Troublesome Matters
Their journey was peaceful, if you put it kindly—or boring, if you didn't. They crossed valleys, traversed mountain paths, and trudged across plains until the sun inevitably crested the ridge. Of course, they occasionally ran into starving bandits.
"Hi, hiik…!!"
After the barbarian swung one of his massive axes, most of them fled in terror. After days of nothing but walking, Eden couldn't help but worry about Neb trailing behind him.
"This goddess's legs ache."
"……."
"It'd be nice if some barbarian from around here gave this goddess's feet a nice, cool massage…."
Eden sighed at her not-quite-a-joke and regretted it inwardly. Should've bought a horse, even just one.
But horses were pricey, no matter the purpose—war, transport, labor, or even food. Eden's silver pouch had thickened lately, but it still wasn't enough to buy one casually.
A donkey might work, though. Eden settled on that and kept moving up the hillside.
That's when a bizarre scream echoed from beyond the hill.
"Dra…!"
Eden cocked his head. What the hell was that? This was an era teeming with lunatics; running into one on the road wasn't exactly rare. So he didn't panic and focused on the next words.
"Dr, dragon…!!"
"……."
Eden thought as he heard the cry. Hmm, now that's a bit troubling.
It wasn't something you saw coming every day.
Eden pondered coolly. The smartest move here was to turn right around. As a max level barbarian, he couldn't gain experience from hunting anyway. He wasn't born with some half-baked hero complex, nor did he have a hobby of helping out medieval racists.
But the problem was Neb.
"……Dragon?"
Hearing the curiosity in her voice, Eden instantly knew the "turn back" option was off the table. Sure enough, Neb grabbed his belt and started stomping her feet.
"Did you hear that just now?!"
"Nope."
"It's a dragon!"
No, it's not. Eden briefly pondered how to deal with Neb, who was now shaking him like a kid tugging at her parent's clothes.
"…No need to get so worked up, right?"
"What do you mean by that?"
Eden grabbed her head with one hand and calmly tried to persuade her.
"It's not like it's your first time seeing a big lizard."
Neb nodded in agreement, but her desire to see the dragon clearly hadn't faded.
"It's a bit different from before this goddess lost her power."
She was the one acting like a child right now, but Neb gazed up at Eden and patiently explained as if educating him at eye level.
"This goddess was once a truly enormous being—one so vast it was hard to influence the world directly. You might not grasp it, but it's like viewing a diorama."
Like SimCity or something.
"…Yeah, you could put it that way."
Eden got it easily, recalling the simulation games from his modern world. Neb kept yanking his belt and pointed beyond the hill.
"So let's hurry and go see!"
"Fine, just stop."
My pants are gonna fall off. Eden climbed to the top of the hill. Beyond it lay a small village, with a crowd of residents gathered at the entrance. They clutched pitchforks and sickles, all staring up at the rooftops and shouting.
"Th-that one! It's eating the roof!"
"Anyone got a net?"
Eden listened and thought, Definitely not a real dragon.
Even if it wasn't some J-RPG-style dragon, the dragons in this world were powerful beings—too wise to be mere monsters, too savage to be civilized. What could one possibly want from a tiny village like this? It'd make more sense raiding a wizard's tower somewhere.
Kii-ee-eek!!
Even its cry sounded cheap. Eden and Neb quickly descended to where the villagers were clustered. A sudden barbarian appearing might've startled them under normal circumstances, but their eyes were fixed on the "dragon" (?) perched on the building roof, so no commotion stirred.
"Is it really a dragon…?"
"Kinda small for one."
Eden thought the same. Up close, the creature looked downright odd. The villagers stared up at the rooftop monster, gradually piecing together their opinions.
"If not a dragon… Ah! A wyvern?"
"Looks more like a molting bird."
"Too big for a bird. No, it's a dragon—look at those scales!"
Eden rejected their guesses. It was neither a dragon nor a wyvern.
"Pteranodon."
"…Ptera-what?"
A dinosaur from the Cretaceous period. He'd seen it playing with his nephews….
Eden was stunned. But no more than the villagers, who jumped at the sudden barbarian.
"Wh-what the—?!"
"Gordon…? No, who're you?"
As the villagers puzzled over yet another mystery, kii-ee-ek!! The pterosaur—not dragon or wyvern—let out a full-throated screech and soared into the sky.
Eden watched the dinosaur vanish after munching some thatch, then lowered his gaze and asked the people around him.
"I'd like to stay the night—any tavern in the village?"
"……."
Fortunately, Eden and Neb were able to spend the night in the village.
"No inn or tavern here. If you just want to rest a day, I can lend you an empty house for five coppers. Half a silver works too if you don't have coppers."
The small pondside village had no tavern, but there was an uninhabited house. Eden split a silver coin in half and handed it to the man.
The man who took the silver led them to a modest home on the village outskirts.
"Firewood's over there—burn some if it's chilly. Got enough food?"
Eden shook his head, and the man soon returned with something in hand.
"It's about dinnertime for us anyway."
He'd brought a few roasted ears of corn, rye bread, and a soup of unknown ingredients.
"And take this. It's simple mead, but drinkable enough."
He even handed over a bottle of booze. It was an oddly hospitable attitude. Eden eyed the man suspiciously, as if sizing up a shady character.
It would've made sense if he'd arrived and lopped off the pterosaur's head with his axe. But Eden hadn't done a thing for the village yet.
Poison, maybe? Just in case, Eden tasted the food and drink before Neb. No reaction from his [Poison Resistance] trait.
"Not bad mead."
"Hah, knew you'd like it."
The mead was decent too. Was there a proper brewery in the village? The subtle herbal aroma and deep flavor were excellent. The man downed his own bottle, wiped his beard with his sleeve, and spoke.
"Truth is, our village had a barbarian… er, a Torgard fellow once. Contrary to his looks, he was a simple, good-hearted guy."
"Hoo."
A bit surprising. In this world, a Torgard barbarian was someone born with exceptional grit. The kind who stopped crying if you whispered "Barbarian Never Cry" at birth.
"Not to offend you standing there, but he really wasn't the barbaric type. Still, thanks to him, I learned barbarians love their booze too. Long as they don't cause a ruckus."
"Where's he at?"
The man shook his head at Eden's question.
"Vanished one day. Left all his gear behind. Went off to fight somewhere? Or got taken by monsters or bandits outside? Anyway, enough of that."
As he prepared to leave, the man said to Eden:
"Lately, things around here feel off. That dragon—or whatever it was…."
"Pteranodon."
"…Right. Whatever. First time a monster like that's come into the village. So be careful if you're traveling these parts. Looks like you're with your wife."
"…Not my wife."
"That's what they all say at first."
The man chuckled lowly, seemingly pleased with Eden's reply, and departed in lighter spirits. Eden felt the same about him. He set his axe on the floor and sat on the dry straw matting.
An unexpected kindness, but no reason to refuse. He'd figured just sheltering from the wind for a night would be lucky enough.
Neb shared the sentiment; she sipped her soup and smiled.
"Kindness truly makes a person shine brighter."
"Whenever was it you called me a lowly creature?"
Eden thought he should find some way to help the village before leaving, savoring the rare hospitality.
Nights in the medieval world without streetlamps came fast. The sun dropped, and darkness swallowed everything in moments. The fire's glow was small compared to the house's size, but it felt much brighter than usual.
Eden figured he'd just flop down, return to his old apartment in his dreams, and call it a day. What to do tonight. Watch a movie? Read a novel? Comics? Memories blurry, yet somehow perfectly rendered. Everything Neb conjured was flawlessly structured.
Then he sensed a presence from afar and stood.
"What's wrong?"
"Hearing something weird."
"…?"
Leaving the oblivious Neb be, Eden opened the door. Outside was pitch black. Aside from lights leaking from a few houses, no sources of illumination.
Eden peered quietly into the forest. Amid the soft wind, sporadic footsteps echoed. They were heading straight for the house where Eden and Neb were staying.
Neb, clinging to his side, said:
"Villagers maybe?"
"No."
Eden shook his head. No malice like from the villagers. And to his senses, the presences in the woods weren't from living people.
Soon, something emerged from the dark.
"Grr…."
It was a corpse in human form. Standing on two legs set it apart from ordinary bodies.
Neb poked Eden's back in surprise.
"Wh-what is that?!"
"No idea."
A moving undead. Eden's brow furrowed. First time even after long medieval life. Never seen in battlefields.
But they brimmed with hostility all the same. The nearest corpse lunged at Eden.
"Grr…, ugh!!"
Its head flew clean off.
…Didn't hit it that hard. The body was old and mushy—surprisingly soft, even startling Eden who'd punched it.
The commotion drew villagers; they emerged from houses one by one, torches in hand.
"What the hell's that noise… Eh?"
They froze upon spotting the walking corpses. Not an everyday sight.
Eden raised a hand to calm them.
"Don't come closer. Could be dangerous."
Need to handle this quick. He clenched his fist.
Then, one villager staring at the corpses muttered in a trembling voice:
"G-Grandpa?"
Not just Eden heard. The other villagers examined the approaching corpses' faces and raised their voices.
"Yeah! That's old Windmill Grandpa! Couldn't even walk when he was alive…!"
"That's my dad who died three years ago…."
"M-Mom!!"
All familiar faces, apparently. Neb, grasping the situation, whispered to Eden:
"So those are…."
The first corpse Eden had downed—headless from his punch.
"……Hmm."
Eden quietly relaxed his grip.