Chapter 74

Chapter 74. Intermission – Mo… Monster!

A 24-hour bathhouse located in the heart of Valhalla City.

The old, wooden bathhouse, on the verge of collapse, was enveloped in a serene silence.

*Creak.*

I opened the bathhouse door and stepped inside.

“Huh? It’s just us?”

“It’s pretty late.”

“Well, we did drink for a long time.”

It was already past midnight, around 1 AM.

It wasn’t a large bathhouse that could accommodate hundreds of people, just a run-down neighborhood one, so it was rare to have guests at this hour.

“Oh, but hey, they even have an open-air bath?”

Opening the glass door leading outside, I saw a small open-air bath with steam rising from it.

“By the way, where’s Yuren?”

“He said he was going to the restroom earlier.”

“Hmm. Did he run away after coming all this way…?”

“Hehe. Who do you think I am? I anticipated that and hid Yuren’s clothes in another locker.”

“Ooh! As expected of you, boss!”

Honestly, I wondered if we had forced him to come here against his will.

‘But this is necessary for Yuren’s sake.’

In my past life, I spent 10 years with Yuren, becoming inseparable friends and almost like family.

But there was always a “wall” I felt from Yuren.

It was as if he was deeply afraid of getting close to others.

‘It wasn’t that he just preferred being alone.’

I recalled the times Yuren would look at me and Berald with envy as we played together.

Yet, he always kept his distance from others, and I never understood why.

‘I can’t just let him build that wall again like in my past life.’

This time, I wanted to break down that “wall” in Yuren’s heart, even if just a little.

*Creak.*

As I was thinking this and waiting for Yuren, the bathhouse door opened, and Yuren entered, covering himself with a towel.

“Are… are there no other people?”

Yuren, looking around nervously like a cat by the water’s edge.

“Yeah. We’ve got the place to ourselves.”

“R-really?”

Yuren’s expression relaxed slightly, as if relieved to have avoided the worst.

I took Yuren and headed with Berald to the open-air bath.

“Ahh, this is great!”

As I submerged myself in the hot, steaming water, a thrilling shiver ran down my spine.

My lower body felt warm, like being wrapped in a thick blanket, while my upper body was exposed to the cool night air.

Being enveloped in this warmth in the open outdoors felt like an indescribable luxury.

“Ahh! It feels like all my fatigue is melting away!”

“Well, you worked the hardest this time.”

Everyone in the party had fulfilled their roles diligently.

But among them, Berald, who had taken the vanguard position, had the most physically demanding role.

“Hey, what are you talking about? Yuren worked the hardest, right?”

“Huh? Me?”

Yuren, who had been crouching in a corner of the open-air bath (though it was so small it was right next to us), suddenly looked up.

“You handled everything from combat to command almost single-handedly, didn’t you?”

“Well… I was at the front.”

“If that’s the case, both you and I were at the front.”

Berald grinned and held out his fist toward Yuren.

“Thanks. I feel like I’ve learned a lot thanks to you guys.”

“…Yeah.”

Yuren cautiously extended his fist and bumped it against Berald’s.

“By the way, Dale. Were you part of another party before?”

“Another party?”

“From what you’ve taught us this time, it feels like you’ve been in an experienced party before.”

“…….”

An experienced party, huh.

Well, if you put it that way, I was part of the best party before.

I swallowed a bitter smile and shook my head.

“I just taught you what I learned from the textbooks.”

“…Hearing that from you makes it hard to believe.”

“Shut up.”

I waved my hand dismissively.

“Hehe. Well, I’m really glad you’re here, boss.”

“Glad?”

“Who else would let someone like me join their party? …A half-wit who’s been learning magic for over 10 years but still can’t even cast a proper magic bullet.”

Berald let out a self-deprecating sigh with a bitter smile.

“Who says you can’t use magic?”

“Huh?”

“You did well casting ‘Stone Arrow’ or whatever this time, didn’t you?”

“That’s…”

“Highly developed physical abilities can be indistinguishable from magic.”

I repeated the words I had once heard from Berald back to him.

“Huh.”

Berald let out a low chuckle and shrugged his shoulders.

“…Thanks, boss.”

Berald grinned and clenched his fist.

“Alright! Now that I’ve got your approval, I’ll work even harder to master my own ‘magic’!”

“Yeah, yeah.”

The sulking look didn’t suit Berald.

At least the ‘Berald Ryu’ I knew was a hero who never stopped moving forward, no matter how desperate the situation.

“Hmm. Well… anyway.”

Berald suddenly narrowed his eyes and stared at me intently.

“Boss, your body has gotten really impressive lately, hasn’t it?”

“Huh?”

“I wasn’t sure during the expedition since you were wearing clothes, but… what have you been eating to build a body like that?”

Berald kept exclaiming as he looked at my exposed upper body.

He must have recognized the new body I had forged through the “furnace.”

“Just the result of hard training.”

“Hmm. A body like that isn’t made just through training.”

“What does it matter…?”

Perhaps out of curiosity from Berald’s reaction.

Yuren, who had been avoiding looking at me since entering the open-air bath, glanced over.

“…Huh?!”

Yuren’s eyes widened as he looked at me.

His face turned bright red, and he kept exclaiming, “Wow!”

He even gulped in the middle of his exclamations.

‘This feels a bit awkward.’

No matter how you spin it, being stared at so intently by other guys isn’t exactly a pleasant experience.

‘…Huh?’

While looking around for a way to change the subject, I noticed the pendant around Yuren’s neck.

“What’s that pendant?”

“…Huh? This?”

For some reason, Yuren hurriedly covered the pendant with his hand.

He smiled awkwardly and continued.

“It’s… my sister’s keepsake.”

“…Really?”

Yuren’s sister would be Yurina Helios, who died in an accident 8 years ago.

It was touching that he still cherished his sister’s keepsake after nearly 10 years, but…

‘What’s going on?’

Knowing Yuren from the future, I couldn’t help but be puzzled.

‘I’ve never seen Yuren wear a pendant before.’

In my past life, I spent 10 years with Yuren.

In all that time, I had never seen him wear that “sister’s keepsake” around his neck.

‘Did he lose it before joining my party?’

There was a 10-year gap between graduation and joining Yuren’s party, so it was possible he lost it during that time.

‘But given Yuren’s personality, that’s unlikely…?’

Yuren was the type to meticulously keep even his old cadet uniforms.

Would someone like him lose something as precious as his sister’s keepsake?

From my perspective, it was hard to understand.

‘Well… asking Yuren now won’t get me an answer anyway.’

I pushed the question from my mind and relaxed in the open-air bath.

As I soaked, melting away the accumulated fatigue…

“Oh, right. Dale, they were selling grilled eggs outside earlier. Want some?”

“Oh, the owner must be from the Republic.”

“…Grilled eggs?”

Yuren, who had been listening to our conversation, tilted his head.

“Why would they sell grilled eggs at a bathhouse?”

“Hehe. You country bumpkin. You’ll love it once you try it.”

I grinned and looked at Berald.

Berald, as if knowing what I was going to say, quickly got out of the open-air bath and shouted.

“I’ll be right back with some!”

“Get three cups of sikhye too.”

“Hehe. Of course!”

Berald quickly ran outside and returned with a basket of grilled eggs and three cups of sikhye on a tray.

Normally, eating inside the bath would be inconsiderate to others.

‘But it’s just us, so who cares.’

And so began our impromptu late-night snack.

“It’s… it’s delicious!”

“Right?”

“Yeah! It’s so chewy, unlike boiled eggs! And this sikhye is really sweet too.”

Yuren’s eyes sparkled as he ate the grilled eggs and sikhye.

‘I guess I’m a Republic person at heart.’

I remembered that around this time, content showing exaggerated reactions from Holy Kingdom or Empire people trying Republic cuisine was trending.

I could somewhat understand why Republic people were so obsessed with such trivial content.

“Shall we get going soon?”

We had eaten our fill and warmed up enough.

It was time to head back to the inn and get some sleep.

“Hehe. Alright, boss!”

“Yeah. Let’s go.”

Yuren nodded hurriedly, as if eager to leave this place as soon as possible.

Seeing that, I felt like teasing him but decided against it.

‘Pushing too hard at once isn’t good either.’

If mental walls were so easy to break, no one would call them “walls.”

“Alright, then.”

I got up from the bath.

“Gasp…!”

Suddenly, Berald let out a shocked exclamation.

I tilted my head and looked at him, noticing his gaze fixed on my lower body.

“T-this… boss, it seems your body isn’t the only thing that’s improved.”

“No.”

What the hell are you looking at, you punk.

“Ahem! I thought I was pretty impressive, but… there are always hidden masters in the world.”

“Master my ass.”

After giving Berald a middle finger, I glanced at him as he followed me out of the bath.

‘Hmm.’

Well, yeah.

I guess I’m bigger.

“Ahem.”

Feeling awkward, I turned away from Berald toward Yuren.

“…Ah.”

Yuren’s eyes were wide open, his mouth agape.

“…Yuren?”

I called his name, but Yuren stood frozen like a statue, trembling.

“What’s wrong?”

“Eek!”

Yuren covered himself with a towel and backed away in panic.

“D-don’t come closer!”

“What?”

“Stay away!”

Yuren’s face was pale, as if he had seen a ghost, shaking his head frantically.

“Why are you suddenly…?”

“A, ah. Aah.”

Worried about Yuren’s condition, I approached, but he let out a fragmented scream, his eyes rolling back.

“Mo… monster! …Gurgle.”

With those words, Yuren collapsed into the bath.

“Hey! Yuren! Snap out of it!”

The moonlight shone down on the open-air bath.

The sun had sunk into the water.