Chapter 84

Early in the morning, I was at the edge of the village.

"Are you leaving already?"

"Yeah. I can't afford to waste time."

As I was about to leave the village, a few of the village men had come to see me off.

Others wanted to come too, but many were still recovering from illness, and it didn't seem appropriate, so I asked them to stay behind.

"Thanks for the food and the place to stay, it really helped."

"No problem. I don't know the details, but your arrival saved the village. You're a benefactor here."

"Treating someone like that poorly would tarnish the village's name!"

I couldn't help but smile at the friendly faces of the villagers.

I readjusted my backpack, which contained food and camping gear, and turned my back to the village.

"See you, I'll stop by if I'm in the area again."

"Anytime, we'll be waiting!"

"Come back soon!"

Waving lightly, I left the village behind.

◆◆◆

"Is the big city this way...?"

According to the villagers, if I go straight down this grassy path, I'll reach a large city.

Since I have the option to return to the Demon Continent, it would be wise to head for the port.

The big city probably doesn't have a port, but there should be a way to get to a port town.

The fastest way would be to find a carriage.

Even with my current speed, I'm faster than a carriage, but I'll inevitably get lost because I'm not familiar with the geography of the Human Continent.

A stable carriage would be better.

...But, more importantly.

"...How long are you going to sleep, damn god?"

"Sleepy... zzzzz"

"Your bag is already taking up space, so get off my shoulder!"

"Mmm... You lack faith, man..."

I've been carrying you on my shoulders this whole time, so you should be grateful.

Reluctantly, you let go of my head and started walking beside me.

Honestly, seeing you walk drowsily with your messy hair makes me doubt you're a god.

"Your hair is such a mess... Even if you can disappear, at least take care of your appearance. You have a good base. And, you were up late last night, weren't you? Don't do that again."

"Mmm... Lecturing the great me..."

"Answer me."

"Okay."

I crouched down and fixed your hair.

If I could use magic, I could fix it with fire and water, but since I can't, I have to do it by hand.

I ran my fingers through it and managed to tidy it up a bit.

"It's still a bit messy, but this is the best I can do."

"...You're quite skilled at this."

"Huh? Well... I've been doing this for a long time."

After reincarnation and until I returned to this world, I was always with my childhood friend, Yūhi.

During elementary and middle school, when he was at his laziest, I was always fixing his messy hair every day.

That's why I got used to it.

Come to think of it... he's become quite responsible now...

"What's with that thoughtful look?"

"No, it's nothing."

I stood up and started walking again.

After a few minutes, I finally saw a change in the grassland.

"Huh? What's that..."

There was a carriage stopped on the road ahead.

"The horse and cargo are there, but... no one around?"

"! Hey Setsu, I can hear the sound of battle from over there."

"Oh?"

When we went around to the other side of the carriage, there was a man who seemed to be the owner, fighting a few small monsters.

Those monsters are... goblins.

Individually, they're the lowest rank D, but they act in groups, so in large numbers, they can be as strong as rank A.

Right now, there are five of them, which is about the edge of rank C.

"Damn! This!"

"Gigi!"

The man is struggling.

His sword skills are close to amateur, and he probably has little combat experience.

"I'll help."

I took out the black sword tied to my backpack and stepped between the man and the goblins.

"I'm here to help."

"Whoa! Thanks!"

I beheaded a goblin with the black sword while it was still frozen in shock.

Before it could react, I slashed another one's heart.

"Gigi!?"

"Gii!"

"What are you saying?"

Finally recognizing me as an enemy, two goblins lunged at me, but I cut them both down.

The two halves of the goblins fell to the ground, and the last one, trembling, turned to run.

"Giiii!"

"Not on my watch!"

I could let it go, but that would be annoying.

I'm glad I hid a knife in the new jacket I got from the village.

I can't do much at a distance right now, so I'll rely on this for a while.

"Here!"

"Gii"

I threw the knife, and it cleanly pierced the goblin's head.

I did well, maybe I can make a living with this when I'm in trouble.

"Five throws, one hit... Not bad for my first time."

"...Don't say that."

I just slipped, I'm not bad at all.

"Wow! You're good, man! Thanks!"

"Huh? Oh, no problem. More importantly, why are you driving a carriage alone? The monsters around here are weak, but if they come in numbers like just now, it's tough. You should have a guard..."

"That's the thing... I'm a courier, but right before departure, the adventurer who was supposed to be my guard tricked me and ran off with the money... But because of the cargo, I didn't have time to find a new guard, so I had to come alone."

I see...

Usually, when hiring a guard, you pay 30% of the fee before departure and the rest upon arrival.

This system was created because some clients refused to pay after the job was done.

Still, to run away from such a relatively safe job... he must be quite a coward.

"...Hey! You! Can you be my guard? I'll pay the full fee!"

"Huh? ...Hmm, it depends on the destination?"

"It's fine! You're heading to Lacria, right? There's no other place on this road! I'm going there too!"

Indeed, the big city the villagers mentioned was Lacria.

In that case, I might as well accept his request.

If he's offering a fee... with my current empty pockets, I should probably take it.

"...Alright, our destinations are the same. I'll protect you to the city."

"Really! Thanks a lot! Let's get going then!"

"Before that, can this guy ride in the back?"

I put my hand on Straws' shoulder and asked.

He can't fight... or rather, he won't, so I can handle the guarding alone.

"If you need a fare, just deduct it from the fee."

"No, no, no! You helped me right away. It's free to have one more person on board!"

"Thanks, we're broke right now."

"Sure thing! Come on, miss!"

Straws, who was called, followed the man.

He'll be surprised when a kid talks like that... he looks like a perfect little girl.

"Here, get in."

"Thanks, mister!"

Huh?

"Hey! I'm a big brother, not an old man! I'm not that old yet!"

"Hehe, sorry, big brother!"

"You're cute, I forgive you! Hahaha!"

...

"Huh? What's wrong, standing there. Let's get going."

"No... I just have a nagging feeling."

Come to think of it, his tone of voice was an act...

◆◆◆

"Wow! You two are siblings on a journey? That's amazing!"

"Not really."

The grassy road is still quite long.

During this time, I made sure to cover up the relationship between Straws and me.

We couldn't pass as father and daughter, and passing as strangers would raise red flags.

Since our hair color is almost the same, passing as siblings would be best.

"You're doing a lot for someone so young... I wouldn't..."

"? Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing."

He's a strange guy.

Oh well, we'll part ways when we reach the city.

I don't need to know more than necessary.

By the way, the man's name is Grus.

"Hey, there's someone up ahead."

"Huh?"

Looking ahead as he said, I saw two figures.

They weren't monsters... a man and a woman.

As we got closer, I could see them clearly.

They were demons, both of them.

And I knew these two.

I knew them well enough to unconsciously frown.

"Hey, can you give us a ride? We'll pay."

"Y-You're demons..."

"Hey, hey, don't tell me you won't give us a ride just because we're demons? I don't like that."

"Threatening isn't my style... but this time, we really need a ride."

The woman reached for the sword at her waist.

Seeing this, I stepped in front of Grus.

His sword skills are... bad.

"Wait, Lamina, you two are a bit too hot-headed... Let's keep it cool. We won't harm you if you give us a ride. You don't need to fight if we don't attack, right?"

"That's... true, but..."

"Then it's simple. Give us a ride, and we'll pay for it."

"...Alright."

Grus nodded.

The woman moved her hand away from her sword, and I let go of the black sword on my back (the backpack is in the carriage with Straws).

"You saved our lives, boy."

"...Thanks."

The demon couple passed by me and entered the back of the carriage.

Honestly, saying they saved my life is no exaggeration.

I can't fight them head-on and come out unscathed.

Zion and Lamina, two of the Five Great Demon Generals... the last people I want to fight.

They're strong enough to go toe-to-toe with a hero.

They're undoubtedly the strongest fighters among the demons.

Why are they here...

"Hurry up and get going!"

"O-Okay!"

A voice came from the back, and the carriage started moving again.

I have a bad feeling about this...

Whenever I get involved with those two, nothing good happens.

In other words...

"...I have a bad feeling."

I quietly put my hand to my face and muttered.