Chapter 31 – A Consistent Guy

A Consistent Guy

“Mona. Didn’t I tell you? There’s no need to cause friction with the villagers.”
“…Is it right for them to blame us when they don’t even appreciate the favor we did for them? Right, Leon?”
“Haha.”
Leon just laughed. He knew from experience that taking sides in Marian and Mona’s fights was not a good idea.

‘They’re fighting again…’
In the end, it would be my job to stop their fight.

Lister didn’t have the strength to stop those two from fighting, and she was in a troubled state due to the harsh words she heard from the villagers.
“Hey.”
Although I hadn’t been with this party for long, I naturally took on the role of stopping their fights when such situations occurred.
As I approached the two who were arguing, their attention immediately focused on me.

“Ariel. What do you think? The anger of the villagers who suffered from the demons is understandable. Don’t you think it’s the role of our hero party to bear that homeless anger and move forward?”

“Not at all! Why should we bear the resentment of those people? Are we some kind of punching bag? We’re having a hard time ourselves.”
Despite both making valid points, their opinions remained far apart.
Marian and Mona’s fights are always like this. It’s because their personalities are completely different.
“Everyone. Please calm down.”

As expected, my words didn’t reach the two whose emotions had escalated.
To be honest, I had anticipated this much.
“If you keep fighting, Leon will make dinner tonight.”
“”…!””

“Haha. Is it time to show off my skills after a long time?”
Mona and Marian’s gazes crossed.
“Our voices got louder as we talked. I’m sorry.”
“…No. I’m sorry too.”

Since they’re not fighting because they truly hate each other, most of their fights end this way.
‘It probably has something to do with Leon’s cooking being terrible too.’
“Is my cooking that terrible?”
“…Leon’s cooking is a bit too much.”
“Huhu.”
A laugh escaped unintentionally.

“Ariel. Even you’re laughing at me…? I want to quit being a hero….”

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“May-san. I think you need to wake up.”
My eyes opened to Eddie’s voice calling me.
‘…I fell asleep.’
The reason I laughed wasn’t because their appearance was funny, but because I could feel their care for each other.
I had unconsciously smiled at the family-like atmosphere, something I could never have at that time.

“May-san…?”
Eddie seemed to think I was still sleeping, hesitating whether to shake me or not.
“I’m awake.”
I told Eddie I was up, then looked out the window of the carriage.
The sunset was gradually fading. The sound of horse hooves that had been loud was getting quieter, suggesting we might be stopping here for a while.

‘I must have slept for quite a while.’
I slept so soundly that it’s surprising I could sleep in such an uncomfortable place. Looking around, the other party members except Eddie also had their eyes half-closed.
Thump.
Soon the carriage came to a complete stop, and after a moment, a man who looked like he was from the merchant group opened the door of our carriage.
“The horses seem very tired, so we’ll rest here and depart early tomorrow morning, adventurers.”

Looking closely, people were getting off one by one from the carriage that had been running in front of us too.
‘Judging by the early departure tomorrow, it seems we’ll be camping here.’
The place where we stopped the carriage was an open plain without a single tree.
…Not bad. It’s easy to spot approaching monsters in such an open plain.

‘I’m a bit hungry.’
Come to think of it, I haven’t eaten anything except for a simple dessert at the tea house where we first gathered.
…This must be the same for the other party members.
The party members were waiting silently in the carriage for a while.
Meanwhile, the smell of food started wafting from where the merchant group people were gathered.

“It looks like they’re distributing dinner over there. I’ll go and check.”

Eddie said that and voluntarily headed towards where the merchant group people were gathered.
But….
‘Why is he coming back empty-handed? Weren’t they preparing dinner?’
A moment later, Eddie was walking back to the carriage with a seemingly annoyed face.

“What happened? Weren’t they preparing dinner?”
“…They were, but they said they’d deduct the dinner expenses from our reward. That pig… client.”
At the end of his pointing finger was the fat pig inhaling rye bread as if drinking it.

That must be extremely hard.
“Shit. He’s really something. That pig bastard.”
Hector immediately spat out curses.
“……”
Mari’s expression was also hardening in real-time, apparently displeased. If I had known this would happen, I would have packed a simple lunchbox.

“So I said I’d talk with the group and come back… but I guess we have no choice? We can’t starve….”
“I guess so.”

I wonder if they’re going to charge us for tent costs when we camp later?
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.
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“They say the tent cost is 50 copper.”
“Huh.”
…They really are something.

—–

“Sigh. I thought charging for the tent was too much, but when we complained, they did concede. Though it’s barely a concession.”
Fortunately, thanks to Eddie going to argue, we agreed not to pay for the tent, but we couldn’t help feeling uneasy.

‘There was a reason for the generous reward….’
I thought the reward was somewhat generous compared to the size of the merchant group. It’s my fault for expecting welfare from a small merchant group of about twenty people.
It’s like when you buy products online advertised as the lowest price, but they become more expensive when you add options.
I never thought I’d smell the familiar scent of Earth in another world.

“…It tastes bad.”
Mari complained while chewing the rye bread that didn’t chew well.
“Haha. Would you like some jerky? I brought a little. Let’s eat it secretly from Hector. May-san, you have some too.”

Hector was smoking tobacco behind the carriage, probably trying to subdue his anger, while Eddie, Mari, and I were absentmindedly eating our meals with a campfire lit in the middle.
What they gave us for dinner was hard rye bread and a bowl of stew that was hard to guess what was put in it.

“Thank you, Eddie-san.”
“Haha. It’s nothing.”
Fortunately, thanks to the jerky Eddie brought, our mouths weren’t too bored. He’s a sensible guy.
Night had fallen before we knew it, with a quiet darkness enveloping us.
Except for Hector, we were spending time absentmindedly with a campfire in the middle.

“It looks like Hector-san is going to sleep in the carriage. He says he doesn’t want to sleep with us.”
“…That’s good.”

Mari, who usually showed little change in expression, smiled a seemingly pleased smile. Eddie also had an expression that suggested it was for the best.
‘I’ll have to start educating him soon.’
When I first started the request, my mindset was to endure just until this request, but it had now changed to thinking about how to educate Hector inconspicuously.
…For now, I should cast a magic that wakes me up every thirty minutes tonight.

While I was thinking about how to deal with Hector, Eddie, who was looking up at the sky, spoke in a voice full of sentiment.
“This is quite romantic. The stars are beautiful. And the campfire adds to the mood.”
“It is.”
The crackling sound of burning firewood. The flames dancing in red hues. The quiet night air and the stars embroidered in the sky.
It was a time full of romance.
Until just a moment ago.

“Mo-monsters have appeared!!!!”
The voice of a merchant group member breaking the quiet silence. At the same time, the merchant group people who were preparing to sleep started moving busily.
“Everyone hide in the carriages! And adventurers! It’s time to work! Hurry! Protect us!”
The urgent voice of the client, whose voice even seemed fat, echoed in the air.

After a short while, all the merchant group members had hidden in the carriages, and the only ones left outside were us, hired as escorts.
‘They’re quick.’
Unlike his seemingly dull appearance, the client’s instructions were quite prompt.
It’s a wise decision since the merchant group members would only be a hindrance if they stayed outside anyway.

“It’s time to work.”
“Tch. How annoying.”
Eddie immediately put on his weapons and armor, and Hector hurriedly crawled out of the carriage.
Thanks to the campfires that hadn’t gone out yet, we could vaguely see the forms of monsters approaching us.

“They’re werewolves. I wonder if they came attracted by the food smell?”
“…Could be. The smell lingers for quite a while.”
Mari answered Eddie’s question in a calm voice without any agitation. I guess that’s what being a gold-rank adventurer means.
I chose this request instead of the werewolf subjugation request, but we end up facing the same creatures.
It’s a bit ironic.

“”Grrrr.””
The glowing eyes of the creatures lurking in the darkness started shining one by one.
True to their name as werewolves, they move in packs. Roughly counting, there seem to be about eight of them…
‘We’ll each need to take on two.’

The creatures are getting closer and closer.
They’re different in size from the wolves I saw on Earth. Not wolves, but more like elephants if I exaggerate a bit.
…That was the reason they were classified as monsters, not animals.

The reason the werewolves haven’t attacked us yet is, of course, not to give people time to prepare.
“Those guys. They’re gauging us. Whether we’re enough as prey.”
As Eddie said, they’re measuring us up. Whether we’re suitable targets to eat or not.

“While Hector-san and I hold off the werewolves at the front, Mari-nim and May-san can support from the back. How about that?”
“…Don’t decide on your own!”
“Hector-san?!”
Hector immediately charged towards the werewolf pack with his greatsword in hand.
‘He really is a consistently nasty bastard.’

Due to his sudden action, we hurriedly prepared for battle and began to face the werewolves.

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At the same time. Ariel’s house.
After enjoying the meal prepared by Cherny, Saya and Puel were comfortably lying down using Cherny, transformed into a wolf, as a pillow.
…It was a role Cherny volunteered for to cheer up Saya and Puel who were depressed because Ariel was gone.

“Cherny-san’s fur is really fluffy indeed….”
“Yeah. Cherny is cute.”
“…Thank you.”
Cherny felt a bit conflicted about being used as a pillow, considering she was once a soldier in the Demon King’s army.
‘Well, it’s okay because they’re cute.’

But although not to the extent of Ariel, she had also fallen for Saya and Puel’s cuteness, so she didn’t mind much.
“I hope Ariel sister isn’t doing anything dangerous. I wonder if she got hurt somewhere……”
Cherny answered Puel’s worried words.
“Haha. No way. She’s probably resting comfortably, don’t you think?”