Free Web NovelChapter 316: Regret – And It’s the Worst Kind of Regret Right Now
Three days had passed in the blink of an eye.
Sapphire Star stared at the pair standing before him — Andrew, wearing his most guileless expression, and Hoshimi Miyabi beside him, equally innocent yet faintly bewildered, absentmindedly petting a Felyne.
Regret. That was all he felt right now — deep, bone-deep regret.
Thinking back on everything Andrew had gotten up to lately, Sapphire Star couldn’t stop himself. He slammed a hand down on the desk with a resounding crack, his voice climbing toward the edge of genuine exasperation.
"You little wretch! I told you to spend some time with her — but not like this?!"
Andrew stared back at him with the face of a man who had absolutely no idea what the problem was, and that expression alone was enough to set Sapphire Star’s blood boiling.
He jabbed a finger at Andrew and let it all out:
"On the very first day — fine, okay, I can almost let it go that right after her training session you took her to strip every last usable material from the entire ten-kilometer radius around Astera. Whatever. But then you had the nerve to follow that up by raiding my personal supply storage, claiming you were just ’taking back what was yours’?!"
"So let me ask you something."
The shock-eel mounted on his head whipped forward and planted itself directly against Andrew’s face as Sapphire Star demanded:
"Where. Are. My. Materials?!"
"Where did my entire stockpile of Steel Dragon materials and Cursed Ice Dragon materials go?!"
Faced with Sapphire Star looming right in his face, Andrew didn’t have the decency to look even slightly flustered. His expression was perfectly calm, perfectly unrepentant, as he replied:
"Heyyy, old man, I just accidentally grabbed a few extra materials while I was sorting through my decorations. Don’t be so stingy."
That answer made Sapphire Star even angrier.
"Accidentally grabbed a few?! A full set’s worth of Steel Dragon materials — enough to craft a complete armor set — and a full weapon-worth of Cursed Ice Dragon materials for a Tachi. You call that accidentally grabbing a little bit?!" freёwebnoѵel.com
"Fine, I can almost wrap my head around you taking the Steel Dragon materials for armor. But why on earth did you also grab an extra set of Cursed Ice Dragon materials to make a Tachi? You ungrateful disciple — don’t you already have the Blazing Light Tachi, Icebrink? How is that not better than anything you’d make from Cursed Ice Dragon materials?!"
At that, Andrew grew even more self-righteous.
He tilted his head slightly to dodge the shock-eel jabbing at his face and replied with the energy of a man who was entirely in the right:
"Miyabi needs a practice Tachi for training, doesn’t she? My own materials and gear were all sent off to the Forbidden Lands by you. So naturally, your materials were the only option."
"Besides — your disciple, after all these years, has finally brought a friend home. Shouldn’t you be giving her a gift?"
As he spoke, Andrew gave Sapphire Star a companionable pat on the shoulder, adopting an expression of profound magnanimity.
"You looked busy, so I just went ahead and picked something out on your behalf. No need to thank me."
"And the Tachi I made — I kept it at the bare minimum spec, didn’t I? Saved you a ton of materials right there."
Andrew scratched the back of his head with a mildly sheepish air.
"Oh, I should thank you, should I?"
Sapphire Star’s voice dropped into something dangerously flat.
"Saved me materials? When you were making the Steel Dragon armor set and went straight for the maximum configuration, where was all that thoughtful material-saving then?!"
Remembering that day, Sapphire Star had been in an unusually good mood — he’d just managed to bluff his way through the Commander’s required report using the trick Andrew had taught him — and he’d come home to find his meticulously organized supply storage looking like a Woolly had charged through it and rolled around inside.
That heart-stopping, chest-seizing moment of horror — every time the memory surfaced, Sapphire Star’s teeth ground together all over again.
"You kept the Tachi at a lower tier — was that really for my sake? That was because you were worried Miyabi wouldn’t be able to fully control it at a higher level yet, wasn’t it?!"
As a side note: Sapphire Star had decided that, being an elder and all, using the exact same nickname as his own disciple felt a bit odd.
After much deliberation, the name had eventually settled into what it was now.
Not that Miyabi had any particular feelings about it either way.
Watching Sapphire Star’s headgear slowly shift from cool blue toward a furious, heat-flushed red, Andrew waved a hand dismissively and said:
"Ah, old man, don’t sweat the small stuff. When you eventually kick the bucket someday, I’m the one inheriting your supply storage anyway."
"So even if I took some of it now, I just moved the timeline up by a few days. No difference, really."
Watching Sapphire Star on the verge of a full crimson meltdown, Andrew let a slight smile curl at the corner of his mouth — and then, without warning, pivoted completely:
"Besides, old man — you wouldn’t want the Commander to find out that the report you just turned in was copied wholesale from old historical reports, would you?"
"—?!"
"You little—!!"
Watching the shock-eel’s furious red slowly drain to a sickly white, Andrew continued, perfectly composed:
"If the Commander finds out about that, your five-thousand-word report won’t just get sent back to you. He’d probably add a zero to the end of that number."
Staring at Andrew — standing there with the look of a man who had planned every step of this from the very beginning — Sapphire Star finally understood.
"You scheming little— you played me?!"
"I knew something was off when you suddenly turned around that day out of nowhere and offered to help me with the report — and your solution was actually useful, too. So that’s what you were setting up for, was it?!"
"Now, now, old man, you can’t put it like that."
Andrew put on his most earnestly-for-your-own-good expression and replied:
"How could this possibly be me scheming against you? You got through a report that would’ve taken you days of misery to squeeze out on your own. Miyabi and I got new gear. This is clearly a win-win situation."
"And then on top of that, I’m supposed to keep your little report secret?"
Sapphire Star ground the words out through clenched teeth:
"This so-called win-win of yours is actually you winning twice, isn’t it?!"
Facing Sapphire Star’s seething glare, Andrew spread his hands in a helpless shrug.
"Then take your pick — a brand-new fifty-thousand-word report plus a written self-reflection, or the materials. Your call."
"..."
The memory of report hell was all too vivid. Five thousand words had been agony enough — if he had to write fifty thousand, he’d rather go back to the Old World and fight Fatalis all over again. Solo. No support whatsoever.
But staring at Andrew’s unbearably smug expression, Sapphire Star’s pride refused to fold — and he refused to concede.
He still had one last card to play.
He snapped his head toward Miyabi, who was quietly petting a nearby Felyne. This girl — earnest, principled, every bit the composed and proper young lady she appeared to be — was Sapphire Star’s final hope.
He asked:
"Miyabi, what do you think? Don’t you think there’s something wrong with what Andrew did?!"
Miyabi, who had been fully absorbed in petting the Felyne, blinked and looked up, realizing she was being addressed.
She instinctively glanced sideways at Andrew.
One look at his expression — thoroughly self-assured, radiating the confidence of a man who saw absolutely no problem with his own actions — and Miyabi turned back to face Sapphire Star.
In the face of his desperate, imploring gaze, she gave a single, firm shake of her head.
"Andrew said."
"The extra things he took were compensation for providing his master with a method to quickly complete his combat report — and interest on the decorations he lent you for several months."
"And since Andrew said so, then it must be right."
Thud.
The moment he saw Miyabi’s very first instinct had been to look at that kid for guidance, Sapphire Star had known it was over.
The result proved him right. His very last shred of hope disintegrated completely, and he slowly raised a hand and pressed it over his own face.
He should have remembered.
Because she was unfamiliar with every cultural custom of this world, she had placed her complete and unconditional trust in Andrew — the one person she knew, the one who had been her guide. Whatever Andrew said, that was simply how it was.
Sapphire Star himself had been the one to remind Andrew of this dynamic when she’d first arrived. He just hadn’t imagined that in a mere three days, the effect would already be this thorough.
And when all was said and done, he hadn’t even had a real leg to stand on in the first place.
Going to Miyabi for backup had been an act of pure self-humiliation.
"Damn it all!"
Sapphire Star could have drowned in his own regret.
Not that turning back time was an option — but if it were, he would go back and give himself from that day a thoroughly deserved beating. What had possessed him to open his mouth and give Andrew that advice?! Who asked you to weigh in?!
Completely out of options, Sapphire Star’s thoughts lurched forward to everything that had happened after that — and his fury rekindled all over again.
"Fine! Setting that aside — what exactly did you get up to on the second day?"
He didn’t even wait for Andrew to answer before slamming the desk again and launching straight into it:
"You absolute menace — on the second day, you used Guild Points to buy out every single shipment of Felyne Nip that had just arrived in the New World, all in one go. Three full cartloads!"
"That alone would’ve been one thing. But then — knowing full well the Felynes in the outpost were now completely without their Felyne Nip supply — you used an oversized Felyne Nip ball to lure every single Felyne in all of Astera and gave them all a thorough petting session one by one!"
"And the most unforgivable part — you didn’t even spare the Meowscular Chef?!"
"Ah... ahem..."
Andrew scratched the back of his head with a slightly awkward expression.
"The Meowscular Chef was genuinely an accident."
"We were petting the other Felynes in the restaurant, and one of them got so worked up from the Nip that it fumbled the Felyne Nip ball right out of its paws — sent it flying straight into the Meowscular Chef’s face the moment he walked through the door..."
A giant Felyne Nip ball straight to the face — even the most iron-willed Felyne in existence couldn’t hold up against a hit like that.
So, naturally, the Meowscular Chef had been knocked out blissfully on the spot.
For what it was worth — even though the Meowscular Chef normally carried himself with the calm, composed air of an enormously buff, battle-hardened professional who spent his days in the heat of a kitchen — his fur was genuinely, undeniably, incredibly soft.
Andrew scratched his head at the memory, a little sheepish, and offered his defense:
"Well, since we were already there..."
Then, the next moment, he straightened right back up.
"Besides, didn’t I leave every single Felyne an oversized Felyne Nip ball as their reward? Every last one."
At those words, Sapphire Star’s hand shot out, trembling, one finger outstretched, as a thunderous growl from his stomach punctuated his anguish:
"Because of what you pulled, every last Felyne in the outpost is now helplessly hooked on Felyne Nip and can’t think about anything else — and the Meowscular Chef is in such a state of mortified, sword-wielding fury that the mere sound of distant laughter sends him reaching for his blade to challenge the nearest available target! His attention isn’t anywhere near his cooking anymore!"
"Everything coming out of the restaurant right now is either too salty or too bland, too raw or completely scorched — not a single dish is fit to eat!"
"You’re the mastermind behind all of this, and you can cook for yourself, so it doesn’t matter to you. But what about the rest of us?!"
"And it’s not just the restaurant — thanks to your brilliant work, the entire outpost has basically ground to a half-standstill because every single Felyne is lost in a Felyne Nip haze!"
Sapphire Star didn’t stop there — the rest came pouring out in one furious torrent:
"And today — today you were at it again!"
"If I hadn’t shown up when I did, you and Miyabi would’ve already kicked off your Dung Pod throwing contest, wouldn’t you?"
He instinctively looked down at the mountain of Dung Pods piled up by his feet, and his voice rose another full octave.
"What in the world were you thinking?!"
"Since everyone’s going without food — were you planning to use the stench to kill their appetite, so the hunger problem disappears at the source?!"
"I mean, that’s basically what I did right when you first came to the New World with me, and everyone got used to it pretty fast—"
Andrew’s feeble attempt at a defense was cut off before he could finish — Sapphire Star slapped a brand-new commission request directly onto his face, shutting him up entirely.
"You’ve only been back for a few days and you’ve already managed to reduce the entire Astera to this state. Letting you rest at the outpost was clearly my mistake."
Sapphire Star watched Miyabi fuss about, carefully peeling the commission off Andrew’s face, and let out a long, tired sigh.
Then he turned back to Andrew — who was rubbing his face — and said, with very little patience left in his voice:
"Since you love Felynes so much — as it happens, the Felyne Village that was recently established in the New World just sent word that some kind of abnormal situation has been developing around the outskirts of their settlement. I went ahead and pulled the commission from the Commander."
"Get out of here and go do the commission with Miyabi. Stop terrorizing everyone else in the outpost."
The moment those words were out, Sapphire Star shifted his gaze to Miyabi, who was still a little reluctant to let go of the Felyne she’d been holding.
His tone shifted immediately — becoming remarkably warm and gentle:
"And Miyabi — if you want to become a Hunter, you simply cannot do without a Felyne partner by your side."
"The location for this commission is a settlement led and inhabited primarily by Felynes. If you happen to meet someone suitable while you’re there, you should try to make a proper acquaintance — you may find a truly reliable companion."
"Back in the day, Andrew’s current partner Meow-Da was first met in that very same place."
Sapphire Star rubbed his chin, and a faintly nostalgic look drifted across his face.
"Back then, Felyne Village hadn’t developed into much of anything yet — it was little more than a small cluster of huts, really."
Miyabi listened attentively to her guide’s instructions and gave a sincere, earnest nod.
And on the other side of the room —
Andrew had looked down at the paper that had been slapped onto his face — and realized it genuinely, actually, really was a commission.
His expression transformed at the speed of light, shifting from indignation to unrestrained, barely-suppressed delight in an instant.
If there had been anything else to do around here, anything at all, he wouldn’t have been idle enough to cook up half this nonsense in the first place.
Before Sapphire Star could change his mind — and before Miyabi even had a chance to respond — Andrew seized her hand, snatched up the commission in his other hand, and bolted straight out of the room.
Sapphire Star watched the two retreating figures disappear into the distance and shook his head, equal parts exasperated and fond.
He was lucky enough to have caught it in time, at least.
The things the two of them had gotten up to over the past two days — well, setting those aside, even if they were absurd, they were still defensible.
The outpost’s surrounding flora had no real harvesting restrictions to speak of; as long as you didn’t uproot anything entirely, the plants would regrow in a few days anyway.
And the outpost being at a half-standstill during peacetime wasn’t really a crisis either.
A standstill? Call it a two-day festival. The outpost held those every now and then anyway — to lift spirits and keep morale up. This could just be counted as one extra.
But today — bringing a young lady along to play with Dung Pods? What was the thought process there?
Even someone as dense as he was in these matters knew that wasn’t something you invited a young woman to do, was it?!
That kid really was a walking slab of steel. Didn’t know which side of the family he got that from.
As for those materials...
The thought of them — already melted down by the smithing crew — drew a single, quietly devastated tear from the corner of Sapphire Star’s eye.
Tragic. Truly tragic. The moment that kid saw an opening, he went for the jugular...
My precious materials...
Well. Consider it an offering to ward off worse misfortune.
Sapphire Star consoled his wounded soul with this thought, and left it at that.
____
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