Chapter 9: Night Companion (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 9: Night Companion (2)
"...Why are you giving me this?"
"Do I need a reason to help someone?"
The phony, insincere words splintered like wood chips on my tongue, but it couldn't be helped. This sort of thing worked on this type of character.
I wanted to be night companions with this elf. It sounded creepy when I said it that way, but it wouldn't be a bad deal for this woman either.
From her injury and exhaustion to her beauty, her situation was several times worse than mine. She probably knew that too, which was why she had acted like that earlier. To be honest, even I was surprised by how committed she had been to surviving just now.
"As I said before, treat your injury first. We can talk after."
"But..."
"I'm going to stand guard."
After I turned around dismissively, I soon heard a sound behind me. It sounded like she was chewing on the herb to make it easier to apply.
"I'm done..."
Already? Surprising. She must have good technique.
I turned around and saw that between her torn clothes, there was a tightly wrapped bandage. And it seemed her guard toward me had lowered a little based on the way she now looked at me.
First, some introductions to break the ice.
"I am Bjorn, son of Yandel."
"...Erwen."
"I don't know what you misunderstood earlier. But nothing you thought would happen is going to happen."
"Sorry? Oh. Okay..."
She pretended it wasn't, but the fear in her eyes was still there. I had thought that after all this, the misunderstanding would be resolved by now. What had gone wrong?
In the end, I bluntly asked, "Why are you so afraid of me?"
"...Barbarians and elves are enemies, right?"
"Enemies?"
"S-Sorry. That's not what I meant... I don't want to fight you."
At my question, she suddenly realized what she had said and started acting as submissive as earlier.
I was just curious now...
Elves and barbarians, enemies? This is my first time hearing that. The two races definitely got along pretty well in the game. How had this happened?
I only stared at her, wide-eyed, but she immediately started spilling the information I wanted to hear.
"T-The war ended ten years ago. But I-I have no hard feelings toward you personally! Really."
Ten years ago...
I didn't know what had happened, but those words made it sound more like a grudge than an adversarial relationship.
Mm, then, after hearing bad things about us from a young age, maybe she had grown up to be afraid of barbarians?
The situation was worse now.
What should I do? Should I look for someone else before it's too late?
But then the herbs and bandages I already gave up would go to waste...
Okay, let's try this first.
"I have no hard feelings either."
"R-Really!"
"That's right. That's why, Erwen, would you like to be my night companion tonight?"
"...Night companion?"
"I am tired. You must be as well. So, how about we work together for today, with or without hard feelings?"
"Mmm..."
Suddenly, her eyes lit up and she almost looked like a different person than before. I gave her time to think without being impatient, and she considered the offer with a frown before offering a condition instead of an agreement.
"I heard barbarians value their honor as a warrior. Can you swear on it? That you won't harm me?"
"Swear?"
"O-Of course, I will swear the same to you in the name of my clan. I will never do harm to you either, mister."
In Korean culture, this was the equivalent of us each bringing our thumbs to our tongues and pinky fingers to our foreheads. Of course, I could do that all day. However, there was one issue that needed to be addressed before that.
"Bjorn, son of Yandel. Not 'mister.'"
Despite my real age, Bjorn was only twenty years old.
***
The contract was established. There was no signing of thumbprints involved, but we did something similar to that in this culture's terms.
Thanks to that, I found out the elf's real name: Erwen Fornacci di Tersia. She was twenty years old, the same age as me in the game.
Whew, good thing I wasn't actually Bjorn. I was sure the real Bjorn would have thought so too. Didn't matter to me, but this woman would have... I wasn't gonna tell her, though.
"Then how should we decide on the shifts?"
"I will sleep first. That will make you feel safer."
"I wouldn't say that, but if you insist, I wouldn't exactly say no..."
In other words, she would like that very much.
"I'll take that as a yes."
"Yes."
Phew, I'm glad that worked. If she had suggested doing rock, paper, scissors, things would have looked bleak.
My eyes had been shutting for a while now.
Please, I just want to get some sleep. Is it so hard to get a good night's sleep?
"Oh! How will I know the time?"
Tsk, this is why newbies are a pain.
I took the watch out of my backpack and gave it to Erwen.
"It's an expensive item, so don't break it."
"Okay..."
Seeing her not only say that but also treat the watch like a newborn baby gave me peace of mind.
"I will take good care of it," she said. "Good night."
I lay down with my backpack as a pillow and covered myself with a blanket, just like that man had.
And...
Honk!
I passed out.
"Mister!"
I told you it's Bjorn.
"Mister, wake up. It's time."
I forced my eyes open and got up. I couldn't believe it. It had been two hours already?
"That's right. That's why, Erwen, would you like to be my night companion tonight?"
"...Night companion?"
"I am tired. You must be as well. So, how about we work together for today, with or without hard feelings?"
"Mmm..."
Suddenly, her eyes lit up and she almost looked like a different person than before. I gave her time to think without being impatient, and she considered the offer with a frown before offering a condition instead of an agreement.
"I heard barbarians value their honor as a warrior. Can you swear on it? That you won't harm me?"
"Swear?"
"O-Of course, I will swear the same to you in the name of my clan. I will never do harm to you either, mister."
In Korean culture, this was the equivalent of us each bringing our thumbs to our tongues and pinky fingers to our foreheads. Of course, I could do that all day. However, there was one issue that needed to be addressed before that.
"Bjorn, son of Yandel. Not 'mister.'"
Despite my real age, Bjorn was only twenty years old.
***
The contract was established. There was no signing of thumbprints involved, but we did something similar to that in this culture's terms.
Thanks to that, I found out the elf's real name: Erwen Fornacci di Tersia. She was twenty years old, the same age as me in the game.
Whew, good thing I wasn't actually Bjorn. I was sure the real Bjorn would have thought so too. Didn't matter to me, but this woman would have... I wasn't gonna tell her, though.
"Then how should we decide on the shifts?"
"I will sleep first. That will make you feel safer."
"I wouldn't say that, but if you insist, I wouldn't exactly say no..."
In other words, she would like that very much.
"I'll take that as a yes."
"Yes."
Phew, I'm glad that worked. If she had suggested doing rock, paper, scissors, things would have looked bleak.
My eyes had been shutting for a while now.
Please, I just want to get some sleep. Is it so hard to get a good night's sleep?
"Oh! How will I know the time?"
Tsk, this is why newbies are a pain.
I took the watch out of my backpack and gave it to Erwen.
"It's an expensive item, so don't break it."
"Okay..."
Seeing her not only say that but also treat the watch like a newborn baby gave me peace of mind.
"I will take good care of it," she said. "Good night."
I lay down with my backpack as a pillow and covered myself with a blanket, just like that man had.
And...
Honk!
I passed out.
"Mister!"
I told you it's Bjorn.
"Mister, wake up. It's time."
I forced my eyes open and got up. I couldn't believe it. It had been two hours already?
"Here, your watch."
I looked at the time, and two hours had passed indeed. Come to think of it, I hadn't even gotten a chance to fake-snore for a while. I had been planning on faking it for about ten minutes just in case...
Wow, is this the effect of combining a backpack and a blanket? It's almost scary.
If the man had lent these to me back then, I wouldn't have been able to avoid his surprise attack. I would have slept so comfortably that I wouldn't even have been able to tell if the world was ending around me.
Is this karma...? In that case, I should lend it to this woman as well.
"Use the blanket. If you want to use the pillow, you can use that as well."
"Sorry? But..."
Although she was refusing it, I could see that the corners of her mouth were lifted. I decided to pretend not to see that.
"Well, then, thank you..."
Without needing any further convincing, Erwen managed to crawl into the blanket and curl up like a cat. And soon after, she began to breathe rhythmically.
She was sleeping fine, even with a strange man right next to her. She must really have been tired. While I had had a tiring day, her day must've been grueling as well.
"Phew..."
I leaned against the wall and opened the clock out of habit.
[22:50]
It felt like at least five days had passed, but in reality, there was still more than an hour left until the end of the second day. I wanted to return to the city as soon as possible. To be honest, it was ridiculous to talk about 'going back,' but... I planned on sleeping for a few days once I got back.
...Seeing as I can think like this, it looks like my body really has recovered.
I put away the watch and fell deep into thought. It had been a while since I had had a peaceful moment to think, so my mind kept wandering from this to that.
What happened to me in the real world? Did I become a missing person? Not yet, obviously. No one would have come by my place. Even my job wouldn't take a few days of absence too seriously.
"Ha."
There was a reason I hadn't thought about that issue until now. It would only make me sad. If I started to think that there was nothing to go back for, I would totally destroy my will to go on.
It was better not to think of these things for various reasons, no matter how self-deceiving it might be.
Since I was pretty mentally disciplined, I manually altered my train of thought.
All right, let's recap what's happened over the past two days: the coming-of-age ceremony, entering the labyrinth, fighting the goblins, fighting the heartstealer...
I could applaud myself for doing well so far, right? I had really thought I was going to die. Since there was no one to pat me on the back, why not pat my own back?
Click—
I decided to only think about congratulating myself once I got back to the city. When I opened the watch, it was already time.
"Erwen, get up."
"Five more minutes..."
What? Five minutes? Get up.
I vigorously shook her shoulder with my barbarian hand, and Erwen rubbed her eyes and got up.
"Ugh..."
"Here, your watch."
I looked at the time, and two hours had passed indeed. Come to think of it, I hadn't even gotten a chance to fake-snore for a while. I had been planning on faking it for about ten minutes just in case...
Wow, is this the effect of combining a backpack and a blanket? It's almost scary.
If the man had lent these to me back then, I wouldn't have been able to avoid his surprise attack. I would have slept so comfortably that I wouldn't even have been able to tell if the world was ending around me.
Is this karma...? In that case, I should lend it to this woman as well.
"Use the blanket. If you want to use the pillow, you can use that as well."
"Sorry? But..."
Although she was refusing it, I could see that the corners of her mouth were lifted. I decided to pretend not to see that.
"Well, then, thank you..."
Without needing any further convincing, Erwen managed to crawl into the blanket and curl up like a cat. And soon after, she began to breathe rhythmically.
She was sleeping fine, even with a strange man right next to her. She must really have been tired. While I had had a tiring day, her day must've been grueling as well.
"Phew..."
I leaned against the wall and opened the clock out of habit.
[22:50]
It felt like at least five days had passed, but in reality, there was still more than an hour left until the end of the second day. I wanted to return to the city as soon as possible. To be honest, it was ridiculous to talk about 'going back,' but... I planned on sleeping for a few days once I got back.
...Seeing as I can think like this, it looks like my body really has recovered.
I put away the watch and fell deep into thought. It had been a while since I had had a peaceful moment to think, so my mind kept wandering from this to that.
What happened to me in the real world? Did I become a missing person? Not yet, obviously. No one would have come by my place. Even my job wouldn't take a few days of absence too seriously.
"Ha."
There was a reason I hadn't thought about that issue until now. It would only make me sad. If I started to think that there was nothing to go back for, I would totally destroy my will to go on.
It was better not to think of these things for various reasons, no matter how self-deceiving it might be.
Since I was pretty mentally disciplined, I manually altered my train of thought.
All right, let's recap what's happened over the past two days: the coming-of-age ceremony, entering the labyrinth, fighting the goblins, fighting the heartstealer...
I could applaud myself for doing well so far, right? I had really thought I was going to die. Since there was no one to pat me on the back, why not pat my own back?
Click—
I decided to only think about congratulating myself once I got back to the city. When I opened the watch, it was already time.
"Erwen, get up."
"Five more minutes..."
What? Five minutes? Get up.
I vigorously shook her shoulder with my barbarian hand, and Erwen rubbed her eyes and got up.
"Ugh..."
This looks dangerous. I can see why that heart stealer couldn't trust me.
"Don't even think about falling asleep just because there have been no monsters around so far."
"Okay..."
I was a little nervous, but I still lay down. Because I had lent Erwen the blanket and backpack, her warmth lingered even when it was my turn to sleep.
It was kind of ironic. How long had it been since I had felt someone else's warmth? It felt very strange. Perhaps even more so than anything else that I'd been through over the past two days.
Honk!!
This time, I had quite a bit of energy, so I started fake-snoring. To be honest, it was more to make sure Erwen wasn't going to fall asleep.
...It doesn't seem she is.
I peeked my eyes open and glanced in her direction, then I decided to let go of my worries and closed my eyes again.
And, how long has it been since—
I sensed a presence and immediately sat up.
"Ahh!"
For some reason, I was holding Erwen's pale wrist. It looked like it had been outstretched toward me.
"What are you doing?"
"Y-You were having a nightmare and you were sweating..."
As I glanced at the handkerchief in her hand, it didn't seem like she was lying. If it had been a weapon, I would have slammed my shield into her without asking for an explanation.
"S-Sorry."
After taking stock of the situation, I relaxed my fingers. Then, with a pained expression on her face, Erwen cradled the wrist that I had grabbed. There were already red marks appearing on her skin. I didn't apologize. It would've been an empty apology anyway.
"How much time has passed?"
"...Ten minutes left until we switch."
"I see. Then let's switch now."
"But..."
"If I sleep now, I will just end up feeling more tired."
At my words, Erwen lay down with an apologetic look. Then she twisted and turned a little before speaking up.
"Um."
"Is there a problem?"
"No. I just have a question."
"Ask."
Erwen hesitated for a moment before opening her mouth.
"...Who is 'mister?'"
What? Is that a pun?
"You kept saying you were sorry in your sleep... Oh, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked. You don't have to answer. I'll just sleep now."
Before I could answer, Erwen ended the conversation and pulled the blanket over her head. It seemed that this young lady was realizing that I wasn't so scary and was starting to get curious.
"Ugh."
Stretching my body, I thought it over in my head.
I couldn't remember anything, but it sounded like I really had had a nightmare. Suddenly, I was a little curious too.
Who the hell was the mister I was asking for forgiveness?
Two candidates came to mind: the unnamed man who had been decapitated at the coming-of-age ceremony, and Hans, the heartstealer who had allowed me to be human again.
...But when I thought about it, both options were weird. I hadn't done anything to either of them that needed an apology.
I soon came to a conclusion.
Whatever dream I had, it must have been a silly dream.
***
[04:30]
Day three had begun, and there were about ten minutes left before I was supposed to wake Erwen up. Observing her as she curled up in a ball and slept with the blanket between her legs, I pondered whether to ask her to join me again. That was to say, whether to ask her to become my comrade.
Of course, there was the downside of having to share loot. Even though goblins would appear in threes and fours from day three onward, a partnership would definitely reduce my income.
This had nothing to do with her strength. Well, since she was an elf, she would pull her weight well enough...
Could I say that I was already powerful enough on my own?
Even without Erwen, I could easily kill three or four goblins on my own. That wasn't me being conceited, it was just an observation after having gone through several battles with this body. That was what I genuinely believed. Remaining alone would leave me in a position to collect as many mana stones as possible to prepare for my living expenses in the city and subsequent taxes.
"Phew..."
A risk-free bed, or more mana stones. I continued mulling this over to make the most rational decision when—
Tap—
From the passageway on the left, I could hear the steps of another adventurer. This had happened several times throughout the night, so I wasn't particularly concerned. Most of the time, they had glanced over at us and then passed us by.
However...
Tap—
This duo of adventurers, Chubby and Boney, looked in our direction. They immediately stopped walking and whispered to each other.
"Isn't that the elf?" Chubby asked.
"Looks like it. The shape of the bow matches up," Boney sneered in reply.
The two men whispered to each other, and when they came to a decision, Chubby became the spokesman and spoke up with a question.
"Barbarian, what is your relationship to that elf?"
"As you can see, we are night companions."
"A barbarian and an elf as night companions... What a strange sight. So, how long do you have left?"
"I have no reason to answer you."
Chubby did not ask any further questions after that. He just grinned and took Boney, who had been next to him, and left.
"I see. Let's go."
"What? Y-Yeah..."
Soon, the duo disappeared from our passageway. However, I couldn't relax.
Who the hell were those creepy assholes? That felt as threatening as when the chieftain yelled in my face.
I slowly moved to the side and tapped sleeping Erwen on the shoulder.
"Ugh..."
How can you sleep in a situation like this?
"Hurry, wake up. I think we're fucked."
This looks dangerous. I can see why that heart stealer couldn't trust me.
"Don't even think about falling asleep just because there have been no monsters around so far."
"Okay..."
I was a little nervous, but I still lay down. Because I had lent Erwen the blanket and backpack, her warmth lingered even when it was my turn to sleep.
It was kind of ironic. How long had it been since I had felt someone else's warmth? It felt very strange. Perhaps even more so than anything else that I'd been through over the past two days.
Honk!!
This time, I had quite a bit of energy, so I started fake-snoring. To be honest, it was more to make sure Erwen wasn't going to fall asleep.
...It doesn't seem she is.
I peeked my eyes open and glanced in her direction, then I decided to let go of my worries and closed my eyes again.
And, how long has it been since—
I sensed a presence and immediately sat up.
"Ahh!"
For some reason, I was holding Erwen's pale wrist. It looked like it had been outstretched toward me.
"What are you doing?"
"Y-You were having a nightmare and you were sweating..."
As I glanced at the handkerchief in her hand, it didn't seem like she was lying. If it had been a weapon, I would have slammed my shield into her without asking for an explanation.
"S-Sorry."
After taking stock of the situation, I relaxed my fingers. Then, with a pained expression on her face, Erwen cradled the wrist that I had grabbed. There were already red marks appearing on her skin. I didn't apologize. It would've been an empty apology anyway.
"How much time has passed?"
"...Ten minutes left until we switch."
"I see. Then let's switch now."
"But..."
"If I sleep now, I will just end up feeling more tired."
At my words, Erwen lay down with an apologetic look. Then she twisted and turned a little before speaking up.
"Um."
"Is there a problem?"
"No. I just have a question."
"Ask."
Erwen hesitated for a moment before opening her mouth.
"...Who is 'mister?'"
What? Is that a pun?
"You kept saying you were sorry in your sleep... Oh, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked. You don't have to answer. I'll just sleep now."
Before I could answer, Erwen ended the conversation and pulled the blanket over her head. It seemed that this young lady was realizing that I wasn't so scary and was starting to get curious.
"Ugh."
Stretching my body, I thought it over in my head.
I couldn't remember anything, but it sounded like I really had had a nightmare. Suddenly, I was a little curious too.
Who the hell was the mister I was asking for forgiveness?
Two candidates came to mind: the unnamed man who had been decapitated at the coming-of-age ceremony, and Hans, the heartstealer who had allowed me to be human again.
...But when I thought about it, both options were weird. I hadn't done anything to either of them that needed an apology.
I soon came to a conclusion.
Whatever dream I had, it must have been a silly dream.
***
[04:30]
Day three had begun, and there were about ten minutes left before I was supposed to wake Erwen up. Observing her as she curled up in a ball and slept with the blanket between her legs, I pondered whether to ask her to join me again. That was to say, whether to ask her to become my comrade.
Of course, there was the downside of having to share loot. Even though goblins would appear in threes and fours from day three onward, a partnership would definitely reduce my income.
This had nothing to do with her strength. Well, since she was an elf, she would pull her weight well enough...
Could I say that I was already powerful enough on my own?
Even without Erwen, I could easily kill three or four goblins on my own. That wasn't me being conceited, it was just an observation after having gone through several battles with this body. That was what I genuinely believed. Remaining alone would leave me in a position to collect as many mana stones as possible to prepare for my living expenses in the city and subsequent taxes.
"Phew..."
A risk-free bed, or more mana stones. I continued mulling this over to make the most rational decision when—
Tap—
From the passageway on the left, I could hear the steps of another adventurer. This had happened several times throughout the night, so I wasn't particularly concerned. Most of the time, they had glanced over at us and then passed us by.
However...
Tap—
This duo of adventurers, Chubby and Boney, looked in our direction. They immediately stopped walking and whispered to each other.
"Isn't that the elf?" Chubby asked.
"Looks like it. The shape of the bow matches up," Boney sneered in reply.
The two men whispered to each other, and when they came to a decision, Chubby became the spokesman and spoke up with a question.
"Barbarian, what is your relationship to that elf?"
"As you can see, we are night companions."
"A barbarian and an elf as night companions... What a strange sight. So, how long do you have left?"
"I have no reason to answer you."
Chubby did not ask any further questions after that. He just grinned and took Boney, who had been next to him, and left.
"I see. Let's go."
"What? Y-Yeah..."
Soon, the duo disappeared from our passageway. However, I couldn't relax.
Who the hell were those creepy assholes? That felt as threatening as when the chieftain yelled in my face.
I slowly moved to the side and tapped sleeping Erwen on the shoulder.
"Ugh..."
How can you sleep in a situation like this?
"Hurry, wake up. I think we're fucked."