O Month X Day

I had a rather disturbing encounter today. I met a soul that had been tortured to the point of nearly breaking apart. Let alone communicate, it couldn't even remember its own identity, and the only emotion I could feel from it was relief. It took some time for me to piece together its fragmented memories, but eventually I learned that this person had been tricked and captured by a devil.

Devils. Rather than simply kill humans like monsters, these vile pieces of trash feed off negative emotions, and are fond of tormenting people relentlessly for no reason other than their own amusement. I think that compared to the widespread killings of the demon army, the actions of these devils are far more despicable, for their victims often aren't even allowed to die, instead forced to suffer until their very souls are broken beyond repair.

I hate them. With my entire being, I hate them.

After introductions were finished, we set off towards our destination in the four-passenger carriage Filman had driven up in. Filman, turning out to be a bit of a chatterbox, tried to strike up conversations with us to pass the time.

"– and rather than the crispiness, I'd say my favorite thing about cabbages are their juiciness. Once you bite in, the delicious juice just flows out everywhere, you know?"

"I couldn't agree more! I've been served many vegetables in my life, but none can compare to that burst of flavor."

Unfortunately, the only one actively responding to him was the young blond man who had been educated in diplomacy.

The woman who called herself Pax seemed intent on using her vocal cords as little as possible, and sat with her eyes closed. Whenever Filman spoke to her directly, she just responded with a grunt. To be honest, I was impressed at how proficient she was in conveying various different meanings with a single noise. Doesn't change the fact that it's still rude, of course. I get that she's going for the "strong and silent" shtick, but that doesn't mean she has to be so impolite about it.

Maxwell, meanwhile, simply stared out the window, seeming to be in a trance. When addressed he responded with a short sentence or two, then immediately returned to his gazing as if the conversation never happened, and all the while with his face remaining expressionless. That face wasn't the only strange thing about him, however. When we met earlier while waiting for the carriage, he was wearing a suit, without any equipment or luggage. I had assumed at the time that his stuff was nearby and that he was going to change into his adventuring wear before we set out, so I had dismissed it. Now, though, he was still wearing that same outfit, and had not produced any bags or backpacks. He hadn't brought any weapons either. He declined to tell us his job earlier, but at this point I'm thinking it has to be either a mage-type or unarmed combat-type job. Still though, even those normally have some equipment, so he's either very confident or very stupid. I'm hoping for the former.

As for me… I was feeling a bit shy due to the awkward atmosphere. Sirius and Filman seemed to be getting along well, but I couldn't figure out how to join in their conversation properly.

Thinking back, aside from Sirius, I've never really had any proper conversations with people since I came here, have I? I mean, sure, I've talked to some people at the Adventurer's Guild, but that was always for business or information gathering. I don't think purchasing food or supplies or renting a room count as real conversations either. And I'm pretty sure the only reason I can talk so easily with Sirius is because, well, he's an easy person to talk to.

… even back in heaven, the only people I really talked to were Aqua-senpai and the souls I met. And both of those were almost always one-sided conversations, with me listening most of the time.

And when I wasn't interacting with either of them, I was alone, watching over the world or writing in my diary.

…

… am I the damn Goddess of Introversion?

I smacked myself on the cheeks.

I can do better than this! I'm Chris the Thief right now, and thieves are supposed to be suave and charming, right? It can't be that hard. Okay, next time Filman asks me a question, just respond coolly without missing a beat.

"So what do you think, Chris? You're part of the Eris Church, aren't you? You think there's any truth to it?"

I gave a small smirk.

"Of course. It's obvious, isn't it?"

I think that was pretty good.

… wait, what were they talking about?

"Huh. I was skeptical since it was a rumor from the Axis Church, but if you think so too, maybe Eris-sama really does pad her chest."

Just kill me.

"I'm surprised, Chris; I had always taken you for a devout believer, but to think you'd slander Eris-sama like that…"

Sirius was sarcastically shaking his head. He must've seen that I wasn't paying attention; I could tell he was barely able to hold in his laughter. Dammit, so this is what I get for trying to act cool, huh?

"Pft."

As I was burying my red face in my hands, I could've sworn I heard a muffled snort from the opposite corner of the carriage, but when I looked up Pax was still sitting with her eyes closed. I think her mouth is twitching a bit, though. Despite my embarrassment, I felt a small bit of pride at being the first to get through her shell.

Now I just need to work on being the "cool thief" instead of the "fool thief."

… I should probably start by not thinking of sentences like those ever again.

The first incident happened when we were stopped for the night. We took shifts keeping watch in pairs, so we'd have someone watching our backs. As for the pairings:

"I have the Enemy Detection skill."

"Alarm spell."

Since Pax and I both had detection abilities, we took different shifts. Between the other two, I paired up with Sirius because I'm the only one present who can keep him under control. Definitely not at all because Maxwell unnerves me a bit.

"So, have you ever traveled this far before, Chris?"

"Not really. I've seen and heard about many places, but this is my first time going on a journey myself. What about you?"

"I've been around quite a bit, between noble business and my mother's obsession with relics. I haven't been to the cabbage fields before, though. A week's journey by carriage doesn't really fit into the schedule unless something major is going on there. Which of course hasn't happened before now."

The first hour or so was uneventful, so we passed the time by chatting. Around an hour in, though, my Enemy Detection skill was set off.

"Something's coming. Go wake everyone else up."

"On it."

I peered into the darkness, trying to make out the source of the hostile intent I felt. Honestly, why doesn't the Thief job have a skill for seeing in the dark? Did the god who designed the job system in this world expect them to explore well-lit dungeons or infiltrate strongholds in broad daylight? I should have a talk with him sometime.

My skill was picking up about three dozen of them. As the figures got close enough to make out, it quickly became clear what they were. Their shambling gait was a dead giveaway.

Zombies.

Anger immediately started welling up within me. Undead are the greatest abominations in this world. The poor souls are trapped in a decaying body and drowned in malice, unable to ascend to heaven. And I could do nothing but watch helplessly from heaven, hoping that someday they would be set free.

I gripped my daggers tightly. It's different now. I can end this atrocity with my own hands. I dashed towards the nearest one and severed its head before it could react, then took apart its body for good measure. With the body destroyed, the soul was released, and departed from this world.

We'll meet again soon. Well, sooner for you than for me.

"HEY! What the heck are you doing, man? You're supposed to be keeping me from rushing in wildly, you hypocrite!"

Sirius berated me as he rushed past, greatsword cocked for his signature upswing. Over on the left, Pax cast some sort of debuff on the zombies that held them in place as she tore into them with her sword, each swing causing the targets to ignite as they were slashed. Watching the Spellsword in action was quite awe-inspiring. Rather than just attacking enemies with magic and swordsmanship alternately, she weaved them together into a single unstoppable assault.

"So that's the power of a real rare job user."

"Hey, are you implying I'm some sort of fake rare job user?! Don't look down on the Berserker job!"

Sirius lodged a complaint as he reached his first target and neatly bisected it. Those'll probably be the last words I hear from him until this battle's over.

On the other side, Maxwell was repelling them with his bare hands. So, he is a martial artist after all.

Focusing back on the foes in front of me, I weaved through the enemies, making sure to stay clear of Sirius's danger zone as I sliced up any zombies I could reach.

The battle was over relatively quickly; the zombies weren't particularly threatening aside from their numbers. And with that, three dozen souls have been freed from a horrible fate.

"Slipped up."

We didn't get off completely scot-free, though. Pax had a rather nasty-looking gash on her arm from when a zombie that should've been paralyzed cut her with a rusty sword. Filman helped her disinfect it with a poultice he made.

"I'm the representative of the Agricultural Guild, you know! Of course I know how to use medicinal herbs!"

"Thanks."

By then, my watch shift was long over, so Sirius and I turned in for the night.

As usual, I didn't have any dreams, but for some reason I had a constant uneasy feeling. Like something was stirring up my brain.

"I said I'm sorry, so can you please forgive me already? I promise not to let anything like that happen again. I swear it on my family name!"

"No forgiveness. Lost trust. Danger to others. You should stop being an adventurer."

Pax was so mad she spoke a sentence with six whole words.

Not that I don't understand why. After all, during the zombie attack last night, Pax had gotten too close to Sirius, and he attacked her, leaving a nasty gash on her arm. Filman fixed her up with some healing poultice, but the mood in the party had noticeably dropped. Even Filman wasn't his usual chatty self.

When we stopped for lunch, Sirius was hardly eating. I couldn't stand to see this, so I pulled him away for a quick pep talk.

"You doing okay, buddy?"

"… yeah."

He gave me a strained smile. Weird. I admit I haven't known him for too long, but I'd talked with him enough to know that he's usually very upfront about his feelings.

"Is this incident really getting you down that much? It's not the first time, right?"

"… I don't know."

I sighed.

"Come on, talk to me about it."

The fake smile vanished.

"… what Pax said, about how I should quit being an adventurer… it's something I've heard many times before. After meeting you, I thought, 'maybe I don't have to give up,' but even now I'm still hurting people. Maybe I'm hopeless. Maybe I'm wasting my time, and I'll never do anything but hurt peo–"

Slap.

"Cut the crap. I told you I needed you, didn't I? That hasn't changed. We're not going to let a mistake like this stop us. You're a good man, Sirius, and you're stronger than this. I know you are."

Dear heaven this is cheesy. If it weren't for the serious mood I'd be dying of embarrassment from those lines.

"… thanks. I needed that."

Well, cheesy works on him, so mission accomplished I guess? I've never seen him this bad before, though. He gave me a smile, this time a genuine one. He bounced back in good form, didn't he. Maybe I'm just over-worrying.

When we headed back to the rest of the party, I rubbed my eyes and did a double take.

Maxwell's face was expressionless as always. Weird. For a second I could've sworn I saw him smiling.

Author's Note: I've been enjoying writing this story so far, but I'll have to take a break for the next couple weeks as school is starting up again. I'll be back eventually, though. Thank you for reading!