TRPG 18

Chapter 18……………………………………

“Move the cargo cart a bit later. I can’t manage it right now either.”

“Oh, I know. I just wanted to say thank you.”

Bill bowed his head politely to me in gratitude, then broke into a cheerful grin.

“Really, thank you, Jin. You’re the hero of our village.”

I wasn’t trying to become that kind of hero, but it didn’t feel necessary to refuse the praise, so I let it go in one ear and out the other.

“How is the injured person?”

“They say the bones in his right ankle are completely shattered… Still, we should be grateful he even survived.”

That much was true. Staying alive was what mattered most.

“But how did something like that happen?”

“A request came from the ‘castle,’ and the deadline was tight… They loaded too many goods at once, so the wheel couldn’t handle it and broke.”

In this world, transport fees weren’t charged by weight but per cart, so it was common to cram absurd amounts of cargo into a single wagon.

‘So the wheel couldn’t withstand the weight and came off.’

Even though more than five strong men were gathered, they couldn’t lift the cart. The fact that it had made it here at all was impressive.

“If the deadline is tight, shouldn’t we move it quickly?”

“That’s true, but you said you couldn’t do it.”

Bill pointed at the locket on my chest.

“You’re not going to use that to move it, are you?”

Since revealing my ability to reverse positions would cause all kinds of trouble, I had pretended that the earring Kalion gave me had that function.

To avoid exposing it as a workshop-made item, I had placed it inside a locket from storage and wore it around my neck. Fortunately, no one had tried to inspect its contents.

Magical stones that produced special phenomena were common in this world, but people with special abilities were extremely rare.

If something miraculous happened through an incomprehensible force, people would chalk it up to a magical stone. But if a human did something similar, they would be amazed.

It didn’t make much sense, but that was culture for you, so I played along with the lie. No one seemed particularly suspicious, and when I mentioned there was a cooldown, no one forced me to prove it or spammed requests to use the skill. In fact, the villagers seemed kinder and more decent than I had expected.

Well, maybe that’s why Kalion told me—someone with no memories—to settle here before leaving.

‘Kalion…’

Was he really coming back?

I looked at the remaining time in my system window.

[Remaining time: 4 days]

‘He said he’d return in two weeks.’

Two days had already passed since his promised date.

I didn’t think he had changed his mind or lied to me. But a hunter’s schedule was never so precise.

They might spend a long time searching for monsters whose locations were unknown. Or if injured while being chased by a pack of monsters, they might need time to recover in hiding.

‘I hope he isn’t badly hurt.’

Maybe he would come after I died.

Or maybe just before I died.

I didn’t want him to see me die, but I also wanted to see him again.

As I held the locket silently, Bill spoke hesitantly.

“That… that’s something you got from someone very important to you, right?”

I had been feeling down thinking about Kalion, and Bill must have noticed because he tried to comfort me.

“I heard from people. The man who brought you here left you behind. But seeing how carefully you keep that, it doesn’t seem like you parted on bad terms.”

“……”

It was true I received it from Kalion, but it wasn’t some token of love or parting gift. I didn’t know how such rumors spread.

I had just been working at an antique shop as a live-in laborer. I barely met anyone except during the rescue incident, so why were rumors spreading about me in the village?

People came to thank me, but I always sent them away quickly. I didn’t accept gifts or go to meals.

Maybe that’s why the rumors got distorted?

“But still, in the end, he’s someone who left. I don’t think it’s right for you to waste your life waiting for someone like that.”

I didn’t even have a life to waste. I only had four days left.

“I thought about it. You try to avoid people at the antique shop because you were probably hurt by them before.”

“……”

I was just trying not to reveal that I was an outsider who didn’t even know the basic rules of this world.

“But seeing how you help others and treat the old shop owner kindly, it feels like you still like people. Like you still need people.”

“……”

I just hoped he wouldn’t go on to say something like he wanted to become that “person.”

“The antique shop doesn’t pay much either. It must get lonely working alone like that. So I was thinking…”

Well, well.

“This job from the castle was too much for one person, but I stayed up all night and finished it. I’ve saved up quite a bit of money. Enough to support a family. If I work hard, I can make sure my… my wife can focus on raising the children. Um.”

“……”

We had only met a few times while passing by, and he occasionally brought gifts and said nonsense before I sent him away—but somehow, in Bill’s mind, I apparently had already borne him three children.

I wanted to tell him not to get ahead of himself, but since he never actually confessed, I couldn’t even reject him properly.

“So maybe you could think of marriage as one option in life, like I do. Coincidentally, both our names are short too—we both have just one syllable. Don’t you think we’re a bit alike?”

“……”

I acknowledge your effort to find common ground to increase favorability.

But my name actually has three syllables.

“Cooldown’s over.”

“Coo… what?”

“Let’s move the cargo cart.”

I stood up and walked down the hill. Bill hurriedly followed behind me.

It wasn’t like he had been clingy or anything—he just occasionally gave gifts and talked nonsense, so I had tolerated him. But apparently, in his mind, he had already been dreaming of marriage.

Since I only had four days left anyway, I didn’t have the energy or motivation to refute everything and hurt him, so I let it all go in one ear and out the other.

Still, there was one thing on my mind. I hoped Bill wouldn’t be the one to witness my death.

‘If the girl you like dies saving you, you’d probably be traumatized for life.’

I didn’t have any romantic feelings for Bill, but I also didn’t want to ruin his life.

So I hoped he wouldn’t see me die—just hear about it later. After I’m gone, he can grieve a little, then move on and find someone else and be happy.

We arrived at the weapon shop and set up in the open space behind it. The black cargo cart on the hill was visible even without a telescope. I took Bill’s hand and selected the cart to reverse its position.

The moment I held his hand, Bill blushed slightly with a nervous expression.

Sorry.

I’m about to send you to the top of that hill.

I left the cleanup to Bill and returned to the inn. It was too far to go all the way up the hill, and I also wanted to get a change of clothes.

“Eek! Mr. Jin!”

The inn worker called out to me, her face pale.

What’s wrong?

“P-please come here… quickly!”

At her urgent gesture, I walked briskly over. She immediately pointed toward the back door.

“A inspector has been dispatched from the castle.”

“A inspector? From the castle?”

The “castle” refers to the safest region in this world.

It is literally a fortress built with massive walls, a city more than ten times the size of this village.

Unlike mountain villages that are occasionally attacked by monsters, the castle is completely free from monster invasions. Even nearby mountain ranges are said to be inaccessible to monsters.

This is because the castle’s authority functions like a protective barrier that repels monsters. Unlike talismans that only hide presence or produce smells and sounds monsters dislike, the castle’s power actually prevents monsters from approaching altogether.

In other words, while talisman users are only safe while avoiding monsters, and are attacked if they walk into a nest or strike first, the castle is different.

Even if people inside the castle attack monsters, the monsters cannot retaliate or even enter a certain range—they flee instead.

It is a safe city where there is no danger from monsters. But there is one problem.

‘It’s hard to obtain magic stones.’

Magic stones, widely used in this world for convenience, are processed monster cores. So in a castle where monsters are rarely seen, even their shadows, items made from magic stones are extremely rare.

Thus, the castle periodically sends inspectors to villages near monster habitats to confiscate magic stones.

Yes—confiscate.

Not buy them fairly, but sweep them away.

In short, it’s exploitation.

“I didn’t expect them to come this early since they usually come every few months, but it seems there’s some urgent need to collect magic stones. They’re also asking if there are any suspicious individuals.”

“Were there any suspicious people in our village?”

“Not that I know of, but the inspector might think otherwise.”