episode_0012

The person I resented and considered an object of revenge until now appeared.

I also found out where they were and what they were doing.

But they were a person too strong for me to reach, and putting that aside, my heart was troubled.

My resentment until now was truly close to venting frustration.

I knew that.

Because I didn’t know how to reach the person I was truly supposed to pour my anger on.

I turned that anger towards the fellow living and breathing with substance in this world.

But.

Now that the fellow has been identified, I don’t know what to do.

I hadn’t given up on revenge, and my anger hadn’t subsided, but I felt strange.

That this world is a game is only from a player’s perspective; for those living in this world, this world is real.

In such a world, doubts and suspicions arose about whether that fellow called the Saint, manipulated by a player, might also be a victim.

Even just myself, I didn’t want this, but I ended up like this.

I felt like perhaps that fellow, the Saint, might also have ended up in a state they didn’t want, just like me.

They might have everything more abundant than me and outstanding talent.

But even so, ending up in this situation because you wanted to and being forcefully put into this situation when you didn’t want to are completely different stories, aren’t they?

“First, it seems necessary to find out more.”

Meeting them carelessly seemed dangerous.

I needed information.

Because no one knows what awful things the player might do if I approach them wrongly, swapping over to me and logging in.

“Saint……”

First, to get the insufficient information, I headed to the Adventurer’s Guild.

I felt that Ban probably knew more detailed information, so I felt guilty but thought I would have to trouble him one more time.

As I brushed off the dirt and dust from my clothes and headed towards the Adventurer’s Guild, a strange scene unfolded.

Ban was cornered by someone.

He looked bigger than Ban.

Ban, who was cornered, was completely covered, so I didn’t even notice for a moment.

With a build close to 2 meters, he was lightly tapping Ban’s cheek with the back of his hand – it probably didn’t hurt, but it looked quite unpleasant.

Should I intervene?

But if that person kicks me ‘whap’- I feel like I’ll just fly far away.

For now, I decided to quietly observe the situation.

“Ban, when are you going to pay back the money. The money.”

“……Ahaha, well, hyung-nim? You know I’ve been working hard lately, don’t you. Please wait just a little longer.”

“Borrowing gold coins and not paying back even a little, and waiting for over half a year without any news, isn’t that being extremely patient?”

It makes sense he’s like that.

Ban, I thought he was a good person, but he’s utterly hopeless.

How much is a gold coin, really?

I counted on my fingers, and a simple calculation resulted in him borrowing money close to ten million Won.

“Why didn’t he kill him.”

Pure curiosity welled up.

Borrowing that much money might be one thing, but spending over half a year without a repayment plan after borrowing it was not a forgivable level.

As I quickly waved my arms in the air behind the two people engaged in a war of nerves, pretending to hit, Ban acknowledged me.

“…Uh, uh, uh! Elly!”

“What? Someone you know?”

Ban called me familiarly, and the man pressing Ban also turned around and looked at me.

There was no predetermined answer or plan for what I should say here, so I shrugged my shoulders.

“He’s someone I don’t know. Please continue what you were doing.”

“Alright.”

Fortunately, unlike his tough face, he was someone who knew how to handle things, so he ignored me and immediately kicked Ban’s calf.

Thud-! The sound echoed in the Adventurer’s Guild, but no one seemed to have any intention of stopping him.

Instead, they laughed among themselves and spouted sarcastic stories about Ban’s usual behavior.

They said that given his habit of losing everything to gambling every time he gets money, and only aiming for one big score, it wouldn’t be strange if he died any day.

“Hey, hey.”

“Yes?”

At the sound of someone calling me, as I surveyed my surroundings with my gaze fixed on the floor, I saw a pair of slender feet approaching me.

It was a woman’s voice, and a woman’s feet.

“Hey, I heard you have a curse on your eyes?”

“…Maybe?”

“What do you mean maybe? Yesterday that guy, with a face like he’d bitten a bug, was surprisingly troubled, which is unlike him?”

“Troubled?”

“Yesterday I had a run-in with that guy, and he seemed completely distracted, so I asked him once, you see?”

The woman laughed flirtatiously and lightly scratched my cheek with her fingernails as she continued speaking.

“He said it’s true he has a bad personality, but he’s not so awful that he’d hit a child, yet as soon as he saw your eyes, he felt revulsion and his hand just went out first?”

“Ah, that story.”

It was what Ban had told me when he came to the inn this morning.

He even apologized for that, so I was even touched.

Until now, having people react like that upon seeing my eyes had happened often, but it was the first time I had encountered someone apologizing afterward.

“Hey, if you go over there now and provoke Ban, that guy will collect your share too?”

For some reason, at the words that seemed to instigate, I furrowed my brow.

“No, thank you.”

“But it’s your rightful share?”

“Whether it’s rightful or not, I’m the one who decides that.”

“Look at this kid, you’re bold, aren’t you?”

At the touch ruffling my hair as if I was cute, I let out a sigh.

I wondered what kind of person would just start talking to me like this, and soon after, with Ban saying he would repay it all within 3 months concluding the matter for them, I quietly approached Ban.

“Ban.”

“Uh, why? Hey, don’t look at me, you look at the floor, I’ll look at the ceiling.”

“……That, you’re really pathetic.”

“I can’t help it. A big gambling opportunity came up, and I don’t have money, so I had no choice but to borrow.”

I wondered what kind of thought process that was, but then I felt that was how he lived his life, so I sighed and accepted it.

Since other people live like that, and I’m not family or a lover, how could I possibly say anything?

“Anyway, I came because I had something to ask.”

“I hurt you, is that okay?”

Well, if you put it that way, it’s not okay.

The hand that squeezed my neck was strong and left a bruise.

Because I was thrown to the ground, my whole body ached.

But more than those things, he came to me this morning and apologized, so isn’t that enough?

“You apologized. That’s enough, isn’t it?”

“Normally, at times like this, you’d say you’re hurt so pay up.”

“What on earth is ‘normal’ to you, Ban?”

Not only was the person hopeless, but he was severely twisted.

At my words, Ban let out a hearty laugh, then stumbled around and found a chair before sitting down.

“I don’t know what you’ll ask, but is it something that will end quickly? Or something that will take a little time?”

“Perhaps, I’ll have to ask quite a lot.”

“Then order some food, anyway, we split it 8:2, so I have quite a bit of money.”

“Can’t you pay off the debt with that?”

“By multiplying this, I can pay it all back at once, right?”

The more we talked, the dizzier my head got, so I shook my head.

“For food, just give me the cheapest thing.”

“What do you mean cheap? Want to try some grilled chicken? It has a gamy smell and doesn’t taste great, but everyone likes it because the portion is large.”

“Then I’ll have that.”

Ban said he had decided, ordered the food, and returned to his seat.

“So, what did you want to ask?”

“About the Saint.”

“Oh, interested? But as I said, I only heard through rumors, so I don’t know the details.”

“Just tell me as much as you know.”

At my request, Ban received the beer he had ordered earlier, took a sip, wetting his throat, and began his story.

It was a story about the Saint, who had suddenly appeared at some point.

Half a year ago, the youngest son of a mid-sized merchant guild showed interest in swords.

Seeing the immense talent of the youngest son wielding a sword, the head of the guild poured in support, saying his youngest son seemed like he would become a great person.

A good teacher, a good sword, good elixirs.

He received support almost identical to what nobles receive, and his talent was outstanding, so he absorbed all that support without leaving anything behind.

In as little as 2 months, he was able to spar with the swordmanship master, and in 3 months, he gained superiority against the swordmanship master.

And as the fourth month began, the head of the guild sought to bestow a blessing upon his youngest son through the temple.

They say he received the given name ‘Rie’ at that time.

“Rie…?”

“Yeah, it’s a name like a girl’s, right?”

I wasn’t surprised by that part.

Oh, he received the name then.

If so, it must mean the character was created like that.

Just like the past events I don’t remember that my traits indicate.

The Saint also had such an event in the past before character creation.

The reason the point in time when the name Rie was taken from me and the time the name Rie was attached to the Saint are different is just as my name changed to Elly.

There must have been some name originally, not Rie, but it was overwritten with the name Rie taken from me, and my deduction is that the past also changed to that name.

“After that, he supposedly only does things like a hero’s epic, helping the poor, hunting monsters alone, and exposing wicked nobles.”

Ban finished speaking indifferently and drank down the remaining beer.

The food arrived.

The grilled chicken, which wasn’t prepared by trimming the head or feet, looked grotesque on the outside, but it was somehow edible.

“Isn’t it unfair? While we struggle living like this, scraping by at the bottom, someone is there by suppressing others with talent and money, you know.”

“…Indeed.”

It would be a lie if I said I didn’t feel an inferiority complex.

However, the thought of – is it true that the Saint himself wants these things happening now to happen? – lingered in my mind, so I couldn’t just curse him freely.

“Where can I meet the Saint?”

“I heard he’s currently on a pilgrimage route, so his next destination is somewhat predictable… Perhaps, he’ll head to a small village called Traxna.”

“How long will it take to get there?”

“Time is one thing, but just the travel cost alone requires 30 silver coins, do you have it?”

“……I don’t.”

“Then that means both of us need money, why don’t we do a job together?”

“……What kind of job is it and how will we split the ratio?”

“It’s a similar job to last time again, and the ratio is 8:2.”

“7:3.”

“If you don’t want to, don’t.”

“Yes, then I don’t want to.”

Anyway, I wasn’t planning on meeting him right now, I just wanted to check his location.

As I lightly refused, Ban grabbed my wrist in a fluster.

“No, no! Don’t do that, I’ll make it 7:3 for you, so won’t you please work with me?”

Well, since you’re showing signs that it’s this urgent of a job.

I can’t help it, can I?

“How about 6:4?”

“What?!”

“I’m not in a hurry at all, but Ban looks incredibly desperate. The one in a hurry should bend.”

“……I think I raised a monster kid.”

“It’s not that Ban raised me, I just grew up well on my own.”

I shrugged my shoulders.

I didn’t know what kind of job it was, but I had nothing to be disappointed about.