Chapter 20: A Promise to Myself

Chapter 20: A Promise to Myself

Rem returned to her room after ordering some food for Alisar. She pushed the door open, closed it behind her, and looked toward the bed where Sherial was sitting, her hair still damp and not yet fully dry.

"Did you just come out of the bath?" Rem asked.

"Yeah. I haven’t had a proper bath in so long... I missed that feeling," Sherial said with delight. "I finally feel rested."

"Right..." Rem nodded, walking over to the chair. "But why were you in there for so long? We stopped here exactly because of that damn bath."

"Hah! Why? You don’t like getting clean? Want to stay dirty all the time?" Sherial teased with a smirk.

"Of course not! I just don’t sit in water for four or five hours," Rem snorted.

"I was joking. Don’t you like this hotel? Look how comfy the bed is. The rooms are spacious, and the atmosphere is just dreamy," Sherial said and leaned back with satisfaction.

"I never said I didn’t like it," Rem shrugged.

"Then don’t complain. Our rooms are worth every silver coin we paid. Even the food here is incredibly delicious."

"I’ll agree with that," Rem nodded.

A few seconds of silence passed as both girls relaxed after a tense day.

"Alright, enough small talk. Has he woken up?" Sherial finally asked.

"Yes. He came to," Rem replied calmly.

"If we’d been even a couple minutes late... he would’ve just died," Sherial said quietly, lowering her gaze.

"He was lucky we decided to check that street," Rem said, sitting down beside her.

"No, it wasn’t 'we' who decided. You insisted on it," Sherial gently reminded her.

"How many experience points did you get this time?" Rem asked.

"A couple hundred thousand, no more," Sherial replied, wincing slightly.

"Yeah... we barely earned any experience," Rem nodded. "I was hoping we’d at least run into a second-rank dungeon."

"Well, even if we didn’t get much experience, we got a good payout for the quest," Sherial continued. "So it wasn’t too bad overall."

"Yeah, we got lucky with the money," Rem agreed. "But still… it’s more important right now to get stronger."

"Money is never a bad thing," Sherial said with a light smile. "The more gold we have, the more options we get. Don’t forget that."

"I know," Rem said quietly, opening her status window.

> Name: Rem
Level: 117 (0 / 130,000,000)
Rank: 5
HP: 68,840
MP: 68,700
Strength: 2,284
Defense: 2,281
Speed: 2,319
Intellect: 2,295
Magic Power: 2,286
Magic Defense: 2,289
Free Attribute Points: 1,710

> Skills:
— Swordsman, Rank 4
— Brawler, Rank 5
— Storage, Rank 2

> Special Skills:
— Golem Summon, Rank 5

— Appraisal, Rank 2

> Unused Experience Points: 110,323,962

"Do you think I should upgrade Storage to Rank 3?" Rem asked thoughtfully.

"Oh yes! Please do!" Sherial lit up immediately, clasping her hands to her chest. "Then we could bring along a huge, luxurious bathtub! Just imagine — after every quest, relaxing hot water, aromatic salts… mm… paradise-level rest!"

"No." Rem instantly crushed her friend’s dreams. "I’m not spending a pile of experience points just for that."

"Why not?" Sherial pouted. "We could—"

"And how exactly do you imagine that?" Rem interrupted, hands on hips. "You planning to set up a bathtub in the open field or a dungeon? Where will you get hot water, huh? And what if someone attacks while you’re… floating in there? You want us to get caught naked in a bath in the middle of the forest?! Have you lost your mind?!"

"Well..." Sherial shivered slightly but didn’t back down. "We could stock up on water beforehand… and bring some screens or cloth to hang around..."

"No. No, and again, no." Rem’s voice was unyielding as stone. "Ideas like that are how we get killed."

Sherial sat on the bed, turned away with a sulky expression, and mumbled to herself:

"Just great. Kill yourself on quests, and you can’t even rest properly..."

"Do you think we’ll have enough resources in a month to try a fifth-rank dungeon?" Rem asked.

"...Maybe. A month from now — it’s possible. We might actually have enough gear and supplies," Sherial said, staring thoughtfully at the ceiling.

"Yeah. Tomorrow we rest. The day after — back to the dungeon. As always," Rem said with confidence.

"What? Just one day off?!" Sherial sat up sharply. "Why only one day? I’m tired. I don’t want to rush back into danger right away!"

"No 'buts'. And honestly, what kind of job did we even do? That quest was easy, with almost no threats. What’s there to complain about?" Rem said seriously.

"So what? I’m still tired," Sherial grumbled, puffing her cheeks.

"No. We rest tomorrow, and the day after that, we get back to work. If we don’t give it our all before the end of the year, do you seriously think you’ll return home with your head held high?" Rem asked harshly, looking her friend straight in the eyes.

"Ugh… You sound like my mentor..." Sherial muttered, sighing. "Fine, fine. Dungeon the day after tomorrow. Deal. But I still wish we could have one real day of relaxing..."

"...What do you think… should we invite Alisar into our party?" Rem said softly, gazing at the ceiling. "I’ve been thinking… his skills really are useful. And if we help him develop them even a bit, it could become a real advantage. Nearly unlimited resources, Sher. What do you think?"

"Hmm… I don’t know," Sherial narrowed her eyes and turned onto her side. "His skills are definitely useful. Especially for long runs in high-rank dungeons." She paused. "But we hardly know anything about him. And by the way, you were the one totally against letting a guy into our party."

"I’m still not thrilled about it," Rem sighed. "It’s just… he doesn’t seem like a bad person. And also… if no one watches over him, he might die. Like yesterday."

"Yeah, that’s probably exactly what would happen," Sherial said indifferently.

"And you don’t care?" Rem turned to her in surprise.

"Maybe he’s a good person… but that’s just life," Sherial shrugged. "Someone always dies."

"...Fine," Rem muttered. "But looking ahead… if his skill develops, he could be a huge asset. And if anyone finds out… if even one person realizes what he’s capable of — it’ll be really bad for him."

"In his current state… I doubt he’ll be much help," Sherial snorted, crossing her arms.

"Then we’ll have to train him a bit. Help him get at least a little stronger," Rem added calmly.

"I’m not spending my time on that," Sherial snapped.

"Don’t worry. I’ll handle it myself," Rem said with a faint smile. "Let’s see how much he can grow in a month. And at the same time, we’ll get to know him better. If he doesn’t change during that time… if our opinion of him doesn’t change — if we really do think he’s a good person — I’ll invite him into our party."

"Well… suit yourself. I don’t mind the idea," Sherial sighed.

"Alright. That’s enough talking for today. Time to rest," Rem said, climbing into her bed and getting comfortable.

------------------

Alisar lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling, unsure what to do next. After the dinner that had been brought to his room, he felt a little better physically… but something inside him was still tightly wound.

What had happened today… he still couldn’t fully process it.

I thought I’d become stronger. But I was just weak.

The thought echoed in his mind, heavy and bitter. Had coming to this city been a mistake? He shook his head.

"No… I wasn’t wrong," he whispered.

Rem was right: if he wanted to sell potions, this was the best place. A big city meant more adventurers, more gold. More opportunities.

But still… I’m an idiot.

Why had he followed that guy into that narrow alley? Now, thinking back, the trap had been obvious.

If only I’d thought for even a moment… doubted for even a second…

He squeezed his eyes shut. It wasn’t just a mistake. It was a miscalculation that nearly cost him his life.

I got careless, Alisar thought bitterly. I thought I’d grown stronger…

No. He simply hadn’t worked hard enough.

He had a rare, truly valuable skill. And according to Rem, skills like his were almost nonexistent. But he’d barely begun using its potential. He’d only scratched the surface.

Fool. I was just drifting along...

"That’s it. No more," he said quietly.

He clenched his fists.

"I’ll start using my skills to the fullest. And I’ll never make such mistakes again."

No more walks with strangers. No more carelessness. In this world, carelessness is paid for with blood. Sometimes — with your life.

You can’t trust strangers. Or even acquaintances...

He paused for a moment.

Except… Rem and Sherial.

Rem and Sherial.

They had saved his life. Without them, he’d already be dead.

No… not just dead. Dead twice.

They had pulled him back from the edge twice now.

To look at them with suspicion… would be a betrayal on his part.

They gave him a second chance — no, a third. And he had no right to waste it.

I have to try. Try harder. I have to get stronger.

Strong… not just strong. Really strong.

Strong enough that no one can threaten me.

Yes… So that no one can threaten me — or those around me.