episode_0016

I was able to open my eyes again to the sound of an unknown bird chirping. No matter how many times I listen to it, I will not be able to know the names of those birds.

“Oh my gosh, now I’m just sitting there shaking my head while watching the birds. Really.”

The crow snorted and scratched its beak with its claws to express its dissatisfaction with me.

“… I just felt momentarily grateful that I was able to wake up early in the morning thanks to them.”

“How dare you buy me at least one piece of fruit for saving your life?”

“If I see something suitable on my way back later, I’ll buy it.”

“I went out and got into trouble. Why should I go out again?”

“The reason I collapsed was because I didn’t take the medicine. It has nothing to do with going out.”

“If it was a return letter until the day before yesterday, it means you should rest at home, idiot.”

Normally I would have calmed down at home, but today I simply couldn’t.

However, explaining all the circumstances felt somewhat trivial and lame, so I did not feel the need to explain them.

“Let’s go.”

“Hey! Can’t you hear me? Take your medicine at home and rest, you crazy idiot!!!”

“…… Come to think of it, I almost forgot to take my medicine again.”

I poured a handful of medicine into my mouth and left the residence. The crow kept getting angry and told him to just rest in bed.

After that, I found the adventurer’s guild and was able to see the back of Cecilia, who was spinning her pen with nothing to do.

Even though the bell on the door rang, she answered half-heartedly, engrossed in something without even looking back.

“Yes, this is the Adventurer’s Guild. If you came here looking for a request, since you had a public school day today, go home and wash your feet…”

“I didn’t come to pick up the request, but to leave it to the station.”

“Now, wait a minute…!”

She threw down the book she was reading and hurriedly turned her head to check my face.

“Why is my lord here…! Wasn’t he unwell and resting?”

“… My body is completely healed. That’s probably why I was able to get this far.”

The fatigue that had made your body limp like water-soaked cotton has long since disappeared.

The only thing that was sagging right now was my miserable mind, so I looked for her.

“Anyway, since you came to entrust the request, did something happen?”

“… I would like to ask for an escort.”

“I wonder what kind of escort you need in this neighborhood.”

“Is there no one who can take on the request?”

“Now a horned tiger appeared in the forest, and everyone left, saying they would subdue it. I’m just the boss… no, I just keep my position like the branch manager.”

Was the Horned Tiger a monster strong enough to require multiple adventurers?

I don’t know. Now, everything related to the act of taking life felt vague, so I couldn’t jump to conclusions.

As Liesel said, I may be a monster crazy about killing. No, I might have turned into a monster.

“But as a guard… I think he’s stronger than most adventurers, including me…”

“How could it not work?”

“That’s because I have to keep my position…”

“Please.”

I put into practice the ‘how to politely ask an adventurer’ that I learned from Camilla.

Cecilia’s eyes widened when she saw the gold coin I gave her, but she cleared her throat and turned her head to answer.

“Hwa, it’s definitely a lot of money to pay for one escort, but I’m the branch manager. I can never leave this place…”

I once again put into practice the ‘how to politely ask an adventurer’ that I learned from Camilla.

“You could just lock the door in this building and go.”

The adventurer’s strength was its simplicity. It was not sarcastic, it was sincere.

I liked it because it was different from the nobles who were obsessed with vague honor and prestige and repeatedly did things that could not be understood through common sense.

Since everything comes down to money as a means of making a living, isn’t this a much more beautiful attitude to life than that of the nobles?

“Now, please tell me your destination. Do you have anything to see in the next town?”

“I want to go to the nearest river.”

“Are you talking about the river… Are you thinking of enjoying fishing…?”

“Unfortunately, I am not good at catching fish.”

Cecilia showed me a questioning look, but guided me to the river.

After walking and walking for about 40 minutes, Cecilia could not overcome her boredom and opened her mouth.

“Do you have a family?”

“… There was. I have to say it doesn’t exist anymore.”

Now that I have abandoned the Bergé surname, I will no longer be able to introduce my mother and Liesel as family.

“…… I’m sorry. I asked something pointless.”

“Not really.”

Now, those things are no longer sad. If I actually met them and talked to them, the story might be a little different.

But now, even if I were to face him in person and hear some kind of verbal abuse, I didn’t think I would feel any clear emotions.

Everything seemed to be whitish, as if it were shrouded in fog. Like everything I feel right now.

“Okay, we’re almost there. If you go through the bushes here, you will find the river the lord was looking for.”

When Cecily cut through the bushes with the long knife she was holding, a sparkling blue river appeared, just as she said.

“Indeed.”

“Sometimes children from the village also come and play in the water. Of course, a guardian accompanies you.”

“If it is used for that purpose, there is nothing to be concerned about.”

“Yes…?”

“Could you turn around for a moment?”

Cecilia expressed her doubts again, but obediently turned her back on him.

While her back was turned, I got ready and went into the water.

“Hey lord, what on earth are you doing now…”

Cecilia made eye contact with the naked me. At that time, my lower body was submerged in the water, but my upper body was not.

“Aaaa!!!”

“… Is my body shaped so viciously that it makes me scream?”

“Isn’t that the problem now!”

“Or is this river a water playground for children and adults cannot enter?”

“Why on earth are you suddenly taking off all your clothes!”

For myself, I couldn’t understand why Cecilia was angry.

It is common sense to take off your clothes to take a bath, and I wanted to take a bath. That’s why I just took off my clothes.

“As you can see, it is a bath.”

“But why are you escorting me just for things like taking a bath…!”

“Wouldn’t it be trouble if something like a wild animal stole your clothes? I would have to go home naked.”

“Aren’t you showing your naked body to me right now!”

“Strictly speaking, my lower body is not visible right now, so my naked body is…”

“It’s done! Let’s take a bath and go back!”

“It was planned that way even if you didn’t say so.”

Cecilia seemed like a very angry person. Getting angry like that can’t be good for your mental health.

Of course, that wasn’t what I was going to say. How could I, with a heart that no longer resonates with anything, dare to interfere?

“Even though it looks shallow, the center of the river is surprisingly deep, so be careful.”

I could hear her words, but they didn’t reach my mind. I was so intoxicated by these nameless things that I was feeling right now that there was no way other people’s voices could reach me.

I walked deep into the water. And then it slowly sank to the bottom, leaving its entire body in the water.

okay. I wanted this feeling. This feeling of not seeing anything and hearing nothing.

Everyone would feel the same thing in this water, so I could not be a monster in this water.

‘… Why did I give birth to a monster like you?’

‘They were right! ‘You’re just a monster!’

Even those curses couldn’t define me as a monster at this moment.

And at that moment when I was able to exist as a human being, something powerful pulled me to the surface.

“Are you crazy enough to search?!”

“Ah…”

When I came up to the surface, it was as if I had become a monster again.

“I just washed my body in the water for a moment.”

“Some crazy guy has been in the water for over 10 minutes!!!”

“Even if my life was in danger.”

I was really curious, so I had no choice but to ask.

“It has nothing to do with you, right?”

Then, I felt a pain that made me wake up.

“It looks like someone is going to die, so what does that matter?”

She was so excited that she even forgot to use polite words and was throwing a tantrum.

“People…”

I couldn’t understand. In her eyes, I must be a monster out of the water.

“Do you define me as a person?”

“So you’re saying you’re like a monkey?”

How should I explain this?

As I was contemplating that, I heard the footsteps of a demonic beast running from afar, brutally trampling on the vegetation.

“In that case, I’ll ask again.”

A huge horned tiger came out of the nearby bushes and trees and roared loudly when it saw us.

“My lord, please duck back first. First of all, I will deal with that monster…”

I jumped up using a nearby rock as a stepping stone, took the staff I had left next to my clothes, and climbed on top of the head of the horned tiger, which was well over 5 meters high.

“In the blink of an eye…”

I hit the horned tiger’s head with a staff filled with resonance through my fingertips.

And the Horned Tiger, like most of the enemies I encountered, exploded and died without even a body.

“Do you still define me as a person?”

“Lord…”

But Cecilia just turned her head and did not give any answer.

“Those clothes…”

“Ah.”

Only then did I know what the problem was.

The moment I was about to put on my clothes to fix that problem, the adventurers chasing the horned tiger appeared.

“That branch manager…? And my lord…?”

I decided to stand in their shoes and imagine what the sight reflected in their eyes would be like.

Cecilia blushed with her entire body and clothes soaked in the water.

And here I am, without anything on, with only one foot inside my pants.

This was a sight that anyone could misunderstand.

“……”

But I was a terribly quiet person. Therefore, I felt like no matter what I said, it would only be misunderstood.

And didn’t my fiancee say this too?

‘You just need to shut that mouth. ‘Because everything you say gets on people’s nerves.’

She was a wise woman. What she said is generally correct.

“… Cecilia. Be sure to let me know the answer to the question I asked later.”

I quietly got dressed and returned to the residence.

Of course, because of that, Cecilia and I had to suffer from annoying rumors.

But not even all those rumors could shake my heart as much as the one word she said.

“People…”

“Oh my gosh…”

The crow pecked at the nuts I bought and criticized my stupidity.