NPC - 19

Chapter 19

His gaze shifted from me back to the fallen bear on the ground.

"..."

He was someone I had wanted to see. I had even secretly prayed a little that he would show up. That very person, Derek, was standing right before my eyes. However, rather than the joy of his arrival, one singular thought completely consumed my mind.

'The last hit!'

He stole my last hit.

'Damn it, how could he steal the last hit on a monster I practically caught myself?!'

It was incredibly unfair and frustrating. Who in the world steals the final blow in a battle? Wasn't all my hard work supposed to pay off by watching the monster fall to my final strike? I definitely could have taken it down myself.

Filled with resentment, I glared at him.

'Ugh...' 

The stolen last hit wasn't the only thing that made me mad. The way he casually flicked his sword and adjusted his clothes, as if it was nothing, looked like a beautifully rendered game cutscene. Even his flawless appearance was infuriating.

After briefly scanning the surroundings, those sapphire eyes turned back to me.

"Why are you out here?"

"They said you were long overdue, so I came out to check."

'No, I meant to ask why did you come back here?'

For a moment, a thought crossed my mind: 'Does he have too much free time?' Even though Derek was the son of Count Parvin, one of the families that caused constant trouble in the game, he seemed idle enough to visit our village frequently.

'Is it because he's the second son?'

He was the Count's second son. He probably had fewer responsibilities than the firstborn. Still, he was supposed to be the protagonist's rival; what was he doing goofing off in a place like this?

Was it because the game's story hadn't progressed yet?

'Ah...?'

I blinked lightly. The reason he had so much free time. The very reason the story hadn't progressed was standing right here. Ain also straightened his posture and slowly approached us.

Their eyes met. They exchanged sharp, calculating glances, thoroughly on guard against each other. 

These two were not supposed to meet here.

'...Is the story going off the rails again?'

This must be what they mean when they say your blood runs cold. But this time, it wasn't my fault. The protagonist had moved on his own accord. It wasn't like I called him here.

Still, I needed to separate them before they left too strong an impression on each other.

'Right, for now... it's best if things follow the original story, right?'

Clang!

"?!"

While I was lost in thought, a sharp metallic sound suddenly pierced my ears. I immediately drew my bowstring and looked around.

'An ambush?!'

No matter how much I looked, I couldn't see a single shadow of a monster. It wasn't an ambush.

"Why are you two fighting?!"

Instead of a monster, the two of them had crossed swords. I gasped. Didn't these two have absolutely no idea who the other was yet? Why were they suddenly fighting?

'Don't tell me they already met in high society?!'

If they already knew each other, a fight made sense. After all, Derek belonged to a well-known Count's family, and Ain was currently a fugitive framed for treason.

After a brief standoff testing each other's strength, their swords began to move rapidly again.

Clang! Clash!

Their battle was growing increasingly fierce.

'How do I stop them?'

I really wished they wouldn't fight here. If things went wrong, our village could be caught in the crossfire. If they wanted to fight, they should take it somewhere far away.

"..."

I had my bow drawn, but there was no way I could shoot either of them. Besides, looking closely, they weren't evenly matched. Their levels were clearly different. Ain was gritting his teeth and fighting back, but he was slowly being pushed backward. In contrast, Derek still looked completely at ease.

At this rate, Ain was going to be in danger.

Twang!

In the end, I loosed an arrow.

"...!"

"..."

As expected, I couldn't bring myself to shoot either of them. The arrow struck the dirt right at their feet.

Fortunately, it was highly effective. Both of them stopped moving simultaneously. They stared at the arrow embedded in the earth before raising their heads to look at me. Enduring one murderous glare was scary enough, but having it doubled was utterly terrifying. I unconsciously took a step back.

Then, as if they had planned it, they spoke at the exact same time.

"...Weren't you taken hostage?" 

"Is he not an enemy?" 

Could these two actually be friends? How could they be on the exact same wavelength?

"I think there's been a misunderstanding..."

Seizing the opportunity created by their pause, I wedged myself between them. I simply used my bow to lightly knock their crossed swords apart, and the two easily backed away.

'Phew...'

Since I had been a little tense, a sigh of relief naturally escaped me. But I couldn't let my guard down yet. Although they had each taken a step back, their faces were full of suspicion. Moreover, they were still gripping their swords, ready to swing at a moment's notice. I guess rivals really do recognize each other.

In the end, I had no choice but to stand in the middle and play the mediator.

"Ah, it's a misunderstanding. It's not like that..."

I paused, falling into a dilemma. I had no idea how to introduce these two to each other. I couldn't exactly say, 'Actually, you two are destined to try and kill each other later on.'

"..."

"..."

As time ticked by while I kept my mouth shut, an inexplicable look of suspicion slowly began to spread in both their eyes.

'They look like they're thinking, 'Is he being silenced by that guy?'

If this misunderstanding deepened, things would spiral completely out of control. I quickly opened my mouth. Whatever. Any introduction would be better than this awkward silence.

"T-This person is the one who escorted me here from the neighboring village."

"..."

"Escorted?"

The coldness lingering in Derek's eyes seemed to drop another few degrees. Did that mean he thought I didn't need an escort for a trip like this? Since he already perceived me as strong, I suppose it couldn't be helped.

'Look... if it hadn't been for that bear, I wouldn't have been in danger in the first place! Traveling alone is usually a piece of cake.'

Excuses could wait for later.

"And this is a regular customer at our inn."

"A customer?"

"Inn?"

Once again, Derek seemed displeased. He openly displayed his dissatisfaction, furrowing his brow.

'Well what do you want me to say? "This is Derek Irnian, the young lord of Count Parvin's family~"?!'

Unlike Derek, Ain tilted his head in confusion. Had I not told him that my family ran an inn?

"Yes. My family runs an inn."

"Your escort duties end here. You may leave."

Derek cut the conversation short, as if there was no need to talk any further.

But wasn't that way too cold? That was no way to speak to someone who had worried about me and escorted me all the way here. Without Ain in that battle just now, I wouldn't have lasted until Derek arrived.

Besides, this was an arrangement between Ain and me. If anyone was going to say 'this is far enough,' it should be me.

"I see. Understood."

"Wait a minute!"

Ain immediately turned around. In that brief moment, his face showed no signs of being offended. He simply turned away without a shred of lingering attachment, just like a mercenary who had completed a quest. I was the one full of lingering regrets.

"Hold on!"

There were times when I had wished he wouldn't follow me. The presence I felt at my back had even been burdensome. But at the thought of parting ways like this, I unconsciously reached out to him.

'Damn it, is this how I raised you?!'

The thought of 'How could you do this to me?' suddenly flashed through my mind.

'No, wait, do I even have the right to think that?'

I wasn't the one who had raised the current protagonist. Far from it; the game had only just begun. Even though I realized that, a part of my heart still felt a bit hurt. Wasn't a protagonist basically an avatar and a child to a player?

'Ack!'

However, my outstretched hand never reached him. As if mocking me, the hem of his clothes slipped smoothly through my fingers, and,

Thud!

Ain collapsed onto the ground.

"...Huh?"

A person who was walking perfectly fine had suddenly collapsed. I stared at my hand, entertaining the foolish thought that I might have subconsciously shot out some magic.

Of course, it was just a normal hand. Furthermore, I had never used magic once in my life.

'Don't tell me... his wounds?!'

I quickly rushed over to Ain. He had taken several hits while fighting the bear, hadn't he? No matter how many health potions you drank, deep wounds didn't heal that easily.

But just as I was about to examine his body, a hand reached out from the side and stopped me.

"Wait."

Derek gently pushed my hand back, knelt beside him, and inspected Ain. Seeing how he tried his best not to touch the body, it seemed he suspected poison or a curse. It wasn't like he was immune to those things either.

'Does he just trust that I'll take proper action if that happens?'

It wasn't like my bag was always stocked with remedies.

Even so, Derek, who had undoubtedly experienced far more situations than me, would have a better read on his condition. I waited quietly for him to reach a conclusion, mentally cataloging what was in my bag.

'I have more health potions, but... what if it really is poison or a curse? Did we have more potions at home?'

Antidotes were easy to come by, but cure potions, which healed status ailments like curses, weren't sold in our village shop. It would be nice if we had some stocked as emergency supplies back at the inn.

While all these thoughts ran through my head, Derek finished his examination and lowered his hand.

"..."

"H-How is he?"

He let out a short sigh and stood up.

"He merely fainted."

"F-Fainted? Not from his injuries?"

Well, it was a relief that it wasn't a deep wound, poison, or a curse. But fainting so suddenly? Did he suffer some kind of shock?

"It appears he has not eaten in quite some time."

Rather, I was the one who was in shock. It felt as if someone had struck me hard on the head. I stared down at Ain in absolute disbelief.

"So you're saying... he collapsed because he's hungry?"

"That is correct."

"..."

I couldn't have imagined this in my wildest dreams. If he collapsed from hunger, exactly how many days had he been starving? And I had lured monsters toward a guy in that condition just to level him up?