episode_0092

“What wish can I grant for you? Hmm… that, I will let you know later!”

Freed, who narrowly won our bet.

So when I asked him what wish he planned to demand, Freed just laughed it off and said it’s still a secret.

It was a chilling response. I wondered why he was being so evasive about what he wanted.

He said ‘a small wish’ with his own mouth, so maybe it’s not such a grand request… but from Freed’s perspective, it might be a wish I cannot grant.

To someone who doesn’t usually drink, even one bottle of soju is a lot, but to a severe alcoholic, it’s just a sip.

…Anyway, since there was no sign of a new snow bear appearing no matter how long we waited, we considered the mission finished and left the cave, heading back down to the village.

“We’ve completed the extermination. We took care of all ten, including the cubs.”

Then, we went to find the village chief, who had been anxiously waiting, and informed him that the snow bear family had been wiped out without leaving a single cub.

“Goodness, there were ten of those white bears to kill? What could they possibly find to eat to gather in a place like this…”

The chief was taken aback at the news that there were as many as ten snow bears gathered.

What could they find to eat? There’s enough food for a whole village here. For the bears, it’s like an all-you-can-eat buffet. They could pick and choose whenever they felt like it.

We managed to take care of them before the cubs grew up, but if the extermination had been delayed a little longer, this village would probably have become a specialty restaurant for snow bears.

Anyway, judging by the chief’s reaction, it didn’t seem like they had intentionally tried to save on the commission fee by pretending there were only four bears.

They probably hadn’t expected the bears to be that numerous. The cubs rarely come out of the den.

“Well, thank you. Thanks to you, I can stretch my legs and sleep well.”

“Well, it’s a job we get paid for.”

After confirming the snow bear hides as evidence, the chief shook my hand, bowed his head, and expressed his gratitude.

It was so unsettling that I couldn’t sleep, but now that I’ve confirmed the bodies, I feel a bit relieved.

“The cave seems to be deeper than expected, so there’s a high possibility of a recurrence like this. I recommend sealing off the entrance if possible.”

I added a piece of advice while I was at it.

Since the cave isn’t just shallow, if left unattended, there’s a high chance it could become a den for other beasts or wandering monsters, so it’s better to completely seal off the entrance as a precaution.

“Oh, and the bodies that were attacked by them were buried near the cave entrance. They were in a severely damaged state, so if you want to handle it, it would be good to find someone with a strong stomach.”

Furthermore, since the residents became a bear’s meal, we had them buried arbitrarily on our side, and I also added that if they wanted to move them to another cemetery, they should go there.

In return for those words, the village chief treated us to a hearty meal by catching five chickens.

Of course, it was only a single portion for the three of us, including myself, and it was a small amount for Kikel, so he had to eat the bear meat he brought separately before he could fill his stomach.

◆◆

After finishing dinner, the sky had already started to darken, so we asked the village chief if it would be okay for us to stay here for the night.

“Of course, it’s fine! Let’s see, there’s a vacant house right now…”

The village chief smiled, saying that he could accommodate such a request, and guided us to that place, mentioning that a house happened to be vacant.

For us, who had expected an inn or a barn at best, it was an unexpected kindness.

The fact that a house in a rural village was empty usually meant that something unfortunate had happened to the homeowner…

Hmm. Perhaps the body we buried used to live in that house, or something like that.

The house we were introduced to was typical of a rural village, small and shabby, but it was enough for the four of us to escape the cold for one night.

Seeing that there were belongings for two people, it seemed like it was a house where a couple or lovers lived, so it was a bit unusual that only women’s clothes were hanging.

No, have you ever seen a man in this village from the beginning?

I couldn’t be sure because I hadn’t looked around, but it seemed that everyone I passed by in my memory was all women….

Well, whatever. It’s a village to leave tomorrow.

There was no need to pay attention.

“Ugh, look at the dust. This is almost dungeon level.”

“If it’s uncomfortable, why don’t you sleep in the carriage? Alone.”

“…It’s better to breathe in some dust than to sleep in the wind outside.”

Amy grumbled about the stuffy air, and Freide suggested going out to sleep if she was unhappy.

Seeing that they didn’t start a fight despite getting angry, it seemed like their relationship had improved somewhat, but it still seemed like they had a long way to go.

“Should we… just sleep here? We should spread out the sleeping bag a bit.”

Since it was a solid structure with no real bedroom, we laid the sleeping bags on the straw mattress in one corner of the room and went to sleep inside them.

Kikel lit a small stove placed in the middle of the house and fell asleep next to it, huddled up and grumbling.

It was a fairly comfortable night.

I wondered if the homeowner would come into my dream and scream at me to get out of my house, but fortunately, I didn’t have such a nightmare.

I did have a dream where a large crow clung to me and flapped its wings, though.

I wonder if that’s a nightmare too?

◆◆

The next morning. After thanking the village chief for a good day’s rest, we drove the carriage back to Vespyr.

With as many as ten sheets of snow bear leather piled up in the luggage compartment.

It was not a bad harvest.

Except for me, my colleagues fought the snow bears so fiercely that the condition of the leather was ruined, making it unsellable.

…Well, if we can’t sell it for a good price, why not process it properly and use it ourselves?

If we have the chopped leather properly processed at the leather shop, we can use it for cloaks, boots, and gloves.

◆◆

A several-hour carriage journey.

We were able to return to Vesperian around 5 o’clock in the afternoon after peacefully slaughtering the bandits we encountered on the way and securing our income.

“Freide. I’ll go report to the guild and come back, so can you take care of these things with Kikel in the meantime? And Amy, you…”

After entering the castle gate, I asked them to dispose of the loot from the snow bear and the bandits on my behalf.

Since it would probably take at least two hours until we could have dinner after completing the loot disposal confirmation, I postponed it.

I’m hungry.

“I’ll stop by the stable for a bit and then head to your inn. We should preserve this heart before it rots.”

Amy pointed to the well-packaged heart of the snow bear in the corner of the carriage.

I wondered why she kept it separately, but according to Amy, it could be used as an ingredient for some kind of magical potion.

The quality of the potion deteriorates over time, so it’s best to preserve it as soon as possible.

“Really? Okay. See you at the inn.”

I nodded readily and saw Amy off as she got off the carriage.

Since there was nothing specific to ask her, it didn’t matter what she did as long as she didn’t come back late for dinner.

After seeing Amy off like that, we drove the carriage towards the adventurers’ guild’s request office.

“I guess I have to walk from here. You haven’t forgotten what I said earlier, have you? Please order a cloak, a pair of shoes, and two pairs of gloves for me. You guys can handle the rest.”

I stopped the carriage and got off in front of the intersection between the guild building and the market street, asking Freide once again not to forget to order my share of clothing.

Kikel seems to have no talent for things like making orders.

“Yes, yes! Leave it to me…!”

Freide waved his hand and nodded vigorously to see me off.

Come to think of it, I still hadn’t properly heard what exactly he wanted to request. Should I ask him discreetly during the dinner?

◆◆

“Yes. We’ve confirmed the completion of the request. Thank you for your hard work!”

The verification process was over sooner than I thought. There weren’t many people at the request office today for some reason.

I asked why, thinking something might have happened, but the receptionist said there wasn’t anything special. Just that everyone had gone to work.

Well, I guess days like this happen too.

“Then, see you next time.”

After taking the compensation given by the receptionist, I said goodbye and left the request office.

The compensation for this job itself wasn’t much, but it seemed like enough to properly pay for a night’s stay at the Freide Inn.

Once I sell the good bear leather for a fair price, I should have enough for living expenses.

“Well, I guess I’ll head back soon…”

I tied the purse to my belt and headed towards the inn.

It felt like it had been a long time since I walked alone. These days, Freide was always right by my side.

I didn’t realize it then. I just thought it was normal for colleagues or friends to go around together, but from Freide’s perspective, it seemed like something akin to a date.

“Sigh…”

I let out a sigh.

Now that I knew Freide’s feelings, I couldn’t decide whether to keep my distance from her in the future, or to treat her as usual.

To think I’m pondering how to treat a girl who likes me. I’ve really come to have some luxurious worries. Is this also thanks to Brunhilde’s body?

“Huh?”

It was at that moment.

“This presence, this smell… Who could it be? I didn’t expect to run into anyone here.”

Someone who lightly brushed past me on the street turned around and spoke to me.

“I can’t understand it. You went through all that trouble to escape, and now what are you doing in a place like this? What kind of sight is this?”

Although the tone sounded like talking to a long-lost friend, the voice directed at me was filled with sarcasm and mockery.

“An adventurer, doing all sorts of things for real.”

“Who are you…?”

I stopped and turned to face the person who had spoken to me. A woman in a cloak, her right hand resting lightly on the hilt of a dagger, as if she knew me well, was shouting at me.

On her back, she had a quiver of arrows, and beside her was another woman who alternately looked at her and smirked.

Both were hooded, so their faces were not visible, but the glimpses of their lower jaws revealed that they were strangely familiar women with a sense of hostility.

No, more importantly, what did this woman just say?

She barely escaped?

Could it be that she recognized me? Really?

“Who are you…? Ha, how amusing. Pretending not to know? Unbelievable.”

The tall woman chuckled and tilted her head.

Who the hell are you? I bent the finger that had been resting on the hilt of my sword and gripped it. The tension turned into cold sweat.

It wasn’t very likely, but I couldn’t shake the unease that maybe my identity had been exposed.

“I think you’ve mistaken us for someone else. We’re both faces you’re seeing for the first time.”

“Why is your speech like that again? Are you really going to play dumb? What do you think, Emelia?”

The tall woman lightly tapped the other woman’s shoulder and asked.

Emelia.

I widened my eyes in astonishment behind my helmet, realizing the true identity of the hostility.

The name Emelia. How could I not know that name.

“Our Sir Brunhilde wishes to pretend not to recognize old comrades. Isn’t that too much? Considering we were once branded as traitors.”

“Oh, is it really Sir Brunhilde…? No, why an adventurer…?”

Emelia Elsine Lawrence.

And Irina Winter.

Former comrades. Like Brunhilde, they were once members of the hero Fritz’s party, but they betrayed Fritz and defected to Gunter’s party.

The women I encountered as soon as I possessed this body, the women who were lying naked on Gunter’s bed, were right in front of me.