"I was just asked to go to Etal for some business! This has to be destiny! I had no choice but to join the caravan!"
Letty's voice rang across the square like a festival bell, pink twin tails whipping in the morning breeze.
Her smile could power a small village for a week.
"It's not destiny, and there's no party."
I kept my tone colder than the dawn air.
"I don't know you. Strangers don't talk. End of discussion."
"You're hilarious! No one else has eyes this beautifully clouded!"
She thrust a party application form under my nose, the parchment still warm from her grip.
The ink smelled like sugar and inevitable doom.
I pictured shredding it into confetti and letting the wind carry it to the next kingdom.
Twelve days of misery had started the moment she crashed through my door.
Three kilos lighter, wallet hollow, nerves frayed, every misfortune traced back to this pink-haired typhoon.
Letty's garnet eyes shimmered with unshakable hope.
Adventurers around us murmured, "That's the Attack Hero, right?"
"Is she partied with a D-rank?… What a weird combo."
"Letty, care to explain?"
A voice cut through the whispers, crisp and commanding.
The speaker was a red-haired elf with long ears and a silver hair clip that caught the sun like a warning flare.
Letty saluted with theatrical flair. "He's insanely strong!"
The elf, Lina, tilted her head, fiery eyes sizing me up like a butcher eyeing meat.
"Doesn't look it."
"Muddy eyes, zero dignity, no aura, zero motivation."
I rattled off my flaws like a grocery list.
"Plastic surgery's starting to sound reasonable."
"…Still doesn't look strong."
A lazy voice drifted from beneath a white hood.
Light-blue hair spilled out, framing a face too symmetrical to belong to someone so utterly bored.
Eve, maybe eighteen, wore healer robes and the expression of someone who had mentally clocked out before sunrise.
She yawned, cold eyes mirroring my own exhaustion.
Instant kinship, two souls who just wanted to crawl back into bed.
"By the way, what's your name?" Lina asked.
Letty blinked. "Wait, I never asked!"
The elf sighed like a disappointed parent.
I exhaled. "Jirei Laro. D-rank. Special skill: instant sleep anywhere. Favorite hobby: sleep."
"Limited slots on this caravan, but I'll try not to drag you down."
Pseudonyms were pointless, though guild records would only show a black-haired nobody.
Letty bounced on her heels. "Retinoa Innocent! Attack Hero! I love sweets, hate veggies!"
Twenty years old, but her energy suggested twelve.
Pink hair whipped as she spun like a top.
Eve muttered, "…Eve Durkis."
She turned away, already done with conversation.
She was so rude, but relatable. It didn't bother me.
Lina smiled sharply. "Lina Antetman. A-rank mage. Currently stuck with Letty."
Nineteen by appearance, ancient by elven standards.
Talent radiated off her like heat from a forge.
My stomach dropped.
Antetman.
I whispered so only the wind could hear, "…Antetman of Crimson?"
Lina's ears twitched. "You know that name?"
Her smile turned playful, a cat spotting a laser dot.
I kept my face blank. "Heard it from a Holy Mark researcher. Once."
She bought the lie, boredom returning.
Close call.
Sharu Antetman, fifth-generation hero, Demon King slayer at eighteen, was erased from history to protect her assassin clan.
Five centuries ago, moonlight had glinted on a descending blade.
I woke, blocked, and accidentally punched a crying elf girl who looked fifteen.
She babbled through blood and tears:
"I wanted to sell candy, not kill people."
"My family's scary."
"I just want to marry someone nice and eat sweets."
I gave her the lemon drop in my pocket.
She rolled it on her tongue like treasure, eyes wide at the first taste of sugar.
I taught her to knead dough, count coins, smile at customers.
She cried when I left; I pretended not to.
Now her descendant stood three feet away, same red hair, same dangerous curiosity.
Antetmans hunted strength like sport.
I decided then: minimum interaction, maximum distance.
Letty shoved the party form again.
The caravan master barked for signatures.
I signed the escort contract, only the escort contract, and handed it back.
Letty pouted. "Party form too!"
I walked toward the supply wagon.
"No."
Eve fell into step beside me, hood low.
"Smart," she murmured.
"Me too. Just here for the pay."
Lina watched us, amused.
Letty chased, form flapping like a white flag.
The wagons rolled out at dawn, Etal five days away.
I climbed aboard, hood deeper, black hair hidden.
Red strands itched beneath the surface, power coiled and silent.
Letty's voice echoed behind: "Destiny isn't done with you yet!"
I closed my eyes.
Five days to Etal.
Five days to disappear again.
Sleep first, destiny never.