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Never touch Eldmia Egga - Episode 10

"I'm going to be up and ready by 6 a.m. tomorrow. If you knock on the door three times and it doesn't come out, or if it comes out unprepared, it puts you to sleep forever.."

I don't know if it was because I was full for the first time in a while or if I just liked the taste of Alicia's stew, but it was only after I had put the kids, whose eyes were starting to sparkle, into their respective rooms that I was able to return to Jans' blacksmith shop where I had tied up my horse..

Jans smiled and gave me some food, wondering why he likes horses so much when he doesn't actually raise them, but when I came, he pretended to be angry and frowned..

"Hey. Is my house a stable? I've been wandering around all day and now I'm here!"

"That's right. I'll just give you this as an apology, so please show me a good long sword for practice. Buy a new one."

"What's this. Where did you put it between the wheels of the carriage and put it away? Why is this happening??"

"It just so happened that?"

"Somehow I didn't sell anything like this...."

Jans, who was embarrassed and scratched his shiny head without a single hair, took out an object that matched my height. But it wasn't a metal sword made for practice, it was a real long sword..

"Eh? This just crushed me, it's just a long sword.?"

Seeing my quite embarrassed appearance, Jans said with a grin..

"If you're your size, it's better to gradually get used to this. Because the muscles have taken shape to some extent. I've gotten used to it, so the day I get permission from Mr. Asilier, I'll just grind it and give it a little extra care.."

"No, but the price is...?"

"Don't worry I'll make it cheap. Just give me 20 fairy tales. You just have to give me 5 more when I go to get the sword later.."

"Just count all 25 now.."

Before I could say another word, I handed over the silver coin. Even though my eyesight was still poor, I could tell that it would cost twice as much to buy a long sword like this. It suddenly makes people buy things on impulse..

"Anyway, he has good eyesight and is quick at calculating. Asilier taught me very well.."

"Isn't it my fault that I learned all that?."

Of course, I didn't learn everything because I was particularly good at it..

After that, I just returned home like always. It took longer than expected, but I was still satisfied that I was able to return before evening..

"I went, sister.."

As I reached the cabin along the forest path, Asilier, who was milking the goats, welcomed me..

"It took longer than I thought. Well organized?"

"It doesn't bother me anymore, but I'm still organizing it.."

Asilier, who was entering the house with a milk jug while the horses were tied up and fed, hesitated for a moment and asked:.

"...ha. It's really strange to even ask this question. I didn't kill anyone?"

"About five kids with broken legs? And one person. Captain of the guys. He killed it."

"...why?"

"He threatened me with his older sister. So I killed it."

"I couldn't not kill it?"

"I thought it would be better to kill the leader and completely suppress him than to keep him alive half-baked and leave room for a faction fight and trouble later on. In that sense...yeah. I couldn't kill it."

When the number one person became a half-asshole, the number two person could rise up and try to make an example of the person who turned the number one person into an asshole in order to exert greater influence..

However, if the number one person who provided the cause is killed, the number two person will be able to take real power and easily exercise influence based on the premise that only the cause should be taken care of. You may get greedy later and cause problems again, but it will be much later than neglecting the former case..

With that thought in mind, I started killing. It was unexpected that not only did the effect work so well, but no second-in-command was left behind..

After answering that and going into the house, Asilier seemed to be completely confused..

"I have killed many people in my life. Because that’s what it means to be an adventurer. Sometimes I fight more people than monsters. Even so, if I had seen a child, especially an 11-year-old child, kill someone out of necessity, I would have tried to prevent it somehow.."

Confusion appeared on Asilier's face as she put down the milk jug and twisted her hair with her fingers..

"Even if he used me as an excuse to threaten him, I think it's right to not let you kill him, even if it means killing him... but I'm not sure. I guess it's because I've been seeing you for the past three years, right? When you say you killed someone, it sounds like you're just saying that my fellow adventurer killed a thief.."

"So, I want to believe that there is no problem, but it is also true that I am young, so I want to say that I am worried that when I grow up, I will simply become a murderous crazy person.?"

For some reason, it seemed like that kind of nuance, so when I asked about it, Asilier's eyes widened for a moment, but then she burst into laughter and said yes..

"You...really amaze me every time. that's right. Honestly yes."

"There's no point in telling you not to worry... If something like this happens again in the future, I'll tell my sister. And let's talk together."

"conversation?"

"okay. I think I should kill him for this reason. Or, I think I need to fix this or that, etc., etc. I will tell you all these things, so you can listen and judge. Am I just trying to solve problems by resorting to violence and murder? Are you thinking and acting?."

Asilier's senses were clearly keen. Ultimately, my actions and thoughts are those of a 30-year-old man who is enraged by the overabundance of irrationality, so using her fellow adventurer as an example can be seen as almost perfect. But after all, my appearance was that of a child, and as a guardian who taught and raised my young self, I couldn't help but feel anxious..

And I have no taste for unsettling my lifesaver by neglecting a problem that can be easily solved..

"If my sister thinks my judgment is unreasonable, I will just follow her advice. Even if I think it's reasonable, if my sister doesn't like it, I'll organize it in a way that doesn't involve murder as much as possible.."

Then, I think I will at least have less anxiety about my mental state..

Asilier responded with a hug. I felt sorry for her at the same time as I felt grateful to her once again for caring so much about others who were not in her blood..

To be honest, I just expected to live as a teacher and student or maintain an awkward relationship for 8 years. Neither I nor Asili could do that..

"okay. Because my younger brother is nice and smart. Thank you for understanding."

"thank you too."

Putting on our best expressions, we wrapped up the day and headed to dinner..

The meat stew made with freshly squeezed milk was delicious as always..

"But what do you mean it's still being sorted out??"

"Oh, most of the kids who killed the leader and were pretending to be gang members were, as my sister thought, runaway teenagers, so I sent them all away, but five of them really had no place to go. One of them was a real orphan."

"Request to run away from home...? Anyway so?"

"I want to introduce them to jobs and help them get started so they can make a living. Today, all I did was get a room at Aunt Alicia’s inn. Still, it will take time to settle down, so I go to the city more often than before...."

"Oh my god, I should have said that first.!"

Instead of savoring the flavor of the stew, I jumped up and hugged the chair so hard that it fell backwards, and I almost spilled the stew. But Asilier paid no heed to my embarrassment and just kept stroking my head..

"okay! There's no way my brother is a murderer who kills people just because he made a mistake! How good are you at doing amazing things?!"

"No, what's the big deal? I didn't do it with my own money. You're doing it with money stolen after killing the captain, right? Oh, that's right, here's the remaining money. 3 silver coins and some copper coins."

"Well done, good job! Well then, there's no way my brother, who hates slavery, will go anywhere.!"

"No, why did that story come out so that I suddenly lost my appetite?..."

I didn't understand what it meant, but anyway, it seemed to be true that Asilier's worries had eased a little, so I decided to be satisfied..

◈

I woke up at dawn the next day, skipped breakfast and headed to Ogwen..

Even if I arranged the work anyway, it was obvious that it wouldn't be before 7 o'clock, so it wouldn't be too late to come back and have a meal with Asilier..

Although I became worried after realizing later that I had become a crazy person in the village who openly tried to kill people, I decided not to worry about it since it was already in the past. Even if you barely die, there are too many waves in your life to wander around just killing one cheap guy..

It wasn't even 6 o'clock yet, but there were many people already moving in Ogwen. They are busy preparing to open not only inns and restaurants, but also grocery stores that cater to them..

These were all changes that occurred after the Adventurer's Guild was established..

While many things have already changed in just one year, even more things have changed rapidly..

"Sister Milena! busy?"

Among the crowd, I waved my arm and waved hello to a woman with a good-natured appearance who seemed to be in her 40s. The grocery store run by Milena supplies ingredients to quite a few restaurants and is always busy..

"No, it's not Eldmia. What are you doing at this hour? After a while, I'm going back to work.?"

"I'm trying to introduce you to someone other than me.."

"another child?"

"huh. I picked up the tramps yesterday, but I didn't want to see them, so I decided to give them some work.."

"Boy. It's a house that handles ingredients, but the vagabond..."

"I am Eldmia Egaya. I already washed it neatly yesterday and bought some nice clothes at Uncle Tex's store. If you look at me, you won't even know it's a vagabond.."

"Anyway, smart. But why are you suddenly such a vagabond? Well, did you get any work from the church this time??"

In the minds of these adults, just how much of an all-rounder is I? I can't believe I'm getting work from the church. It's hard work for even a decent adventurer..

"just. These are kids similar to me. My eyes widen as I think about what it would have been like if I hadn't had older sister Asili.."

"How...so kind. Yes, it's still busy these days as some street vendors have opened up near the construction site workers and have started waiting for supplies. How many people??"

"Three boys and two girls. Boys are over 14 years old, so if you teach them, they will soon become useful, right? 3 fairy tales per day on the first day. If you are satisfied, from next time, you will get 4 fairy tales each. how?"

"If you do a good job, I can even give you 5 fairy tales. But since it takes effort, boys are better. I think I can see up to two."

"I'll be right back~"

He smiled warmly and spoke to the familiar merchants he saw even after parting ways with Milena. In fact, if the conditions were right, it was a good story for them as well. If you are really good at your job, you can use it as an apprentice, and even if you are ordinary, it is easy to teach. Since I don't have a home, it's a bonus that I always have to work hard just to make ends meet. Lastly, you can even work on the reputation in the village as 'a person of character who teaches things to vagabonds and helps them get jobs', so there is no loss unless you hire an advisor..

Even if it wasn't right away, it was enough to just tell the story in the form of asking people to think about it later if they heard that it might be useful. Anyway, for now, I'm going to focus on stores that are busy only from dawn to lunch. Once you get used to it, you will be able to save money by doing other things in the afternoon..

When I arrived with various greetings, five children were ready and waiting for me in front of the inn. That was a bit special. Since you don't look particularly tired, I guess you slept well..

"If you wake up early, you have more things to do. Places where you work all day have high daily wages, and even if you only work half a day, you can do other things the other half day. That's what I'm going to tell you."

Leaving the horse at the inn, we walked down the street together and gave a brief explanation..

"...why..."

One girl opened her mouth. She was a 13-year-old girl, the only orphan like me..

She has red hair that is short to her shoulders, has a few freckles, has sharp eyes, but is quite pretty and confident looking. If it weren't for the war, she would have grown up in the neighborhood being praised as a beautiful woman and happily enjoying the days when boys clung to her. Well, you could say that she looks like she might have been caught by the lord unluckily and suffered a lot of trouble..

"why are you helping us?"

"Are your words short? Climbing up because I revealed yesterday that I was 11 years old.?"

"...It will be?"

There was strangely no anxiety in his facial expression as he flinched and changed his words. Considering that he witnessed a person being kicked to death right next to him, and even spoke to the person who caused it, it is no exaggeration to say that he was incredibly brave. I really liked that curiosity, so I stopped and said,.

"When I was 8 years old, I was a monumental war orphan whose village was burned down, my friends and acquaintances were killed, and even my parents were sent away in the first attack by the Demon King's army, which was the starting point of all these divisions. If you think about it, he's your senior.."

Not only the girl, but also the rest of the kids' expressions hardened. Still, I'm glad I knew how to understand what a shitty situation it was. There are only a handful of defects in work that are as bad as lack of empathy..

"The elf your captain investigated is my benefactor. If it weren't for him, I would have either ended up like you or died. she was my chance."

Now that I've checked the reaction, I move on. It's all in the past now, so it's nothing to worry about. Because 3 years is not short.

"Asilier... I thought it was because I hadn't met anyone like the elf who was my benefactor. I just didn't get the chance. So I'm just giving it a chance."

It is subtle to say that it helps. I am neither a saint nor a person passionate about good deeds..

"This is also an opportunity given to me since I have some spare time on hand. I'm just trying to give something that can be taken away at any time. It may be your feeling that it helps, but for me, it's not necessarily to that level... it's that level.."

More than just visible.

"Of course, the people of this village are closer and more important to me than you. If you don't want to work together or if it doesn't work out, I'll throw it all away and make you disappear. So I don't know yet whether this will really help or not.."

I felt like I had to get to this point to feel relieved without any regrets..