01x05 - I Want to Leave Everything to Ark

[bunniefuu]

- 1 Year Ago -

Wait, you want me to hold on to this slime?

That's right.

I think I would feel safer

if you held on to it.

Sure, that's not a big deal.

Thank you so much!

Her name is Sitri Smart.

Sitri Smart

Hunter Level 2

She's a member of Grieving

Souls and an alchemist.

She is a bit of an oddball,

but she's part of the capital's

Institute of Science.

Metaphorically and literally,

she is the brains of the Grievers.

Once considered to be the

most renowned alchemist,

she's been given the second

name "The Prodigy."

Sometimes, she foists the results born of

her extraordinary knowledge and wisdom on me.

You made this slime, huh?

I guess that makes this "Sitri's Slime."

How imaginative.

This really takes me back, though.

Back when we were little, we used to

have fun by stepping on wild slimes.

You mustn't do that, Krai.

If you accidentally release it,

it might destroy the entire capital.

It's just a little bit dangerous.

Just a little?

Wait, wait, wait, wait.

Then this is one dangerous slime!

Please make sure to handle

it with the appropriate care.

R-Right.

We are now in the golden age

of the treasure hunters!

Amid the sparkling talent on

display in the capital of Zebrudia,

there was one man who stood

out amongst all others!

His name is Krai Andrey.

This is an epic tale

full of glory and agony,

of how he became renowned

for being the leader

of the strongest party he founded

with his childhood friends,

and also the master of the strongest clan!

There is a party in First Steps on the level

of Grieving Souls, Ark Brave, and Starlight.

Namely, the Obsidian Cross,

which is led by Stormstrike.

Episode 05

I Want to Leave Everything to Ark

"I Want to Leave Everything to Ark."

Let This Grieving Soul Retire

I wanted to forget about it.

But I can't.

I can't find it anywhere.

Why?

Why?

Hey, please come out now.

Sitri's li'l Slime.

Now what do I do?

No, I just need to think about this calmly.

When I opened the capsule

in the White Wolf's Den,

there was definitely nothing in it.

And before that, it was in the safe all

this time, and I've never opened it.

Not to mention, the safe that I

kept it in is a relic itself.

So that means there is only one conclusion.

It was always empty.

That's it!

Sitri's such a joker.

If I think about this anymore,

I'm going to puke.

This was supposed to be a Level 3, right?

Apparently the phantoms' levels suddenly

went up in the last two weeks.

The investigation missions from

the Association sure aren't easy.

Investigating anomalies in treasure vaults

is important for the country as well.

They say that Thousand Tricks

is also looking into it.

Then that means there's something to it.

In the end I could barely sleep.

Krai?

Good morning.

It's noon.

The Association wants to hear a detailed

report on the White Wolf's Den.

Tino was the leader, so ask her.

I only got there at the end.

Tino is training with Liz right now.

Working hard, eh?

But has there been any

movement in the capital?

Movement?

What do you mean?

If there's been nothing, then that's fine.

I see.

I'll look into it immediately.

No, no. You don't have to do that!

It's fine.

I'm probably just worrying over nothing,

so let's take it easy. Real easy.

Why don't I go check on Tino, then?

They're in the training hall

on basement level 2.

Okay.

I'll leave the rest to you.

From natural disasters like earthquakes

to anomalies in treasure vaults

and squabbles amongst

the capital's nobility,

he keeps accurately predicting

things without any clues.

I've seen it time and again.

The first time could have been a coincidence,

but after the second or third, I'm certain.

What on earth is going on in our capital?

Can we do anything about this?

Krai.

Sven Anger.

"Stormstrike"

Sven Anger

Hunter Level 6

The leader of Obsidian Cross.

You need to stop Stifled Shadow.

We can't use the training hall.

Defeating monsters is not really

in my wheelhouse, you know.

Ansem and Lucia aren't around either,

so there's nobody else who can do it.

Why did she come back alone, anyway?

Apparently she disarmed trap after trap and

made it all the way to the boss's chamber

But once there, she got bored and came home.

Night Palace is a level 8 treasure vault.

What do you mean, she "got bored"?

You Grievers are something else.

Well, that's neither here nor there.

If someone doesn't go in and

stop her, Tino's going to die.

An exaggeration, surely.

People don't die that easily.

Tell me, Ti.

Why aren't you getting up?

Is this all you've got?

Or are you holding back?

Are you mocking me?

You think I won't k*ll you?

Because I will.

Is there nothing important to you?

Nothing you want to protect?

Why aren't you moving yet?

If you won't give me your best, then

die.

And we're done!

What are you doing here, Krai?

I'm giving Ti her lesson.

You know, Ti's got talent.

Maybe even more than I do.

But she's so weak.

I don't get it.

At her age, wasn't I so much stronger?

Yes, yes. You really were.

I understand your passion, but it

looks like she's at her limit.

Let's call it a day.

Huh?

Krai, could you perhaps be stopping me?

Yes, yes!

There's no perhapsing about it.

Then let's call it a day!

I could keep going,

but if you insist, Krai

What are you doing, Ti?

I'm talking to Krai.

I can still move Master.

Huh?

Why that mask?

Amazing!

She couldn't move at all before.

That's the power of Krai!

I'm almost jealous.

L-Liz

Let's go, Ti.

Sorry, guys.

You know there's no talking to

Liz once she gets like that.

I guess there's nothing we can do.

And you've always been crazy

tough on them, after all.

I've actually stopped—

Words are unnecessary.

Tino getting stronger will

be good for us as well.

I guess this works out.

I won't say anything more.

Hey, that reminds me.

They say the northern route

has been locked down.

What?

Multiple phantoms have appeared?

So it seems.

They're investigating it right now.

It looks like the party from the

Knight's Order got crushed.

I heard about the travelers who got attacked

by phantoms from the White Wolf's Den.

Thinking about it, there was

something off about that as well.

Maybe that's why Gark wanted to see me.

Why is Ark not here at a time like this?

He's strong. He's smart.

People trust him so much more than me.

Too much, actually.

As a leader and also as a fighter,

he leaves nothing to be desired.

If I just leave all of this to Ark,

everything will go smoothly.

I hope he comes home soon.

Until then, I'm going to do everything

I can to stall for time.

Cool as always, I see.

Because this is absolutely not my problem.

I got it!

If I send the Obsidian Cross to Gark,

he can make them deal with all of this.

Sven?

Yeah?

If you can't use the training hall, how

about doing a mission for the Association?

Also, please let Gark know that I'm busy,

so I won't be able to come see him.

All right, gotta go.

I'm so sharp today.

Jeez.

You can never tell what he's thinking.

And he seems so casual.

What is he even doing all day?

Why is the leader staying back while

everyone else is out on missions?

He's always been like that.

You're new, so you don't know that yet.

He keeps the Grievers going.

And this clan, too.

I'll take your word for it.

I know you might not understand it yet,

but there is no doubt that man is

also a monster.

I'm not giving you an order or anything.

But don't underestimate him based

on what you see on the surface.

See what's beneath it.

That's what you're always doing, right?

Yes, sir.

There have been no changes in the

ley lines near the White Wolf's Den.

The amount of mana material

hasn't changed either.

So what caused the anomaly

in the treasure vault?

What is the reason?

Could it be something artificial?

No, but

I need to talk to Krai.

The Obsidian Cross let me know

that Krai is too busy to come.

I'll go visit him tomorrow.

That punk.

He knows something.

I'm sure of it.

Perhaps

First off, he hasn't set foot in

a single treasure vault lately,

yet this time, he took the trouble

to go out there and check it out.

That alone proves there's something going on.

How unexpected.

To think a high-level hunter

would get involved.

Not even a god could have predicted this.

It might only be a matter of time before the

Explorers' Association discovers this place.

Which means Thousand Tricks is a man

you must never underestimate.

I cannot imagine that mere hunters

could grasp the grand work you,

the grand Master of Mages,

head of research of the capital's branch

of the Akashic Tower, are doing here.

However, until they discover

the root cause of all this,

they will not leave the area.

This thing taps into the tremendous

power flowing through the ley lines,

and by storing it here, it's causing

modifications in the treasure vaults.

If my experiment progresses

and proves my theory,

we should even be able to create

treasure vaults at will.

Do we have no choice but to

abandon this research center?

I can't believe we'll

have to start all over!

And why is Sophia on "vacation" right now?!

What is she doing?!

She's the one in charge

of the defense system!

Don't get worked up.

I'm the one who granted her permission.

I've contacted Sophia with

the Sounding Stone.

She'll be back soon.

Sophia Black.

Vastly talented. My right hand.

If she were here,

she would certainly resolve

this conundrum for us.

Either way, we need

to gather information for now.

Yes, sir!

Hot!

It was a dream?

Is Sitri's Slime really that dangerous?

No, no.

It's not like my dreams ever come true.

Did something happen?

Liz?!

Good morning, Krai.

I knew it was weirdly warm.

I guess Liz does have a habit of

sneaking into my bed at night.

She really runs way too hot.

Hey, Krai.

Are you free today?

What about Tino's training?

I think she'll break if I go too hard,

so we're taking today off!

What about your training?

We're taking today off!

I'll forget about that nightmare for now.

Yup, it was just a nightmare!

Sure. Let's do something.

All right!

Thanks, Krai!

Oh, sorry.

Right.

I can hardly believe that

you came here personally

If I didn't, we'd be getting nowhere fast.

May I ask you to wait for one moment?

Yes. Thank you.

Ugh!

There you are, Krai.

But he's very busy today.

Liz!

You're already back?

Get lost.

I don't have time to change your diapers.

What happened with the Night Palace?

I told you to make a report when you finish

a treasure vault higher than level 7.

Shut your hole!

And you guys are way too dependent on Krai.

Learn how to change your

own diapers already!

Who the hell do you think you're talking to?

Like I care! You're ruining my date!

Get lost!

Hey.

Even a friendly, mellow man

like me has his limits.

Which part of you is friendly and mellow?

Oh, jeez.

Kaina, shall we have some tea upstairs?

S-Sure.

Hmm. So there was no

problem with the ley lines.

You went to the White Wolf's Den, right?

Yes.

If you noticed anything

unusual, please tell me.

Not really, I guess.

Not really?

I'm more concerned with the other issue.

What issue?

Crap!

Can you tell me about that?

I'm sorry, but I can't

tell you about it yet.

Huh?

I don't know who's got ears listening where.

I-I see.

"I may have released a dangerous slime."

There's no way I can say that!

I can't leave right now,

but I'll have our clan help

out as much as we can.

Oh, yeah! This sounds like

just the thing for Ark!

Yes, you should ask him.

Forgive me, Kaina.

I'm useless and I suck!

Looks like you've gotten outta shape, Gark!

Sitting behind a desk will do that to you.

Just keep talking!

You've got to exercise more.

Wait, did you put on weight?

Shut up!

You've fallen off so hard that I feel bad.

For old times' sake, I'll let you go.

Aren't I nice?

It looks like

you need to be taught a lesson!

You little sh*t!

Looks like they're still at it.

Yes

Gark Welter.

Currently, he is the head of the Zebrudia

branch of the Explorers' Association,

but he used to be a

first-rate level 7 hunter.

The people who knew him from

then still whisper his second name,

"w*r Demon," in awe.

All right, that's enough!

We're done with our talk.

Maybe you should calm down a bit, Gark.

How could I be calm when—

Welcome back, Krai!

I've been waiting for you.

When did she

Shall we go home?

I'll need to resume my training again.

Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh

What happened here?!

Gark's really gotten soft, huh?

Old age is so cruel.

I don't think he's particularly weak.

You shouldn't use yourself as a

measure when you're still on active duty.

But he'd never get through

the Night Palace like that.

So were the phantoms really strong?

Yup.

The strongest so far.

Felt like a real level 8.

How tough was it compared to

the White Wolf Den's boss?

Huh? There was a boss?

Well, yes.

Oh. I'm sorry!

I'm not good at remembering

that kind of trash.

So that boss wasn't even worth remembering.

Sitri and the others are

still at the Night Palace.

It'd be great if they could come back soon.

I'd really like to do something about

that slime before it causes a commotion.

Krai, is something wrong?

You seem kinda down

Hey, Liz.

Huh?

This is just a hypothetical,

but say the entire city of

Zebrudia got destroyed.

What would you do?

Why not run away together?

What?

I'd like to go somewhere in the tropics.

I mean, I've never seen the sea before.

I'm talking about an entire

country being destroyed,

and yet she's still so positive.

But that's how Liz is.

I need to learn from her.

Here.

Wait. What?

L-Liz, what are you doing?

This guy was staring at us.

Huh?

I see!

Well, why don't we try to talk it out?

I'm very sorry.

Are you hurt?

Wait, you were allowing him to do that?

Huh?

Oh, you're so good at acting!

I mean, I thought I was pretty

good, but I couldn't even tell!

I'll be more careful next time.

What is this girl talking about?

What the hell just happened?

I was tailing them from a safe distance!

Why did Thousand Tricks let me get away?

What was that supposed to be?!

A warning?

Damn it, just how much does he know?

The Akashic Tower is exhibiting

some suspicious activity!

How will our Krai Andrey

deal with this new threat?

Is this really the time for

a carefree date?

And shouldn't he hurry to

locate Sitri's Slime first?!

Please tune in and find out next time!

First.

By: Gark & Kaina

All his secrecy is no good.

Second.

I don't know anything about him.

Three.

He doesn't do anything himself.

Four.

I call and call, but he never shows.

Five.

I'm really about to lose it!

Next time, on Let This Grieving Soul

Retire.

Episode 06

I Want to Sleep Instead of Taking Charge

Krai, what do you say?

"I Want to Sleep Instead of Taking Charge."

Excuse me.

You are Noctus Cochlear, correct?

Who are you?

I am Sophia Black.

I'd like you to take me on as an apprentice.

Sophia right?

Are you asking with the awareness

of my current station?

Very much so.

Your research is marvelous.

My hope is that you can bestow

on me a measure of the truth

you've been cultivating for so long.

Very well.

Thank you very much.