Chapter 9: Night Companion (2)
"…Why are you giving this to me?"
"Does one need a reason to help?"
It felt like thorns were sprouting in my mouth to say something I didn't mean, but I had no choice.
This approach would work better on her type.
I want to become a Night Companion with this Fairy.
Saying it like that made me sound like trash, but this wasn't a bad deal for her either.
Injuries, lack of sleep, and a pretty face.
No matter how I looked at it, her situation was several times worse than mine.
That must be why she put up such a fuss just now.
To be honest, even I was surprised by the tenacity for life she had shown.
"Like I said, treat your wounds first. We can talk after."
"But…"
"I'll keep watch."
As I turned my back with a dismissive attitude, I soon heard a mumbling sound.
It seemed she was chewing the herbs to make them easier to apply to her wounds.
"…I'm done."
Already? She's surprisingly skilled.
When I turned back, I could see a neatly tied bandage through a tear in her clothes.
The wariness in her eyes also seemed to have diminished slightly.
First, let's introduce ourselves and slowly close the distance.
"I am Bjorn, son of Yandel."
"…Erwen."
"I don't know what you're misunderstanding. But what you're thinking won't happen."
"Huh? Ah, yes…"
She tried to act like it was nothing, but the fear in her eyes remained.
I thought my actions would have cleared up that misunderstanding by now, but what went wrong?
In the end, I asked her directly.
"Why do you fear me so much?"
"…Aren't Barbarians and Fairies hostile to each other?"
"Hostile?"
"I-I'm sorry. That's not what I meant… I don't want to fight with you, Old Man."
At my question, she seemed to snap to her senses and began groveling again.
I was genuinely curious…
Barbarians and Fairies are hostile? This was the first I'd heard of it.
I was sure they got along quite well in the game.
What could this be about?
I just stared at her with intensity, and the information I wanted came pouring out.
"…I-it was a war that ended ten years ago, right? I-I don't hold any grudges about it! I really don't."
Ten years ago…
I didn't know what happened, but from the sound of it, it seemed more like they were rivals than enemies.
Hmm, so was she raised hearing bad things about us, making her this scared?
The situation had gotten quite troublesome.
What should I do? Should I find someone else now?
But then the herbs and bandages I already gave her would be a bit of a waste…
Right, let's at least give it a try.
"I don't have any grudges either."
"I-is that so!"
"That's right. Which is why I'm asking, Erwen. Would you perhaps become my Night Companion?"
"…Night Companion?"
"I am tired now. The same must be true for you. Whether we have grudges or not, how about we cooperate, just for tonight?"
"Umm…"
Her eyes suddenly sparkled.
Honestly, it was hard to believe she was the same person from before.
I gave her time without rushing, and after contemplating so hard that her brow furrowed, Erwen agreed, but with one condition.
"I thought Barbarians valued a Warrior's Honor. Can you swear upon it? That you won't harm me first?"
"An Oath."
"O-of course, I will also promise on the name of my Tribe. That I will never harm you first, Old Man."
To explain it in Korean culture, it's like we're both promising with our pinkies.
Of course, I could do it all day long.
However, there was one thing to address first.
"I am Bjorn, son of Yandel. Not Old Man."
I might be old, but our Bjorn is only twenty.
***
The contract was made.
We didn't use thumbprints, but we did something similar according to the culture here.
Thanks to that, I learned the Fairy girl's full name in the process.
Erwen Fornachi di Tersia.
She was twenty years old, the same age as Bjorn.
Phew, I'm glad I'm not the real Bjorn.
I'm sure the real Bjorn would think so too.
Me aside, she…
I won't bother saying it.
"Then how should we decide the order?"
"I'll sleep first. That should put you more at ease."
"It's not particularly like that, but if you insist, I suppose I don't have much choice…"
In other words, she wouldn't have dared to ask, but it was what she wanted.
"I'll take that as a yes."
"Yes."
Phew, I'm glad that worked.
My mind would have gone blank if she had suggested we decide with rock-paper-scissors.
My eyes have been closing on their own for a while now.
Please, I just want to sleep.
Is getting a good night's rest really this hard?
"Oh! How will we tell the time?"
Tsk, tsk, this is why beginners are so troublesome.
I took the watch out of my backpack and handed it to Erwen.
"It's expensive, so don't break it."
"Okaay…"
Seeing her treat it like a sacred treasure, not just with her words, put my mind at ease.
"I'll be careful. Please get some rest."
Just as the Old Man had done, I used my backpack as a pillow, covered myself with the blanket, and curled up.
And…
Snore!
I fell asleep as if I had fainted.
"Old Man!"
…I told you, it's Bjorn.
"Old Man, wake up. Time's up."
I forced my heavy eyes open and sat up.
I couldn't believe it.
Had two hours already passed?
"Here, take your watch back."
I checked the time, and indeed, two hours had passed.
Come to think of it, I don't think I even managed to do my test-snore.
I was planning to do it for about ten minutes just in case…
Wow, is this the synergy of a backpack and a blanket?
It's terrifying.
If the Old Man had lent me this, I surely wouldn't have been able to dodge his surprise attack.
I would have been sleeping like a log, completely oblivious to the world.
In a way, is this karma?
…In that sense, I should lend it to her too.
"Cover yourself and sleep. Use this as a pillow if you want."
"Huh? But…"
Her words were hesitant, but I could see the corners of her mouth twitching upwards.
I decided to pretend I didn't notice.
"Well, in that case, I will gratefully use it…"
Without me having to offer again, Erwen crawled into the blanket and curled up like a cat.
And soon, she began to breathe rhythmically.
Well, isn't she sleeping soundly in front of a strange man?
Then again, she must be exhausted.
She must have had as hard a day as I did.
"Hoo…"
Leaning my back against the wall, I opened my watch out of habit.
[22:50]
It feels like five days have passed, but there's still over an hour left before the second day ends.
I want to go back to the city.
Actually, even saying 'go back' is kind of funny, but… if I could just go back, I'd sleep for days.
'…The fact that I'm having these thoughts must mean I'm feeling better.'
I put the watch away and seriously sank into my thoughts.
Having a moment of peace for the first time in a while, all sorts of thoughts kept popping up.
What happened to the me in reality?
Was I reported as missing? Probably not yet.
Someone would have had to come looking for me first.
Even my company wouldn't think it was serious for a few days.
"Heh."
There's a reason I hadn't thought about this problem even once until now.
It just makes me sad.
Thinking that there's nothing good to go back to would just break my will.
In many ways, it's better not to think about it.
Even if it's nothing more than self-deception, I'm quite susceptible to my own self-hypnosis.
"..."
I intentionally shifted my train of thought.
Right, I might as well review the events of the past two days.
Finishing the Coming of Age Ceremony, entering the Labyrinth, fighting Goblins, fighting the Old Man…
I can praise myself for doing well so far, right?
It was so hard I thought I was going to die.
Since no one else will praise me, can't I do it myself?
Click-
Deciding to think about self-praise after returning to the city, I opened my watch to find that the time was already up.
"Erwen, wake up."
"Just five more minutes…"
What five more minutes? Get up.
"Ugh…"
As I shook her shoulder with a Barbarian's rough touch, Erwen rubbed her eyes and sat up.
This seems dangerous.
I now understand why the Old Man didn't trust me back then.
"Don't think about dozing off just because nothing has happened so far."
"Okay…"
I was a little worried, but I lay down again to sleep.
Perhaps because I had lent her the blanket and backpack, there was still some warmth left when I lay down again.
It felt somewhat ironic.
How long has it been since I've felt the warmth of someone other than myself? It feels very unfamiliar.
Perhaps more so than anything I've experienced in the last two days.
Snore!
This time, I had some energy, so I started my test-snore.
Honestly, it was more to check if she was doing her job without dozing off than to test her.
…Doesn't seem like she's dozing off.
Peeking at Erwen through my slightly open eyes, I let go of my worries and closed my eyes again.
And then, how much time had passed?
Tap.
I felt a presence and quickly sat up.
"Kyah!"
For some reason, I was holding Erwen's white wrist.
From the looks of it, she seemed to be reaching for me…
"What do you think you're doing?"
"I-it's just, you seemed to be having a nightmare, and you were sweating a lot…"
Seeing the handkerchief in her hand, it didn't seem like an excuse.
Well, if it had been a weapon, I would have just smashed her with my Shield without asking why.
"I-I'm sorry."
Having grasped the situation, I loosened my grip.
Erwen then rubbed the captured part of her wrist with a pained expression.
A red mark had already appeared.
I didn't bother to apologize.
It would just be empty words anyway.
"How much time has passed?"
"…There's about ten minutes left until the shift change."
"I see. Then let's switch now."
"But…"
"If I sleep now, I'll just be more tired."
At my words, Erwen lay down with an apologetic look.
After tossing and turning for a bit, she said,
"Old Man."
"Is there a problem?"
"No. I was just curious about something."
"Ask away."
Erwen hesitated for a moment before opening her mouth.
"…Who are you, really?"
What? Is she playing word games?
"You kept saying you were sorry in your dream… Ah, I'm sorry. Was I overstepping? You don't have to answer. I'll go to sleep now."
Before I could even answer, Erwen finished her monologue and pulled the blanket over her head.
It seemed that now that this young lady realized I wasn't that scary, her curiosity was starting to bloom.
"Ugh."
I did some simple stretches and thought.
I don't remember anything at all, but from the sound of it, I really must have had a nightmare…
Suddenly, I became a little curious.
Who exactly was the Old Man I was asking forgiveness from?
Two candidates came to mind.
The nameless Old Man whose head was cut off at the Coming of Age Ceremony, and Old Man Hans who taught me how to be human.
…But thinking about it, either way is strange.
I haven't done anything to apologize for to either of them.
I soon came to a conclusion.
Whatever I dreamed, it must have been a meaningless, silly dream.
***
[04:30]
The third day had begun.
And there were about ten minutes left until it was time to wake Erwen.
As I watched Erwen sleeping like a shrimp with the blanket between her legs, I debated.
Whether or not to propose we become companions.
Of course, becoming companions has the disadvantage of having to share the spoils.
Even though Goblins start appearing in groups of three or four from the third day, Erwen's joining would surely decrease my income.
It's an issue unrelated to her strength.
Well, since her species is Fairy, she'll surely pull her own weight, but…
Should I say we already have a surplus of combat power?
Even without Erwen, I can easily take care of three or four Goblins by myself.
It wasn't arrogance; having gone through several real battles with this body, that was my genuine assessment.
And I was in a position where I had to gather as many Magic Stones as possible to prepare for living expenses in the city and future taxes.
"Hoo…"
A safe place to sleep, or more Magic Stones.
I was contemplating over and over to make the most rational choice.
Thud.
I heard the presence of an Explorer from the left passage.
It was something that happened several times during the night watch, so I wasn't particularly tense.
Most of them would just glance over and pass by.
However…
Tap-
This duo of explorers, made up of Chunky and Weaky, glanced our way and then stopped in their tracks.
They whispered to each other.
"Isn't that the Fairy?"
"Looks like it. The shape of the bow matches."
After whispering and coming to a conclusion, Chunky, as their representative, asked me a question.
"Barbarian, what is your relationship with that Fairy?"
"As you can see, a Night Companion."
"A Barbarian and a Fairy as Night Companions, what a strange sight. So how much time is left?"
"I have no reason to answer you."
At my reply, Chunky didn't press further.
He just grinned, took Weaky with him, and left.
"I see. Let's go."
"Huh? Oh, uh…"
Soon, the presence of the duo disappeared from the surroundings.
But I couldn't relax.
Who the hell were those guys? It was as ominous as when the Tribe Chief had shouted right in front of me.
I slowly moved to the side and tapped the sleeping Erwen's shoulder.
"Ugh…"
Hey, how can you be sleeping in a situation like this?
Get up.
I think we're screwed.