Chapter 98

The Horror of Being Identified

The three of us ate the breakfast that Daniela had prepared without leaving any leftovers. Then we destroyed the bathtub and took down the tent. Marie Elle insisted that we put our belongings in the wagon, and so I readily accepted the offer and put the hollow bag in with the other luggage.

“What are we going to do with the horses?”

“Horses are in demand wherever one goes, so we can sell them at Replant. But I will pull them until we get there.”

Daniela gathered the reins and gently pulled, and the horses followed her obediently. Maybe horses liked to be pulled around by beautiful women as well. I understood that completely. Daniela could ride me any time.

The horse that pulled Marie Elle’s wagon was also from the bandit group. Their own horse had been killed to prevent them from escaping. These men were clearly used to ambushing travelers. I hadn’t been able to save her father or her horse.

“Well, let’s go then!”

Marie Elle sat in the driver’s set and gave the command. Impressive for how young she was. Did people start working at her age in this world?

“I just watched father a lot…”

“I see…you’re very good.”

“Ehehe.”

I sat next to Marie Elle and patted her on the head as she looked up. She smiled happily.

I was the only one who wasn’t doing anything… They were the right people for the right job, I guess. And there was no job right for me. I felt quite bad about that.

It felt wrong to just sit there, and so I decided to keep watch of the area. Of course, on a horse.

“Woah…li-like this?”

“Yes, that’s it.”

Daniela praised me as I held the reins and directed the horse. Getting too confident here would likely result in the horse throwing me off and running away, so I remained cautious. I was quite nervous, as this would be my first time riding a horse, but it felt really great. You could see much farther into the distance, thanks to the height, and it also helped with the precision of Presence Detection. But if I did have to make a complaint, it would be that it made your ass hurt.

We were able to reach Replant without getting attacked by monsters along the way. The front of the town was protected by a high wall. There were bandits nearby, after all. And blood apes lived in the forest not far away, so a strong wall must have had to be built here. The wall itself was quite battered. There were marks left that suggested it had been attacked many times.

And this wall had a grandly arched gate as well. It had a proper portcullis, unlike the places we had seen up until now. The ones that moved up and down in medieval castles. That alone made this place seem more like a fortress than a town. Would the people here be the barbaric type? I hoped it was at least safe…

“Hah…how long will it take to get inside…”

“This is quite the line…”

We had arrived safely, but we had yet to actually enter the town. This was because there was a giant line of people waiting to get inside. Where did all of these people come from… They must have been camping nearby last night. It was a good thing we hadn’t come any closer. It would have been very loud with all of the drunkards. And I wasn’t in the right state of mind for that… It was thanks to Daniela and Marie Elle that I could think and talk like normal now. And getting sufficient sleep at last.

To be honest, it did feel weird to return to such normality only a day after killing people. Perhaps it showed that I was becoming a part of this world. Values, morals. The ways of thinking. I could sense that those things had changed in the ‘Part-time worker, Asagi Kamiyashiro’ and I was now ‘Adventurer(Silvergreen) Asagi.’

However, I didn’t intend on changing everything. I would adapt when it was necessary, but I wouldn’t change the foundation. The night shift part-timer was an important part of who I was. I had gotten through plenty of difficult situations with that business smile. I had horrible memories of drunk customers, just like I had horrible memories of those bandits. And they all helped in shaping me into who I am today.

And I’m sure that business-like smile would continue to be on my face as I swing my sword. Wait, that makes me sound like a psychopath.

Hmmm…still, things were really rowdy around here. Adventurers really weren’t the most relaxed creatures.

“Hey! You!”

Oh? It was a woman’s voice. A woman Adventurer…how rare. Well, Daniela was one. But I hadn’t seen many besides her. Curious. And so I turned my head towards that voice and our eyes met. …And then I realized how awkward it was, and so I averted my gaze.

“Hey! You, I mean you! Are you stupid!?”

The insults poured as soon as I looked away. Damn…I would be scared if that was directed at me. But no one would do that just because you met their eyes. But who then? Who was this unfortunate person she was angry with?

I looked around to see, only to find that everyone was looking at me. What?

“Quit looking around!”

“Woah.”

The sudden shouting was much closer now. I turned around frantically, just as the woman grabbed me by the collar.

Apparently, the unlucky guy who had attracted her ire was me.

“Wh-what’s this…that…hurts…could you stop that…”

“What is this! You are covered in blood! It reeks!”

“I see your point, but I can’t…”

This is what happens when you hunt bandits. We didn’t have time to do any laundry. We would just have to do it once we found an inn. It’s not like I enjoyed having blood stains on me…

“What!? Just clean it with void magic!”

“Void magic?”

What’s that?

“You do not know what void magic is? Magic with no properties?”

“Ah, of course! I have heard of that.”

“If you know about it, you should use it! Are you stupid!?”

Her fist tightened. I looked over at Daniela. Master Daniela was my tutor in all things magic.

“Daniela, how do I use it?”

“It is not my area of expertise, so I do not really know.”

“So the both of you are useless then…?”

The Adventurer looked at us in disbelief. I felt that this was all a bit severe…

“Huhhh…’Cleaning.’”

She let go of my collar and sighed before raising both hands at us and saying ‘cleaning.’ And what do you know, my bloody clothes regained their original freshness.

“…Woah, that’s amazing!”

“So you really are incompetent…? That is hard to believe…”

It was hard to believe. Hard to believe I had no idea of such a useful trick. I looked towards Daniela and she too looked surprised.

“Daniela, you could have told me about something so useful.”

“As I said, it is not my forte… My mother never had the chance to teach me.”

“Oh…right…sorry.”

“No, it is nothing. You are not in the wrong.”

“Daniela…”

“Hehe. You worry too much, Asagi.”

Daniela slowly put a hand on my arm. The place she gently touched had been stained with blood a moment ago, but now it was clean. It had the luster of being brand new. Her hand was pretty too. It always was.

“Hey…quit fooling around…I will clobber you…”

“Ah, thanks for the cleaning.”

“Don’t thank me like none of that ever happened! You are welcome!”

This person had not stopped being angry for a second… Even Marie Elle seemed to be too scared to come out of the wagon. I’m not sure this was good for her education.

But looking at the Adventurer now, well, she was cute. She was wearing light armor. I had never actually seen the typical revealing fantasy armor or mini skirts here, which was too bad. That was the kind of equipment you wanted to see once in your life.

Daniela’s armor was pretty formal as well. Well, the design did emphasize her form, which was easy on the eyes. On the other hand, I wouldn’t want Daniela to wear bikini armor. If she did, I would have to use Legs of the Forest Wolf to crush every man’s eyes out in the area.

“And what are you looking at?”

“Uh, nothing much.”

“And what do you mean by that!?”

She just stayed angry no matter what you said… We were clean now, she should just go back to her place in the line.

“Hey, you. She called you ‘Asagi,’ is that your name?”

“It is…and you are?”

“Never mind that! …But, could you be the one they call Silvergreen?”

“Uh…”

Damn it…so that embarrassing name had spread all the way over here as well…? Bordow had joked about making a report to the other guilds. Could that be the reason…?

“If you are ‘Silvergreen,’ then…you must be ‘Lightwind?’”

“The one and only.”

The one and only? She had even put on her mask to show off. But I could see from the side that her mouth was curled into a grin.

When Daniela readily admitted to being Lightwind, the people around us began to mutter. I could hear ‘Silvergreen’ and ‘Lightwind’ being repeated. I did not expect to be recognized here… I hate you. Bordow.

“Umm…I uh…”

“You what…?”“Could I have…your autograph?”

“…”

I hated him so damn much.