Chapter 6
Clip-clop. Clip-clop.
Inside a carriage rolling along at an easy pace.
The Hero's party was riding in that carriage, no less.
Wow.
But a major crisis soon befell the Hero's party.
“Hmm... We have three silver coins left?”
“What's that? A cookie?”
“Does that look like a cookie to you?”
The problem was, they had no money!
Even Riella, their newest companion, was broke.
No, it seemed she didn't even understand the concept of money.
So the Hero's party had to take the cheapest carriage, which was slow and had the worst ride imaginable.
Rattle!! Thump! Thump!
A beautiful mode of transport that sent every jolt straight into their butts.
The carriage was very unfriendly to customers without money.
‘You beggars, get off my back!’
Anyway, in this infuriating situation, there was one person who couldn't take it anymore.
Naturally, it was Yubel.
“Seriously!! Is this a carriage or a cart? My butt hurts so much I can't even sleep!”
“According to Riella, the village isn't far from Edellia, so just hang in there a little longer.”
“Mm-hmm, that's right. This is the closest one! Nom, nom.”
Riella, who'd been quietly eating jerky, cut in.
That's our lunch today!
“Hey! That's today's lunch, so why are you stuffing your face with it already?”
“This is yummy! Want some, Yubel? Oh!!”
Yubel snatched the jerky from Riella's hand.
Then popped it right into his mouth.
“Ugh, this has no seasoning at all?”
Chew, chew.
For a modern person who knew the taste of seasoning, this world's food was torture.
How could jerky be so bland?
Ah, jerky makes me crave booze. I want a drink...
Fried chicken. I want fried chicken too...
“Huuuuh, Yubel's a pig...”
What did this bitch just say?
I clear away the food waste for you and this is how you act?
“I took that awful stuff off your hands. You should be thanking me, right? Come on, repeat after me. Thank you, hurry up.”
“Thank you...”
Yubel nodded.
See? Isn't she adorable when she listens?
I'll have to protect Riella properly if she keeps this up.
It's a shame she'd already been deflowered, though.
“Yubel... Don't tease her so much.”
“Tch. Fine.”
Is he defending the woman he slept with just because he's a man?
How do I teach this animal a lesson?
Still, with Riella right next to him, the Hero has no chance to raise his lewdness.
Great, if things keep going like this—
Rattle! Thump! Rrrumble!
“...”
After that, the Hero's party was silent for a long while.
They felt like they'd bite their tongues if they said even one wrong thing.
“Hmm... Oh!”
Unable to bear the silence, Riella came up with a good idea.
“Se-on! Yubel! Want to play that game? ‘Let's Get to Know Each Other!’ Dad said you get closer by asking each other questions!”
“Hmm, that doesn't sound bad.”
“Oh, let's do it. But how do we play?”
That's a good idea.
If I use this to get closer to the Hero and become a full member, it'll be easier to thwart his schemes later.
“We just take turns asking each other questions! All right, the first ‘Let's Get to Know Each Other’ is now in session!! I'll go first!”
Rattle, thump.
Riella closed her eyes, pondering what question to ask.
That elf can actually think for once.
“Yubel!”
“Yeah?”
“You're beastkin, right?”
“Yeah.”
“What kind of beastkin? A cow? Or a sheep?”
Urk. I hadn't thought about that.
The stupid Riella had caught me off guard.
What do I do? Just make something up?
Nah, better to be honest.
“I don't know. Next.”
“Huh? How can you not know?”
“I answered you. I said I don't know.”
“Really?”
The Hero suddenly asked again.
Why's he reacting like that? Maybe I should've said goat.
“I don't know! I'll ask the next question. Hero, exactly how many skills have you unlocked in your skill window?”
This was a question to find out whether Riella had been deflowered last night.
If Riella had been deflowered, she'd have earned skill points, and the Hero would have unlocked a skill.
Please let that not be the case.
“I have two now. I just got another one this time.”
Two? He said he just got one, so he definitely slept with her.
Then did he bring Riella down with just one skill at first?
This is so fucked.
“Why are you two talking about something I don't know? What is that?”
The busty, dumb, non-virgin elf couldn't hold back her curiosity and cut in.
“You don't need to know. Hero, hurry up and ask a question.”
“Hmm...”
Rattle, rattle.
What question is he taking so long to decide on?
Honestly, in games like this, people who agonize over it always ask something stupid.
“Yubel. Do you happen to have a lover or a fiancé?”
What the hell is that supposed to mean?
“No. And don't say stupid shit like that to me. Love is all an illusion and a lie.”
The nightmare from that day is still vivid.
The day I worked up the courage to go on my first blind date, only to get rejected.
What had that woman called me? A fucking loser?
Just thinking about it pisses me off again.
“Yeah... Sorry.”
“Ahaha... Okay! It's my turn now, right? Hmm...”
After Yubel's sudden loser rage, the mood quickly soured, and the first ‘Let's Get to Know Each Other’ ended in a hurry.
***
Se-on couldn't help noticing that Yubel seemed to have been watching him since this morning.
Was it because he'd trained with Riella last night?
Riella had introduced herself as an archer, so Se-on had asked to spar with her to get used to fighting an opponent who used ranged weapons.
The result was a draw.
Since it was only a light spar, neither of them had gone all out; it was just enough exercise to work up a good sweat.
But perhaps their sparring last night had been too noisy. Since then, Yubel had been giving him a hostile look.
That made Se-on feel a little uncomfortable, too.
And so Riella's question game began.
It started with Riella's turn.
“What kind of beastkin are you? A cow? Or a sheep?”
“I don't know. Next.”
“Huh? How can you not know?”
“I answered you. I said I don't know.”
She didn't know what kind of beastkin she was?
Since coming to this world, Se-on had learned about its customs and common knowledge from all sorts of angles.
Among other things, he'd learned about beastkin biology.
He'd heard that when a malformed child unlike the others was born among the beastkin, they were sometimes abandoned without even knowing what kind of beastkin they were.
So Se-on reflexively asked again.
“Really?”
If Yubel was one of those beastkin, then that demonic tail whose existence otherwise made no sense could be explained, too.
It must have been a tail caused by a birth defect.
Then how had Yubel survived until now?
“I don't know! I'll ask the next question. Hero, exactly how many skills have you unlocked in your skill window?”
She'd changed the subject so naturally. Did she not want to talk about it?
“I have two now. I just got another one this time.”
While Se-on was talking with Yubel this morning and then heading outside, his skill points had risen to three, letting him unlock a new skill.
What made skill points go up?
Since they'd increased after he'd spoken with Yubel, who'd been acting strange today, could they somehow be related to her?
“Why are you two talking about something I don't know? What is that?”
“You don't need to know. Hero, hurry up and ask a question.”
While he'd been thinking about his skill points, he felt Yubel and Riella's gazes on him.
Ah! I need to ask a question.
“Hmm... Yubel, do you happen to have a lover or a fiancé?”
Ah. Why did I ask that?
Se-on had been so preoccupied with Yubel's past and his skill points that he asked something he didn't even understand himself.
Yubel's expression turned fierce at once.
“No. And don't say stupid shit like that to me. Love is all an illusion and a lie.”
“Yeah... Sorry.”
I messed up.
I made Yubel feel bad.
Still, Yubel's words seemed to carry some deeper meaning to Se-on.
Love was an illusion and a lie?
It sounded like something only someone who'd never been loved in their life would say.
“...”
They'd only known each other for about two days, but Se-on was curious about Yubel's mysterious past.
But from Yubel's reaction, it seemed she was unwilling to talk about it.
Let's find out later, when there's a chance.
Rattle!
“Hey, folks! From here on, it's elf territory, so I think you'll have to walk!”
“Yes. Thank you for the ride. Here's the fare.”
“One, two, three... Three silver coins, all accounted for! Have a safe trip!”
Three silver coins—the Hero's party's entire fortune.
Good thing we had enough for the fare.
“I'll guide you from here! Follow me!”
“Thanks. Let's get going.”
“Yeah. My back was getting stiff anyway, so this is perfect.”
Fortunately, Yubel seemed to have calmed down a little.
I hope we make it safely to the Elf Kingdom like this.
***
I messed up.
The more hostile I am to the Hero, the worse it'll be for my standing.
For now, I need to keep pretending to be a useful mage who knows nothing.
That way, the Hero bastard will feel comfortable making me a full-fledged member.
I'll interfere with the Hero's schemes after that.
“You're keeping up, right?”
“Y-Yeah. Hurry up.”
And so, they followed Riella.
“Hmm...”
Riella actually didn't know the way very well.
But that wasn't a problem. She could just ask the plants.
“Excuse me! Mr. Tree! Which way do I go to get to Edellia? Oh, thank you! This way!”
To anyone watching, it was a bizarre sight.
Is she for real? Or is she just crazy?
Since Yubel wasn't the type to dig through every last detail of a game's setting, all Yubel could do was think, ‘Guess that's just how it is.’
Ten hours later.
At last, the gate to the Elf Kingdom came into view.
Actually, they could've made it in five hours, but no one noticed.
Anyway, they approached the guards stationed in front of the gate.
Since Riella's here, they'll just let us through, right?
Thinking that, Yubel looked toward Riella, but she was hiding behind the Hero with her face covered.
What?
“Halt! State your name and affiliation, and tell us the purpose of your visit.”
“I'm Baek Se-on. I'm the Hero in the Hero's party, and I'm visiting because an elf I know invited me.”
“The Hero? You're the Hero? Hmm, you do resemble the figure in the legends. And who is the woman beside you?”
“Yubel. She's the mage in the Hero's party.”
“I see. Could you wait a moment, then? We've recently received orders not to let humans in here. The Hero is an exception, so I'll have to ask the Elder.”
Ugh, could you just let us in already?
“Yes. But why are humans forbidden from entering?”
“Hmm, should I tell you? Well, you're the Hero, so I suppose it's fine.”
Was there an event like this?
The game still seems pretty early on, but I don't know much about the Elf Kingdom since I visited around the middle of the game.
“Recently, some crazy elf set fire to the World Tree and was banished. Apparently, that created a small gap in the barrier maintained by the World Tree, and a human mercenary group infiltrated the area. So we're turning away every human who tries to enter.”
Gulp!
Riella, hiding behind the Hero, visibly flinched.
No way... Right?
“By the way, who's the one hiding behind you? Is she part of the Hero's party too?”
“Ah.”
“Hmm? Huh! That's Riella!!!! The crazy elf has come back!!! Seize them all!!”
In an instant, the guards had surrounded them.
Fuck.