Chapter 4

Virga Village was a quiet countryside.

A small village located deep in the mountains at the edge of the western continent.

It was a place where one couldn’t find any “specialness” in the repetitive daily life.

“…Will it be the same today?”

“Of course! The sun is already high in the sky.”

However, recently, an entertaining spectacle had emerged in this utterly boring Virga Village.

The villagers, who usually just idled away their time, secretly looked forward to this moment.

“Oh! Speak of the goblin and it appears, there they come.”

A man pointed, and a cloud of dust could be seen rising from where his finger indicated.

At the same time, the sound of hurried footsteps faintly reached their ears.

The footsteps grew louder and louder.

Finally, as they approached within earshot, human voices could be heard.

The first to appear was a man with gray hair. Judging by the beads of sweat dripping down his forehead, he had been running for some time.

“You little brat! I told you not to follow me!”

He shouted loudly as if exasperated. His slightly choked-up voice sounded pitiful.

“I’m not a little brat, I’m Elwin! Gale, you’re going to the tavern again anyway! Let’s go together! I’ll treat you. I have a lot of money!”

However, the golden-haired boy fiercely chasing him was unwavering.

The boy was none other than Elwin. He retorted with a bright smile.

“That’s why…! I don’t have a taste for drinking with a soft, fluffy little kid!”

The gray-haired man, called Gale, clutched his chest as if he was going crazy and shouted.

“No matter how broke I am, this mister doesn’t have a hobby of snatching money from a snotty brat!”

“I’m not soft and fluffy! I’m an adult now! It’s not snotty money either…! More importantly, why do you keep running away? Stop right there, Gale!”

When Elwin yelled, Gale shouted back as if struggling.

“No way! You’re the one who should stop chasing me…!”

“I refuse too! I’ll chase you until you agree to work with me, Gale!”

“Urgh…! I’ve rejected that so many times! If I refused, take a hint! You stubborn little brat!”

The two disappeared to the other side in an instant, kicking up a cloud of dust just as they had arrived.

“Tsk, tsk! That Gale fellow is having a hard time.”

“What. If anything, Elwin is having a harder time. Seems like he’s trying to get along in his own way, but isn’t Gale being too stingy?”

“More importantly, how many more days do you think this will go on?”

“About… two more days? That Elwin kid is as tenacious as an elder’s hide.”

“Hey, don’t underestimate Gale’s persistence! I bet he’ll hold out for at least four more days!”

The villagers, who had been watching with great interest, remained and began betting.

This scene had been recurring for a week.

Meanwhile, Elwin thought to himself.

‘This isn’t going to be easy.’

His legs were still busily moving, chasing after Gale.

A week ago, Elwin had safely arrived at Virga Village. To be precise, in the forest near the village.

Thanks to his vertical free-fall from high in the sky, he was able to arrive before evening despite his later-than-planned departure.

“Phew.”

Elwin, who had landed as lightly as a feather, tapped the buckles on his shoulders.

Whoosh.

Then, the golden cloak that had been spread out like giant wings shrink to fit Elwin’s height.

He looked around, then soon fixed his gaze in one direction.

“…Over there, I guess.”

Not far away, smoke could be seen rising in plumes.

“Alright, this should make me look like a wandering traveler.”

After checking his appearance one last time by a nearby stream, Elwin set off.

[Virga Village]

As is typical of isolated mountain villages, eyes were drawn to the unfamiliar stranger entering.

“Excuse me, but is there a tavern nearby?”

“Oh, there’s only one tavern here… O-over there.”

“Thank you.”

However, he smiled at the wary villagers as if to show he was harmless and entered the place where his target was.

‘Sheesh.’

Just like in the village earlier, gazes focused on him again in silence.

Maintaining a smile despite his unpleasant inner thoughts, Elwin approached directly.

The owner, who had been wiping glasses, glanced over.

“…A traveler? How unusual. To come all the way here.”

“Haha! I heard there are ancient ruins around here? I came to see them. I’m quite interested in ruins.”

“You’ll be disappointed if you see them for real. The country scraped up every artifact, leaving only the site barren.”

“Seeing with my own eyes leaves a unique lingering impression.”

When he gave the excuse he had thought of beforehand, the owner nodded, saying, “I see.”

“Well, will you have a drink?”

“Hmm, I don’t know much about alcohol. Do you have any recommended items?”

“The fruit liquor made from hawthorn berries has aged nicely. It’s a specialty of Virga. How about it?”

“Ah, then I’ll have that, please.”

Although the owner seemed to view him as a bit of an oddball, Elwin succeeded in lowering his guard. The eyes of Elwin, who had lowered his head, glinted sharply.

He sipped the alcohol and asked with an innocent face.

“There are quite a few people carrying swords here.”

In fact, a hunter of Elwin’s skill level could discern not only the presence of the people inside the moment he entered the tavern but also the extent of their combat prowess…

But he chose not to reveal himself.

“Ah yes, I suppose so. Virga may be remote, but it’s peaceful. For some reason, the appearance rate of monstrous creatures is extremely low.”

“Oh, that’s interesting.”

“That’s why retired mercenaries often settle down here to spend their later years. The village has no complaints since they act as a vigilante corps. Sometimes people come to see the ruins like you do.”

Glug, glug.

The owner poured another glass of liquor into the glass Elwin had raised.

“Are there any mercenaries who take requests? I’d like to hire a guide to the ruins.”

“Hm? Seeing as you’re traveling alone, I thought you were confident in your skills.”

“Haha… Actually, I’m terrible with directions. I somehow made it this far, but I’m not confident I won’t get lost in the mountains.”

“What? Hahahaha! I felt it from the beginning, you’re quite a unique fellow!”

Elwin smiled awkwardly as he faced the tavern owner, who was grinning from ear to ear.

‘Of course, it’s all lies though.’

Elwin was a hunter.

Apart from killing monstrous creatures, hunters had a duty to protect humanity. In other words, it also involved saving people.

That meant he was skilled at scouting.

‘But this approach is necessary so he won’t be on guard.’

—The protagonist.

He would be quite on edge from a request that had dragged on longer than expected. It would be troublesome to be marked as a target of wariness by thoughtlessly acting familiar.

The tavern owner rubbed his chin as if contemplating.

“Hmm. There’s probably only one guy in this village who takes requests…”

“It’s alright! Please introduce me. I’ll pay a generous referral fee too.”

Because that “one guy” was Elwin’s objective. However, the tavern owner scratched his head as if troubled.

“No, well… No matter if it’s a paid job, I feel like my conscience would bother me. See for yourself and decide. Ah, speak of the devil, there he comes. Gale!”

As the owner raised his voice, the man who had just opened the tavern door and entered looked this way.

“Hey, Jake!”

The man gave an overall slovenly impression. He seemed to be in his 30s.

His dark gray robe that looked black as if it hadn’t been washed in ages, his scraggly beard that grew in all directions, and the dark circles under his eyes all played a significant role in creating that impression.

“What’s up?”

“Ah, this customer says he wants to request a job.”

“…A customer? How rare. At this time.”

The man muttered and looked at Elwin. In Elwin’s eyes, a glimmer of wonder flashed for a moment before disappearing.

“Hello. I’m Elwin.”

“Gale.”

The man answered curtly. His gray hair fluttered like fluff in the wind that came through the open window.

His right eye was covered and not visible due to his long bangs, but his left eye was not concealed.

‘…Red like blood.’

Elwin was certain. It was that man.

The protagonist of the game “Lampas,” and now the protagonist of this other world, Lampas.

‘Gale Garib.’

And the person he had selected as his first companion.

“Hmm.”

Meanwhile, Gale, who was sitting on a bar stool, stared intently at Elwin. It was a gaze mixed with wariness and curiosity, like a cat observing a human.

“Haha… It’s a bit pressuring to be looked at like that.”

Even while receiving such a gaze, Elwin smiled amiably. Maintaining a poker face was his specialty.

However, he felt like a product on display.

‘It’s not wrong though.’

In reality, Elwin needed to prove his abilities to Gale in order to propose becoming companions.

“…”

“…”

But even after a few minutes passed, there was no progress in the conversation at all.

‘Building rapport is important too.’

No matter what, Elwin’s objective was to recruit Gale Garib.

Just as Elwin had finished pondering and was about to break the ice in the conversation…

“Um, I…”

“Blergh, what is it, you.”

Then, as Gale frowned deeply, Elwin felt a twinge in a corner of his heart.

‘D-don’t tell me… He found out?’

The protagonist in the game had a fairly keen intuition.

Despite his usual loose and disheveled appearance that earned him the treatment of a good-for-nothing mister, he would demonstrate sharp instincts at crucial moments.

‘Even at this point, Gale is quite formidable.’

According to the setting, Gale was a protagonist who was nearly complete from the beginning of the game.

A named mercenary and bounty hunter seasoned in all forms of combat and trickery.

It was a fact easy to forget since the game always started at level 1, but this was reality.

A mercenary as strong as Gale might have noticed Elwin’s level.

‘This is bad.’

Elwin, who hadn’t expected things to turn out this way from their first meeting, gulped. Then, while trying to suppress his agitated feelings, Gale opened his mouth.

“You’re a sunshine-type pretty boy who looks like he could easily overcome any hardship or adversity in a flash, right? And blond to boot. Total protagonist material!”

“…Pardon?”

Elwin was dumbfounded. And being the earnest type, he internally protested.

‘No, you’re the protagonist though…’

“Seems like the type to spout corny lines to bring a companion back to their senses if they go astray, the type to get entangled in all sorts of incidents and accidents…!”

Elwin set aside his dumbfounded feelings in a corner of his mind and pondered for a moment.

That was the role Gale played in the original work-and the role he would have to play in the future.

Elwin suddenly felt a sense of unfairness.

“Plus, I have a bad feeling about this. If I get involved with you, I feel like I’ll have to live a life where not only my regular lifestyle but also gambling, alcohol, and nicotine will be forbidden!”

…Um, it might be okay to ban those things. Why are the examples so specific?

“That’s right! That’s the feeling I get! Just imagining that is… terrible! I’m already a thoroughly jaded adult!”

“…”

“This mister knows it all.”

It really doesn’t seem like he knows at all though…

Gale, who had lifted his nose in a haughty manner, began to spout more nonsense.

“A little brat like you is the eye of the storm that brings all sorts of incidents! It’s too much for this mister who’s weathered all the world’s hardships to handle. Biologically impossible!”

Gale let out an exaggerated sigh and shrugged his shoulders.

“Above all, I absolutely loathe kids. I refuse the request. Go find someone else. Now, this mister is going to drink, so run along and play, little brat. Shoo, shoo~”

Gale waved his hand dismissively as if shooing away a bird pecking at barley.

“…”

A tiny crack appeared in Elwin’s picturesque smile.