episode_0012

The carriage journey, a rare experience, turned out to be more pleasant than expected. At least, it would have been for Kikel and Bolton.

“Did you say Hilde? According to the woman at the guild, she might be of iron rank, but her skills are definitely solid.”

Of course, I was an exception.

It seemed Amy found sitting in the carriage rather dull, as she persistently engaged me in conversation. Kikel and Bolton just left me alone, like a folding screen, focusing solely on me.

Well, I understood. Conversing with the peculiar Kikel was a headache in itself, and the priest, Bolton, seemed plainly uninteresting. Moreover, unlike Kikel or Bolton, being a woman from the prime of my life, I felt less burdened.

Of course, that was Amy’s misconception. Inside this body resided a man who had lived for over twenty years with three legs. But well, no one would know unless I told them.

Anyway, for that reason, Amy latched onto me, rambling about all sorts of things—questions about me, things about herself that I wasn’t particularly interested in.

“How old are you? If you’re an iron-ranked adventurer, you must be in your early twenties, right?”

…Honestly, it was incredibly annoying.

“As for my age…”

Still, I earnestly continued the small talk with her in brief responses. She was not only the client for this job, but also a mage from the Martop organization, someone you wouldn’t often encounter at the level of an iron-ranked adventurer. Furthermore, judging by how she treated Kikel, she seemed to have a good personality for a mage, so being kind to her wouldn’t hurt. In the world of adventurers, these things often become future connections.

“You’re probably around twenty-one.”

My soul may be twenty-two, but I remember Brunhilde, the owner of this body, being twenty. So, saying twenty should be fine. Being younger than the average rank is a testament to being a talented individual.

“…Probably? Your answer is quite unusual,” Amy chuckled.

“Well, anyway, a two-year difference is almost like being the same age, isn’t it?”

“I suppose so…?”

It was a difficult question to understand.

Just from the words spoken, it seemed like a declaration of equality despite the mere two-year age gap—no, not calling her “nuna” or “unni,” but rather addressing each other as equals.

But did there really need to be a mention of that? Such an obvious story.

If you only listened to what was being said, it sounded like she was suggesting we speak comfortably by lightly shrugging her shoulders and proposing that I relax my speech. Or more accurately, she was suggesting that I do so. It was surprisingly casual and informal. Almost touching, in a way.

If she were just two years older than me… well, actually four years younger than me, I might have been moved. A junior who, despite being four years younger, arrogantly permits me to speak informally. If this were Korea, it would immediately lead to a confrontation.

“Even if you tell me to speak comfortably…”

I trailed off as if feeling awkward at hearing such words.

Even before being transmigrated into this world, I had always used honorifics when meeting anyone for business or personal reasons, regardless of whether they were older or younger than me. It’s a matter of course. Isn’t that basic etiquette between people, something that should be observed unless one is an ignorant fool or someone with irredeemably bad manners?

“To be honest, using honorifics feels more like drawing a line than being polite. It’s kind of awkward, so please stop.”

“Well then… alright. Should I call you Amy?”

Of course, if the other person doesn’t want to hear it, the conversation changes. I immediately switched back to using honorifics.

Continuing to use honorifics to this extent while speaking informally would be far more impolite than using casual speech.

“…Sure, I’d rather you do that. It’s much better than earlier.”

Amy seemed a little taken aback by my sudden change in attitude, but soon nodded with a wry smile.

And that’s how we came to speak informally.

◆◆

“Hilde, aren’t you feeling cold?”

Was my letting down my guard considered a signal of a genuine friendly relationship?

Amy began chattering away, opening up like a blossoming flower, seemingly taking my relaxed speech as a signal for a full-fledged friendly exchange. She turned out to be much more talkative than I had anticipated.

“I feel like I’m freezing every night. Would a thin cloak like that be enough?”

“Not really? If you move around, you’ll warm up quickly.”

Brunhilde’s body was exceptionally resistant to the cold. It went beyond simply not feeling the cold well; it even somewhat mitigated the effects of ice magic.

“Human women have it good! I can’t wear armor! My body is so stiff!”

Kikell shivered and interjected as if genuinely envious. Not being able to wear armor because of the cold, wasn’t that an excuse for slacking off?

It might be fine with iron or bronze armor, but he couldn’t handle anything above silver-grade armor. If a silver-grade warrior were to wear it, who would bring it to them? One wrong move and they’d be rolling on the ground in agony.

Well, maybe Lizardmen could endure two hits? Though it didn’t seem like there would be much difference.

“Oh, about that armor. I’ve been curious since earlier, where did a bronze-grade inspector like you get such armor? It doesn’t seem like something cheap.”

Amy showed interest in my armor.

“Were you perhaps a knight? Or did you come from a wealthy family?”

No, she seemed more interested in my true identity, didn’t she? It was an intriguing matter.

From the chest plate and gauntlets made of refined steel to the greaves, it wasn’t at the level of a full-body suit of armor worn by a high-ranking knight, but even this much constituted exceptional heavy armor for an adventurer below bronze grade.

“I just earned some money doing other things before becoming an adventurer. As for my family… I’m not sure, they might have all passed away by now.”

I evaded the question.

It wasn’t a lie. I just didn’t disclose the specifics.

“Oh, sorry. I didn’t know that.”

Did I inadvertently touch upon a painful memory? Amy seemed a bit flustered, bowing her head.

She knows how to apologize. Quite an unexpected discovery.

I reassured her that it was nothing serious. Because it actually wasn’t. Brunhilde’s parents, I don’t even know their names. They never appeared in the novel.

“…Why do you keep wearing the helmet? Wouldn’t it be suffocating? Is it okay to go without it when you’re not in battle?”

“Almost got an arrow in the back of my head.”

A plausible excuse. In truth, it was to conceal my identity.

Even though I had fled all the way to Herbor, crossing borders, there might still be someone who could recognize me if I walked around without my helmet.

As a knight who had fled from the hero party twice, it was crucial to keep Brunhilde’s presence here a strict secret.

If I were to get entangled with the main characters of the novel… well, life afterward would become quite a headache.

No, perhaps it couldn’t even be called life.

The word “life” is something one can use for a person’s existence. The moment I became entangled with the main characters of the original work, my existence would no longer be life but a mere existence.

My mind would completely deteriorate, and I’d end up muttering things like ‘Brunhilde is a b****…’—how could that be called a person’s life? It’s more like livestock.

That’s why I decided to thoroughly conceal my status.

Thanks to that, I was treated as a stateless non-citizen, unable to obtain a normal job or even own land or a house…

Well, that wasn’t a problem worth bothering about once I decided to become an adventurer.

An adventurer of Bronze rank was entitled to lease land or a residence, and upon reaching Silver rank, one could obtain citizenship of the respective country.

That was my goal.

To become a citizen of Herbor under the name of Hilde, the adventurer.

Once citizenship was granted, purchasing land or a house would also be permitted, so after that, I could live freely with the money I had saved.

If I could return to my original world, there would be no need for all this, but… that was something I had half given up on, as there was hardly any hope, not even a small clue.

◆◆

We whiled away the time with such chitchat. A whole four hours without a break.

Thanks to that, I learned a lot about Amy.

Her future plans to become an adventurer after removing her apprentice badge and cover the tuition for the Mage Tower, personal details such as having one younger brother and two younger sisters.

Favorite foods, local specialties, and even aspiring to achieve remarkable feats like a legendary hero party if one were to become an adventurer.

“A hero party… come to think of it, they say all the heroes in this year’s tournament are exceptionally talented. Except for the heroes from the Line Kingdom.”

Was the mention of a hero party the reason for the discussion? Bolton, who had been quietly murmuring a prayer, interjected into the conversation.

Well, with the topic related to heroes coming up, could I, as a priestess of the Goddess, remain silent?

The term “hero party” referred to a group of four individuals who, having received the “blessing of the hero” from the Goddess of the Sky, Elionel, became the owners of the “holy sword,” which each kingdom carefully guarded. It meant the first line of defense for humanity, breaking through the depths of dungeons with the power of the holy sword and their own strength to exterminate the demon king lurking beyond. That was what a hero was.

In the game that served as the background for the novel I read, known as “NTRPG,” that was the setting.

“Line? Oh, you mean the ‘incompetent hero’? I heard he couldn’t even clear the mid-level dungeon… Can that really be true?”

Of course, the setting was nothing more than just that—a setting. There was a significant gap between it and reality.

The four heroes appearing in the novel, Gunter, Freit, Heid, and Atlee, were all incredibly flawed characters.

Freit, who was far too weak to be called a hero.

Gunter, who took over Freit’s initial party members and trained them all.

Heid, who was not much different from Gunter in terms of character, and Atlee, who spread an atmosphere of hostility until the very end.

Three morally bankrupt individuals and one lacking in ability. It was almost ironic how only such people were chosen, to the point where one would marvel at the selection process.

Elionel, the goddess, was undoubtedly at fault. Or perhaps she enjoyed watching people suffer, like a sadist.

“It’s an unbelievable story, but it seems that’s how it actually happened. They say even the party members assigned by the kingdom gave up on the hero and defected to another party.”

“Wow. Even if they were incompetent, is it okay to just abandon them like that? Is that really acceptable?” Amy asked, covering her mouth in astonishment.

“Of course, it’s unacceptable. The achievements of the hero party are directly linked to the kingdom’s achievements. To receive all sorts of support as a member of the hero party and then flee to another country—such an act is no different from being a traitor or a lowlife.”

Bolton harshly criticized Freet’s party members. His blunt and forceful way of speaking with solid facts was truly priest-like. Even when dealing with a pickpocket, he probably wasn’t any less forceful.

“Kakak! Humans sure do suffer a lot! We won’t betray you. They’ve all been buried in the swamp!”

“…”

I felt embarrassed for no reason and kept quiet. If I were to reveal myself as Brunhild here, it would be like inviting Bolton’s spear to fly towards me. Not that I would let it pierce me, but this commission would surely turn into a mess along with my reputation being dragged to the underground depths.

“Amazing, really… Hasn’t the entire Line Kingdom been turned upside down?”

“Yes, indeed. Moreover, not long after the party members left, even the hero went missing. It seems to have caused quite a bit of confusion in various ways.”

Bolton replied with a faint sneer.

“The hero has disappeared…?”

I asked with a puzzled expression. It was the first time I had heard this information.

“That’s what they say. Our organization did conduct a search, but we haven’t found any trace of him yet.”

The disappearance of Freet, the hero of the Line Kingdom. It was very intriguing information. I couldn’t help but swallow dryly.

…Is it in motion?

Unlike the people here who might just perceive Freet’s disappearance as ‘a disgruntled hero hiding away’, I knew all too well what it meant.

There was no way I wouldn’t know. This was precisely the early part of the novel I read, “Becoming the Protagonist of an NTR Game.”

It meant that the protagonist in the novel, Kim Seung-woo, who had possessed the body of the incompetent hero Freet while playing the 19+ RPG game “Nibelungen Tragedy,” was finally starting to move.

The disappearance was nothing more than speculation by those who didn’t understand the situation.

Perhaps by now, he would be wandering around in search of hidden pieces just as the early part of the novel goes.

To elevate the incompetence of the scorned hero, Freit, to the level of a formidable force that is in no way inferior to other heroes.

And then…

A warmth akin to relief brushed through my chest. I’m glad I ran away to Herbor.

I had been worried whether this world was the world in the novel or the world within the game that serves as the backdrop for the novel… but seeing Kim Seungwoo, it was indeed the world within the novel.

If that’s the case, running away was the right answer.

If the story unfolds just like the original novel, those who scorned and betrayed Freit will all meet a miserable end at the hands of Kim Seungwoo, who has possessed Freit.

That was also the case with Brunhilde.