Volume 1 Chapter 22 The Monster's Feat
I wonder how Rose manages to come over to my house every day?
Curious, I leaned in with Ms. Terra to listen closely, and Rose answered a bit shyly.
"Um, well... I do my adventurer activities in Pailight town, but I still stay here in Hyamars town..."
"Huh?"
"I leave this town early in the morning, finish my requests in Pailight town, and then come back to Hyamars town."
"..."
I couldn't understand what she meant at all.
Ms. Terra looked just as confused, her eyes wide.
It's no surprise, as I mentioned earlier...
"Uh, um, I think it takes a whole day by the fastest carriage to get from here to Pailight town..."
"Oh, I run there."
"Run...?"
"If I run from Hyamars to Pailight, I can get there in about 4 hours. Then I quickly finish my requests in Pailight and run back."
So this girl is...
commuting by "running" from Hyamars to Pailight and then "running" back home.
It's a superhuman feat that can cover a distance that takes a whole day by carriage in just 4 hours, thanks to her incredible leg strength and stamina.
Maybe when I told her the other day that 'it's faster to run with her own legs' when she was going back to her hometown, she might have awakened some crazy power in her.
It seems like she's learned to use an unbelievable amount of strength.
Could it be that I've awakened a terrifying monster?
Still, even with her Valkyrie-like abilities, it must be tough to run back and forth between towns every day.
Just because she has superhuman physical abilities doesn't mean she has endless stamina.
Why does Rose go through all that trouble to commute from Hyamars to Pailight every day?
"Um, wouldn't it be better to set up base over there? You wouldn't have to wake up early, and you wouldn't have to run for 4 hours. Plus, Pailight's town is more lively than here, so it should be easier to live."
"Y-yeah, that might be true, but..."
Rose hesitated, looking troubled.
Eventually, she seemed to have an idea and replied.
"W-well, I know this town better, and there are a lot of cheaper places to stay. Over there, since it's more developed, the accommodation costs are higher. So, coming back here would save money, you know..."
"Haah..."
"A-and recently, I've been enjoying moving this 'Exceed' body, so running isn't really a bother for me..."
Rose rattled off various reasons, almost like she was making excuses.
As I grew more suspicious of her desperate demeanor, Ms. Terra suddenly grabbed me from the side.
Not roughly, just lightly tugging my sleeve, she pulled me to the corner of the room.
Then, lowering her voice so Rose wouldn't hear, she started talking.
"You really don't get it, do you? That cute girl is making that face, and you have no clue?"
"W-what do you mean?"
"She runs back and forth from Hyamars to Pailight every day, right? And she still visits you regularly, Roezé. With all the materials gathered here, there's no way you don't understand anything, right?"
"Uh, she's just saying she's based in Hyamars because it's cheaper for accommodation, right?"
After my response, Ms. Terra froze.
She looked at me as if I had said something completely off the mark.
Then she let out a big sigh and turned to look at Rose with a sympathetic expression.
"Rosie."
"Y-yes?"
"I think you're going to face a lot of struggles from now on, but don't get discouraged. If you ever have a hard time, you can always come to me for advice."
"Y-yeah..."
Rose's reaction was a bit slow, but Ms. Terra nodded, looking satisfied.
What on earth was she trying to say?
After that, Ms. Terra stretched her back and walked towards the entrance.
"Well then, I guess it's time for the pesky me to take my leave. I got to see how Roezé is doing."
"I'm really sorry I couldn't show you anything particularly interesting."
If things were different, Ms. Terra would have wanted to see the bustling scene at Nurturer.
"No, it's fine. If Nurturer was busy, then I wouldn't have had time to chat with Roezé anyway. Besides, I've seen enough 'interesting things' already."
"...?"
For some reason, Ms. Terra glanced at Rose and smiled.
Then she opened the entrance door and waved her right hand at me and Rose.
"If I see any struggling newbie adventurers at the guild, I'll make sure to promote you, Roezé, just like I did for Rosie. That way, you can get rid of the shame of having 0 customers."
With that, Ms. Terra left.
Now it was just me and Rose, so I made her some tea.
Usually, we chat about the day's events and random stuff until she finishes her cup, and then we part ways.
I thought today would be the same, but before I could bring up a topic, Rose spoke up with a gloomy expression.
"Did no customers come today either?"
"Ah, yeah. Unfortunately."
The reason for her downcast face seemed to be Ms. Terra's earlier comment.
Yes, today too, there were 0 customers.
It felt like it couldn't be helped since I still hadn't earned the trust of the adventurers in this town.
But Rose looked even more disappointed than I did as the owner of Nurturer.
"You don't have to look so sad, Rose. It's just my lack of promotion."
"N-no, it's not just that I'm sad about Mr. Nurturer not being busy. It's more that I feel frustrated that Mr. Roezé's abilities aren't being recognized..."
"My abilities? You mean, the Trainer's abilities?"
When I tilted my head in confusion, Rose shook her head as if to say that wasn't it.
"Trainer's power is strong, but I think the knowledge of training and combat ability is really impressive too."
"Well, I naturally got to know a lot about training because of my job class, but my combat ability isn't that great. Rose is probably way stronger now..."
If we ever faced off, I'd probably lose without even being able to put up a fight.
Honestly, I'm too scared to even try.
"Anyway, Mr. Roezé is definitely going to help a lot of people. So, I can't help but feel that this situation is unfair. Both Mr. Nurturer and Mr. Roezé deserve more attention. It's still strange that you got kicked out of the hero party..."
"Ugh, not this again..."
Rose, getting heated, is about to steer the conversation back to her usual topic.
She always shows anger about me being kicked out of the hero party.
She says it was unreasonable and that I should at least get some kind of severance pay.
I thought it would be a hassle if that topic came up again, so I tried to calm Rose down.
"Well, Nurturer just started, so it's understandable if I'm not recognized yet. I only put up a sign saying 'Nurturer Opening' on the bulletin board, so everyone probably thinks it's suspicious and hasn't come by."
"Suspicious, huh..."
Yeah, so it's wise to just wait quietly for now.
Just like Ms. Terra said, time will surely solve things.
It seemed like Rose understood that too, and her feelings gradually calmed down.
"Okay, I get it. But I still want to help Mr. Nurturer get really popular! If I see any adventurers in trouble, I'll definitely spread the word!"
"I-I'd prefer if it didn't get too popular, though..."
──Just one person a day would be fine.
I can only help one person at a time.
If 4 people came all at once, I wouldn't be able to handle it.
But it's also quite possible that a lot of people could come at once, so I thought I should practice how to manage many customers from now on.
The next day.
Before I knew it, it was already evening.
Today, once again, no customers came, and I ended up spending a lazy time.
A strange sense of guilt started creeping in.
This is getting bad, I thought, as I watched the sunset streaming through the window, feeling a growing sense of urgency...
*Knock, knock, knock.*
Suddenly, someone knocked on the front door.
From the way they knocked, I could tell it wasn't Rose.
So, who could it be? I wondered, tilting my head...
"Roezé, I brought a client with me!"
I heard Ms. Terra's drawn-out voice from the other side of the door.
A client?
Curious, I opened the door, and there stood the familiar figure of Ms. Terra and...
"Uh, welcome?"
Another person was there, a small girl with black hair, wearing a black robe and holding a big staff.
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