Chapter 37

The logs crackled and popped, and a pot was set over the fire. The pot contained rehydrated dried meat and various mushrooms gathered from the area, seasoned with just a bit of salt.

This was tonight’s dinner, and everyone had prepared their own hard bread to go with it.

Currently, we had finished a day’s march and were camping out. Adventurers who operate in the field often end up holed up in mountains or forests until they complete their extermination requests.

There are situations where we can’t use fire or secure water, so even a meal like this, where we can sit down and eat, is a blessing.

A makeshift tent made of cloth and rope was set up a short distance away. While it was questionable whether it could completely protect us from rain and wind, it was sufficient considering its portability and the fact that it provided a place to sleep.

"Alright, everyone eaten? Then we’ll set off when the sun rises tomorrow. Until then, we’ll take turns keeping watch. The order is—"

I felt a jolt. I had heard of keeping watch while camping, but so far, my field activities had been limited to goblin extermination, which were day trips, so I had never done it before.

The task of keeping watch mainly involved adding logs to the fire to keep it going and waking everyone if a monster triggered the traps set around the perimeter. But still...

I looked around. Generally, watch duty was done in pairs.

Red was out of the question, and I was in the middle of a competition with Walter. I wasn’t particularly close to Maron either.

The only one left was Gloria, but Walter was the one deciding the watch order.

I made eye contact with Walter. There was nothing particular in his gaze, and he began calling out names for the watch order.

I stared at the fire in front of me. I had been adding logs at regular intervals and staring at the fire for an hour already. No matter how many times I checked my pocket watch, time seemed to move slowly. Could it have been broken during today’s battle?

Normally, I would use this time to check my status screen, but with another person on watch, I couldn’t make any suspicious movements.

If I stared at nothing and moved my fingers, I’d be considered strange.

"...Hey."

As I was thinking this, Maron spoke to me. Yes, I was on watch with Maron. We had been in the same training period since we started, but we rarely interacted.

Even when Walter and Red approached, I remained neutral, and she didn’t seem particularly interested in others.

"That’s a pocket watch, right?"

"Ah, yeah..."

"Can I see it?"

It seemed she was more interested in the pocket watch than in me. I handed it to her.

"This engraving, isn’t it Roger’s?"

"Is it? I don’t really know..."

"He’s the best clockmaker in town. The demand is so high that you have to wait a year just to get one. The precise movement of the hands and the intricate craftsmanship are famous for keeping perfect time for 50 years once it starts ticking."

I was surprised by her eloquence. I didn’t know this because Salome had easily obtained it for me, and she hadn’t shown any signs of effort. How extensive were her connections?

"I was planning to get one someday... I didn’t expect Tim to get one first..."

She returned the pocket watch to me with a look of regret that I had never seen before.

"That must have cost a pretty penny, right?"

"...Yeah, it did."

I recalled the amount I had paid Salome. It was enough to buy a magic dagger with ease.

"To be able to buy it so easily... You must be making quite a bit, huh?"

She finally showed interest in me, not just the pocket watch.

"I just hunt in the dungeon all the time, so I don’t really feel it."

I had no frame of reference for other adventurers’ incomes. Part of the reward went to paying off my debt to the Adventurer’s Guild, and recently, I had been getting my balance from Salome instead of currency.

"It’s about time for the shift change, isn’t it?"

I checked my pocket watch, and it was the time Walter had mentioned. Maron slowly stood up.

"Still, it’s good to have one for field activities. I might get one too."

She headed towards the tent. As she passed by me, she said,

"By the way, you have a talent for magic. The power of spells from scrolls depends on your magic power. It’s a good idea to learn a skill while you have the chance."

She patted my shoulder and went into the tent.

"What was that about?"

I was confused by Maron’s friendlier attitude after showing her the pocket watch. A little while later, Gloria came out of the tent.

"...Ugh, it’s already time to switch?"

She rubbed her eyes, looking sleepy, and walked over unsteadily. I watched her carefully, worried she might trip on the rocks on the ground, but she seemed to be paying attention even in her drowsy state.

She approached safely and sat down on the rock where Maron had been sitting.

"Here, drink this to wake up."

I poured hot water into her cup and handed it to her.

"Thank you, Tim."

She took the cup and smiled softly.

"Phew, phew, phew."

She blew on the water to cool it down before drinking. I didn’t want to stare, so I returned to tending the fire.

After a while, I looked up and saw Gloria watching me.

"What’s wrong?"

I asked, puzzled by her stillness.

"Being on this adventure with you, Tim, feels strange."

"Well, I was a bit late in getting started..."

I hadn’t developed any skills and had continued hunting goblins without giving up on being an adventurer. Thanks to the ‘Status Manipulation’ skill, I can now operate solo, but even I couldn’t have imagined this situation back then, so it’s not surprising that Gloria felt this way.

"But because of that, I’m worried about you."

"What do you mean?"

I looked at her with a puzzled expression.

"This request is to exterminate a group of Lesser Dragons, which are much stronger than the orcs we fought today."

"I know that, but—"

Goblins and kobolds are the weakest of all monsters. Orcs are stronger, but a group of Lesser Dragons is even stronger than orcs.

"I don’t think we should continue this competition."

She tightened her grip on the cup and said this.

"It’s not too late, Tim. Let’s call off the competition. I’ll talk to Walter too."

I sensed something was off, and it seemed Gloria was genuinely worried about me. I felt a smile tugging at the corners of my mouth.

"...Did you talk to Walter about this?"

"Yeah, I tried to persuade him until the last moment before the competition started."

"And what did he say?"

She hesitated for a moment, as if it was hard to say.

"...‘I’m not changing my mind. I’ll teach him the harshness of being an adventurer.’”

Hearing this, my cheeks relaxed into a smile.

"Tim?"

Gloria tilted her head, noticing the change in my expression.

"I won’t call off the competition."

I firmly answered Gloria. It was time to switch, so I stood up, and Gloria anxiously approached me.

"Why! Tim, you’re already a D-rank adventurer. You’ve already shown the results of your hard work! I don’t want you to put yourself in any more danger!"

Gloria clung to my arm. Seeing her like this, a sorrowful anger welled up inside me, a feeling I had never directed at her before.

"In this case, Walter and Red are right."

"Huh?"

Gloria froze, not understanding my words.

Neither Walter, Red, nor Maron told me to ‘go home’ after seeing my movements during the day. But Gloria said something close to that.

"In the end, you were the one who believed in my strength the least."

My sorrow-filled words made her cover her mouth and widen her eyes.