A still heartbroken, depressed, and lonely Rudeus spends multiple days in a wagon headed into the Northlands without speaking, until a friendly woman named Suzanne asks him what his story is. When he mentions he’s searching for his mother, a victim of the Fittoa disaster, you can see the change in body language, but Suzanne’s companion Sara still doesn’t appreciate Rudy’s rudeness.
Suzanne gives Rudy some information about the Northlands, but the morning they arrive in a town, Rudy splits off from them, rents out a room at the inn for a month, closes the windows, and lies on the bed in the dark, clutching Eris’ lock of red hair. He forces himself to get up and go to the guild for a job, and he encounters Suzanne and Sara again.
They’re members of Counter Arrow, and Suzanne is willing to have Rudy come along on their next job: a simple bear hunt. Conceding to the fact that people are stronger in numbers, especially in the frigid north, Rudy agrees to meet up with them the next morning.
Rudy is warmly welcomed by everyone except for Sara, who is the one closest in age to him, and is also constantly reminding him of Eris. As the formerly newest member, Sara doesn’t even want Rudy around, and warns him not to put any of her party at risk.
Suzanne and the others are far less harsh, with the leader Timothy even apologizing on Sara’s behalf as she’s “getting a bit full of herself; this actually draws out a small smile from Rudy, since no one he knows is fuller of herself than Eris.
When they execute the bear hunt, everything appears to be going according to plan, but there are more white bears than they expected, along with far stronger black bears. Rudy is temporarily paralyzed, as he’s apparently lost the taste for fighting at precisely the wrong time.
Nevertheless, he watches Counter Arrow work like a well-oiled machine, circling him and using all their various complimentary skills to hold back the bears just enough. When Suzanne is too tired to get up, Sara holds out a hand to lift her up, but by then they’re totally surrounded by vicious bears.
That’s when Rudy walks towards the bears, and Sara watches with disbelief as he wordlessly summons a massive explosion that kills them all with one shot. It’s the moment we knew was coming because we know Rudy is OP as hell and many levels above these guys. But while it’s not a surprising climax, it is an exceedingly satisfying one.
Rudy’s ability was never in question, it was his will. Will he let a bear simply take his life, because his family was strewn to the ends of the earth and his heart was broken by the woman he loved? No! He sees the camaraderie of the party, and sees that they fight because they care about each other, and he decides he should care too.
In the aftermath of his complete victory, Rudy helps skin the bears of their valuable pelts, and feels a sense of accomplishment and fulfillment. While before he didn’t have the heart to even shake Suzanne’s hand when she offered it, now he offers his own burned hand, and she gladly shakes it. Even Sara thanks him and tells him she’s in her debt.
Back at the guild, Counter Arrow isn’t welcomed, but leered at and pelted with passive aggressive comments because they’re “newcomers”. But one nod from Suzanne to Timothy, and he’s buying a drink for the entire hall, instantly endearing themselves to everyone there.
Timothy also raises a glass to their newest member Rudeus Greyrat, and the crowd chants his name, Rudy is wearing the biggest smile he’s worn in a long, long time. Back in his room he re-opens the window shutter and starts a fire, grasps Roxy’s underwear for a bit, and then tosses Eris’ hair in the flames.
There’s no more time for moping. There’s things he needs to do, and now new friends to help him do them. Those he loves may be far away, but he knows he’s not alone.
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