#033
I accepted, and the mayor expressed his gratitude with a moved expression.
“Thank you so much, Raon. We will never forget this sacrifice… I mean, your dedication.”
Sacrifice? He hastily retracted it, but I heard everything. I suppressed the cynical expression that was about to emerge. Ominously, why are they making such a fuss from the start, assuming I’m going to die? If the player dies, the game ends too, mister.
“The first place you’ll go is the Desert of Eternity.”
The mayor immediately pointed to the lower part of the map and began explaining the expedition I would be participating in. Actually, I had suspected it since Seiz brought up the Desert of Eternity. Quests tend to be subtly connected.
“But no matter how reliable you are, I can’t send you alone on such a long and dangerous journey. Besides you, several other trustworthy young people have volunteered. Most have already departed, but there happens to be one team leaving in three days. If you join them, you’ll be able to help each other.”
“…Understood.”
This was a new development. In the game, as well as in the tutorial, I had always acted alone. While the game had the setting that all the resident NPCs were working in their own ways to rebuild the village, that was just a setting – quests were always naturally done by me, the player, alone. Naturally, this was a single-player game.
Probably because of the reality patch, the unrealistic situation of a pathetic player like me going on quests alone had been corrected. The mayor was saying flattering things about me being reliable and such, but I knew myself well.
I was still a low-level player who could die from a single attack by a mid-level monster and could faint from hunger and hard labor. Naturally, there was no way I could go off alone to monster hell and properly complete quests. That’s why when Seiz brought up the desert, I had thought of getting Carlisle’s help.
But if there was a separate expedition team, there would be no need to keep getting entangled with that guy whose true intentions I couldn’t fathom. Using the existing expedition team was also a decent plan.
“Could I know who’s going with us?”
I mentally ran through the young people of the village. What adventurer-type NPCs were there? Kaig, Ilei, and Terin, perhaps. Hmm… the problem would be if someone directly or indirectly connected to me through marriage got involved. Especially since I had a history of getting thoroughly beaten up by Karin after announcing divorce to her, I should probably avoid…
“The team you’ll be joining is led by Muchi.”
I, who had been thinking of other things, paused.
“…What did you say?”
“Muchi. You know him well, don’t you? You used to play together as children.”
I was flabbergasted. Play together? Who played together with whom?
“No, that bastard… that guy is…”
“Muchi may have been rough during his wandering phase, but now that he’s matured, he’s quite different from before. He’s trying to help the village. Even if there were some awkward incidents during childhood, I hope you’ll understand.”
The mayor spouted absurd words with a straight face. Just who is this old man talking about right now? Are we talking about the same person, Mr. Mayor? I was dumbfounded. What did that bastard do to me in Wanderer’s Plains? The problem isn’t childhood, it’s now.
“I was debating whether to mention this… I almost died because of Muchi in Wanderer’s Plains? He forced me into some weird contract and I even got hit by a car.”
At my sudden accusation, the mayor looked troubled.
“Muchi wouldn’t do such a thing… Still, that friend has been helping a lot with village security. As you probably know now, an incredible number of people flock to Wanderer’s Plains. But I’ve never heard of Muchi causing violent incidents there. I’m not saying you’re lying, of course. I’m just thinking there might be some misunderstanding between you two.”
He spoke as if troubled, but wasn’t particularly flustered or surprised. I felt my head cooling down. Wasn’t this the typical attitude of an administrator trying to avoid dealing with problems? Of course, this game wasn’t a story game that resolved such issues, and the other party was an NPC with no particular active role or significant importance other than giving village reconstruction-related quests to the player.
In fact, that’s why, although the words had slipped out unexpectedly, I hadn’t originally planned to talk about what happened in the plains, nor did I expect it to be resolved in a reasonable way. I had to think of this world as a kind of lawless zone, and whatever problems arose, it was right for me, the player, to handle them.
But even so, experiencing this kind of unreasonable response like reality made my feelings indescribably subtle. And they’re telling me to dedicate myself to village reconstruction while acting like this? Really… If quest completion wasn’t a means to achieve my goal of returning to reality, I would have stormed out of here immediately, saying I didn’t care about this damn village.
“……”
Of course, it’s not like there aren’t a few people I’m concerned about, like Eira and Elmer…
“Uh… but it’s not easy to go on dangerous missions with untrustworthy companions.”
Seeing my coldly hardened expression, the mayor subtly changed the subject.
“If you have a party you’d like to form separately, that wouldn’t be bad either. The Desert of Eternity is such a vast area that the more expedition teams, the better. Do you happen to have any companions in mind?”
It was a question that caught me off guard. Who could I possibly ask when I’m originally a single player with rock-bottom reputation? The situation had returned to square one. In the end, there was only one NPC who could properly help someone like me with no ability or wealth.
I sighed.
‘Well, let me just ask. I’ll ask and… if they refuse, then there’s nothing I can do. I’ll think about that when the time comes.’
“Departure is in three days, so if you’re joining Muchi’s team, come to the front of city hall at 6 AM that day. If you’re departing separately, you can just leave on your own without reporting to me. Rest well while preparing various things until then.”
Muchi talk until the very end. Could it be that the mayor is Muchi’s backer?
With such thoughts, I answered sourly.
“Understood.”
“And… the guild is providing free lodging and meals for expedition volunteers only, so if you want, you can rest there tonight. I’ll make a call, so when you go…”
The mayor went on about the free benefits provided by the guild. When he mentioned guild lodging and meals, I immediately recalled the grotesque food with monster eyeballs floating in it, making my stomach churn. Honestly, no matter how hungry I was, I didn’t think I could possibly eat there.
But having the sleeping problem solved was welcome news. I still had to save money. I had been to Wanderer’s Plains and completed several quests, but I was still broke, and there were countless places I’d need to spend money in the future.
As I came out of city hall, the sun was setting. While the sun set early due to the season, my conversation with the mayor had been longer than expected. I stood for a moment, lost in thought. Part of me just wanted to go to the guild and sleep soundly for the first time in a while. Two days of fatigue hung on my inadequate body like iron weights.
But my stamina bar still had quite a bit left. (The fact that I’ve been able to endure with this pathetic body until now seems to be due to Carlisle’s potion.) I felt it was a waste of remaining stamina and time, and I was also feeling somewhat urgent. Shouldn’t I meet the Administrator of the Sacred Tree… or at least meet Carlisle Lightinger?
Not “at least” Carlisle Lightinger.
Actually, the answer was obvious. Rather than the Administrator of the Sacred Tree whom I could visit tomorrow, it was natural to first seek out Carlisle, whose conversation could go in any direction and for whom I’d need to find new alternatives if things went wrong. But…
‘It’s just awkward…’
I brought up the map and the village scenery appeared. I could know where everything was in the village with my eyes closed, so I didn’t really need the map. What I wanted were the numbers displayed above the buildings. They showed the number of NPCs in each building. Unfortunately, my level was still too low to confirm who was where.
The number 3 was floating above Carlisle’s mansion, but that didn’t guarantee Carlisle was at the mansion. Originally, that mansion’s NPC was set as just Carlisle, the owner, so it was always 0 initially and only became 1 when Carlisle returned in autumn.
But as the tutorial progressed, some extras who weren’t NPCs or foreign mercenaries had become NPC characters, so I couldn’t tell for now whether all 3 of them were new NPCs or visiting NPCs. I’d have to go and check.
“Since I’m going in the same direction anyway…”
I consoled my reluctant heart and leisurely headed toward the lake. The Administrator of the Sacred Tree lived alone on a palm-sized small island in the middle of the lake, managing the sacred tree, and Carlisle’s mansion was also located by the lakeside.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
