"Why do you keep breaking into other people's homes?"
"Your condition is a mess. Am I supposed to just leave you?"
"So what? Maybe some lonely guy will come looking?"
"Haa...?"
It was Lee Hanna, leaving him at a loss for words with her absurd answer. Not that there would be any man who would pounce after just a few words. Well, case by case—maybe there were?
In any case, he had just tossed her roughly onto the bed and was about to leave the bedroom.
"You're leaving again?"
"Were you hoping I'd assault you or something?"
"Yeah."
"Haa. I did think you were really strange, but you're strange to a rather unusual degree."
"Right?"
Then, when she began to gently undo the ties of her upper garment, he turned his head and immediately stepped out of the bedroom. From inside came the sound of her giggling.
If she hadn't been teasing him, then she was doing that because she was embarrassed—one of the two, he thought. He took a seat on the sofa in the living room and began to ponder.
Could he really partner with someone like that?
She might be able to keep her mouth shut. But because of those eyes that seemed to be constantly yearning for something, and her inexplicable behavior, he was certain troublesome situations would arise.
And since he had no idea how sexual ethics worked in this world, he figured that him being here right now wasn't exactly a good thing either.
He quietly got up and was about to leave the house.
"Are you really leaving?"
Her voice came through the slightly opened door, and so he answered.
"I'm leaving because I'm afraid I might make a mistake."
"I don't mind if you do."
He couldn't understand what kind of mindset made her act like that. To put it bluntly, they'd only met twice. The fact that those two times had involved drinking and a bedroom, and that they'd spent quite a long time together under one roof—looking at it that way, there was room for misunderstanding, but strictly speaking, it was also a situation where he could say he had protected a woman who had gotten drunk and passed out.
So it was something he simply couldn't understand.
"If someone offers it to you and you still can't eat, you really become a pathetic idiot."
"What do you think of yourself as?"
"Me? A failure at life?"
He couldn't understand in what sense she was saying such a thing. So he sighed and asked why.
"Why do you belittle and torment yourself to that extent?"
"What's wrong with me doing whatever I want with myself?"
"Do you not think your own life, and your own self, are worth something? Besides, if we're talking about your current value, you've become someone who could earn in an instant something worth more than what thousands, tens of thousands of commoners could earn."
"So? Do I look happy to you?"
The bedroom door opened. He couldn't understand why he had to be filming some melodrama here, but beyond the open door, he saw Lee Hanna looking pitiful, her eyes reddened.
He wondered what kind of story that woman had for her to be like that.
But he didn't think it was something he should carelessly meddle in. As they faced each other for quite some time, Lee Hanna spoke to him.
"I wanted to go on adventures like you too."
"Then do it."
On Earth, there had been "New Humanity" who were active as Gaters and outstanding rankers. Each member of the "New Humanity" had a method suited to them for becoming stronger, and Gaters had such methods as well.
However, because Gaters' early abilities were so terrible, most never even got the chance to try and ended up unable to make the attempt at all.
But he didn't think there was any reason for Lee Hanna to fall so low.
"What... can I even do?"
"There must be a way for you to become stronger too, isn't there?"
"So, you're going to help me?"
"If it's possible."
Lee Hanna looked at him with an expression of disbelief. Silence followed once more. Honestly, he hated this heavy atmosphere. But he was certain that if he left like this, he would never have another chance to face Lee Hanna again.
So he waited. To see whether Lee Hanna, after finishing her thoughts, would lean on him—or push him away as she was.
Some time passed, and Lee Hanna let out a deep sigh, as if she had finished thinking.
"What can you even do?"
"Tell me the method for becoming stronger. It won't be too late to decide after that."
Her eyes wavered. He didn't like the fact that time was being dragged out like this, but what was even more irritating was that he couldn't rush her.
Just as he began wondering if this was some new assassination method designed to frustrate a person to death, Lee Hanna opened her mouth.
"I-I have to... eat hearts."
What she stammered out was eating hearts. Yes, he had heard of it before. There existed "New Humanity" who could only be provided with the starting point for becoming stronger by eating the heart of a monster they had hunted, or a monster whose hunt had been completed.
Most of those who became stronger through that method were almost entirely "New Humanity" with a "dealer" disposition, so Lee Hanna's case struck him as a bit unusual.
And because of the drawback that they had to consume not just the heart of a dead monster, but the heart of a monster they had killed themselves, it was known as a method that most people in non-mainstream jobs gave up on attempting if this was the way they were supposed to grow stronger.
Lee Hanna, too, seemed to have failed to escape that category and had been pessimistic about her life.
"That's something I can help with well enough."
In his view, it wasn't difficult. To put it bluntly, he could knock a monster unconscious by striking it with his spear shaft, then have Lee Hanna finish it off.
As for eating the heart, he knew it wasn't something she had to chew and swallow whole, but rather something as simple as putting her mouth to it or taking one bite, so he didn't think it would be too much of a burden.
When his certainty that he could provide her with a starting point appeared as confidence in his tone, Lee Hanna's expression grew complicated.
Then she slowly walked out of the bedroom and approached until she stood facing him.
"Is it really... possible?"
"It's not that difficult a method."
So when he explained the method he had in mind bit by bit, she looked at him in surprise. Then she sank down and began to cry.
It was an unexpected situation, but he had no choice but to crouch down and lightly pat Lee Hanna on the shoulder.
It was an act born from not wanting to be an unmannered piece of trash who heartlessly walked away. But then—
Lee Hanna suddenly threw herself into his arms and sobbed. As if this was what she had wanted, she clung tightly with her arms and refused to let go. Left with no choice, he patted her back and said,
"I-I understand how you feel, but if you could let go a little..."
But as if she couldn't hear him, Lee Hanna only sobbed. In the end, he was forced to remain in an awkward posture for a long while, patting her back.
* * *
The expression Lee Hanna had made while embarrassed, her face smeared with tears and snot, was still vivid in his mind. And now, with both eyes swollen and slightly bloodshot, she looked at him.
"You're embarrassed, aren't you?"
"No?"
She was brazen. Lee Hanna's skin was certainly thick. So he broached the subject in order to set a schedule.
"When would you like to go?"
"I should prepare a little too, right?"
"I don't think there's much you need to prepare, though. Would you like to bring a weapon at least?"
"A weapon... Hoo. I can become stronger, right?"
"If you need help, anytime."
Lee Hanna nodded firmly. He couldn't know just how strong she wanted to become, but if he helped her get past the basics, she would certainly be able to grow stronger on her own.
Because most people gave up on becoming stronger after failing to overcome that initial wall.
He spoke to Lee Hanna, whose goal had now become clear.
"I also need you, Miss Lee Hanna, in order to become stronger. So how about as soon as possible?"
"I don't like it fast, though..."
Lee Hanna spoke playfully and licked her lips. Haa. This was a moment when he couldn't help but seriously doubt the state of this woman's mind.
After that, they exchanged some light jokes and were able to set a schedule. She openly demanded the gate fee in advance, saying she had to get equipment she would use, and he had no choice but to reluctantly hand over a certain amount of money. The problem was, once he handed it over, what kind of greed had started taking hold of her?
She began setting her eyes on weapons she couldn't even handle.
Before long, she was fondling a sword worthy of being called a "treasured sword," looking at him with her eyes shining.
"No more."
Even when he cut her off flatly, Lee Hanna silently stared at him and kept fondling the sword. Thinking that if he paid for that, he really would become a total pushover, he turned and left the smithy.
Then Lee Hanna followed him out, hugging the sword to her chest.
"No, why do you need such an amazing weapon?"
He was supposed to snap and shout, but Lee Hanna said,
"Won't I definitely need an amazing weapon like this later?"
"You can barely even lift it right now, can't you? Can you even draw that and swing it?"
At his words, she struggled and drew the sword, and he had to watch anxiously in case she accidentally sliced off her own leg. Moreover, the blacksmith who had followed them out was also horrified by Lee Hanna's stance and said,
"D-don't let it fall to the ground! You'll damage the blade!"
A treasured sword's blade wouldn't be damaged just by cutting a bit of ground, but he could understand the blacksmith's feelings as well. Seeing a cherished, treasured sword being handled with such clumsy skill would naturally make one's temper flare. The only reason he was holding back that much was because they were what this world called "Awakened."
With no other choice, he approached Lee Hanna, swiftly snatched the sword away, took the scabbard as well, and said,
"When your skill matches the weapon, I'll give it to you as a gift, so let's buy something appropriate and go, shall we?"
To put it bluntly, time was gold, and he wasn't in a leisurely situation. He had no desire to get caught up in palace intrigue and become a scapegoat.
"You'll really buy it for me, right?"
"Hah? I said so, didn't I? If you gain the proper skill to match the weapon, I'll give it to you as a gift."
That was the same as saying he wouldn't give it to her if she didn't obtain skill befitting it. Lee Hanna realized that and her eyes sparkled.
Then she declared her ambition.
"I will definitely become a strong person worthy of this sword!"
To put it bluntly, right now she didn't even have the skill to properly hold a single longsword, but no one knew what would happen later. After returning the sword to the blacksmith, they bought a suitable shortsword and were able to leave the smithy.
Lee Hanna kept drawing and sheathing it repeatedly, enjoying the distinctive sound of the blade brushing past.
Thinking that she really did have a strange personality, he had to follow her around and spend money until they had gathered all the remaining necessary items.
He hated waste like this.
But considering both of their current situations, it could be said that giving her a certain amount of help and gaining benefit from it was the right choice.
Moreover, if he provided her with the starting point for becoming stronger, it would be a favor, so he judged that she wouldn't betray him carelessly, and said,
"A magpie that repays kindness is a good thing. Not a swan that's different on the outside and inside. Got it?"
"Yeah. But I still like swans better."
Lee Hanna looked up at him with an irritating smile.