MHGA Chapter 218 – Youth Is a Blessing
David soon explained everything that had happened between him and Lucy to the Hunters he trusted.
But having no clue what Lucy was actually thinking, David couldn't figure out where he went wrong.
However… the other Hunters who came to listen in quickly noticed the issue.
First and foremost among them was a now red-faced Kazuma.
"HOW DARE YOU!!! LET ME GO! I'M GONNA KILL HIM!!"
Seething with envy, Kazuma flailed wildly and rushed at David—
Only to be pounced on and pinned to the ground by Kairo Retsu and Joseph, one on each side.
"LET ME GO!
LET ME KILL THIS DESPICABLE NORMIE!
Kairo Retsu!! Joseph!!
Have you both betrayed me?!?!"
Kazuma thrashed on the floor, shouting:
"While I was out there suffering with a bunch of party-killing teammates, this guy's off getting lovey-dovey with a girl?!
Why are you holding me back!!?"
"Hmm… I have Syusy Q," Joseph muttered, holding Kazuma down tightly.
"As for the Guildmaster…"
"Don't lump me in with you rotten-hearted pests!"
Kairo Retsu shouted righteously as he locked Kazuma in a chokehold:
"I'm a paragon of morality, like Tanjiro and Himmel!
A virtuous soul, filled with love and justice—!"
"Shut it!
Don't taint the Gathering Hub's reputation with your twisted ethics!!"
Kazuma twisted around and grabbed Kairo Retsu's throat in return:
"You're a barnacle stuck to the back of a sea turtle or a whale!!
And sure, I get why Joseph's got a girlfriend—
But why the hell are YOU holding me back?!
You're single!!"
"Lies! Everyone knows I'm a dragonsexual Hunter!
I'm not the type to get jealous over stuff like this!!"
Kairo Retsu knocked Kazuma out cold with a just blow to the head.
Then he and Joseph dragged him into the kitchen and tied him up without a word.
Nearby, Shirou Emiya watched this unfold with some concern.
"Is this really okay…?
The Guildmaster looked like he wasn't holding back…"
"It's fine," Naofumi Iwatani replied without even turning his head, sipping a drink.
"Let me put it this way… Shirou, you've seen American cartoons before, right?
Even if our worlds are different, the style should be pretty familiar."
"…Rubber hose animation?"
Shirou nodded. "Of course. But what does that have to do with this?"
Naofumi's mouth twitched slightly.
"You haven't had enough Felyne Meals yet…
That's why you haven't noticed."
"Give it a little more time,
and you'll realize your vitality is more terrifying than the legendary G."
Naofumi gestured over his shoulder—
toward Kazuma, now tied up tight in the kitchen.
"Legendary G?!"
Shirou flinched instinctively—
then realized what Naofumi meant.
"Ugh, it's like saying Hunters are as hard to kill as cockroaches," Rakuro Hizutome muttered.
"No, I'm literally saying that," Naofumi said, covering his face.
"Just recently, I ran into a dragon that turned into a zombie after it died.
And when I finally took it down—
my Filolial said my vitality was just as horrifying as a cockroach's."
"How did you take it down?"
Laios' eyes lit up as he whipped out his notebook.
"Wait, dragons can turn into zombies?!
That's incredible!"
Naofumi slammed his drink on the table in frustration.
"I got eaten, okay?!
The damn thing swallowed me, and while it was trying to digest me,
I used my Heavy Bowgun from the inside to blow it to pieces!
That's normal, right?!
For a Hunter!!"
"I can relate," Himmel nodded thoughtfully.
"Haitta used to say Aizer's vitality was disturbingly strong too…
Seems totally reasonable."
"It's definitely the training!" Tanjiro chimed in cheerfully.
"Like Inosuke—he recovers super fast!"
Inside the kitchen, Kazuma had just regained consciousness.
He listened to the conversations going on outside—
and a tragic expression crept across his face.
Had the Hunters' sense of normalcy… already become this warped?
"So, uh…
What were we talking about again?"
Kairo Retsu asked brightly after knocking Kazuma out.
"My thing with Lucy…"
David raised his hand quietly.
"So how did the conversation drift so far off track…?"
"You…"
Kairo Retsu looked David up and down, then said bluntly:
"You're kind of a dumbass."
"?"
David slowly tilted his head in confusion.
What was with the sudden insult?
"Kazuma's so jealous he's about to evolve into an Agnaktor,
and you—"
Kairo Retsu sighed.
"You didn't notice Lucy was worried about you?"
"Now that you mention it…"
David gave it some thought.
"But in the future you showed me, Lucy's the one who brought me into the edgerunners, right?"
"So what's different now?"
David scratched his head.
"Well, back then—
you and her were both kind of lost souls,"
Kairo Retsu rubbed his chin.
"But now…"
"To Lucy,
you're just some reckless guy who suddenly confessed to her—
except you're strong.
You've run into trouble, sure,
but your future still holds tons of hope."
Kairo Retsu clapped a hand on David's shoulder.
"Now think about Lucy's situation."
"Lucy…"
David reflected on what he knew about her.
She wanted to go to the moon.
She thought Night City was a prison.
She used to be a genius netrunner trained by Arasaka.
She escaped with her comrades, yearning for freedom…
In order to help her future self, she ended up caught by Faraday—
and he planned to hand her back to Arasaka…
The more he thought about it, the darker David's expression became.
"You get it now?"
Kairo Retsu asked.
"I don't need to spell it out, right?
You know what you need to do—
and what Lucy really needs."
"…I think I understand."
David stood up suddenly and dashed out of the mess hall.
"I'm heading back to Night City!"
"Tch.
Youth sure is a blessing,"
Kairo Retsu muttered, arms crossed as he watched David's figure disappear.
David, having returned to Night City, rushed nonstop toward Lucy's place.
Lucy had been watching a BD of the moon when she heard a knock at the door.
When she opened it—
She found David standing there, visibly excited.
"Lucy!"
David grabbed her shoulders.
"Let's go on a date!"
In the next second, Lucy's fist smashed into David's nose.
"Idiot!
What the hell are you doing showing up in the middle of the night?!"
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