...
Today, the news reported another murder.
Just watching it was enough to make me feel sick.
I don't understand why people kill each other.
We're all human, aren't we?
Maybe it sounds naive. But honestly… I hate it.
Every day, there are all kinds of crimes—
theft, murder, corruption, violence, and more.
I hear about them so often that my hatred for it only keeps growing.
And on top of that, there's a war going on somewhere in this world.
I can't understand people like that—
those who sacrifice others for their own interests,
then dress it up as something noble, calling it "for the sake of the country."
Seriously… if I could, I'd want to change all of it.
But unfortunately, in this life, I'm just an ordinary person.
There's nothing special about me.
Huh…
If only I had some kind of position in this world.
...
"Ugh…"
I woke up that day with a slight headache.
Damn… the taste of alcohol still lingered on my tongue.
Huh. "Looks like I drank too much last night."
I got out of bed and stepped outside my room.
Then I headed to the well behind the inn, drew some water, and washed my face.
Looking up, I saw that the sun had already risen.
Judging by the light, it was probably around nine.
Yeah… looks like I overslept.
Probably because of last night.
After that, I went back to my room and started getting ready.
-
"Alright…"
I muttered as I stood in front of the inn's door.
I opened it and stepped outside.
Honestly… this might be the first time I've overslept since coming to this world.
Or—
Maybe I've just been pushing myself too hard ever since I got here.
-
Walking through the streets, everything felt completely different.
Most of the stalls were already open, people were walking all around me, and the smell of food filled the air.
Honestly… it was a nice change of pace.
Especially with the sun shining brightly above, even with a few clouds here and there—it felt perfect.
I also noticed other adventurers like me, heading in the same direction.
A small smile formed on my face.
I have to admit…
today might turn out to be a good day.
-
As I walked through the streets, I suddenly heard someone call out to me.
"Yo~~ Clement."
I turned around, trying to find the source of the voice among the crowd.
Not far from me—just a few meters away—she was waving at me as she approached.
I looked at her with a flat expression.
"Oi, what's with that reaction? You should be happy a girl's calling out to you, you know."
Yeah… no doubt about it. It was Clare-san.
"I'd probably be happy if it wasn't you," I replied with a small smile.
She suddenly grinned mischievously.
"So if it were Viola, you'd be happy?"
"Yeah, of course I would," I answered without hesitation.
"Eh?"
For some reason, she looked confused.
"Oh, right, Clare-san."
"Mm? What is it, Clement?"
"It's just… I didn't expect you to be up this early."
"Hah? Are you making fun of me?"
"No, not really."
We chatted as we walked, and before long, we arrived at the guild building.
We went inside and headed toward the bar area.
There, we saw him sitting alone at one of the tables.
We approached him together.
"Yo~~ Leader," Clare-san greeted.
"Hey, Herald," I added.
He smiled calmly.
"I didn't expect the two of you to show up together."
"Well, we ran into each other on the way here," I replied.
"I see."
"By the way, Herald, what about the others?"
"They should be here soon. For now, just have a seat. Don't worry, this one's on me."
"Eh? Really?"
He nodded. "Yeah."
"Yay! Then I won't hold back," Clare-san said happily.
Seeing her like that, I could only smile and shake my head.
...
It didn't take long before the others started arriving.
The first was Sheila, who showed up not long after us.
"Ah… s-sorry for being late…"
I smiled, seeing that she was still the same as always.
"It's fine. We just got here too," I said.
"I-I see…"
That was all she said.
I nodded in response.
Then she pulled a chair closer and sat down near us.
For some reason, Clare suddenly leaned closer to my ear.
Then, in a quiet voice, she whispered:
"Hey, Clement… I didn't know you cared about Sheila. Or is there something going on?"
She sounded like she was teasing me.
I looked at her flatly and let out a small sigh before answering.
"No. I just see her alone a lot, so I figured there's nothing wrong with talking to her."
"Heeh… is that so?"
Why is she looking at me like that?
"Yeah," I replied firmly.
-
Not long after, Dein showed up.
"Yo."
He approached us casually.
I glanced at him, and by coincidence, our eyes met.
The moment they did, his expression turned sour.
"Tch."
He clicked his tongue.
Same as always, huh… I thought.
Without saying much, he immediately sat down beside Herald.
"Well, look who's in a bad mood," Clare-san teased.
"Tch. I'm not," Dein replied, turning his face away.
Honestly, I don't even know why he dislikes me that much, even though I only joined the party recently.
Huh…
Alright, that just leaves Viola.
-
We waited for quite a while.
Every second felt unusually long.
And finally, the person we were waiting for arrived.
She walked toward our table rather quickly.
Once she got close, she spoke:
"Sorry… am I late?"
All I could do was smile—
because, well, she definitely made us wait.
"Yeah, you're late, Viola. We've been waiting since this morning," Clare-san said.
"Ehh!? Really!?"
She then looked toward me.
I nodded.
"Yeah, we've been waiting for quite a while."
"I'm sorry," she said again, apologizing once more.
Suddenly, Herald cut in.
"Alright, let's end the chatter here. We're already behind schedule. Let's get going."
"Wait, what about the quest?" I asked.
"Don't worry, Clement. I already picked it up when I got here," he replied.
"O-oh, I see…"
"Alright then, let's move out!"
And just like that, we set off.
This would be my second quest with the party.writer
...
–
I will divide it into two parts. And sorry for being an inconsistent writer.
-