Eternal Adventurer (WN): Chapter 18

 

Chapter 18: Escape

The case ended too abruptly for the residents, who knew nothing about it.

The purpose of the bandits was to roughly destroy evidence and prevent pursuit by burning down the town.

And the fire destroyed most of the residents' property.

"Shiro-san!"

We captured the few bandits who had continued to loot and followed Shiro-san into the forest.

The scene was worse than in the town.

"Captain, how's the town?"

He calmly asks.

I was glad I was alone.

If the others had seen this, they might have gone crazy.

That's how terrifying he was.

There was not a spot on his body that wasn't drenched in blood.

His great sword and leather armor caught bits of the bandit's flesh.

More than anything.

"You did this, all by yourself?"

"Yeah, they were pretty weak."

There wasn't a man alive in the whole place who had died a proper death.

No one is alive, of course.

No wonder.

All the bandits were missing from the head to the waist.

Some of them I don't even know how they got that way.

To be more specific.

They were impaled on thick tree branches in high places.

The upper half of their body was shredded.

Clothing wasn't burned, but the flesh was charred.

"I think some of them might have escaped. Due to the town being out of control."

"I see... I've taken care of the manager, so they can't do this anymore. It's like destroying a beehive."

Are you trying to call him a queen bee?

He was grabbing the decapitated head of a man that was called the manager.

It looked like it was contorted in despair and fear.

---------------

Firefighting activities were carried out without sleep.

Thanks to that, it took only a day to put out the fire.

The survivors.

The adventurers who know nothing.

And farmers who heard about the catastrophe came.

To assess the damage, rescue survivors.

And disposing of the corpses.

Meanwhile, Wince seemed to be absent-minded.

Nearby was the body of Fisse, who had been stabbed repeatedly in the back.

Many of the buildings on the edge of town were pretty much intact.

The inhabitants who lost their homes...

Sleeping in huts that had been abandoned by its original inhabitants.

I and Wince are the same.

"Wince, did you sleep well?"

No reply from Wince.

She sometimes looks my way, so it's not like she's unconscious.

She just won't eat.

She hasn't eaten in two days.

"Then, I'll go clean up. Eat when you're hungry."

Nothing I can do.

----------

I killed Fisse.

Even though we were best friends.

I loved her.

I killed her.

When I saw that Fisse was a bandit

I.

Was happy.

It's been a rough five years.

There's not much I can do.

I'm a mixed breed and can't have children, so I can't marry a farmer.

I didn't want to end up like my mother, so I tried my best to be an adventurer.

I thought about that every night when I went to bed.

If it weren't for Fisse, I might have gotten a job in the Administration.

In my mind

Just a little bit.

I wish Fisse would die tomorrow. Such a thought crossed my mind.

So, feeling despair that my daily life was falling apart

That the Administration was lying

Fisse was a helpless villain.

A town full of painful memories was on fire.

I was a little happy.

This is who I am.

The only reason I'm in this mess now is because I'm a very ugly mixed one.

And yet.

Shiro-san is still kind to me.

His gentle hands touch me.

It was warm.

He held my hand just a little bit today.

I can still feel it.

I am an ugly mixed one.

While everyone else is struggling to recover.

I'm the only one in bed

While remembering the touch of Shiro-san who was so kind to me.

While imagining the act with Shiro-san.

I comforted myself.

With the hand that killed my dear friend.