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odorekijinchapter one
[North Country—Cavern of Time]
Bradley: …
Mithra: …
Owen: …
Akira: (Well that’s something you don’t see very often... All the Northern wizards with sieves in hand...)
We were currently in the Northern Country, gathered by the Cavern of Time’s entrance for an investigation.
Attracted by a sudden proliferation of Stardust Sugar in the cavern, merchants and travellers alike came running, hoping to get their share of the cake. However, they’d been the target of attacks, seemingly to prevent them from approaching the area.
[Flashback]
Snow: We will pretend to be travellers seeking some Stardust Sugar in order to lure the culprit into the open.
White: Standing by the entrance will naturally increase our chance of catching them, but perhaps carrying sieves would help us look the part.
[End of flashback]
Akira: (Well, that’s what they had planned, but...)
Mithra: I don't see anyone coming out.
Owen: I knew this would be a waste of time.
The two nonchalantly dropped their respective sieves.
Akira: We’ve barely been here for ten seconds though? Ju, just… give it some time!
Bradley: Ten or twenty seconds, like that’d make a difference. Seriously, look around ya: we’ve got Mithra, Owen, the twinsies... and the Bandits of Death’s renowned boss, the great Bradley.
Unless yer some goofy degenerate, no one would waltz in with that kinda line-up hangin’ around, ya feel me?
Snow: Now now, you three! Focus on your task!
White: Take this mission seriously!
Snow & White: …Hehe, juuust kidding~
Akira: Wha–
Snow: We knew this particular strategy would fail to work from the very beginning.
White: We only wanted to see you naughty boys comply with our request and quietly gather snow.
Mithra & Owen: Hah...?
Mithra: Enough, I’m leaving.
Owen: Well, thank you for wasting my time with your pointless excursion. Feel free to continue whatever idiocy you had in mind.
Akira: W-wait…! Aaand they’re gone.
(Wait a sec, maybe Bradley is still around…!)
Bradley: Hm? What’s that goofy look for?
Taken by a sudden haste, I instinctively turned around, looking for Bradey: to my surprise, he was still with us, with no apparent intention to leave.
Snow & White: Aw, Braddykins!
Snow: Good, good boy~!
White: You’re so good to us; oh, I can feel tears in my eyes~!
Akira: Phew, I’m glad... I don’t know what we would have done if you had left too.
Bradley: Just so y’all know, I ain’t stickin’ around for you or the mission. There’s a freak doin’ whatever they want on my old turf, ‘n I ain’t gonna sit around and let that shit go on.
I’m just gonna pay a li’l visit to the rude bastard in person, if ya catch my drift.
Snow: That’s the spirit, but avoid murdering them, understood?
White: We need to locate where the looted goods are being kept and discover their stronghold—but for that, we need them alive.
Bradley: That’s up to whether he gets yer pardon or not. Anyway, we ain’t gonna reel anyone in if we just sit around without a plan.
But hey, luck’s on our side, see? The ones who can’t hold a conversation for shit just skedaddled off t’ who knows where. So here’s the idea…
⁂
――A few minutes later.
Akira: (Did it have to come down to this though…?)
Here I was, standing in front of the cavern, alone, with only a sieve to keep me company.
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chapter two
[Northern Country—Cavern of Time]
[Flashback]
Bradley: Sage, yer gonna wait alone and be our bait.
Akira: Wh, wha– like, with no one else!?
Bradley: Weak humans are way easier to target than us, get it? You’ll be like a sittin’ duck in an open field fer these rascals.
Don’tcha worry, I’ll keep watch where they can’t spot me. Ya got nothin’ to be scared of.
Snow: I must admit, this idea sounds quite promising.
White: Do not fret, Master Sage, we will come to your rescue if anything goes awry.
Bradley: You geezers better not butt in. Twinsies roamin’ around all alone in this snow are gonna stick out like a sore thumb.
’N dun’ get into yer older form or whatever either. Even yer faces could blow our cover, so stay outta the way ‘n be quiet.
[End of flashback]
Akira: (...Fingers crossed that everything goes according to plan. I hope the hood is hiding my face well enough…)
I had put on a coat Bradley had on him: if the culprits had happened to see me with the wizards earlier, they’d immediately figure out our trap.
Akira: (Gee, North Country sure is scarier when you’re all alone. Keep it together, me, this is for our investigation…)
Apprehension creeping within, I looked up at the Stardust Sugar dotting the sky, when—
???: The hell are ya doin’ on my turf?
Akira: !
I looked over my shoulder to check who was behind that deep voice. Pulling a club out of his coat, a burly, stern man was drawing closer to me.
Akira: Gh…!
(...Crap, my hood..! It must have dropped when I turned around!)
The man sneered at my now uncovered, bare face.
Burly Man: Heh, ya look like you’d break like a twig.
Akira: (I have to get out of here...! …(gasps) !? No, no no no, my legs are… stuck? Come on, move!)
My body would not answer my frantic attempts to escape inevitable doom:
I had been paralysed.
Akira: (Is this… magic? So our culprit is also a wizard…!)
The man was only a few steps away, a wicked barbaric smile widening with every inch that brought him closer to me. Seized by terror, I mustered all my might to yell with every fibre of my body:
Akira: Bradley!
(Bang)
The club flew off the man’s hand the next second. When I came to my senses, Bradley was standing right in front of me.
Bradley: You did well. Leave the rest to me.
Bradley cocked his gun at his opponent.
Bradley: Move ‘n I’ll cheese your head next.
Burly Man: Who the fuck are you!?
Bradley: Damn, if ya dun’ know me yer either hella young or yer the kinda roamin’ bastard who ain’t seen anyone in forever.
Bradley: This turf belongs to the Bandits of Death’s one ‘n only boss: the great, undethroned Bradley. Drill that one deep into yer skull.
《 Adnopotensum 》
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chapter three
[Northern Country—Cavern of Time]
Akira: Phew, I’m glad we successfully caught the culprit... I was so lost when my body froze, I didn’t know what to do or how to get out.
Bradley: Nah, that’s child’s play. I dare ya to try ‘n snatch meat from the kitchen—that shit is what’s impossible.
But we reeled ‘im in good, whatcha think? I knew you’d make fine bait.
Akira: H-huh, is that a compliment…?
Bradley: Duh, ‘course, and I mean it. What I’m tryna say is that every role—even the bait—was key to our plan.
Speakin’ of, where the hell are those geezers? Guess they tied the bastard up ‘n took him off t’ who knows where.
Akira: Yeah, they said they’ll handle the rest and come back soon. So we just have to wait.
Bradley: Bet they took the guy away just so you can’t see the nasty stuff they’re gonna do to ‘im. Welp, I’ll leave it to ‘em then.
Thus, we waited for Snow & White’s return by the cavern’s entrance. Glittering snowflakes and Stardust Sugar fell from the freezing sky with a steady rhythm.
I tried to catch some of them with the sieve I was still holding onto. Slowly but surely, snow quietly piled up.
Akira: …Nice, I caught some.
Bradley: There ain’t no other rascal lurkin’, ya can drop the act already.
Akira: Oh no, I was just thinking that I could harvest some sugar since we’re here, as souvenirs for everyone.
Bradley: Hard-workin’ as ever, ain’tcha. So yer the kinda fella who’d stand there doin’ nothin’ ‘till yer pan is full, huh.(1)
Akira: Ahaha, I’m not there yet, but if I put in the effort, I think we’ll have enough for a jar.
Besides, collecting sugar like this is kind of fun!
Bradley: Heh… I guess so.
Resting his back on a rock, Bradley then fell silent.
A certain quiet settled with the Stardust Sugar lying on the cavern’s floor. At first, Bradley was patiently staring at me, but his gaze narrowed before long.
Bradley: …The guys used t’ be covered in snow like that too.
Akira: Hm…?
Bradley: Nothin’, I was just thinkin’ about somethin’ from back then.
Y’know, with that coat ‘n all, ya look like you’d fit right in with bandits.
—He seemed to mutter, slowly making his way to me.
Then, he reached over my coat and carefully set the hood on my head with both hands.
Bradley: You gotta put this on if you wanna go for some gatherin’, got it?
Else you’d be covered in snow before ya even fill yer li’l jar.
As if to illustrate his statement, Bradley patted my head, laughing—and perhaps the faint sparkles of the snow made his smile dazzle with a gentler, far more tender glow than usual.
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(1) In the Cavern of Time’s Spot Specialty story, Nero talks about the Stardust Sugar harvesting process, and reveals that he also used to stand in the cold with his brother-in-arms, barely filling a bottle worth of sugars. ↑
episode story
“How To Use Extra Allowance”
[Wizard’s Manor—Bradley’s Bedroom]
Akira: Hey Bradley, sorry to bother you all of the sudden, but here! I wanted to share some of the Stardust Sugar from last time.
Bradley: Those ya collected in the Cavern of Time, ay? Sure, I’m down.
Akira: I felt like throwing in a few extra for you since you helped out. I’ll treat everybody to sweets made from the sugar later, so take these as a sort of bonus for your help.
Bradley: So extra allowance, ay? I ain’t no chef though: I dun’ see the real value in this stuff.
Ya shoulda just thrown in those sweets ya mentioned. Welp, yer as diligent a fella as ever, that’s for sure.
Akira: Maybe you could put them on your shelf? I think it’d make a nice decoration…
Bradley: …Huh, wait, I know what we can do with ‘em.
Akira: You do? Can they be used for something other than baking?
Bradley: Get some water, booze or whatevs, mix in the sugar, ‘n ya got yerself a Stardust Sugar-based drink.
Gotta let the sugar dissolve a li’l before drinkin’ though—give it a second, ‘n yer gonna feel sweet pops on yer tongue. Gotta say, it’s got an interesting kick.
Akira: Sounds yummy to me! Maybe it’s like a soda or something…
Bradley: 《 Adnopotensum 》
Akira: Oh, two glasses?
Bradley: C’mon, dun’ just stand there. Sit down with me.
No matter how ya look at it, they’re better in our stomachs than sittin’ on a shelf, yeah?
home line
“Back off, y’all wouldn’t know a treasure even if it’d hit ya square in the face. …See, this is one fine mana stone we’ve got here—’n I ain’t lettin’ y’all lay a finger on it.”
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