Gwen Accidentally Became the Savior of Raom

Gwen's eyes flickered open. Of course, when I want to sleep longer, my body forces me awake, she grumbled internally.

Letting out a heavy sigh, she tried to sit up, but a sharp pain shot through her body, making her lie still. This was a good chance for her to relax and enjoy the bed. It was much better than the one she used at the inn.

Maybe she’d have to invest in a better mattress… or steal this one. But was it worth becoming a criminal? Nah, being able to freely hunt in the dungeon was better. Though the crime she’d love to commit would be beating up all the gossips bothering her.

Because is it really necessary to continue going on about a failed engagement?

Let it go.

Gwen closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Better to calm herself before she went on a rampage. While meditating, she checked on her mana levels, finding them partially recovered—not enough to attempt healing.

A sudden yawn escaped her lips. Without fighting against it, her eyelids began to slowly close when the door suddenly burst open.

“Boss, are you awake yet?” Kira’s voice boomed, making Gwen wince at the sudden volume.

It would’ve been nice if you’d let me go back to sleep! Gwen thought, but out loud she said, “Someone seems to be cheery this morning.”

“Of course I’m cheery!” Kira replied, standing right next to the bed. “You finally woke up after sleeping all of yesterday away.”

Gwen’s mouth twitched. “I’m glad you were so worried about me, Kira.”

“I wasn’t worried!”

“Sure you weren’t…”

“I really wasn’t!” Kira insisted.

Gwen shrugged. “I guess I’ll just have to live with my new party member, not caring about me.”

“You are impossible.”

“Anyway, it’s early, so I was thinking of going back to sleep to try to recover more energy before we head back to the capital.

Kira raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure we should head back so soon? Shouldn’t you recover from your injuries first? Shouldn’t we stick around more to look into why the goblins attacked?”

Gwen shook her head. “Our job was to kill five goblins attacking a farm. While we helped save the village for free, we’re not equipped to handle more goblins, with me injured and you not a fighter.

Kira looked like she wanted to argue but ended up backing down. “I understand, I still feel like there is so much we could do to help…”

Her ears flopped downward in disappointment.

Gwen placed a hand on top of her head. “An older woman once told me it’s not up to me to take on the world by myself. It’s okay for us to go back and report the situation, allowing the proper people to handle it.”

“You’re right… I’m sorry for being so brash.”

“It’s fine. I get wanting to help people, but going forward we have to be smart about it.” Gwen replied, a small yawn escaping her.

Kira pushed Gwen gently back on the pillows.

“Get some more rest; we can talk to the old lady before we leave.”

“That sounds like a good idea.”

“Of course it is; I came up with it!” she said, puffing out her chest.

Gwen let out a smile, an amused chuckle.

Her eyes were already closed when she felt something at the bottom of her feet. She cracked an eyelid open and saw Kira curled up at the foot of the bed. Instead of saying anything, she closed her eyes again and drifted back to sleep.

***

The duo found themselves outside a couple of hours later.

Apparently, the building that Gwen and Kira stayed in belonged to the old lady who ran the village, whose name Gwen still hadn’t learned.

Despite the sun being out and the villagers being happy, Gwen found herself angry. No, more like disappointed.

I finally had found a comfortable outfit, and now it’s ruined!

Thankfully, she didn’t have to wear those itchy robes from the Church of Hael, or she might’ve snapped.

If I ever find the leader of the goblins, I will destroy them myself, she vowed, clenching her fist.

“Can we get moving now? I feel dumb just standing in the middle of the road,” Kira spoke up, breaking Gwen’s musing.

“Sorry, I was just glad to see the village mostly intact,” Gwen said quickly, forcing a smile.

“Ugh, then admire it while walking. I want to get the job request signed by the old lady and get back to the capital. I know my sister has to be freaking out since we didn’t return yesterday.”

Gwen ruffled Kira’s hair. “You’re right, let’s get going.”

Kira pouted and tried to fix it, but her hair stubbornly stuck up everywhere.

With a small chuckle, Gwen went to move, then froze.

I have no idea where her office would be located, she thought. Instead of wandering around lost, she spotted two men carrying tools and went to intercept them.

“Um, excuse me, do you mind telling me where I can find the village leader?” she asked.

One of the men looked down at her and smiled. “Well, I didn’t think the Savior of Raom would come up to us! I speak for all of us when I say thank you for saving our village.”

“I just did what any adventurer would do.”

“You did more than just that, but Lady Dana told us not to pressure you,” the other man chimed in.

“Is Lady Dana the village leader?”

“Yes! Right now she’s at the ruined Church of Hael! If you follow us, we’re heading that way”

Gwen nodded. “Yeah, that’s fine.”

She turned and motioned for Kira to follow as the two men set off at a steady pace. It was slow enough that Gwen could keep up without aggravating her injuries.

During the walk, Gwen noticed many of the villagers pausing to stare.

They looked as if they wanted to approach her but hesitated, watching her pass in silence. Some even held their children back, whispering loudly, warning them not to bother her.

Gwen let out a heavy sigh.

Is it my face? I try my best to smile and look approachable

Luckily, the walk was short, and they rounded a corner to arrive in front of the ruined church.

The old lady, Dana, stood with her hands behind her back while various villagers were knocking down the destroyed walls and loading the rubble onto carts.

“It was nice meeting you, Savior”

“Yeah, thanks again for the save!”

The two men called out before jogging off to join the others.

Gwen shook her head slightly, already feeling drained by the attention. She felt a gentle bump against her side and glanced down at Kira, who pointed first at Gwen, then at Dana.

Understanding what she was asking, Gwen gripped her staff tightly and approached the older woman. She opened her mouth, but Dana beat her to talking.

“I see you’re dead set on leaving today.”

“Ah, yes. I need to hurry back and report on the goblins attacking the village.”

Dana glanced at her. “I don’t think we’ve introduced ourselves properly yet. I am Dana, village leader of Raom.

Gwen gave her a slight bow. “My name is Gwen.”

“Just Gwen?”

“Yes!”

“Well, Gwen, while I’d prefer you to stay longer, I suppose I can sign you a job form in place of the farmer who passed.”

“How did you know the farmer died?” She asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I can tell by your mannerisms. If you had a choice, you would’ve left already,” the older lady chuckled.

“That… is true,” Gwen admitted, digging into her pouch and pulling out the sheet.

Dana pulled a small stamp from her pocket and pressed it against the paper.

With a flash of light, an official guild seal appeared at the bottom. A letter R wrapped around a bird. She tucked the stamp away and pulled out a letter, holding it out.

“I wrote a letter to the church to have my student teach you another spell. The other document details who attacked the village.”

Gwen took both letters and dropped them straight into her pouch without reading them. “Is your student by chance Bella?”

“Yes!”

“That… explains a lot.”

“It does?”

“Yes.” Gwen nodded before turning on her heel.

“Are you not interested in knowing who led the attack?”

“Nope! My job as an adventurer was to take care of five goblins! Anything else after that was extra I did on a whim,” she called back over her shoulder.

“Interesting…”Dana trailed off, turning back to the church repairs. “Then I’ll offer you safe travels under the blessing of Goddess Hael.”

“Thanks,” Gwen said, giving a wave as she walked past Kira.

Kira matched her pace without a word, and the two set off toward the village gates, walking in silence as they hurried to put Raom behind them.

They had only gone a few feet past the entrance when the ground shook lightly. Gwen whipped around, bracing for a monster attack, but saw only the villagers. They stood there, watching with grateful eyes.

“Thank you for saving us!”

“My family would’ve died if you hadn’t helped!”

“No matter what anyone else says, you are the Savior of Raom!”

The voices blended, a chorus of genuine thanks echoing down the road.

Gwen’s face flushed red as she stood there frozen in surprise.

“Oh, I never thought I’d see the icy face break,” Kira teased. “Maybe we should get more people to praise you like this.”

Gwen glared down at her and roughly ruffled her hair. “Shush!”

Kira chuckled under her breath but wisely stayed quiet.

Without looking at the villagers, Gwen gave a small nod, but kept her attention on the path ahead. Time to go home… or at least try to. Hopefully we can make it back to the capital before I pass out.