We had returned to Hudelen. As someone from modern times, this place wasn't exactly what I'd call a civilization either, but it was at least a step away from the barbarism where guilt by association was still alive and well.

"Prepare water."

"Yes."

Anyway, the very first thing to do upon returning to town was definitely this.

"Are all knights like that? You wipe yourselves down so often when you're just going to sweat again anyway. Berserker decided not to wipe because it's annoying."

"... Wouldn't it be a problem if you smell too much?"

"Ah, a young hunter has no choice but to wash often. However, the things Berserker hunts do not have noses good enough to smell me and run away. It's fine."

'No, please just wash. I'm the one who suffers more since we travel together.'

I mentally slapped my forehead as I watched the Berserker, who was sitting blankly in the dining hall despite being covered in dirt, sweat, and all sorts of grime.

The Inquisitor tended to keep her body clean, being from the Temple, and the Archmage also washed quite often. DeB, perhaps because he specialized in stealth attacks, frequently bathed to erase his scent as well.

But the Berserker. The Berserker...

"Bring up water for that one too."

"Eh."

"Your vulgar language provides more than enough filth."

'I haven't seen her wash since she joined us!'

Unable to stand it any longer, I ordered bathwater for the Berserker as well. Bathwater was expensive, but this was a Temple anyway. They wouldn't charge me.

So was there any reason to hesitate? Just as DeB was forced to brush his teeth following my lead, I was absolutely going to make the Berserker wash up in town too.

"I'm just going to get dirty again anyway..."

"Since you'll just get hungry again anyway, I expect you won't be stuffing your face with food either."

'Wash, I said wash. If you're a human being, please wash!'

"Berserker doesn't want to. You won't even fight me..."

"Then, did you think I would cross swords with you while enduring your filth?"

'I'm not accepting your challenge until you wash. Go.'

"... Then will you accept it after I wash?!"

Fortunately, the Berserker had at least that much tact.

I simply closed my eyes without answering.

"Berserker will wash!"

"The water probably isn't ready yet."

"Hmm, are you going to wash? Then how about sharing a bathroom with me? I was just about to wash up as well, so I requested a bathroom in advance..."

"Great!"

"You've got quite the stomach, goody-two-shoes. I don't think I could wash if I had to share a bathroom with a muscle-brain like that."

"Is there any need for a strong stomach?"

I was already worried because it seemed like she wouldn't even know how to wash—though I had no intention of stepping in since she was of the opposite sex—but thankfully, the Kimchi Dumpling volunteered to take charge.

"Then I shall join you as well, Inquisitor. Akata needs to wash too, as it happens."

【...? Why is my name...?】

"Ah. 【It's nothing much. We were just talking about washing up. Will you join us?】"

Let alone with the Archmage joining in. With that, we could avoid a situation where she remained dirty even after washing. I completely relaxed.

"The water is read— Excuse me?"

"I'm going!"

"Ah, please send the water prepared for that person to my bathroom, Sister. And Berserker, not that way! It's the opposite direction!"

"I see!"

Even the timing was good; the water for that bathroom had just been prepared.

I avoided the illusion of a golden retriever and its swept-up owner sprinting wildly, and waited for my own water to be prepared.

"Sir Knight, everything is ready."

It didn't take very long.

I took the time to indulge in the luxury of soaking my body alone in a bathtub full of hot water.

While warming my body, I trimmed my gradually growing hair and hand-washed my clothes. I knew there was an auto-clean feature, but I still felt a bit iffy about it.

Right after, I scrubbed my dead skin vigorously to avoid being told I smelled. The trauma left by Kankan was just that deep.

Well, at least I wasn't having any useless thoughts thanks to that.

After tightly wrapping my warmed body in my clothes, I buried my face in a soft towel. It always felt nice for no reason when something soft touched my skin.

"Good thing I didn't add the beard setting."

On a separate note, rubbing my face against the towel briefly brought up that stray thought.

Since my hair kept growing and I had to trim it every day, it would have undoubtedly been a hellish annoyance if I had a beard as well.

No need to look far; reality was exactly like that. I recalled the days when I used to shave about once a day.

My facial hair tended to grow fast, making my chin scratchy in just a day, so I had to shave every single morning. It was so annoying I could have died.

"It'd be nice if that guy DeB took my beard."

Thinking of beards naturally reminded me of DeB. While someone else could get stubbly in a single day, his so-called attempt at growing a beard had resulted in that pathetic state.

Of course, he himself was currently extremely annoyed by it. Complaining about why it wasn't growing. Whining about why his constitution was like this.

To me, it just seemed like he was still too young, but regardless, it sounded like a luxury complaint. If he knew how hard it was to manage a beard, he wouldn't be saying that.

Anyway, it's a relief that the character I'm using now has a body where a beard doesn't grow—or simply doesn't exist.

I stroked my chin, which was as smooth as a child's, and headed out to the dining hall. Since we gathered there every day, it was a half-unconscious action.

"Hiii! I thought you'd come out quickly, but you're surprisingly late!"

However, upon arriving at the dining hall, I saw White Wind—who had definitively split off at the town entrance and gone to the Magic Tower—waving her hand in a clean outfit.

"What is it."

'Do we still have business left? Didn't we agree to talk about the magical snake once the results were out?'

'Don't tell me it's already done?'

"I came to talk about your compensation! Things like this need to be settled quickly so hard feelings don't build up, you know?"

'Ah. The compensation.'

'I completely forgot about it.'

"So about that, first of all, on top of what we originally promised, an additional amount..."

I stood in front of the door and listened to Fierce White Wind's voice.

From a distance, I could hear the Inquisitor, the Archmage, the Berserker, and Akata chatting amiably. It seemed they were gathering in the dining hall after finishing their baths.

We hadn't exactly made any plans, so their footsteps were ultimately unconscious as well.

"I will take something else."

"Huh?"

I caught a subtle feeling from those unconscious footsteps as well. There was a time when I prioritized my concept over parties or whatever, but I wondered if I had gotten tamed like this before I knew it.

"First, the heart guard. I want a new one."

"That's not difficult... Did it break by any chance? If it's broken, I can fix it for you as much as you want."

"It disappeared."

"... It disappeared? Weren't you always wearing it on your chest?"

Anyway, I couldn't just keep standing here. I picked a random chair and sat down.

Acting slightly offended that I had to state my weakness myself was a bonus.

"... It disappeared when I sustained an injury."

'I would rather die than say this, but the person who took it might get caught up in it, so I have to tell her.'

I contorted my expression and spat out the words as if chewing them. White Wind's expression turned peculiar.

"That's... a bit strange. Did the person treating you take it? Well, if it disappeared, it can't be helped. Got it! I'll make you a new one! You lost it over there in the Great Forest, right?"

"Right."

"Then I'll track it down while I'm at it, I guess. I don't really want innocent victims falling prey to my invention."

'Oh, that's good news.'

I gratefully accepted the bonus White Wind threw in and stated my second condition. This was practically the final condition.

"Second is that child. I will take that child's future as compensation."

White Wind's eyes became tinged with an enigmatic color.

"... Is there really a need for you to care about that much? That child has only caused you trouble, if anything; she couldn't have done anything for you."

"There is also no need for me to tell you the reason."

"... Well, that's true. Fine. Then will having our Magic Tower look out for her until she becomes an adult and lives her own life suffice as payment?"

"... I will add one more thing. Make sure the child doesn't know."

"Haha. Afraid the kid will feel bad? How very considerate."

White Wind quickly wrote words down on a newly pulled-out piece of paper.

An adequate, well-equipped care facility. Weekly checks to ensure the child has no issues while residing there. Weekly allowance provided. Additional support funds around the time the child becomes independent. All support must be kept secret from the child.

"Will this do?"

"... Confirmed."

It was incredibly sloppy, but this was enough. Worrying about the variables that might pop up while fulfilling the contract went against my concept, and even my actual self would struggle quite a bit due to intelligence issues.

Furthermore, the voices outside had gotten too close. I needed to wrap up the contract soon.

Thus, I trusted White Wind's conscience and signed. I had at least confirmed there were no toxic clauses, so it shouldn't be a big problem.

After all, even if the Magic Tower didn't fulfill it, I'd be the only one losing out; it wasn't like it would pose a threat to the kid anyway.

"Sometimes I get curious about your kindness. No one will even acknowledge it, so why go out of your way to do so?"

But White Wind asked me. The voices in the hallway were practically right in front of us.

"Does it stem from your trauma, which I will not ask about?"

And right when the voices reached the door, I closed my eyelids.

'They'll hear it outside if I speak now... but I guess it doesn't matter. Since I already gave the Archmage some nonsense about killing my blood relatives with my own hands, I might as well lay more groundwork on that subject.'

"The dead have no need for gold."

I deliberately spoke in an ambiguous tone.

In fact, it wasn't wrong either. According to my backstory, my family members were already all dead, so there was no reason to gather money for their sake anyway, right?

Moreover, the concept itself didn't plan for the future, so there was no reason to save up.

And as for me? Aside from keeping up appearances, I was honestly in a position where I didn't need money.

After all, where would you even need money in a single-player game instead of an online one? At most, it was just when changing gear or restocking consumables, and I could easily earn that much on my own.

Thinking of my still-plentiful wallet, I casually leaned back in my chair.

"Haha. Right."

In contrast to me leaning back comfortably in my chair, White Wind stood up completely from her seat. CLICK. When White Wind walked over and opened the dining hall door, there were people standing blankly outside.

"Enjoy your lunch, everyone!"

'Ah, come to think of it, was it lunch time? Then again, we did enter Hudelen right before the sun rose to the middle of the sky.'

'Including the travel time to the Temple and the time it took to shower, it must be a bit of a late lunch hour.'

"... You're here early."

The slightly damp Archmage broke the ice with a fake cough. Then the Berserker rushed in, shouting that she was hungry.

"Have you had your meal?"

The words spoken by the Inquisitor, who was rolling her eyes around shiftily, were precisely that.

I glared at her as if to say, 'Do you think I have?', and then closed my eyes again. Akata hesitated about where to sit before taking the seat one over from me.

Her lips kept parting and closing, as if she wanted to say something but couldn't bring herself to do so. It was a sight I had constantly seen on the way here.

"Demon Knight, you promised! A spar after we eat!"

Meanwhile, the Berserker, who had come running with her hair not even fully dried, slammed the table.

Somehow, it seemed like the Archmage and the Inquisitor were screaming next to her, but not caring in the slightest was just like her.

"You're as vulgar as ever."

'But looking at her, I feel like I'm growing fond of that in a way, too?'

'Plus, lately I've been having a lot of useless thoughts, and the incident we just went through was slightly intertwined with politics... so incredibly filthy in nature, perhaps that's why.'

'Seeing the simple and boisterous Berserker actually put my mind at ease. It was sort of a 'looking back, she was practically an angel' kind of feeling.'

'Well, compared to bastards who threaten people by taking children as hostages, who wouldn't be an angel?'

"What, are you refusing?!"

I barely held back my laughter at the Berserker collapsing onto the table while asking if I had lied.

"Demon Knight is a liar."

"Berserker, strictly speaking, the Demon Knight never promised to spar with you after eat—."

"I can no longer listen to your whining."

Instead, I opened my mouth to hide my laughter. As if noticing something in my words, the Berserker raised her head, her golden eyes shining.

"I will deal with you."

"... Yeah, that's more like it!"

'Alright. Let's have a go.'

'We're on a break anyway, and there's not much to do. Rather than being cooped up in the corner of my room lost in pointless thoughts, I might as well spar until my body aches.'

"Ahaha!"

When I finally accepted the spar, the Berserker burst into loud laughter and rejoiced. It was a naive and bright smile, perfectly contagious.

"... Do you realize how long it's been since you were stabbed in the heart when you say that?"

Of course, the Archmage watching from the side grabbed her forehead with a face that looked about ten years older.

'Then again, even if I was healed with magic, it probably does seem a bit crazy to say I'm going to spar only a few days after surviving a near-death crisis. No, it is definitely a crazy thing to do.'

"...! Don't tell me you're going to cancel!"

"Do you think I would yield to such a thing? Do not insult me."

'But I'm going to do it, that crazy thing.'

I shamelessly stepped up to play the former in the situation of 'a typical protagonist who neglects his body and a companion who grabs the back of their neck in frustration watching such a protagonist'.

'Shout all you want; see if my concept listens!'

"Yeah, that's more like it!"

I clapped along with the Berserker. It felt like I could hear the sound of the Archmage's blood pressure rising thumping as BGM.

'Ahaha, this is fun. The Berserker might be a surprisingly compatible companion after all.'

"... Then do you also know that you have to undergo a physical examination tomorrow?"

'However, this attack is a bit unexpected.'

'Hmm. But it doesn't really matter, does it?'

'I didn't feel any aftereffects of the poison from the start, and the heart injury was external trauma, not a disease. Isn't it completely cured since it healed without even a scar?'

'Plus, considering the moment I wrecked havoc in the Bigabol tribe and how perfectly fine I was the entire way here, it doesn't seem like there's anything wrong with my body.'

'Furthermore, if she's worried about the hypothesis that my seal shatters from drawing in mana every time I get hurt, then this spar is actually almost essential.'

'There's no way I won't get hurt throwing down with the Berserker, and when I do get hurt, we can actually use it to test the hypothesis.'

"So what."

There was no way the Archmage wouldn't know what I was thinking. At my cold gaze, the Archmage let out a sigh.

"Then, at least postpone it to tomorrow."

We had only exchanged a single word, but she seemed to have given up on stopping us. The Berserker sent an OK sign mixed half with regret and half with joy.

"If we're doing it a day later, let's do it properly! Even using mana!"

"No, that's..."

"You hasten your own defeat."

'Oh, I'd love it if mana use is allowed. I was already worried because my physical abilities fall a bit short when fighting barehanded anyway.'

Whether the Archmage grabbed her face and wanted to cry or not, the Berserker and I laughed boisterously—naturally, I only did so internally—and set the conditions for tomorrow's spar.

It was called a spar, but other than not killing the opponent, it was practically no different from actual combat.

"A-Are you okay?"

"You really... even so, there's a limit..."

"What, am I the latest one?"

Right then, DeB just entered the dining hall. Perhaps having washed all his clothes while he was at it, he was in light attire. His hair wasn't dried properly and was clumped together in places.

"... Uh, is there a problem?"

Had the conversation paused briefly because of him?

The air, which had grown slightly heated due to the Berserker and me leaking our fighting spirit without caring about our surroundings, the Archmage doing her utmost to stop us, and the Kimchi Dumpling and Akata fidgeting helplessly caught in the middle, calmed down once again.

An atmosphere where nothing more could be said was a bonus.

"... You're not late, so hurry up and sit. It'll be a while before the meal arrives, so have some tea at least."

'Haha. The Archmage's declaration of defeat.'

Watching her eventually change the subject, I received and drank the tea she had been brewing since earlier.

"...!"

'It was that tea I had enjoyed in the Great Forest.'

"The fragrance is nice."

"Sniff sniff. What is this?"

"It's tea."

"Ew. Berserker likes alcohol better than tea."

"Ah, hot-hot-hot-hot."

"... I ordered alcohol too, so don't worry. And you should probably let it cool down a bit more before drinking."