Day-28
...
The next morning, we headed toward the old city of Damroww as usual. We started our day by hunting, looking for money to cover our needs.
We found three goblins that were off guard, and quickly injured one of them. After that, a battle broke out between us and the three goblins. Ranta and Yume took one, while Haruhiro and Mogzo took another. I would handle the goblin we had injured at the beginning, with Shihoru supporting me from a distance.
Yeah, it's just an ordinary goblin, after all. Still, thinking like that wasn't right. I had to always stay alert. I couldn't let my guard down. Remember that.
Standing face-to-face with the goblin, I saw that it was holding a sword. It growled at me, trying to intimidate me. But unfortunately for it, that wasn't going to work.
I quickly charged toward the goblin, and it reacted just as quickly. It also rushed toward me.
My hand held the sword that was still sheathed. Then, when we were close enough, I drew it as quickly as possible and swung it toward the goblin.
With a loud clang, my attack was blocked. I tried pushing it back with all my strength, and managed to make the goblin leap backward.
Then, a fist-sized flash of light flew toward the goblin and struck it in the head. The goblin flinched for a moment and let out a howl.
I turned around and realized where it had come from.
"Good job, Shihoru."
Then I charged toward the goblin that was in pain. When I reached striking distance, the goblin had already recovered and raised its sword.
At that moment, I swung my sword, and our blades collided. Then, I released my grip on the sword in my hand.
The sword fell to the ground with a loud clang.
I clenched my fist and quickly punched it in the stomach. Not just once, but several times.
Then I raised one of my legs and kicked it, sending it stumbling backward.
It shouted at me as I picked up the sword lying on the ground.
I closed the distance between us and swung my sword again. Unlike before, the goblin dodged my attack instead of blocking it.
It was in pain. That's what I thought.
Then the goblin aggressively charged forward, jumped, and tried to slash at my head with its sword.
All I had to do was shift slightly to the side, then straighten my sword. I used my leg to leap forward and thrust my sword into its stomach in an instant.
I pulled my sword out, then shook it to clean the blood off.
"Phew... That was pretty difficult."
My eyes scanned the battlefield, and I found that our side had already won.
After that, we collected the goblins' loot. We found a few good things.
Then we decided to rest and eat after everything was done.
While eating my lunch, which consisted of just a single piece of bread, we also talked for a while.
"I'm going to buy you a helmet," Haruhiro suddenly said to Mogzo. "I can only afford a cheap one, but I'll also buy you some plate armor. So let's look for a set of equipment that fits you. If we can't find anything that fits your body, then we'll have to find a way to adjust the size."
"... But... But... Don't you need your money for yourself? I'm already a burden to everyone..." Mogzo said anxiously.
"Don't worry about it. As long as I have this, I'll be fine." Haruhiro said as he showed him his dagger. "But if you don't have proper protection, it'll affect the performance of the entire team, so I'm doing this for my own sake too. Metal armor is super expensive, so unless we make a lot of money, there's no way we can afford something like that."
"But... What about Sirus...? He's also in the same role as me... So it doesn't feel fair if I'm the only one..." Mogzo said, surprising me.
Everyone looked toward me, making me feel uneasy.
A smile appeared on my face.
"Thank you. That's really kind of you, Mogzo... But you really don't need to worry about me. And besides, I don't need all that for now. It would only slow me down, honestly. So just accept it." I replied. Apparently, he really did care about everyone.
"Yume just realized that now, and Yume agrees with Haru," Yume said. "Yume will also help pay for Mogzo's armor. Let's all go shopping and buy him a cute helmet."
"And me. I don't have much spare money, but I'll help too." Shihoru said as she raised her hand.
"I'm going to say this right here, right now: I can't contribute even a single bronze." Ranta said.
"Alright. It's not like anyone expected you to contribute anything." Haruhiro replied.
"I'm sorry, but it looks like I can't contribute either. Well, there's something I want to buy right now." I said, turning my face away, feeling a little embarrassed that I couldn't help.
"It's okay, Sirus. You don't need to apologize like that." Haruhiro said, then glanced slightly toward Mary.
Mary was simply staring into the distance at that moment.
Well, I guess she's still not used to this either...
...
After lunch, we encountered another group of three goblins. The battle went smoothly, and we quickly defeated them.
Proof that this party was growing. It had been a long time since I'd felt this kind of progress.
Battles that had felt difficult at first had now become easier. The difficulty didn't even feel that noticeable anymore.
If Manato were here, he would definitely be proud of everyone. They've all grown stronger, haven't they? Manato...
After that, we were about to leave the old city of Damroww and head back to the city of Ortana, ending our hunt for the day.
But on the way, we unexpectedly ran into a pair of goblins.
Because we hadn't expected them, we had trouble reacting. Mary and Shihoru hadn't even been targeted by the two goblins yet.
And one of the goblins immediately lunged at Mary.
"Why didn't she dodge?" I thought, immediately charging toward her.
I used my body to push the goblin away.
Then I turned around and asked her in the friendliest tone I could manage.
"Hey, are you alright?" I asked.
She nodded. "...Yeah."
The remaining goblin jumped toward Shihoru, trying to pounce on her, and unexpectedly, Mary reacted quickly. She used her staff to strike the goblin.
Seeing that, I was quite surprised. Then I realized...
"So she does care..." I thought.
Although the battle had gotten off to a bad start, we eventually won with ease. After all, we greatly outnumbered them, and it was easy for us to overwhelm the two goblins.
A nice little addition to the day.
After that, we finally returned to Ortana and sold our loot. I received my share, and at the intersection, just as Mary was about to head home—
"Mary, wait a moment." Haruhiro called out to her.
Mary turned around, brushing her hair aside. She looked annoyed. "What business do you have with me now?"
"Actually, I don't really have any business with you..." Haruhiro said. "But would you like to have dinner with us? Then go to Sherry's tavern afterward?"
Haruhiro really wanted to invite her. I didn't really mind having her around either.
"I respectfully decline." But Mary refused the invitation.
"Why respectfully decline?"
"No particular reason." Mary said, looking angry.
"Ah, I see. Sorry for asking you such a strange question."
"It's alright." Mary said. "I will..."
When she was about to say something, she suddenly stopped for some reason. What was she actually trying to say?
All she did next was turn around and leave, parting ways with us at that intersection.
"Terrible girl. Seriously." Ranta mocked her.
"Really? I felt something different about her today." Mogzo said.
Yume nodded enthusiastically in agreement. "Mary was different today. Yume feels like she was a little cuter today."
"Stop using the word 'cute' to define everything. The definition of cute is too broad, so I don't understand what you're trying to say." Ranta said, glancing toward Yume.
"It's okay if Ranta doesn't understand it. Yume doesn't care anyway." Yume replied.
"Well, you're not wrong. She does seem different now..." I said, agreeing with them. "I think she's a little more open toward all of us today."
"What are you talking about, Sirus? I don't see any difference in her. She's still an annoying girl." Ranta said.
"Really?" I replied with a smile.
That girl, seriously. She acts so cold, but she actually cares.
A "Kuudere," I guess.
Like the moon, which brings no warmth in its light, but still illuminates the night.
That's what she's like.
...
Hey, here's another boring chapter. I hope you guys enjoy it.