I tried channeling magic into the horn to bend the golden insignia, but it didn’t respond to my abilities—it must have been refined to its limit already. Not even a speck of dirt remained.
“…Do you harbor any resentment towards the villagers? Anything like that?”
Myungho asked if I held any grudges or old feelings against humans. Upon reflection, there had been… but not anymore.
“No, nothing like that. Still… yes. The beasts of the mountain know the taste of human flesh. With plenty of food now, they won’t come looking, but who knows.”
Every time humans came to kill me, I killed them in self-defense. There was no room for mercy, so their bodies were left as they were.
Once, out of curiosity, I went to check and found a strange beast with six legs greedily devouring the remains down to the bone.
Among the animals I’ve hunted, some must have tasted human flesh. If they grow hungry, they might descend into the village.
It’s all irrelevant to me. I don’t hate them, nor do I pity them. The weak perish, while the strong survive—that’s the only rule I’ve learned from nature.
“…Are you alright?”
To Myungho’s worried question, I didn’t bother answering. I didn’t know myself.
After finalizing our signatures to join the party, we were walking along some path. A few creatures followed us, but when I casually threw a pebble to chase them away, they soon disappeared.
“Who cares anyway? This is a big town because everyone’s hyped about killing dragons, but now that the dragon’s gone, they’ll just starve or get wiped out by monsters. What’s the difference?”
The mage, Akashi, muttered annoyingly under his breath. Though I couldn’t make out the words, they were undoubtedly irritating.
“Do you always have to talk like that…? Forget it. Yuna, wasn’t there a map given to you by your adoptive father? Does it mention anything about a dwarf village nearby?”
“At least according to the map, there isn’t. We also investigated in Golsamet, but we couldn’t find convincing evidence.”
Meanwhile, they’ve been chatting without me since a while ago. I quietly munched on the delicious jerky I bought.
Is this what humans call a road? It’s crude compared to the city but far better than mountain trails—no gravel, no animal droppings. Just well-packed dirt.
Walking on gravel doesn’t hurt much, but smooth roads are definitely better.
“You actually make sense for once, Akashi. Indeed, if these people dislike being seen, they could have built a secluded village. But we can’t just wander into the mountains without knowing what kind of monsters might be there…”
Why are they staring at me again? Both Akashi and Yuna, and even Myungho, looked at me as if they’d forgotten I existed.
“Altera, while living in the mountains, did you ever see… how should I say this… small, fuzzy people? Even just one?”
Myungho pointed to his thigh as he asked me. Recalling my time in the wild, I couldn’t think of anything similar.
“No.”
“Hmm… I guess not. Still, should we really go back to where we were before? It’s quite a distance.”
“What’s the harm? We’re aimlessly wandering anyway. Taking a few months off wouldn’t hurt, right?”
“We should at least have something to report when our homeland asks about our progress… But thinking about it, we’re doing enough now… Still, they’ll throw a fit if we neglect personal training!”
This jerky is delicious. Unlike anything I’ve made, the flavor and balance are impeccable. Or maybe what I used to make wasn’t food but garbage?
Anyway, I’ve been sensing vibrations from afar, as if something is following us at a distance.
What could it be? It’s not a herd of wild beasts. It feels human-like… Could it be another extermination squad?
Would they attack us regardless of whether we’re from a hero party or adventurers? Such persistent bastards.
I thought I could finally walk in peace. Drawing a greatsword from the earth, I infused it with magic. Everyone seemed startled by my sudden action and looked at me.
When Myungho called out, I ran toward the source of the closest vibration.
Bounding between trees, I grabbed the head of someone trying to flee and slammed him to the ground. An unremarkable old man.
His weapons, his magic, everything about him—even after thoroughly searching his sleeves and hiding places—posed no threat to me. Just an old man.
Lying on the ground, he let out high-pitched screams as if dying. I was perplexed about what to do. Of course, I assumed he was a scout sent to spy on us.
The rest of the party arrived, scolding me. Yuna criticized a different aspect.
“Altera! Let him go immediately! What are you doing?!”
“Tsk, looks like this girl grew up in the wild without parents or anything.”
“For heaven’s sake, shut your mouth, Akashi. So, what exactly is going on here? Myungho, you’re the only one she’ll listen to. Explain quickly.”
Indeed. There was no reason to keep holding him down, so I released the old man. As he tried to flee, he tripped over a tree root and fainted.
“Altera…! Why would you do such a thing?! He’s just a frail elder!”
Was I wrong? It was his fault for sneaking around silently. Checking again, the vibrations had already moved far away.
They wouldn’t understand. They haven’t lived hunted by humans like I have. No matter what I said, they wouldn’t accept it.
But surprisingly, Myungho understood right away and examined the old man’s condition. Despite various bruises from hitting the ground, he wouldn’t die.
“…I see. Then, next time, think twice before acting. I already told you, if you hunt adventurers, they’ll hunt you back. Extermination squads won’t come.”
Myungho explained my actions to the others and then immediately tended to the elderly man.
How could anyone waste precious bandages on such minor injuries? He’ll wake up soon anyway. Returning the greatsword to the earth, I leaned against a tree stump and sucked on a candy.
Why use so many bandages on such light wounds? As expected, the old man soon regained consciousness and screamed upon seeing me.
“Party member… daughter of a witch…!”
He convulsed alone and collapsed again. It was baffling how such a frail person survived in this harsh world.
“…Sigh. We’re… not strange people… I don’t want to paint on people, though.”
“That’s your only skill, and you say you don’t want to? Stop joking around.”
Myungho took out a giant brush from his back and inscribed something on the old man. What is he doing? Healing? No, I don’t sense any magical flow.
Feels familiar somehow, but probably just my imagination.
Fortunately, when the old man woke up again, he didn’t faint at the sight of us, though he still eyed me warily. I’m used to such gazes, so I continued sucking on my candy leisurely.
Too good to bite into yet—I don’t want to lose this sweetness.
“Sir, are you feeling better? Our companion is overly suspicious, so please forgive her. Now, could you tell us why you followed us?”
“…I don’t know why you travel with the witch’s child, but are you adventurers? If so, please help our village…! We’ll pay you generously…!”
The old man pulled out some worn-out gold coins to show Myungho.
“…What’s the matter? Keep the payment. We’ll help you.”
However, instead of the money, Myungho focused on the old man’s face, adopting a more serious demeanor.
“Our village… a group of orcs has come and is pillaging and causing chaos. Please drive them away…! They have nowhere else to go…!”
“Wait, are there people? Where did the group go?”
“If anything happens, I told them to run that way… They should have arrived by now. Please help us…!”
The old man pointed toward the mountain where I used to live.
“Yuna and Akashi, stay here and look after him. Alterra, let’s go.”
“Go where?”
“This old man said if anything happens, they’d run that way. Since the beasts in the mountain know the taste of humans, we don’t know what might happen if we’re late! Come on, hurry!”
Though it felt odd being ordered around by someone weaker, I partly felt responsible, so I couldn’t ignore it completely.
Should I have strangled him until he couldn’t scream? That might have avoided unnecessary trouble.
“Ah, this idiot’s going to help for free again.”
“We have plenty of money anyway. But human lives can’t be bought with money!”
“Really, Myungho, is it okay to go just the two of you? I’m worried.”
“We’re going to be traveling together from now on. We need to trust each other.”
Myungho was already far ahead.
Is this… part of the thrill of adventure?
Drawing my sword from the earth, I chased after him, smiling for the first time in a long while.
