"Why are you giving me this?"
"Do I need a reason to help?"
The words tasted foul in my mouth, a lie I had to force out, but it was necessary. This approach worked best on her type. I needed this fairy to be my ally for the night. It made me sound like a calculating bastard, but it wasn't a bad deal for her, either. She was injured, exhausted, and her striking looks only made her a more visible target. Her situation was several times worse than mine, and the desperate way she had fought earlier proved she knew it. That tenacious will to survive had honestly surprised me.
"Like I said, patch yourself up first. We can talk after."
"But…"
"I'll stand guard."
I turned my back on her dismissively. A moment later, I heard the wet, pulpy sound of herbs being chewed and applied to a wound.
"It's done."
That was fast. She was surprisingly capable. When I turned back, I saw a neatly wrapped bandage visible through a tear in her clothing. The wariness in her eyes seemed to have lessened, just a fraction. Time to close the distance.
"I am Alaric, son of Brand."
"Erwen."
"I don't know what you're thinking, but you have nothing to fear from me."
"Oh? Ah, yes…"
She tried to put on a brave face, but the fear still swam in her eyes. I thought a simple act of kindness would be enough to clear up any misunderstanding, but something was still wrong.
Finally, I just had to ask. "Why are you so afraid of me?"
"Barbarians and fairies… we're enemies, aren't we?"
"Enemies?"
"Sorry! I'm sorry!" she cried, flinching back. "I didn't mean it like that! I don't want to fight you!"
She was so agitated she looked ready to start begging again. I only asked because I was genuinely curious. Barbarians and fairies, enemies? That was news to me. In the game, they’d always gotten along just fine. How had things turned out so differently here?
I simply held her gaze, my stare steady and piercing, and the information I wanted spilled out.
"The… the war that ended ten years ago? I-I don't hold any grudges personally! I really don't!"
Ten years ago. I didn't know the details, but from the sound of it, the relationship between our peoples was more belligerent than outright hostile. So, she was afraid because she'd grown up hearing horror stories about my kind. This complicated things. Should I just find someone else? But then, the herbs and bandages I’d given her were expensive…
All right, let's try one more time.
"I don't hold any grudges, either."
"You don't?"
"No. That's why I'm asking you, Erwen. Will you be my friend for the night?"
"A night friend?"
"I'm exhausted. You must be, too. So, since there's no bad blood between us, why don't we cooperate, just for today?"
"Umm…" Her eyes, which had been dull with fatigue, suddenly sharpened with consideration. I wondered if her claim of having no grudges was entirely true.
She frowned, thinking it over for a long moment before offering a condition. "Barbarians value a warrior's honor. Can you swear on it? That you will not harm me first?"
"I swear."
"Then… I, too, promise in the name of my clan. I will never harm you first."
It was the local equivalent of a sacred vow, and I’d make a dozen of them if I had to. There was just one thing to clear up first.
"And I'm Alaric, son of Brand. Not 'uncle'." For God's sake, I was only twenty.
With our contract made—a groundbreaking piece of intercultural diplomacy, perhaps—I learned the fairy’s full name. Erwen Fornacci di Tersia. She was twenty, same as me. A good thing I wasn't the real Alaric. I'm sure he'd feel the same way. Not that I'd ever say that out loud.
"So, how do we decide who takes watch?" she asked.
"I'll sleep first. That should make you feel safer."
"It's not that, but… if you insist…" Her tone was a quiet complaint, but she didn't argue.
"So you're good with that?"
"Yes."
Thank God. If she’d suggested rock-paper-scissors, I might have wept. My eyelids felt impossibly heavy. All I wanted was a decent night's sleep. Why was that so hard to come by?
"Oh, but wait! How will I know when the time is up?"
Rookies. I sighed internally, pulling the watch from my backpack and handing it to her.
"It's expensive. Don't break it."
"Yes…" She accepted it with a reverence usually reserved for ancestral relics, which gave me some peace of mind. "I'll be careful. Good night."
I laid my head on my backpack and pulled the blanket over me, just as the old man had done. And then… oblivion claimed me.
"Uncle!"
It's Alaric.
"Uncle, wake up. Your time is up."
I forced my eyes open and sat up, disoriented. Had it really been two hours already?
"Here, give me the watch." I checked the time. Two hours had passed, exactly. It felt like I hadn't even had time to start snoring. I'd only meant to rest my eyes for ten minutes… Wow. So this was the power of a good backpack and blanket. A terrifyingly effective combination. If the old man had lent them to me, I wouldn't have stood a chance against his surprise attack. I'd have slept right through it.
Karma, maybe? Well, I might as well pass it on.
"Cover yourself with this and sleep. Use this as a pillow."
"What? But…" She was hesitant, but the corners of her lips curved into a small smile. I pretended not to notice.
"Well then… thank you. I'll make good use of them."
Without any more prompting, Erwen crawled under the blanket, curling up like a cat. Soon, the sound of her steady, even breathing filled the quiet corridor. Seriously? She could sleep that soundly in front of a stranger? She must have been as exhausted as I was.
"Hoo…" I leaned my back against the cool stone wall and opened the watch case.
[22:50]
It felt like I’d been in this labyrinth for five days, but there was still more than an hour left in the second. I wanted to get back to the city. It was strange to think of it as "going back," but if I made it, I was going to sleep for a week straight. The fact that I could even think about the future proved this body was worth the trouble.
I snapped the watch shut and let my thoughts drift. It had been a while since I'd had a quiet moment to myself. What was happening to me, back in reality? Had anyone noticed I was gone? They must have. Someone would come looking for me. Eventually. The company wouldn't care about a few days' absence, though.
"Kkh." A bitter laugh escaped me. It wasn't the first time I'd thought about it, but it only ever made me feel worse. If you let yourself believe you have nothing to go back to, your will to survive shatters. It was better not to think about it at all. A little self-deception went a long way.
I deliberately changed the subject in my own mind. All right, let's recap the last two days. The coming-of-age ceremony, entering the labyrinth, fighting goblins, fighting that old man… I suppose I'd done pretty well so far. I’d clung to life with everything I had. Since no one else was going to praise me, I might as well do it myself.
Snap.
I could save the self-congratulations for when I was safely back in the city. I opened the watch again. Time was up.
"Erwen, wake up."
"Just five more minutes…"
"There's no time for five more minutes. Get up."
"Ugh…" Erwen rubbed her eyes and sat up, shaking my hand off her shoulder with a grimace. Her expression was… surprisingly hostile. I could see why she didn't like me.
"Don't get complacent just because nothing's happened so far," I warned.
"Yes…"
I was a little unsettled, but I lay down again anyway. A faint trace of warmth lingered in the blanket and on the backpack she had used. It was an ironic, unfamiliar sensation. How long had it been since I’d felt the warmth of another person? Longer than I could remember. In its own way, it was more jarring than anything else I’d experienced in the last two days.
This time, I had enough energy to fake it. I let out a few loud, deliberate snores, mostly to make sure she stayed awake and did her job. I didn't actually feel like sleeping. I cracked an eye open, saw she was alert, and let my worries recede, closing my eyes for real.
I don't know how much time passed.
Creak.
A sudden sense of danger jolted me awake. I shot up, my hand clamped around Erwen’s pale wrist. She had been reaching toward my face.
"What are you doing?" I snarled.
"You… you looked like you were having a nightmare. You were sweating so much…"
I glanced down at her other hand and saw a handkerchief. It didn't seem like an excuse. If she’d been holding a weapon, I would have smashed her with my shield without a second thought.
"Sorry, I'm sorry."
Realizing the situation, I loosened my grip. Erwen cradled her wrist, wincing at the red marks already forming on her skin. I didn't apologize. The words would have been empty.
"How much time is left?"
"Ten minutes until the shift change."
"Right. I'll take over now."
"But…"
"If I go back to sleep now, I'll just be more tired when I wake up."
At my words, Erwen lay down with an apologetic look, tossing and turning for a moment.
"Uncle."
"What is it?"
"No… I just have a question."
"Ask."
She hesitated. "Who is your uncle?"
What? Was that a joke?
"It's just… in your sleep, you kept muttering. Apologizing to him… Oh, forgive me. Was that improper? You don't have to answer. I'll just go to sleep."
Before I could respond, Erwen pulled the blanket up over her head. It seemed the young lady was getting curious now that she’d decided I wasn't going to murder her.
"Just sleep," I said, doing a few simple stretches to work the tension out of my muscles. I couldn't remember the dream itself, but it must have been a real nightmare.
Who the hell was I apologizing to? Two candidates came to mind: the unknown man who was decapitated at the ceremony, and my Uncle Eckhart, who taught me what it meant to be a person. But thinking about it, neither made sense. I couldn't recall doing anything to either of them that warranted an apology.
I soon came to a conclusion. It was just a meaningless, stupid dream.
[04:30]
The third day had begun. About ten minutes left before I had to wake Erwen. I watched her sleep, a corner of the blanket clutched between her legs, and felt a sense of unease. It wasn't about the watch; it was about what came next. Should I propose we team up for good?
Having a companion had its downsides, namely splitting the loot. No matter how many goblins spawned on the third day, traveling with Erwen would reduce my income. It had nothing to do with her skill—as a fairy, she was probably quite efficient—but I was already overpowered for this floor. I could easily handle three or four goblins on my own. That wasn't arrogance; it was a simple assessment based on my recent battles. And I needed to collect as many mana stones as possible to cover living expenses and taxes once I got back to the city.
Safety, or more profit? I was still weighing the options when I heard it.
Step.
The sound of adventurers' footsteps echoed from the passage to my left. It had happened a few times during the night, so I wasn't particularly alarmed. Most just glanced our way and moved on.
But not these two.
Step.
They stopped. One was stout, the other rail-thin. They took one look at us and then put their heads together, whispering.
"Isn't that the fairy?"
"Looks like her. The bow matches."
The stout one turned to me, a greasy smile on his face. "Barbarian. What's your business with the fairy?"
"As you can see," I said, my voice flat. "We're night friends."
"A barbarian and a fairy. See something new every day. So, how much longer are you two holed up here?"
"That's our concern."
The man didn't press. He just chuckled and motioned to his lanky companion. "Right. Let's go."
"Huh? Oh, yeah…"
Soon, the sound of their footsteps faded. But I felt no relief. What was that all about? A cold knot of dread formed in my stomach, the same feeling I’d had when the chieftain had fixed his eyes on me.
I moved quietly to Erwen's side and tapped her on the shoulder.
"Ugh…"
Are you kidding me? She was still sleeping through this?
Wake the hell up.
Because I have a feeling we're completely screwed.