Chapter 62

"……Why are you here?"

Faced with the sudden appearance of the top-tier party, armed and ready, I couldn't hide my surprise.

Of course, I understood that the party known as the Great Sword of War, which had risen to prominence, viewed us as their rivals.

However, this party, aware of the gap in our abilities, had never taken any action against me and Narusena beyond mere harassment.

That's why this sudden attack by the adventurers, right after we defeated the Phoenix, was completely unexpected for me.

"Still don't get it?"

In response to my evident surprise, the leader of the party, who seemed to be a warrior, wore a triumphant smile.

"We already know that your party is parasitizing the guild's direct adventurers. You fraud! I'll show you what a true top-tier adventurer is!"

"……So that's it."

His words made me understand the answer to my own question, and I felt a sigh escaping me.

In fact, Narusena and I have been pretending to be members of Sieg's party since we defeated the Phoenix.

But that's just a lie.

We joined Sieg's party to avoid being recruited by other parties or being made exclusive adventurers by the guild staff.

However, the Great Sword of War, unaware of this, seems to believe that our joining Sieg's party was a result of a long-standing relationship.

In other words, they think that all the credit for defeating the mutated Hydra goes to Sieg, and that Narusena and I are not that strong.

That's why they've come to put us in our place and crush us.

Understanding this, I couldn't help but feel exasperated by their shallow judgment.

While my previous self might have been different, after defeating the Hydra, it's not unusual for me to be invited to join the guild's direct adventurer party.

Yet, to immediately assume a relationship and act on it shows a narrow-mindedness.

It's a fundamentally misguided assumption.

But in this case, this attack was not a nuisance to me.

Strengthening my body with magic and qi, and preparing for battle, I spoke softly.

This is a good opportunity to test my strength, I thought.

"Damn! You can only act so smug for now! Hey, let's go! If we don't kill them, the guild will settle this as a private dispute! Beat them up!"

The leader, a warrior, who seemed to be irritated by my lack of reaction, shouted at his companions.

In response to his cry, the members of the Great Sword of War readied their weapons, and the atmosphere became tense.

There were five of them.

Two warriors, a martial artist, a healer, and a mage.

As a top-tier party, the killing intent they emitted was incomparable to the disaster wolf we fought before.

Moreover, considering that they targeted me alone, not when I was with Narusena, the Great Sword of War was not taking any chances.

If it were my previous self, I might not have lost, but it would have taken a lot of time to resolve the situation.

Therefore, the outcome of this battle would clearly show how much I've grown.

Thinking this, I briefly smiled.

"Ha!"

In the next moment, I ran towards the Great Sword of War.

"Whoa, that's fast!"

My enhanced body closed the distance between us in an instant.

One of the warriors of the Great Sword of War, in shock, tried to react.

"Ugh!"

But he could only raise his sword slightly.

Before he could even draw his dagger, I punched him in the jaw, and he fell unconscious.

"What!"

The sudden event froze the members of the Great Sword of War for a moment.

It was a huge opening to expose in the middle of a battle.

"Ah!"

Before the front-line members of the Great Sword of War could react, I closed the distance and targeted the mage.

Seeing me approach, the mage's eyes filled with fear, and he desperately tried to back away.

Though it looked pitiful, it was the best course of action for a mage, and I was impressed.

"Ugh!"

But I didn't show any mercy and punched the mage in the sternum.

The mage's breath was knocked out of him, and he began to writhe on the ground.

"Damn!"

At that moment, the martial artist, who had finally managed to move, took advantage of the opening I created when I punched the mage and attacked me.

As his fist approached, a chill ran down my spine.

No matter how much the martial artist had strengthened his body or how much armor he wore, it would be meaningless.

If I were hit by his punch, I might be rendered combat ineffective.

However, his punch, much slower and less sharp than Narusena's, never hit me.

I dodged it by lowering my body, and as his fist passed over my head, I struck his jaw with my elbow.

"Damn..."

After being hit by my elbow, the martial artist took a few steps back but didn't fall immediately.

That was his limit.

He groaned and fell to the ground.

Now, only the leader and the healer were left.

"Ah, ah, *Heal* *Heal*."

"Damn!"

...Thinking this, I turned around, but the sight of the Great Sword of War made me realize the battle was already over.

The youngest member of the Great Sword of War, the healer, was trying to heal his fallen comrade but was completely panicked, only casting the weakest *Heal* spell.

...I had kept him as a handicap until the end, but it turned out to be meaningless.

Compared to the healer, the leader, a warrior, was still better off.

He seemed to be considering an attack after I dodged the martial artist's punch, as he readied his greatsword and pointed it at me.

However, his face was pale.

The sight of his comrades being defeated so quickly had clearly crushed his fighting spirit, which was obvious to anyone.

"Ha..."

"!"

Seeing the defeated Great Sword of War, I felt neither a sense of accomplishment nor joy at victory, but disappointment that it was this easy.

The body enhancement I used in this battle wasn't that strong.

I had planned to gradually increase its power after getting used to it, but the battle ended before I could.

I felt a strong dissatisfaction with the Great Sword of War.

While they were indeed thrown off by my movements and couldn't coordinate as usual, it was still too easy to defeat them.

...Logically, the enhanced attacks that could even wound super-difficulty monsters were far beyond the capabilities of adventurers who still wandered the lower levels, but I didn't realize this.

My interest in the Great Sword of War had already faded.

"…If I don't hurry, I'll be scolded."

The only thought dominating my mind was the need to return to the city quickly.

Driven by this urgency, I turned my back on the Great Sword of War and started walking.

It seemed to say that the battle was already over.

"Damn!"

The leader of the Great Sword of War was enraged by my attitude.

"Leader! If you're going to let us off..."

"Shut up!"

"Ah!"

He punched the healer who tried to stop him and started to run towards me.

...But his anger only lasted that long.

"Ah!"

The moment I reached for my dagger, the leader's face turned pale, as if his anger was a lie.

He seemed to have tried to regain his fighting spirit, but he clearly understood the gap in our abilities.

He had no more will to resist.

"Have your comrades take care of themselves."

With that, I left the scene.

The battle ended much faster than I expected, but time was still pressing.

If I didn't hurry, I would be scolded.

"The guild people are deceiving us..."

The last words of the leader of the Great Sword of War, as I started running, didn't reach my ears...

◇◆◇

After leaving the empty lot, I arrived at my destination about ten minutes later.

"You're late, bro!"

"Yeah, yeah!"

I was a bit late, and I was surrounded by the children who had been waiting for me, receiving a chorus of boos.

They seemed to have been looking forward to it a lot and were quite upset.

"Sorry, sorry. Look, I'll start the story right away, so can you forgive me?"

"Che, fine! Just this once!"

"Yeah."

But when I apologized, the children quickly let me go.

They sat down as I prompted, their eyes shining with anticipation.

Feeling a bit strange about the attention, but urged by the children, I began to speak.

"Okay, let's continue from where we left off."

The story I was telling the children, mainly boys, was about my battles with the Phoenix and the mutated Hydra.

For a while now, I had been asked to tell stories of my adventures.

It was a strange feeling to tell stories, but I didn't dislike it.

So, when I had time, I would tell stories to the children when asked.

"Okay, that's enough for today."

After a decent amount of time, I tried to end the story as usual.

...However, the children's reaction was different today.

Usually, they would complain after the story ended, but today they were unusually quiet.

I almost wondered if they had eaten something strange.

But my moment of ease was short-lived when I heard their next words.

"Hey, can you teach us how to use a sword next time?"

"Me too."

"!"

I was speechless.

Their words suggested a scenario I had feared the most: the children wanting to become adventurers.

Adventurers do have the potential to become heroes and are the most dream-filled profession.

However, being an adventurer is not as easy as having a simple hero complex.

...Having lived at the bottom for a long time, I understood this better than anyone.

So, I had tried to talk about the harsh realities of being an adventurer to avoid giving the children false hopes.

But their request to learn sword skills made me regret my approach.

"…It's not that we want to become adventurers or anything."

"…Huh?"

But my regret was unfounded.

"I know how tough being an adventurer can be. And I don't want to worry my mom unnecessarily."

The boy who first asked to learn sword skills, who seemed to be the leader of the group, said this with a very mature look.

And with those words, I remembered something.

That the children of this town, who lived alongside adventurers, could not possibly dream of becoming adventurers.

The reason the boys wanted to become stronger was not a simple dream.

"Still, we want to be as strong as the people who sold materials to help the town. We want to be strong enough to protect our families someday."

The boys' desire to become stronger was born from a strong resolve, not a simple admiration.

Feeling ashamed of my shallow judgment, I realized I had underestimated these children.

"Hey, brat! Stop!"

"Who would listen to you!"

I could see one of the adventurers, who had agreed to sell materials to the town after I bowed to them, chasing the children from a distance.

The boy who mentioned the people who sold materials to save the town was probably referring to those adventurers.

It seemed that, despite my concerns, the adventurers and the townspeople had become quite familiar with each other.

Noticing that the adventurer's face was softer than I remembered, I relaxed.

Originally, I had suggested the adventurers sell materials to the town to help the people.

But from the looks of it, it was also the best decision for the adventurers.

"Whoa!"

Feeling a bit amused by this discovery, I patted the surprised boy's head and spoke to the children.

"Alright. I'll teach you how to use a sword when I have time. And when I'm not around, you can ask the other adventurers here."

"Really? Is that okay?"

"I think they'll listen to you, so try your best."

After saying this, I said goodbye and started walking towards the inn.

I had always been hesitant to talk to the adventurers, but maybe I could have a proper conversation with them next time.

"Welcome back, sir."

"Narusena?"

My thoughts were interrupted by the sight of Narusena standing in front of the inn.

"I'm sorry for surprising you..."

Not understanding why Narusena was there, I was surprised, and she apologized, looking apologetic.

But the next moment, she spoke with a serious expression.

"But there's something I really need to talk to you about."

I'm sorry for the long message...