Night Friend (2)
" Why are you giving this?"
"Do I need a reason to help you?"
I feel like a thorn is stabbing the insides of my mouth, trying to spout rubbish I don't even want to say, but I can't help it.
Because this works better for her type.
I want to be friends with this fairy tonight.
It makes sound like garbage for so reason, but it's not a bad deal for her either.
Injuries, lack of sleep, and gorgeous looks.
Just looking at her situation, she has it several tis worse than .
She did that shit just now because she knows that.
To be honest, that tenacious obsession with her own survival surprised .
"Like I said, treat yourself first. We can talk later."
"But"
"Im going to stand guard."
As I turn my back dismissively, I soon hear a sound.
The sound of herbs being chewed before applying them over her wounds.
" It's all done."
Already? She's surprisingly good with her hands.
Turning around, I see a tightly wrapped bandage from between the gaps of her torn clothes. The vigilance in her eyes when she looks at seems to have lessened a bit, for so reason.
Let's start with the standard introductions and slowly close the distance between us.
"I am Bjorn, son of Yandel."
" Erwen."
"I dont know what you've misunderstood. But nothing will happen to you."
"Yes? Ah, yes"
She makes a brave face, but the fear is still there in her eyes.
I thought that if I did this much, this misunderstanding would soon be solved, but what the hell is wrong now?
In the end, I can only ask bluntly.
"Why are you so afraid of ?"
" Barbarians and fairies are enemies, aren't they?"
"Enemies?"
"Sorry, Im sorry! I didn't an it like that I don't want to fight you."
She gets so worked up at my question that she starts begging again.
No, I just asked because I was really curious
Are fairies and barbarians, enemies? That's a story I'm hearing for the first ti. They obviously got along pretty well in the ga.
How did this happen?
I just look at her with a piercing stare, and the information I wanted readily flows out.
" Th-, the war that ended ten years ago? I, I personally don't have any lingering hatred! I really don't."
Ten years ago
I don't know what happened, but listening to her talk, it seems more like a belligerent relationship rather than outright hostility.
Well, then, was she afraid because she grew up hearing bad things about my race from a young age?
The situation is pretty bad.
What do I do? Do I have to look for sobody else?
Not to ntion, the herbs and bandages I already gave her are on the pricey side
Alright, let's try this first.
"It's the sa for , no lingering hatred."
"Thats right!"
"Yes. That's why I'm asking, Erwen. Would you like to be friends with tonight?"
" Night friend?"
"I'm tired now. The sa must go for you, too. So why don't we cooperate for today, since there are no lingering feelings between us?"
"Ummm"
Her eyes suddenly light up.
To be honest, I wonder if she spoke truly just now.
Without rushing, Erwen contemplates for a while with a deep frown, then offers a condition instead.
"Barbarians value a warrior's honour. Can you swear on it? That you won't hurt first?"
"I swear."
"Mm, of course, I promise you in the na of my clan. I would never harm you first."
It's equivalent to a pinky swear In Korean culture[1].
Of course, I can do this all day.
But there is one issue that needs to be addressed first.
"I am Bjorn, son of Yandel. Not uncle'."
Our Bjorn is only twenty years old, you know.
The contract had been concluded.
Maybe it was even a bit ground-breaking in terms of local culture.
Thanks to that, I found out the fairy maiden's real na in the process.
Erwen Fornacci di Tersia.
She was twenty years old, sa as .
Hoo, I'm glad I'm not the real Bjorn. I'm sure the real Bjorn would think so too. Even if I
I won't say it.
"Then how do we decide how to take turns?"
"I'll sleep first. That should make you feel safer."
"Its not like that, but if you want to, I cant help it"
In a word, it was an unvoiced complaint.
"So it's good with you?"
"Yes."
Heh, I'm glad. I would've fallen into despair if it'd been rock-paper-scissors again.
My eyes had been fluttering closed since so ti ago. Please, I just wanted to get so sleep. Why was getting a good night's sleep so hard?
"Oh, yeah, but! How do I know the ti?"
Tsk, is this why rookies had it so difficult?
I took the watch out of my backpack and gave it to Erwen.
"Its expensive, so dont break it."
"Yes"
Seeing her receive it reverently like an ancestral relic gave so peace of mind.
"I'll be careful with it. Good night."
I lied down on my backpack, covered myself with a blanket, just like uncle had done.
And
Zzzzzzzzz!
I let sleep claim my consciousness.
"Uncle!"
It's Bjorn, I tell you.
"Uncle, wake up. Ti's up."
I forced my eyes open and got up. I couldn't believe it.
Had it been two hours already?
"Co on, give the watch here."
I looked at the ti, and two hours had indeed passed.
Co to think of it, it seed that I hadn't even snored properly. Just in case, I tried to do that that for ten minutes
Wow, was this the synergy between a backpack and a blanket?
It was terrifying enough.
Obviously, if uncle had lent them to , I wouldn't have been able to avoid his surprise.
I would have slept very comfortably, forgetting the outside world.
Is this karma?
Considering the circumstances, let's lend them to her too.
"Cover yourself with this and sleep. And use this as a pillow if you want."
"Yes? But"
She was shy, but her lips curved at the corners.
I decided to pretend that I hadn't seen anything.
"Well, then Ill use them properly, thank you"
Without any further urging on my part, Erwen crawled into the blanket and curled up like a cat. And soon after, there was the sound of regular breathing.
Hey, are you sleeping so well in front of an outsider?
She seed tired. She might've had as hard a day as mine.
"Hoo"
I rested my back against the wall and opened the watch.
[22: 50]
It felt like five days had passed, but there was still more than an hour left before the second day ended.
I wanted to go back to the city soon. Actually, it was funny to say that I was going back, but If I managed to go back, I'd definitely sleep for a few days.
Seeing that I can think like this, this body is really worth it.'
I closed the watch and put it back in, imrsed deeply in my thoughts. It'd been a while since I last had a peaceful ti, but I kept thinking about this and that.
What happened to in reality?
Had my disappearance been discovered? Surely it would be. Sobody should co. Although the company wouldn't take a few days' absence seriously.
"Kkh."
It wasn't that this was the first ti I was considering this issue.
It just made more and more sad.
If you keep thinking that there's nothing good about going back, your will itself would shatter.
It was better just not to think about it, in many ways.
No matter if it was only deceiving myself, I was pretty good at self-hypnosis.
""
I deliberately twisted my flow of thought.
Alright, let's recap what happened over the past two days. After the coming-of-age ceremony, I entered the labyrinth, fought the goblins, fought uncle
Shall I praise myself for doing well so far?
I clung to life really hard. Since there was no one to praise for that, why not do it myself?
Snap
I decided to leave the self-congratulations until I got back to the city, and when I opened the watch, ti had run out.
"Erwen, wake up."
"Just five more minutes"
What's so good about just five minutes, hurry and get up.
"Ugh"
Erwen rubbed her eyes and stood up as she shook off the wretched barbarian's hand from her shoulder.
Hey, this looks dangerous.
I could see why she hated .
"Dont even think about falling asleep just because nothing has happened so far."
"Yes"
I was a little nervous, but once again I went back to bed.
Maybe because I'd lent her the blanket and the backpack, a trace of warmth remained in them.
It was ironic.
How long had it been since I'd last felt the warmth of soone other than myself? How unfamiliar.
Maybe more than everything else I'd gone through in the past two days.
Zzzzzzzzzz!
This ti, I had quite a bit of energy, so I diligently started snoring. To be honest, it was more to make sure she didn't sleep and did her job properly.
I didn't feel like sleeping.
I opened my eyes and glanced at Erwen, then let go of my worries and closed my eyes once more.
And, how long had it been after that?
Creak.
I felt a sense of urgency and sat up hurriedly.
"Hey!"
For so reason, I was holding Erwen's white wrist.
It looked like she had been stretching it out towards
"What are you doing?"
"You looked like you were having a bad nightmare, because you kept sweating"
Looking at the handkerchief in her hand, it didn't seem like an excuse.
Well, if it had been a weapon in the first place, I would have hit her with a shield without asking why.
"Sorry, Im sorry."
After grasping the situation, I relaxed my hands.
Erwen stroked the place I'd caught with a painful expression.
There were already red marks on her wrist.
I didn't even apologize. Because they would've been empty words anyway.
"How much ti has passed?"
" Ten minutes left till shift change."
"Right. So let take the shift now."
"But"
"If I sleep again now, I'll just be more tired."
At my words, Erwen lay down with an apologetic expression. And tossed and turned a little.
"Uncle."
"Any problems?"
"No. I have a question."
"Ask."
Erwen hesitated for a mont before speaking.
" Who is your uncle?"
What? Are you making a pun?
"Because you keep muttering, telling him youre sorry, in your dreams Oh, my apologies. Am I speaking out of turn? You don't have to answer. I'll just sleep."
Before I could respond, Erwen pulled up the blanket over her head.
It seed that this young lady was slowly starting to beco curious when she realized that I was not that scary.
"Lay off."
I thought while doing a few simple stretches.
I couldn't really rember anything, but it looked like I had a real nightmare
Suddenly, I felt a little curious.
Who the hell was the man I was asking for forgiveness?
Two candidates ca to mind.
An unknown uncle who was decapitated at the coming-of-age ceremony, and Uncle Hans, who taught how to be human.
But when I thought about it, it was strange for it to be either. I didn't recall doing anything to them worth apologizing for.
Soon I ca to a conclusion.
It must've been so aningless dog dream that I had.
[04:30]
Day 3 had started. And about 10 minutes left before I had to wake up Erwen.
I felt worried as I watched Erwen sleep with a blanket crunched between her legs.
What concerned was the prospect of a second date[2].
That is, whether or not to propose a team-up.
Of course, there was a downside to having a companion, that you would have to share the loot.
No matter how many goblins appeared on the third day, it was clear that Erwen joining would reduce my eventual inco.
It had nothing to do with her strength. Well, since she was a fairy, it would usually be cost-effective, but
Should I say that I'm already overpowered?
Even without Erwen, I could easily dispatch three or four goblins by my loneso.
It wasn't arrogance, I really judged that way after experiencing several battles with this body.
And I had to collect as many mana stones as possible, to prepare for my future living expenses in the city as well as the subsequent taxes.
"Hoo"
Safety, or more mana stones?
While I was pondering about the most rational choice
Step.
I could hear adventurers' footsteps from the passage on the left.
It'd happened several tis during the night, so I wasn't particularly nervous. Most of the ti, they'd take a look at us once and just pass by.
But
Step
This pair of adventurers, let's call them Ricky and Buster[3], took one look at us and stopped walking.
And whispered to each other.
"Isnt that the fairy?"
"Looks right. The shape of the bow matches."
Of the two n who ca to a conclusion while whispering between themselves, Buster asked as the representative.
"Barbarian, what is your relationship with the fairy?"
"As you can see, we are night friends."
"Even barbarians and fairies can be night friends, I've seen sothing strange today. So how long do you two have left?"
"I have no answer for you."
Buster didn't ask any further.
He just smiled and left with Ricky beside him.
"Right. Let's go."
"Huh? Ah, um"
Soon, their presence disappeared from the surroundings.
But I wasn't reassured.
What the hell were these bastards doing? It felt as ominous as when the chieftain had shouted in front of .
I slowly moved to the side and tapped Erwen, who was still sleeping, on the shoulder.
"Ugh"
Hey, are you still sleeping in this situation?
Wake the hell up.
Because sohow, it feels like we're fucked.
Editor's Notes:
[1] Or rather, that is the western equivalent. Not translating the full Korean gesture here because not very relevant.
[2] (lit. after sales application), requesting the next date after the first eting or blind date.
[3] (Tong Tong) and (Bi Sil) are Doreamon characters, fat and thin respectively.
User Comments
0 comments from readers