When Raven left the library, I considered following her home, but I abandoned the idea. He wouldn't be the most polite among comrades. The reason he hadn't mentioned his family situation until now was probably because he didn't want it to be known. If I was really curious, I'd better ask him myself when I got back.
So what do I do now?
After Raven left, I tried to organize my plans again but stopped because I couldn't concentrate.
After eating something and rolling around in bed for a while, Amelia went back to her business. «...Have you been like this all day?».
«Sí, ¿y?»
He told me to stay home.
When I looked back at her with those eyes, Amelia shook her head and threw something heavy out of her bag. «Here, take it».
«...Money?»
«It is money from the sale of looters' equipment and objects. I've split it exactly in half, so start by getting some gear in town tomorrow».
«Oh, is that enough?»
«There aren't many forges in Noark so it will be difficult to get equipment. Only use it where absolutely necessary».
Oh, you and your complaints.
«And your job? How's it going?»
«It's still in progress».
Amelia told me she would let me know when there was a result and disappeared somewhere, saying she had something to do. Apparently he just stopped to give me the money in the first place.
Tomorrow I'm going to roast some meat.
Once dawn broke, I left early and headed to the Kommelby shopping district, which was called Mercado Libre. I went to the blacksmith shop I normally used and asked for something custom made. They told me it would take about three weeks.
Business was going well here twenty years ago too.
It made sense. There weren't many value-for-money blacksmith shops in Kommelby that also dealt with high-end equipment like this.
I should take a look while I'm here.
Afterwards I had nothing in particular to do, so I dedicated myself to walking and sightseeing. I went to the Central Stock Exchange to check prices, asked nearby explorers about popular restaurants from twenty years ago, etc. I made good use of the time until just before the last train left and returned to the inn for a drink before going to bed.
The next day, the third, I visited the Holy Land.
Ugh, what nerves.
I was a little worried that someone would come up to me and talk to me saying I was an unfamiliar face.
Is it because of the large population? The atmosphere in the Holy Land was also completely different twenty years ago.
Fortunately, none of my worries came true. Unlike our generation, which memorized the names and faces of everyone in our year and those above and below us, many things were different here.
Well, I'm going to put down the letter and leave quickly.
After hanging around the chief's shop for a while, I snuck in the letter I wrote the day before while the chief was away. Then I left the sacred land and visited the Church of Reatlas. Coincidentally, an ideal assignment for me had been announced. The content was to repair a building under the church. It was an assignment with only achievement points as a reward, and it was practically voluntary work.
«Has been received».
The order started in three days, so I just submitted the application and went out into the street. Today's work was practically finished, but there was still plenty of time left, so I moved to the library.
As I calmly organized my thoughts like yesterday, the chair in front leaned back with a noise.
Drag.
So you're here again.
«I rejoice in verte, Arua».
Although I greeted her and even called her name, Raven was sullen. «Why didn't you come yesterday?»
He said it as if we had met. She was the one who left without looking back last time. «Did you eat?»
«Yeah». Raven responded that she ate a piece of bread she brought from home. How was that a meal?
«Let's roast some meat».
« ... ¿Carne? »
«You do not like?»
"No lo se."
«jaNo lo sabes?»
«I've never tried it before.»
Ugh, this girl was going to make this man cry. «Then you can try it today. What are you doing? Hurry up, get up. You can study at another time».
«But...»
«I go to a restaurant right across the street, so don't worry.»
«I didn't worry at all.» I guess being treated like a girl bothered her because Raven closed her book and got out of her chair. Then he moved one seat down and sat a little further away from me. «Do not pity me. In the future I will be able to buy things like meat with my own money».
I guess trying to buy him something hurt his pride quite a bit. Oops, that was my mistake. This type of person would have a suitable approach for them. «Oh, I'm sorry if you thought that way».
When I sincerely apologized, Raven got out of her chair again. «I have never met an adult who apologizes. I'll let it go». He then returned to his original seat. Was she a cat or something? «Now I'm going to read, so don't interrupt me». Raven spoke in a firm voice and began to read.
I was a little dumbfounded. When had I interrupted her? Anyway, with that reasonable distance between us, time passed peacefully.
Tap.
It was after turning the last page of the book that Raven spoke again. «...Are you an explorer?».
Honestly, I was wondering when I was going to ask this. The children were very excited about these things. «Yes, an explorer».
«What range?»
«Rank 5-no, rank 6.» I corrected myself quickly. Just in case, I judged it correct that all answers were based on the Nivelles Enze standard.
«Is this high?»
«It's normal. Most of the explorers that appear in the books would have passed rank 4».
«Hmm, I see.» Surprisingly, Raven didn't pick a fight, saying my rank was low or anything else to put me down. He just expressed his curiosity. «Can you tell me?»
«About the maze?»
«Sí.»
Then, as if playing with a child, I told him somewhat exaggerated stories about what had happened to me in the maze, and interesting stories I had heard while working as an explorer. I omitted bad stories as much as possible. Raven's case was different from Dwalkie's. The innocence of a child had to be protected.
«Interesting. Are all barbarians like you?»
«Nivelles Enze.»
«Oh, I'm sorry. I will call you by the correct name from now on». Contrary to her first impression, in which she looked like a lunatic girl, Raven was surprisingly down to earth. She was considerate and tried not to do to others what she didn't like. However, one thing was missing.
«Why do you keep looking for a fight with adults?»
«I wasn't looking for a fight».
«I'm sure a guy as smart as you knows a better way to solve things than by burning people with electricity».
"...eso no lo sé."
Something I felt while talking to her was that Raven had a great desire to be recognized. Well, who didn't have that kind of desire? But hers was several times worse than her peers. Perhaps electrocuting passersby who blocked his way was an expression of that psychology. She probably wanted to brag about being a magician, whoever she was. Although he probably never got the reaction he wanted. In my experience, there was only one thought that came to mind after being suddenly electrocuted: Is this girl crazy?
«Then I'm leaving. Goodbye.»
It was a little earlier than yesterday, but Raven left the library as if she wanted to run away from an embarrassing topic. And so I returned to my accommodation.
Three days passed in the era of twenty years ago. There was a time when I wandered the streets every day fascinated by that fact, but I quickly lost interest. What was special about them twenty years ago? After all, everyone lived the same. And so, except for chatting with Raven in the library these last three days, I was almost always at the inn.
Now that I think about it, I forgot to tell him that I can't go today.
Meeting and chatting every day for several days, I became quite close friends with Raven. Now he not only told her stories about the maze, but she first brought up stories about her family.
It was unexpected.
Raven was from a single-parent family, but not because her father had died. Apparently he had left home a year ago after an affair. Oh, for reference, his father was also a magician. I'm not surprised. I wondered how it was possible for a child to learn magic just by reading books in a library no matter how intelligent he was, but it was because his father had given him the basics.
«Anyway, that's why mom doesn't want me to learn magic. He even sold all the books we had at home. I guess it reminded him of that person».
I was a little surprised to learn his family's story out of nowhere, but Raven spoke nonchalantly. In my view, it was part of their defense mechanism. If he pretended to be okay in front of others, it would also make him look like nothing was wrong with him.
It has, honestly, broken my heart...
So I recently found a new target. The objective was none other than to help Raven enter the magic tower. Even without me, she would become a member of the magic tower one day, but...
The sooner you enter, the better.
Perhaps when she returned to the future, Raven would have become an even bigger mage. Hmm, so that would change our first meeting too?
Oh, how different could it be?
It would only make the battle against vampires a little easier, and it didn't matter if he didn't. The past had already been changed. I left a letter in the holy land. Not only that, in three weeks he would have to go down to Noark with Amelia and save the life of a person who should be dead.
If it is going to change anyway, it is better to induce a change that is good for us.
Tap.
Upon reaching my destination, I took a deep breath at the entrance.
I'm a little nervous.
This was an orphanage under Reatlas Church, the place where Dwalkie spent his childhood.
«Ah, are you Nivelles Enze?»
«That's right.»
«If you wait here for a while, the task manager will guide you on what you need to do today. Do you want to drink something?»
«No, it's okay.»
I walked into the orphanage, said I was coming to volunteer, sat down and waited. As I did so, a tough-looking man came out and led me and the volunteers to the scene.
«As you can see, the building is quite old, so some areas are uncomfortable and dangerous for children. We've divided the groups into a mix of experienced and newbies, so today we're all going to work hard».
My job here for the next week was to repair an old building. It seemed a little strange to me. The last time I was here my position was to carry the luggage right before the demolition, not the repair.
«Hello, barbarian! The morning's work is over, so go rest».
Anyway, for now I did what I had been told and, in my free time, I went to the open field where the children played. Finding Dwalkie wasn't difficult. Everyone was running from one place to another, but there was a boy reading a book alone in the shade of a tree.
So I didn't have friends either.
Drinking water from a canteen, I walked carefree into the shade and sat next to him. But I couldn't remember the phrases I prepared to approach him naturally. All I could remember were this guy's last moments. There were so many things I wanted to tell him if we met again one day.
«I'll get out of the way. You can rest...» My stare seemed to bother him as Dwalkie hesitated and stood up. Only then did I come to my senses.
Get sentimental afterwards, do what you have to do now.
«Sit down».
«¡S-phone!»
«...You can talk comfortably. I won't eat you».
Dwalkie sat back down at my words, but as if he were sitting on a bed of nails, he was too busy staring at me out of the corner of his eye. Gosh, I didn't know he was so submissive.
«What's your name?»
«Riol».
«Surname?»
«...I don't want to say it».
«Soy Nivelles Enze. Rango Explorer 6».
«Wrong...»
Huh, now it seemed like it was bothering him. Didn't kids used to like the explorers who came here? Yes, like these children.
«Wow, a barbarian!»
«Is that a tattoo? Didn't it hurt you?»
When I sat on the floor, the children approached me curiously. When I revealed to them that I was an explorer, they begged me to tell them about the maze. I examined Dwalkie's face, who had gone into a corner before I knew it.
He could have left, but since he's still here, I guess he's curious too.
I figured Dwalkie wanted to hear about the maze because he was looking here from afar. And so I started unpacking the storybook seriously. Of course, I told them a different version of the dream-filled, innocent story I told Raven.
«Goblin! Did you hunt goblins too?».
«Of course I did. After crushing their eyeballs with my hands like that, I punched them like that. Their skulls were so hard that I had to hit them three times».
«Wow...»
«That reminds me of when I suddenly stepped into a trap. I thought I was really going to die then. I couldn't even use my leg because the muscles and tendons were shattered. I crawled in the dark for several hours, unable to walk well, looking for someone to rescue me.»
«Eh…»
«Yeah. It is still a difficult experience to remember. I think a bone was sticking out of my shin and oh, how painful it was every time the bone hit the ground. In the middle, the goblin paralysis poison also disappeared, so I thought I was going to go crazy. I didn't know it at the time, but I later discovered that I was missing a tooth.»
«...Eh?» I assumed they weren't expecting such a realistic story because the children's faces darkened as the story progressed. Right, who would have told you these things?
«Oh, and one more. Most people believe that monsters turn into mana stones as soon as they die, but that is a mistake. They stare at you for about three seconds while brain water drips down your nose and ear holes. With eyes like these. Oh, just talking about monsters isn't fun for you? So this time I'll tell you about the people. I once knew a looter who used to wear human ears around his neck like a necklace-«
«Wahhhhhh!» A trembling girl from the front ran away crying.
Either way, I continued with the stories. «I guess this one isn't good? So this time I'll tell you about the time they ripped off my arm...Isn't it useful either? So...Mm, I should tell you about the time the guild set me up and tried to get me killed».
«Um ...»
«¿Eh?»
Just as I was about to resume, a shaky boy asked me a question. «Are those all the stories you have?».
I nodded without a moment's hesitation. «So what do you want? I don't know what you've been hearing so far, but terrible things like this happen every day during exploration».
This was the pure truth. Although you could still smile in those situations and say that you were glad you had become an explorer, this was certainly a terrible thing.
«Yeah, so...» I looked directly at Dwalkie and said, «You guys don't do something like that. Understood?»