Chapter 4

As I watched Asteria and Lily be led along by the gate guard, I realized I forgot to ask his name. Well, it didn’t matter that much, I’ll just ask him when he gets back. Until then I had to do something about this awkward atmosphere.

“So, uh, nice to meet you, Jerry. I’m Reginald.”

“...”

“…”

Why is he ignoring me? Did I do something wrong? Is “Jerry” some kind of insulting nickname his fellow knights call him? That was probably the case. It was weird for someone so intimidating to be called that. Is he actually a softie inside?

“How’s life as a gate guard? Pretty boring right?”

“…”

“...”

“Nice weather we’re having?” Why did I phrase that as a question? This guy was throwing me off my game. How could someone show so little emotion was way beyond me. The helmet was covering his entire face so I couldn’t even glimpse at his expression. Actually, everything was covered in armor, There was not even an inch of skin exposed.

“A-are you alright? It looks pretty uncomfortable under all that armor…”

“…”

“...”

Well, screw you too. Here I am, trying to be nice and make conversation, but he’s just ignoring me. Now it’s even more awkward. I’m beginning to feel like a fool for talking to Mr.corpse over here.

...he’s not actually dead, is he? Oh God did he suffocate under all that metal? Was I just standing here while a man was dying near me!?

I ran up to him and started fiddling with his helmet, trying to get it off. “Hey, man get a grip! You’re too young to die!” Damn it, the thing was held in place with some kind of straps. The poor guy didn’t make any move to stop me, he must be out cold already. I had to hurry!

The stupid straps were not coming off! Thankfully I had my sword. As gently as I could, given the situation, I carefully used the tip to cut them off. I dropped the weapon without a second thought and grabbed his helmet with both hands.

“It’s going to be alright man!” I desperately said, praying that I wasn’t too late. With a single pull, I flexed whatever energy was left in my arms and swiftly took it off.

I was met with empty air.

“Kyaaaa!” The helmet flew from my arms and I fell on my ass, instinctively backing away.

In the corner of my vision, I could see that the other knight had returned. He had apparently caught the flying projectile and was looking at me with a strange expression.

“U-um, I’d hate to interrupt but-”

“I killed Jerry!”

He stumbled and almost tripped himself. The poor man must be shocked out of his wits.

“What?”

“I didn’t know I was so strong! I ripped his head clean off!”

Oh, God, I should have known something was wrong with me when I could bend all those strange ways and casually swing that sword around.

“Hey, hold on now, I think you’re misunderstanding something…”

“JERRY!! I’M SORRY JERRY!”

“Dude, calm down there’s no-”

It’s too late I already killed a man!

“WRYYYYYYYYYYYYY!”

“Dude stop screaming! You didn’t kill anyone! Gods above, SHUT THE HELL UP!”

*Swish*

*Bam*

Ouch, my head! What the hell? What did that guy throw at me? I can feel my forehead bleeding a little. I looked down and saw something sitting on the ground, right between my legs.

It was Jerry’s head.

“Hy-HYAAAAAAA!!”

“...I hate this job.”

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I watched by the side as Greg muttered curses under his breath. Apparently, he’d have to get some new straps for the helmet since the ones I cut were unsalvageable. I was a bit sorry that in my...confusion I ruined the poor man’s work. I opened my mouth to apologize, but the words I wanted to say didn’t come out due to the pain in my jaw.

“... where the hell am I going to get more..”

“Uh, sorry about… you know.”

Greg turned to look at me. He looked like he wanted to tear me a new one, but in the end, he just gave out a defeated sigh. “It’s alright. I guess this was bound to happen eventually.”

“Y-you didn’t have to punch me so hard though…”

“No, no I actually did have to punch you so hard.”

It was… understandable. I may have lost my composure there for a moment. I guess all the exhaustion coupled with today’s events had messed with my head. Talk about making a good first impression, at this rate I’ll be glad if they didn’t think I was crazy.

“So why is there an empty suit of armor posing as a guard?”

Greg seems to have given up trying to attach the helmet back and just randomly threw it near Jerry’s legs. Apparently, he thought he could fix it up before the night shift arrived and took over his gate guarding duties. Unfortunately, it looks like that won’t be the case.

“Pinereach has to deal with a few issues right now and most of the knights are needed on other duties. Basically, we're short-staffed.”

“...so you had Jerry over here act as a guard?”

“Well, the protocol says there has to be two guards guarding the gate at the minimum. Unfortunately, the only available ones are me and Jeff, the night shift guy. So we made Jerry to keep us both company.”

“I see. Does it work though? Are people actually getting fooled by it?”

“You tell me, Mr. soprano.”

“R-right. It’s really convincing.” Thankfully, Greg chose to spare me the additional embarrassment and changed the subject.

“So, are you here looking for work?”

I was here looking for a lot of things actually. Food, a bed, money, answers to existential questions, but work would help with some of them.

“You could say that. All I got are the clothes on my back and this sword.”

“A newbie adventurer then, hoping to make your fortune?”

“Yeah, something like that…”

I shrugged and Greg didn’t press for any more answers. Honestly, I think he was just making small talk until his buddy came along to relieve him of his duty.

“Well, you came at a fantastic time. Captain Gaul is in dire need of more men right now.”

“I’m not actually trying to join the army though…”

“Ah, don’t worry. The captain has no problem with freelancer work as long as you’re useful.”

“I see. So, do I have to go see him, or is someone else responsible for, uh, recruitment?”

“The captain is the one you’ll have to talk to. Our HR consultant got stabbed a few days ago and is unfit for duty.”

“O-oh, I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Don’t be, the guy’s a prick.” Greg shrugged as if his comrade getting stabbed was something he had a long way coming.

I saw another knight coming out the gate and watched as Greg gave him a lazy wave.

“Hey Jeff, how’s it going?”

“Hey, Greg, same as- what the hell happened to Jerry?”

Oh God, please no. Don’t let my shameful behavior spread any further. I glanced pleadingly at Greg, hoping for him to somehow understand what I was trying to tell him. Thankfully Greg seemed to have caught my look and decided to have pity on me.

“The straps broke. Those annoying birds must have been pecking at them again.”

“Damn, again? I hate those things. Who’s this?”

“A new adventurer. Reginald, this is Jeff, the guy I told you about.”

“Hello, it’s nice to meet you, Jeff.”

“Same here kid. You have good timing, the boys could really use some help around here.”

“So I’ve been told.”

We spent a few more minutes making small talk. The guys were amiable and the conversation flowed naturally. Even I, a stranger, was easily included. I guess, as gate guards, they don’t really have anyone to talk to all day. Well except for Jerry, but that would be a stupid thing to do.

“...”

“Anyway, I’ll take the kid to the captain, or has that pansy finally decided to do his job?”

“Nope, he’s still moaning non-stop in the infirmary. Yesterday I heard the doc complaining that the goblin didn’t go for the guy’s jugular.”

“Pff would have done us all a favor. Let’s get moving before the captain passes out doing paperwork again. See ya, Jeff.”

“Bye, Greg.”