He dragged the fallen corpses and piled them to one side.

They had to clean up.

They didn’t have any belongings. They weren’t even properly armed. All they had was the club in their hands.

He took out a dagger and approached one of them. It was for dissection.

“That one’s too old. If you’re going to dissect, do another one.”

“Does it age?”

“Just as people age, so does leather. When it gets old, the leather becomes tough. Not only will they not value it, but they won’t even buy it. Have you ever skinned anything?”

“No.”

“Just watch what I do. It’s not that hard. Just be careful not to tear the hide and scrape it off gently.”

Dorian skillfully skinned the Gnoll. After finishing one, he handed over the dagger. It was Rael’s turn.

He used the dagger to tear off the flesh that clung tightly. It was more of an annoying task than a difficult one. As he skinned the Gnoll, he replayed the battle in his mind.

There were four Gnolls that appeared on the road. He took down three of them with his crossbow. To be precise, it was two, but one was hit by an arrow and couldn’t fight properly, so it was as if he had taken down three by himself.

He thought he had done well for a first battle. At the same time, a chill ran down his spine.

This was because when two Gnolls approached, he couldn’t think of anything. He couldn’t reload his crossbow against an approaching enemy. It was as if his means of defense had disappeared.

Dorian was an adult. He had a strong physique. So he could face them head-on.

But the protagonist was different. He was still a growing child. He couldn’t even handle one Gnoll in a power struggle.

There was no time to use magic.

He wondered if it would have been possible to use Water Spell Magic.

It was impossible.

In such a critical situation, he couldn’t even think of using magic.

There was a high chance that his concentration would be broken if he used magic, leading to failure.

No matter how much he thought about it, he felt he would have died. Using magic was harder than reloading. Perhaps because he had actually fought, a sense of humility arose within him.

Just a moment ago, he had planned to deal with any appearing Gnolls with magic, but his mind had changed. Now, he prayed that no Gnolls would appear.

He felt that four were already overwhelming. He wasn’t sure if they would have won if they hadn’t spotted them early and shot arrows.

Before that, if Dorian hadn’t been there, he definitely wouldn’t have survived. He was grateful for Dorian’s meddling, though he didn’t show it.

Dorian praised him, saying he did very well for a first battle. It felt awkward but also made him happy. Praise was something he had never heard while living with him.

They decided to only take the Gnoll’s hide as a byproduct. Even that weighed a considerable amount. Flowers, no matter how many you picked, only added bulk. Compared to that, the hide was disgustingly heavy. He felt like expletives would just burst out.

If they weren’t arriving tomorrow, he would have suggested leaving it behind.

As the sun set, they chose a place to camp. It was a spot a little off the road. They lit a bonfire and ate their meal.

“Phew~ Now I can finally relax.”

Dorian patted his stomach. He seemed to have let go of a lot of tension. He must have accumulated fatigue from fighting for his life today.

He stared blankly at Dorian, who went straight into the tent and lay down. There was no discussion. In the end, he had to stand the night watch.

Unlike before, no dissatisfaction bloomed. It was a changed dynamic. After a battle, trust seemed to have blossomed. Anyway, they were arriving at the City tomorrow.

Dorian quickly fell asleep.

Until now, I had practiced far away, but today it seemed fine to do it in front of the campfire.

I thought I should be able to use magic even if a monster appeared. I continued to practice magic late into the night.

I stopped only when my head was throbbing and I couldn’t do it anymore. I shook Dorian awake, who was fast asleep. Fortunately, no punch came flying.

Gnoll?

It’s time for the shift change.

Already?

Wake up.

Alright.

Dorian grumbled and sat by the campfire. I squeezed myself into the tent where he had been sleeping. It felt warm as if his body had heated it.

My eyes closed quickly. Usually, only my head would ache, but today my whole body was exhausted.

The night passed in an instant. I only came to my senses when Dorian kicked me. When I tried to sit up, my whole body felt like it was breaking apart.

Are you hurting?

Why am I like this?

It’s because your muscles are tense. There are always some who make a fuss after a fight.

But it really hurts.

It’ll get better if you get up and move. Stop complaining and clean up quickly. You don’t want to run into a Gnoll again, do you?

At the mention of a Gnoll, I forced myself to get up. I felt like I would be bedridden if I fought twice.

Dorian’s words were true.

At first, my body ached, but after tidying up the campsite, all the pain disappeared. I also felt like my body had grown slightly. It felt like I had grown stronger after the battle.

We had jerky for a simple breakfast.

I walked along the main road with my luggage. It was noticeably heavier compared to when we left the Village.

My body felt heavy.

I forced myself to endure and started a conversation. I knew that talking would make it less difficult.

What kind of place is the City?

Born Barony?

“Is the place we’re going to now the Baron’s territory?”

“It’s Langs Castle.”

“What is Langs Castle famous for?”

“Nothing really. It’s an ordinary castle.”

“Ordinary?”

“It has what it should have, and it doesn’t have what it shouldn’t. That’s all.”

“What should it have?”

“The Merchant Guild. The Thieves’ Guild. And nobles and knights.”

“Are there any mages?”

“I don’t know. I’m not sure. Why are you asking that all of a sudden?”

“Just because.”

He avoided eye contact. It seemed mages were hard to find even in a castle.

Dorian explained about the castle, adding that he was doing it so that he wouldn’t get distracted like a country bumpkin.

He replied that he would never do that. Dorian had also been away from the village for a long time. There was no difference between them. It irritated him that Dorian, who was also a country bumpkin, spoke as if he, the protagonist, was different.

They arrived at Langs Castle shortly after.

They faced the city wall that had been faintly visible in the distance.

He couldn’t help but acknowledge Dorian’s words. He couldn’t remember anything that had been said before. Dorian showed his mercenary badge to the city gate guard soldier. After some conversation, they were finally able to pass after Dorian slipped the guard soldier a copper coin.

Rael took in the city’s long market street. There were so many people. It was the first time he had seen so many people since he was born, and he was completely overwhelmed.

“Where are we going first?”

“We need to find the house where the alchemist lives.”

Dorian stopped a person passing by.

“What do you want?”

“I heard an alchemist lives here.”

“Go that way.”

The man, who had been frowning, answered readily after seeing Dorian’s face.

“How am I supposed to know where ‘that way’ is?”

“Go that way and ask again. Anyway, I’ve told you.”

The man shook off the hand that was holding him and disappeared into the crowd.

Fortunately, the Alchemist’s house was easy to find. Everyone in the Village knew it, so it must have been famous.

The Building with the sign was tightly shut. Even after knocking on the door and shouting, there was no answer. There was no sign of anyone inside.

“No one’s here.”

“It looks like it’s closed today.”

“What should we do?”

“There’s nothing for it. We’ll have to stay at an inn today.”

“An inn?”

“Why? Are you scared because it’s your first time at an inn?”

“I don’t have any money.”

I looked at Dorian. I felt like he would get angry if I said we were sleeping outside again today.

“First, we need to sell the hides.”

This time, I asked a passerby for directions. They didn’t answer with a very good attitude. It was a good thing it was him, with his grim expression. If it had been a shabby boy, he would have been ignored.

Walking down the street as the passerby instructed, a shop came into view. It was a Building with hides hung out next to the entrance. Dorian went inside the shop.

“You stay here.”

During that time, I shivered in the cold outside. The reason was that my shabby appearance would invite criticism. I suddenly felt the stares of those around me. I thought I should buy some clothes.

After a short while, Dorian came out. The Gnoll hides he had been carrying were no longer in his hands.

“How much did you get?”

“45 Copper Coins.”

There were four Gnolls. One of them hadn’t been skinned, so he sold three hides. It was 15 Copper Coins per hide.

“Here, take it.”

“30 Copper Coins?”

“Why? Is that too little?”

“Oh, no.”

I was surprised; I hadn’t expected to get anything. He was a Mercenary, so he was precise with calculations in these matters.

I hid the Coins.

It was the first money I had ever earned. The feeling was strange, thinking it was payment for fighting for my life.

Perhaps it was because it was the first money he’d ever received from Dorian, but it felt even more special. Dorian was the type to not even offer a word of thanks, even after a full day of climbing up and down the mountain.

“Let’s go to an inn.”

He followed Dorian. The inn was nearby.

A Middle-aged man with a generous face sat at the counter, chatting with guests. Seeing this, he unconsciously clutched the Coin hidden in his pocket. His first thought was about the cost of lodging.

Fortunately, Dorian took care of that too.

The Innkeeper asked about food and warm water. Dorian didn’t pay for those. Rael didn’t expect him to.

The bed was soft. Compared to sleeping rough on bumpy ground with only a Cloth, it was enough to bring tears to his eyes.

He lay down and pulled a Coin from his pocket. It was a copper Coin.

“The first money I’ve earned.”

He thought about what to spend it on. He had more than enough things he needed to buy right away. Just thinking about what to buy was a joy.

His purchase was decided. He vowed to buy clothes as soon as he woke up tomorrow.