I am back – Chapter 65

But even so, my strange habit hadn’t completely vanished.

…It has improved, at least in my opinion.

I no longer wandered aimlessly around the empty rooms looking for enemies. There were already people in each room.

Even the instinct in my mind seemed to recognize that there were comrades in the rooms, and I didn’t feel the anxious urge to check every single one.

It was merely… that the thought of ‘it’s safe because there are comrades’ could not be helped.

I knew it wasn’t a wartime situation, and I understood that I didn’t have to worry about the night in the house. Especially in this apartment, no one could just freely come in who wasn’t a resident.

Yet, still, the recurring fear hadn’t completely disappeared.

I sat on the bed, taking deep breaths, trying to calm down just a little.

But my hands still trembled. I couldn’t shake the feeling that I needed to be holding something.

Just pulling out the pocket knife I always carried around in my bag didn’t ease my mind.

Even though I knew no one was inside, I opened every single closet and lifted the bed sheets to check under the bed.

After that, leaning against the corner of the room and looking around eased my mind a bit.

But that fear hadn’t fully vanished.

After all, I still had no idea what was happening beyond the closed doors.

I knew it.

In this world, the Demon Race did not exist. The Demon King’s army had already been dismantled. There were no bandit-like entities at least in this country, and no thief would even think to come up to such a high apartment. From the moment they tried, they would already be blocked.

Even if they did manage to get into this house—harming my comrades was practically impossible. At least in that regard, I felt assured, but,

No matter how hard I tried to calm my mind, there were still those persistent thoughts whispering in the back of my head; what if, what if, what if…

If they could come over here, wouldn’t the remnants of the Demon Race be able to come too?

In fact, the Demon King tried to take countless lives at once by perishing together with us using the opposing force of Divine Power. Maybe some of the remaining Demon Race had developed a portal to this world?

If they crossed over, I knew they wouldn’t be able to find me. I had changed completely. Even if they saw me in person, they would never recognize me.

But even if they couldn’t find me, they could harm the people. They might just randomly grab anyone and kill them while demanding the hero’s whereabouts. Right now, I didn’t have the Sacred Sword, so they might think they could handle me.

And among those who could die randomly, what if my older sister…

<Smack!>

I slapped my face with both hands.

No, that couldn’t happen. No matter how much I thought about it, it was an impossible scenario. Even the Goddess could only send a few people over after gathering the strength of many.

Even if the Demon Race crossed over, even if they could somewhat nullify attacks through physical laws using magic, the number of humans in this world couldn’t compare to Irrelaysia. The total number of people in this small piece of land was already more than the population of Irrelaysia’s kingdom. The attacks of just a few Demon Race would surely be dismantled within hours.

“……”

But no matter how much I tried to reason, my head kept drifting to bad imaginations.

I gritted my teeth and tried to endure, but—

I really couldn’t do it.

I let out a breath in a heavy sigh and stepped outside.

*

Still, the strong bond with my party members was something I could not help but hold onto. The thought of secretly sneaking around and checking on the rooms where my comrades were sleeping didn’t even cross my mind. At least I could imagine what the inside of the rooms would look like.

Kalia would be on high alert in her room, keeping an eye on her surroundings. She usually did that if I got scared for no reason. Dana would probably be temporarily setting up a barrier, and Pia would be praying to the Goddess, ready to use Divine Power at any moment.

And Arna—

…At least with regard to Arna, I didn’t need to force myself to imagine and calm my mind.

“……”

“……”

When Arna stepped out of her room, she quietly met my gaze.

Just as a reference, I had taken the biggest kitchen knife from the kitchen, ready for anything. The handle was a bit short to hold with both hands, but I twisted it to grip it like I was holding a Sacred Sword.

Yeah, Arna was always sharp.

Not missing even the slightest sound, she would give us a warning before any danger even when we were off guard. I couldn’t count how many times her sensitive hearing saved our lives.

…I had just slapped my cheeks with both palms a moment ago.

It was a sound made while the door was closed, but maybe I had woken her up with that. Or perhaps she had heard my footsteps as I walked around the living room, or maybe she noticed the sound of me grabbing the knife.

Or maybe it was just a coincidence that she woke up because she was thirsty.

Whatever the reason, Arna was watching me.

At first, her eyes widened in surprise.

But after glancing between my flustered expression and the knife in my hand, her demeanor changed. The kitchen table obscured her legs, but she could easily tell that I was in a position ready to show off my swordsmanship.

“……”

Arna stared at me silently for a moment, then eventually walked back into her room.

Was she trying to pretend she didn’t see?

But even so, I couldn’t let my guard down easily. My habits might have made my comrades worried—

However, my thoughts that simply assumed she was pretending not to see were wrong.

Arna soon came back from her room.

The outfit she wore was not the pajama set she had been wearing until just now, which was from this world.

She was dressed in the elf attire from Irrelaysia that she had on right after crossing over.

Green-hued, well-fitted deer leather pants. Since she was indoors, she wasn’t wearing boots, but aside from that, Arna looked just like when we were traveling.

She even had a bow in her hands.

That bow wasn’t the one Arna originally used. Arna hadn’t brought any weapons when she came over to this world.

What Arna held was a modern bow that one would see in Olympic archery competitions.

“I got this from that place called the internet. I got help from Dana, but it didn’t seem like there were any regulations or anything.”

Noticing my gaze fixed on the bow, Arna smiled and spoke to me.

No, that’s not what I wanted to ask…

I understood that too. I had thought about keeping a two-handed sword at home, wondering if it would be okay, but gave up as it seemed too troublesome. So then I thought maybe it would be good to buy a bow that I had some experience shooting, and I had searched for it.

The recurve bow, which is classified as sports equipment, could be purchased and owned by individuals without much hassle, but I didn’t think buying it would easily calm this anxiety. The bow was a second-choice for me; the weapon I always relied on was the Sacred Sword.

I didn’t find it strange that Arna had come here and bought a bow. Considering Irrelaysia’s standards and thinking of Arna’s strengths, not having any weapon would feel a bit lacking.

The important thing was… why had Arna come out armed at this hour?

Of course, I couldn’t say anything against her when I was holding a kitchen knife in the kitchen, where I wasn’t cooking at all.

“I’ll watch the perimeter today in your place.”

“…Huh?”

For a moment, I was taken aback by Arna’s words.

“You must have had a hard time watching alone until now. Don’t worry about it and take a rest today. I’ll handle the lookout.”

I had the thought that it wasn’t necessary to keep watch in a place like this—such thoughts grew in the back of my mind, but at the same time, I relaxed my body. I almost dropped the knife I had been holding.

“Ah.”

Kneeling on the floor, I realized just how tense I had been until now.

Once I relaxed, it was incredibly difficult to get back that tension.

“……”

Arna walked over to the side of the table, briefly placed her hand on my shoulder, then withdrew it.

Then she turned to face me, holding the bow with her back to me.

She strung the bow, taking up a stance as if she were genuinely keeping watch for enemies.

What stood before Arna was just the dark, empty living room. Light from the city was coming in through the window, but that was all.

Just a quiet, dark, and empty place that posed no threat.

But, it was only after I looked at Arna’s back blocking my way that—

That space finally felt safe.