The Persistent Nun
Sheryl's sudden suggestion showed a flicker of panic in her expression. Honestly, Ryude had only said it to imply that she should leave already. After all, if the work wasn't finished they couldn't eat anyway, so having her watch over him or not made little difference.
"Um, shall we?"
But she gave an unexpected answer. She accepted Ryude's proposal without hesitation and began organizing the sacks. Deciding this arrangement was actually better, Ryude resumed his own tasks.
Thirty minutes later.
"You're quite skilled."
"Am I?"
She had the kind of image that suggested she'd never gotten a speck of dust on her in her entire life. The sort of person who looked like she could clap her hands twice and have attendants appear to handle every aspect of daily living.
She's good.
Meticulous and efficient. If Ryude had been a team leader, he would have offered her a position on the spot.
"It would be better to sort those timbers over there."
"Ah, yes. That sounds good."
"I'll put the non-recyclable waste over here, then?"
"Yes, please do."
She didn't hesitate to cover herself in dust and grime. Just what was this nun? The other church people seemed to work when they weren't monitoring, but they didn't labor alongside the volunteers like this. Her sudden approach was suspicious enough—there had to be some ulterior motive.
"Hm? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"It's nothing."
His stomach let out a loud growl. He'd think about it after finishing the work.
"Hoo..."
Ryude left the tasks requiring delicate hands to her and took on moving the heavy items himself. No matter how often he wiped it away, the sweat on his forehead refused to decrease. His t-shirt was already completely soaked and had lost all functionality long ago.
Seeing his state, she asked with a worried look.
"Should we rest for a bit?"
"No, I'm fine. Let's keep going."
"You're clearly not fine. Rest is important, you know?"
"...Alright then."
She'd been subtly stubborn from the start. When she made that displeased face, Ryude reluctantly accepted her kindness.
The two sat down in a nearby shaded spot.
"May I ask your name? Oh, I'm Sheryl."
Since she'd introduced herself first, he had no choice.
"I'm Ryude."
"Ah~ So you're Ryude?"
"There's no need for honorifics. Just by looking at you, it's clear you're older than me."
"Not 'you,' it's Sheryl."
"......Then I'll call you Sister."
"Sheryl."
"Sister."
"Sheryl."
"Sister."
Her eyes widened and her mouth opened slightly as she stared at him blankly. It was the face of someone seeing a person more stubborn than herself for the first time.
Eventually giving up on correcting him, she changed the subject.
"As you said earlier, Ryude, older people are usually shown respect."
She hugged her knees while gazing at the blue sky.
"But as you saw before, there are quite a few older people who don't deserve it, aren't there?"
"Ah, I agree with that."
It seemed she'd witnessed his run-in with those thugs. When he acknowledged it immediately, the corners of her lips curved into a small smile.
"Hehe. Those people are already guilty and were sent here for mandatory volunteer service. They're minor offenders—not serious enough to warrant prison."
"So that's what it was."
"Ah, did you already know?"
"No. There's a saying that physiognomy is a science, after all."
"Physiognomy is... science...?"
"I was just saying it. Don't mind me."
"I see."
A gentle breeze brushed past them. When he unconsciously turned to look, her profile came into view. As expected, she was beautiful enough to make someone lose their senses if they weren't careful.
Just then she turned as well, and their eyes met. She smiled softly while holding his gaze.
"Anyway, I believe that people who deserve respect should receive it regardless of age. Just like you, who works so diligently at everything despite being so young."
It was a smile worth its weight in gold. So this was how missionary work was done. He finally understood why the people of this world followed a single religion.
"From today onward, I'll believe in the Creator God too."
As expected of a nun. Even though they'd only met today, she seemed to have instantly realized he had no faith. Even knowing it was a honey trap, he couldn't help but fall for it.
Ryude, who had briefly entertained the thought Is she interested in me?, quickly erased it from his mind.
"Y-yes? No, that's not what I..."
She mumbled something, but Ryude didn't catch it. He had already stood up.
"Let's get back to work."
"......Yes."
And so the two returned to their tasks in silence.
Another hour passed. Thanks to her help, the work reached its final stages much earlier than expected, leaving them with some breathing room.
"Sister, a moment."
The male monk he'd seen when he first arrived whispered something to her. After exchanging a few words, they moved to a spot slightly farther away.
As always, Ryude kept his distance as if it had nothing to do with him and continued the task he'd been given.
A few minutes later, after finishing her conversation, she returned and spoke to him.
"I'm sorry. Something urgent came up, so I'll have to leave for today."
"No need to apologize. Go ahead."
"Yes. Then I'll see you next time."
"Yeah, sure."
The 'see you next time' was probably just a formality. Still, there was one thing he was curious about.
"Why do you walk around with your eyes closed?"
Was she from another dimension?
Another month had passed.
With a total of two months since arriving in this world, he'd gathered a decent amount of data. When Ryude went hunting, he typically caught around five rabbits. However, the day after catching five, he would catch at most two—or sometimes none at all.
Based on that pattern, hunting every other day proved most efficient. Hunt one day, then volunteer at the church the next. This had become Ryude's routine.
"Oh, quite a bit has accumulated."
Ryude pulled out the money pouch he'd been carefully storing in a corner of the cave. It felt satisfyingly heavy and jingled pleasantly.
The money saved little by little. This was the result of cutting food expenses through his volunteer work.
A full five silver coins and fifty copper coins. Just looking at it filled him with confidence.
"Volunteering really paid off."
In this world, one was considered an adult from age sixteen. Before that, finding proper work was difficult. Monster subjugation didn't count, but tasks like working at a restaurant were impossible for a fourteen-year-old like Ryude. In that sense, volunteering served as a side job.
To begin with, days without hunting were incredibly boring. Volunteering turned out to be surprisingly worthwhile the more he did it. Of course, he never would have done it if he'd had a smartphone.
"This should be enough."
Having made up his mind, Ryude left the cave.
Today was a special rest day just for himself. His destination was the weapon shop. It was time to buy a weapon.
Jingle jingle~
When he opened the door, the rugged-looking shop owner came into view immediately. Quite a few people were quietly examining the various weapons on display.
Ryude pulled his hat down lower and quickly walked toward the section with the cheapest weapons.
In novels, they always find decent weapons even in places like this.
Of course, he hadn't come expecting that. His wallet simply couldn't handle anything better.
As expected, the cheap weapons weren't displayed in showcases. They were haphazardly shoved into old, battered drums regardless of their intended use.
Hmm... Better not buy consumables.
Throwing weapons or bows and arrows required proficiency he didn't have, and more importantly, he lacked the money. They might be viable if retrievable, but that was impossible in the forest, so he ruled them out.
Still, having reach would be nice, so maybe a spear...
The first thing that caught his eye was a long spear. But he dismissed it immediately. Only the blade looked sturdy—the wooden shaft connecting it seemed like it would snap at the slightest impact.
Let's just go with a sword.
Now he understood why so many people used swords. Objectively speaking, swords used the most iron yet cost the same as other weapons. It was genuinely puzzling.
A dagger...
He'd considered buying a dagger for emergencies, but this sword alone cost five silver coins. He still had the dagger from the rabbit. He'd use that until it broke.
With tears in his eyes, Ryude purchased a single sword and left the weapon shop.
Tomorrow was the day of the decisive battle. He planned to venture deeper into the forest.
In that sense, today he would make thorough preparations.
"Huff... Keuk..."
First, he completed a 20-kilometer jog along the stream path. The gravel made it twice as difficult.
Splash— Gulp, gulp.
He splashed cold water on his bare upper body and drank plenty of the cool stream water. After resting for about ten minutes, Ryude stood up and strapped sandbags to his back.
This was his daily push-up routine. Originally twenty kilograms, he'd added another twenty. For Ryude, it was a challenge to break through his limits.
"Hup...!"
He gave a sharp shout and bent his arms. Veins bulged on his forehead as his face flushed red.
"Ugh...!"
Now came the push upward. Power surged into his pumped arm muscles. Just a little more. Just a little more. But—
"Huuuueee......"
Adding twenty kilograms had apparently been too much. Ryude collapsed flat on the ground, then removed the sandbags in embarrassment.
This time, thirty kilograms. Maybe this would work?
"Hup...!"
His arms bent and extended. The pressure was greater than before, but manageable. One, two, three...
Riding the momentum, he powered straight through to his goal. His target was one hundred.
The foundation of strength was none other than one's own body. Training techniques was fine, but without a solid foundation it was nothing but bravado. Furthermore, the better the foundation, the higher the potential peak.
In that sense, these bodyweight exercises were absolutely essential.
"Ninety-nine... One hundred! Ugh..."
Around the seventieth rep his arms had nearly given out, but he somehow forced himself to complete all one hundred before collapsing on the spot.
The path to strength was truly arduous. At this rate, he was definitely going to have muscle pain tomorrow.