Neighhh-
"Stop eating that...! You'll get a stomach ache!"
I grabbed the mouth of the horse, which was chomping away at the gnoll's corpse.
The horse, now in a sulk, began to drool and twist its body.
"Eww, gross... Stop drooling...!"
Snort- Snort!
While I wrestled with the horse, Aileen just stood there, staring at me blankly. She didn't help at all...
"A-Aileen...! Help me out here! This is bad...!"
"Why is it bad...?"
Aileen tilted her head in confusion.
"Huh...? Meat! It's eating meat! Horses are herbivores..."
"What are you talking about, Noah?"
Aileen's reaction was strange...?
"Horses are naturally carnivores. How do you think they maintain that size just by eating grass?"
"What...? Carnivores? R-Really...?"
Horses in this world eat meat...?
Really...?
I looked back at the horse, still struggling.
Snort-
It nodded.
You... can understand me, can't you...?
"Uh... Um... Sorry...?"
I let go of the horse's mouth, apologizing.
Snort- Snort-
Something splattered on my back.
Oh...
No way.
Hey, horse...?
No, right? It's not that, right?!
I just apologized!!
Hoping desperately that it wasn't what I feared, I showed my back to Aileen.
"A-Aileen... did it just..."
"Pfft... Oh... Uh... Haha...! Sp-Saliva... Kyahaha!"
"Don't laugh!"
That bastard.
It spat on me.
"You... You...!"
My body trembled with rage.
Neighhh- Snort-
Chomp- Chomp-
The horse snorted at me, then went back to munching on the gnoll.
I want to hit the back of its head!
But what if I hit it and it dies...?
Then... I want to spit! Spit back at it!
But... if I do the same thing...
Doesn't that make me as dumb as this stupid horse...?
Ugh... this is a trap...!
While I trembled in anger, Aileen grabbed my wrist and lifted it.
It reminded me of my school days.
When friends would start bickering, and someone tried to intervene...
Suddenly, things would heat up, and they'd yell, "Let me go! Let me go!!" as they got more fired up.
I used to wonder why that happened.
Now I get it.
It gives you courage!
I know Aileen will hold me back if I try to hit that beast!
And it's a way of showing how angry you are!
Hey, horse! I'm mad!! Really!!!
"Let me go...! This... This jerk...!!"
"Really? Then go ahead. Do whatever you want."
Aileen's hand, which was holding my wrist, let go.
"Huh?"
And I froze on the spot.
This isn't how I pictured it...?
"What's this? Weren't you mad? Why aren't you doing anything?"
"What...?"
"Do whatever you want. Grab it, boil it, fry it. Kill it or spare it, do whatever you want, Noah."
W-What...?
"U-Uh...? Um... now that I think about it. If the horse gets hurt... things will get... harder. I'll hold back."
"Pffft- Really? Okay. Come here, then."
Aileen waved a handkerchief she took out of her pocket at me.
I walked over to her and turned my back.
"A grown-up fighting with an animal? That's not right, is it?"
She muttered while gently wiping my back.
"I didn't fight..."
"Yeah, yeah. Now, give me your hand."
Her hand, which approached me gently this time, lifted my wrist.
"Uh... It doesn't smell, right?"
"It does, but it can't be helped."
"Ugh..."
Wipe- Wipe-
The sticky liquid on my hand was completely wiped off.
Knead- Knead-
But, why isn't she letting go...?
Knead- Knead-
"A-Aileen...?"
"How can you hold such a greatsword with these small hands?"
Aileen kept kneading my hands as she mumbled quietly.
"Be careful not to get kidnapped. You have a body that makes people want to dissect you... Don't follow anyone who says they'll give you something tasty. Even if someone says they know Hermilla or are my friend and want to talk, don't go. Got it?"
"I know that! I'm not a child...! But... someone would kidnap me... and dissect me? Who...?"
Is there some place like NASA in this world too?!
In this world of swords and magic?
"The Tower of Magic does that. When they find someone special or with unique traits, they use sleep magic... Swoosh!"
"Argh...!"
In shock, I gripped Aileen's hand tightly.
"Plus, the Tower of Magic is quite prestigious, so even the Empire can't touch them easily. Do you get it? If you get caught, it's game over."
Aileen drew a line across her neck with her hand.
"Gasp..."
"Always be careful. You never know when those mages from the Tower might show up."
"Y-Yeah..."
Am I really going to end up being experimented on...?
I've seen the story about the Tower of Magic in the game, but it's been so long, I barely remember it.
Was the Tower of Magic really this deranged?
Better keep this hidden for now...
I managed to keep my identity a secret in Alba with all its rumors, so I should be able to manage here too... right?
"Well, if you're scared, Noah, you can just hold my hand like this. Those kinds of spells don't work on me, so I'm fine."
Aileen said, shaking our clasped hands gently.
"Magic doesn't work on you, Aileen...?!"
"Yeah. Cool, right?"
I nodded enthusiastically.
To think my counter against those sneaky long-range dealers was right next to me!
Aileen was indeed a good meat shie- I mean, a good friend!
"But it's only those curse spells, so don't think you can use me as a shield."
Huh.
"Oh, o-of course not...! What do you take me for...?"
"Hehe- I think you were planning to use me as a shield, but I'll trust you. So, what should we do about the hand? Should we hold hands?"
I felt the warmth of my hand in hers.
I didn't notice it when I grabbed her hand earlier, but now that I feel it, it's kind of embarrassing.
But... weighing this slight embarrassment against being kidnapped...
"L-Let's hold hands... Just in case of mages."
"Sure. That's a good idea."
Aileen nodded cheerfully.
"Shall we go then? Just keep detecting any monsters around us like before. I'll handle the rest."
I recalled Aileen's abilities.
The first time she took down a gnoll, it took around 10 seconds.
During the later fight with the horde, it took around 5 seconds.
But the firepower was weaker then.
Still... even that amount of firepower is enough for me to finish off the rest.
And I can detect them in advance too.
Having quickly calculated it, I nodded.
Holding Aileen's hand tightly, I turned my sightless eyes towards the horse.
Wait until this job is over.
Snort-
Stupid creature.
"Let's go... Aileen."
I sharply turned my head, pulling Aileen's hand.
But Aileen didn't budge at all.
"Noah. We have to take the horse too."
Ugh, how annoying.
"...Yes."
* * * *
"The sun's starting to set..."
Aileen whispered quietly as she looked up at the sky.
We had walked quite a bit since leaving the previous spot.
Along the way, we encountered and defeated over twenty gnolls.
"So... what should we do...?"
I turned to Aileen and asked.
I can walk just fine without light, but it might be tough for Aileen.
Physically and all.
Aileen hesitated for a moment, then spoke while looking at the map.
"We've covered about half the distance."
"Yeah."
"Not too far from here, there's a place we can rest. It's a ruin, but that house is relatively intact."
"A house...? Is that somewhere you've been before?"
"Yeah. It's not too bad. There was even a bed. It was dirty, but still... Anyway, should we rest there until sunrise?"
Aileen tilted her head as she asked.
Having no reason to object, I nodded.
"Then, I'll lead the way. I remember the path."
"Yeah."
Aileen took my hand and led me forward.
Snort-
Clip-Clop-
Holding Aileen's hand, I followed her, brushing my other hand against the stone walls of the ruin.
Cold but smooth to the touch.
Seems like expensive stone.
It feels... like marble?
Not like rough stone, but more like a processed one.
It felt completely different from what I saw in the game.
"What are you doing, Noah?"
Aileen asked, looking back at me.
"Uh... The stone feels nice. I was just touching it..."
Smooth and cool, it was surprisingly addictive!
As I kept rubbing the stone, Aileen's slightly subdued voice came to me.
"But, Noah. Do you know why this village became a ruin?"
"Uh... No?"
"Twenty years ago, it was an ordinary village, but a rumor spread that it was a village of bandits. That terrible bandits lived here."
"Ba-Bandits...!"
"Then one day, a certain bandit stole a very valuable heirloom from a high-ranking noble and rumors spread that he hid here."
"Gasp...!"
"So the noble, in his rage, completely destroyed this village."
"Ah..."
"But... it turns out this village wasn't actually a bandit's village. The bandit never even hid here. It was just a false rumor."
"Wh-What...!"
"Isn't it ridiculous? They destroyed an innocent village just based on a rumor."
Aileen looked up at the sky.
"It's called the 'Havlon Incident.' This village was called 'Havlon.'"
"Havlon...?"
Havlon?
Havlon... Havlon... I think I've heard of it!
Aileen's face turned towards me again.
"But do you know what's the most important thing?"
"W-What...?"
Argh! Aileen talked to me, and I lost my train of thought!
"No one was sad that this village became a ruin, occupied by monsters. No one was angry."
Bandit... village... ruin... Havlon...
"Because no one was left. Everyone was dead. But... if there had been... a survivor... if someone remembered this village..."
Bandit, village, ruin, Havlon, survivor.
Ah, I remembered.
Eight years ago.
When I started playing [Black Sun], the first quest I received was...
"The survivor of Havlon..."
"W-What did you just say, Noah...?"
The quest's title was...
'The Survivor of Havlon.'
And the name of that survivor was...
Luchi.
The Platinum Adventurer.
One-Eyed Luchi.