Chapter 24
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「Ichiro, I don’t need you to make me meals or anything.」
「No, no, I want to eat too.」
「Then the meat from our hunts and the bounty foraged from the forest should be plenty.」
She was against my plan to go to the surface world.
So even though she normally loves food, she acted like meals were no big deal.
「Well, some people say food is humanity’s greatest pleasure. And I’ve been waiting for a chance to stock up on ingredients all at once.」
「But────」 Sena tries to protest further.
Her forcefulness makes me feel a bit pressured.
「I’m worried about you being exposed to malice, Ichiro.」
I think she may be a bit overprotective, but I can’t argue strongly after causing a scene recently by having a nightmare and ending up sharing her futon.
By the way, we’ve been sleeping in the same futon ever since that day.
Nothing untoward has happened, but just between us, I have a suspiciously high probability of waking up in her bosom each morning.
「It’ll be fine. I’m just going to the Guild to ask about the surface world and buy some food,」 I assure her.
She grabs the edge of my clothes, trying to come up with more reasons to detain me, but seems unable to put it into words.
「I’m a grown man, don’t worry about me so much.」
Those words seem to convince her, and albeit reluctantly, Sena finally consents to my surface world excursion.
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「Did you pack food?」
「Yes, I packed it.」
「Did you bring water?」
「Yes, I brought it.」
「Ahhh… Ichiro.」
What’s with this back-and-forth? Is she my mom?
「I said I’ll be fiiine! Don’t worry so much!」
「But────」
「Look forward to my return.」
「Uuu────」
Sena clings to me with tears in her eyes.
Somehow, her floating kimono wraps around my body as if to embrace me.
Prying her off me as she uses her whole form to show her objections proves to be quite a hassle before I can depart.
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Well, after persuading her for a while (though she’s still reluctant), I finally managed to head off toward the surface world.
I’ve thoroughly confirmed where the town is located and how to get back here afterward.
Otherwise, she never would have let me go.
「She really doesn’t need to worry that much.」
Following the route she specified (apparently one with minimal monster appearances), I evade the chaotically overgrown trees and dash down the steep slope. At last, I arrive in the surface world.
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Landing on the ground, a trodden path appears after I progress a bit.
Traveling along that road toward my destination, I encounter some incidents.
I’m not sure what kind of group this is, but I spot a decently dressed middle-aged man with four rough-looking bandit types, five men total.
They seem to be stuffing a noble-looking beautiful woman (maybe she escaped from somewhere) into a sack, trying to leave the area.
「Hey, hey, no matter how broke you are, that’s not gonna fly,」 I call out, using my qi to restrain them from afar. I sneak closer without being seen, knocking them out one by one.
「Guys like these will just repeat their crimes anyway!」 Deciding this, I break their arms and legs, tie them up with rope, and leave them there.
Carrying the unconscious noble (?) woman on my back, I start walking again while fretting 「What should I do with her?」 and 「I hope this doesn’t cause a misunderstanding…」Then, a merchant wagon surrounded by a group of goblins appears in front of me.
「Just what I neeeeeded!」 I yell bizarrely while perforating the goblins with my Rain, annihilating them.
Peeking into the wagon and saying 「It’s all right now,」 I shove the noble (?) woman I’m carrying onto the trembling bespectacled female merchant inside.
The merchant introduces herself and says 「Please allow me to repay you,」 bowing her head. But I refuse, leaving the scene. I don’t remember her name anymore. Of course I wouldn’t.
「But seriously, why do incidents keep occurring like thiiiis?! Whyyyyyy?!」 As I’m yelling to vent my pent-up stress, I see a party of three girls on a gathering quest being chased by middle orcs.
My stress gauge maxed out, I figure I need to let off some steam. 「Leave the orcs to me and run on ahead!!」 I call out to them in my best hot guy voice.
The girls hesitate to flee, saying 「We’ll fight too!」「You all run!」 I tragically perform, 「I’ll buy you enough time to get away!」 Then I shout one of my top lines I want to use once in my life: 「It’s fine if I kill them, right?」
Once the girls disappear from view, tears streaming down their faces as they say 「We’ll go get help,」 I pummel the orcs into minced meat, yelling 「Ora ora ora ora ora oraaaa!!」 (In the end, I couldn’t land a single real hit.)
Seriously, is the public order bad in this world?
Or is it just this region?
Resolving such troubles offhandedly, I continue straight on without deviating from the road. The town I was aiming for comes into view.
Along the way, as the number of people gradually increases, I feel a deep, strange emotion welling up.
In the first place, it hasn’t been that long since I conquered the Blade Dungeon, left the Hero party, arrived in this southern frontier, got stranded, and started living with Sena.
Despite running away myself, harboring these feelings after a mere few months – I’m utterly frivolous.
Now then, the town is larger than I expected, surrounded by walls.
Those must be the so-called ramparts.
Being a southern frontier town, it likely serves to protect the national border while also defeating ferocious monsters descending from the Hidden Mountain.
I’ve heard that frontier lords generally rank higher in the domestic caste system than other high nobility. Considering that, the town’s size exceeding my expectations and the sturdily constructed ramparts make sense.
In any case, I pass through the wall inspection without issue and at last reach the town after so long.
Upon entering, I unabashedly roar 「I’ve arriiiived, yahoo!!」 But that was surely just some kind of flag.
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