Moving Forward

We spent the night in an actual bed.

A bed! It was utter bliss.

I never realized what a great thing a bed was until I had to sleep on dirty ground for a few days with icky insects crawling and buzzing around me all night long. So although the room was actually small and the bed was bumpy, it was still like heaven on earth in comparison.

Being a hero was sweet. We got all sorts of free stuff, too—food, clothes, equipment. It was like we were some sort of celebrities.

Now that we could take it a bit easy, I used my healing spells a bit more liberally, mostly on Saga who was really pushing herself too much, and finally stabilized us.

The following morning I woke up still not quite refreshed, but a lot more optimistic, anyway.

A mood which was soured immediately upon exiting my room.

“Then, I shot the arrow right at his chest, and he exploded.”

“Oh, wow!”

I couldn’t believe my eyes. Kai was standing there and talking with one of the town girls.

Did he have no shame at all?

“It was just a lucky shot anyway,” I said out loud, approaching them.

The girl regarded me with a tilt of her head while Kai frowned, but said nothing.

“Anyway, we’d better go already. Have you seen Saga?”

“No, but she’s definitely raring to go, if I know her,” Kai said somewhat mutedly, then turned to the girl. “I don’t know if we’ll see each other again, Rowna, but it was nice meeting you.”

The girl giggled. “Good luck!” she said and waved to him as we walked again.

I must have been visibly simmering because Kai addressed me next.

“C, are you possibly… jealous?”

“What?”

I was on the verge of attacking him with lightning or something, the annoying bastard.

Kai sighed at my reply. “Is that really the time to be thinking about things like that?”

“Look who’s talking!”

“Hey, I was just talking to her—I wasn’t trying to flirt or anything.”

“So what you’re saying is that this happens naturally to you?”

“Well, I mean, it does.”

I had to restrain myself once more. Really, I should get a medal or something.

“All I’m going to say is screw you,” I said, hastening my pace. I heard Kai sigh behind me, but just ignored him.

Why didn’t he get it? This was my world.

…Well, it wasn’t the game I created anymore, but still. If not for that, we never would’ve had the chance to become heroes like this.

“Say, Saga,” I said as I noticed the girl standing with her back leaning against a wall, seemingly waiting for something. “You’re glad we came to this world, right?”

She should be. She seemed to be extremely comfortable with battle—or rather, she was battle-crazed. She kept pushing herself constantly forward even when injured, all in order to find and fight the so-called Three Warriors.

However, her answer came as a complete surprise to me.

“Hah. Not really.”

“…What?”

She just turned her gaze away. It didn’t seem like she was going to elaborate.

“What do you mean by that?” I insisted.

Saga sighed. Then she turned her cold gaze to me again. “I’m just doing what I was meant to do. No more than that.” She seemed to hesitate for a moment. “I don’t derive any particular pleasure from this.”

This left me very confused, but Kai caught up to us before I could ask her for any further elaboration.

“Are we going, guys?” he asked. “The mayor’s asked to see us before we leave.”

I could see another girl next to him. Really? I look away for a minute and he finds someone new to flirt with?

I was so mad I almost forgot my discussion with Saga. But she probably wasn’t going to give me a straight answer even if I asked, anyway. Maybe some other time.

We were taken to the town’s very edge, where the tired-looking man was waiting for us along with some attendants.

“I will… gamble on you,” the mayor said, his face tense. “I wish you good luck in your quest.”

Gamble, huh? Right, from his point of view, even if we did look somewhat convincing, we were a complete unknown. They didn’t even have enough time to determine whether we actually defeated One, and two of the warriors still remained.

“Thank you,” I said. “I won’t let you down.” Oops, I meant to use the plural there. I think Kai gave me a glare from the very edge of my vision, but I ignored him.

“Now, regarding what you asked me about…” he said, somewhat hesitantly. “It’s a small town called Riche. It would take a day or so by foot, but we just so happen to have a travelling merchant heading that way, and they’d be… happy to let you ride as well.”

I had noticed a carriage parked right outside the town. Huh, that was definitely a neat offer.

“And?” I asked. “Is there really a mage there?”

After how our last fight went, and thinking that in spite of their stupid names, Two and Three were bound to be even stronger, I knew that I had to keep on growing. Besides, I’d already hit my limits; I used every bit of magic I was familiar with, and was unsuccessful at creating or finding out new spells. I needed some guidance.

“Yes,” the mayor said. “He is an old sage known as Jarred, supposedly a longtime expert. In this area he will be your best bet, though I hear the capital has an actual guild.”

I smiled. “Great. Thank you so much.”

“Huh, I did wonder what you asked him in private before…” mumbled Kai from the side.

“Got a problem with that?” I asked.

“No, it’s nothing.”

“Hah. Let’s stop wasting time,” said Saga, as curt as always. Picking up her bag, she just went toward the carriage.

“Good luck,” the mayor said again as we departed.

And so we were on the road again.

I was already enjoying myself much better than before. My legs hadn’t fully recovered yet, but now I could let them rest some more as we rode a carriage through not a thick forest but empty, vast and winding fields. We were no longer ambushed by any beasts, small or big, and could simply enjoy the chirping of normal birds.

Everything seemed to be going well. The carriage was a bit cramped since it contained three people and some merchandise, but I even managed to doze off a little during the ride when there was a sudden thud and the carriage shook a little.

“Huh?” I could hear the voice of the driver from outside. “What’re you—AAH!”

Hearing her yelp, I was startled into full wakefulness and even Saga readied her sword, but the carriage’s door opened before any of us could move.

“Hello there!” called the woman that appeared from outside. “Thought I’d drop by to say hi. My name is Two.”