Chapter 56

Let’s be an Adventurer! ~Defeating Dungeons with a Skill Board~ 56

A Day in a Certain Heroine’s Life

She started talking to herself.

“(I’m a little anxious)”

“(I feel a bit lonely when I’m in this room by myself)”

Somewhere in Hokkaido.

She was in a room on the second floor of a house surrounded by a rural landscape.

【Rhea (0)】　Occupation: Adventurer (Self-proclaimed)

She was basking in the sunlight that had just begun to show through the window.

~What are you doing right now?~

“(Eating)”

She spoke with very few words.

She was more enthusiastic about catching the first sweet rays of morning sunlight.

After entrusting her body to the sunlight for a while, she took some water from a nearby bucket and gently poured it over her soil.

By doing this, she would prevent the soil in her planter from drying up.

After watering herself, she once again focused on the sunlight.

The sun’s gaze was very earnest.

Roughly one hour after sunrise, a certain man came into the room.

His face was covered with a mask, and his head had feathers on it.

The rest of his body was kind of hard to see well.

His presence, aside from his mask and his feathers, was rather faint.

“Good morning, Rhea.”

At first glance, one could very well mistake this man for a monster or a demon.

But he was her partner.

The man put her in his bag.

That bag, which hung from the man’s back, was where she did her work.

She placed her hand on the man, like a driver would on a driver’s seat of a car.

Her face was full of motivation for whatever work she had to do moving forward.

As they left the house, they met with a woman.

That woman was one of the man’s “teammates”.

Rhea began to threaten that woman.

She did that in order to clearly establish the difference in their positions.

“Huh? What’s wrong?”

The masked man quickly noticed that and turned to her.

So she quickly lightened the mood.

She would do her first threat of the morning without having the man notice.

That was how high her level of professionalism was.

She was going to some place called “Dungeon”.

It was a dangerous place everybody knew about.

This “Dungeon” was a place where one could very well lose their life.

People who set foot there are called “Adventurers”.

~Why do you do such a dangerous job?~

“(If I let him go by himself, he might get careless and end up dying.)”

“(I’m like his guardian.)”

Whenever a monster appeared, the man would attack it.

She had to support this man so that he would never get injured.

Her job was to eliminate all dangers that would approach that man.

She would stave off any offensive headed towards him by firing her bullets in quick succession.

The man then would have free rein to move around as he pleased.

As the man moved, she would quickly assess the situation while sitting inside his bag, and shoot her bullets with extreme accuracy.

She was devoted to never have to let the masked man move a single finger.

Her attacks were unmatched.

She was a professional at her job.

Today, the masked man was able to return from the dungeon unharmed.

However, she didn’t seem pleased about it.

She had the strict look of a professional on her face.

This was a critical moment for her after having returned from the dungeon.

She had to return home with him safely, without any incidents happening.

–She could not let that woman get close to the masked man.

To eliminate all dangers approaching that man was her job.

Not a single fly could get close.

Her leaves gradually turned into sharp thorns.

“Have you had dinner already, Karen?”

“Ah, yes!”

“Wait, Air!”

The voice of a generic merchant woman roared from a distance.

Out of all of these women, Rhea considered this one to be a ‘stupid child’.

“Air, could I borrow her for a second?”

The stupid child pointed at the woman.

“What’s wrong?”

“I made a mistake when I was taking measurements.”

“Measurements?”

“Yeah. The area around the chest ended up being too big, you know?”

“Ugh–”

The woman reacted with a painful expression, as if the stupid child’s words had punched through her heart.

“I just have to make sure it fits you perfectly.”

“I see. Karen, do you think you could spare a moment for that?”

“Ah… Yeah, sure.”

“Okay then, let’s go.”

The stupid child took the woman away.

After seeing that, Rhea grasped her leaves tightly.

The thorny mood had been softened.

Being at that level of peace and quiet, her job was done for the day.

For the first time that day, a smile floated about on Rhea’s face.

After she went back home, she entrusted her body to the last few rays of sunlight left for the day, until the sun had completely sunk down under the horizon.

Even though her work was over for the day, she still continued to fight a lonely battle.

Managing one’s physical condition was essential for adventurers.

She would go to sleep as soon as the sun had gone down completely.

“(…)”

Still, she couldn’t sleep right away.

“(I’m a little anxious.)”

“(I feel a bit lonely when I’m in this room by myself.)”

A breathing sound echoed through the dark, lonely room.

It sounded almost like a sigh.

“Are you still awake, Rhea?”

“(…!)”

Light came in dashing into the dark room.

The masked man approached her and extended his hand towards her.

She always allowed this man to touch her.

She would sometimes pet the back of the man’s hand as if remembering something.

But the man would gladly accept her touch.

Occasionally, the man would come visit her in her room just like this.

It was only on those nights that she would be able to sleep soundly and peacefully.

This was the final question for her:

~Do you think this life is difficult?~

“(I do. I kind of want it to stop.)”

“(But…)”

“(There’s no world where everyone is always happy and everything goes smoothly all the time.)”

“(Happiness is something that appears always for a brief moment.)”

“(To experience those very moments…)”

“(That’s what’s worth living for.)”