The sunset was quietly sinking, and my body knew the day was ending before the sky did.
By the time I finished settling accounts at the guild and stepped outside, delayed fatigue came crashing over me.
Until a moment ago, I’d still had enough leeway to calculate the money and even tack on a few more words in front of Luce, but once I actually breathed in the outside air, my body grew a little heavy. My shoulders sagged, and it felt like the soles of my feet were belatedly giving off heat.
Kaya glanced over at me.
“Shall we wash up before going?”
“Sounds good. I feel like my body’s giving off a perfectly blended scent of blood, sweat, dirt, and goblin right now.”
“That last one’s a bit strange.”
“Aw, I’m sure it’s just your imagination~”
Mari let out something close to a sigh.
“I should come up with a spell to shut that mouth of yours, too.”
“If you make one, let me know. Sometimes even I can’t handle my own mouth.”
“That’s your problem.”
We went into the public bathhouse behind the guild.
It was quieter inside than I’d expected. After paying a copper at the entrance and going in, the smell of hot steam hit me all at once. Wet stone floors, hot water, and the unfamiliar scent of soap were all mixed together.
When I stripped and looked down at myself, the whole day was written across my body. My palms were scraped red where I’d gripped the sword hilt, and there were marks on my forearms where stones had grazed me. My shoulders and thighs were sore, too.
And in the midst of all that, my junior was once again diligently asserting its weighty presence today.
I looked down for a moment.
‘Heh heh... I am the strongest!’
Seeing my package, bigger and longer thanks to the Dimension Archive, put me in a strangely good mood. It also meant that while my body felt like death, my mind was still perfectly fine.
When I poured water over myself, dirt and blood mixed together and ran down to the floor. The moment I sank into the hot water, a long breath escaped me without my realizing it.
“Ha...”
Hot water, a washed body, limbs still intact.
It wasn’t anything I’d call a luxury, but it felt oddly nice. So much so that it was hard to believe I was the same guy who had been wandering the forest with a bloodied sword in hand just moments ago. My body felt like it was slowly returning to normal.
I closed my eyes briefly, then opened them.
‘I really worked like a damn dog today.’
At that thought, a small laugh slipped out.
I didn’t stay long. I roughly washed myself, came back out, and changed clothes. After washing up, it felt like at least a little of the fatigue that had been clinging to my skin until a moment ago had run off with the water. Of course, it hadn’t completely disappeared, but at the very least, I felt less grimy. I was starting to get hungry, too.
“Where should we go for dinner?”
“Sunset Oven.”
Kaya’s answer was brief.
“That’s the place we went at lunch, right?”
“Yeah. They sell beer there, too.”
Mari tossed that out casually.
I immediately raised my head.
“Nice~ On a day like this, you’ve gotta have at least one drink!”
“Just one.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
As we entered Sunset Oven, the smell of grilling meat rose up at once. Under the low ceiling, people’s voices murmured all around, and the light clatter of plates and cups spread across the wooden tables. It was warm near the oven, while a bit of night air had seeped in by the windows.
When we sat down at an empty table by the window, I could see the darkening sky. Starlight glimmered quietly beyond the gaps in the window.
Kaya ordered with practiced ease.
Three meat stews, grilled meat, black bread, and three mugs of beer.
A little while later, the beer came out first. Amber liquid with white foam swaying on top trembled lightly inside wooden mugs. I lifted my mug and sniffed it.
“Oh.”
It wasn’t completely different from beer on Earth. But it was a little richer, and the smell of grain rose more strongly from it.
Kaya raised her mug.
“You worked hard today.”
Mari raised hers as well.
“To coming back alive.”
“Sounds good. Alive, and with money earned!”
Clink!
The mugs tapped lightly together.
When I swallowed a mouthful, the inside of my throat turned cold. It was bitter, but the finish was smooth. Maybe because I’d worked my body like a dog, it tasted strangely better.
“This is good!”
“It’s not your first time drinking it, is it?”
“No, of course not. I’ve had beer before, you know?”
“Then why are you so impressed?”
“...Because it’s beer! Ah, come on, have a bite.”
Mari laughed as if she couldn’t believe me and tore off a piece of bread, while Kaya pushed a bowl of stew toward me.
“It’s hot, so eat slowly.”
“Thank you.”
When I put my spoon in, meat and vegetables that had been stewed soft came up with it. The moment I took a bite, salty broth spread through my mouth. It was hot, but good. After washing up, having beer right away with something warm made it feel like the inside of my body was loosening up.
For a while, there were more sounds of eating than talking. It seemed all three of us had been hungry.
Only after some time passed did Kaya open her mouth.
“Roy’s receiving treatment properly at the Healing Sanctuary.”
My spoon paused for a moment.
“Has he gotten a lot better?”
“He survived. They stopped the bleeding, too. But he’s not well enough to return right away.”
Mari continued for her.
“They said he has to start by learning to walk again.”
“It was that bad?”
“It was his side.”
Kaya set down her beer mug.
“They said he should be able to move lightly in about two weeks. After that, he’ll start rehabilitation.”
“Then when will he return?”
“Three weeks at the earliest.”
I nodded slowly.
I didn’t think that was long. Rather, remembering what I’d seen in that cave that day, the fact that he was alive at all was a miracle.
“That’s a relief, at least.”
“Yeah.”
“Then I guess the three of us will have to move together for a while.”
Mari said that and looked at me.
“Don’t run away.”
“At this point?”
“Who knows. You look like the type.”
“That’s harsh~”
Kaya laughed softly.
“You did well today.”
“Oh...”
“I mean it. Not breaking when you faced the warrior goblin was a big deal.”
“I did feel like I was going to die.”
“I’m sure you did.”
“I’m glad I didn’t just end up being useless here.”
Mari rested her chin on her hand and said,
“Until yesterday, even the way you held your sword was awkward, but today you looked somewhat human, at least.”
“Wow, high praise again!”
“You’re getting cocky.”
“No, I’m not getting cocky, I’m just moved!”
I took another sip of the remaining beer.
One silver coin and three copper coins. That was about my share for today. It wasn’t an enormous amount of money, but it was money I could clearly hold in my hand.
Money I’d earned by risking my life and rolling through hell.
Thinking of it that way, it didn’t feel strangely light.
“But if I’m going to pay off all my tab with this, I’ve still got a long way to go.”
“Of course.”
“Still, you can see the direction now.”
Kaya said.
“You just have to earn while surviving.”
“Then for the time being, goblins are responsible for my livelihood!”
“How did that become the conclusion?”
“It’s not wrong.”
I chuckled.
I didn’t have any grand goals. Saving the world, defeating some Demon King who might or might not even exist—none of that was my business yet.
For now, it was enough to simply not die, make money, become a goblin slayer, pay off my tab, and build the strength to endure here.
That was enough.
When we finished eating and stepped outside, the sky was full of stars.
‘Wow... There are so damn many stars.’
The road back to the Healing Sanctuary was quieter than I’d expected.
My body was tired, but strangely, I didn’t hate it. It felt a little different from the exhaustion I felt going home after a part-time job. After all, I’d never even imagined I would end up inside a fantasy world, personally hunting goblins.
Today, I’d been knocked around once, and I’d also seen a little of what I lacked. Until yesterday, it had felt like I was just getting hit and enduring it, but today, even if only slightly, I had felt like I was watching and moving.
Only slightly.
That was all.
✧ ✧ ✧
The next day.
It was still early enough that the morning air was cold.
The training ground behind the guild was empty, and Garen was already there. This time, he was standing with a wooden sword in one hand, leaning against the wall. As soon as he saw me, he straightened his posture.
“You’re not late.”
“I felt like I’d get hit if I was.”
“You know well.”
Garen tossed a wooden sword toward me. I hurriedly caught it.
“Come at me.”
“Right away?”
“Did you think you’d learn just by listening?”
“Uh... Wouldn’t that be nice, too?”
“Nonsense.”
In the end, we clashed immediately.
The first exchange wasn’t much different from yesterday. Garen was still fast, and Garen’s sword was even faster.
‘Shit, how am I supposed to block a 300 attack power Garen!’
I was still struggling. But it wasn’t exactly the same as yesterday. I tried to watch Garen’s movements, tried to deflect rather than block, and tried not to let my feet get tangled.
Tak!
Ttang!
I received two strikes, deflected one, and stepped aside.
At that moment, Garen’s eyebrows moved ever so slightly.
On the third exchange, I was pushed back again.
My wrist tingled, and my balance broke a little. Still, I didn’t fall.
Garen lowered his wooden sword.
“It’s not that your sword improved in one day.”
“I know that, too.”
“But... the way you look has changed a little.”
I caught my breath and looked at Garen.
“I think I’m starting to see.”
“You’ve probably just gotten a bit more used to it after one real battle.”
Garen walked once around me as he spoke.
“Your sword is still clumsy. You lack strength, and your posture is awkward. But it’s better than yesterday. At the very least, you weren’t being dragged around by your sword.”
“Oh, may I take that as praise?”
“...A little.”
He tapped the tip of my foot with the end of his wooden sword.
“Fix your feet first. Before the sword moves, the body moves. And before the body moves, the feet move.”
Then he gripped my shoulder.
“Don’t look at the hands. Look at the shoulders and waist first. Those are always the first to move.”
This time, he lightly pushed my sword and altered its angle.
“Don’t block. Deflect. If you try to take everything head-on, your arms will break first.”
And finally, he tapped my chest with the back of his hand.
“Once you decide to go in, don’t hesitate. Push through to the end. An adventurer’s sword isn’t a sword that looks pretty. It’s a sword that survives.”
I nodded slowly.
He hadn’t said a single word about noble swordsmanship or knight-style swordsmanship, but maybe that was why it hit me harder.
Not flashy techniques, but how to win without dying.
That was what Garen was teaching.
“Good.”
Garen raised his sword again.
“Now I can teach you a little faster.”
“Nice. So all the suffering yesterday was worth it.”
“That flippant mouth of yours is still the same.”
“It’d be weird if only my skill suddenly improved, wouldn’t it?”
The corner of Garen’s mouth moved for a very brief moment. I couldn’t tell whether he’d smiled or not.
‘Garen-ham... His coolness is insane.’
When the short training session ended and I came out of the training ground, Kaya and Mari were waiting in front of the guild. Both of them looked much more familiar than they had yesterday. No, maybe I was the one who had gotten used to them.
Kaya looked at my hands and asked,
“How was it today?”
“I think I got better than yesterday. I even got praised.”
“That Garen praised you? Are you sure you didn’t hear wrong?”
“No way. He was saying I’d gotten waaay better than yesterday, that I’m a complete sword genius.”
“There you go talking nonsense again.”
“Anyway, it was in a good direction.”
“Then that’s enough.”
Mari laughed briefly and turned around.
We once again entrusted a goblin subjugation request to Luce, then left the village as we were and walked toward the forest on the northeastern outskirts.
The three of our shadows stretched long over the road where the morning sunlight lay low. Yesterday, this was the road we’d returned on covered in goblin blood, but strangely, today it felt a little less unfamiliar.
I adjusted my grip on my sword hilt once.
Then I slightly lifted the corners of my mouth.
“Let’s go.”
“What?”
“Today, let’s kill more than yesterday and come back.”
Mari snorted, and Kaya laughed softly.
Under the morning sunlight, the forest was no different from yesterday, and what had changed was us, just a little.