It is common for farmers to turn into bandits. At least, that’s what I know. The people who ambushed this merchant group likely had similar pasts.
When I came to my senses, the man who had charged at me was rolling on the ground. My sword was stained with blood, and blood was flowing from the fallen man’s neck. That was all there was to it.
I didn’t have the luxury of reflecting on my first kill; the situation was too tense. Attacks against me continued even now.
A man was charging at me, shouting in fear. He swung a sickle covered in dirt. Although his movements were not those of a trained fighter, the strength behind them and the reach afforded by his long arms were very threatening to me.
I quickly stepped back. The man did not stop his assault. He repeatedly swung the sickle at empty space, breathing heavily.
Attacking recklessly like that drained his stamina. He was growing weary while I was still full of energy. As the hot blood began to harden in the cold winter wind, I took a big step forward and swung my sword.
I had only two forms of swordsmanship that I could execute at any moment: a downward slash and a thrust. A thrust would suit an attack that penetrated the opponent’s defenses.
With the moonlight falling from above, I thrust my sword upward as if it were ascending back to the sky. The sensation transmitted through my hand gripping the sword was clear.
Right after that, blood gushed out.
“Hah…”
Covered in warm blood, I surveyed my surroundings. Those who had been charging at me began to slowly retreat. Their swaying gazes and fearful expressions were filled with terror.
The breaths escaping from my lips were very ragged. It wasn’t just physical exhaustion but rather uneven breathing due to excitement.
As I started to steady my heavy breathing, my narrowed vision began to widen. At a glance, there were more than ten fallen corpses.
In particular, in the spot where Agul had passed, bodies lay split open like firewood, and no bandits dared to approach the area.
For a moment, there was a lull. The bandits with weapons had ceased their charge. It seemed that witnessing their comrades fall to just a few slashes had crushed the morale of the other bandits.
“Uwaaaaah!!!”
As Agul let out another loud roar, the remaining bandits began to flee. The adventurers did not pursue the fleeing bandits.
Even after the bandits ran away, the adventurers did not lower their weapons. They continued to exhale harsh breaths as if to calm their excitement.
Suddenly, I looked down and realized that my hand gripping the sword was shaking uncontrollably.
I had gripped it too tightly.
I tried to open my hand to drop the sword, but it wouldn’t move properly.
I settled down in a suitable spot, waiting for the tension in my hand to ease.
After some time, the merchant employees who had been hiding inside the wagon started to reveal themselves.
They moved about busily, as if accustomed to this kind of situation, handing warm cloths dampened with hot water or offering water to the adventurers.
The adventurers collected the weapons of the bandits they had defeated.
Though they were little more than farming tools, they were still weapons.
The adventurers did not laugh or chat as they had before.
It seemed they were still too excited to easily calm down, rather than feeling guilty about the killings.
This was especially true for Agul, who continued to huff and puff while downing water, his large upper body muscles heaving.
No one approached Agul.
Verde, the leader of this expedition, distributed a bottle of alcohol to each adventurer that day.
Given the faint scent of fruit rising from it, it seemed like a rather expensive drink.
The adventurers accepted the alcohol as if it were the most natural thing in the world and began drinking right there, burying their excitement from the killings beneath another thrill.
Though the modern man’s sensibilities told the young girl that drinking was too early for her, Seris hesitated for a moment before downing the drink.
The effects of the alcohol came on quickly, and a thirteen-year-old girl’s body was far too vulnerable to it.
I regained consciousness the next morning.
The adventurers had a tendency to look down on me subtly.
Despite my possession of a bronze plate and being recognized by Verde as a hired hand, they still treated me this way.
However, that gaze and attitude disappeared after the bandit ambush.
I realized I could hold my own and that my sword could take their lives.
Afterward, nothing particularly special happened.
I trained my swordsmanship during the night watch and slept in the wagon.
Occasionally, when I found a frozen pond, I would break the ice to make hot water for bathing.
Time flowed quickly.
As the sense of days faded due to the long journey, I noticed that the wind blowing was becoming colder.
It wasn’t just a simple change in climate.
The air carried the salty scent characteristic of sea breezes.
We had arrived in the port city of Hafen.
The end of our long journey, which lasted thirty days, was near.
As soon as the Dawn’s Breath merchant group entered Hafen, they paid the promised wages to the adventurers.
Then they made an additional offer to the adventurers.
“If anyone is interested in extending their contract, please remain here.”
Only three adventurers decided to stay after Verde’s proposal.
He seemed to subtly hope that Agul would remain, but Agul vanished into the city as soon as he received his payment.
I also had no further business to attend to.
The adventurers’ meetings were light, and their goodbyes were just as casual.
They didn’t even bother to say farewell.
Such is the life of adventurers.
Now alone again, I began exploring the city.
I explored the streets frequented by sailors and took in the sights of various ships docked in the harbor.
As I wandered the city all day, night eventually fell.
I found a suitable inn and booked a room.
Naturally, most of the dishes served at the inn were fish-based.
For thirteen-year-old Seris, it was her first time eating fresh fish dishes.
The meal was quite delicious.
The next morning.
I woke up feeling relaxed for the first time in a while.
There was no one in this city searching for me.
This meant I didn’t have to hide my face and scurry around like a criminal.
The psychological pressure that had weighed me down for such a long time had vanished.
I exited the inn with a pleasant smile.
The port city had plenty to see.
The exotic goods brought over by boat and the fascinating magical tools delighted my eyes,
and the occasional brawls among the sailors were the highlight of the show.
On the third morning in the port city,
I went to the beach to collect seashells.
I planned to make a souvenir to remember the footprints I had left behind someday.
While I was picking up beautifully shaped shells,
I noticed someone approaching as I stepped on the hard, frozen sand of the beach.
There was a certain confidence in the light footsteps.
“Tourist?”
I turned my head slightly to see the person with that voice.
It was a sturdy boy with a slightly boyish face.
He was tanned and wore sailors’ clothing.
The emotions reflected in his gaze were so familiar that they felt stale.
I almost chased him away.
But it seemed better to have a s*ave who could help me rather than digging for shells in silence.
Moreover, he was a sailor who traveled by boat.
He must have seen and experienced a lot, so he would know many things.
The simple calculations finished,
I nodded my head.
The boy began rambling on about things I hadn’t even asked.
To draw out my fondness and interest, he exaggerated his gestures,
and when I chuckled at his amusing display, his cheeks turned red.
I quickly wiped the smile off my face.
The nameless boy shared quite interesting stories.
He mentioned that this winter was particularly harsh and that it would last longer than usual.
“Winter is getting longer?”
“Yeah, it seems you haven’t heard the rumors. The empire woke the dragon, Kashfa, sleeping in the snowy mountains.”
“A dragon…?”
The boy nodded at my words and began to explain the greatness of dragons.
Kashfa’s cold wrath hastened winter and scolded humanity’s foolishness with harsh cold.
When he flapped his wings, fierce snowstorms poured down.
When his massive tail struck the ground, earthquakes and avalanches followed.
The dragon Kashfa, as described by the boy, seemed like a mythical being.
“So, to appease Kashfa’s wrath…”
I brushed the sand off my hands and stood up.
I had gathered all the necessary seashells.
Now, I only needed to return to the inn to clean the dirt off the shells and turn them into a necklace.
While the story about dragon Kashfa was quite intriguing,
I felt no need to stay with the boy any longer.
“Uh, where are you going?”
I heard the boy’s voice from behind, but I didn’t stop.
He followed me, sounding disappointed, but when I placed my hand on the sword strapped to my back, he recoiled in fear.
On the fifth morning in the port city,
I left the inn, glancing at the dwindling coins in my pocket.
There was a guild for adventurers in the port city,
though its scale was smaller compared to that in the capital city.
“Are you here to take on a request?”
As I entered the guild, a receptionist spoke to me.
Perhaps it was hard to envision me as an adventurer at first glance due to my small stature.
I shook my head and presented the bronze badge I had kept hidden in my pocket.
“Oh…”
The receptionist showed a considerably surprised expression.
He turned his head back and forth, examining the bronze badge.
“My apologies.”
Like other adventurer guilds, this one also had restrictions on the types of requests that could be taken based on rank.
As I scanned the bulletin board,
I tore off a request that seemed suitable and headed toward the reception desk.
I wanted to take on several requests at once,
but there weren’t many posted on the board.
“Hmm… what is this…?”
The receptionist made a peculiar face while looking at the request I handed over.
Was there some kind of problem?
Noticing my puzzled expression, the receptionist spoke.
“The requestor has a peculiar character, so you might be rejected. Are you okay with that?”
“The requestor can refuse?”
“Everyone who has come to accept the request thus far has been turned away.”
“Is there really such a person…?”
Anyway, I would go check it out.
I received a note from the receptionist and exited the adventurer guild.
The place I headed to was a luxurious inn.
It was more than twice as expensive as the inn I used.
“Ugh…”
I sniffled and made my way to the room indicated on the note.
The person who emerged from the room was a woman wearing a large witch’s hat.
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