Chapter 15: CH. 15 | Adventurer Night Life

What Thalia said might well be true, but Theo still couldn’t shake the feeling that he had killed someone.

Thalia bent down to gather her clothes scattered on the ground, half torn but still wearable.

Once she was fully dressed again, Thalia walked over to Theo. She tried to help him see that what he’d done was actually a commendable act, even though in reality he had killed Denis.

"If you hadn’t killed him, he would’ve tormented you for the rest of your life, and gone on hurting other women adventurers too," Thalia said, "With him dead, he won’t be able to bother anyone ever again. In a way, you’ve just freed other women out there in the future."

He started turning that over in his mind, then nodded in agreement.

Thalia had a point, even though he’d killed the man, the act was justified given what Denis had done.

Theo began to steady himself, listening and taking in what Thalia had said. He walked forward toward Denis’s body, pulling the sword out from his chest and wiping it clean with a cloth.

Thalia, meanwhile, snatched up Denis’s inventory bag and tucked it away. Theo watched her do it and just gave a small smile.

"Call it compensation for nearly getting raped," Thalia said firmly.

"Whatever works," Theo answered.

While the two of them were still inside the cave, they were startled by a loud roar coming from outside. Theo spun around, worried the sound might be some kind of wild animal or a dangerous monster.

Sticking around inside the cave any longer wasn’t going to end well. So Theo immediately told Thalia they needed to run, and she obeyed without hesitation.

Thalia followed close behind Theo as they sprinted out. They left the cave and soon saw the edge of Yala Forest come into view ahead of them.

Eventually, they made it out of the woods. Theo turned and noticed Thalia was gasping for breath, completely exhausted.

"Where do we go now?" Thalia asked.

"The city guild," Theo answered. "That’s the safest place for you."

"Okay."

They picked up the pace again, leaving the area in front of Yala Forest behind, walking together along the dirt road that connected Faxy Village to Aluric City.

He looked up at the sky and saw a crescent moon hanging right above them. If Theo’s guess was right, it had to be past nine at night by now.

Lucky for them! Even though nighttime was supposedly when monsters roamed wild and their strength surged, not a single monster attacked them along the dirt road outside Aluric City.

"Looking back on it, the way we first met was pretty unusual," Thalia said. "I was allocating my attribute points, and you just fell out of a tree."

"True. That actually hurt a fair amount, and it scared the hell out of me too. I thought Denis was going to slice my head off right then and there," Theo replied.

"About that jerk, I really let myself get swept up by him. He acted so gentle, so attentive, so caring. He even spent his own money just to buy me good equipment."

"I got so wrapped up in how he treated me, I never realized every bit of it was just a means to get what he wanted from my body," Thalia said quietly.

"I was such an idiot. I need to be more careful next time," Thalia added.

Theo listened to her let it all out, but since she was clearly still hurting, the best thing he figured he could do was just listen.

He’d only respond if Thalia actually asked him something.

The city gate came into view in the distance. They walked into the city and saw the streets, once bustling with people earlier, now gradually thinning out.

Anyone still out and about at that hour was mostly adventurers, fresh from the guild, and more often than not, drunk.

Theo eyed them and realized these drunken adventurers could turn into a real threat for the two of them if they weren’t careful. He reflexively grabbed Thalia’s hand and pulled her along at a quicker pace.

"Let’s hurry!"

They sped up until they finally reached the front of the city guild. Theo pushed the door open and found the guild buzzing with drunk adventurers filling the tavern.

So this is what adventurer life looks like at night?

"Theo?!" Sara said, startled.

Theo turned and saw Sara standing behind the desk, stepping out of her office. She hurried away from the reception desk and rushed over to him.

Her eyes immediately locked onto Thalia, whose appearance was a mess, her clothes nearly torn apart, her head hanging low.

Lucky for her, the black cloak Sara had given Theo, Theo had passed along to Thalia to help hide the state of her clothes.

"Thank goodness you made it back safely," Sara said.

"I heard you were the one who sent Theo to save me. Is that true?" Thalia asked. Sara nodded.

Thalia smiled, then bowed her head to thank Sara for looking out for her. Theo watched the two of them, finding the whole scene rather touching.

"I hope you haven’t forgotten your end of the deal," Theo said, crossing his arms.

"Of course not," Sara said. "Hold on a second."

"What deal?" Thalia asked. Theo glanced at her and chose not to answer.

Not long after, Sara came back carrying a sheet with an E-Rank mission, one well suited for Theo.

He took it and read it over, the job was simple enough, collecting herb in Sarka Forest starting tomorrow.

Theo tucked the mission sheet into his inventory bag. Sara explained that even though he already had the mission in hand, he still needed to register both himself and the mission through the city guild.

"Got it," Theo answered. "I’ll come by tomorrow morning. Tonight, I’m completely wiped out."

"What about Denis?" Sara asked.

Theo stopped in his tracks, then turned back and held Sara’s gaze for a long moment. Without saying a word, he watched realization hit her, and Sara’s face fell into shock.

He walked out of the guild, leaving behind the noisy stretch claimed by the drunks.

His steps finally stopped outside his own apartment. He went straight in and collapsed fully onto the sofa, then dragged himself over to the fridge to grab a cola.

What a genuinely exhausting day... I even killed a man tonight.

Denis was the son of a city noble, and it wouldn’t be long before people started searching for him.

What am I supposed to do now?

KNOCK!

Theo jumped at the sound of knocking coming from outside his door. Curious, he walked over and peered through the small peephole.

"Thalia?!"

He opened the door right away and found Thalia standing outside his apartment. Seeing her there, completely unexpected, caught Theo off guard.

"I was... and then I... never mind!"

Thalia took off the black cloak she’d been wearing and handed it back to Theo. He accepted it, even though he knew full well the cloak actually belonged to Sara.

"I wanted to return this," Thalia said.

Theo nodded, thanking her as he took the cloak. Even after returning it, Thalia still lingered in the doorway, which struck Theo as a little suspicious.

"Anything else?"

"Do you live alone in a nice apartment like this?" Thalia asked.

"Yeah, more or less, why do you ask?"

Thalia smiled and shook her head, "No reason. Sorry for bothering you. Good night, Theo."

Theo turned and said his goodnight back, then closed the door and locked it. He hung the cloak on the wall and sat back down on the sofa, finally getting to relax after such an exhausting day.

Thalia... she really is a strange girl.