Tamed (3)

The Village of Beginnings: Lucifen. Every player who had ever started Al Fantasia passed through this place, without exception. The atmosphere was that of a sleepy country hamlet, yet it was far from empty—a testament to the game's stubborn popularity even more than ten years after launch.

The seventeen-and-up login restriction probably played a part, but among the players I could see right now, not a single one looked anything like Yeon.

I used to be just like that. I muttered it to myself as I watched a player stroll past her with an arming sword at his hip.

The last time I'd set foot in this village was years ago. Most people didn't linger more than a couple of days in the starter town, so it wasn't as if I had any real memories attached to the place. Still, watching brand-new players always pulled me into that kind of nostalgia.

While I was busy having old-man thoughts, Yeon was already walking somewhere with purpose, not a hint of hesitation in her stride. The village wasn't particularly large, and built as it was on a wide-open plain, I could tell at a glance where she was headed.

The Lucifen Guard. Or maybe I should just call it the guard post. As we approached the building not far from the village entrance, the sentry on duty called out first.

"Oh, a familiar face. Did you bring the healing herbs I commissioned?"

"Ah, yes. Just a moment."

Yeon hadn't expected him to speak first. She stammered for a second before opening her inventory. The name floating above the aging sentry's head read Guardsman Aiden, and he smiled at her the way a father might smile at his own child.

"There's... kind of a lot. Is it okay if I take them out here?"

"That's fine—but just ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠how many did you bring, that you'd even ask..."

At Aiden's words, Yeon set me down on the ground with an awkward look.

"A lot, actually."

Healing herbs materialized in both her arms, piled so high they looked ready to spill over. The easygoing expression Aiden had been wearing vanished as his eyes went wide.

"Wh-what in the world..."

"Haha..."

Even as Aiden made a strangled sound, Yeon could only manage an awkward laugh. I muttered under my breath as a quest window materialized in front of my eyes.

Yeah, I did kind of go hard on the gathering.

I need to buy gear now, so hand over the gold!

Cheerful chimes rang out one after another. Once he'd finished tallying the reward, Aiden handed over a heavy leather pouch.

"I've commissioned herb gathering from any number of adventurers, but you're the first to bring back this many all at once."

"Haha... is that so?"

"You'll have a decent sum now. What do you plan to do with it? New equipment, I assume?"

"Yes. I need to head deeper into the forest now."

"Hmm. Then you'll need to prepare for Blade Squirrels."

"Oh, you know about Blade Squirrels?"

Yeon had been looking for ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠information on them, and her face lit up. Aiden answered as if it were nothing—though pride was written all over his face.

"I've served as a guardsman here for twenty years. I could tell you what lives in that forest in my sleep."

"Twenty years... that's amazing."

"It's nothing. Anyway, Blade Squirrels... they're a real nuisance, and dangerous besides. They come flying in without a sound, slash you with those razor claws, and vanish. They're so hard to spot that the first time, it felt like being attacked by a ghost."

"So how did you catch them?"

"Catch them? Honestly, they more or less caught themselves. All we did was hold up armor harder than their claws and a nice wide shield, and they flew right into it."

In the end, they were creatures that relied on mobility and stealth. Their bodies were small, and nowhere near as tough as those claws—so they'd come screaming in at that signature speed of theirs, slam into a shield or a breastplate, and that was usually that.

"If you're heading deeper into the forest, you'd do well to upgrade your gear. Not just for Blade Squirrels—you'll be facing all kinds of monsters. That said, something's been bothering me. Mind if I ask you something?"

"Yes?"

"That fox. Did you tame it?"

Yeon's head turned at Aiden's question. At the end of her gaze was a fox yawning wide, jaws stretching open again and again, apparently bored of waiting.

Yeah. That was me. Sitting through information I already knew was mind-numbingly dull. I hadn't realized Aiden was such a chatty NPC, but either way, we weren't here to socialize. We were here to grow.

We'd gotten the gold. All we needed to do was swap out the gear and head into the forest. What were we still doing here? I was in the middle of another huge yawn when my eyes met Yeon's. For some reason I felt like I couldn't lose, so I stared right back, putting extra force into my gaze.

A staring contest nearly broke out at the worst possible time, but Yeon looked away first, so it never quite started.

"For now... I guess so."

"Fascinating. Looks like a forest fox, but it's so well-behaved..."

Something about that must have reminded Yeon of recent events, because an awkward look crossed her face. She composed herself quickly, though.

"Thank you for the information. I'll be able to prepare properly thanks to you."

"No need to thank me. If anything, I should be thanking you. You brought back this many healing herbs, after all."

Aiden, who had already been grumbling that adventurers these days couldn't be bothered with herb gathering, added one last thing.

"If you tell the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠equipment shop you came on my recommendation, they'll give you a bit of a discount."

"Ah... thank you."

"It's nothing. We all help each other out."

Yeon bowed her head in thanks and left the guard post. Naturally, I was back in her arms.

"He seemed like a kind person. Don't you think?"

"Kyeng."

A snort of laughter escaped me at that. The Aiden I remembered had been nothing but a taciturn old man. He'd process your herbs with bureaucratic efficiency and that was it—no long conversations.

Well, a lot of time had passed. Maybe something had changed.

Still, I hadn't expected her to start talking to me all of a sudden. I lifted my head and looked up at Yeon.

After I'd written letters in the dirt and she'd understood them, Yeon had picked me up and headed for the village without saying a single word. She'd probably been wrestling with a lot. When she'd treated an injured fox and tamed it, she must have assumed it was just an ordinary fox. Then, out of nowhere, it started writing letters and demanding to communicate.

But it couldn't be helped. If she'd gone deeper into the forest without any defense against Blade Squirrels, she would have died. That was a loss I couldn't afford—not after I'd decided to raise her.

The fact that she'd started talking to me again suggested she'd finished sorting through her thoughts. What conclusion she'd reached, I had no idea. I couldn't read minds, after all.

"The equipment shop... ah, that must be it."

We stepped into a building hung with a crest of a crossed sword and shield, and found every kind of equipment imaginable on display. Yeon gawked at the unfamiliar sight, mouth hanging open as she looked around—and a booming voice rang out.

"Looking for something, are you?!"

"Ah, hello."

"A polite adventurer! I like that!"

Too loud. I frowned and looked at the man behind the counter. He had a burly frame to match that booming voice—Ogle, the shop's owner, smiling at Yeon through a face full of wrinkles.

"Take your time looking around! More importantly—that thing in your arms. A monster you tamed?"

"Ah, yes. This is Choco."

"Choco! What a cute name!"

This being the second time she'd been asked, Yeon fielded it more smoothly. Ogle's boundless energy seemed to overwhelm her, though, because she sped up a little.

"Actually, Aiden sent us..."

"Aiden recommended you? Well, that's a surprise! It's rare for that fellow to send anyone my way!"

"Yes, so I need to hunt Blade Squir—"

"Leave that to me! I'll show you something good!"

He cut her off before she could finish, flaunting that booming voice of his, and I could feel the exhaustion settling in. Yeon didn't seem any better off—I heard her let out a small sigh.

Whether we liked it or not, Ogle disappeared for a moment and came back with a large box, which he set on the floor.

"The chainmail and weapons lying around here would be enough to handle Blade Squirrels, but I can't very well show defective goods to someone Aiden ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sent."

"Defective goods?"

Yeon looked around at that. Defective? The displayed weapons and armor were all gleaming, showing themselves off. They were nowhere near what you'd call defective.

Ogle must have caught her look, because he let out a hearty laugh.

"Hahaha! Of course my goods aren't defective! But compared to what's in this box, calling them that wouldn't be entirely unfair."

He opened the lid, and I understood exactly what he meant.

"This is..."

"You could call it my masterpiece."

What lay inside wasn't chainmail, but leather gear. Even at a glance, though, it looked like it wouldn't lose to chainmail in defense. And the arming sword that seemed to complete the set had an edge that was anything but ordinary. It looked as if it had been honed for days on end—like it could cut through anything.

"I made it, but the craftsmanship is so high I can barely bring myself to claim it as my own. Well? Do you like it?"

"Kyeng!"

"Your fox seems to like it!"

Leaving the laughing Ogle behind, I looked at Yeon. We had to buy this. No matter what. Even if it meant emptying every last coin we had.

It was a step below named equipment with individual titles, sure, but it wasn't the kind of thing you just stumbled across in a place like this. And it even had a proper set bonus. The moment she put that on, conquering Lucifen Forest would be a walk in the park.

Whether my thoughts had gotten through to her or not, Yeon nodded.

"How much?"

"Let's see... since Aiden sent you, I'll give you a discount. Thirty thousand gold ought to do it!"

"Thirty thousand gold... thirty thousand?"

"That's right! Thirty thousand gold!"

Yeon repeated it as if she must have misheard, but Ogle just nodded. How much had I spent when I bought gear here? Even buying a lot, I didn't think I'd gone over ten thousand gold.

This was a village packed with newbies, after all. There was no reason for expensive equipment to exist here, and the amount of gold you could actually scrape together wasn't much either. That was just how it was.

Yeon had more money than a typical newbie, but that was all it was—more than a newbie. The herb-gathering reward had netted her twenty thousand gold, and selling the hunting byproducts she was carrying would maybe add another two thousand.

But she hadn't sold the byproducts yet, so all she actually had on hand was twenty thousand gold. That was why she couldn't just say she'd take it. Ogle tilted his head, puzzled.

"Hmm? Not buying?"

"It's not that I don't want to... I just can't..."

"Ahh. Short on gold, I take it."

Ogle had hit the mark dead-on. Yeon's head drooped.

Tsk. I should've gone even harder on the healing herbs. While I was thinking that, Ogle pondered for a moment, then spoke.

"How much are you short?"

"Uh... about ten thousand gold."

"Ten thousand... then how about this?"

Ogle pushed the box of equipment toward her.

"I'll take twenty thousand gold for now and give you this. In exchange, I'd like you to do me a favor."

"What kind of favor?"

"Looking at that fox you tamed reminded me of something my wife asked me for a while back."

And then, in the most casual voice imaginable, he said: