Living as an Unemployed in Another World

102 – 4. Silence in the Helmet (18)

18.

The inn was quiet. The clock pointed to morning, but in winter the sun rises later than usual. The light coming from outside through the tent was also dim.

Looking around, you can see bottles and plates strewn all over the messy table. It was because the party was held until late at night to talk about the fatigue and heroism after hunting the Winterwolves. The drinking party, which was only held among adventurers, started to be attended by one or two villagers, and in the end, there were no seats at the table, so there were people standing and drinking.

Their attack was obviously a disaster, but ironically, the adventurer’s nature, which had been sluggish all winter, bore fruit in the right form. Those who treated adventurers with disrespect, claiming to live on a knife’s bread, will no longer exist in this village. Thanks to the fact that they brought a bag of wine and food to the inn, I should be able to spend this winter at least in abundance.

And again, at the center of all of that was a young man. He said he had kicked them out three years ago through a different method, but this time, the difference was that he did it himself. In any case, it was clear that he was a truly extraordinary person.

The paladin put his hand under his chin, wearing his helmet as usual.

When you press her chest, a clear and distinct voice comes out. The restored voice, I still can’t believe it. She constantly repeated her syllables in her own voice, which no longer felt alien.

“Ah, um, keuhum, um, uhm.”

She stood quietly in front of her steps, muttering to herself, and then, thinking about how her actions would reflect on her, she removed her hand from her neck in embarrassment. Of course, the hall was empty, so she was just her own impressions.

There was no luggage. In the first place, there is no such thing as burden. It’s a yard where even weapons are summoned and used, so all I have is a pocket with some silver coins. The only thing that isn’t frugal is the armor she wears. Even that has undergone repeated repairs, and now it looks like a mass-produced model.

She walks through the middle of an empty hall. Then, suddenly, I find a seat where I sat when I first came to this inn and sit down. She looked around her at lowered eye level. Although there are some changes due to the change of season, the panoramic view of the inn was the same as before.

She suddenly recalls what happened last night. While she was naked, she grabbed him, talked to him, hugged him, and even spat nonsense at him trying to cure her curse.

The paladin let out a deep sigh as she raised her palm over her helm. Even when she thought of yesterday, her burnt face seemed to cook.

She came now, but she didn’t quite understand why she did that. She’s not all knightly duty, but she thought, at least since she swore to God, she’d abandoned most of her private feelings. Who would have predicted that I would end up getting close to a man in private?

She always wears armor with scars on her face in the first place, and her low self-esteem, wondering who would like a woman like her, also played a part.

──Not at all.

However, despite showing his ugly face, he said so. He didn’t have to resort to miracles to see through lies, but he knew at once that he was sincere. All the more because they were connected to each other.

And finally, thanks to that, she even got her voice back. She still couldn’t believe this reality where her own voice resounded in the world. It was not expected that she would be able to shake off this curse overnight, which even shook her head at numerous priests who were able to receive audiences with the authority of knights in the cathedral.

She sat silent for a while, then stood up, dragging her chair. It felt like I couldn’t get out of here on my own after a while. Even as she sat away from the burning stove, she resisted its warmth.

Unlike the lofty and desolate cathedral, this inn is messy and noisy.

So, at some point, I let myself naturally melt into it.

It seemed that she would not be able to leave any longer, she desperately moved her steps. As her gloved hand slowly pushed on her swing door.

“Are you going?”

I was startled and looked back to see a young man leaning on the stairs looking at me with his arms crossed. That’s it. How long have you been there? If she showed signs, there’s no way she wouldn’t notice, but no matter how relaxed she is, she’s so depressed. As she reflected, she suddenly became concerned about when he had been looking at her. So, she asked him in a still somewhat awkward voice.

“Oh, since when have you been here?”

“Well, from the time you were sitting…… ?”

He smiled vaguely. Even that smile felt like a sweet temptation to her. Just one step, one step behind her, that desire dominates her. Because of this, she never turned her body with only her head turned.

“…… It looked embarrassing. Yes, let’s go.”

“… ….”

He looked at himself in silence. He didn’t even get angry at me for trying as hard as he could to give me a hug, or to leave without a word. He only looked at him with a bitter face.

“I must go. I am. Not for my father, not for me.”

“…… Can we meet again?”

He asked in an unsure voice. She thought she was so glad she was wearing her helmet. She couldn’t show him the face beyond Helm. However, one thing is disappointing. It was that he could not lie until the very end as long as he had sworn.

“Probably difficult.”

“…… I am.”

“Jin.”

So she curtailed her words only vaguely, called his name and covered her mouth. She had a lot to say, but what she had to say was fixed.

“Because of you, I was encouraged. Thank you.”

“… ….”

“If we meet again. I will definitely repay this favor. One day, I will sincerely pray to the God of Order that your anguish will also be relieved.”

She made her last name. Suddenly, the face beyond the helm appeared to be smiling. Kiki, as the swing door turns half a turn, the figure staggers away from sight.

Leave. I couldn’t stop there’s no way you can stop it

I heard that the knight took that step to save his family, but what can I do?

Besides, what can I do if I follow you? The situation is completely different from before. It is not easy to get involved in religious disputes. Rather, it’s better if it doesn’t become a burden. It’s more strange to believe that you can do something with a thin tongue and modest magic skills.

Only, I’m glad I could at least break the curse before leaving. That thought was the only thing that comforted me.

After a while, someone crept down the stairs. It’s not like he intentionally erased his presence, it’s like a habit that came out of habit. She came over to me as I leaned on her steps and spoke to her, rubbing her eyes with her sleepy face.

“You’re gone.”

“Yes.”

He sleeps a lot, but for some reason he is awake at this time. He must have had a lot of drinks, including the Geralds and Punta, until late. Mira smiled and said, as if she had read the question that appeared on my face.

“I am more interested in Jin than I thought. I did not know?”

“…… I know.”

I laughed too. Before long, she asked, leaning her shoulder against my chest.

“…… Are you okay?”

“Then, that’s fine.”

I stroked the pink hair gently. At the same time, I looked at the swinging door that was spinning back and forth side by side. The only sound was the rustling of firewood in the burnt out stove.

※

In fact, not much has changed since then. No, it would be more correct to see it as a return to the past.

It was quite funny to see the adventurers arguing about the distribution of winterwolf hides, and the childish bickering every day in the front yard with a pile of meat and hides, but that doesn’t apply to me. Was After all, there is not a single entity I left behind. I only ate the bag.

Her inn family expressed their regret for her leaving without a word, and so did the adventurers who had plans to become friends with her. There were still some guys who thought she was a man and went to wash with her, but she said it all. The share of the Winterwolves she defeated was left to me as much as the undelivered portion.

Although he lifted the curse, he still continued to study magic with Zenith, and thanks to that experience, understanding how to use slots in more detail was a clear harvest. I also have a glimmer of hope that if I develop my skills a little more, maybe I can put this nasty curse under my control.

A day passed and two days passed like that, and before I knew it, my birthday was approaching. But I had no chance to tell anyone, in fact no one knew about my birthday. For the common people, what is the meaning of birthday other than the standard of getting older?

But I felt empty for no reason, so I was sitting in front of the desk in my room cutting wood. I was vaguely thinking that I wanted to give Mummy a present, but I thought that if I didn’t know the exact birthday, it would be better if I made her age on the same day as me. Rather than suggesting that it be so, I would rather give him a gift so that he would remember the day as his birthday.

She is as unrelated as I am. There’s nothing wrong with congratulating each other. That’s why I kept it a secret from her and was thinking about what to cut her, but Celine suddenly knocked and came to my room.

“Jin. Adventurers are looking for you?”

“Adventurer? Who?”

“With Janice and Hilda…… I don’t know, they’re looking for them anyway.”

Have you not memorized all the names yet? No, maybe I don’t want to memorize it. The party leader is obviously Gerald, but it’s just a pity. I’ve accumulated too many unlikable stacks to be pitiful. As I was about to get up, she suddenly saw the carving knife in her hand and asked.

“But…… What do you make He hasn’t been doing well lately.”

“Oh, it’s not for sale, it’s a gift… ….”

“Huh?”

Oops, I said it inadvertently. I shut her mouth, but Celine, who had already heard the story, looked blankly at the wooden block and at me, then she suddenly turned her head and muttered.

“Ha, I don’t care if I’m made of wood. Rather than that, if you’re going to give it to me, why don’t you hide it a little…… “

“…… ?”

“No, it’s not that I hate it…… Because there is sincerity. Seeing you prepare in advance, well, um.”

I looked at her with her bewildered gaze. I wasn’t going to give you this She’s probably looking at her own birthday and thinking she’s making it up already. I’m so sorry. I should make one for Celine later. Suddenly, the homework has doubled.

Anyway, when I went down the stairs in a depressed mood, Gerald’s party was gathered. In addition to that, Mira and Alphonse, plus a few other adventurers, are sitting around them. As I approached, Gerald suddenly held out a letter to me.

“What is this?”

I took Mira’s seat and accepted it. The seal had already been opened, and inside was a folded piece of paper, which the Geralds had already opened and looked around among themselves. Somehow I don’t feel good. When you receive something like this, something must happen.

I took the paper Hilda was holding and read it before unfolding my share. So, sure enough, it was a letter from the guild.

『 Gerald,

Hilda,

The Wizard of the Veil Janice Luna Clyde,

Dear Al Qabar Kali Wi Ulquna Sukhbat.

A message from the East Side Adventurer’s Guild to the adventurers belonging to the Party. You are the most skilled adventurers in the East Side, and we ask you to represent the guild and attend the adventurer’s meeting held in the Royal Capital. Dates and expenses…….』

“…… What is this?”

I was taken aback and returned the letter and hurriedly opened the letter I received.

Wait, could this be?

『 Alphonse,

Mummy,

Dear Jin.

Excluding your comrades who have left the East Side, the rest of you are each of the best adventurers in the East Side. Because of this, I was invited to the adventurer’s meeting held in the capital on behalf of the guild, so please think of your prestige…….』

I crumpled the pack paper. Then he turned his gaze to demand an explanation. Hilda said indifferently.

“It hasn’t been long since we received it. A guild employee rode a horse and delivered it to me.”

I opened the crumpled letter again and pushed it toward Mira and Alphonse. In the first place, there are a lot of phrases and rhetoric in the letters I send here. Do you think I will go like this? When did the adventurers quit? I looked at the letter with a puzzled look on my face, and then I inadvertently lost my gaze to a single word written there.

Royal road.

“Ah, Jin, something is written on the back of yours too.”

“What?”

Contrary to Gerald’s party, which seemed a bit giddy, I took the letter again from Mira and Alphonse, who had the same grim faces as me. Indeed, there was a postscript written on the back page in a short and elegant handwriting.

『By the way, Jin, a blue-level adventurer, the ‘Scion of Darkness’, who said it was annoying and didn’t want to leave the inn. You are free to refuse or not attend, but be warned that if you do so, the return of the plate may accidentally be delayed due to an administrative mistake, or the tinnitus you currently have may be changed to a more drastic one.

Deputy guild master, Frederick von Harrison.』

“Jin, what are you going to do?”

At Mira’s question, I crumpled the letter. Unable to fold it, I folded it several times and tore it apart.

Okay.

Kill Frederick.

That was the only thought from the beginning.