NOVEL NEXT “I wish there was a village tomorrow.”
“Right? I just want to sleep comfortably.”
The encounter is still strange.
Yona, who usually doesn’t complain unless it’s a dire situation, found herself voicing her dissatisfaction without even realizing it.
Everyone felt the same way, really.
And for good reason, hasn’t it been over a week already?
During that time, they had been camping, and on top of that, they hadn’t slept properly.
Thanks to that, everyone was drenched in fatigue.
It was a night when they missed the endlessly comfy mattress stuffed with sun-dried straw.
The party was silent.
With their backs against the hill, the four of them huddled together, staring blankly at the bonfire in the middle.
‘…I wish we could stop staring at the fire.’
In the real world, they had wanted to experience a bonfire.
Now that they were living the adventurer life, they were doing it plenty, but this wasn’t what they had in mind.
The firelight was making everyone’s faces glow a bright red.
Kaiyak, James, Alex, and Yona were all so exhausted that they didn’t have the energy to speak.
“I think it’s done; can we eat it now?”
They had skewered the fish they caught by the river on some sticks, lined them up by the bonfire.
Then Kaiyak ground some rock salt he had and seasoned it lightly before slow roasting it over the flames.
“I think it’s good to go. I cleaned it, so there shouldn’t be any bones. Dig in!”
Kaiyak picked up a skewered fish and took a bite.
It was a bit smoky, but everyone was too hungry to care.
Yona grabbed a skewer of fish and took a big bite.
Are freshwater fish safe? This is probably a parasite fest, she thought, but then again, it wasn’t like it was her first time having grilled fish, and she couldn’t be picky at this point.
‘I’ll just consider it extra protein…’
Comforting herself, Yona took a bite of the grilled fish.
“Wow, it’s tastier than I expected!”
And indeed, it was.
Even though it was a bit charred, that actually enhanced the crispy flavor, and the seasoning was just right, giving it a salty taste.
The insides were completely cleaned, so there was no bitterness to be found, and with each bite, the tender, flaky white meat was both savory and light.
Plus, all the bones were removed, so they could chew without worrying about poking their mouths.
Everything was removed, so even if I chewed wildly, my mouth wouldn’t get pricked.
“It’s seriously delicious.”
Yona devoured one whole fish in an instant and grabbed another.
They had caught plenty of fish, enough for everyone to eat three or four each, so eating as much as they wanted was no problem.
The next fish, resembling a catfish, had a slightly earthy taste.
Alex sat blankly, staring into the campfire.
The others had already passed out ages ago, lying around with their sleeping bags, and even Yona was deep in sleep, snoring.
Alex, victorious in the fair and square battle of rock-paper-scissors, had volunteered to be the first on watch, followed by Yona, then James, and finally Kaiyak.
Sitting there, staring at the flickering firelight, felt as if time had stopped.
While Alex was staring into the flames, his gaze suddenly fell on Yona, who was lying across from him with her mouth agape in sleep.
Though she was deeply buried under her sleeping bag, it was her habit to sleep with her face exposed because she believed covering it wouldn’t let her sleep properly.
A healer insisting they were a man.
A healer claiming to be from another world.
That was a description of Yona, but she still managed to defy such words with her skills.
It’s one of the most dangerous professions, alongside guards, but she had survived just fine so far.
Her reflexes in a crisis were sharp, and her ability to handle situations was outstanding.
She perfectly displayed the skills expected of a healer.
‘It was a bit weird, though…’
But her behavior in James’s village had been rather off.
The scene of Yona chasing that dark black bear.
Her face flushed red and breath ragged.
The strange groans escaping her reddened lips.
Since that encounter with the bear, it had completely vanished, but her image still vividly popped up in Alex’s mind.
‘What was that about…’
Shifting his position, Alex looked back at the campfire.
Continuously adjusting his oddly uncomfortable posture, he kept glancing between the fire and the surroundings.
Yet, despite his thinking, he couldn’t figure anything out.
He couldn’t just straight-up ask Yona why she made those girly sounds.
And judging by her silence, he wondered if she might not even know herself.
Tonight was nice and quiet.
“Awesome.”
“Hey, Yona. Wake up, wake up!”
Alex stood up and poked Yona with his toes.
Despite the sand in the hourglass having completely run out ages ago, Yona showed no signs of getting up.
“Hey, Yona. I said wake up.”
After poking her a few more times, Alex considered giving her a kick. Just as he thought about it, Yona finally opened her bleary eyes.
“What is it…? Is it my turn already…?”
“Yup. It’s your turn.”
“Ugh…”
As Yona crawled out of her sleeping bag, there was a crunching sound, but Alex didn’t really care.
Everyone was probably in the same boat, so it wasn’t really a big deal, and besides, any mention of it would just get him a “So what?” in response.
Instead, Alex crawled back into his sleeping bag, leaving her with a word of encouragement.
Once Alex fell asleep, Yona stared blankly into the campfire and decided to toss a couple more logs into the flames.
It’s about to get colder.
Summer was teetering on the brink of autumn, and soon it would be fall, and winter would follow not long after.
She wanted to arrive at the community before winter hit.
And if she could—
“Returning to the original world would be the best, but… that’s low probability. If I return as a guy…”
Then it’s off to Infura.
The Infura Church Region isn’t that far from the community, so traveling in winter should be doable.
Going without Kaiyak and James would be a bit concerning for Alex and her, but it should be fine, right?
Yona sorted her thoughts in her own way.
Counting all sorts of scenarios, thinking, if this happens, then do that. If that happens, then do it like this.
Preparing for the future step by step, planning, revising, and enhancing her strategies over and over.
And amidst all her plans, there was one unchanging premise.
That was, she would turn back into a guy.
“Uh, uh…”
The last watchman, Kaiyak, woke up the sleeping party members.
Even before the dim sunlight on the horizon spread its light across the world.
Thanks to the nearby river, mist rose up, making everything look hazy.
“Is everyone okay?”
“Uh… I think we’re fine.”
The party members, Yona included, checked their bodies while doing some simple stretches to assess their condition.
Fortunately, there were no problems, and slowly waking up, they cleaned up their sleeping spots.
“Still, there were no monster attacks today.”
“It was so uncool.”
“Seriously, what’s going on?”
They hadn’t been able to sleep well due to the nightly monster attacks.
So, they had accumulated fatigue, but after getting a good night’s rest, it was slightly better.
“Still, I hope we can sleep in the village today…”
Nobody answered Yona’s mumbling.
But while they didn’t say anything, they nodded in agreement.
They poured sand over the campfire spot and scraped it away with their boots to erase any traces.
The branch used to grill fish was snapped and tossed far away, and they spread out their sleeping bags, rubbing their feet on the flattened sleeping area to remove evidence.
Though no one was specifically tracking them, it was an unconscious action.
“Alright, let’s get going. We’re heading straight over that mountain.”
Following James’ words, everyone started walking.
The mountain visible in front of them wasn’t very high and didn’t look too rough at a glance.
Their steps felt like lead, and even though they had slept well, the camping site was hardly a comfortable place, so the fatigue wasn’t completely gone.
Yona blinked and struggled to stay awake.
With no choice but to conserve energy, Yona sincerely wished for a good rest today, hoping they could enter the village and relax.
As James, who was walking ahead, signaled for everyone to stop, they all froze in place.
“…Can you hear any shouting?”
James whispered in a low voice, but Alex and Yona just stared blankly at him.
“I can hear the sound of clanging armor.”
James, an Orc, and Kaiyak, a Lizardman, had better hearing compared to the humans, Alex and Yona.
If they said it, then it must be true.
“Let’s hurry up. That’s a human voice. And there are other voices too… that sounds like a monster’s roar.”
Kaiyak urged the party to move faster.
Even without Kaiyak’s words, Alex had already strapped on his shield and pulled out his hammer, while Yona placed a hand on Alex’s shoulder.
“Come on, let’s go fast!”
The party started running.
Sand and gravel that lay scattered on the mountain path were kicked around, and the sound of four pairs of feet echoed loudly.
Finally, as they reached the end of the uphill climb and began going downhill—
“Oh, no.”
There was a village.
The very village that Yona and the party had desperately longed for.
But the village was under attack.
By Trolls.