A Calculated Proposal

"Control your expression, you idiot."

My expression instantly snapped back to normal. It must have looked incredibly unnatural, but I calmly resumed my act as an inn employee. No, it wasn't an act. I actually was an inn employee.

I am an inn employee.

Right?

I casually spoke to Gwen.

"Welcome to the Basilia Inn. How can I help you today?"

"I'm looking for a room to stay in for a while."

"Right this way, then. I'll show you to your room."

I tried to make the transition feel natural, but then—

"Who are you?"

It was an abrupt question.

"My name is Alan Flake. I'm a worker here at the Basilia Inn."

"An employee? The skill you displayed earlier doesn't seem like something a worker in a backwater village inn would possess."

My timing had been awful. I hadn't intended to reveal my swordsmanship this early. She would have found out eventually, but I still needed to avoid making her overly suspicious of me from our very first meeting.

"I learned it from the adventurers. Quite a few of them stay at this inn, you see."

"Is that so?"

Fortunately, she seemed to accept the excuse without pressing further. By then, we had already arrived at her room.

"Here we are."

I opened the door, and Gwen stepped inside while quietly looking around. She spun lightly on her heel. That airy movement, paired with her petite frame, made her look like a young girl. The way she spoke, however, was the complete opposite.

"Hmm, not a bad room."

It wasn't especially large, but it was neat and well-kept, which seemed to satisfy her. Watching her, I quickly gathered my thoughts. There was something I had wanted to test the moment I met a playable character: whether I could see another character's status.If my authority as a player had truly carried over, then I should be able to see not only Alan's status, but everyone else's as well.

Status.

Immediately, her status window materialized before my eyes, just like my own.

I knew it. I can see it.

I carefully scanned her status window.

She was indeed Gwen Lidval—not completely perfect, but built quite optimally. Compared to mine, her stats were absurdly overpowered. Of course, part of that was because I was incredibly weak, but the biggest factor was her trait, Precocious (Major). In truth, her stats were a full tier higher than the average Hero of her age group. Raising her swordsmanship to S-rank without even being a High Hero would have been utterly impossible without Precocious (Major).

The trait Precocious might sound strange considering her physical appearance, which didn’t look twenty-nine at all, but it didn’t refer to physical maturity. Precocious was a trait related to skill growth, allowing her to increase her skill proficiency at a rate far faster than others. Not ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that it came without risks, of course. Regardless, thanks to Precocious and her solid base stats, she was a character highly recommended for beginners. If one’s sole goal was to achieve the rank of Hero, there was no character who made it easier than her.

And given the tendencies of such beginners, they were highly likely to follow community strategy guides. According to my calculations, if she was being raised according to those guides, she was bound to stop by this village before autumn of this year. While veteran players like me also built her to extract better Stigmas, we were a tiny minority compared to the sea of newbies.

"Why are you staring so blankly?"

Her voice snapped me out of my thoughts. Instantly, the status window floating before my eyes dissolved into thin air.

"Oh, nothing. I was just wondering if there was anything else you needed."

"As long as a room keeps the rain off my head while I sleep, it is enough. This is perfect."

Gwen seemed quite satisfied with the room. I gave her a bright smile.

"In that case, I shall leave you to your rest."

I quietly closed the door. Then, I pulled an object from my pocket—something I had prepared specifically for this day. Her status window, and above all, our brief conversation, had made me absolutely certain. She was indeed the Gwen Lidval I knew.

I slid the object under her door.

"What a peaceful village."

After lying on the bed for a short while to wash away the fatigue of her journey, Gwen stepped outside. Looking at the village scenery, she couldn't help but reflect. The adults were busy with their respective livelihoods, while the children ran around freely. It was a sight that would have been impossible if not for the unique geographical features of this village.

Following the devastation wrought by Chaos, humanity had slowly found a semblance of peace ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠within the barriers. Yet, that period of peace proved even shorter than the era of destruction. War broke out even amidst the safety of the barriers. Ironically, remote villages situated near the edges of the barriers remained peaceful during times of war. The only threats to a place like this were wild beasts, or perhaps the occasional rowdy adventurer passing through. Even though Chaos Beasts sometimes breached the barriers, such occurrences were exceedingly rare.

Once the day comes when I can no longer fight, it wouldn’t be so bad to spend the rest of my days in a place like this.

Though "the rest of her days" wouldn’t be very long anyway.

She let out a bitter smile. As she stood there, staring blankly at the children playing in front of her—

"Hey, who are you?"

She looked to her right. A young girl was standing there. The girl had tried to sneak up on her, but Gwen had noticed her long ago.

Still, calling her "hey" was a bit much. There was at least a twelve-year age gap between them. Then again, it wasn’t the first time she had been mistaken for someone much younger. In times like this, ignoring them was the best policy.

"Wait, don’t go! I’ve just never seen anyone as pretty as you in our village before."

Well, that was a flattering way to stop her.

Gwen turned back to the girl and spoke.

"Of course you haven’t. I’m an adventurer."

Since she had come here for personal reasons rather than an official mission as a Hero, it wasn’t entirely a lie. Besides, the title of Hero was far too heavy a burden to bring up casually.

"An adventurer? But you look about my age. You go on adventures?"

"You might find this hard to believe, but I’m actually twenty-nine."

She told the truth, knowing the girl wouldn’t believe her anyway. Sure enough, thinking it was a joke, the girl burst into giggles.

To be fair, it was a hard fact for even Gwen herself to swallow.

To think I’ll be thirty next year.

Watching the girl continue to laugh only made her feelings more complicated.

"Could you please stop laughing?"

"…Okay, sorry."

Had she let slip too much bloodlust? For a moment, she worried, but fortunately, the girl began asking her about her adventures.

Gwen started sharing various stories with her. As she spun one tale after another, other children from the neighborhood began to gather around. They listened with rapt attention to stories they could never have dreamed of in this tiny frontier village, their eyes shining with pure wonder.

Surrounded by them, Gwen felt as if she, too, had returned to her childhood for a brief moment.

Though, of course, it couldn’t last forever.

She turned her head toward the setting sun.

"The sun is about to set, so I’ll stop here for today."

The children groaned in disappointment.

Sorry, kids, but I have other business to attend to.

As the children began to disperse one by one, Gwen prepared to stand up.

"Is there anything you want to ask about our village, unnie?"

It was the girl who had first approached her. Somewhere along the line, her form of address had shifted from "hey" to "unnie".

"Not particularly..."

Actually, now that she thought about it, there was one thing.

"Do you happen to know anything about the boy who works at the Basilia Inn?"

"The Basilia Inn? You mean Alan?"

Yes, that was definitely his name.

"Yes, him."

At that, the girl's expression darkened slightly.

"Oh, him..."

After a moment of hesitation, the girl leaned in and whispered into Gwen's ear.

"There's a rumor that he got bitten by a wolf and turned into a werewolf. He barely ever leaves the inn, and every time he does, he looks bigger than before."

Gwen nearly burst out laughing. It was the kind of ridiculous rumor that could only circulate among children. There was no way she wouldn't have sensed it if he were actually a werewolf.

"Thank you for letting me know, child."

"Pfft... Hahaha..."

"What is it?"

"No, it's just... you really talk like an old lady."

She really shouldn't have let herself be swayed by being called pretty. She turned on her heel and walked away.

"Wait!"

She heard the girl calling after her, but she ignored it.

"Are you mad?"

Yes, I am.

...Actually, she wasn't that upset. She simply had somewhere she needed to be.

"That boy, Alan. What a strange child."

The way he had looked at her. The werewolf rumors circulating among the children. And the object that had been slid under her door.

"Don't you think so, Constellation?"

No response came. That was simply the nature of Constellations. Unless it was a situation requiring a critical decision, personal communication was impossible. Moreover, there was almost no reason for a Constellation to show interest in an ordinary boy like Alan.

Hmm?

The Constellation, which should have remained silent, had actually responded. That could only mean one thing.

I knew it...

She pulled out the envelope. It was the item that had been slipped under her door the moment she closed it.

It certainly wasn't a romantic love letter. After all, the envelope had contained more than just a piece of paper. She pulled a small object out of the envelope. It was a rose, meticulously crafted from thin, twisted wire.

The Rose Emblem.

The boy definitely knew who she was.

Reaching the western lot, she looked at the boy standing there and thought:

Who on earth are you?

Fortunately, Gwen had shown up. With this, the stage was set. Why go through such a convoluted method to summon her? It was all about the information asymmetry. I knew everything about Gwen, but Gwen knew nothing about me. I had simply forced her to realize this gap. It might have seemed trivial, but for someone like me whose only asset was Swordsmanship (B), it was the only way to gain the upper hand over her. Perhaps it was a strategy that only worked because Alan was such an obscure character.

Gwen approached slowly, stopping once she was a certain distance away. Her eyes were filled with wariness. It was a stark contrast to how she had looked at the inn. She was a righteous person, leaning heavily toward the side of "good." Since she possessed the strength to back up her morals, she rarely showed hostility to strangers. But right now, she was different. She was clearly on guard. To be completely honest, it was terrifying. Perhaps even more terrifying than the moment I had faced the wolf. But unlike then, I had a plan this time.

Don't freeze ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠up.

Instantly, I felt my frozen body relax. Gwen's brow twitched slightly, as if she had noticed the sudden shift. She immediately threw a question at me.

"Who are you?"

"Alan Flake. Just an ordinary kid."

"An ordinary kid who somehow knows my identity?"

"Aren't you quite famous, even among standard Heroes?"

She would be, provided the player had raised her according to the guides. And her status window confirmed that she had indeed been built optimally. It was a textbook status window with no unusual deviations.

"…I'll grant you that. But how do you explain this note?"

She held up the object I had given her—the wire bent into the shape of a rose. I had modeled it after the Rose Emblem that occupied a corner of my ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠own Stigma, but looking at it now, the crooked parts were a bit eyesore. Not that it mattered much.

"What is there to explain?"

"From the moment I entered the inn to when you showed me to my room, I never saw you making anything like this. Which means... you already knew I was coming to this village, didn't you?"

Indeed, there was no making excuses for that. While knowing of her existence could be chalked up to rumors, preparing the wire sculpture in advance was impossible unless I knew she was coming. But that was exactly what I had intended.

"You're right. I already knew you were coming here."

I admitted it boldly. The wire rose was a simple yet effective tool to make her believe I possessed knowledge she lacked. Gwen's eyes narrowed.

"You're not even going to deny it? How did you know?"

"I'm afraid that's a trade secret. I can't tell you."

"A trade secret?"

"Actually, the reason I called you here is because I'd like to make a deal."

Waiting for her in this village, leaving her the note to establish the information asymmetry, and everything in between—it had all been for this single proposal.

"What do you want?"

"It's nothing too difficult. I just need you to take me with you to the Trial in the ruins."

"The Trial? I see. You even know about the Trial."

"Since you came here to face the Trial yourself, it won't be out of your way."

"Just who are you..."

She stared at me intently for a moment before shaking her head.

"Let's hear the rest of it. If it's a deal, there must be a reward, right?"

"Of course."

I raised my hand, holding up my index finger.

"If you take me to the Trial, I will answer one question you have."

"An answer to a question? What is that supposed to mean?"

Her tone suggested she found the offer trivial. It seemed I needed to show her it was anything but.

"It could be, for example, the location of the Holy Relic you are searching for."

At those words, the expressionless mask Gwen had worn finally shattered.