Chapter 36

The two people screamed, and I was confused.

Why, even though I was supposed to have helped them...?

But the answer soon became clear.

The two of them trembled and pointed at me. When I looked down at myself—

I was covered in the blood of the orcs. My white robe was dyed red, both hands were soaked in blood, and when I traced my cheek, it was only blood. Yes—my entire body was stained red.

"Ah, sorry..."

I instinctively took a step back, took off my robe, and washed my face and hands with water magic. Although a young woman was watching, I had no choice. I took off my jacket, checked, and then put on new clothes. I checked my appearance again. Alright, this should be fine.

When I turned around, the two of them had their cheeks flushed.

I called out to them again.

"Are you okay...?"

The two, who had been stunned, tightened their faces.

"Ah, yes, thank you for helping us..."

"It's really over... Thank you so much."

Upon closer inspection, one of them had light blue hair that reached her waist and similar blue eyes, and she seemed to be about my age. The other was wearing tattered armor, had shoulder-length blonde hair, and had small horns like a sheep on her head. I had defeated the monsters, but the beast girl knight was still wary, subtly shielding the other girl.

I thought this situation was inevitable, so I took a step back and spoke.

"That's good... Wait a moment. I have something to do..."

I had been an adventurer for a few months and had faced death many times. I didn't want to get used to it, but as an adventurer, I had no choice. I put the orcs' bodies into my dimensional storage and mourned them. I sat in front of the bodies, clasped my hands, and prayed for their souls, then searched their bags and checked their guild cards. I spread a white sheet, placed the bodies on it, wrapped them, and put them into my dimensional storage. Some of the bodies were missing limbs, but I managed to wrap them despite feeling nauseous. It took about thirty minutes, but I silently finished the task, and the orc corpses were all stored away.

"Alright, that's done."

The bodies of the adventurers would be handed over to the guild, and if they had family, they would be returned. If not, they would be buried in a common grave. Without dimensional storage like mine, people would take the belongings and bury the bodies on the spot.

With that task done, I turned around to see the two of them still sitting in shock.

"So, you two...? I'm heading back to town..."

"Ah, I apologize. I am a guard of the Lunette Empire—"

"Al!"

The knight-like girl was about to introduce herself when the girl behind her stopped her.

"Ah... I'm Al, and the one behind me is Char. We were on our way to the Salandiel Kingdom for some reason, and we ended up here..."

She was about to say 'guard' just now... This feels like it's going to be a hassle. The girl behind her looks like a noble, too. No, if she has a guard, she might be royalty...

...I have a bad feeling about this.

"I see... My name is Touya. I'm an adventurer in Fendy, Salandiel Kingdom. I came to this forest on a mission to investigate it..."

"?! ...From the Salandiel Kingdom... Then please, take us to the city. We must see Lady Natalie—"

"Hey, you've run this far, huh? Hey! We found them!!"

A voice called out from behind me, and I turned to see several men who looked like soldiers emerging from the forest. They were wearing uniform armor, holding one-handed swords, and covered in blood, looking like they had just come from a battle. They ignored me and their eyes were on the two girls.

"It was tiring to come this far. You've caused us a lot of trouble. And who are you? We don't plan on letting you live, anyway."

"Of course not! We've already crossed into Salandiel. If we report this to the country, it will be a problem."

The men drew their swords and approached me. Including the ones who had just appeared, there were ten soldiers in front of me, and they didn't plan on letting me live. I took out a two-handed sword from my dimensional storage and got into a fighting stance.

To be honest, I have no experience in fighting people. But... if I don't kill them, I'll surely be killed. I gripped the sword tightly.

"That's none of your business! We are your targets! You should run!"

From behind me, the girl named Al stood up with a sword, protecting Char. However, she didn't seem to have much strength left from exhaustion.

"Didn't I tell you... Do you really think we'll let the witnesses live?"

The soldier swung his sword at me. I blocked it and pushed it aside.

...I have no choice...

I had fought in player-versus-player battles in games, but that was just a game. This is the real world, and it's different. My heart was pounding so hard it felt like it would burst. But I couldn't show that on my face. I took a deep breath and pointed the two-handed sword at the soldier.

"Hmph, for a kid... You, take care of this one first."

The soldiers spread out to surround me.

And so, my first real battle against people began.

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Thank you as always.

It's tough to update with drinking parties three times a week...