Living as an Unemployed in Another World

149 – 5. Witch Month (Complete)

5. Witch’s Month

Crude footsteps echoed inside the monastery. It was because the nuns and monks had all gone to bed, and on a chilly night without even praying at dawn, an adventurer set foot there.

With greasy hair brushed back and a layer of fur, the man filled the narrow aisle with his massive body, like two stout men put together. The protruding tusks and green skin are clearly those of an orc, but if you encounter them in a somewhat bright place, you will definitely be able to recognize that they are of mixed human and orc blood. The half-orc warrior, Alphonse, stopped in front of the door of the chapel that arrived before long.

Kikki, only cold silence lingered beyond the door that opened as quietly as possible. However, he had already heard from the guard outside the monastery that no one was there. Even a giant who can destroy a building by himself is generally welcome as long as he has a green plate that symbolizes a skilled adventurer.

He looked around the room, which was tidy but showing traces of time, and soon noticed that someone was sitting in the chapel closest to the window in front of the podium. A woman in her armor sat with her long gray hair hanging down. Alphonse strode towards it.

“Were you here?”

“…… You are here.”

Grace, the god-worshiping knight, turned his head and bowed toward him. A person of her level would already know who the visitor was by the weight of her footsteps. Alphonse saw her hand fiddle with the shiny silver helmet. And without a word he put his weight on the compartment next to her. A chair that could comfortably seat four people creaked at once.

“How did you know I am here?”

“I asked the guild. Aren’t there knights in armor walking around?”

“I…… I know you’ve never walked the streets.”

“I guess so. If it hadn’t been rumored that there was a paladin sitting all day in a closed monastery, I wouldn’t have found it.”

As Alphonse answered calmly, Grace groaned as if embarrassed. She groaned and straightened herself into her sitting position, then turned her helmet around on her lap and opened her mouth again.

“Don’t you ask?”

“What do you mean?”

“You came here because you were curious about my answer, right?”

“…… I came because I was worried. I thought of you as a colleague.”

Grace looked over her curtain-like hair to Alphonse for a moment. He said without even looking.

“At least I think so, but you don’t, don’t you?”

“…… I’ve never done anything to be called that. Not someone like me, Ms. Mira…… “

“He is still at the inn. Don’t worry.”

As if asking why, Grace looked at it. The look in the eyes that said it was natural to visit a real colleague and have a drink together, not like this here. Alphonse breathed through the cracks of his tusks and clicked his tongue.

“That girl is obsessive. No matter how harsh Jin says and kicks me out, I will desperately try to stick to him. So I have nothing to do there.”

“…… Okay.”

There was silence for a while. This time there was a loud creaking sound. It was because Alphonse leaned against his weight, almost as if he were lying down in his narrow chair. He said.

“Since we fought over the same enemy once, I consider it a comrade, no matter who it is.”

“…… “

“And not only me…… Everyone must feel that way.”

A silence fell again. However, this time also did not last long. Grace let out a small laugh. Asked Alphonse, who seemed offended.

“Why are you laughing?”

“No, I think I saw an unexpected side of you too. Sorry.”

“Grunt… ….”

Towards the half-orc growling low, the paladin suddenly asked something he was curious about.

“Alphonse, aren’t you a brave warrior?”

“That’s what it’s called.”

“Then, I wonder why you can live with a man like Jin without hesitation. He is…… I don’t know what to say, but he’s the complete opposite.”

Alphonse raised his head for a moment. Looking at the cracked ceiling filled with lime, which had no chandelier, he opened his mouth wide.

“You are right. Jin is not good.”

“Mo, that’s ugly…… ?”

“Generally, the whole thing is fuzzy, and the physical strength is weak because it is not trained, and the mind is weak, and it is timid and lazy. Besides, I just try to run away whenever I can. As a person, there is no failing grade.”

“Oh, no… ….”

When all the accusations came back at the lightly thrown words, Grace was embarrassed and couldn’t follow his words. It would be hard to hear such an insult even for a Cheolcheon enemy in the world. It was not something one would use to a colleague who had gone through life and death with him. It wasn’t because she had a noble heart, unlike some heretic inquisitors, who had never uttered a single swear word in her life.

Of course, this is my opinion as an adventurer and warrior who values courage and physical strength. When I thought about it, how did I get it? Besides, Grace knew that his words were not over. She asked again.

“Then…… Why don’t you stay away from a man like that?”

“Because it is not wrong.”

“Yes?”

“As I said, he can never become a warrior. But other things are different. He is different from the sorcerers who claim to be smart. It’s also different from those who wear nice clothes and condescend with other people’s money. He clearly knows what he can and can’t do, doesn’t look down on others, isn’t arrogant, and tries to do his best within given limits…… And that, he’s not something anyone can do.”

“… ….”

“Jin is smarter than anyone I know. What such a smart guy wants to protect, he’s not like himself or big ambitions. He’s in that old inn, in his enclosure.”

Grace was silent. Alphonse added.

“There are a lot of idiots in this world who regret belatedly because they couldn’t even protect what they were holding in their hands. And among them, Jin will never be wrong. What a smart guy like that needs is a warrior like me, or quick like a b*tch…… They are such people. Did you get an answer?”

“Enough, yes.”

Grace laughed secretly. He never once said that he “Likes” Him or that he “Has something to imitate.” But even though he said it as if he couldn’t help it, his intentions were never behind those words. Alphonse asked her this time.

“What are you going to do?”

“What about you?”

“We both needed time to think, and Jean wanted that too. And that time is over.”

Grace looks out of her window. The day turned around and he was dawning again.

“I will ask you again. What are you going to do?”

“I… ….”

In lieu of an answer, Grace silently pitched. Her still familiar touch, her hair rolled back behind her, the crown of her head tucked and her chinstrap tightened, her vision greeted her parted in the cool air.

“I already forsook God once.”

“You?”

“Yes.”

On that day, he single-handedly turned numerous priests into enemies in order to save his father. Unlike the Cardinal’s ‘He’, Grace resented the Order God for not saving him. It was not her goddess who saved her in her moment of despair. It is a very small bond that she left behind in her distant place.

Though she thought it was her will that they had gathered, and wielded her hammer with her might, the fact that he had already doubted her once settled within her as a constant anguish. It was for this reason that she gave up her position as a knight in the cathedral.

“I am still called a paladin by you, and I still think of myself as such.”

“Looking at you coming to the monastery at a time like this, it seems like that.”

“My divinity is still in my body, so he must be proof that he has not abandoned me. But…… My faith is no longer limited to him.”

The two faced each other. Alphonse asked.

“Do you trust him that much?”

“Yes.”

She replied with her confident eyes. Those lake-like eyes were shining brighter than usual.

“As you said, Alphonse, Jean is weak. But…… Sometimes you can be stronger than anyone else. And sometimes, very occasionally, he became strong for someone…… I believe that he will lead more people to the path of justice than I did when I blindly believed in God.”

“Hmm.”

“So, in the end, my faith will not be neglected either. And, you will definitely need us on that journey. Isn’t it?”

“…… Indeed.”

Alphonse seemed satisfied and stood up from his chair with both arms on his back. Finally, there was the sound of a seam being torn in one corner.

“Oops.”

“I will tell the abbot later. It will come back soon.”

“…… I will.”

Grace patted the big back. She said.

“Let’s hurry. Shouldn’t we be late?”

※

“Ummm… ….”

A voice completely submerged in fatigue. I looked at the woman who was sleeping soundly next to me. As I brushed through her soft light brown hair, I recalled last night’s love affair and got out of bed feeling embarrassed.

The sun was not yet bright. The view from her room was truly beautiful. The dawn coming through her window over her hill dazzles my eyes, even though she wanted to collapse in her warm arms right away…… There was a different reason for waiting until Celine fell asleep.

I put my palm on my chest with only my pants on. A method that I never even thought of trying because I didn’t have the courage.

You don’t have to sit down at your desk and send a letter to an address that may or may not arrive. She had a history of appearing when my heart was broken. I took a deep breath and cast a spell.

“Shatter【Crush】.”

In that moment, time stopped. Again Just as the demon’s arm had pierced my chest, the reach of her spell stopped time before she could damage it before it reached her heart beyond her chest.

I spoke to her in her heart in a still landscape where her eyes, her hands, and even her heart did not beat.

『…… Are you watching, Master?”

It’s been a long time since I’ve said it. I poured out my heart straight away without waiting for her greeting or response.

『No, he must be watching. So time must have stopped. No matter how much defense mechanism this fist-sized curse has, it won’t be too powerful to stop time every time.”

【…… 】

『I think I’m listening and I’ll say it only once. Listen carefully, Master. I am…… I don’t need you anymore.”

In the moment of stopped time, I felt my heart shrink slightly. Still, I didn’t stop.

『I ran away. Not from Eclipse, but from you. Aren’t you curious about the reason?”

【…… 】

『I was scared. You who live in a completely different time from me, you who tried to force me to suffer, the eternity of living with you who thought we couldn’t last forever…… It was like hell to me.”

【…… 】

『Well, in the process, I feel sorry for stealing this and that. I am still doing well.”

No reply came back. I continued talking alone.

『As I said…… I don’t need you anymore ‘Cause I’m not alone anymore I’m no longer the 17-year-old kid who was clinging to your relationship and trembling.”

【…… 】

『Me, I became a wizard. You probably already know everything. I don’t know if I did this on my own, or if it’s because of the damn arrangements you left behind…… Anyway, that’s how it happened. So, you don’t need that scary birthday present anymore. Take it somewhere far away in space.”

It didn’t take much courage to tell her what she wanted to say.

『That’s not all. I, who had been a loner all along, now has people I can call family, made quite a few friends, acquaintances, and being an adventurer with no friends…… Before I knew it, there were people I couldn’t part with who I could call colleagues.”

【…… 】

『So, I can’t go back anymore. The two of us can no longer live in that mansion again.”

【…… 】

『Even if you come to me…… I just wanted to say that I have no intention of going back.”

As expected, the answer doesn’t come back. At that moment, pain came as a side effect of writing a spell on myself. I jumped up and wiped the blood from my mouth and laughed wordlessly. Maybe it’s because I put everything down, I added useless words to it.

『Instead…… If you promise not to harm the people around me, I will not stop you from coming.”

【…… 】

『What can I do to stop you? …… What you do.”

I slowly lifted my palms. And at that moment, I heard an unbelievable answer.

【…… Heh.]

For a moment, it seemed as if she could hear her voice. One short syllable. As if pouting or pouting…… Such a cute voice. Was it all an illusion? No, no. I smiled unconsciously.

If you think about it, I always drew your face even in such a terrible nightmare.

Our last was a tragedy, but at least the memories we had together were still nostalgic. I had no intention of denying that fact.

And…… Take some time to think about each other…… If the day comes when misunderstandings about each other are completely resolved.

No, you don’t have to wait so passively. I’ve already been a sorcerer for a long time.

Whether it takes years or decades, when I become a little greater and understand you.

Perhaps at that time, I might have become a little boy and a grandfather… ….

Still, if you want, then it might not be bad to spend eternity together.

But right now I’m in trouble. Sitting on the bed, I covered the forehead of the young lady who had become a woman overnight. It was only at her coolness that she let out a comfortable smile.

“hehehe…… Brother… ….”

Perhaps you are dreaming of the old days. I chuckled.

Where am I going? Where do you have to go

I slowly closed my eyes and collapsed onto the bed.

Now, I feel comfortable.