Chapter 3

“I’m home… Well, there’s nobody here, is there?”

My voice echoed through the empty house.

For now, I placed the things I was carrying on the table and slumped into a chair.

“Man, I’m exhausted today… Taking on twenty requests every single day really is tough… Well, I suppose that’s only natural when I’ve been working since early morning without taking a break.”

I stretched my body, which I’d pushed to its limits without any rest, and took a short break.

There had been all sorts of requests today…

Gathering medicinal herbs, searching for lost children, helping with household chores…

Almost all of them were practically volunteer work, though.

“…Oh, right. I need to report to my parents.”

As though I’d suddenly remembered something, I stood up, opened the front door, and stepped outside.

Perhaps because the house was in the middle of a forest, there wasn’t even another house or two in the surrounding area.

With that thought in mind, I headed toward the garden behind the house.

As I walked, I came across two wooden plaques standing upright in the ground. My father’s and mother’s names were written on them.

I reached them and stared at the wooden plaques for a while.

Then I knelt down, clasped my hands together, closed my eyes, and offered a prayer.

In other words, I was visiting my parents’ graves.

“Father, Mother. I worked hard again today. Most of my requests were practically volunteer work, but the people around here are kind, so I’ve somehow managed to make a living… So please don’t worry about me. Keep watching over me.”

After praying to the two of them, I opened my eyes, stood up, and left their graves behind.

“…Now then, I’ve had my break and reported to the two of them… Time to do the usual.”

With that, I picked up the belongings I’d brought with me earlier and took out a wooden sword.

It was something I’d been doing since I was little.

At first, my father had practically forced me to do it, and I’d only gone along with it reluctantly…

But now, it had become part of my daily routine.

“…Physical Enhancement.”

The moment I muttered those words, my body briefly glowed orange…

And I felt as though my body had suddenly become lighter.

“Alright… One… Two… Three… Four…”

Counting as I went, I began swinging the wooden sword.

Following my father’s teachings, I put my full strength into every single strike.

Because of that, my entire body always ached afterward. Honestly, it was nothing but a nuisance.

And yet, the fact that I couldn’t bring myself to quit probably meant I was a little crazy myself.

Thinking that, I emptied my mind and continued swinging the wooden sword without a second thought.

“…12,343… 12,344… 12,345… Phew… I think I’ll call it a day.”

Wiping the sweat pouring down my forehead, I finished my training—which was essentially just swinging my wooden sword over and over.

When I looked up at the sky, I saw that it had already turned orange. It was getting close to evening.

“…Whoa, wait! I just remembered! I haven’t bought the ingredients for dinner tonight!?”

Maybe because I’d finished earlier than usual, I’d completely forgotten!

If I didn’t hurry, the ingredients might sell out!

“F-First, I need to grab some money and hurry into town…!”

And so, I quickly gathered my things, took the reward money I’d earned from today’s requests, and headed into town.

“Man, I got lucky… The shopkeeper was kind enough to wait for me, so I somehow managed to buy everything…”

I glanced at the bag slung over my shoulder and muttered wearily.

Seriously, I never expected the shopkeeper to wait for me…

They’d said it was their way of showing appreciation for everything I’d done, but honestly, I was the one who should be thanking them.

They’d really helped me out.

“…Huh? Isn’t that Rex?”

Hmm? Someone had called out to me from ahead…

Who was it?

I shifted my gaze from the bag to the front and spotted two women.

Unlike the uniforms I usually saw them wearing at the guild, both were dressed in what looked like casual clothes.

One had short brown hair, while the other had long golden hair.

“Ah, Miss Imilia and… Miss Lilina.”

Imilia casually waved at me with a friendly “Hey!” as though she were a big sister from the neighborhood.

Meanwhile, Lilina was looking straight at me with a gaze that seemed somehow sharper than usual.

It seemed I’d run into some rather unexpected people today.