Chapter 258

Hans was a lumberjack.

And like most lumberjacks, Hans wasn’t exactly well-off.

In fact, you could say he was on the poorer side.

Especially this year, as his wife, Luri, was pregnant with their third child, adding even more financial burden to their household.

“Haah… The income hasn’t changed, but why does it feel like the expenses keep piling up as the years go by…?”

But what could he do?

He loved his family, so he had to work hard to provide for them.

However, sometimes in life, hard work alone isn’t enough.

No matter how hard he worked as a lumberjack, a lumberjack was still just a lumberjack, and his income didn’t dramatically increase to match the growing mouths to feed.

“Still, I want to chop enough wood this winter to keep us warm…”

So, despite it being the time he would usually head down the mountain, Hans instead looked deeper into the forest with renewed determination.

Considering the ever-increasing burden on his household, he thought it would be good to earn even a little more while he was still young and healthy. But more than that, what came to Hans’ mind was the face of his wife, Luri.

Despite being a lumberjack, Hans was poor, so every winter, he couldn’t afford to burn wood freely.

But this year, even if it meant overexerting himself, he wanted to chop enough firewood to keep his beloved wife Luri warm through the winter.

When Luri gave birth to their first and second children, she had a hard time. This winter, with her pregnant with their third, Hans wanted her to get through it without suffering from the cold.

Since he couldn’t afford to give her a grand gift, this was the only present he could offer her.

“Alright. Today feels lucky…! I still have stamina, so let’s go a bit deeper!”

With that, Hans picked up his axe and ventured deeper into the forest.

Hoping to find better timber, he headed toward the dark, dense woods in the direction of Astram.

…

“Ahhh! S-Someone, help me!”

Hans was screaming at the top of his lungs as he ran through the forest.

Chasing him was a Trent, clumsily mimicking human movements, stomping toward him with its wooden legs.

No, to be precise, it was a Trent that only had the silhouette of a human.

“I-I thought it was just a tree!”

Hans regretted his earlier actions as he desperately dodged the Trent and ran for his life.

At first, Hans had thought the tree in the forest was just a slightly unusual one.

In this world, trees occasionally mutated due to mana, gaining peculiar properties. Even if that wasn’t the case, Hans figured there could easily be a tree he didn’t recognize.

Remembering that such trees could be sold for a high price in the city as alchemical ingredients or materials for mages’ wands and staves, Hans swung his axe without a second thought, thinking he’d struck gold.

And indeed, the tree wasn’t ordinary.

The problem was that its abnormality wasn’t what Hans had expected.

As Hans swung his axe into its side, the Trent, which had been disguised as a normal tree, shook its branches angrily and glared at him.

Realizing something was wrong, Hans immediately started running.

“Haah… Haah…”

But no matter how much he ran, the Trent relentlessly pursued him, seemingly intent on avenging the axe strike to its side. In the midst of this, whether due to exhaustion or loss of focus, Hans tripped and fell.

*Crash*

“A-Ah! The logs…!”

If, at that moment, he had gotten up without hesitation and continued running, Hans might have escaped the Trent.

In fact, carrying the heavy logs while running had been the problem. If he had dropped them, escaping the Trent would have been much easier.

But Hans couldn’t bring himself to abandon the logs, even while fleeing from the Trent.

He knew that if he returned home without the logs he’d worked so hard to gather all day, the coming winter would be even tougher.

So, even as he tripped and fell, Hans couldn’t let go of the logs scattering around him.

The only thing on his mind was his wife Luri’s face.

And ultimately, that attachment became the decisive factor in Hans being caught by the Trent.

Ironically, Hans’ love for his wife became the reason he might never see her again.

The Trent, now standing over Hans, raised its arms high, as if declaring it would show no mercy.

“Uwaaaaah!”

At that moment, an axe lodged itself into the Trent’s side.

It wasn’t a lumberjack’s axe but a massive Battle Axe, large enough to cover half a person’s torso.

“Finally found you!”

*Screeeech──!*

The one wielding the Battle Axe, which looked too heavy for an ordinary man to even carry, let alone swing, was a woman with pale skin and dark blue hair that shimmered like the night sky.

The Trent, furious at the sudden axe strike, let out a roar and swung its arms, but──

*Whoosh!*

*Crash!*

Its arms were destroyed by a sharp arrow and a burst of magic before they could complete the swing.

Now free from the Trent’s attack, the warrior gripped the Battle Axe with both hands and twisted her body with all her might.

*Screeeech──!*

And that was the end.

The Battle Axe cleaved the Trent in half, and the monster moved no more.

“…D-Did it fall?”

Hans, overwhelmed by the sudden turn of events, could only mutter in a daze as he lay on the ground.

While Hans was still in shock──

“Ah! Karina! You’re amazing! You just sliced that huge Trent in half!”

“It’s thanks to Mari’s timely support. Your perfectly timed arrow was a great help.”

“Hmph! That’s right! It’s all thanks to me and Mari! You should be thanking us!”

“Uh, I didn’t say I was thanking you.”

“What!?”

Following this, an Elf woman with bright golden hair like freshly fried French Fries and a teenage girl with fiery red hair appeared.

Hans couldn’t fully grasp the situation, but from their conversation, he understood that these two had been the ones who destroyed the Trent’s arms.

As the three bickered, another figure emerged from the bushes.

It was a towering Lizardman, over 2 meters tall, with green skin.

“Oh, what’s this? You guys already finished?”

“Hmph! A monster like this is nothing without Kurt’s help!”

“Is that so? Well, it’s good we saved the innocent guy before he got hurt.”

The four of them began chatting casually, as if they were just having a conversation at home, completely relaxed.

At this point, Hans finally managed to regain his composure.

“Th-Thank you for saving me!”

Judging by their appearance, Hans deduced they were Adventurers.

They must have been passing by and happened to rescue him from his predicament.

So, Hans bowed his head sincerely in gratitude.

“Don’t worry about it. We were already on a quest to hunt this monster anyway.”

“B-But still, I should repay you somehow…”

The red-haired girl brushed off Hans’ thanks, but Hans wasn’t about to let it go with just words.

Though he was financially poor, he wasn’t a man poor in spirit.

But a lumberjack who had ventured deep into the forest because he was short on money had nothing of value to offer skilled Adventurers.

Realizing this belatedly, Hans wore a look of dismay.

“I-I don’t have much, but please take these logs…”

“Ah, no need. We didn’t save you expecting a reward. Still, it’s good to see you’re unharmed.”

“B-But then, I don’t have anything else to offer…”

Of course, what use would Adventurers have for a lumberjack’s logs?

The Adventurers politely declined Hans’ offer, looking somewhat awkward.

But then──

“Wait. These logs aren’t bad. Can we take them as thanks?”

“Kurt…?”

The Lizardman named Kurt examined one of the logs scattered on the ground and spoke to Hans with an intrigued expression.

“Y-Yes! Of course! If that’s enough to express my gratitude!”

Overjoyed that he could offer something useful to his saviors, Hans shared some of the firewood he had gathered that day.

“Alright. Then…”

…

After receiving the firewood, the Adventurers quickly set up a makeshift resting place, leaving Hans behind as they began preparing a meal.

Clearing the area of grass and branches, they created an open space. The Lizardman then pulled out tools from his pack and started a fire using the logs Hans had given them.

“…Huh?”

“Hey, lumberjack, since we’re here, why not join us for dinner?”

“…Okay.”

The Lizardman smiled, pleased with Hans’ response, and resumed cooking.

As Hans watched the Lizardman cook, he couldn’t help but think──

‘Huh? Cooking? Why? Here? Cooking?’