Saine selfishly ate the meal I bought.
Well, it’s this guy’s gold anyway. Saine greedily ate, he took a sip of grape juice and spat it out. ‘You bought such a stupid thing?’, he said then kicked me hard while I was still sitting on the floor.
True, in this guy’s case, he must prefer alcohol over juice. It suits him more.
When Saine consumed the food, he left the room. I’m not sure whether he’s going to take a bath or not, but he’ll probably sleep.
I slowly got up. My clothes were wet with my own piss. It’s smelly and I’m so pathetic that tears came out. I suppress my voice and cry.
I was grabbed in the crotch and peed, even so there was a strange pride that remained. something like this nothing, I’m not hurt at all. I pretended to be tough saying ‘I’m not crying at all’, as I grip my fists and cry.
While boiling the bath water, I cleaned the floor. Even though my body got reshed, I don’t want to see the dirtied floor, don’t you agree? I don’t want to see what I did so I’m cleaning first.
I will enter the bath and clean my body, I will do that then sleep. I will be the usual me once I leave the bath. It’s the usual me. My body is not dirty, I will also change my clothes into new ones.
I’m the usual me. Nothing has changed.
I get out of the bath house and look up to the night sky.
There are also no stars today. Are there no stars and moon in this world? The night sky is dark and I can’t see the tip of the hand I extended.
Within this darkness, I wonder, where should I go?
I was woken up by a kick before the sun has risen.
Has this guy always been in the house? No, but it’s his house. After Saine kicked me, he trod on my futon with heavy footsteps and left to the garden. Probably to either use the toilet or wash his face.
My futon takes up a lot of space while laid on the narrow hallway, so he can’t go to the toilet he passes by me.
But still, he should at least take off his shoes. I become sad looking the black footprint left on the soft futon.
I put away the futon before Saine returns. Since there are no other place, I place it on the storage room.
At the same time that I came out of the storage room, Saine also returned. I let him pass through the narrow hallway. Saine calmly walked by without even taking a glance at me who was sticking to the wall,
I think that he’s huge once I look at him again. Every men in this world like Kent and Duke look Caucasian, they probably see Haruka and me like children. Our height difference is probably around 30 centimeters. I have no idea what he does, but he has a big sword on his waste. Around the size of my entire arm, it’s probably a double-edged sword.
Saine went past the kitchen/living room from the hallway and went out of the house.
I wish he doesn’t come back.
I take a woven mat from the storage room and spread it on the garden. Since one won’t enough, I spread 3. I retrieve the futon that I tidied up and spread it on the back of the mats.
The truth is, I wanted to air it on the rooftop, but it was impossible with this house. Perhaps it’s the norm of this world, every house was one-story’ed.
I’m so glad that my bedding is made of sheets as granny had told me. The footprints Saine stamped were on the bed sheets. I’m really glad it’s not on the futon cover. If it was left there instead, I won’t be able to wash it unless I take out the cotton inside.
I draw water from the well and wash the bed sheets. I brought the soap from the bathroom and started scrubbing it with my hands. I hum a song as if I’m doing something extremely fun.
I hammer in a nail outside the bath cabin and affix a rope on it. I tie the other side on a tree. I dry the bed sheets on the rope stretched in the garden.
I wonder if rain doesn’t fall here. Today was also nice day.
I air the futon and wash and dry the bed sheets, ‘Alright!’, I fire myself up and stretch.
Don’t be worried, don’t be scared. Nobody knows what lies in the future. You’re not a woman, are you? It’s fine even if you’re beaten up. Probably.
I eat at the food stall and go to the Men’s Club. I wanted information on Saine.
[Saine Ray…… I don’t know him.]
Duke tilts his head.
[Never heard of him]
Haruka also furrows his eyebrows and said apologetically. Kent and Allec also shake their heads the same way.
[In the Reincarnators Association, they call him Hero.]
I feel like it’s from a somewhat distant past, but the next day after I reincarnated, I was certainly told that when I went to the Reincarnator’s Association.
[Hero-sama….. Hmm, that’s difficult.]
[Pay attention, okay? In this world, there’s a splendid amount of Heroes and Champions.]
[……What’s that?]
[Do you know that there are demons beyond this town?]
Kent leans forward and says.
[There are fields next to the town, beyond those are the ranches, and beyond it, why don’t you tell him?]
[Right. Beyond the ranches, there’s a meadow and on the other side of it is a forest. That forest and also the mountains the forest is connected to are the demons’ habitat.
So that was not a joke.
I swallow my breath.
[Not just this town, apparently everything in this world is made up the same way. Humans firmly live inside the town. But of course, there are also interactions between towns. There are also peddlers. Those peddlers hire the Heroes and Champions as guards.]
Duke said in a light tone while waving his finger.
[So you mean Saine is a guard?]
[That’s probably how it is.]
I was convinced when he was called a guard. That sword, and also those axes, spears, and bows placed in the storage room, everything is probably his tool for work.
[But why are the guards Heroes?]
[It’s not like all guards are Heroes. A lot of people work as guards. It’s because it’s quick and easy. But mostly, they either die without lasting a year or become frightened. The guards who are called Heroes have been eating with that profession for at least 10 years. Because their names are well-known among the peddlers, they get nominated. It’s because they have proved to have exited the forest and mountains safely countless times.]
[Above the Heroes are the Champions. The guards who are called Champions have killed countless demons. Not the small fries but the big-shots. They fight those while protecting their employers such as peddlers and travelers. The employer watches the state of battle and commend them as Eiyuus.]
[To put it simply, the guards who have been working consecutively for 10 years automatically receive the title Hero, while those who acquire their employer’s approbation are called Champion, that’s how it is.]
[Hmm…. Then, that guy is only a Hero who did it for 10 years?]
[No, don’t misunderstand, okay? One can also receive an approbation even if he’s only actively worked as a guard for 10 years, alright? The demons in the forest and mountains are nasty, even the small fries. Using our world’s term, it’s like the difference between a wolf and a bear. It’s said that their movements are fast, and they can alter their body’s form to attack. To be able to safely survive with opponents like those for 10 years is an amazing feat.]
Although Duke emphasized it, I still haven’t fully come into terms with it.