episode_0022

It was five years ago.

‘Hey, Briwen.’

‘What? I have no intention of competing today. Get out.’

‘Do you only talk about winning when you see me? That’s not it…’

‘What is it?’

‘Ha. I just came here because you were feeling uncharacteristically depressed. Is that okay?’

‘Okay. Okay. You’re showing up for useless things.’

‘Yeah. I think so too.’

‘Look at all the time wasted.’

‘You’re being rude.’

‘…hey.’

‘uh.’

‘Honestly, did you all think this request was suspicious?’

‘Yeah. Wow. Very. If you asked all five people who received this commission, they’d all say it was suspicious.’

‘Yes. But…’

‘but?’

‘I never thought that a human would go to such lengths to deceive adventurers and use them as sacrifices.’

‘I didn’t even know that the human was an ‘elf’ and not a human.’

‘You’re picking at my wounds. You bad boy.’

‘You’re being rude.’

‘joy…’

‘hey.’

‘what.’

‘Let me just say one thing.’

‘I think I’ll say more than one thing.’

‘Whew… It’s not your fault. That you hesitated, that you were sad, that you screamed, and… that you ended the guy with your own hands. No one will blame you. Rather, they’ll praise you. So, let go of the guilt. It’ll be hard, but you’ll be able to move on.’

‘As expected, you’re saying more than one thing… Are you saying this because you think it’ll be easy to throw away such a heavy heart? No matter how many evil deeds you’ve committed, you’ve killed your own kind… even people I know.’

‘It’ll be difficult.’

‘Then why are you saying that!’

‘…’

‘If you’re the one I know, you can overcome it.’

‘Heaviness. And guilt.’

‘And your fate too.’

It was a time when the demons were rampant and there were no warriors, so adventurers were sent to various battlefields to hunt demons and face death. Most of the requests that adventurers received were related to the demons. So it seemed natural that the request that Briwen and Glenn received along with several adventurers was also related to the demons.

However, the reality was far more bizarre than they had imagined. The person who had asked them for the favor was actually a villain who had been full of revenge against the Demon Tribe and was plotting a vicious plan to become stronger by sacrificing those who helped him.

Even upon closer examination, he was an elf. A pitiful elf who had been abandoned by his own kind. Although he was a half-elf, Briwen felt deep disappointment and despair at the sight of her own kind. However, in the end, she was able to cut off her fallen kind. Her weak parts.

‘Hey, Glen.’

‘why.’

‘The headband you gave me before… thank you.’

‘Now? Well, that’s a relief.’

And the image of that fool, smiling cheerfully, lingered in my memory.

‘Oh, I thought I was the only one receiving help.’

At first, I thought he was just a cocky brat. He was a little shorter than me, and he was surprisingly strong for a 16-year-old.

So I got annoyed and jealous and started fights often. After fighting myself, I couldn’t believe I was 16. I couldn’t believe that I was struggling and losing.

So, whenever they met, he would pick a fight. He would deliberately provoke them and start a fight. Briwen, who had left the forest and abandoned herself to the wild, fighting with only her fists, felt satisfied by doing so.

Glenn was enthusiastic at first, but soon he became increasingly annoyed, and before long their fights became more about verbally stabbing each other than with fists. They fought each other tirelessly for years.

Even while doing the same request, they bicker, even while eating, and even when meeting skilled adventurers, they bicker, and those around them teased them, but soon they got tired of it and ignored them.

Then, after Glenn comforted Briwen, who had taken the life of her own kind, she felt strange. After that, they joined forces in a competitive manner in several quests, and soon, they became close friends.

It was strange. The two people who fought with fists and words to the point of feeling sorry for not being able to kill each other became close comrades to the point of having each other’s backs.

It was strange. It was like an adventure for adventurers. It was like an adventure.

It was after he wore the gold badge that something went wrong.

‘The Duke of Arclight? Glenn, am I the only one who feels this is not normal?’

‘Is it just you? I just received another request. A request that is only given to those with Golden Badges.’

‘Glen…’

‘What. What could go wrong? Even if it’s dangerous, I’ll be the only one using the poison. What?’

Yes, I should have expressed my anxiety about Glenn leaving for the island while complaining. I should have come closer and spoken to him. I should have asked him to lean on me more. I should have said I could help him more.

However, that was not the case.

And then… everything took a turn for the worst.

‘What are you doing, Glenn?’

‘…’

‘I asked you what you were doing, you little brat.’

‘You’re starting off by swearing after meeting for the first time in a while? You’re so damn healthy…’

‘Compared to your appearance, even an old man would be healthy. Why do you have such a face like you can’t die! Who told me to shake off the death of my own people and why are you acting like that?’

‘Be quiet. You really are so talkative. Just like before.’

‘Of course, you idiot! You and I always…’

‘Rival, you say?’

‘That… that’s right, rival! Well said. It’s strange to hear you say it. Rival, rival! That’s why, when you show such a mean side, it makes me feel bad as a rival. You disgusting little brat.’

‘I see…’

‘Then to my rival… I have nothing to say.’

In that way, Glenn, with all of his previous passion gone, all of his previous vitality gone, and all of the ties he had with himself gone, left him.

And I abandoned myself. From work. From reality. And from the people around me.

Only the most clingy guy like Grimes persistently stuck by Glenn’s side.

However, Glenn, who had not recovered from his wounds, wasted his time for a year and three months, obsessed with reading books that did not suit him.

‘if…’

And then, now comes the time.

Now, now that the saint has approached him, now that he has accepted her request, now that he is pouring his all into her request, and… now that his relationship with Briwen has not been restored.

‘If I had approached you and asked you…’

Briwen lay in bed, letting her imagination run wild.

‘If I had grabbed your shoulder…’

‘If only I had been more honest with you…’

“Can you and I become a little more…special?”

Even as I muttered those words out loud, I buried my face in the pillow and blamed myself because it was so miserable and shameful.

The commotion downstairs didn’t reach my ears.

I couldn’t even hear the sound of insects outside the window.

And yet, despite all this, Breewena Crowsong had trouble sleeping.

It was a difficult night.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Ugh, I’m nervous, I’m nervous!

The next morning, after drinking and partying in the dungeon, Glenn finally returned to his room, lay down on his bed, and fell asleep. Strangely enough, he was able to wake up early thanks to his accurate body clock.

Fortunately, I stopped drinking after the two glasses Grimes gave me, so my head didn’t hurt much. And as soon as I got up, I quickly figured out the situation, grabbed my tools, and went up to the third floor. At the end of the third floor hallway, there was a bathhouse prepared exclusively for adventurers above a certain level. The facilities were better than I had expected, and it was an incredible facility where I could take a hot bath.

Glenn, who had jumped into the bath, wiped himself here and there. He didn’t feel awkward today. There was soap provided in this bath. It was completely different from the washrooms that other adventurers could use. In fact, the washroom itself was almost a luxury compared to the position of an adventurer.

Now that I think about it, I’ve basically given up the whole place. How are the other high-level adventurers doing? Glenn thought as he soaked himself in the bath water.

Before the fatigue overtook him, Glenn got out of the bath. Phew. It was the first time in a long time that he felt refreshed. After changing his clothes, he returned to his room. When he opened his closet, he found it in the corner. It was an outfit that had been in the corner of the closet for over three years and had never been taken out.

The last time he wore it was, apparently, when he appeared before the king to receive his gold badge. Glenn thought back to the past for a moment, then reached out. Various thoughts passed through his mind.

A walk. A date. A saint. Briwen. Now that I think about it, Briwen had told me to come find her before she left. It’s morning now, so she should still be there. Wait, where is that guy’s room? While I was lost in thought, I found myself getting dressed.

‘Wow. Was this the kind of clothing it was? This?’

Glenn was standing in front of the mirror, wearing a luxurious outfit that was different from his usual clothes. He was wearing black suit pants, a long white shirt, and an embroidered jacket over it.

However, his hair was untidy and he was wearing large glasses, which made him look incredibly unbalanced. He was also short, so anyone who saw him would mistake him for a rich, bookish young master.

Shoes, shoes…what was there? Glenn searched the closet again. However, there were only similar shoes. They were almost boots, and he thought boots like that didn’t suit him now.

Oh, I’m screwed. No shoes, shoes? Glenn tried to remember again. Shoes… shoes. I’m sure I wore shoes to the banquet after receiving the gold badge three years ago.

‘aha!’

Glenn quickly remembered and searched under the bed.

There definitely was one. The shoes that had been thrown away after the party because they were uncomfortable on the feet. They had been left under the bed for three years, covered in cobwebs.

It’s funny. I changed the seats and fixed the broken parts, and now I’m finding this. Glenn laughed and dusted off his dusty shoes before putting them on.

“Eww!”

I felt something on my foot so I quickly took it off. It wasn’t something biting me. Soon after, something popped out of my shoe.

Oh my. It was a spider. It didn’t seem to be a poisonous one. Glenn was immediately annoyed. Thud. Glenn’s foot stepped on the spider. The spider died in an instant.

‘I got lucky. No, maybe I shook off my bad luck by killing the spider?’

After roughly shaking off his shoes again and successfully putting them on normally this time, Glenn straightened his clothes and went outside.

Now, where was Briwen’s room? The second floor was divided into two rooms where adventurers could stay. Go up the stairs, go all the way to the left, and you have to show your adventurer’s license to enter the female adventurer’s quarters. Go to the right and you have to enter the male adventurer’s quarters.

In order to enter the female adventurer’s quarters, it was necessary to have an adventurer’s license. Because of this, sometimes female adventurers who were not good at holding the license would have a hard time at the entrance. Of course, male adventurers could not enter alone. They had to use another method to enter.

Glenn walked to the left on the stairs. A wide-open window came into view. Nodding. There was a person dozing off. It was a guild employee who was in charge of checking adventurer licenses and letting people in. Of course, it was someone he knew.

It’s your turn to be on dorm duty today, Kate.

Glenn cleared his throat deliberately.

Ahem ahem. Ahem ahem.

It was to play a prank as if someone of higher rank had come. The effect was certain.

“Ouch! Oh, welcome!”

Kate, startled by the sound, got up in an instant and looked around, then saw Glenn and openly distorted her face. No, this guy. It seemed as if he was saying, “Why is this guy, who has never joked around in his life, suddenly?”

“What, what is it? You surprised me, Glenn. You startle people.”

“I just cleared my throat this morning because my throat was sore.”

“You really have a lot of excuses. Is that all you can say to the staff member who is on duty in front of the female adventurer’s dormitory?”

“Oh, that’s not it. Call Briwen.”

“Briwen? Come to think of it, your outfit…why are you dressed up so colorfully? I get it.”

Kate, who was a little angry but faithful to her work, got up from her seat and went inside the dorm.

A moment later, Kate reappeared, yawned, and gave Glenn the answer he wanted.

“I’ll be out soon. Please wait.”

“Ugh.”

“What’s wrong with you today? Why are you dressed so serious?”

“What a serious look. What’s wrong with this?”

“You’re dressed like someone who’s prepared for something. Could it be that the downstairs noise yesterday was Glenn’s fault?”

“The first floor was always noisy.”

“Yesterday was worse than usual. Oh, it’s coming out.”

And what appeared at the entrance to the female adventurer’s quarters was Briwen, looking more shocking than expected.

Her hair was disheveled, perhaps because she wasn’t wearing a headband, her eyes were sunken, and her outfit was… she was wearing cute pajamas despite being slightly taller than Glenn.

Glenn sighed, glad that the pajamas weren’t a one-piece dress, while Kate, who had only knocked on the door to check and didn’t know what condition Briwen was in, couldn’t help but be shocked.

“B, what are you wearing, Briwen!”

“Oh, hi. Glen…Oh, no. Joe, wait a minute.”

Briwen barely regained consciousness with her half-asleep face, and quickly went back inside the dormitory with a red light swirling around her. It seemed that she too was quite flustered.

Oh, what’s going on? Briwen is looking so disheveled. The last time she looked like she was out of her mind was probably five years ago. Well, she was going through some pretty tough times back then.

“Mr. Glenn. You’d better not tell anyone about that appearance.”

“What do you think of me… If you’re going to do it, you should do it in front of the guild master.”

“Wow, you devil. I wish the saint would purify you and make you disappear.”

“Where can you find someone better than me?”

“You can destroy it with those words.”

While Kate and Glenn were exchanging ridiculous banter, Briwen reappeared at the entrance to the inn.

She looked completely different from before. Her hair was properly tied, and her outfit was like that of an adventurer. Her expression had become calm again. If you didn’t notice the curves of her body, you could mistake her for a slender, handsome man.

“Ahem,” the half-elf said, clearing his throat and speaking to Glenn again.

“Excuse me. You looked quite ugly just now.”

“I know. It was a mess.”

“Just…whoa, come in.”

“Huh? Can I come in?”

“Yeah. At first glance, the outfit looks okay…but there are some things to fix.”

“Where to look?”

In order for a male adventurer to enter the female adventurer’s quarters, a female adventurer had to open the door for him. Confused, Glenn followed Briwen. Briwen led him to her room. It was the room immediately to the right as you entered the entrance.

Her room, visible through the open door, was much more plain than she had thought. There was a closet, a bed, a bookshelf, and so on. It was no different from her own room. Except for the dresser, which seemed to be the most cluttered in the room. And Briwen walked over to the dresser, placed a chair, and pointed it out to Glenn.

“Sit down.”

“Huh?”

“Come on. Sit down. You said you were going on a date. I’ll do your hair. And put on some makeup.”

“Eh. Even makeup? No, you don’t really need to do that…”

“You think your face suits you while wearing that outfit? You’re free to be mistaken. First, you have to do something about those big glasses. Sit down.”

It was a strangely strong force. I don’t think it was this strong even when we fought before.

Glenn nodded obediently and sat down. Briwen took out a comb from the dressing table. Swoosh. For some reason, fixing her hair made her feel nervous but also at ease.

There’s a place called Simon’s Hair Salon in the northern part of the capital. I wonder if this is what it’d be like to get your hair done there.

“Okay. Where. Should I take off those fancy glasses?”

“Hey, hey. Are you really going to do that with your face?”

“Then you won’t do it? Going on a date with such a dirty face… The saintess is really pitiful. Wow…”

“Erai. Do whatever you want! Bake or boil!”

In the end, Glenn, who had completely surrendered, said that and closed his mouth. Briwen sighed in relief at the sight of the quietened test subject(?) and took out a few necessary items from the dressing table. Some of them had sharp edges, which made Glenn flinch slightly, but he showed no other reaction.

Glenn couldn’t tell, but Briwen seemed very good at things like patting the area around her eyes with powder, applying various things, and tidying up her eyebrows and eyelids. She seemed to be good at doing things not only for herself, but also for others.

“I, Briwen.”

“Why. Concentrating.”

“Oh, have you ever done it for anyone else besides me? You seem really good at it.”

“Do you think there will be no other women in this dorm besides me? And what about their age?”

“Oh, right.”

Although her appearance alone might make you forget, she was considerably older than the female adventurers. Of course, she was a half-elf, so her age of 34 could easily be considered 17 or 18 for a human.

First of all, since she was older than other adventurers, most female adventurers tended to treat her well, such as by showing respect to her or asking for advice. This would help them in their future adventures.

“Okay. I think this is enough.”

“Is it the end?”

“Yeah. Hmm… definitely…”

After a moment of lost thought, Briwen’s voice rang out, signaling the end. At Glenn’s question, she briefly touched her chin and smiled mischievously.

“If this keeps up, I’m sure I’ll look like a rich kid in a suit for a day out. Especially in height. Especially in height.”

“Don’t point out the other word twice. Tsk. Anyway, thanks.”

“Why are you saying this again?”

“Put it in front of me as a debt later. I’ll give you money, food, or anything.”

“Anything?”

As Glenn tried to stand up, Briwen touched his shoulder.

What, all of a sudden?

As Glenn looked at her with a puzzled face, she cautiously brought her head to Glenn’s side. Ugh, what the hell is this? Following me lately! Glenn flinched, but couldn’t push Briwen’s head away from his ear.

“You must never forget those words, you foolish little master.”