MagNe suddenly found that she envied him. She also wished she had that sort of relationship with someone.
“I want to understand humans’ feelings,” said Gallarus. “I will need to talk to many humans and compare their answers.”
They reached the central plaza, which had a fountain.
“This looks like a good place to start,” Gallarus mused. He sat down cross-legged next to the fountain.
“Here?” said MagNe. “This is where you want to talk to people?”
MagNe had assumed Gallarus was heading somewhere specific in the city for his business, but he seemed to be making up his plan as he went along. The giant smiled smugly and nodded.
“I’ll sit here, listen to the humans’ problems, and guide them toward solutions. I might be able to decipher the way your feelings work, and I’ll be protecting the city at the same time.”
It was actually Bertrand’s idea. Gallarus’s execution of it wasn’t the most elegant, to say the least, but he was doing his best out of his genuine desire to understand his master better. For his master, he’d even put up with mingling with humans—but he was certain he wouldn’t enjoy it.
“During the Battle of Ten Nights, I sat like this in the middle of the town, talking with my soldiers. The king speaking with the common soldiers—now that raises morale like nothing else. Other kings weren’t as clever as me. It wouldn’t cross their minds to try that.”
Gallarus laughed heartily. Scared passersby gave him a wide berth.
The Battle of Ten Nights took place in Gallarus’s world when he was the king of his people. In this world, however, he was merely a monster. The dignity and respect he enjoyed in his realm didn’t simply transfer over—but Gallarus hadn’t realized that.
MagNe picked up on how clueless the giant was and asked timidly, “Will you be okay without me?”
“? And why would I need you?” was the giant’s blunt reply.
MagNe was offended, but she plucked up the courage to offer a careful rebuttal.
“…You needed me to come here, for example.”
“I appreciate you bringing me to the city, but now that I’m here, I have no need for you anymore.”
Gallarus crossed his arms and began people-watching.
I have problems, too, y’know, thought MagNe.
It upset her that even though Gallarus declared he’d be helping people with their problems, he wouldn’t ask her if she had any.
“I want you to help me,” she eventually said in a quiet, strained voice, looking down at the ground.
Gallarus eyed her suspiciously. “Help with what?”
“I’m waiting for someone. I’ve been waiting a long time, waiting and waiting, but he’s just not showing up.”
Gallarus listened quietly and fixed MagNe with a cold stare. “You’re the type to always rely on others, huh?” He shook his head disapprovingly. “Use your brains instead of simply waiting. Turn the situation around. If the man isn’t coming, you go look for him. It’s that simple.”
“But I can’t go look for him. I can’t fight…”
“You can’t, or you don’t want to? Children can fight if they’ve got all four limbs. In my country, there was a time when even nurslings were given swords and forced to do battle…”
“That doesn’t sound like something to be proud of…”
“What I’m saying is, driven into a corner, even a child will fight. And what’s your excuse?”
MagNe fell silent, feeling down. Gallarus was being rude toward her, and his examples were extreme, but she thought he hit the nail on the head.
“I hate spineless people like you. Solving your problem for you will give you a sense of satisfaction, but me—nothing.”
This is how he was talking to the person who’d guided him to the city? MagNe’s face flushed. She was used to being treated poorly, but what really made her mad was how Gallarus spoke as if he knew everything about her.
“I…I didn’t choose to live like this! You don’t know anything about my past! Don’t judge me based on your assumptions!” she shouted, much louder than she’d intended.
Embarrassed, MagNe ran away. Gallarus watched her with interest.
The Adventurers Guild building was deserted. Normally, it would be bustling with unaffiliated players, but lately, it’d been as quiet inside as if it had been abandoned. Having heard that the frontline outpost had been destroyed by never-before-seen monsters and a lot of people had died in Calloah, many players lost the will to try to level up and move on from the starting city. And who could blame them?
It made more sense to accept quests from the Crest’s guild office instead of the NPC-run Adventurers Guild anyway, since Crest offered all players support to make sure they were safe—but many players living in Allistras didn’t even know such basics.
A solitary player entered the Adventurers Guild.
I need to…pick up a quest, right?
MagNe uncertainly went over to check the Quest Board. As a noncombatant, she’d latch on to this or that man for support, and she had actually been living comfortably, sheltered from incidents such as the Goblin King invasion or the Liberator’s killings. And she wasn’t the only one. About 65 percent of Allistras’s player population still hadn’t fought a single monster.
“…A loser like me can only survive by sponging off others.”
MagNe punched the board angrily.
She was weak, but it was the people who did well in this world who were messed up. She wasn’t doing anything wrong living the way she did, and she didn’t want much. Just a safe place to sleep.
Trying to make herself feel better, MagNe concentrated on the Quest Board again.
“The ones where you have to kill monsters are too hard for me…”
She didn’t actually understand the game’s mechanics very well. Unsure what to do, she looked around for help.
“Would you like to take on a quest?” asked a robotic voice.
She turned toward the source—a softly smiling female NPC behind the reception desk.
MagNe hurried over to her, relieved. “H-hello. Yes, I’d like a quest…”
“That’s great! Can you please tell me what sort of reward is most important to you?”
MagNe didn’t want to become an independent player. She’d come to the Adventurers Guild on the spur of the moment, incensed by what Gallarus had said to her, needing to prove to herself that she, too, could achieve something without anyone’s help.