Part 2: Living in This World
THREE days had passed since we’d left the most recent large town on our way. Before crossing the mountain that marked the border, we planned to stop at a village to stock up on supplies. But when we reached the top of a small hill, Cody suddenly gave instructions to the whole group, stopped moving forward, and said something to Dekt. We were walking near the front, so we could hear their conversation.
“Dekt, this doesn’t look like a good idea,” Cody was saying.
“I agree, this might not work,” Dekt replied, without saying anything specific. “What should we do?” He narrowed his eyes and stared into the distance.
“Good question.” Then Cody turned and addressed us directly—he must have noticed we were listening. “This is the first expedition for you and yours, right, Haruka? Take a look over there.”
I squinted my eyes and looked as instructed. I could vaguely see houses and fences in the direction he was pointing. Considering the location, it was probably the village we were supposed to stop at today.
Judging by the number of houses, the population was pretty small. The settlement was a little way off the road, close to the forests and mountains, presumably so that people who came to gather resources like wood and ore could use it as a base. And with travelers like us visiting specifically to procure supplies, it didn’t seem like a bad location.
“That village was founded by a man who lived in that town we passed through recently. He was hoping to make a name for himself that way, because it’s so difficult to establish a new village. Usually, monsters and bandits foil those sorts of plans.”
Makes sense. Certainly doesn’t sound like an easy task. No one would think of founding a village without serious consideration.
“Well, not only that, but there are also various other interests involved. Anyway, I digress. Getting back on topic, does that village seem a bit strange?”
“Hm…” Corinne was the first to answer. “There’s no smoke even though people should be cooking right about now. I don’t see any guards around the entrance either. Has it been attacked by something?”
As the daughter of a merchant, she knew a lot about how people lived, which was why she was able to answer so quickly. It was a bit trickier for me, given that I had little idea what constituted “normal” in this world.
“Let’s get a bit closer, then. It’s too far away to see clearly from here. But be prepared to flee at any time. Now, my next question. What do you think attacked?”
“I don’t think it was a monster.”
“Oho. Why not?” Cody narrowed his eyes at Montana’s immediate reply. His keen observational skills were normal to us, but might have been surprising to Cody.
“No signs of fighting. No human or monster corpses lying around.”
“I just so happen to agree with you,” Cody said after a pause. “Now let me tell you what I know. First, the population of that village is around a hundred and fifty people, and about forty of them can fight well. Second, I haven’t heard any reports of large-scale bandit groups around here. And third, when we left the last town, the Adventurers’ Guild hadn’t received a request for help from the village, and there were no rumors of anything like that, either.”
“We’ll stop here.”
As Cody was explaining, counting off the bits of information on his fingers, Dekt stretched out his arm to block the way. We turned in toward the shade of the forest, out of sight from the village, and let everyone rest, their loads still on their backs.
“Knowing all that, what do you think is happening in that village right now?”
“Well, based on what you said, Cody…” I wasn’t sure, but I had an idea. What I was about to say might have just been my imagination. The thought gave me no joy, so I continued, hoping Cody would deny it. “Someone planned to, um, kill all the villagers without letting them escape?”
“Who?”
“I don’t know who…but I can only assume it was someone fairly organized…”
“You’re right,” Cody said. “That’s exactly it. But no matter how much we speculate, we won’t get any answers.”
It was unfortunate that my guess didn’t seem to be wrong.
“Here’s my last question then,” Cody said, looking at each of us in turn with a fearless smile. “Do you want to know the answer? Or are you scared, ready to tuck tail and run?”
He said it in a way that made me feel uncomfortable. As if running away was a bad thing. There was nothing wrong with valuing safety.
If my assumptions were correct, the people waiting for us up ahead were either a group of professional killers or some other highly skilled group. We had accepted this job as escorts. Putting the people we were guarding in danger was out of the question. And my allies would be in danger too. If we were facing a professional group, I couldn’t imagine there would be any survivors.
Above all though, I was scared. Scared to kill. Scared to die.
But one thing bothered me about running away. If there were survivors, if there were people waiting for help, they wouldn’t be saved. Maybe there were no enemies left, and out of fear of a non-existent enemy, I’d end up abandoning lives that could be saved.
Risk our lives for the lives of others who might not even exist? No, we couldn’t do that. I took a breath to refuse, but felt my throat tighten.
“We’re going, aren’t we?” Albert asked. “Cody, you look like you wanna go.”
“Yeah, there might be survivors,” Corinne added. “You decide, Cody.”
Albert and Corinne showed no signs of nerves when they answered. I took a deep breath, but missed my chance to exhale properly. Instead, the air leaked slowly out of my mouth alongside words I should have said.
What are they saying? It’s dangerous up ahead. As an adult, I have to stop them. No matter how adventurous or curious they might have been, or how worried they were about any survivors, this was not the place to risk their lives.
“I’ll go. Please wait here, Cody.” Dekt took a step forward as if it was the most natural thing to do, but Cody stopped him, sending me a meaningful look.
“Well, if they’re against it, I think we can slip by the village instead.”
“What are you talking about? ‘Help your neighbors.’ We’re going.” Dekt unsheathed his sword, and the knights followed behind.
Cody stroked his beard and carefully chose his next words. “Well, that’s true,” he said. “The people of that village welcomed us on our way to Oranz before and asked us to stop by on our way back. I think they had their own reasons. But they were also brave warriors who founded the village to expand the world in which people are able to live. Without people like them, our journey would be much more difficult. For us travelers, merchants, founders, and adventurers, life is cheap. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t important. I respect those people, and I want to be like them. So, at the very least, we should see how it ended for them.”
His words gradually took on more weight and passion as he talked, but they weren’t the words of someone who would just expose themselves to danger for no reason. I heard conviction in them. They weighed heavily on me.
Albert and Corinne, Dekt and the Temple Knights, and everyone else who had made their decision without a second thought shone like beacons to me.
I had lived for over forty years, but I had never been able to create anything important. I had just wasted each day of my life. Meanwhile, the inhabitants of this world chose their paths in life at such a young age.
They were radiant. Dazzling. Just like the protagonist of a story, the hero I had hoped to become someday.
“What do you say, Haruka? It’s fine if you’d rather stay here and keep watch. We don’t all have to go.”
The way he said it was unfair. Because underneath his kindness, I sensed a desire to push me into a corner. I wanted to assert my righteousness too, to protect something and be recognized by others. I admired heroes. I wanted to be one. The rebellious spirit in my heart, the childish spirit I had been hiding, reared its ferocious head and began to scream. “Gonna run away again?” it said accusingly.
But I was scared. Scared of losing my life. Scared of this happy time ending. And the thing that scared me the most was losing the friends who accepted me. I definitely didn’t want that.
I clasped my hands together tightly and looked down. Only to find Montana staring up at me. Our eyes met, and we blinked at each other several times. I still hadn’t heard his reply.
“Haruka, when you’re in danger, we’ll protect you. And when we’re in danger, you’ll protect us. So, it will be fine. Because we’re friends.”
Then Montana lightly tapped my clenched fist with the palm of his hand. I slowly unclenched my stiff fingers and reached over to pet him on the head. I wanted him to share some of his courage with me.
First of all, my resolve wasn’t the same as that of the people living in this world. But I had to fit in somehow. I had to become like someone from this world. I had to become a person with resolve worthy of my friends.
Corinne and Albert walked over to me, looking worried. I patted each of them on the head once, too. That way, I gained a little bit of courage from all three of them. Even though I’m a coward, I can’t run away from this. Instead of losing my friends by running away, without knowing or doing anything, I wanted to face the danger together with them.
“Cody, please don’t underestimate me,” I said. “Let’s go. I’ll fulfill my client’s wish.”
I tried to say all that with a composed expression, but I wondered if I’d succeeded. When Cody grinned, I felt like he could see right through me.
“You’ve made up your mind, eh? Haruka, you seemed timid despite your high-level abilities, but you look just fine now.”
I had been right. He did see right through me. How embarrassing.
Decision made, I started walking toward the village, though I noticed my legs shaking a bit. Talking the talk was one thing, but convincing my body to walk the walk required a little more determination. So let’s just say I was shaking from excitement and leave it at that. I tried to walk with my head held high, and hoped Montana didn’t notice me trembling as he walked next to me.