episode_0024

-town! Eup!!!!

I thought as I looked at the sack struggling to survive.

‘What should I do with this…’

If you think about it normally, it would have been right to just give up. There was no need to take the unnecessary risk of fighting five goblins.

But there are two reasons why I am worried like this.

at first,

“Yoosung, what should I do with that person..?!”

“Let’s go save my brother quickly!”

These are them.

Unlike me, who is worn out, the Cerise sisters are pure creatures who have just entered the world. If you could save someone in danger, you would want to save them.

What would happen if I suggested giving up on that person? There will be some backlash right now. Then, if I give a good reason, he will understand.

-I’m sorry… I’m sorry…

I shook my head, remembering Kara talking in her sleep in the cabin. Whether you understand it or not, it will remain in your mind.

I just didn’t want to leave any regrets over something like this. Even if five goblins are dangerous, you just need to be a little careful.

If the first is that, the second is Seris.

She hasn’t been able to kill a single goblin so far. They say the first time is usually the hardest, but she was a little harsh.

I thought it might be because I made her feel too comfortable. There was no sense of crisis.

What would happen if the situation became urgent, if I didn’t kill him right away, I would die? You will probably swing your sword without even thinking about it.

After weighing everything, I decided it would be better to save that woman.

“Yes, I have to get it.”

“Yes!”

Kara nodded with a bright expression. It seems like he was worried that people would ask him to leave him behind like he did when he ran away from the village this time. He patted my head to reassure me.

“Ugh…”

Is it because you stroke it often? Lately, there hasn’t been much reaction even when I pet him.

‘It’s fun to see the reaction.’

Putting my regrets aside, I explained to them how to act.

“I’ll run in first and take care of that one guy. Then you guys come running right away. Two for Cerise, one for Kara and one for me. Got it?”

“Yes!”

“Yes!”

They were accustomed to fighting goblins and responded to my instructions without saying anything.

I drew my dagger. After looking at the timing, I ran towards the goblins.

-Kik, squeak?!

It attacked the closest goblin. They grabbed his neck, pressed him to the floor, and stabbed him in the torso with a dagger.

-Good!!! Wow!!!!

A goblin whose body suddenly turned into a honeycomb. It let out a terrible scream. Deciding that this was enough, I immediately jumped back.

-human!!

-Squeak!

-kill!

-Klick!

The other four dazed goblins came to their senses. He came running to kill me for harming his comrade.

Seris and Kara stopped them. I also turned around again and faced the goblins.

* * *

Seris glared at the two goblins. I will definitely do it this time. With that determination, he held his sword tightly.

The two goblins each had a spear and a small dagger.

She held out her shield and approached the goblins.

-Squeak..!!

The goblin threatened, swinging his spear. It is a crude spear made of wood and sharp stones joined together.

Seris knew that the spear would not penetrate her shield and chainmail. I approached without stopping.

-Squeak!!

The goblin stabbed the spear at Seris’ leg. It was the same reaction as the goblins up to this point. Seris lowered her shield to block the spear.

Taking advantage of the gap between the spear and the shield, he kicked the goblin. Keek! The goblin, hit by Seris’ powerful kick, rolled on the floor.

Seris turned her attention to the one remaining goblin.

The goblin who met Seris’ gaze thought he had no chance of winning. I abandoned my colleagues and turned around and ran away.

Seris threw her shield at the fleeing goblin. Bah! The goblin was hit by a shield on his arms and torso and fell.

Seris approached the goblin who was lying on the ground and raised her sword.

-Squeak, squeak…

The goblin shivered and looked up at Seris. He put his hands together and rubbed them together as if asking for help.

‘I have to kill him. I have to kill him. Just close your eyes once and it’s over.’

Seris took a deep breath and tried to swing her sword. But because she hesitated too much, a goblin lunged at her. It was the goblin that had been kicked earlier.

“Kya!”

Seris fell sideways. The goblin climbed on top of him and tried to slam his spear down. Seris was scared and covered her face with her hands.

But the spear never stuck in her hand. This is because the meteor kicked the goblin holding the spear.

Kara took care of the goblin that fell.

“Are you okay?”

Yoosung asked kindly. Seris lowered her head and answered softly.

“Yes…”

‘Again… I failed again…’

I hesitated again and ended up in a dangerous situation. She blamed herself for a while. But something felt off. Yoosung’s kind words of comfort were not heard.

Did I end up disappointed in her in the end? She slowly raised her head.

“Did I do well?”

“Yes, you did really well.”

Yoosung wasn’t around Seris, he was praising Kara and stroking her hair.

‘uh..?’

Seris suddenly felt the distance between her and the two people.

An ominous thought came to mind.

I imagine Yoosung and Kara leaving her, a nuisance, behind.

‘Abandoned..? Left alone..?’

I am left alone.

When I wake up, there is no one next to me. There is no one to chat with while eating. There is no one to cuddle with when you sleep.

Her heart sank.

I remember 12 years ago, when I was walking alone in the forest in the middle of winter.

It was a memory she had forgotten and tried to forget after being taken away by Kara’s parents, but it was vividly replaying in her mind right now.

The wind was so cold that it felt like it would tear my skin,

The soles of my feet were bruised and festering from walking without a pair of shoes.

The fear that made me tremble at the sound of howling mountain animals,

The loneliness that naturally arose as I walked without knowing who I was or where I was,

entire

vividly

It is played.

My heart tightens and beats violently, as if it was rebelling against it.

My body became weak, and only the sound of my breathing came out of my open mouth.

Turn your head. looking for something

‘Something, something worth killing…’

found. A goblin was hiding in the bushes, shivering.

It doesn’t matter why that guy is hiding there. Even the trembling sight no longer made me feel pitiful.

She was just thankful that there were goblins there to kill.

I ran holding my sword.

“Seris?!”

“Sister!”

A shooting star and Kara’s surprised voice were heard from behind. I didn’t care.

-Squeak?!!?

The goblin was frightened as he saw Seris running towards him. I reflexively jabbed the spear, but Seris barely managed to avoid it by turning her head.

The rabbit mask caught on the window and fell off. I didn’t care about the mask or anything.

“Die! Die!”

Seris hit the goblin with her sword. As her strength increased, the sword was no longer a sword. It was a blunt weapon.

Kuduk! Bah! Quad deuk!

Blood and chunks of flesh splattered out along with the sound of bones breaking. Even though the goblin was already dead, Seris continued to swing her sword.

“Ceris, stop. Already dead.”

It only stopped after Yoosung placed his hand on her shoulder. Seris turned towards the shooting star. The goblin’s blood and flesh splattered down his face.

Seris looked at the shooting star and tried to control her face that was trying to distort. He said, forcibly twisting the corner of his mouth up.

“I… did well…?”

Yoosung and Kara were speechless.

* * *

“Thank you for saving me!”

We arrived at the Adventurer’s Guild and handed over the missing person to the receptionist. Only then did the missing person feel relieved and bowed down to say hello.

“I think it was a good idea to tell Mr. Han Yu-seong. I never thought you would get it in just one day!”

Orr beamed as he watched the missing woman follow the other receptionist.

“Compensation will be paid after the client comes and confirms it in person. This is a process to make sure, so please understand even if it takes some time.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Orr looked at me and rolled his eyes.

“Uh… Well, if you’re in a hurry, would you mind giving me at least 10% of the compensation first? That’s okay…”

“Yes?”

“I thought you were displeased…”

“It’s not like that.”

Since it was a natural procedure, there was nothing unpleasant about it. I didn’t even have time to worry about it. My mind was confused because of Seris.

‘Why is this happening all of a sudden?’

This is Seris, who was begging for a week because she couldn’t kill a single goblin. Because of this, he was alone, depressed, suspicious, and cautious…

‘Suddenly my eyes rolled over.’

He killed the goblin by hitting it with a sword.

That alone was shocking, but what was even more serious was the expression she made next.

A smile that made you feel like you were crying even though you had blood all over your face.

Even if I didn’t know anything else, I knew that her mentality was broken.

‘Should I have a consultation later at night?’

I sighed and parted ways with Or.

‘First of all, let’s eat something delicious for dinner tonight…’

As I was walking, wondering what to do with Ceris, someone hit me on the back.

It was quite painful, so I frowned and turned around to see a familiar face.

“Mr. Patrick?”

It was Patrick who gave me advice at the bar a week ago. He chuckled as he watched me rubbing his back.

“Long time no see. How have you been?”

“It seems like it’s been a long time, but it’s only been a week… Well, I’ve been doing well.”

“I don’t think this is the expression of a guy who is having a good time?”

“…Is my expression that bad?”

Ordo said the same thing earlier. I traced my face with my hands. The corners of the mouth and eyes were drooped. This is why I do it.

Patrick clicked his tongue while looking at me.

“It looks like something happened. Tell me. I will listen.”

“No, it’s okay…”

I was about to refuse, but then changed my mind.

Patrick is a 10-year veteran and gave useful advice on lung cancer. Wouldn’t you be quick about things like this?

“Then would you please listen to me?”

“Okay, then let me tell you something first. Today I’m craving thick vegetable soup and ale.”

Patrick grinned at me.

“…Yes. Of course.”

* * *

“Suddenly he had a fit and beat the goblin to death…”

Patrick narrowed his eyes as he sipped his ale. I’m thinking about the story I told.

“There are many reasons for having a seizure, but it all boils down to one thing. Do you know what that is?”

“What is it?”

“Explosion of emotions. What was piled up exploded. Is there anything you can guess?”

“Just guessing… there is one…”

What came to mind was Ceris looking at me with a look of dejected expression. When I told that to Patrick, he clapped his hands as if that was it.

“That’s it. That’s it.”

“Yes?”

I wish you would explain it instead of just saying that’s it.

“I mean you and that kid named Kara. Have you ever hesitated to kill a goblin?”

I thought deeply about Patrick’s words. I wasn’t there from the start, and Kara…

“Now that I think about it, it wasn’t there.”

“Yes, out of the three of you, the one who was hesitant was that kid. Then, change your perspective and think about it. How would you feel if you were that child?”

“Me? Um…”

I assumed I was Seris.

When everyone else except me does their job well, and I am the only one who does it poorly.

“It must be a little stuffy.”

“Yes. That child would have been the same. You probably felt like you were no help and were useless. Those feelings built up and then exploded like this.”

Patrick said, putting down his spoon. But I guessed that much, so I wasn’t really surprised.

Rather, what I wanted to hear was what came next.

“So what should we do now? If I leave it like that, I think it will fester inside my heart.”

Patrick played with his beard and answered as if it was no big deal.

“Well, is there anything special? Just feed him something delicious and put him to bed early. Okay then, whatever.”

“…Let’s calculate the price for tonight’s dinner separately.”

“Uh-huh, this guy. What is given and what is taken away?”

“Didn’t you extort your junior’s time and money? Doesn’t your conscience tingle?”

“Hehe, I have nothing to say about that. Still, just sit down. Because I’m not finished talking yet.”

Patrick motioned for me to sit down. I sat down in my seat. Patrick took another sip of ale and continued.

“Aren’t you being too protective of that child?”

“…Yes?”

“Overprotection, overprotection.”

For a moment, my head felt like it had been hit with a hammer.

Overprotection.

That was something I often said when Seris was surrounding Kara. But I never thought I would hear that.

“I felt that way while listening to the story. Do you like that child of the opposite sex or something like that?”

‘I see Seris as the opposite sex?’

I thought about it carefully, but no. I liked her for her looks, but not to the point where I could say I liked her.

“It’s not like that.”

“Then why are you covering it up like that?”

“First of all, I encouraged him to become an adventurer, and he has a very timid personality…”

“Whether you encouraged it or not, it was ultimately his choice to become an adventurer. That’s not a reason for you to protect yourself.”

“…”

“And you’re scared? Then you can’t wrap it any further. Oh no, you’re a bastard. As long as you keep protecting that child, he can live as a coward for the rest of his life.”

And cowards are eliminated in this industry. Patrick added and ate the soup.

I leaned back in my chair.

Patrick’s advice was half wrong. The reason I’m obsessed with Seris is because of the main quest and the wish ticket.

I couldn’t mention this, so I gave a cursory answer.

But the other half made sense.

The reason Seris was begging for help while failing to kill the goblin may have been because of my excessive comfort.

Just today, you cornered five goblins and succeeded in killing them, right?

As I was thinking about it, her smile that seemed like she was about to cry appeared again.

-I did well…?

…I guess we should talk first.

“Phew… First of all, thank you for the advice. After talking about it, I feel a little more at ease.”

“Then you are lucky.”

“Then I’ll just leave. Enjoy your meal.”

“Huh? Where are you going?”

Patrick said as I tried to get up.

“I have to go back. I’d like to have a conversation first.”

“Yes. Do that and sit back down. The story isn’t over yet, but why do you keep trying to leave?”

I tilted my head at his words. Is there still anything left to talk about?

Patrick said as I sat down.

“Last time, I asked you to do something together, right? Do you know what a kobold is?”