Escape from Melgen
"I'm leaving Melgen!"
Roan made his declaration with a bright, innocent smile.
His announcement, however, was anything but innocent.
All ten members of the tiny community stood there, their jaws dropping in unison.
Among them, Melverick's reaction was slightly different.
Escape?
Roan hadn't used the word "escape," but that was exactly how it felt to Melverick.
How dare he... I fed him, housed him, and even let it slide when he babbled about the end of the world... and now he stabs me in the back like this?
Perhaps because Melverick had a guilty conscience, he immediately interpreted "leaving" as "escaping."
In truth, Melverick had never actually fed or housed Roan, but he seemed to have completely forgotten that fact, trembling with a sheer sense of betrayal.
Still, he didn't let his true feelings show.
He's arrogant, but... I can't let him go. There's no one else with strength like his.
He couldn't afford to lose his best worker—a boy who did the work of ten men all by himself.
Plastering a warm smile on his face, Melverick approached Roan.
"Del Roan. You've grown up, and I see you've got a lot on your mind. But you'd better think this through. The outside world is far colder than you think."
"Yes! I'll be fine! I've already prepared myself!"
"You have no money, and you've barely had an education. Staying here with us would be much happier."
"Even without money or an education, there are things I can do! That's why I've been working so hard until now!"
He didn't back down.
Roan countered every single point effortlessly.
Having repeated the same arguments more than ten times, the corner of Melverick's mouth twitched.
He was thoroughly annoyed.
"Del Roan. Why are you suddenly trying to leave when we've been getting along so well? Think of how well we've treated you."
"That's—!"
The smile vanished from Roan's face in an instant.
"Not true, Mr. Melverick."
"...What?"
The air instantly grew cold.
When someone who usually smiles suddenly turns cold, their seriousness is amplified tenfold. It was a trick Del Roan had accidentally discovered in his past life, and he was putting it to excellent use now.
"You relied entirely on my strength and refused to develop the village. If you had just researched how to utilize mana, you could have made Melgen self-sufficient without me."
"That's... because we were sure you'd never leave—"
"That's no excuse, Mr. Melverick. If you're going to exploit someone on a diet of coarse grains and stream water, if you're going to demand they keep working without pay even after finishing their tasks, and if you're going to make them hunt wild monsters just to supplement their meager meals..."
"...then you should have expected the backlash eventually."
"W-what is this all of a sudden? You weren't like this. You were grinning like an idiot just yesterday, so why are you..."
"Because I've tasted all the bitterness of the world right here in Melgen."
In truth, Melgen wasn't the only place where he had tasted bitterness.
"Still! We have the bond of living together all this time, don't we? And I do feel a bit bad for the folks who actually treated me well."
Roan's expression shifted back as he smiled at someone in the crowd. It was one of the few villagers who had actually been kind to him.
"So, I'll lend a hand one last time."
"Lend... lend a hand? You mean you'll help out with the chores one last time?"
"No? If I say I'll help with chores, you'll just exploit me for another few months. I need to get moving soon, so that won't do."
Cutting him off flatly, Roan pointed toward the entrance of the village. The entrance to Melgen was nothing but a dirt path sparsely embedded with jagged stones. A shabby, crooked signpost read: Welcome to Melgen!
"In thirty minutes, a monster will arrive here."
"A... a monster?"
"And not just any monster. A massive beast capable of obliterating a place like Melgen in a single blow."
"What... what nonsense are you spouting? Are you laying a curse on us just because you're mad at me?"
"No!"
Roan remembered it with absolute clarity. The monster that had attacked back then. Accidentally defeating it with raw strength had been the starting point of his entire journey. Even though almost everything else from that time had faded into hazy memories, this particular event remained crystal clear.
Leaving Melverick behind to shriek about him being a doomsday cultist, Roan sat down and began to wait, casually flicking the wooden sword at his waist.
Twenty minutes passed.
Exactly twenty minutes later, a heavy, thumping vibration began to shake the ground.
"W-what is that?"
"It's searching."
"Searching... for what?"
"How should I know? I can't read a monster's mind!"
Roan stood up and brushed the dirt off his backside. While everyone else cowered in fear, Del Roan alone remained perfectly serene.
Twenty-nine minutes.
In the distance, at the very end of the dirt road, the blurry silhouette of a monster began to take shape.
Thirty minutes.
—KRAAAAAAAH!
"H-hyah!"
"Aaaah!"
"R-run!"
Closing the distance in a mere minute, the monster fully revealed its terrifying form. The scorching breath snorting from its nostrils withered the surrounding vegetation. Every stomp of its hooves carried enough force to gouge the earth and shatter stone.
Glaring wildly from beneath its matted, shaggy fur, its bloodshot eyes locked onto a single target: the entrance of Melgen. It looked at the ten humans, including Del Roan, as nothing more than prey.
"A..."
One of the villagers, who had at least traveled to other towns a few times, muttered in a trembling voice.
"A Magma Boar..."
A beast-type monster that radiated its boiling body heat into the surrounding atmosphere. Seeing it in person was a completely different level of terror; everyone's feet glued to the spot at the monster's imposing presence.
However, the man who had predicted its arrival remained entirely unbothered.
The beast was now close enough for its heat to singe the air. Only then did Roan finally raise his wooden sword and crude wooden shield.
"W-wait... You're using a wooden sword—" someone screamed.
But there was no time for further words. Roan swung without a moment's hesitation.
—CRACK!
An explosive impact echoed.
Screeech...
The sound of grinding friction.
Squeeeal!
The monster grunted, pouring all its weight into the charge. And right at the epicenter of this clash stood Roan.
The man who had first named the beast froze in sheer disbelief. This was a monster that even decent mercenary groups or adventurers would have to sweat blood to fight. Its stomps and charges would crush a knight's courage, while its iron-hard hide and radiating heat would melt a mage's arrogance.
And yet, right now, such a beast was being pushed back by a mere wooden sword. A crude, makeshift wooden sword carved from a tree in his front yard!
"This is... impossible..."
The one trembling with his jaw hanging open was none other than Melverick. The very man who, until moments ago, had refused to believe Roan and wanted to flee.
He's blocking that with a wooden sword? No... he's actually pushing it back...?
His legs gave out beneath him. It was an unbelievable sight. Roan's words about "lending a hand one last time" felt like a physical slap to his face.
Meanwhile, not a single person, including Melverick, had taken any damage. The shockwave of the charge and the searing heat—none of it could pierce the defense of the young man standing before them.
Creak...
Pushing back with a bit more force, Roan raised his free hand. Then—
—BOOM!
He brought his fist crashing down, instantly snuffs out the Magma Boar's life. The sheer momentum and wind pressure startled the surrounding trees, causing a shower of leaves to rain down.
The Magma Boar lay dead in an instant. In the dead silence that enveloped the entrance of Melgen,
"Tsk, my offensive power is still lacking. I need to find my comrades quickly."
Roan muttered to himself before turning his gaze back to the villagers.
"Well, I'll be off then!"
"Uh... uh..."
"Don't cry just because I'm gone! Figure out how to use mana and live well!"
"Uh... yeah..."
Leaving behind a completely demoralized Melverick, Roan walked away from Melgen. Staring blankly at his departing back, Melverick finally snapped out of his daze.
"...Damn it. I took him in and raised him, and this is how he betrays me? Fine, let's see how far you get. You have no money, no information, and even if you trained, you only did it here. Go die in a ditch somewhere."
*Ptu.*
Spitting into a thick patch of weeds, he turned his gaze toward the house where Roan had lived alone.
Tsk. I should see if there's anything inside worth selling.
Intent on exploiting Roan to the very end, he flung open the door to Roan's room.
—SLAM!
He vented his anger on the door, which swung open loosely, matching his own sloppy nature. And then—
*Rustle, rustle, rustle!*
"Argh!"
Something inside the room was disturbed by the gust of wind and collapsed right on top of Melverick. Struggling to pull himself together, Melverick examined what had buried him.
"...Newspapers?"
Piles of newspapers that had been stacked nearly to the ceiling. Looking closer, he saw that several sentences were circled.
"Debi Jane elevates the level of fire magic once again..."
"The appearance of heretics?"
"The Holy Order gathers priests for volunteer work..."
"Investigating the art of swordsmanship..."
"...What is this?"
There lay a vast trove of information spanning the entire continent, collected with an intensity bordering on obsession.
The moment the villagers faded from view, Roan wiped the smile from his face and began to review the battle.
In my past life, I ended it with a simple punch too. The flow was exactly the same.
He had faced the exact same monster, and if anything, he had finished it much more cleanly this time. Yet, what filled his mind was not pride, but disappointment. Why? In truth, he already knew the answer.
I lack offensive power. I used to fight dragons and demons, but against a minor beast like that, I couldn't even finish it in one clean strike.
Though Roan analyzed the situation coldly, the real issue lay elsewhere.
It's so lonely...!
That was the biggest reason of all. The six comrades-in-arms who had shared life and death with him under the ash-gray skies. Without them—the friends he had bickered with, reconciled with, and grown close to—nothing felt satisfying.
And blocking attacks still feels a bit awkward...
After weighing various factors, his next destination naturally decided itself.
To the Magic Tower.
To find Debi Jane, the first member of his expedition party to make a name for herself.
She was near Bebelhon. If I factor in the carriage fare and the entry fee for the Magic Tower...
At least thirty silver coins.
And what came out of Roan's pocket?
*Clink.*
Two silver coins.
He then looked down at his own attire. The tattered clothes he wore in Melgen and a crudely carved wooden sword. A shabby appearance that practically invited contempt from anyone who saw him.
If Jane's personality is the same as it was back then...
What would happen if he met Debi Jane looking like this? Roan imagined the scenario.
"Ugh, you're filthy."
"What! Jane! Don't you remember me? It's me! Me!"
"That kind of scam won't work on me. Throw this weirdo out."
...It wasn't hard to predict how it would go.
First, I need to get some proper gear.
Change of plans.
Roan's steps quickened as he set off down the road.
Piolo is nearby. I can earn some decent money there and get geared up.
Though it wouldn't compare to the equipment his blacksmith comrade used to forge for him, the most important thing right now was looking respectable.
Having made up his mind, Roan picked up his pace. The dirt road stretched out in a single, straight line. There was no risk of getting lost.
Hurrying his steps, Roan soon neared Piolo. The sight of Piolo coming into view stirred his memories.
It's exactly the same. The buildings lined up along the main road.
A single, massive road, and the buildings clustered around it. It was a town with a structure so simple it was practically uniform, which was precisely why its collapse had been so rapid in his past life.
Stop dwelling on the past. The more I think about it, the more depressed I'll get. Just look forward and keep moving.
Steeling his resolve, Roan took a step—
*Thud!*
"Hold it right there. We are collecting a toll. This is a standard procedure for the prosperity of the kingdom, so please cooperate."
...only to be blocked by a guard just before he could cross.