Ch 8

As we walked to the east gate, I got to know the names of the other members of Alex’s party. Their party is called Starlight, and it is made up of 2 swordsmen, 1 archer, 1 mage, and 1 alchemist.

Alex is a swordsman, the party leader.

Maria is the alchemist of the party, but she’s kind of a klutz. I’ve already seen her trip over herself more than once on apparently nothing, which genuinely makes me wonder if she’s going to make it as an adventurer.

Chelsie, on the other hand, is the party’s archer. She seems to be the calm and reliable type, making her the second in command.

Wendy, the beastkin, is the other swordsman besides Alex, and apparently she is a massive glutton.

Finally, there is Lucia, who is a mage who uses fire magic, which kinda fits her fiery personality.

Apparently, they all met Alex in a similar way. He helped each of them when they were in a difficult situation, and they eventually decided to join his party. The only exception was Chelsie, who was already with him when Alex decided to become an adventurer, as she is his close childhood friend.

Geez, they’re a loud bunch.

Sighing even more internally, I wondered if letting them follow me was a good idea. I mean, they were attracting a lot of attention. As we passed through town, I heard many of the men calling Alex a “lucky bastard,” with a considerable amount of resentment in their voices. Most of the women either called him an “enemy to all women” or looked at him with a blush.

On Alex’s right, Maria and Lucia are fighting over who gets to hold that arm. Meanwhile, Chelsie quietly holds his left while Wendy tries to offer him some jerky from behind. Somehow, Alex remains completely oblivious to all the attention they’re giving him.

Wait a minute… they're fawning over him.

Huh… I stared at Alex like he was some sort of mythical creature. I didn't think they actually existed in real life.

Does this mean he’s one of those main protagonists, like the ones I remember from the video games in my past life?

A shiver ran up my spine just thinking about it. Since he is a main protagonist, there is a non-zero chance of something happening, like him falling or tripping over me and somehow finding out that I’m a girl.

As I thought about that potential scenario, it happened. Alex fell, along with all the girls, from them fawning over him a bit too much.

Alex had his face planted on Wendy’s breasts, while Chelsie was sitting on top of his head. His right hand was groping Lucia, while his left hand was groping Maria.

Taking several steps back, well, that confirms it. I quickly distanced myself from them, making sure I was nowhere near whatever that was so I wouldn’t become a part of it.

Once we reached the east gate, Lucia and Wendy said goodbye, as they were heading off to complete a different quest.

Still keeping my distance, I led Alex, Maria, and Chelsie to my secret gathering spot.

When they saw the clearing, they were shocked by how much Bittercress grass was growing there.

“Just take what you need, but don’t take all of it; I want some of it to grow back.”

“Thank you for showing us this spot, and sorry for causing you so much trouble.”

Alex thanked me before getting straight to work with Maria and Chelsie, gathering the Bittercress grass.

As for me, I kept my distance from them, mainly to make sure the scenario I had imagined wouldn’t happen.

After a short while, they finish gathering what they need.

“Thank you again, and we won't tell anyone. We’ll keep this place a secret”

Thanking me once again, Alex bowed his head and responded.

“It's no problem. I want to be alone here, so could you leave now?”

Showing some concern, he asked, “Are you sure? It's dangerous to be alone in a forest.”

“I’ll be fine; it’s not like the first time I’ve done it.”

“Okay then.”

With a bit of reluctance, he left with Maria and Chelsie back to town.

Watching them leave, I waited until they were gone before gathering my own bundles of Bittercress grass and beginning my training.

Alex’s perspective

Alex was roaming around town, looking at shops with Maria and Chelsie by his side.

They had finished their gathering quest for the day, so they had plenty of free time. They decided to spend it shopping.

Concern was still on his face when Nyx asked them to leave him alone. Even though Nyx looked really young, especially for someone alone in the forest, he felt conflicted about checking up on him. However, given what had happened earlier today with Lucia, he wondered if doing so would only bother him further.

“Hey Alex, what's wrong? You’ve been having that look for a while.”

Chelsie, standing to his left, asked Alex if he was alright.

“It's about Nyx. I’m just worried that we left Nyx alone in the forest.”

“Oh, I see. Why do you just go already if you’re that concerned?"

Already knowing what was on Alex’s mind and what he wanted to do, she encouraged him to follow through instead of letting him hesitate.

Hearing Chelsie’s words, Alex said, “You know what,” before suddenly taking off running.

“Hey, wait! Where are you going?” Maria shouted from his right, clearly surprised by his sudden departure.

Alex shouted back to Maria and Chelsie as he ran, telling them not to worry and that he was just going to check on Nyx and wouldn’t be gone for long.

“Okay then, be safe.”

Nodding, Alex ran back to the clearing where Nyx had led them earlier to check on him. However, once he reached the clearing, he was suddenly captivated by what he saw.

Nyx’s perspective

As I swung my sword through the air, practicing some basic sword techniques, sweat began to form from the exertion. I decided to take a short breather, so I wouldn’t tire myself out too early.

For the last few days now, I have been training my body, but today I’m starting to practice some basic swordsmanship.

I’ve been adjusting my fighting style since it was originally designed for fighting kaiju. On top of that, being a kid means I can’t really use the style properly yet.

Because I am going to be physically weaker than whatever I might go against in the future, I'm changing it so I prioritize dodging instead of blocking or parrying an attack.

After finishing my short break, I picked up my sword again. This time, I imagined a kaiju standing in front of me, since it was the type of opponent I was most familiar with.

I imagined it charging straight at me and swung my sword down at it. Then, as it prepared to swipe at me with its claws, I stepped back to create some distance rather than trying to block or parry the attack.

As I dodged its attack, I spotted an imaginary opening and immediately took advantage of it. I launched into a flurry of cuts and slashes, chaining my attacks together so the kaiju never had an opportunity to fight back.

Finally, I finished it with a thrust straight through its neck, severing its spine. With that imaginary kaiju defeated, I began thinking of another one to face.

Just as I was deciding which kaiju to imagine next, I heard the leaves rustling nearby. I immediately pointed my sword toward the sound and shouted, “Who’s there?”

To my surprise, I saw it was Alex who was fervently staring at me.

Why is he looking at me like that? Is he coming on to me or something?

After a short while, sweat pouring down my back from all sorts of very bad possibilities, he finally spoke

“That was so cool. Can you teach me?”

Stars were sparkling in his eyes.

Not knowing what to do, I stood still for a good while.

“What?”

Alex put his hands together and bowed like one of those scenes where a potential student asked to be taught by a master swordsman.

“Can you teach me, please?”

“No, I’m not the person you should be asking if you want to learn how to use a sword.”

I had been told that I wouldn’t make a good teacher in my past life, and they were right, considering how poorly my last attempt went, which went very badly for that kid. Besides, I wouldn’t get much out of teaching him anyway, since I’m training myself.

“Could you at least give me some pointers?” Hope was still in his eyes.

Thinking about it, I guess it wouldn't hurt to try; plus, this is a good opportunity to see how well I can do with a real opponent.

“Fine then.”

I took a few steps away from Alex and sheathed my sword, making sure I wouldn’t seriously hurt him. Then, I raised it and pointed the sheathed blade toward him.

“We’re going to spar a little bit.”

“You really mean it?”

“Yes, just take out your sword.”

Both of us ready our stances.

“Begin.”

Alex began by raising his sword and bringing it down in a swing. However, his attack was too predictable, so I simply stepped to the side and dodged it.

I then pointed my sword at his throat, stopping just before it could hit him. Alex lost his balance and fell on his butt.

“Your swing is too big and predictable; it makes you open for an attack”

“I see”

Alex sat on the ground, looking slightly stunned, but the excitement in his eyes hadn’t faded one bit.

Walking a few paces back, I said, “Again”

We continued and repeatedly sparred together for a while.

However, rather than finding it to be a complete waste of my time, I found myself unconsciously grinning even as I repeatedly bested him. Maybe this was more interesting than I had initially thought.

Alex’s Perspective

As Alex continued to spar with Nyx, Nyx gave him advice and pointed out ways he could improve.

Gradually, Alex began improving with each piece of advice Nyx gave him, getting better and better.

As the sparring continued, Alex noticed something strange. The small grin that had appeared on Nyx’s face had gradually grown into a wide smile. It was an expression Alex hadn’t expected to see from him. From their first meeting, Nyx had seemed like the kind of person who rarely showed much emotion. But now. sn ominous premonition set in Alex’s mind, and once Nyx started laughing, Alex knew something was very wrong.

Nyx’s perspective

“Hahaha! Come on, get over here! You won’t improve if you don’t fight back!”

I swung my sword at Alex as he was trying to run away.

“Ahaaaa, please stop!”

“No, this is really fun.”

Unbeknownst to me, as I was swinging my sword at Alex, I was laughing.

“You're not going to win if you don’t fight back”

I swung at him again, hoping to motivate him to keep moving. Even while still on the ground, Alex managed to dodge my swing by scrambling away on all fours.

Alex had really gotten good at running away from my attacks, which I found even more fun.

The more Alex improved, the more fun it became.

For some reason, his face slowly changed from admiration to fear after I wouldn’t let him have a break, or was it when I started laughing?

“I’m begging you, please stop.”

Honestly, why stop? I mean, you don’t get someone as durable as Alex.

I’m more skilled and experienced, but he’s physically stronger. This is the first time I’ve had this much fun in this life.

“Hahahaha. Why should I? You don’t find somebody this durable.”

“Please stop laughing, and what do you mean, durable?!”

I continued chasing after him and swinging my sword, occasionally managing to land a hit.

Alex eventually started fighting back, swinging his sword at me. I dodged his attack and immediately countered, knocking him to the ground.

Before he could recover, I moved on top of him and pinned him down. I raised my sword high before bringing it down, stopping just beside his face.

“Please stop.”

Alex was gasping really hard from exhaustion, his hands covering his face, looking like he was about to cry.

“Please go back to normal.”

“Normal? What do you mean normal? I’m perfectly fine.”

“Your smile is really scaring me.”

I placed a hand on my face, and I realized I was smiling.

“Oh, Sorry. I got carried away again.”

Well… it happened again. I should have remembered what Fred and Emily always told Norn and me: never get too carried away when sparring with someone.

I got off Alex and sat down beside him, finally feeling the exhaustion I had been ignoring throughout our sparring session.

“Please don’t tell anyone about what happened.”

I said it in a threatening manner so he wouldn't tell anyone. After all, I don’t want anyone to know that I could fight.

“Sure, you're too scary for me to tell.”

Alex said it with a terrified look.

“Okay then.”

I looked at the sky; it appeared that time flew by, and I didn’t realize the sun was about to set.

“Let's go back; I think your party members are going to be worried about you.”

By the time we returned to town, it had already gotten dark. Alex’s party was waiting for him near the gate entrance.

Maria was the first to spot us. She ran toward us with a mixture of concern and relief on her face. However, as expected, she tripped.

Alex ran toward Maria, helping her instead.

“You okay?”

“Ya but you're all roughed up. What happened?”

“We were sparring; he’s surprisingly durable.”

“Huh? What do you mean, durable?! Alex, are you okay?”

“I’m fine; it’s just some bruises and scratches.”

“Here.”

Maria pulled out a potion containing a green liquid and carefully applied it to Alex’s injuries, and seeing it, I asked, “Is that a low-grade healing potion? Did you make it?”

“Ya, Maria is great at making potions.”

Alex answered me, causing Maria’s cheeks to start blushing at the compliment.

“But I’m really not that good at it, though.”

“Maria, you shouldn’t be that modest; you're amazing.”

Alex patted her head with a big smile.

Hmm, interesting. Someone who could make potions is really valuable. When I was reading a book about medicine, a low-grade potion cost at least a large bronze coin.

“So that’s why you were gathering bittercress grass.”

“Sort of. We sell some of it for our quests and keep the rest so she can make health potions to sell.”

As he said that, our conversation was interrupted by someone in the distance.

“Hey Alex, how long are you going to lie there? It’s already dark?”

“Ya, I’m starving.”

The voice belonged to Lucia, who was shouting from the gate, followed by Wendy, whose stomach was growling.

“I guess we’ll have to go our separate ways. I still have to turn in my bittercress grass at the counter. By the way, are you going to spar with me tomorrow”

I couldn’t help but grin at the fun thought of finally having a sparring partner, but for some reason, Alex looked frightened.

“Umm… maybe not. I’m going to rest tomorrow.”

“Okay then, maybe another day.”

Disappointed, I went to the adventurer's guild and completed my quest.

Since it was already dark, I figured I should go see Mable. I wondered if she was worried when I didn’t show up today.

So I went to her, and when I’d gone downstairs to the library, I found Mable reading a book, and I told her.

“Sorry I couldn’t come today. I was doing some training and forgot about the time.”

“I see.”

When I said that, surprisingly, I noticed from her slight facial expression that she was a bit relieved to see me.

“Well then, I’m off.”

After saying that, I returned to the inn, ate dinner, cleaned myself, and went to sleep.