Surviving in the Trash Hell Game by Tossing a Coin

Chapter 13 - Erin's Request (4)

I didn't really know what the stack was for, and there was no way to find out.

So I just thought of it as a reward piling up and closed the quest window.

Beyond the closed quest window, Erin and Maletta were staring at me blankly.

It might have been strange for Erin, if not for Maletta.

It was only natural, since I had turned around and muttered to myself while we were about to celebrate.

It was obvious that Erin wouldn't know about the quest window.

As I was scratching my head, wondering if I looked like a crazy person, Erin, who had been watching me, tilted her head and asked me a question.

The question she asked was quite unexpected.

“Did you… have a conversation with that window? What did you talk about?”

“The window?”

“Yes, for me, a window about how to use the skill card appeared earlier….”

She, too, was aware of the quest window, just like Maletta.

She had accurately deduced that I wasn't just muttering into the air, but was talking to that 'window'.

Moreover, she said a window about how to use the skill card had also appeared.

I wondered if just about anyone could get a quest window.

Was I not the only one who was transported here?

Were Erin and Maletta actually transmigrators too?

Of course, that was unlikely.

Maybe people connected to me could perceive the window, or something like that.

This part required some experimentation, but it wasn't an important detail for now.

So I decided to finish celebrating and then move on.

I held out both my hands, one for Maletta and one for Erin.

“Wow~ You two are amazing, aren't you? That was a real surprise attack.”

“No way, it was thanks to you figuring it out, Captain! When you think about it, it was a plan completed by the three of us together.”

Maletta saw my hand, grinned, and high-fived me first.

The cheerful smack echoed throughout the tunnel.

Erin, who had been glancing around, unsure of the meaning of my outstretched hand, saw that and then.

“Y-you went through a lot, and I'm sorry…! I won't back down from now on!”

She squeezed her eyes shut and spoke so resolutely, then likewise smacked my hand in a high-five.

“Yeah, I'm not asking for much, so don't worry.”

I thought it was a relief that she was the type of person who could be changed with just a few words.

In the world, there are far more people who never change their minds than those who do.

But it was a true relief that Erin had changed her mind in a short time and fought.

Perhaps this was also the heads side of the coin.

The sight of myself constantly equating everything to a coin was so funny that I just let out a laugh.

“Alright, let's get going. How long does it take to get to the market?”

“Umm, it usually took about 1 hour and 30 minutes! But we might be a bit faster since there are fewer of us.”

Erin answered my question and was the first to climb over the barricade that blocked the tunnel up to half its height.

Maletta and I also started to walk to follow her.

Suddenly, the miserable corpses of those I had beaten to death caught my eye.

I looked at them, their heads, arms, or legs smashed, not even twitching.

It wasn't that I felt sorry for them.

They were villains who would have been killed by someone else, if not me.

Nor was it that I felt guilty.

I wasn't trying to cling to useless morals.

It was, naturally, because it was the first time I had killed a person.

And also, because it was natural that I would have to kill people like this in the future as well.

I have to return to reality someday.

Even if there were friendly faces here, I had no intention of staying.

Therefore, there was a part of me that was worried the boundary separating reality and this place might become blurred.

“Don't worry about it, Captain. If it weren't for us, they'd still be blocking the road.”

Maletta must have noticed my mood as I slowed my pace for a moment, and she patted my back.

“I don't feel guilty. Just wondering if I'll get used to it.”

Feeling like I had caused her unnecessary worry, I answered with a shrug of my shoulders.

It wasn't a lie, so Maletta didn't offer any more words of comfort.

“Don't worry. I'll make sure you don't.”

She just wrapped her arm around my shoulder and pulled me into a hug.

Then, she grinned and took the lead.

Her fluttering red cloak was, as always, a truly dependable sight from behind.

***

The market of Area 84 appeared only after walking for about an hour past the tunnel.

If it took able-bodied people tens of minutes to walk.

It was clear it would take the elderly and weak of Reblen Village almost twice as long.

When I thought about the days they must have been forced to turn back on that long journey, it was only natural to say they were better off dead.

Furthermore, it was even more so when considering the weight of the things to sell and carry.

Fortunately, we didn't have much trouble, thanks to Maletta carrying all the luggage.

Maletta, who naturally showed no signs of difficulty despite carrying metal goods like swords, daggers, and axes.

Thanks to her, we were able to sell off all the weapons.

But contrary to my expectations, we didn't get much money.

No, it went beyond not getting much money; we got very little.

I knew the quality of the grunts' weapons couldn't be good, but we couldn't even buy the 'cube' type food I first received, only low-quality preserved food.

It was also a shame that after buying food, we were left with only small change.

My plan to use the remaining money for my own expenses ultimately failed to materialize.

I hadn't expected to get so little money.

It was my own form of mercy, the 'I'll spare you since I got a lot of money' type, but it was useless.

Not to mention, I was worried about future consequences.

I think it would have been better not to let them go.

I thought it would be better not to show mercy in the future.

The bustling street of Area 84, which I looked around to return immediately, was not as large as I had thought.

Usually, if there's a market, a busy downtown area forms around it.

But for a place with a market, there was nothing worth seeing.

Of course, it's absurd to expect something like that in a dark fantasy world.

Having checked the market, we set off on our way back immediately after finishing our business.

We cleaned up the bodies appropriately, as there might be future consequences on our way back.

Not just the future consequences, but it's a road others will have to travel on in the future, so wouldn't it be bad for their well-being?

After roughly dumping them in the forest outside the tunnel, we made the quiet journey back to the village.

Perhaps because we left in the morning, the sun hadn't set yet.

It was exactly evening when we returned to the village.

The villagers, led by the Village Chief who was waiting for us at the entrance, bowed their heads repeatedly.

“Oh my, thank you!”

“You are truly benefactors, we're alive thanks to you!”

I hadn't done it hoping for a grand welcome, but such words of gratitude felt good, not bad.

“No, we just did what had to be done.”

“Phew, to think we'd meet someone like you in these trying times. It seems there's still a path for us to live on….”

I didn't lie.

I really did help because of the quest.

But it felt a bit wrong to say more in front of the elderly people who were even shedding tears.

So after giving them the food, I went up to my room, washed up roughly, and lay down on the bed.

Erin had gone to report the progress to the villagers, and Maletta was probably washing up.

Since neither of them was around, there was nothing to do, so I just lay there staring at the ceiling.

Suddenly, an updated alarm came, so I brought up the quest window to check it.

[ Erin's Request ]

You have succeeded in securing food.

However, the real crisis has not yet arrived.

Reward:

?? gains 1 stack.

“The quest isn't over?”

The words escaped my lips on their own.

To be honest, I thought the quest would end after I cleared the tunnel earlier.

But ‘Erin's Request’ was still floating in the quest window.

I solved the food problem and cleared the tunnel, what more am I supposed to do here?

Of course, it's not that I can't guess at all.

Whether it was the guys who were blocking the tunnel or the ones who attacked the village.

It's easy to guess that they would come back for revenge someday.

But I can't stay here forever.

I don't know when or what kind of event will occur, so I can't waste time outside the Shelter.

“Hey, quest window. When does this end?”

Feeling frustrated, I tried speaking to the quest window, but it showed no signs of updating, as if it had no intention of speaking.

“What am I supposed to do?”

How long do I have to be swayed by quests?

Of course, I did feel a slight affection for the person named Erin, but that's that, and this is this.

I'm the kind of person who, if forced to choose between the village and my own life, would choose the latter without hesitation.

You might think that's selfish, and you'd be right.

I have to go back, no matter what it takes.

Isn't it a waste?

To think that the twenty-odd years of my life that I've endured and survived until now would end inside a game.

To die in a foreign land like this after becoming an orphan and surviving so tenaciously.

It feels like I'll go crazy from the wastefulness.

Doesn't it mean I'll end up failing to prove that you can succeed if you just keep trying?

“Sigh, damn it.”

What's more serious is the feeling that things like this will happen countless times in the future.

This won't be the first or the last time a quest is forcibly assigned.

For now, I'm holding on because Maletta is strong, but I don't know how long Maletta will remain strong.

Someday, a quest will surely give me a trial by greatly restricting Maletta's power.

It worked out somehow for now, but I don't know if it will be the same in the future.

However, there was nothing to be gained from thinking negatively.

It would only make me annoyed.

All I could do was believe.

In the path I've walked and in the saying, 'if there's a tails, there's a heads'.

So, after exchanging simple greetings with Erin and Maletta, I went to sleep early.

I skipped dinner.

Thump, thump.

I opened my eyes to the sound of knocking on the door.

The fatigue still weighing on me proved that it wasn't morning.

“Captain.”

As if to prove it wasn't a dream, Maletta's low voice came from beyond the door.

There was no urgency, as if trying not to startle me, but at least the tone of her voice wasn't light.

“Intruders.”

Intruders.

At this point in time, intruders could only be those guys who were thoroughly pissed off from the village raid or the tunnel incident.

For them to show up after only one day had passed, they must have been quite narrow-minded.

“Get ready and come out. I'll go on ahead.”

With those words, Maletta moved away with urgent footsteps.

And as soon as she disappeared with the sound of her footsteps, the quest updated.

[ Erin's Request ]

The objective has been updated.

The group you previously defeated has returned with their leader for revenge.

Protect Reblen Village, and ensure there are no casualties.

Objective:

You must defeat the invading group.

There must be no deaths in Reblen Village.

Special Reward Condition:

After finding out who the leader is, Kang Woon must defeat him personally.

If indirect factors such as defense or vision obstruction are involved, the special reward cannot be obtained.

It seems another crappy special reward condition has appeared this time as well.