Chapter 13

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It has been three years since then. It feels like a lot of time has passed. Well, these three years haven't had any ups or downs. ...No, it's not that there were none at all. But since I wasn't involved, I guess I'll talk a bit about the past.

First, it was the autumn when I was four, the year Edwin and the others set out as adventurers, that autumn. For some reason, there were an unusually large number of adventurers in the square in front of the church that year. The square in front of the church was so crowded with tents that there was no room to walk, and well, it gave a bad feeling. And there, each adventurer was cooking. ...There must have been some inexperienced newcomers. Normally, it wouldn't be a big deal, but with so many tents packed together, it couldn't be helped. As you can imagine, the fire from the cooking spread to the tents. Normally, everyone would have stomped it out or drawn water from the well to put out the fire.

But the tents were so packed that there was no room to walk. Naturally, the fire spread, and the flames rose. Once the flames started, the adventurers fled in a panic. Some adventurers panicked and screamed, and others, who were already asleep, were trampled to death. Fortunately, the village buildings were made of earth and stone by an old alchemist, so the villagers were not harmed. ...The only damage to the village was the front door of the mayor's house, which was broken down by the adventurers. The church was unharmed, and the village suffered almost no damage.

However, the square in front of the church was a terrible sight. Smoke rose from the burned tents, and charred bodies were scattered everywhere. Adventurers, seeking water, jumped into the well and cried for help. It was a terrible situation. The square in front of the church, which had been brown, had turned completely black, and I was speechless when I saw it, having come to pray.

People from all over the village gathered to bring the situation under control. The bodies of the adventurers who had died were buried in the common grave of the church, the burned tents were moved to the garbage collection site, and the sooty ground was cleaned. I, too, helped clean the square in front of the church instead of going to gather materials that day. Well, of course. I had to cooperate with such a situation. When the cleaning was done and the matter was settled, the villagers went home.

But for the adventurers, it wasn't over. Without a moment's sleep, they helped clean up the square in front of the church with the villagers, and it was already evening. It was late autumn, and the weather was getting cold. It was a time when snow could fall. One of the adventurers, who had no tent or food, exploded. No, not physically, but emotionally. Who caused this, come out, you bastard. They started to identify the person who had caused the situation. At a time when preparations for winter were already expensive, the loss was a painful one. Adventurers, one after another, lost their cool, and the second round began.

The proper adventurers had already left the village and were preparing for winter in the town. Edwin and the others seemed to be doing well as proper adventurers, as they had even come to say hello, saying they would live in the town this year. Those left behind were adventurers who were about to be swallowed by laziness, and even more so, adventurers who were about to be swallowed by anger due to the incident. At first, some of them started shouting who the culprit was, as if they had gone mad.

The targets of such people were other adventurers who had also gone mad. Swallowed by anger, they started fighting each other. ...Those who still had a bit of normal thinking tried to escape from the place. But that was a bad move. When the ones who tried to escape were found, the mad ones recognized them as the culprits and attacked them all at once, and the fight escalated. The square in front of the church became a dark, rule-free fighting ground. It's your fault. It's your fault. It became a chaotic place.

And the next morning, when I went to the square in front of the church as usual, it had become a second tragedy in two days. Beaten bodies were scattered, and people who had been hit and knocked out were lying in their clothes. ...To be honest, it was so chaotic that I couldn't tell which bodies were alive and which were dead.

Again, people from all over the village were mobilized to clean up the bodies and the square in front of the church. I helped this time too. I was given the task of disposing of the blood-soaked soil in the forest, and I made several trips. ...This time, the cleanup didn't end there. This time, the villagers had had enough of the adventurers. Well, of course. Two days in a row, the whole village had to be mobilized for a disturbance in the square in front of the church, which was only on loan. Harvest time was just around the corner, and I, who was not a farmer's stepchild, was angry. There was no way the farmers wouldn't be angry. Farmers, who approached the adventurers, didn't actually hit them, but the adventurers fled under the pressure.

That's why, that winter, there were no adventurers who had prepared for winter. ...No, they couldn't prepare, but it would be more accurate to say they were driven out. It goes without saying that the farmers, like the farmers who vented their stress by harvesting, were harvesting with great enthusiasm. My father was also harvesting with great enthusiasm.

The merchants who came to buy the wheat must have been surprised. Why are there no adventurers this year? Usually, there are so many that there is no place for them. The only ones in the empty square in front of the church were such merchants. For me, it was good that the gathering place was not ravaged by anyone and I could gather materials at my leisure, but it was certainly a difficult year.

Next, it was the winter when I was four, the winter of the year when the fire incident occurred. This winter, more snow fell than usual, and the houses were buried. Not metaphorically, but physically buried. Every day, I had to clear the snow in front of the house, make a snow staircase, and clear the snow from the roof. If I didn't, the house with a flat roof might collapse. During such a heavy snowfall, a problem arose. Stray monsters had flowed in.

The type of monster was a Goblin Zombie. The nearest monster-infested area, or the forest or woods where goblins lived, was more than two days away. I never thought that goblins, let alone zombies, would come. The first to encounter the Goblin Zombies was not me. In fact, I had never seen a Goblin Zombie. ...I was busy clearing the snow from my house when someone reported that Goblin Zombies were coming, moving through the snow as if swimming.

Normally, a monster like a goblin would not be a match for a farmer. All you had to do was cut off its head with a scythe for harvesting. It was very simple. However, this time the opponent was an undead, and the snow was so heavy that the scythe couldn't be swung. That's why the farmer was running to the church. It wasn't just swimming. The priests and sisters in the church could use magic that was effective against the undead. That's why he was rushing to the church, but his progress was slow.

...However, the monsters didn't seem to be making much progress in the heavy snow either. It took a long time, but the report finally reached the church, and the undead were purified. ...Goblin Zombies are extremely rare. In fact, undead in general are very rare. Goblins and monsters don't die of starvation. They are stronger when they are not in a state of starvation, but they don't die of hunger. That's the kind of creatures they are.

And when adventurers defeat goblins, they are supposed to put them in the 'Extend Space' and take them back, so they can only become zombies if they are attacked and not eaten by other animals, or if the adventurers are lazy. That's why it's quite rare. I really wanted to see a Goblin Zombie.

Well, the Goblin Zombies were purified without any damage to the village. ...The damage from the snow was severe, but that's a different story. So, there was a bit of a commotion in the winter.

Next, it was the height of summer when I was five, and this was also related to adventurers. To put it simply, there was a conflict between adventurers and merchants. It started as a minor argument, but it escalated unexpectedly. The merchant turned out to be a mage.

It started as a minor issue. Merchants are not uncommon, but the adventurer was pressuring the merchant to buy from him. Since the merchant was a young woman, the adventurer thought he could get a higher price if he pressured her. And the woman kept refusing. As a merchant, she clearly said she couldn't buy what she couldn't afford, and besides, materials were useless unless you were an alchemist. ...Some magicians use them, but magicians only buy from alchemists. Therefore, the value of materials not in a storage bottle was unknown. ...Well, even alchemists don't know the value until they transmute the materials into magic stones.

The adventurer, who stubbornly refused to buy, kept pressuring her. I don't know how it looked to me, but to the other adventurers around, it seemed that if they pressured her, they could get what they wanted. They started to surround the woman. To put it simply, it was a coercive sales pitch. And the woman lost her temper.

She cast a spell and blew away the adventurer in front of her. The other adventurers, who had been pressuring her, were surprised, and some fled, while others attacked. The mage, who was attacked, probably didn't expect to be attacked, and this time she cast a spell powerful enough to kill. It was simple. Those who were hit directly died, and those who were grazed lost an arm.

After that, it was simple. The one who had been pressuring her was lynched and beaten to death. The ones who died from the magic were fine, but the ones who didn't die were more difficult to deal with. The adventurers, who had no money, didn't even have a cheap potion. The only way to stop their screams was to put them out of their misery. And those who had surrounded her and fled were driven out of the village, and the woman was also driven out the next day for going too far.

I heard that the mayor's face looked very apologetic. That's right. The woman had done nothing wrong. The disturbance was caused by the adventurers, and using magic was a matter of self-defense. ...But, as the one who caused the disturbance, she had to be driven out to set an example.

Still, I wish I had been there for a while. I had never seen magic before. I can tell when an alchemist comes, but I can't tell when a mage comes. They look like ordinary merchants or travelers or adventurers. So, I was purely curious to see the magic when it was cast. Events happen, but whether or not you are there is a different matter.

Then it was the autumn when I was five, the year after the terrible autumn. I thought there would be fewer people this year because of what happened last year. But when the lid was opened, the square in front of the church was packed again. You guys should have learned your lesson from last year. You should have spread out a bit. But if they had spread out to other villages, there would have been nothing I could do. You guys should have studied a bit, really.

But because of what happened last year, the mayor said to manage the fire strictly, to the point of making his mouth sour. It wouldn't do to start a fire every time. Try to understand how the villagers who clean up feel. So, I thought there would be no fire this year.

Then came the traveling alchemist. No, he was not at fault. The fault was all the adventurers. When the traveling alchemist came, the line for buying materials became terrible. ...So, your materials are only worth a pittance. It doesn't matter whether you are at the back or the front. It's just a matter of whether you are underpriced early or late.

And then the incident happened. An adventurer who was underpriced on his materials attacked the traveling alchemist. And he drew his sword. The alchemist, who was not cut, blew him away with an alchemical item that caused an explosion and declared that the buying was over for the day. Then the ones who were waiting in line lost their temper and attacked the one who was blown away. Don't underestimate the stress level of adventurers at this time. They immediately lynched and beat the one who was blown away to death.

Then the adventurers who could have gone back to their tents waited in line until morning. I wanted to tell them that the season for their materials had passed. And I wanted to tell them that if they could stay up all night to guard the line, they should put that much passion into learning to