“I’m sorry. I got too… excited.”
As I came out of the kitchen with coffee, Ailin bowed her waist towards me.
No, really… Ailin has nothing to be sorry for…
“Uh, no. Ailin, why are you sorry…?”
“No, Noah-san. I was indeed wrong.”
“Ah, ahh… I, I get it, so… please lift your head…”
A moment of silence passed, and Ailin smiled gently as she raised her head.
“In the future, if I make you uncomfortable or if there’s something you dislike, please tell me, okay?”
“Y-yes… Ailin, please tell me too.”
“Alright. Then, I’ll say it. The coffee you made is really bad.”
“Huh…?”
Coffee tastes the same no matter how you make it…!
What’s bad about it!?
Even if I haven’t put points in craftsmanship, I can at least brew coffee!
Hah! Ridiculous.
It’s all bitter anyway!
“Just because coffee is bitter doesn’t mean it all tastes the same.”
Oh, really…?
But how did she know my inner thoughts?
Does she have mind-reading powers?
This scary woman…!
“How did you know?”
“Uh, uh…? How…?”
“It’s a secret. Hehe…”
So annoying.
So very annoying…
“Anyway, this is how we communicate. Got it?”
Please don’t try to divert the conversation like that!
Just answer quickly! How did you know!?
“Y-yes, yes…”
“Alright. Let’s take another look at the route. This time I’ll explain it verbally. Come and sit over here.”
I nodded and sat next to Ailin.
“Huh? No, the other side… Okay, just sit here and listen. So right now, the village we’re in is Alrba Village of the Orca Empire. To the east, we have the Karahan Mountain Range, and to the south flows the Suar River.”
Ailin’s soft voice tickled my ears.
Hearing it up close, it feels like I’ve heard her voice somewhere before?
Hmm… it seems familiar.
“Our destination, Cartia Village, is to the northeast of Alrba.”
Just from the brief explanation, a map unfolded in my mind.
Of course, I’m an eight-year veteran!
A certified brainiac of the 21st century…? Wait, am I a brainy woman now?
Anyway, I’m so cool right now.
“First, we’ll cross the Karahan Mountain Range. For that, we must pass through the eastern ruins.”
“Oh… the eastern ruins…”
That’s where the red puppy resides.
It’s also the first raid new players experience.
Back when I was a newbie, I got killed by that puppy so many times… Ugh…
I didn’t even know you needed a party of at least four and tried to take it on alone.
The thrill I felt back then still sends shivers down my spine.
That’s how I got hooked on the [Black Sun]!
As I reminisced, I suddenly heard Ailin’s voice growing a bit colder.
“Noah-san. Are you listening?”
“Hah! Y-yes, yes…!”
I hadn’t heard a thing.
Oh no…
“What were you listening to?”
“Uh… passing through the eastern ruins…”
“And then?”
I carefully reviewed the mental map in my head.
After passing through the eastern ruins… Halbion?
“U-uh… coming out to the Halbion Plain…?”
“Seems you weren’t listening at all.”
“Eh, heh heh… then where do we go…?”
I tilted my head as Ailin sighed deeply.
“Ha… I didn’t say anything because you were chuckling out of nowhere, Noah-san. What were you thinking?”
“Ah… um, just… thinking about the past a bit… S-sorry. I’ll focus.”
“Thinking about the past, huh… I see. Then let’s continue. First, we’re entering the ruins.”
Ailin’s voice seemed to have turned icy.
I guess I wasn’t concentrating…
She’s trying her best to provide a verbal explanation because I can’t see the map and I’m being such a disappointment, Shin Noah!
Now it’s focus time!
“Y-yes…!”
I straightened my back and adjusted my chair.
“We’ll try to avoid the monsters as much as possible, but we won’t be able to avoid them all. If a battle breaks out, you’ll take the front. I’ll handle the rear.”
Huh?
A bowman? Or a mage?
But I don’t feel any magical power from her.
Could she possibly be a super expert hiding all her magical power?!
“Um… Ailin, are you a mage?”
“No, I’m not. I can just… do a bit of healing and some crowd control. You just need to confirm that you’ll be taking the front, and I’ll be at the rear.”
Oh! So she’s a healer?
A walking potion!… Okay, that might be an exaggeration. She’s a priestess.
In games, healers are nobility.
Because they’re usually boring to play, when you have one, you always take them along.
So I’ve hardly ever partied with a healer.
Most healers go along with rich, powerful gold suns…
Anyway, I’ll save on potion costs. Jackpot!
“Y-yes…!”
“Great. Now, there’s a monster we need to be especially wary of in these ruins. Its name is…”
If there’s a monster to watch out for, it can only be that puppy.
“Carpen…?”
“Hmm… You know about that one. That’s right. You must absolutely be careful of that red wolf.”
They call it a wolf here.
Community had dubbed it a puppy.
If it were a game, I’d beat it without hesitation, but since this is reality, I should be careful…
If I were to encounter it. Hmm…
I recalled Carpen’s red fur, vicious fangs, and its large size.
Uh… uhm…
I’m… super scared…!
I felt chills all the way to my scalp.
“Y-yes… Be careful. Absolutely be careful…!”
I really don’t want to see it.
If I meet it for real, I’ll probably pee my pants.
“Yes. But Carpen’s habitat is deep within the ruins, so I don’t think you need to worry too much.”
I nodded.
“Then after passing through the ruins, we’ll enter the Halbion Plain like Noah-san mentioned earlier. And here… Um… I think that’s enough explanation for now.”
“Huh…? Why, why…?”
It was fun following along with the mental map!
Tell me more!
Ailin hesitated for a moment, then cautiously opened her mouth.
“… Um… Information absorbed only through hearing is harder to remember. I don’t know about you, but that’s how I feel.”
“Ah…”
She thinks about me this much…
Are you an angel?!
Ah, if Hermila is here, then Ailin could be angel 2!
“I’ll explain gradually as we have plenty of time ahead.”
“Th-thank you…!”
“Thanking me for this? Well, now that the main explanation is over, shall we depart? You’ve prepared your gear, right?”
I nodded eagerly.
Thanks to the list Hermila gave me, I could prepare comfortably.
“Then we just need to find two healthy horses now.”
Horses…? Not a wagon…?
“Horses…?”
“Yes. You weren’t thinking of taking a wagon, were you?”
I thought it was obviously a wagon!
It’s a long trip!
Isn’t it obvious it would be a wagon?
That’s the romance and the dream!!
“W-wagon…?”
“If we take a wagon, we’ll have to take a long detour, and that would take too long. Plus, it would attract attention… So anyway, we’ll be riding horses. I hope you understand.”
Then I guess taking a wagon would be hard.
Okay, I get that.
I get it, but…
The problem isn’t that.
“Um, I… I’ve never ridden a horse, so… I don’t know how to ride…! S-sorry!”
I’ve never ridden a horse before!
“Huh? But… you’re an adventurer.”
“Y-yeah?”
Despite my looks, I’m Silver rank!
I’ve passed through the apprentice phase, through Bronze, and now Silver!
“So how do you hunt…?”
“By walking…”
Ailin slapped her forehead.
“How far have you walked?”
I think the farthest I’ve gone was when I went to hunt orcs.
“Uh, uh… to hunt orcs… in Elain Forest…”
“Seriously, what a disaster…”
“J-jSorry…”
Just as I was about to apologize again, Ailin interrupted me with her hand.
“Stop the apologies already. What are we going to do about this…?”
“I can go…!”
“How?”
“Um… By running?”
Crack crack crack
The sound of Ailin’s teeth grinding… or almost breaking.
“Ugh… W-what do you mean you’ll run?”
“Um… I can manage!”
“Manage? Really??”
Nod…
Bang!
Ailin’s fist slammed onto the table as if about to break it.
“Wow… Seriously, are you doing this on purpose, Noah-san?”
“Sorry…”
“If you say sorry one more time… I’ll really take that jaw of yours and—”
“U-uugh… I-I’m sorry!”
Hey! I’m hiccuping from being startled!
Stop scaring me!
I’m already socially awkward!
If you keep doing this, I’ll lose my confidence!!
And just my body!
“Huh, is there a difference between being sorry and apologizing? Anyway, what’s your weight?”
“I-I’ve never weighed myself…”
I briefly glanced at my body.
Ailin glanced at my body too.
I’m about 146cm tall, so that should mean I’m like…
I probably don’t weigh even 40 kg.
While I took my hands off the Great Sword and rubbed my soft belly.
“Excuse me for a moment.”
Ailin’s hand touched my arm.
Then…
“N-nani…?! W-what… what’s happening…!!”
Her hand traveled from my arm to my shoulder.
From my shoulder to my neck and then my waist.
“H-hey…!”
Her hand stroked my waist, sliding down to my thighs and then my knees.
“Just hold still for a bit.”
“Uh… Eek! T-ticklish…!”
After reaching my calves, her hand climbed back up my thighs and stopped at my spine.
“With this, probably around 35 kilos? No, even less, I suppose. Alright, let’s just ride together.”
Ailin, who had been mercilessly handling me, said nonchalantly.
While I’m exploding with sensations, isn’t this a bit too much?!
“Heh… Huh, both of us? Together…?”
“Yes. An average adult male adventurer weighs around 80 kilos, so it shouldn’t be a problem for the two of us to ride together.”
“O-oh… yes. U-understood.”
After hearing my response, Ailin began gathering her things.
“Let’s truly depart now.”
After nodding, I slung my fully packed bag over my shoulder.
“But… what’s in that big bag of yours?”
Ailin tilted her head.
“Just my stuff…?”
I tilted my head too.
But Ailin’s expression seemed odd!
Did I make a mistake…?
“… Is something wrong?”
“Wait a moment, can I take a look inside?”
I opened my bag to show what’s inside.
Inside the bag, which was larger than my body, were rations and all sorts of things needed for a long wagon journey.
“W-what’s all this?!”
“Just stuff… H-Hermila said to…”
“She wouldn’t say that… Where’s the list?”
I pulled out the crumpled-up list from my pocket.
“Ah, so if you mark it like this, Noah-san can see it too. But that’s not the point!”
Ailin scrutinized the paper.
There’s no way Hermila tricked me…
“Ah, here at the bottom. The items above are based on the wagon, and if we’re riding horses, she’ll rewrite it.”
“Eeh…?”
That’s right.
We’re riding horses.
“Ailin… What am I going to do with all this…?!”
My money… my life savings!
I spent so much to buy all this!
Now I only have 20 silver left!
My nose started to sting.
Oh, I really feel like I’m about to cry…
“Ha… Let’s first try to sell as much as we can. I’ll help you.”
“Hic- r-really…? Will it… it sell…?”
With a determined look, Ailin threw on her robe and stood up.
“Of course we’ll sell it. No matter what!”
“Y-yes…”
As I stood up, I watched Ailin’s figure from behind.
I may be cool, but…
“She’s… super cool…”
Right now, Ailin looked a bit cooler than me.
