're strong with shadow magic, with a very weak bond to flash and cloud types. Am I right?"
"Um… yes, that's right." Shihoru said weakly a slight blush on her face from being 'smelled' by the man.
"Oh, so the shy busty one is closer to the darkness is she." Ranta said with a large grin. "Sounds like the two of us have more in common than I thought."
"I… I'm nothing like you!" She snapped angrily at him.
"Actually, shadow magic is closer in nature to light magic than the demonic magic Dread Knights use, since light is needed in order to cast a shadow." Shirou corrected him.
"You're making shit up!" Ranta shouted accusingly.
"As for the other Guilds, many Thieves have a skill called [Gleaming Line]. It's supposed to be a big secret for their Guild, even though it isn't really taught by them, so I can't really tell you much about it. The best way I can describe it is as a sort of clairvoyant trance that occasional can assist in battle. You can ask Barbara about it if you want to know the details." Shirou said, looking at Haruhiro.
"Huh, how do you know Barbara is my mentor?" Haruhiro asked in surprise.
Shirou gave him a bit of a smirk and tapped his nose. "I can still smell her perfume on you. She has a tendency to be very… physical with her students." Haruhiro blushed and raised his arm, sniffing it a little. Manato couldn't help but to laugh. "The Warrior's Guild members tend to have what Rin has dubbed [Battle Continuation]. Even if fatally injured, they will just keep fighting until they are either completely dead, or their enemy is."
"Hey, not bad big guy." Ranta said, giving Moguzo a slap on the shoulder. Moguzo looked unsure how to take the comment about how he would probably die fighting. Was that a good thing or a bad thing?
"What about Priests and Paladins?" Manato asked out of curiosity.
"Paladins… We never really did figure that one out. We have suspicions, but there isn't the same kind of proof as with the others." Shirou said, a little slower than before. His brow creased, as if he was trying to think how to word things. "As for Priests, that one… Well, we don't know that one either." He then tried to force a smile again. "I suppose you could say it is a very 'secret' secret trait."
Manato was confused. He was obviously lying about not knowing what trait helped to define a Priest, but Manato couldn't figure out why he was lying. What trait could be so bad that he would hide it. He revealed the Warriors so called [Battle Continuation] trait, and the secretive [Gleaming Line] of the Thieves. So what could make him hesitate about talking about it.
Perhaps he should ask his Archpriest about it… or not. The old man would probably yell at him for being full of himself if he asked if there was something that made him destined to be a Priest.