[Interlude] From the Forest to the Town

A different perspective on the story so far. You may skip this without affecting the narrative flow.

As usual, the dirt road—so I kept alert, watching for wild animals that might leap out at me.

I approached cautiously after hearing a rustling sound.

But what I found wasn't an animal.

A scruffy man in unfamiliar clothing was barely alive.

I was ordered by the deputy commander who came with me to rescue him.

How on earth did someone so skinny manage to survive?

It seems the man has recovered. When I was playing with the children, he came over to greet me.

He's grinning in a weird way—creepy guy.

Apparently, he'll be joining the group from now on as a baggage carrier. Will he actually be useful?

Even just a few days after joining the group, all he's done is push a cart, yet he's panting like he's been running a marathon.

It doesn't matter if he's here or not.

He's popular with the kids. They've been playing with him nonstop lately.

I've finally stopped having to watch over him, but for some reason it still bothers me.

I'll go bother him a bit.

Is that guy jealous? If so, why did he give up so easily when I just gave him a single move? He's

lately, he's been pushing the cart without getting out of breath anymore.

He seems interested in the magic stones, already holed up in the tent, apparently studying them—grinning like a fool while staring at the rock.

For some reason, I don't like it. But he's smart, and if I mess with him, he'll quickly turn the tables.

Is there anything else I can do?

A boar-like monster appeared.

He's standing there with a pale face, just frozen in place. Idiot!

"What are you muttering about?! Get back quickly, push the cargo bed, and get out of here!"

Saying that, he pushed the guy into running.

In the meantime, the usual escort unit deployed.

The deputy commander relayed the strategy.

It seemed the boar was the source this time.

The farther it ran, the stronger the force that would send it flying. So all we had to do was not let it run.

The deputy commander seemed to have the same idea.

He carried a large shield. The unit members bravely advanced toward it.

Block the wild boar's charge before letting it run. Pressing forward like a wave, the other unit members rushed in to attack.

It seemed they had managed to deal some damage, but the monster boar was still very much able to move.

The beast appeared to be trying to create distance, repeatedly retreating behind the barrier and then charging forward again.

The deputy commander spoke up.

"Noel, can you handle it? Just create an opening."

"No problem. I can do it anytime."

Saying that, he stepped forward in front of the boar.

Behind him were trees.

The opponent was nothing more than a boar—it could only charge straight ahead.

The demonic boar charged in.

He readied his longsword.

As the demonic beast made contact, he slid the longsword along its body,

using the momentum of its charge to leap high into the air.

Dodging while simultaneously cutting off the beast’s line of sight.

And I settled things with the monster.

Taro enthusiastically praised me. Even though he looked green-faced, he said I was quite the character.

We arrived at the trading city. It's always bustling here.

Since it's a town with big sales, our escort team gets pushed into selling goods.

We're usually not involved in sales, so we don't know the ropes.

An old man customer groped my rear.

You damn pervert, I punched him hard.

We got into a fight, but everyone from the group desperately held me back.

They kept saying something about the old man dying or whatever.

As expected, I was removed from the sales team.

Since there was nothing else I could do, I wandered around the town.

But since it was the same town I always visited, I'd already seen everything there was to see.

While checking out the stalls, I found Taro and the children.

They were supposed to be guarding the area to watch the magic user's performance that had come to town.

Had it already ended?

Taro seems to be undecided about what to buy. What could he be thinking of getting?

Come to think of it, he still seems to be investigating those magic stones. Could it be something related to magic stones?

A few days later, I found Taro sitting in a chair, staring intently at a thick book.

"Methods to become a magic user, huh?"

A magic user? Does that have anything to do with him?

Was he inspired by yesterday's magic user?

"What's with you? You aiming to be a magician too? That takes talent—you can't just do it without it."

Taro stares at me with narrowed eyes. What's with this guy?

"Noel has talent with a sword, but it seems he lacks the talent for magic."

He retorts. Such a brat.

"Magic can be learned with practice!"

"Then maybe I could do it to some extent if I practiced too."

"Don't steal words. Instead, have you been reading that book nonstop lately? Do you think you could use magic?"

He really is smart. It's frustrating, but he might rival even the captain and deputy captain. Maybe he could even learn to use magic.

"I can't. The book itself states that the general method for becoming a magic user hasn't been discovered yet.

But it seems I can't use it either.

I guess I really do have to protect these guys."

"That's right, you can't use it without talent, you know."

Saying that, Taro placed his chin on the back of his hand, lost in thought.

How bold of him to ignore me, after I went out of my way to talk to him.

I forced him to meet my gaze.

Then suddenly, Taro turned red and looked away.

Weird guy.

As I thought that, Taro dashed off somewhere.

After that, I helped carry the luggage lightly before returning to the dormitory.

On the way back, I was approached by a strange man, but after I landed a punch on him, he flew away in panic.

Why do I always get bothered like this? I tried telling my female friend in the group about it.

"That's because Noel's too unguarded. Try leaning slightly forward for a moment."

"Huh?"

I didn't understand, but did as I was told. Then she showed me a large mirror right in front of my eyes.

"Look here, right here."

Following her instruction, I looked and saw a valley—mine...

I immediately covered my chest and sat up straight. My face flushed with embarrassment.

"You might not realize it since your daily life is spent with the guard squad, but to the men in town, you're completely exposed. Try to be a bit more careful!"

Being lectured by an old friend, I had no words to say.

Did she see it too?