Chapter 7: Hero’s Come Back!!
“Ichiro, you really don’t have to cook for me,” she said.
“No way, I want to eat too!”
“Then just the meat from the hunt and the Forest’s Bounty will be enough.”
She was against my trip to the lower world. It seemed like she wanted to convey that food wasn’t the issue, despite her usual love for meals.
“Well, some people say that food is the greatest happiness for humans. Plus, I was actually looking for a chance to stock up on supplies.”
“But—” Sena insisted further.
I felt a bit overwhelmed by her determination.
“I’m just worried, Ichiro. I’m afraid you might be exposed to malice.”
I thought she might be a bit overprotective, but after the nightmare I had recently, which led to us sharing a bed, I couldn’t argue back strongly.
By the way, since that day, I’ve been sleeping in the same bed as her. It’s not like anything inappropriate has happened, but waking up in her embrace has become a rather frequent occurrence—just between us.
“Don’t worry! I’m just going to the Guild to hear about the lower world and buy some food.”
She grabbed the hem of my clothes, trying to say something to keep me from leaving, but the words just wouldn’t come out.
“I’m old enough, so please don’t worry too much.”
That seemed to be the deciding factor, and reluctantly, Sena agreed to my trip to the lower world.
“Did you pack the food?”
“Yeah, I did.”
“What about water?”
“Got it.”
“Ah… Ichiro.”
“What? Is this really necessary? Are you my mother now?”
“Seriously, don’t worry so much!”
“But—”
“Just wait for the souvenirs!”
“Uu…”
With tears welling in her eyes, Sena clung to me. The edges of her kimono seemed to wrap around me as if to hold me tight.
It was quite a task to peel her off and finally set off.
After a while, I managed to convince her (albeit reluctantly) and began my journey to the lower world. I had everything planned out—where the town was and how to return. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have let me go.
“I really don’t need to worry this much,” I muttered to myself as I avoided the scattered trees and slid down the steep slope, finally reaching the lower world.
Once I landed on the ground and walked a bit, a well-trodden path appeared.
While making my way along that path toward my destination, I encountered an incident.
It was a strange combination, but I spotted five men: a decently dressed older man and four scruffy-looking thieves. They were trying to escape with a beautiful noblewoman (perhaps she had escaped after being abducted) stuffed into a burlap sack.
“Hey, hey, hey! Just because there aren’t many people around doesn’t mean you can do that!” I used Rain to intimidate them from a distance, sneaking closer without being seen, and took them down one by one.
“These guys will just reoffend anyway!” I decided, breaking their arms and legs, tying them up, and leaving them behind.
Carrying the unconscious noblewoman on my back, I pondered, “What should I do with her? Will I be misunderstood?” But I pressed on.
Suddenly, a Merchant’s Wagon surrounded by a group of goblins came into view.
“Perfect timing!” I shouted, unleashing Rain on the goblins, turning them into a pile of minced meat. Peering into the wagon, I reassured the trembling merchant woman inside, “You’re safe now,” and handed her the noblewoman I was carrying.
The merchant woman introduced herself, saying, “Please, allow me to thank you,” bowing deeply, but I declined and left. I didn’t even remember her name. Of course, I wouldn’t.
“Seriously, why do so many incidents keep happening?!” I shouted, venting my pent-up stress. Just then, I spotted a party of three girls being chased by a middle orc.
I had to release my built-up stress, so I called out to them, “Leave the orc to me! You guys go ahead!!” using my best heroic voice.
Despite their reluctance, saying, “We’ll fight too!” I insisted, “You need to run! I’ll buy you time!” while trying to sound dramatic. “It’s fine, right? I can take it down!” I shouted, using a line I always wanted to say at least once in my life.
As they tearfully said, “We’ll go get help,” and ran off, I turned the orc into a practice target for my Stinger, shouting, “Ora ora ora ora ora ora!!!” and pummeling it into a pulp (though I didn’t land a single proper hit).
Isn’t the safety in this world terrible? Or is it just this region?
While solving these troubles on the side, I continued on my path without deviating, finally arriving at my destination.
As I walked, I felt a strange sense of nostalgia as the number of people gradually increased.
It had only been about three months since I escaped the Blade Labyrinth and left the Hero Party to live with Sena. It was surprising how I could feel this way after just a few months, considering I had run away myself.
The town was larger than I expected, surrounded by walls. It was likely a castle wall. Being a border town, it probably served to protect the border and to hunt down the vicious monsters that descended from the Hidden Mountain.
I had heard that border lords often rank higher in the domestic caste than local nobles, so perhaps the size of the town and the sturdy walls made sense.
In any case, I passed through the wall inspection without issue and finally arrived in the town I hadn’t seen in a while.
Once inside, I couldn’t help but shout, “We’ve arrived, wahoo!!” but that was just another flag waiting to be triggered.