Chapter 14 – The Mysterious Girl (4)
‘These guys are clearly doing this out of pure desire without any particular purpose.’
The ones who attacked Ethan’s house had a clear goal behind them, and I could understand that purpose. However, it was not the same for those now following Rina and me.
Right now, we were just ordinary adventurers. We had not done anything particularly conspicuous, so their sticking to us indicated a very sinister intention.
“I thought we could just have some small adventures.”
I let out a small sigh. I had started my adventurer journey aiming to peacefully gather both training and experience.
The intense incidents unfolding were not what I desired. Yet, having been caught up in this from the very beginning was a bothersome hassle.
“Are they trying to attack us?”
“If that’s not the case, there’s no reason for a group to hide and follow us.”
Rina seemed frightened, but there was no other way now that we had come this far. I had intended to lure them in as per our original plan and retaliate.
“Is anyone there?”
As we reached a clearing in the forest that could serve as our destination, I had Rina provoke them. This forest, checked through the earth spirits, was damp and devoid of anyone around.
As if realizing Rina’s presence, the ones hiding and trailing us began to reveal themselves one by one.
“They’re more perceptive than I expected.”
“If I had been hit from behind while fighting, it wouldn’t have been easy.”
They were a group of four thugs. Laughing without any intention to hide themselves, they revealed their purpose from the beginning, drawing their weapons and aiming them at us.
“What the hell are you doing?”
“It’s a common occurrence. You should actually be grateful! Many of those clueless rookies who tried to act tough end up dead or injured.”
They all seemed similar, but the one who looked the most like a leader shrugged his shoulders while holding a sword, listening to Rina’s words.
“Rather than dying so pathetically, wouldn’t it be better to get cozy in the embrace of a guest and earn some money?”
“You despicable…”
These low-class thugs didn’t even seem to bother hiding their filthiness and had already marked us as their prey.
It had been predetermined from the start, but ultimately, a confrontation with them was unavoidable.
“Capture them!”
They charged at us to take us alive. Startled, Rina hesitated. Although she drew her sword, she was someone who didn’t know the first thing about swordsmanship.
‘Trip them.’
At the same time, I, who had been quietly standing behind them, commanded the earth spirits. Even in this moment, it gave me experience.
“Kuh?!”
Just before an enemy swung their sword to knock Rina’s away, a small protruding stone, which had risen no higher than weeds from the ground, snagged their ankle and sent them sprawling.
Sometimes, I would even create dips in the ground to induce broken ankles.
“Ahh!”
“What, what?!”
As a result, the thugs who had been surrounding us and charging at us all rolled on the ground simultaneously. What came next was easy. We simply had to finish off the ones sprawled on the ground.
“How dare you scum…”
I casually picked up the sword that the thug who had banged his head on the ground had dropped. The thug, reaching out while quivering, widened his eyes in shock when he saw me take his sword right in front of him.
“Wait…”
I wouldn’t let him say any more. I swung the reclaimed sword and struck his face in one swift motion. Due to my lack of proficiency, I hit him along the flat edge rather than the blade, but there was no way a face struck by such a heavy blow would remain intact.
“You’re lucky. Idiots charging in and falling all over themselves.”
“Ugh, huh?”
Having dropped the sword, I smiled while watching the thugs groaning on the ground. Rina, still in a panic and unsure what to do, was flustered, but there was a reason I had wanted to handle the situation as quietly as possible.
“Did we subdue them all?! It’s not too late.”
Patrick, who had rushed in, sword in hand, found that the situation was already over. He let out a sigh of relief when he spotted our groaning enemies on the ground.
His warning had been real, but I still didn’t want to reveal my identity to him just yet.
“I didn’t warn you. There are those targeting you.”
“Did you come to help?”
“…I suppose it turned out that way. A bit late, though.”
He sighed and shook his head as he looked around. The thugs were still on the ground, utterly confused.
One of the thugs tried to get up to fight, limping with a bleeding forehead, but Patrick merely scoffed at him.
There was no way he could fight properly with a broken ankle.
“You seem pretty worn out from fighting while protecting the girl next to you. How about avoiding direct confrontation if you’re not going to finish it off yourself? Monsters are approaching. Letting them take care of it is one option too.”
Rina, who had gone pale with fear, misunderstood his concern for exhaustion and suggested he retreat. Indeed, perhaps having caught the scent of blood, one of the nearby monsters was creeping closer.
Patrick suggested dealing with the enemies that hadn’t yet suffocated. The injured thugs widened their eyes in terror, but it was quite an enticing proposal for us.
It felt uncomfortable to give a direct kill order to Rina, who was just pretending to act, so I signaled to her by grabbing her sleeve, indicating we should go.
“Alright then.”
“Wait! Just a moment!”
Rina understood my intentions and accepted Patrick’s proposal. Simultaneously, the shocked thugs began to convulse, but we ignored them.
“Don’t! Don’t go! People…”
After we moved away from our spot, the only sounds coming from behind were the cries of monsters resembling gigantic spiders and the dying screams of the thugs being torn apart alive.
No one would know what happened there. Being killed by monsters was a common occurrence among adventurers.
“Due to the nature of adventurers being vulnerable to human trafficking, those who roam around stealing or abducting them never cease. Even if you survive a crisis once or twice, if you don’t take measures, you’ll easily fall prey to them again.”
“Do you mean to create companions?”
“I’m just telling you the easiest way.”
In a place that had become somewhat safe, we decided to take a break, sitting on rocks to rest. True to his nature, Patrick began to nag us.
“If you’re so worried, why don’t you help us a bit?”
I finally spoke up after having kept quiet the whole time. Both Rina and Patrick were taken aback, only able to open and close their mouths.
It seemed a bit annoying for him to give advice while wanting to do nothing himself. Of course, we should be grateful for him worrying about us in our current predicament.
“I… I’ve almost quit being an adventurer. I won’t make any more companions.”
“I’m not asking you to be companions. You can act as a guide, can’t you?”
He stuttered in confusion, but I was already finding him interesting. If there was an overwhelming thing like Ethan in everyday life, it seemed good to have a guiding figure like him in our adventurer lives too.
“That’s the case, but… No, more importantly, isn’t the opinion of the person you serve what matters, Maiden?”
“I think the same.”
Scratching his head, he smiled at me while Rina appropriately intervened. When she mentioned sharing the profits, his expression grew increasingly complex, as if wavering.
“I don’t intend to fight at all. I’ll just be guiding you.”
In the end, he accepted our proposal. Although he had firmly stated he wouldn’t fight, I wondered if it would truly stay that way. Given his disposition, the chances were high that he would involuntarily intervene in a critical moment.
*
“Strange people.”
Patrick evaluated the two that way. The seemingly seasoned yet careless beast-woman swordsman Rina, and the somewhat arrogant girl-maid Irilia who accompanied her.
In fact, at first, he had had no interest in them at all. He had simply offered a word of advice because those low-level adventurers he detested had targeted them.
However, somehow, he found himself unwittingly entangled with them.
“I’ll think of it as an easy side job.”
Shaking his head, he decided to consider himself merely a hired guide for them. He could earn more money and have an easier time than adventuring alone, so it was not a loss.
“I should roughly assess their true abilities first. It would be impossible to deal with low-tier monsters. Do they have plans to go further?”
However, Irilia’s perceptiveness toward his workaholic tendencies interfered with such a comfortable arrangement.
Unknowingly immersed in the task at hand, he was now diligently brainstorming plans to guide them.
