With My Own Strength
Even after barely managing to hunt a Hungry Bear all by myself, no one in the village—not even Mom and Dad—believed me when I said I'd done it alone. Even when Reina stepped in and vouched for me, the adults still saw me as nothing more than a sixteen-year-old kid playing at being a mercenary. They figured some strong adult nearby must have helped out. The two friends I'd grown up closest to, Rein and Mir, were no different. They didn't buy my hunting stories either.
Mir, who'd been stuck in the village because of his accident, chewed on the meat I'd brought back with a sour expression. "Hey, did you really catch that by yourself? No way. That lady helped you, right?" He asked bluntly, as if certain Reina had done the work. News of her being an A-class mercenary had spread quickly among the villagers who'd gathered for the sudden meat feast. She was still trapped in the middle of them, bombarded with questions and unable to even look our way.
I glanced at the back of her head, then turned back to Mir and tilted my head. "It really was just me. Why don't you believe me?"
"Honestly, I can't really picture it either," Rein added, echoing Mir's doubt with a dazed look on her face.
"Even you..." I muttered, a little hurt. I'd thought Rein would at least believe me. Feeling a bit sulky, I brought my water flask to my lips and let the lukewarm water slide down my throat.
As the cool liquid washed down, a thought crossed my mind. Well, I guess it can't be helped. Even though we'd been close just a few years ago, the gap in our strength had grown so wide that they couldn't feel it. A friend who'd once stood at the same level as me had, in just three years, become someone who could take down a bear alone. Of course they couldn't accept that so easily.
Even while thinking it was understandable, I couldn't help feeling a little disappointed that my friends wouldn't believe me. But if they wouldn't believe it, then making them believe it could be its own kind of fun. I wanted my abilities to be recognized. Listening to their conversation, that desire suddenly welled up inside me. With a playful smile, I whispered to them as the summer night breeze brushed past.
"Then how about I keep hunting until you believe me?"
Along with that mischievous grin came a competitive spirit I hadn't expected. I'd already planned to do plenty of hunting anyway, so this was a good chance to show the villagers and my friends what I could really do. From the next day onward, it was as if my first hunt in the village had only been the beginning. I kept going with renewed momentum, like I'd grown wings.
Levels, invisible as they were, turned out to be far more honest than I'd imagined. Every time I took down a monster much stronger than me, I could feel the gap between us narrowing in my body. It wasn't always like that, of course, but I was also gaining experience. Not just from level-ups improving my physical abilities, but from my body learning how to handle certain monsters.
It felt similar to when I'd first fought monsters back on the royal road.
"Kkiiing!"
"Hoo."
After finishing off the last wolf in the pack—its dying whimper sounding like a puppy with its tail between its legs—I wiped the sweat from my forehead and let out a short breath. Unlike fighting a lone bear, group battles against wolves always left me with some injuries. But as the difference in strength shrank, the fights became noticeably easier. Still, even when they got easier, I didn't like fighting wolf packs. Beyond the hassle and risk of minor wounds, there was the efficiency problem. Hunting monsters that came in groups like "XXX Wolf Pack" one by one, no matter how carefully, didn't give much in return compared to the fatigue. At least with a Hungry Bear, one kill was the end of it, and the meat tasted good. Wolves, no matter the type, had worthless hides and tasted terrible too.
I didn't get much out of it, but the hunt had still been worthwhile. The experience would nourish my body, I figured, as I trudged back to the village.
Around the time I started going outside the village without Reina, the villagers had begun to accept what they saw, even if they still looked doubtful. Before long, I was recognized as one of the village's true powerhouses. By the time I'd been staying there for about fifteen days—after making sure the village never ran out of meat—I finally boarded a carriage heading for Windren.
Mom and Dad came to see me off near the fence.
"You didn't forget anything, right? Be careful, okay?"
"Don't worry..." Mom said, gripping the edge of the carriage with a worried look as she spoke to me already seated inside. I trailed off, thinking her worry was unnecessary, and glanced at Dad standing stiffly beside her. Feeling mischievous, I looked at him and flexed my modest bicep.
"I'm stronger than Dad now, you know?"
"Oh? Want to have a match before you go?" Dad's eyebrows twitched, and he immediately took a fighting stance. The uneven muscles honed by farm work looked like a massive threat, so I quickly backed down.
"No thanks."
"...Go cause trouble in moderation, then." His stance relaxed back to normal, and Dad's low voice continued with a few surprisingly serious words, the playfulness gone. "Make a lot of money and let your mom and me live in luxury for once... got it?"
"Hehe, yeah... I got it."
Dad made the request in his usual roundabout, joking way, hinting at a distant future. Since I was already working as a mercenary, he was subtly asking me to earn enough so they wouldn't have to struggle so much. I answered as if it were obvious.
I thought the lecture-like conversation was finally over, but Dad didn't stop there. He turned his head slightly so the person inside the carriage could hear.
"Rein, you be careful too, all right?"
"Yes, sir."
A calm, relaxed voice came from inside the carriage. The owner of that voice was none other than Rein. Now, let me explain why Rein ended up joining us on the way back to the royal road.
Honestly, even I only heard about it from Reina, so I'm not entirely sure of the details. The house in the royal capital—Reina's place, where I was staying—needed someone to look after it. Since I had to attend the academy and Reina had to work as a mercenary, the house would often be empty. She said she didn't like coming back to a cold, empty house, even if she'd managed somehow before. It was a reason that still didn't make much sense to me, but she decided to hire Rein as a temporary housekeeper. Of course, she'd pay her too.
Putting aside all the circumstances, why hire a housekeeper from our village? And why had Rein agreed to it? No matter how I thought about it, the decision felt sudden and confusing. When I first heard about it after returning from hunting, I remembered staring blankly for a moment. When I'd asked Reina what she meant, her answer had been...
"It just felt unfair somehow."
That was the strange, incomprehensible reply I'd gotten. Her expression had looked distant, so I hadn't pressed further. Even now, thinking back, I still couldn't figure out what she meant. What exactly had felt unfair?
I looked at Rein, who'd suddenly been hired as a housekeeper, and asked quietly, wondering if she'd just been dragged along by Reina's whim.
"Are you really okay with this?"
"Yeah, I'm fine."
Yet Rein showed me a bright, carefree smile without a trace of worry. Maybe she had her own kind of longing for city life? I didn't know why she'd come along so willingly, but I tried to figure it out anyway, turning my already not-so-great brain over and over. Before long, I gave up and simply let my body sway with the carriage's jolts.
The carriage that left early in the morning only reached Windren by late afternoon. The coachman, who'd been stuck in the countryside for fifteen days, looked thoroughly disgusted. He must have grown tired of the inconvenient rural life.
Can't blame him. No proper lodging, uncomfortable sleeping arrangements, and the worst facilities for daily needs. For someone used to city life, everything must have been pure inconvenience. And since he hadn't brought any guards, he couldn't leave until we did. But the moment I handed him extra payment, his face broke into a wide grin. It was a truth among mercenaries, but really, money was the best thing in the world.
"Should we rest here for today?"
"Yeah, let's do that."
At Reina's suggestion, I glanced at Rein and agreed briefly. Even if we kept going, we'd have to stop once night fell anyway. Plus, Rein wasn't used to traveling by carriage. As expected, her bright expression had dimmed quite a bit, looking like she wasn't feeling well. We decided to find an inn and rest for a while. Reina and Rein would share a double room, while I took a single room by myself.
Only after Rein had recovered from her motion sickness did we head out to the streets for a meal. Then...
"Come to think of it, you said the incense and tea at the house were bought here, right? Which shop was it?"
It was supposed to be a peaceful evening, but I found myself facing an unexpected question.