Chapter 29

My first stop was the market. The fish lady waved me over the moment she saw them and gave me 2 silver coins without hesitation. I considered a career change, from a lumberjack who doesn't chop down trees, to a fisherman who doesn't catch his own fish. It seemed much more profitable. It was getting dark at this point, so I decided I would eat in the tavern before heading to bed. Despite the rundown building, the place had looked clean and smelled good, which I imagined was difficult when there was a stable just outside. I was starving, too, since I slept the whole day and only ate a bit of hard bread and dried meat for breakfast.

I should've looked inside before entering, because my heart nearly leapt out of my chest when I walked in. The inside was full of guards. It was much more lively than other nights, so before they saw me, I backed out. There had to have been at least 10 of them, and they had the Crownspire crest on their equipment. Were they hunting me!? No, no. That's right, there was a patrol around here that rotated between the three towns in this valley.

There was a loud thud as someone was slammed against the outside wall of the tavern around the corner from me. I heard an argument between two men.

"You damn COWARD, Schmidt. We don't even know our orders yet, and you want to stay behind in case things go wrong?! This was YOUR idea."

"I just meant, if it asks us to fight, I'm sorry, but I'm just not a fighter. My father promised me I could become a knight quickly without any risks if I did this."

"No, of course not. You just like doing all the work to start a fight AND LETTING US DEAL WITH IT, RIGHT?! I don't care if your daddy is noble. Do you know how many of these useless, wastes of breath all have that same story? All you damn pampered pricks just come here for the easy job and whine when it's time for real work. .... I’ll tell you this, Schmidt, when that courier arrives tomorrow, regardless of what it says our orders are, if you're not there, I'll kill you myself. You don't get to choose what orders you follow."

"Y-yes… Sir.”

I decided I really didn't want to be caught eavesdropping, so I moved quickly toward the front door in the opposite direction and went inside the Inn section. I would eat some more of the traveling rations I bought tonight and sneak out before it was light. I didn't want to run into the guards, but they should be gone by midday tomorrow to make it to the next town anyway. Or maybe they would wait longer until that courier arrived. Either way, I wanted to be out of the town while they were here. I just hoped I wouldn't have any nightmares, though I guess I hadn't when I fell asleep in the clearing either.

...

I woke up before the sun was out, but I still felt well rested. There had been no nightmares last night, in fact I couldn't even remember having a dream at all. After a quick stop at the river again, I made my way straight to the forest, since I didn't need to worry about anyone seeing me this early. Though, It was more difficult to make my way up in the dark, the sun rose on the way and made it a bit easier.

The clearing was empty. I was the first one here. I didn't know how they got food here other than fish, but I thought we could cook some potatoes, so I brought the ones I had. I guess that required wood to make a fire, though. I started walking around the edge of the forest, scanning the trees until I spotted a thin one, and began chopping immediately. It came down in just a few swings. By the time Ruri and Katsumi showed up, I had dragged it over to the clearing, prepared a fire pit with some rocks, chopped the wood into logs, and was already trying to get the fires going.

I wasn't looking forward to another battle, but if my goal was to eventually become an adventurer, it would be useful to gain some more combat experience. Hopefully, she forgave me for yesterday. I would have to try and keep my mouth shut, but she made it so easy to tease her and her reactions to it were so tempting. They walked over.

"What are you doing?" Katsumi asked.

"Potatoes! Can I have one? We've been eating fish forever. N-not that I don't appreciate it, Katsumi." Ruri yelled.

"Yeah, I brought them to share. Have more than 1. I'll trade you for some fish." I said.

"Yay! I'll catch some, then I'll start the fire for you, ok?" Ruri said while running off to the river.

Unless she also had the ability to make fire on top of a lie detector and eating dreams, she was about to be surprised how hard that was. I wish I had learned some ritual magic to start one. I guess that was my mission for Monday. Didn't Katsumi say something about Ruri having a blessing last time, though. No, she said blessings plural. As I understood it, each hero got 1 blessing, but normal people could also be granted them from magical artifacts, monarchs, or even gods. There was also a compounding effect sometimes, where once someone had one, it gave them the boost in ability needed to get additional ones more easily. Who was Ruri to have multiple? And more importantly, why was Katsumi just staring at me like she had something to ask, but was too nervous. It was so unlike the brash Katsumi I knew, and it was starting to scare me. Did she want to fight?

"Um, do you... need something?" I asked.

"I know you don't want to fight, but I need a favor from you?"

"Oh? The strong and fearsome Katsumi asking weak, dense Wil-" I stopped.

She didn't look like she normally did. She was more serious, and she wasn't reacting to my taunting. There was an envelope in her hands.

"I'm not strong. You've shown me that. I was just a big fish in a small pond, and I got carried away. Actually, there are a lot of things I can't do. It's my duty to protect Ruri, but you made a fool of me. You make her laugh more than I've heard in months. I can't even provide her a decent meal, but you can do that too. Now I need to ask you to do something that puts all our lives in danger. So, yeah. If you think you're weak, I must be an insect or something."

What the heck was going on?

"I don't really know the details, but it seems like you've been protecting her all on your own for a while now, right? Trust me, if I had the kind of responsibility you do, I would've failed a loooong time ago. Some things don't have anything to do with being strong or weak."

"You're wrong about that. Everything is about being strong or weak. It's just about in what ways you're strong. After seeing Ruri's tale turn black... I realized you probably had a lot more strength than me. Even if I could beat you in a battle, I don't think I could be as strong as you."

I understood what she meant, but I didn't want to talk about that stuff.

"Well, I can't promise you I'm as strong as you think I am, but I'll hear out your request."

"... I need you to deliver a letter in Mapleharrow."

"... I was... expecting something a bit more... I don't know, dangerous? How does that put all our lives on the line?"

She looked insulted. "It's a very important letter! If you're caught with it, we're all dead."

"Can I read i-"

"NO! Take this seriously! It really is life or death, OK?"

"I am taking it seriously. What's my mission?"

"You need to deliver this letter to the general store worker before nightfall. That's all I can tell you."

"... You're not messing with me, right? I said I was sorry for yesterday. If you're acting like this just to prank me or pick up your shopping list, I'll tell Ruri you're being mean to me."

"See!? You're still not taking it seriously! I knew I couldn't rely on you! You don't take anything serious!"

"How are you two already arguing?! Get along!" Ruri yelled from by the river.

"Damn. Scolded by a little kid. You know there are guards in the town, though, right? It can't wait one more day? They'll be gone by tomorrow."

"I know, that's why I can't go myself. I've already been seen a few times, and no. It has to be sent today, or it won't reach its destination in time."

"Fine, I'll do it, but answer a few of my questions in return. Deal?" I said.

"How about, if you deliver this letter for me, I won't make you fight me for 3 days in return?" Katsumi proposed.

"1 week." I countered.

"2 days, and I'll answer 3 questions."

"Deal!"

We shook on it. Even if it was a prank, this was worth it.

"Hmm. Three questions. Yesterday, you said Ruri had blessings. Plural. How many does she have?"

"Right away, you ask for something absurd. But fine. You already know and have seen too much. It won't matter at this point. She has 9."

I nearly yelled, but caught myself. "NI- nine!? How?! She's like, 9 years old!"

"Is that one of your questions?"

"No. Well, maybe. I don't know, let me think."

Was she lying to me? Without Ruri here, there was no lie detector. That was such an absurd lie, though, if it was. What else did I want to know?

"That rumor about the monster in the woods. Was it you? What I mean is, did you kill the lumberjacks because they spotted you?"

"No. I can't prove it, but it wasn't me. There really was a monster here when we arrived and I killed it. The body is near our cabin. Do you know what a Bramholt is?"

"Never heard of it, but I believe you."

"It's from the underbelly. They have big arms, sharp claws, 2 big horns that curve back, and a long face. But they have no eyes, no mouth, and have really long tendrils for legs they use to move, sense, and eat with. They also have a dark skin that makes it impossible to see in the dark, but they lure in prey with lights on their tendrils, which is their weakness."

"That sounds horrifying. I believe you less now, simply because I don't want that to be real."

"They're not that strong. Not even magical. Actually, they're a type of plant, so they're kinda slow aside from their twitch reflex. Their legs are more like roots than mouths, but they will attack anyone that gets near them. Someone probably forced it out of the dungeon to the south-west of the town."

"Why do you know all that?"

"Is that your last question?"

"No! Umm, ... I want to ask who you two are, but I refused to tell you who I was so that would probably be unfair. I guess my last question is... want anything else from the town while I'm there?"