CH 13

Chapter 13: - It’s Better to Regret Something After You’ve Done It Than to Regret Not Doing It. In Other Words, When in Doubt, Do It All.

After passing through the door, I found myself in a nostalgic meadow.

There was a familiar meadow right after I passed through the door.

This was my third time in this world after all. … But, before I get too emotional, I had some things I had to do.

As I was checking to see if my powers had really been transferred, I couldn’t help but let out a grunt. The reason was that the [Auto-Mapping] skill only showed the area around me.

“Oh, so knowledge doesn’t get transferred along with the skills? It’s probably more useful to know that I haven’t been to a place yet because I won’t mistake it for having been there before. … No, wait!”

I impatiently thrusted my hand into the [Stranger Box]. However, no matter how deep I plunged my hand into, my fingertips only grasped the empty space.

“NOOOOOOOOOOO!”

I let out a tragic cry as I crumpled to the ground. No, indeed, “memories and experiences” didn’t include goods. If so, it was only natural that the contents of the [Stranger Box], which for the most part would be still unusable, would be empty. But the sense of loss was immeasurable.

“Damn, I was so proud of my collection too….”

With a heavy sigh, I started walking towards the town as planned. Unlike the first time, however, I walked up to the red dot that appeared in [Auto-mapping] and pulled out my sword, which I’ve had on my hip since my original world, and quickly hunted the horned rabbit.

“Fu~, I guess I”ll be able to pay the town tax now. I can sell the meat if I dismantle it. …. But that’s okay.”

The price of horned rabbit meat was negligible compared to the amount of effort required. Also, I already knew that there was no point in making a few pennies here. ・・・・・

After that, I continued walking down the street and soon reached the first town where I first met Alexis and the others. I gave the guard at the entrance a rabbit instead of an entry tax, and passed through the gate without any problems. Now, all I needed to do was wait for Alexis and the others to arrive here. … Hmm.

“What should I do?…”

As I walked through the lively streets of the city, I was quietly lost in thought. The question, of course, was whether the reunion with Alexis and the others would be the same as the first time.

一The first time I met Alexis, I was scurrying around the streets of a different world that I had never been to before. I bumped into him, and he said, “How dare a commoner like you bump into me, a hero!” When I heard Alexis say that, I thought, “He’s the Hero. If I miss this opportunity, I may never see him again!” I clung desperately to his leg. After some persuasion, Alexis finally hired me as a porter.

If I did the same thing this time, I should be able to join the hero party as a porter in the same way… but, that won’t work. Even if I became a member of the group from such a lowly position, I would not be able to gain enough power to influence the future of Alexis and the others.

“Then, I’d need to promote myself… The problem is how.”

One was to promote myself as a “porter,” which was something Alexis and his team were lacking right now. I had the [Stranger Box], and that made my talent as a porter unparalleled and overwhelming in this world. If I demonstrated this, it would be possible for me to join the hero’s party without licking their boots and flattering them.

On the other hand, a porter was only a porter. Alexis was not a fan of the attitude that overstepped his boundaries. If I insisted “Actually, I can fight!”, there was a risk that I would simply be disliked before I could show my abilities. I would be expelled from the hero’s party before the designated time. … or rather, I would be expelled right away. Tia told me that the porter they hired after I left did that and got fired for it.

“Mmm. If I am looking for stability and to extend my stay, I guess I’ll go this way. …”

I looked at the stalls giving off a nice smell and slightly regretted that I should have hunted down one more horned rabbit to make some change. My mind wandered to another possibility.

Another possibility was … to sell myself as a swordsman. Losing the [Sword Of Thin Life] was quite a blow, but it didn’t mean that my sword skills, which I had trained for 100 years, diminished. Previously, I was like, “I don’t know what it is, but anyway, it’s insanely strong.” The strength of Alexis, which I had only understood as “the best of the best,” should now be enough to match me.

But it was not only a good thing here, either. Alexis and his party were not recruiting combatants, so no matter how good I was, there was a chance I would not be invited to join the party. As far as I knew, …, or rather until the very end, Alexis didn’t seem to gain any more friends, so I could foresee that this route would lead to the worst possible outcome, where no matter how much I tried, I couldn’t become one of them before I was banished.

“Hmmm. Which should I choose, a porter or a swordsman?…” 

I stopped at a corner of the main street and continued to ponder. Unlike the first time around, I was not stranded at the entrance gate, so I still had some time to spare, but that didn’t mean I could think for hours.

Once I made my choice, it was difficult to change my mind. If I made a strong impression at the beginning, that image would stick with them no matter what I did afterwards, so I could only be either “a porter who could fight quite well” or “a swordsman who could carry a rather large amount of luggage.”  … Hmm?

“………… Ah, I see.”

The thoughts that I had been mulling over in my head were all jumbled up and eventually came together to form into one thought. Hmmm… I see. So that’s how it works! Then――

★★★★★

“Look, isn’t that the Hero Alexis?”

“Oh, my God, yes! So cool. …”

“I never thought I’d be able to see the Hero with my own eyes. …”

“…Fu~”

Alexis ignored the shouts of praise from the commoners who passed by him with a relaxed expression. He understood that his reputation as a Hero would be enhanced if he showed a resolute attitude and did not react to every single word he heard.

(Good grief, I’m just blessed with birth, looks, talent, ability, wisdom, and God’s favor. Common people are exaggerating as usual.)

With a leisurely smile on his face, Alexis rambled on inwardly. He never doubted that he was a chosen one, and he took it all for granted. For Alexis, the prince of the great nation of Northland, who received the light of God’s blessing on his body the moment he was born, it was as natural as breathing, so there was no need to be humble or demeaning.

The people around him had no questions or complaints about his attitude. If an ordinary person did the same thing, they would be accused of being unprincipled. However, it was natural for Alexis, who was recognized by everyone as special, to desire special treatment.

Therefore, if the special Alexis walked down the middle of the main street, even the large carriages would wait by the edge for Alexis to pass by. If Alexis wanted something, whatever it was, it would definitely be in his hands.

He was truly a special being chosen by the world and by God. However, as if to block the way of Alexis, a single figure suddenly appeared in front of him.

“………… What? Who are you?”

“Hello, my Hero friend. I was wondering if you might be looking for someone to fill a position. Would you be interested in the best porter and strongest swordsman?”

“What?”

In front of him, an ordinary, dull young man talked to the special Alexis in a casual way. Alexis raised an eyebrow at the man who didn’t treat him as someone special. … But, the man, Ed, grinned and put his hand on the sword on his hip.

(T/N: Little update: Break extended till March 10th. Something happened irl)