The carriage journey, experienced after a long time, was more pleasant than expected.
At least for Kikel and Bolton, it was.
“Hilde, was it? I heard from the woman at the request office that although you’re iron token rank, your skills are definitely solid.”
Of course, I was the exception.
Perhaps bored with sitting in the carriage, Amy had been persistently talking to me for some time now.
Leaving Kikel and Bolton alone like wallpaper, only to me.
Well, I understood.
Conversing with Kikel, whose speech was incredibly strange, would be a headache-inducing task, and Bolton, the priest, looked like a boring and uninteresting person at first glance.
Moreover, unlike Kikel or Bolton, I was a young woman just like her, so she probably felt less burdened.
Of course, that was just Amy’s misconception, as what was inside this body was a man who had lived for over twenty years with three legs, but…
Well, no one would know that unless I told them.
Anyway, for these reasons, Amy clung to me alone and chatted about all sorts of things.
All kinds of questions directed at me, and her personal stories that I wasn’t particularly curious about, just poured out.
“How old are you? As an iron token swordswoman, you must be in your early twenties?”
…Honestly, it was extremely annoying.
“Age…”
Still, I continued the small talk with her, answering diligently, albeit in short responses.
She was the client for this job, and moreover, a magician from the Magic Tower, someone iron token adventurers wouldn’t normally meet.
Even her attitude towards Kikel showed that she had a good personality for a magician, so there was no harm in being kind to her.
In the adventurer society, these things all become connections later on.
“I’m probably twenty.”
My soul’s age is twenty-two, but I remember Brunhilde, the owner of this body, was twenty years old.
So I might as well say twenty.
Being younger than the average for the rank is in itself proof of being a talented individual.
“…Probably? That’s an unusual answer.”
Amy tilted her head.
“Well, anyway, with just a two-year difference, we’re basically the same age. Right?”
“I suppose…?”
It was hard to understand the intention behind her words.
Just looking at the content, it seemed like she was saying that with just a two-year difference, she wouldn’t treat me as an older sister and would speak to me as an equal.
But was there a need to say such an obvious thing out loud?
She had been speaking informally from the moment we met, so why bring this up now?
“So there’s no need to be so formal. Feel free to speak comfortably.”
Amy suggested dropping the formalities with a light shrug of her shoulders.
More precisely, she suggested that I drop them.
It was a surprisingly easygoing and informal attitude. Almost touching.
If she wasn’t four years younger than me… actually four years younger, I might have been moved.
A younger person condescendingly allowing someone four years older to speak informally? If this were Korea, it would be an immediate cause for a smack on the head.
“Even if you tell me to be comfortable…”
I trailed off as if hearing such words was awkward.
Even before being possessed into this world, I was a person who always used polite speech with anyone I met for work. Whether they were older or younger than me.
It’s only natural. Isn’t that the etiquette of business?
It’s a basic courtesy between people that should be observed by anyone who isn’t an utterly ignorant bumpkin or a completely rude person with a broken personality.
“To be honest, that polite speech feels less respectful and more like you’re drawing a line to avoid getting involved, which is a bit uncomfortable. So please stop it.”
“If that’s the case… Well. Alright. Should I call you Amy?”
Of course, if the other person says they don’t like it, that’s a different story. I immediately dropped the polite speech.
Continuing to use polite speech after being told this much would be far more disrespectful than speaking informally.
“…Yeah, that’s better. Much better than before.”
Amy seemed a bit taken aback by my sudden change in attitude, but soon nodded with a grin.
And so we began to speak to each other informally.
* * *
“Hilde, aren’t you cold?”
Perhaps she took my switch to informal speech as a signal for a full-fledged friendly relationship.
Amy began to chatter about all sorts of things, opening up her conversation bag in earnest. She was a more talkative girl than I had thought.
“I’m freezing to death as soon as night falls. Are you okay with just that thin cloak?”
“Not particularly? Once you start moving around, you warm up quickly.”
Brunhilde’s body was very resistant to cold. Not just at the level of not being susceptible to cold, but to the extent of even partially nullifying the effects of ice magic.
“Human woman enviable! I can’t wear iron armor! Body freezes!”
Kikel chimed in, shivering as if genuinely envious.
Being too cold to wear iron armor, isn’t that something only a failure would say?
It might be okay up to iron or copper token, but he wouldn’t be able to rise above silver token.
Who would hire a silver token warrior wearing just a thin jacket? One wrong hit and they’d be rolling around on the verge of death.
No, being a lizardman, maybe he could withstand two hits? Though I’m not sure what difference that would make.
“Yeah, that armor. I’ve been curious about it, where did an iron token swordswoman get such armor? It doesn’t look cheap.”
Amy showed interest in my armor.
“Were you perhaps a knight before? Or does your family have a lot of money?”
No, should I say she showed interest in my identity?
It was something to be curious about.
Pauldrons and breastplate made of forged steel, gauntlets, and greaves.
While not at the level of a heavy knight completely wrapped in steel plates, even this much was considered unusual heavy armor by the standards of copper token and below adventurers.
“Well, I earned some money doing other work before becoming an adventurer. As for family… they all passed away long ago, so I’m not sure.”
I vaguely brushed it off.
It wasn’t a lie. I just didn’t reveal the specific details.
“Ah, I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
Did she think she had thoughtlessly touched on a painful memory? Amy lowered her head, looking a bit flustered.
So she knows how to apologize too. It was a surprising discovery.
I consoled her, saying it was no big deal. Because it really wasn’t.
I don’t even know the names of Brunhilde’s parents. They never appeared in the novel.
“…Why do you keep wearing the helmet? It seems stuffy. Isn’t it okay to take it off during normal times?”
“I once almost had an arrow lodged in the back of my head.”
A plausible excuse. In reality, it was to hide my identity.
Although I had fled across the border to Hervor, if I went around without a helmet, someone might recognize me.
The fact that Brunhilde, the runaway knight who had deserted two hero parties, was here had to be kept a strictly guarded secret.
If I were to get entangled with the main characters from the novel… my life afterward would become very troublesome.
No, it couldn’t even be called a life.
The word ‘life’ can only be used for a person’s existence. The moment I was caught by the main characters from the original story, my existence would become not a life but that of a beast.
With my mind completely broken, I’d end up living while spouting nonsense like ‘Brunhilde is a biiitch…’ How could that be considered a human life? It would be the life of livestock, not a person.
That’s why I decided to thoroughly hide my identity.
As a result, I was treated as a non-citizen without identity, unable to get a normal job or own land or a house…
Well, having decided to become an adventurer, it wasn’t really an issue I needed to worry about.
Copper token adventurers were granted the right to rent land or housing, and upon reaching silver token beyond copper, one could obtain citizenship in that country.
That was my goal.
To become a citizen of Hervor as an adventurer named Hilde, while keeping my face hidden.
If I were granted citizenship, I would also be allowed to purchase land or housing, so after that, I could just buy a house with the money I had saved and live comfortably.
If I could return to my original world, there would be no need for this… but honestly, that was something I had half given up on, without even the slightest clue, let alone a timeline.
* * *
We passed the time chatting like this. For a full four hours without rest.
Thanks to this, I was able to learn a lot about Amy.
Her future plans to become an adventurer to cover the costs of Magic Tower lectures after removing her apprentice label, her family details of having one younger brother and two younger sisters.
Her food preferences and local specialties from her hometown, and even her ambition that if she were to become an adventurer, she wanted to achieve memorable feats like the first generation hero party.
“Hero party… Come to think of it, I hear that the heroes of this generation are all exceptionally talented individuals. Except for the hero of the Rhine Kingdom.”
Perhaps because the topic of hero parties was mentioned, Bolton, who had been quietly reciting prayers, joined the conversation.
Well, how could a priest of the Goddess Church stay quiet when the topic of heroes came up?
The term ‘hero’ referred to the four champions who had received the ‘Hero’s Blessing’ from the sky goddess Elianelle and became the masters of the ‘Holy Swords’ carefully guarded by each kingdom.
They were humanity’s vanguard, meant to break through the deep-level dungeons with the power of the holy swords and their own strength, and completely slaughter the Demon King lurking beyond.
At least, according to the setting of the game that served as the background for the novel I had read, the so-called ‘NTRPG’.
“Rhine? Ah, you mean that ‘Incompetent Hero’? I heard he can’t even explore mid-level dungeons… Is that even possible?”
Of course, settings are just settings and nothing more. There was a huge discrepancy with reality.
The four heroes appearing in the novel – Gunther, Friet, Heid, and Atli – were all outrageous individuals overflowing with flaws.
Friet, who was too weak to be called a hero.
Gunther, who stole and trained all of Friet’s initial party members.
Heid, who wasn’t much different from Gunther in terms of personality, and Atli, who had been spreading an ominous atmosphere right up until the end.
Three trash personalities and one trash in ability. It was almost admirable how they managed to pick only such bastards.
The goddess Elianelle must be blind. Or she’s a sadist who enjoys watching people suffer.
“It’s an unbelievable story, but it seems that was actually the case. I heard that even the party members assigned by the kingdom abandoned the hero and transferred to other parties.”
“Wow. No matter how incompetent, how could they just run away like that? Is that allowed?”
Amy asked, covering her mouth as if in amazement.
“Of course not. The achievements of a hero party are the achievements of that kingdom. To run away to another country after receiving all kinds of support as a member of a hero party, that’s no different from being a traitor.”
Bolton harshly criticized Friet’s party members.
His eloquence in striking relentlessly with heavy facts was truly befitting of a priest. He must have been just as relentless when smashing the pickpocket’s head.
“Kachak! Humans have it hard! We have no betrayal. All buried in swamp!”
“…”
I kept my mouth shut and remained quiet, feeling a bit guilty.
If I revealed here that I was that very Brunhilde, Bolton’s spear tip would fly towards me with room to spare.
Not that I would let myself be stabbed, but this request would turn into a complete mess. Along with my reputation that would be buried deep underground.
“That’s really something… The Rhine Kingdom must have been turned upside down?”
“Yes, that’s right. Moreover, I heard that shortly after the party members left, even the hero went missing. It seems they’re in a state of confusion for various reasons because of that.”
Bolton answered, making a small sign of the cross.
“The hero disappeared…?”
I asked, tilting my head. It was information I was hearing for the first time.
“That’s what I heard. Our church has sent out search parties, but it seems they haven’t found any trace yet.”
The disappearance of Friet, the hero of the Rhine Kingdom. It was very interesting information. Enough to make me unconsciously swallow dry saliva.
…Has he started moving?
Unlike the people here who might perceive Friet’s disappearance as just ‘a hero hiding in despair’, I knew all too well what it meant.
How could I not know?
That was precisely the early story of the novel I had read, [I Became the Protagonist of an NTR Game.]
It meant that the protagonist of the novel had finally started to move.
The man who was possessed into the body of the incompetent hero Friet while playing the R-rated RPG game ‘Nibelungen Tragödie’.
The man named Kim Seung-woo, the ego-maniac catharsis psychopath protagonist of the novel [I Became the Protagonist of an NTR Game.]
The disappearance was nothing more than speculation from those who didn’t know the circumstances.
By now, he’s probably wandering around looking for hidden pieces, as per the early content of the novel.
To raise the strength of Friet, who was despised as an incompetent hero, to the level of a powerful individual not inferior to other heroes.
And then…
A warmth resembling relief brushed through my chest. I felt glad that I had fled to Hervor.
I had been worried, unable to distinguish whether this world was the world inside the novel or the world inside the game that served as the background for the novel… but seeing that Kim Seung-woo was here, it was indeed the world inside the novel.
If that’s the case, running away was the right answer.
If the story progresses exactly as in the original novel, those who despised Friet and those who betrayed him will all meet a miserable end at the hands of Kim Seung-woo, who possessed Friet.
And that included Brunhilde as well.