Chapter 28
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"Why am I here again..."
But in the end, those feelings of mine were nothing more than useless worrying.
My peaceful everyday life hadn't even lasted a few days. Derek suddenly appeared before me once again. And this time, asking if I had been hiding anywhere, he said, "Perfect," and dragged me outside.
It wasn't an everyday occurrence. Sometimes it was once every three days. At most, a whole week would go by without seeing him. Phrased like that, it sounds as if he was just dropping by to see me whenever he had free time, but the reality was completely different.
What he dragged me out to do was hunt monsters. I had be
en pulled this way and that by him, defeating so many monsters that I’d completely lost count.
It was safe to say we had hunted down every slightly notorious monster in the vicinity. I wanted to shower myself with endless praise for instantly recalling all of their weaknesses.
It had already been two months of living like this. Two whole months.
Crash!
Derek rolled across the ground, dodging the monster's strike. The beast looming before him raised its weapon once more. It was a maneuver only possible because it had multiple arms grafted onto an Orc’s body. Having barely evaded the primary, heavy attack, Derek hadn't noticed the secondary weapon.
"Sir Derek, on your right!"
"......!"
Clang!
"Oh."
Derek blocked the attack without even turning his head in that direction. Was this the hallmark of a well-trained knight? It was a movement so flawless it captivated the eyes. But even amidst that, my hands precisely executed their designated task.
Thwack!
Grooooaaar!
The arrow didn't hit. The monster merely roared loudly and swatted away the arrow I had loosed. However, large, sweeping movements inevitably create openings.
"Haa!"
Derek swung his sword straight into that opening.
Kieeeaaak!
Clang, cl-cl-clang!
The monster thrashed about. As its weapon-wielding arms flailed wildly, the sharp blades clashed endlessly.
I pulled a paralysis bomb from my pocket and closely observed the beast's movements. Then, I swiftly threw it right through the gaps of its swinging weapons.
Zap!
Sparks flew as the monster's movemen
ts ground to a temporary halt. The stronger the monster, the shorter the paralysis effect lasted. But for us, that brief moment was more than enough. Derek immediately raised his sword, lunged forward, and thrust his blade precisely into the monster's neck.
Kuhk...!
Thud!
Letting out a final, choked scream, the monster collapsed to the ground.
"...Phew."
This monster had been truly difficult to deal with. It wasn't necessarily stronger than the ones we had fought so far, but the problem was that it was a creature I had never encountered before.
Because I hadn't even faced it in the game, I knew absolutely nothing about its attack patterns. It had been quite a while since I'd had to figure out a strategy mid-battle, so I was twice as exhausted as usual.
"Are you alright?"
"......."
Having finished the job, Derek walked over to me.
My eyes felt dry and strained from focusing so intensely on formulating a strategy in between launching my own attacks. Calculating every single one of the monster's movements, its attack patterns, and even the passive skills it might be using had given me a splitting headache. The pain was still throbbing in my temples.
"!!"
Suddenly, Derek placed his hand against my forehead. Oddly enough, the warm temperature of his skin made it feel as though my headache was easing up.
"You don't have a fever."
"Because I'm not sick."
I immediately denied his assumption, but I couldn't bring myself to pull away from his hand. Likewise, Derek kept his hand resting on my forehead even after confirming I had no fever.
"......."
"......."
As if neither of us knew the right moment to step back, we stood there just like that for a while.
Just as a gust of wind blew past, sweeping back our hair, Derek's hand naturally slid down, gently brushing against my cheek before pulling away.
"......?"
"We should head back now."
Blinking blankly, I followed his hand with my eyes. Just as I was about to open my mouth to speak, Derek cut me off and turned his back. Chasing after him, I raised a hand to my own cheek.
'I don't... have a fever?'
It probably wasn't even red enough to warrant checking my temperature.
---
"Welcome back!"
When we returned to the inn, the first ones to greet us were Derek's knights. Perhaps Derek had scolded them for blatantly revealing their identities previously, because they were wearing ordinary clothes, neither their armor nor their uniforms embroidered with the family crest.
However, nothing could conceal their imposing builds and the aura they radiated. They were practically broadcasting an energy that screamed they were no ordinary people.
Derek simply gave a curt nod and headed for the stairs.
'...Is he not being dragged away today?'
Usually, whenever his knighthood arrived, Derek would be all but dragged back home by them. Today, however, Derek naturally walked up to the second floor, and the knights simply resumed their meal without saying a word.
"Follow me."
"Excuse me? Ah... Yes."
Feeling a bit frantic, I shot a look at my parents. But they didn't seem to understand the situation either; they just shrugged with surprised expressions.
I ultimately had to follow Derek all the way to his room.
"...Huh?"
He had definitely dragged me out to hunt monsters the second he arrived at the inn earlier. Yet, there were several unfamiliar bags of luggage sitting in his room. He couldn't have brought them himself.
'Using his knights as porters...'
That meant the knights currently dining downstairs were the only ones who could have brought it all here.
He began to unpack a few of the bags. Meanwhile, I, who had been standing awkwardly by the door, quickly plopped down on the sofa. It was a behavior I would absolutely never dare attempt in front of any other noble. But I had experienced this enough times
to know perfectly well that Derek wouldn't mind it much.
"Take this first."
True to form, he didn't criticize me for lounging on the sofa. Instead, he took a seat opposite me as if it were perfectly natural and placed something on the table.
The first thing to catch my eye was a sleek, black body with beautifully curved lines.
"......!"
"Hasn't the bow you were using reached the end of its lifespan?"
"Th-this is...!"
With slightly trembling hands, I grasped it.
It was a sturdy bow crafted from ebony. It couldn't even be compared to my shabby weapon. Out of all the items sold in the shop, it boasted the highest performance and the steepest price tag. It was an item I hadn't even dared to dream of buying yet.
The smooth surface molded into my grip so naturally that it felt custom-made for my hands. The weight was lighter than expected, and plucking the bowstring felt like strumming a fine stringed instrument.
'Expensive things really are on another level...'
I was marveling at the bow before hurriedly snapping back to reality.
"Ah! But is it really okay for me to accept something like this?"
"It's a token of gratitude for your cooperation thus far. And take these, too."
What he pulled out next, one after another, were high-grade health potions, cure potions, and antidotes, items impossible to procure around here. They were all highly practical goods, perfect for stocking up in storage for future use.
'He's surprisingly pragmatic.'
Since he was a noble, simply buying me off with money would have been much easier.
I gathered up the items he handed me. But something felt a bit off. Items were piling up on the table as if he were settling the final reward tab for all the monsters we had hunted so far. Glancing up, I noticed Derek's expression seemed a little strange, too.
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