episode_0008

They were strange guys.

Rosellnia wasn’t like that when I picked it up in the game.

I didn’t notice it at first, but when I thought about it after Rosellnia left, it seemed like I was being chased by something.

I brought her here because I was impressed by her mental strength and not being afraid even when the village was attacked and she was on the verge of death.

I couldn’t figure out why it had changed so much while I was away.

Let’s say Rosellnia starts to run amok.

The hooded man next to him was preparing to sneak away.

The man’s expression as he tried to run away turned into one of fear.

Although I have never seen Rosellnia angry.

Not just her. I’ve almost never seen an NPC get angry.

Except sometimes when I couldn’t keep up with the quest time.

“That’s it. I don’t know what brought me here. It’s already in the past.”

For me, it only lasted about a week.

Inside, 30 years have passed.

The NPCs I was with all boasted pretty looks.

There was a high possibility that he was already married or in a relationship.

Pop…

I’m a car and I’m having a hard time here, but I thought the other guys were probably dating.

I felt dirty.

While I was disassembling it, I arrived at the home before I knew it.

It’s already been a week since I lived here.

Now I had to move on to the next area.

I had to tell Ray that I wanted to train outside of town.

Will they really allow it?

I don’t know why, but Ray didn’t seem to like me going out very much.

Squeak.

Let’s open the door and go inside.

I thought Ney and Ray would welcome me in the warm atmosphere as usual.

‘what? The atmosphere is… heavy.’

Ney was cooking with a smile on his face as usual, but Ray was sitting at the table in serious trouble.

“What’s going on?”

“…Ah. Ryuk. I’m here… It’s late. Welcome…”

Unlike usual, Ray’s voice was crawling on the ground.

Still, the voice was quite high.

Rather, it was just nice to hear a voice like this.

“What’s going on?”

“..It’s nothing. It’s just… there was a problem around me. It will be resolved soon. Don’t worry.”

For someone who told me not to worry, I didn’t have a good face.

It seemed like a serious problem, not an ordinary one, but Ray didn’t seem to have any intention of talking about it.

“Ryuk. Because it’s really no big deal. Don’t worry too much.”

Not only Ray, but also Ney is told to be safe.

There seemed to be a real problem, but there was nothing I could solve.

“I understand. So what’s for dinner tonight?”

“Tonight’s dinner is snake stew.”

Snake stew.

This is a dish that cannot be eaten in the beginner village.

It was a specialty of the Barian region, famous for its mountainous terrain.

And it was one of my favorite dishes in the game.

===========

Name: Snake Stew.

Description: A dish carefully prepared by Ney. Both the person who eats it and the person who gives it feel better.

Ability: Provides vitality for 30 minutes.

===========

The ability was at best a vitality grant.

The difference between eating this and not eating it was significant.

Let’s take a bite of the snake stew that was brought to the table.

All the fatigue and worries from today’s training disappeared, and I began to feel energized.

Although it was only 30 minutes. 30 minutes during the fight was enough.

Even if there are more fights than that, there are times when I step back for a moment and then eat again and fight the counter.

A video was made of the incident and posted on the gaming community.

Most reactions are either crazy or sane thinking. A similar reaction was seen.

Even thinking about it, I wasn’t in my right mind back then.

The quest reward was very good, but there was not enough time, so it was a choice I had no choice but to make.

I didn’t regret it.

Eat it so cleanly that you can see the bottom of the bowl.

A 30-minute vitality buff has been created.

“Did you eat cleanly? If it’s okay, would you like another bowl?”

“No, it’s okay. I’m full now. I’ll go train now. I guess I’ll be late.”

I quickly got up from my seat and quickly went up to my room.

Looking at the expressions on the two people’s faces, it seemed like they had to talk about something important.

He left me to talk comfortably.

*

Ray and Nei saw the back of Ryuk going up to the room and started talking.

“So Ray.. are you going to talk today?”

“Yes… I have to do it.. that way. Ryuk prepares his heart and goes out of town tomorrow.”

“Mom, you don’t have to worry, right?”

“….I’m not a child anymore. Because I’m an adult… I do what I have to do.”

“I understand. Mom believes in Ray.”

Let’s finish talking. There was silence.

Ray recalled what happened today.

Ray left Ryuk at the training ground today and moved to the village meeting hall instead of the home to keep his promise to Ney.

The conference hall wasn’t that far from the village, so we could get there quickly.

When we arrived, most of the villagers except Ray had gathered.

“Sorry! It’s too late!”

“No, it’s okay, please sit down.”

“I understand!”

The person in charge of chairing this village meeting was Ney.

I said it was this time. Ney has been in charge of this for several years already.

Because the person who was the head of the squadron meeting died in the counter attack. Ney was in charge next.

Let’s go and sit in an empty seat. A man approaches Ray’s side.

“Ray. They say they’ve been taking on a strange newbie these days.”

“Strange beginner? Oh, I mean Ryuk. Not at all! It’s not strange!”

“There! Quiet! Because the meeting is starting!”

I got scolded.

“It’s because of you! Dry!”

Ray lowered his voice as much as possible and got angry at the man sitting next to him, Derain.

Even small voices spread throughout the conference room.

“Ray..”

I closed my mouth at Ney’s low voice.

If you talk any more, Ney’s fist will fall on your head.

He kept his mouth quiet by covering his mouth with both hands, but his eyes glared strongly at Drain next to him.

Derain laughed and laughed at the sight of Ray being scolded, but when he made eye contact, he turned away.

“Talk later.”

I said we’ll wait and see.

The tips of Derain’s ears turned slightly red.

“Everyone, pay attention! It’s no different than me bringing everyone together.”

Ney spread out a large map of the village on his desk.

It’s definitely a big, round desk, but it’s a town map so big that it completely covers the desk.

I was wondering why Ray was unfolding this.

Soon, I agreed with Ney’s words.

“The counters have started to appear again these days. The numbers aren’t that big yet.”

“Wait a minute.”

Ney is speaking.

Drain raises his hand while finishing his sentence.

“What’s going on? Dry.”

“No.. isn’t it natural for counters to be created?”

“Yes, of course. But.. look at this location.”

Ney pointed to a part of the map.

Let’s turn everyone’s attention to the map. The village elders were all shocked.

Ray and Derain were still a mystery.

“So far, there have been very few counters at this location. I mean, it wasn’t there. but. It’s a problem.”

“Why.. the problem..”

“Whenever a counter appears at this location, the number has increased to the point where they will attack the village without fail.”

“Then.. if you process it in advance..”

“That’s impossible. I sent dispatches to handle it several times and also sent requests to the Adventurer’s Guild. There is only one answer.”

Can’t go in.

They said it was a no-go area.

“Then.. there is no way.”

“No, just build a defense base and block it. You only need to endure three waves for three hours a day. Because after three waves, a counter does not appear for a certain period of time. Then you can attack and wipe them out.”

“Then there is no problem!”

Ray was bright and said it wasn’t a big problem.

Ney shook his head.

“But. It will be different this time. Because there are currently beginners in the beginner’s village.”

“Beginner? Are you talking about Ryuk?”

When Ryuk’s name came up. Ney’s expression hardened slightly.

Ney wasn’t the only one who stiffened.

All the village elders had the same expression.

“Why.. Why does he look like that.. What did Ryuk do?!”

“No. Didn’t do anything. However, the only person who can do the beginner’s job is a warrior.”

“Ryuk is… a hero…?”

Ray didn’t understand what it meant to say he was a hero.

“A warrior means a person who protects the world.”

“But… Ryuk is a beginner… and his level is low! It’s so weak!”

“That’s right. But… all heroes were like Ryuk. Although I was very weak at first. The hero’s growth takes a different turn. Grow up overnight. Even now, they just don’t let us go out of the village… If we did, we would have already grown up enough to leave the village.”

“That.. means..”

It was as if Ray was saying that he was blocking Ryuk’s growth.

No, actually, Ney was saying that.

“Ugh…”

Ray bites his lip. Blood flowed out little by little.

“So.. what does mom want to say..”

“What I want to say is… Get Ryuk out of the village. I want to help him grow. Only then can the village and Ryuk survive.”

I couldn’t easily believe that Ryuk could be saved.

However, I have never seen Ney lie.

Because I knew that best, not anyone else.

Grumble.

“Ray.”

“Don’t ever tell this story to Ryuk.”

“We don’t have time.”

“I know!.. I will talk about it.. I.. interrupted you… I will do it myself.”

Ray left the conference room.