Chapter 58

Standing in front of Aito's house, I contorted my tense face.

I've caused Liz a lot of worry.

Honestly, the two of us won’t run away.

If we don’t explain the situation, there’s no reason to run. If we explain, it will be forced participation.

There’s no choice but to steel myself.

Fortunately, the guild will lend us credit, even though it’s a loan.

You might think it’s just a loan, but this is a significant concession.

If you lend money to someone, you never know if it will be returned. It’s a matter of luck.

Loans to civilians come with interest that compounds like a snowball.

This is essentially saying, “I trust you. You can borrow money and pay it back when you can.”

Under normal circumstances, such good terms are impossible.

I need to quickly get Liz and Fia’s equipment ready.

“I’m back.”

When I greeted them, everyone was already there.

We had a lively meal, and then Liz and I returned to our room.

“I have something important to talk about.”

I tried to keep a calm expression, avoiding any signs of seriousness.

“I’ll explain in detail tomorrow with Fia.”

“Is this about what you were worried about today?”

She looked slightly anxious, as if sensing something from my heart.

“Yeah. I can’t talk about it now.”

I tried to smile.

Suddenly, she came close and hugged me, burying her face in my chest.

“It’s tough... It’s tough…”

Ah, how long has it been since I was embraced and affirmed like this?

I hadn’t felt the warmth in my eyes for years. My vision blurred.

I had been pretending not to feel it. I had been suppressing the urge to cry, thinking it was unbecoming for an adult.

“Ugh... Ugh...”

I couldn’t suppress the sobs. The warmth of her touch on my head brought tears to my eyes.

It’s embarrassing. I’m 35 years old. It’s not right for a grown adult to be crying in the arms of a child. A calm part of me whispered this.

But the tears overflowed.

I’m scared.

I’ve never experienced war.

I have to take someone important to such a place.

I’m scared.

What if Liz or Fia gets hurt or taken away?

I’m scared.

What if someone around me dies?

Once the tears started, they wouldn’t stop. I sobbed uncontrollably.

“It’s okay... It’s okay…”

I was enveloped in a gentle sensation. Ah, I just want to drown in this feeling for now.

After a good cry, the nagging anxiety was gone.

“Sorry. I showed you my unbecoming side.”

“No, I know a lot of good things about you.”

She smiled and whispered.

Ah, men can’t win against women. I truly felt this from the bottom of my heart.

After calming down, I cleaned myself and got into bed.

Liz, who seemed tired today, fell asleep immediately.

I confirmed this and quietly slipped out of bed.

“Well, that’s the norm for adults…”

I whispered to myself as I stepped out into the moonlit garden.

In the dim light, I started doing what needed to be done.

The next morning, I felt movement and got up from my tired body.

“Good morning, Liz. Thanks for yesterday.”

“Hehe. Your face today is back to normal.”

She smiled contentedly.

“It’s thanks to you, Liz.”

I called out and headed for breakfast.

After finishing our usual routine, we went to the guild.

I caught Fia and borrowed a meeting room.

“I have something important to talk about.”

I made a serious face and started the conversation.

“In conclusion, the large-scale goblin outbreak is likely to occur earlier than planned. The knights will also arrive at the last possible moment.”

“Isn’t this an annual thing? Shouldn’t it be fine?”

That’s right, to the villagers, this is their understanding.

“The adventurers will defend the village until the knights arrive.”

“You mean we have to?”

Liz tilted her head.

“Yeah. This is confidential. You can’t even tell your family.”

“Hmm? I’ve never heard of such a thing. The knights usually come and go without us noticing.”

Fia said.

“This time it’s different. There’s a high possibility they won’t make it in time. The group is expected to be around 400 goblins.”

The two of them tilted their heads. They couldn’t imagine a group of 400 goblins.

“Think of it as a group two to three times the size of the entire village.”

Fia’s face gradually tensed, as if she was starting to grasp the scale. She had hunted goblins alone in the forest and knew what it meant to fight multiple enemies.

Liz, on the other hand, seemed to still be struggling to imagine it. The accelerated training had backfired.

“However, the guild is also taking action. There’s no need to be pessimistic. The strategy is simple: reduce their numbers before they attack.”

The two of them nodded strongly.

“I need you to trust me unconditionally. Let’s do what needs to be done.”

We left the guild and headed for the forest.

Starting from our usual stream, we explored in a spiral pattern, eliminating any goblins we found.

The prey was indeed more concentrated.

We continued hunting at a faster pace than yesterday.

By midday, we had hunted 80 goblins. However, I had reached my limit. Just walking in the forest was tiring, let alone hunting.

I fought while overloading my return and swinging my spear. I was also practicing magical movement, which was mentally exhausting.

The bag I had stuffed my nose with was already full.

Feeling that this was my limit, I set a goal of 80 goblins per day.

Incidentally, the two of them were still full of energy. Ah, high school girls are always energetic. Girls are amazing.

“The reward for 80 goblins is 240,000. Is that okay?”

As discussed yesterday, the reward had increased.

I handed out 60,000 each.

The reward was divided equally. Everyone had exceeded 60.

“Yeah... It’s complicated after hearing the morning talk, but this amount...”

Liz seemed to be struggling with something.

“Hehe... Hehe...”

Fia was grinning like a broken doll.

Well, if it helps maintain their motivation, that’s good.

“Since it’s still early, why don’t you go for some training?”

I saw them off and headed to the blacksmith.

On the way, I thought about last night’s special training.

During intense periods, I often got only an hour of sleep a day.

Adults have to study quietly and diligently.

Last night, I tried various things, but both magic and the ‘Recognition’ teacher had a range.

I measured the range using a baseline and my stride. The ‘Recognition’ teacher’s range was about 10 meters.

For magic, it was about 20 meters. However, the range increased with skill proficiency.

From the relationship between range and skill proficiency, I concluded that the range was related to ‘Ritual Control.’ The ‘Scholar’ teacher also confirmed this.

Incidentally, my current skills look like this:

◇Skill Information◇

‘Scholar’

‘Recognition’

‘Acquisition’

‘Stealth’ 0.44

‘Bravery’ 1.01

‘Common Language of Fuar Continent (Conversation)’ 0.32

‘Common Language of Fuar Continent (Reading)’ 0.10

‘Common Language of Fuar Continent (Writing)’ 0.01

‘Spear Mastery’ 0.22

‘Vigilance’ 0.66

‘Prayer’ 1.80

‘Ritual Control’ 1.20

‘Attribute Control (Wind)’ 1.38

‘Attribute Control (Water)’ 0.36

‘Attribute Control (Divine)’ 1.01

Overall, they have improved. I’m glad they haven’t declined.

‘Stealth’ has increased significantly, probably because I’ve been hiding from multiple targets and moving from bush to bush.

‘Vigilance’ has also improved because I’ve been continuously detecting multiple targets.

The ritual-related skills have also improved, but it seems that once they exceed 1, the growth rate slows down significantly.

Even while causing minor overloads, the growth is slow.

I didn’t push myself too hard, as I didn’t want to vomit at night.

I’ve been practicing with the spear, but my arm muscles are already sore, and it’s not improving. I’m starting to think I need a proper teacher.

I greeted the blacksmith and asked to modify a weapon, writing down the design.

“Hmm. I can do it, but this will make the pommel useless, won’t it?”

“Well, it’s better to be prepared. How much will it cost?”

“Considering it’s a test, 5,000 is fine. It’s a learning fee.”

“How long will it take?”

“About three days. I can’t be sure.”

I paid in cash and hurried to Pardis’s place. He might be a key person.

“A magician who made a big mountain in one go? Where did you hear such a story?”

“No, it’s just a guess. I thought it might be possible.”

“You mentioned the rewriting of magic before, right? There was actually a magician who built a hill overnight.”

“Was? Past tense?”

“It seems the revision was quickly made afterward. He tried to demonstrate it grandly in front of the nobles, but it didn’t work. Now it’s a laughing matter.”

Ah, I can imagine Alecto’s disappointed face. I can’t say anything, given my current situation.

“By the way, what about the water syntax?”

“Ah? Attribute water. The difference from the current temperature. The amount. The distance and height from the reference point. Execute, I believe.”

“That’s vague.”

“I can’t use water or fire, so I didn’t care.”

I opened the window, checked that no one was below, and extended my right arm.

“Attribute water. Current temperature. 500ml. 10cm above my right hand. Execute.”

The moment I whispered, water appeared above my right hand and flowed down. It felt cool.

“So this is water.”

“It usually activates on a container.”

Hmm. This is enough. I imagine the water magic design was challenging. It’s not easy to use as an attack, so they probably designed it to douse opponents with water at a different temperature.

I said goodbye and left the general store.

One item on my to-do list was checked off.

[x] Ask Pardis about the earth restriction and the water magic syntax.

Now, back to Aito’s house for more training.

With a clear goal, I hurried home, reflecting on the busy days.