Welcome to the True Man’s World – 1.7

The absolute bastard stared at him with hatred in his eyes and a hand to his nose, trying to stem the bleeding. If he could kill him, he would—it was obvious. As if he hadn't brought it on himself. Regardless of his beliefs, he should at least have had the sense to keep his mouth shut. Apparently, even that had been too much for him.

Max thought things might get ugly, that this guy and other idiots would gang up on him, either because they shared his views about elves or because it didn’t matter at all what their relationship with the guy was—they couldn’t let an outsider get away with something like this.

But no. None of the bystanders dared to test their luck against him. They left the town hall without issue. Maybe even the city. Max wasn’t sure he even wanted to save this town from that creature anymore.

“Sorry,” Helen muttered.

“Does this happen often?”

Helen nodded. “I’ve always been told it used to be worse for us, but this is all I’ve ever known, sir.”

“Tell me the truth: if I rent you a room at the inn, lock the door, and leave to... retrieve your mother’s body, will you be safe?”

“I think so, sir. I’m still young, and I’m not fully developed.”

“What? I didn’t mean—” Why had her first thought gone there? Was it her mother, or was the elves’ situation even worse than he thought? “You know, I just meant if anyone might attack you or try to throw you out.”

She looked uncomfortable. It wasn’t a pleasant subject, but it was a necessary one. He wasn’t going to do anything until he was sure.

“Yes, it’s possible. But I can defend myself. As long as they don’t take my staff, these villagers... can’t do much to me.”

“But it’s possible.”

“Please, sir. Go get my mom. I’ll be fine. Really.”

“Don’t call me sir, and stop using formalities, okay? My name is Max.”

He had the feeling he’d have to repeat that—a lot. She was a good kid. Too good. The world could eat her alive for it. Luckily for her, she’d found him. If he ever hurt her, it wouldn’t be on purpose, that was certain.

“Whatever you say, but please go, Max. I know I’m being selfish, but I can’t stand this.”

“Don’t be silly.” Max crouched down and kissed her forehead. She flinched—not out of fear, thankfully, just surprise. “You’re not selfish. You’re a good daughter, that’s all.”

They reached the inn. There were glances, as usual, and undoubtedly whispered comments, but no problems that required violent resolution like back at the town hall.

He grabbed the key and led her to the room. Once inside, he emptied the wardrobe of its sparse contents and dragged it to almost completely block the door.

He placed the key on the bed. “When I leave, lock the door and push the wardrobe all the way. Put back what I removed, and maybe add some more—whatever you can—to weigh it down. Stay calm.” After all his warnings, he had to admit it sounded a bit contrived. Still, there wasn’t much to worry about. Max was just being cautious. “I’ll be back as fast as I can. Nothing will happen to me.”

“Promise?”

“I promise.” He already had, but he didn’t mind repeating it. Max looked away and swallowed as discreetly as possible. God, he was just a kid too. A heavy burden had fallen on him, and he was willing to bear it. That would have to be enough. “See you soon.”

——

It wasn’t difficult at all.

If this world was an RPG, what he’d done was like revisiting an early area after finishing the game, just for fun. Well, the difference wasn’t that staggering, but it was close. The hardest part was finding Helen’s mother’s body, in a mass grave where humans and elves alike had been dumped as if they were trash. Not even a day had passed since his arrival in this world, and he’d already seen too much.

Carrying the woman’s body on his back made things slightly more challenging, but not by much. She was very light.

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Max emerged from the cave again. How much time had passed? A few hours at most. He pushed his hair back and let the rain wash away the blood staining them both. He took a deep breath, filling his lungs with icy air.

In any case, he’d done it. He’d recovered the broken body of a poor woman so her daughter could find some peace—or at least the solace of knowing her mother had received a proper burial.

Somehow, it didn’t feel like a victory.

But it was a victory. He’d done what needed to be done, fulfilled his task. He’d proven what he was capable of and leveled up. Objectively, everything had gone as well as could be expected. He supposed he wasn’t a very objective person.

He covered the body with a dirty cloak and mantle he’d found in the cave to hide its state from prying eyes (but mainly for Helen—her mother’s body was in terrible condition), granting her some semblance of dignity, and brought her back to her daughter. That’s when he learned her name was Ariandel. Now that sounded elvish. A terrible thought crossed his mind, but he dismissed it quickly. If Helen were the result of a rape, she wouldn’t have had a... human name? He grimaced. A name atypical for her culture.

They decided to bury her on the outskirts of town.

Max didn’t even expect the townsfolk to act decently and give her an official ceremony or allow her burial in consecrated ground. Helen didn’t try to change his mind, which said enough. Besides, it seemed elves had their own customs.

Helen prayed—or at least Max assumed she was praying—kneeling beside the covered body, her eyes closed and her hands clasped together at chest level. She looked like a saint illuminated by the faint light filtering through the trees, like a spotlight just for her. She deserved better than this. Both of them did. But it was better than nothing.

Max remained silent and still, except when Helen instructed him to do something, like draw certain symbols in the dirt with the tip of his sword. He did his best to help her say goodbye properly.

Helen showed remarkable resilience until Max had to lower Ariandel into her earthen bed, placed in the coffin he’d bought in the village.

That’s when the girl turned her face away, a solitary tear sliding down her cheek.

That was all, but Max knew she’d cried bitterly while waiting for him. Her eyes had been so red.

He hugged her, thinking she’d have the rest of her life—all her days and nights—to grieve. It was a hole that could never be filled. He was just a kid too, deep down, and despite their age difference, he couldn’t say he had much more life experience. Not when he’d spent his last years rotting in a hospital room, shuffling between the bed and the bathroom, experiencing the same things every day. But some things were common sense.

No mother should outlive her children, but the reverse was just as terrible, no matter how natural it was. This separation had been anything but natural.

After a while, Helen pulled away just enough to look into his eyes.

“Thank you. I’ll never forget this.”

[The elven mage Helen Desrosiers has joined your party.]

[You’ve gained your first companion. +100 XP.]

What an inconvenient time to get a notification. Max tried not to react so he wouldn’t have to make up an excuse; improvisation wasn’t his strong suit.

“You don’t owe me anything. Really. I just did what anyone should do.”

“They should, but they don’t.”

Obviously, he couldn’t command the window to disappear, but after a while, it at least had the decency to move to the side so it didn’t block his view.

“Say what you want—I’ll never forget it. I owe you everything, si—Max.”

It was hard to resist the pure honesty of a young girl. His defenses crumbled in an instant, and he looked away, blushing furiously. Max had always tried to help people whenever he could, to give to the world rather than take, but he wasn’t used to gratitude. Not this kind. People took kindness for granted. He had too, so sure the visits would never stop, despite the passing of time. And like a ghost, he’d had to watch himself die in their eyes, becoming a relic of the past to his loved ones.

“One more thing. Helen, do you want me to take you to the tribe you were heading toward?”

“No.”

“No?”

“I already told you—I’ll never forget this. I want to stay with you. I want to help you with whatever you do and be with you forever. My life is yours.”

A child shouldn’t speak like that. But recognizing the gravity of the moment, Max swallowed his objections and simply nodded.

“What will you... What will we do now?”

Good question.

Max glanced past her shoulder toward the coast. Toward the sea, where the great white serpent slumbered in the depths, waiting for the battle that would shake the waters like a storm.

“Do you know what’s been going on in this town lately?”

“You mean the monster?”

“Yes, that serpent. Killing it will help the villagers indirectly, but I need to defeat it to grow stronger.”

“And help more people like me,” Helen said, breaking into a wide smile.

“Not just for that, but yes. Is that okay with you? After the way they’ve treated you here?”

“It’s fine, but that’s not the point. I already told you—my life is yours. You command, I obey. You don’t have to worry about what I think.”

She didn’t talk like a child her age, but that wasn’t surprising. Her father was dead, and now her mother had been ripped away in one of the worst ways imaginable, if not the worst.

“Helen... Alright. Then let’s get ready. We’ve got a big bastard to hunt.”

Helen raised an eyebrow, as if to ask whether he was really going to worry about swearing after everything that had happened today.

“Well, when I say we, I mean me, of course.”

“I can help you.”

“I’m sure you can, but I don’t want you putting yourself in danger.”

“From the shore. I promise. Let me at least do that.”

He was doomed. At this rate, he’d never be able to refuse her anything. Of course, if it ever became truly dangerous, he’d put his foot down for her sake. But if she could genuinely help from a safe distance, there shouldn’t be a problem.

He needed all the help he could get.

Killing some orcs, big or small, was one thing.

Taking down a giant sea monster was something else entirely.