Blood poured out and the Orc King’s head that tumbled to the floor.
Watching its body collapse after losing its head, I removed the veil only then.
I let out a small sigh and met Asher’s eyes as she brushed off the blood on her sword. She bowed her head with a look of guilt.
“Sorry.”
“It’s fine.”
I was a bit surprised, but thanks to that, I could confirm the defense power of the [Floating Veil].
Looking around, I saw the orcs who had lost their leader, wandering around in confusion.
There was no need to ask Asher to kill them because they soon scattered in all directions as if they were running away.
Even Orcs would have the intelligence to distinguish who would be annihilated if they attacked.
“Whew...”
The adventurers who were standing on the side watching the battle looked relieved.
Rodin was also getting up from his the ground, staggering as if he had picked himself up.
I told them;
“Now let’s go down.”
Finding this Mystery was also eventful.
***
After coming down the mountain range and returning to the city, I paid the rest of the request money to the adventure group.
Rather, they stubbornly refused, saying that they did not have to receive it in the name of receiving grace, but a promise was a promise, so they were forced to accept it.
“Thank you very much, young master. I hope you have only glory on the road ahead.”
They thanked me with genuine respect in their eyes.
It was a natural reaction, given that I saved their leader’s life using a precious potion and even gave them such a huge amount of money.
However, thanks to them, I also successfully got an important defense-type Mystery, so I didn’t think it was a waste.
And it was only a few hundred golds, anyway.
The money I took from my territory was dozens of platinum coins that I now have in my arms.
We left the city right after a day.
The boring carriage trip began again, and the next destination was the First Lord’s territory ruled by the Wiseman.
Thinking of the Mysteries to be gained there, I blankly watched the scenery outside the wagon.
Then, out of habit, I turned my gaze to Asher, who was sitting across from me.
Her expression seemed weakly shadowed.
“Your complexion doesn’t look good.”
At my words, Asher looked this way.
“Did you have any injuries sustained in battle?”
“No. Just...”
As she licked her lips, her expression became a little darker, she said.
“Lord Ron appointed me as an escort.”
“...”
“I made a mistake against the Orc King before, not finishing the battle properly.”
Was it like that again?
Something like this happened when we ran into Bellevagorah before.
Whether it was dealing with junk mobs or breaking down walls, she was actually helping me so much that I couldn’t do what I needed to do without her.
However, she was having a difficult time because she couldn’t stand up to the really powerful ones.
I said nothing about that, but her naïve personality was really...
It’s annoying.
But, it was also cute.
Compared to the first Asher, who seemed like I was facing a wall, this was a great improvement.
Didn’t the fact that she bring up such a story and have a conversation with me meant that her trust in me became deeper?
I was choosing what to say and then opened my mouth.
“I said that when I first met you, that I knew about your abilities.”
“Yes.”
“But it was more like talking about your potential, not your current abilities. I know your current limitations. I know what you can do and what you can’t.”
I continued talking to Asher, who was listening.
“The snake in the Rutus Mountains and the golem you met in the dungeon were all opponents you couldn’t handle, even with all your might. That’s why I’ve never been disappointed in you yet. Do you understand?”
“...”
“Of course, it was a mistake to miss the orc.”
She seemed to chew on what I said, then bowed her head.
I looked out the window again and watched the passing scenery.
After quite a while, we arrived at Wilpeck, a city in the southeast of the Fifth Lord’s territory.
We were driving along the boulevard in the carriage when something suddenly came into my mind.
Come to think of it, was that restaurant here in this city?
When I played the game, there was a very famous restaurant in the city of Wilpeck. Was the name of the restaurant, Gold Chicken?
There was also a sub-quests in the game to get ingredients for a chef who was struggling with a new menu.
More than anything, the reason this restaurant remained in my memory was because, as the name suggested, it was a restaurant that sold chicken.
In terms of the concept of this medieval fantasy world, the dish called fried chicken was quite unfamiliar and hard to find.
Shall we stop by?
After lodging in the city’s luxurious inn, I said to Baros.
“Find out if there is a restaurant called Gold Chicken in this city.”
It was five years ago, so maybe it hadn’t opened yet.
However, Baros, who returned shortly after, brought the news that the restaurant existed.
“This restaurant opened a while ago and is gradually becoming famous in the city. It is said that they mainly sell fried chicken dishes.”
We had dinner there and immediately left the inn.
When we arrived at the restaurant and went inside, quite a few people were eating. It had a moderately noisy atmosphere.
An employee walking around the hall saw us and greeted us brightly.
“Welcome! Are the three of you here for a meal?”
The employee guided me to a seat by the window, and I sat down first, with Asher and Baros sitting across from me.
This kind of seating arrangement was awkward at first to Baros, but he got used to it.
When I ate at the inn in the city that I first arrived after leaving the territory, I was annoyed that Baros didn’t dare to sit down to eat with me. He would just stand by and wait on me.
He was a great man, in charge of all the chores on this journey, but if there was one thing, it was that he was too loyal.
The waiter held out the menu and asked.
“How would you like to order? If you are not familiar with our restaurant, please let me explain...”
“No, that’s fine. I’ll order three chickens.”
“Yes, I understand. Cooking takes a little time, so please forgive me!”
This medieval world, especially in a big city like this, had a lot of weirdly modern corners mixed in, like this restaurant.
It was a game world created by modern people in the first place, so it was probably just natural.
'What’s not natural is my situation after entering this game world.'
Asher was by nature silent, and since Baros was someone I couldn’t have a comfortable conversation with, I thought for a while, waiting for our food.
Why did I come into this world?
I had not yet found the answer.
Come to think of it, a god actually existed in this world.
The only god in the world of RaSa who gave the holy sword to the hero of Santea.
Maybe, that god could tell me why this happened?
“...”
Whatever it was, survival was the most important thing right now, so it was just a futile idea.
If I continued to survive, I could meet the hero someday. That was something to think about.
I leaned back in my chair, feeling a bit of a relief.
Then the door opened and two customers came in.
A luxuriously dressed woman who seemed to be the daughter of a certain family and her escort knight. But when she looked around the restaurant and frowned, she shouted in a clear voice.
“Manager! Are you not accepting guests soon?!”
It surprised the manager inside to see her face, and he hurried over.
“Welcome, Lady Denbri. It’s an honor to have you visit our store.”
“Tsk, dirty and sluggish.”
The woman looked around her.
“These days, this restaurant’s cuisine is so famous, so I came to taste it myself while out on an outing, but the inside is dirty and unfashionable.”
“Haha... I’m sorry. It’s still not enough to welcome the noble young lady.”
“What are you talking about? Quickly, guide me to the best seat.”
…Who was that idiot?
As I watched the scene, the atmosphere inside the store suddenly became quiet.
All the other guests were paying attention to her. She must have been quite a celebrity in this city. Lady Denbri?
Could she be the mayor’s daughter?
Calderic did not have an aristocratic class like Santea, a typical monarchy.
It was a structure of absolute centralization in which they concentrated all the power around the Lords. The presence of an aristocratic class to keep them in check was meaningless.
However, there were mayors or commanders who managed cities or fortresses in certain areas. Like the aristocrats of Santea, they form families and inherit positions.
Although there was no formal aristocratic class, in reality they could be called the nobles of Calderic.
“Then I’ll serve the dish as soon as you ordered.”
The woman in her seat looked around her once again.
She patted the fan she was holding in her hand with a sneer as she watched the other guests hurriedly lowered their eyes.
Looking at the superiority on her face, she seemed to openly enjoy such reactions.
What an ugly woman.
That’s what I thought, and I soon turned my attention away from her.
It was enough to quietly taste the chicken in another world and go out without paying attention to that woman.
Clink!
While I was waiting for the food, I ordered to come out, there was a commotion again.
This time, too, that woman was the source.
“I’m sorry!”
The waiter who was serving drinks had dropped his glass.
And, of course, it dropped near the woman.
She looked down at the hem of her dress to see if the drink had splattered on it.
Then, her expression soon became distorted with irritation and anger, and she jumped up from her seat and violently slapped the apologetic employee in the face.
“Ouch...!”
“Is this fucking bitch crazy? How dare you dirty my dress?!”
As if one cheek did not satisfy her, she grabbed him by the hair and knocked him down, and trampled him with her feet without mercy.
There was no one to stop it. The manager, who came out because of the commotion, just watched with a restless expression.
“...”
I was watching the scene, thinking that the woman was the real crazy bitch in this scenario. Then I saw the expression of Asher sitting in the seat in front of me, getting more and more hardened.
Basically good-natured, she was a character who could hardly overlook this kind of injustice.
It was the same for me. This one-sided violence was an eyesore.
I told her.
“I told you before, express your thoughts and opinions.”
Asher flinched and turned around.
Then she immediately nodded her head and opened her mouth.
“Can I help that employee?”
“Do whatever you want.”
It was when Asher was about to get up from her seat at my answer...
“Hey, young lady.”
A voice came from somewhere else.
It was a young man sitting in a corner seat.
As he approached the woman, he sneaked in front of the fallen employee and smiled servilely.
“I’m sorry for daring to intervene, but if you forgive him, this employee will be impressed by your generosity. So...”
“What are you? Aren’t you going to get lost?”
The woman pushed the man away and picked up a glass bottle that was on the table. With that, she seemed to want to hit the waiter on the head.
The man was startled and quickly grabbed her arm.
Teouk.
The escort knight standing next to her also grabbed the man’s arm.
I could see how hard the other had squeezed his arm as his face contorted in pain.
“...Huh?”
The woman staring in amazement at the hand that gripped her own wrist. She soon shifted her cold gaze to the man.
“Did you hold my arm? You dare?”
“I, I will remove it at once...”
“Gerold, cut off his wrists.”
The man’s expression hardened.
The knight, without hesitation, brought his hand to the hilt of his sword, as if he were really about to carry out the order.
That was the moment.
Bang!
Asher approached the knight and grabbed his arm.
The knight whose arm she grabbed looked back at Asher, frowning at her.
He then seemed to give strength as if to shake it off... but nothing happened.
When his arm didn’t budge at all, the knight looked puzzled.
“What is this again? Do these lowly things keep interrupting me as if they’re crazy?”
“...”
“What are you doing, Gerold! Cut this crazy bitch down!”
However, the knight’s arm was still immovable.
Seeing his face completely red from the rush of blood, she seemed to be taken aback as if she had grasped the situation as well. Then she turned her gaze to look in my direction.
“Hey, black hair over there! This is your escort! Don’t stop quickly?! Do you know who I am?!”
...Did she just call me black hair?
I couldn’t even laugh because it was ridiculous, but Baros’ expression became rather stern.
“You dare...”
He would summon his spirits and attack at any moment, so I gestured for him to stay still and opened my mouth.
“You’re vulgar.”
“...What? What?”
“It’s so vulgar to see you run amok like a colt with her tail on fire. Stop making a fuss and get lost.”
Only then did Asher let go of the arm she’s holding. The knight took his arm and stepped behind the woman.
The woman glared at me to death, and she screamed.
“Kill! Don’t stay still like an idiot. Kill him right now!”
The knight hesitated, then reached his hand for the hilt of his sword.
I told Asher.
“If he draws his sword, cut them both.”
