WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS

Translator: Abood

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ The Saviour Embarks on a Nameless Journey

Chapter 35: A Man Bound by Fate

“Boss?”

Hmm? Oh—”

Hearing someone call out, I turned toward the voice and found a mercenary standing there.

Now what was his name again? We had shared a night in that village where we were given boar meat, and together slew that monkey monster.

“I’m Tain.”

Sensing that I was at a loss for words, he gave his own name.

“What brings you here, in a place like this?”

“Looking for work. Hey! Bring me some drink and food over here too!”

He shrugged his shoulders as he spoke, then twisted his body and raised his voice loud enough to be heard over the bustle of the shop.

“The sauté was better than the pie.”

“I know. If you come in the morning, you can get it fresh, and it’s delicious.”

“Oh?”

It seemed he knew this town well. Like any mercenary, he must have drifted from place to place.

“I came to hear rumors about the monsters here, but looks like I was a step too late. It was you who brought them down, eh, boss?”

So saying, he took a seat at the counter beside me.

“It was my— my companions who slew it.”

I almost said granddaughter, but thought better of it. Else I’d have folk asking at what age I sired a child.

“So there’re others as strong as you wandering about, huh. Bad for business.”

Tain took the drink passed across the counter, placing his order as well.

“I don’t mean to boast, but men of such strength are rare indeed.”

After all, two of them are from the former Hero’s party, one is a candidate for Hero, and another a candidate for Witch.

“Boss, where are you headed next?”

“What’s this? Curious, are you?”

“Figured I’d look for work in the opposite direction.”

If one earns coin by slaying monsters, that’s only natural.

“Ah, yes, I should thank you again for the reward.”

“I only happened to make it in time. And after we parted back there, to meet again so soon was a bit awkward, so I hesitated whether to call out.”

Tain chuckled.

“And by the way, you really do like boiled eggs, don’t you?”

“Pyaa.”

“……”

His tankard half-raised, Tain froze.

…Could it be that he heard Pyaa’s reply? Ah, of course. It was a reply after all?

Tain’s eyes flicked to my face, then quickly away.

Wait, that reaction! He’s certain I made some strange noise, isn’t he? And now he’s trying to convince himself it was nothing, or pretend he never heard it, aye, that must be it!

No! The one eating the boiled egg and making those odd sounds is this Pya on my lap! And blast it, stop eating boiled eggs in a situation like this!

Tain turned to face forward and began drinking.

“…Between us, it is the holy spirit that eats boiled eggs. Not I.”

Thus I scrambled to preserve myself.

I did not say ‘sacred beast,’ for Tain could not see it, and ‘holy spirit’ was easier to accept. Sacred beasts would never be found in such a common, noisy place. As for holy spirits—well, it was questionable, but the curious sort might well linger for a while.

With a passing stranger I might not care if they misunderstood me, but with this mercenary, to whom I now had some bond, and who sat right at my side, such a misunderstanding was rather inconvenient!

“Is that so?”

“It is.”

That half-hearted reply, he doesn’t believe me. He doesn’t believe me, does he?

As ever, the sacred beast’s power is being wasted on this trivial disguise, so to his eyes it must look as though I’m the one eating. Trusting what one sees is only natural… curse you, Pya!

“By the way, have you arranged lodging?”

“Once I finish eating, I’ll ask if there’s space upstairs.”

It was common for the second floor of a tavern to serve as an inn.

Tain received his sauté and began to eat. A hearty fellow, he cut the meat into large chunks and sent them down his stomach in no time.

“Why not come stay at the magistrate’s manor with us?”

“With no monsters around, there’s no work for me. No point in making connections with a magistrate.”

So he said, after swallowing the sauté.

“No, what I mean is if my companions consent, I’d like to employ you until we move on to the next town. The highway doesn’t split for a ways yet, does it?”

From the village where we slew the monkey monster, to the town where we received the reward, and all the way here, the same highway stretched on.

Of course, there were side roads, but those only led to small villages. The next place where another great road would join this one was at the next large town.

“You and your companions are strong, aren’t you?”

So Tain said, drinking his liquor.

“It isn’t guard work I’m asking for.”

“Then what, carrying baggage?”

“I would like you to teach the four of us a bit of common sense.”

First of all, I’d ask you to point out which of our actions are strange.

“......”

Tain leaned his head back a little, eyeing me with some suspicion.

I met his gaze without looking away. A second encounter with someone who’d left a good impression. If there was a bond of fate here, I wished to cherish it.

Pya climbed from my lap up my chest to return to my back, burying half my face in its soft fur as it scrambled over my shoulder. …Blast it, you could at least choose your timing better!!

Footnotes:

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