The Porter Has No Interest in the Hero’s Party

Gloom doesn’t stop time. On that day when dark masses covered the imperial sky, no one succeeded in stopping time. Every morning, I would make vain imaginations, chuckle, then shake my head and burst out the door.

I hadn’t slept long since escaping the empire.

Each step down the first-floor stairs made the wood creak, and the innkeeper’s humming broke through his yawns. As soon as I came down the stairs, I saw the hero sitting at the table, tearing pieces of bread. The chef, who had been careless before, seemed to have reformed after yesterday’s beating, warming the hero’s face with warm bread and soup.

“Mister. You’re up?”

The hero greeted me in the morning with a face showing no signs of sleepiness. I sat across from the hero, ordered the same from the chef, and nodded.

“Yes. I slept well, thanks to you. The luggage seems lighter this time, probably because the travel route is shorter.”

“We’ll get resupplied once we reach the fortress. More importantly, will you be okay? It’s about capturing two traitors, so there shouldn’t be much trouble, but still, waiting in enemy territory might be a bit burdensome for you.”

“It’s fine. If you think about it, isn’t what we do essentially advancing into enemy territory constantly? Spending time in a warehouse while you all fight is nothing.”

The most exhausting situations in the life of a porter were when we had to find outposts or go to enemy territory that were days apart. It was hard on the back, having to fill up with water and food in preparation for any situation and walk, and chatterboxes like Mille or Lena would stick to me, not letting my mouth rest.

In that sense, the risk of waiting inside a fortress was nothing to me.

When I showed a reassuring expression as if telling the hero not to worry, he smiled awkwardly and said:

“I’m always grateful to you, mister. Even when we make unreasonable schedules or carry out dangerous operations, you always follow without doubting.”

“We’re traveling companions. And, isn’t it about reclaiming my homeland? Anyone would have cooperated.”

The hero nodded at those words. But there were no following words. Reclaiming the homeland. In other words, it meant saving the residents trapped in the magic stones. The hero fiddled with his spoon and said:

“We didn’t free any people by capturing Halifa this time. I don’t know if people in other regions or occupied territories have been released… We might need to capture even higher-ranking commanders.”

It had been quite some time since the empire fell. What happened to the people trapped in the empire’s magic stones?

“If we take down the commander who’s facing off against Baron Luke this time, wouldn’t something happen?”

“Maybe.”

The hero showed a hopeful smile. I, too, as if not to be outdone by the hero, grinned and dipped bread in soup. The soup was properly seasoned, making it go down well.

“This soup is really delicious. Should I ask them to fill my canteen with it?”

“It will spoil quickly and smell. Don’t do that.”

When I made nonsense remarks, the hero shook his head and dissuaded me. While we were making silly jokes, Lena, who had smoothly slid down the stair railing, smiled and spoke to us.

“What’s this, you two eating delicious things alone? Mister. I want the same thing here too!”

“Yes! Understood!”

Following that, Mille sat at the table saying the same thing, and Ashuria, with disheveled hair, rubbed her eyes and naturally sat at the table.

Ashuria, who seemed to be in a better mood than yesterday, greeted with an expressionless face and then smiled and spoke to Mille.

“Mille. You shouldn’t eat with your face stained like that. People will tease you for being a sloppy elf.”

“Where? Where is it stained?”

“It’s stained here.”

Lena, who was watching with a pleased look as Ashuria wiped Mille’s face with a handkerchief, said to me:

“They’re like mother and daughter. Mother and daughter.”

“Sisters is better.”

Surprisingly, it was Mille who reacted to the mother-daughter remark. When Mille looked at Lena and said that, Lena showed an incredulous expression but nodded.

“Okay. Then let’s go with sisters.”

Empty bowls and bread crumbs remained on the table. The hero rose from his seat, clean despite having eaten, and there wasn’t a single crumb left at Lena’s place. Ashuria and Mille dusted off the crumbs on the table, and I looked at the clean plates and said:

“Shall we go now?”

It was time to eliminate the traitors.

Dusk.

The red sky spread its color widely, soaking even the empty fields, and we faced a silhouette coming down the hill path with crimson skin. The hero, pushing back his hair that shone with a mysterious color in the sunset light, said:

“Those people seem to be the commanders.”

“Nice to meet you, Hero.”

As soon as the hero finished speaking, the commander shouted while waving his hand from afar. Even in the shaded area, his large mustache fluttered like butterfly wings, and he was a man with a very hearty laugh.

His build was so massive that one might wonder if his horse would struggle, and his hands were thick as well, making the hero who faced him a bit taken aback.

“It’s an honor to meet you like this! Hero! Your achievements on this front! I’ve been hearing all about them!”

“Ah, yes. Nice to meet you…”

The hero extended his hand awkwardly and greeted. It was a somewhat strange reaction for someone who was just surprised to meet for the first time.

I felt a sense of panic from the hero as if he were meeting someone he shouldn’t meet. Lena tilted her head, looking at the hero, and Ashuria and Mille were scanning the commander with indifferent eyes.

“Hero! Why are you so stiff? Come on! Let’s shake hands! Hahahahaha!”

“Ah, ah, ah, d-don’t shake!”

The commander grabbed the hero’s arm tightly and shook it back and forth, then looked over the other members. The commander, who briefly gave a glance to me, the porter, looked at the bag I was carrying on my back, shrugged, then looked around at us and said:

“I’m late with my introduction. I am Count Ullie, who serves as a military tactics instructor in the capital. With the hero and me together, we’ll be invincible. Would you all like to enjoy the sunset around here for a while? Hahahahaha!”

“Oh, that sounds good. Hero, can I take a rest?”

When Lena asked, her eyes twinkling, the hero shook his head and gave a bitter smile. Lena, who might not have been serious either, nodded with the corners of her mouth raised. After the commander’s greeting, the hero said:

“Then shall we go? As I said before, Ashuria and the mister will wait near the inner fortress, and the others will go inside, and as soon as we rush in, we’ll immediately capture the two people.”

“Got it.”

Lena nodded, and Mille took out her bow, burning with determination. The commander laughed heartily at the enthusiastic appearance of the two, and I picked up the luggage at the very back. The commander looked at me once more and asked:

“Are you the porter?”

Unlike the jovial appearance from a moment ago, there was a cautious and wary light. I answered his question as if nothing was wrong:

“Yes. I’m the porter. Selected directly from the kingdom.”

“Ah, you mean that selection tournament. I was too busy to attend, but I heard it was very fun. I heard that an agile man from the empire came and took first place.”

“That man is me. It’s a shame you couldn’t see it in person. You should have seen the scene where I dramatically took first place in obstacle crossing.”

“Being so agile, were you perhaps a soldier in the empire?”

I shook my head.

“Just a wanderer. I lived a life with too much shame to be called a soldier.”

“Is that so?”

Looking to the side, the commander was staring intently at me. The hero, who was walking at the very front, also looked at us with a strange face, and Lena, Mille, and Ashuria were all watching our psychological warfare. I nodded to the commander and said:

“That’s right. I am not a soldier.”

The commander didn’t probe further. When I spoke firmly, he nodded and said:

“I see. I must have mistaken you for someone I know. Memory dulls with age, you know. Hahaha!”

The subtle tension was dispelled with laughter. The sound of hooves moving away and gazes dispersing again. I sighed, looking at the warrior’s back, and Lena said to me:

“What’s that about? He says you look like someone?”

“The most handsome man in the kingdom. I heard I look like Georges?”

“You’re really shameless.”

Lena shook her head at my answer and went ahead. There was no need to react to questions thrown just to test. The fortress was already close, and in front of the gate, the defense captain and guards who had received our secret orders were waiting with tense faces.

Ashuria put on her knuckle dusters and stretched her body, and Lena caressed the dagger strapped to her thigh. Mille took a step back to create distance, and the hero fondled the sword handle.

The commander said in a booming voice:

“I am Count Ullie, and this person here is the Hero! Defense captain, open the gate!”

I had nothing to do while our party members were preparing, so I checked if the luggage was secure by adjusting my bag.

“Let’s go.”

With the hero’s words, the dangerous operation began.

The luggage was safe in the hands of the great porter.