Chapter 5 TRG Vol. 1 Chapter 2 Part 1

Chapter 2 (The Public Story)

Alright, I hunted that huge horde of monsters a while back, and my wallet got nice and fat from it.

I used the cash to buy a new sword, and I had the blacksmith fashion me some leather armor from all the hides. At the very least, I finally look the part. With preparations complete, I decided it was time to get serious about my real objective in this town.

Protagonist scouting.

I’d been looking for candidates while wandering around town. First, adventurers are a no-go. They already seem to be avoiding me, probably because my reputation as a bottom-tier hunter is common knowledge. More importantly, they’re almost certainly stronger than I am.

Furthermore, anyone who can become an adventurer in this city either has a solid background or can slap down a lot of cash. Can someone like that truly be a protagonist? No! Protagonists are born from adversity!

I also ruled out regular townspeople. Sure, by my reincarnated standards, their lives aren’t exactly rich, but they don’t look that miserable. And if they wanted to be adventurers, they would.

Which led me to the one place I was sure to find a candidate: the slums. Or rather, the back alleys where the orphans gathered.

I’d walked through a few times on my ‘strolls.’ Just as I thought, they were all emaciated, begging for their daily bread with empty eyes. I’d hand out a few copper coins here and there, but everyone I saw just… lacked the right ‘aura’ to be a main character. A few thugs tried to shake me down, but they were such obvious ‘jobber’ types. One flash of my sword and a little ‘boo,’ and they ran off. Useless! A protagonist would have at least shown the guts to fight me, even if I was armed!

I was wandering the slums for several days, thinking all was lost, when I finally found him. I found my protagonist!

He was crouched on the side of the road, just as scrawny as the other brats, but his eyes were different. They weren’t the empty, given-up eyes of the other orphans. On the contrary, they were burning, watching me, searching for an opening. That fighting spirit… fantastic.

That alone was a passing grade for an ‘adversity-type protagonist’ in my book. But what truly moved me, what brought a tear to my eye, was that he tried to steal my wallet without a shred of hesitation—even after I flashed my sword at him.

That kind of guts? Yes!

He was quick, too. A normal person probably would have had their purse snatched. …Of course, for me, who’s used to monster movements, a scrawny kid’s attacks are just too slow.

“Gah! L-Let go!”

The kid thrashed as I grabbed him, but I just ignored him, slung him over my shoulder, and kidnapped him back to my inn.

I’m so glad I’d been practicing my ‘cool, silent master’ persona in public. I was so giddy I could barely keep from grinning, but my ingrained character kept my facial muscles locked in a perfect deadpan.

“Old man. Food for two. I’m paying.”

“…Right.”

I tossed the money to the gruff, silent innkeeper. He just handed me my room key and disappeared into the back, same as always. He didn’t say a single word about me carrying a struggling, screaming child. Is this world’s public safety okay? Oh, well. It’s an isekai, I guess this is normal. (My internal excuse: I’m just ‘protecting’ an orphan, so it’s fine.)

I dropped the kid on the floor and pulled a chair in front of him, sitting down heavily.

“…”

The boy, who was glaring at me like I’d murdered his parents, had red hair that shined dully in the light from the window. What a contrast to my own boring black hair. He was definitely a protagonist.

We were just staring at each other, which wasn’t getting us anywhere. I was inwardly trying to figure out how to phrase my ‘disciple’ offer when there was a knock.

“Food.”

It was the innkeeper. As usual, it was a pathetic meal; hard bread, cheese, a soup with a few scraps of salted meat floating in it, and some watered-down wine. But hey, in this world, you’re lucky to get anything at all.

I took the tray, set it on the floor in front of the kid, and took my own bread and wine. I told him he could have the rest. He shot me a suspicious look, snatched the tray, turned his back to me, and started wolfing down the food. Does he think I booby-trapped the soup?

“…What do you want? Even if you kidnap me, I don’t have a family and I don’t have any money.”

After finishing the bread and gulping down my share of the soup, the boy’s guard dropped a little. He spoke, though his tone was rough.

“Okay, I’m not going to do anything to you, so can you just tell me your name?”

“…Thorn.”

The boy, Thorn, chugged the watered-down wine and then just… flopped onto his back, spread-eagled on the floor.

“If you’re gonna kill me, just do it!”

“Ehh…? But you just ate the whole meal. Who feeds someone they’re about to kill?” I couldn’t help but let out a small laugh.

“Huh?”

He clearly didn’t get it. Thorn just stared at me, baffled. Well, this was a good enough opening. Time for the sales pitch.

“How about it, want to be my disciple? You get a full-time meal-plan, a bed, and I’ll even teach you the sword.”

“…H-Huh?”

Thorn looked at me as if I’d just started speaking gibberish. My sales pitch clearly wasn’t strong enough.

“Look, you don’t want to starve to death in an alley, do you? You were the only one who had the guts to come at me, even knowing I had a sword. With nerve like that, you’ll definitely get strong if you learn the blade.” (I was, of course, just making this up. I have zero ability to ‘scout’ talent. I just figure he’s a protagonist, so he’ll get strong on his own.)

“W-What are you after…?! Are you gonna make me do something shady?!”

…Shady? Well, if ‘shady’ includes the borderline-abusive, hellish training my old geezer put me through, then… yeah, it’s probably shady.

Thorn must have seen my lack of a denial, because he leaped to his feet and glared at me.

“It’s okay! I’m not scary!”

“You just think an orphan is a good disposable pawn, don’t you?! You bastard!”

He lunged at me, but if I could block his surprise attack from earlier, there was no way he could beat me head-on. I easily pinned him to the floor. Thorn went limp, as if he’d given up.

“Dammit… I get abandoned, just to be picked up by trash like this…”

Trash?! That’s harsh! …Well, I am planning to show a protagonist-looking kid a half-assed sword style and then abandon him, so… I guess I can’t really deny it. Crap, I have to smooth this over. Thinking that, I tried every trick in the book to win Thorn over.

“Don’t you think it’s better than dying in an alley? Just try it out! What have you got to lose? Look, I’ll even throw in three meals, snacks, AND nap time!”

“So you’re not going to use me as a criminal or a pawn? Then why?! I still don’t get why you’d go this far for a stray orphan like me!”

This kid is sharp for a street urchin. What an adversity-type protagonist!

Because I think you’re the main character, obviously! I couldn’t say that, so I just kept laying on the sweet-talk. Finally, he must have just given up. He flopped back onto the floor.

“…Fine. I don’t get any of this, but I’ll be your disciple. But you promised me food! And… even if I’m your disciple, it doesn’t mean I trust you!”

And thus, I acquired my long-awaited Disciple #1. It seems the deciding factor was, in fact, the “three meals, snacks, and nap time” clause. He’s nothing but a ball of suspicion. How am I supposed to build up my ‘Respected Master’ status from here?

The first thing I did after successfully recruiting Thorn was get him cleaned up. I paid the innkeeper again to draw a bath—which was expensive—and roughly scrubbed the dirt and grime off Thorn’s body.

“Hey! I can wash myself, dammit!”

Thorn protested, but I just ignored him and kept scrubbing. This hot water is valuable! What if he just splash it all out and waste it?! It’s crazy that just using hot water costs this much money. This world is rough.

Once he was scrubbed clean, his hair—which had been a dull, mousy brown from all the dirt—was revealed as a vibrant, fiery red. Whoa. He looks even more like a protagonist now.

Satisfied, I took Thorn into the forest the very next day. First things first: food. The inn’s pathetic menu wasn’t enough for a growing boy, so I set some traps to catch wild animals and procure provisions.

“So that’s how you catch animals…”

Thorn watched my hands with keen interest.

“I can teach you, if you want.”

“At least it seems more useful than a sword.”

I offered, and he shot back that rude remark. But he still crouched down next to me, watching my work intently. This brat! Traps can’t kill monsters, but swords can! How dare he!

After we ate, it was time for sword training. I excitedly handed Thorn a sword, but… sadly, he couldn’t even swing it properly.

Okay… looks like we have to start with muscle training. And so, our days began with me demonstrating basic exercises before he was even allowed to touch the sword.

Thorn just looked at me like I was some kind of weirdo, but I just told him, “You’re my disciple, so do it,” and he reluctantly started the workouts.

About six months passed like this—basic training combined with stuffing him full of meat from wild animals and the occasional monster we encountered. With the new diet and exercise, Thorn started to fill out. I finally gave him the kodachi the old geezer had given me and had him start on practice swings, using the same form my master had taught me.

“I… I’m gonna die…!”

Thorn’s stamina ran out almost immediately and he collapsed.

“How pathetic. You’ve been strength training all this time.”

If you’re the protagonist, you should at least be able to handle my daily routine!

“S-Screw you… you psycho…!”

I taunted him, and he spat the words back, full of hatred. …You know, I think I used to call my master ‘damn geezer’ just like that.

It’s actually really fun tormenting people with stuff you can do easily!

Just like the old man did to me, every time Thorn looked like he was about to stop, I’d yell at him or poke him to make him keep going until he collapsed.

The look Thorn gave me, which had started as “you’re a pervert,” had now officially changed to “you’re a psycho.”

While he swung, I’d spout a bunch of nonsense about the ‘secrets’ of my fake sword style.

“Listen, Thorn. You can’t give up just because a monster’s hide is hard. You must strike it again and again. All hail the chip-damage strategy! To do that, we must train our bodies to swing forever without tiring!”

“You’re… saying… such stupid… crap…!”

Thorn would hiss, glaring at me with terrifying eyes, completely out of breath. It made me nostalgic. Ah, but no breaks! I’d poke him again.

It’s fine! I survived it, so a protagonist like him can, too!

After I’d worked him to collapse, it was time to cook the animals we’d trapped. He just can’t build a body on that sad inn food. He needs meat.

“…It tastes good.”

Thorn would mutter, and then just inhale the roasted meat I’d grilled over the campfire. Mhm, mhm, he’s a good eater. The old geezer used to feed me like this, too. Back home, we were lucky to eat meat once a year.

With his diet improved, Thorn, who had been whining his way through the swings, eventually got to the point where he could keep up with my whole daily routine. So, I added sparring to the mix, just like my master had.

The main purpose of this was, of course, to relieve my own stress, which had been building up from the lack of monster encounters.

Will Thorn get stronger? Eh, he’s the protagonist. He’ll get stronger on his own.

With that half-assed thought, I proceeded to beat the tar out of the already-exhausted Thorn for a while. I think the look in his eyes got even sharper.

Oh, and the master’s word is absolute, so no complaints allowed. I’d just taunt him: “If you can’t even beat me, how do you expect to beat a monster?”

“I… I’ll kill you someday…!”

Thorn would curl up on the ground, glaring at me like I was his mortal enemy. Mmm, wonderful. That’s the spirit an adversity-type protagonist needs! Though you don’t have to wait… you can try right now?

While I was ‘training’ Thorn, I kept searching the forest. But the ‘bonus stage’ where monsters were everywhere was long gone. I couldn’t find a single one. My income had dried up. I was just doing odd jobs for the townspeople and getting ‘pity money’ from the Guild Master in exchange for forest reports.

I could survive on this, but my wallet was getting thinner, and more importantly, I hadn’t been able to show Thorn anything ‘master-like!’ This was bad! At this rate, he’d find out I’m just a useless, crap-tier adventurer!

I had to do something. After my daily session of beating up Thorn, I’d send him to the inn, and I’d go back to the forest, even at night, desperately searching for a single monster. I had to kill a monster in front of him, just to keep the misunderstanding that I was a competent adventurer alive.

I’d run deep into the woods, to my old hunting ground, but… nothing. I sighed. I couldn’t just go home empty-handed, so I’d practice my swings.

Swinging a sword in the forest, under the moonlight… it’s a pretty cool-looking scene, don’t you think? It looks like a ‘mysterious swordsman’ training in secret. The only sad part is that no one’s here to see me.

I went home with no results. The next day, I just took it out on Thorn again. Alright, time to swing ’til you drop and then get beaten up by me.

“…Please teach me today, Master.”

When we got to the forest, Thorn was… strangely polite.

“Whoa, what happened to the usual attitude?”

“It’s… nothing.”

He just brushed it off and started his swings. He was being so obedient… did he eat something bad? I tilted my head, but then a thought struck me. Maybe… maybe he’s finally starting to respect me as his master? If so, I have to live up to his expectations! I must find a monster for his training!

That day, I took Thorn with me deep into the forest, to my old hunting grounds. He followed behind me, looking nervous.

“How far are we going?”

Unable to hold back any longer, Thorn asked, and I answered that this was the place where I often used to find monsters. Thorn’s body trembled at my words.

“There’s no need to be that scared. I haven’t seen many monsters lately—sadly.”

“Haven’t seen many…? But isn’t even one a huge deal?!”

I ignored his whining and we reached the spot. I told Thorn to practice his swings while I looked around. But… nothing. Why were there no monsters? Did I… did I overfish them? Did I hunt the last few survivors to extinction?

“A-A-A-A-A-A-A-H-H-H-H-H-H-H!”

As I was pondering if I’d broken the local ecosystem, I heard Thorn’s pathetic scream. Right, I’d gotten pretty far away from him.

Did a bear get him? I ran back. Thorn was on his ass, scrambling backward from… something. I looked. It was a horse monster with a big, reddish-black horn.

Oh. It’s just a horse monster. A bear would be one thing, but it’s just a horse. Still, I couldn’t let it trample him. I stepped between them and drew my sword.

“M-Master!” Thorn yelled from behind me.

“You need to get up, it’s dangerous.”

“Y-Yeah…”

Seriously, for a protagonist, this kid is way too scared of monsters. It’s just a horse! …No, wait. Let’s think differently. If he’s this scared, it’s the perfect chance to show him how I can beat it. This is how I get those Respect Points!

The horse monster pawed the ground, then lowered its horn and charged. I knew Thorn was clear. I waited until the last second, dodged, and slammed my sword into its neck as it passed. It made that familiar, metallic CLANG, and my sword bounced off. I never expected to cut it in one go.

“M-Master, I can get away now! Let’s run!”

Thorn shouted from a safe distance. But a person can’t outrun a horse. There’s no escape, and besides… I can’t show my disciple such a pathetic ‘master’ who runs away!

I stuck close to the monster, swinging again and again at the spot I’d hit first. It tried to kick me with its hind legs, which was scary, but I dodged. I used the flat of my blade to parry its horn. After several clashes, I finally drew blood.

“H-He… he wounded a monster… with a sword…!”

Thorn, who had apparently become my play-by-play commentator, muttered in shock. I ignored him and taunted the monster. I was acting all cool for Thorn, but I knew I was still low-level. I couldn’t let my guard down, even against this small-fry.

The monster charged again. I swung. Blood flew from the wound. As it reared back, I attacked again, and again.

As the monster staggered back, I followed, and slammed my sword into the wound on its neck for the tenth, twentieth, who-knows-how-many-eth time. My blade finally broke through its tough hide, tore the flesh, and sent the monster’s head flying.

“You… you really… killed it…?”

Thorn crept closer, staring at the body as if he couldn’t believe it.

“Pretty impressive, right? Your master can even take down monsters, you know? (Well, any normal adventurer could probably do this, but he doesn’t know that anyway, so I might as well show off while I have the chance.) See? Taking down a monster with a sword is easy, right?”

After that day, Thorn’s attitude toward training changed completely. He’d swing until he collapsed without me saying a word, and in our sparring matches, he’d get up and come at me no matter how many times I knocked him down.

It seems that ‘killing a monster in front of him’ was the key to maxing out my Respect Points. This is a great method. From now on, whenever I get a new disciple, I’ll just kill a weak monster in front of them.

There was just one problem.

“N-No…! I… I can’t do it alone!”

Thorn had this cowardly streak. He’d gotten much stronger, so I suggested he try fighting a monster on his own. He just turned pale and refused.

Come on, I need you to at least be able to solo a horse monster. Monsters had started to rarely reappear, and he’d only fight if I was with him. The moment I suggested he do it alone, he’d freak out.

So, I devised a plan.

If he was too scared to do it alone, I’d just put him in a situation where he had no choice. That day, I made him train late into the evening. I was extra thorough in our ‘sparring,’ beating him until he was a wreck on the ground. Good, the sun’s about to set.

I stood over him. “I’m heading back to the inn. Come on back when you can move.”

“Zeh… zeh… W-w-wait… wait…!”

Thorn looked at me with pure despair, but I just ignored him and walked away. He knows the way back, he’ll be fine. And, if he’s lucky, he’ll run into a monster, be forced to fight it, and have his ‘Protagonist Awakening Event.’ My plan was flawless.

…Okay, just abandoning him was probably too dangerous. I killed my presence and hid in the trees to watch. If his life was really in danger, I’d jump in.

Good, good. He was half-crying, probably scared of the dark, but he got up and started walking.

As Thorn was navigating by moonlight, my ears caught a sound. A familiar footstep. Thorn heard it too. He was trembling, but he drew his sword. He’ll be fine, it’s just that one. He can handle it. Just as I thought, the owner of the footsteps appeared. It was a squirrel monster, complete with the requisite horn.

“A-A monster…?!”

Thorn looked around frantically, searching for me, but I was hidden. Focus, Thorn! Focus on the monster!

Realizing no one was coming to save him, he steeled himself and raised his sword.

“I… I have to do this!”

Attaboy, protagonist! He was scared, but once the fight started, he was properly dodging and even countering. Of course, his attacks were just bouncing off the monster’s ridiculously hard hide.

“…Tch! That… damn… psycho master!“

I heard him cursing me between breaths. Yeah, abandoning him in the woods at night is a pretty evil move, I reflected. But it’s all for your character development! Forgive me, Thorn! I’ll buy you a good meal after this!

As I watched, Thorn, who was getting pretty beat up, landed another hit. I heard a different sound. Looking closely, I saw a small cut on the squirrel’s neck.

Yes! The chip-damage strategy bore fruit!

But, contrary to my expectations, Thorn just collapsed, falling to his knees. And, in the worst possible timing, the squirrel monster charged him. Thorn was too exhausted to move. This is bad!

I burst from the trees, drawing my sword, and charged the monster from the side. The wound Thorn made was the perfect target. I put all my strength into a strike at that spot. My sword sank deep into its neck, and the monster dropped.

Whoa. This ‘protagonist awakening event’ is awesome. It even let a weakling like me one-shot the monster.

“M… Master…?”

As I suddenly intervened, Thorn stared up at me, stunned.

“Great job! I was secretly watching, but you got strong enough to wound a monster. Put in a bit more effort and you could’ve defeated it alone!”

“…Fu—”

Fu? He seemed to want to say something, so I brought my face close to Thorn sitting on the ground.

“FU-ZAKENNA! I nearly DIED back there!“

—

TL Note: “FU-ZA-KEN-NA” (ふざけんな) “Screw you!”.

—

He was furious. …Yeah, okay, I’d be mad too if someone did that to me.

“But see? This proves you’re strong enough to kill a monster.”

When I said that, Thorn’s eyes shot open in surprise.

“I… can kill a monster?”

He looked like he couldn’t believe it.

“It was your wound that let me finish it in one blow! You should believe in yourself a little.”

At that, Thorn didn’t say another word, just stared down at his own hands.

“Alright, let’s go home and eat.”

That little ‘shock therapy’ session in the woods worked. Thorn was no longer afraid of monsters. As he grew, I made the training harder, and he kept up.

Monsters started appearing in the forest more regularly. At first, we fought them two-on-one. But soon, Thorn got to the point where he’d just grin, a battle-hungry look on his face, when he saw one. He’d become a proper swordsman. He’d also gotten taller, and had grown into a handsome guy who really suited his red hair.

“It’s about time I learned to take one of these down by myself!”

One day, Thorn asked to fight a horse monster solo. He didn’t back down an inch, stuck close to it, and, just as I had, layered attacks on its neck.

“I… will be like my master!”

With a final shout, his sword swung, and the monster’s head went flying. As if only just realizing how tired he was, Thorn turned to me, panting.

“D-Did you see that… Master…!”

He looked so proud. I just nodded, a smug look on my face. Yes, yes, he’s showing all the proper protagonist flags. He mastered in half the time it took me… I kept my expression neutral, but inwardly I was ecstatic.

I took Thorn to the guild to cash in the materials.

“Thank you, as always!”

The receptionist—a woman this time—smiled at us and handed the money to Thorn.

“By the way… have you two considered registering as adventurers? The Guild Master is really pushing me to recruit you…” she sighed.

Ever since I started bringing Thorn, these recruitment pitches had gotten more frequent. But… I don’t see the point. Why pay the fee when I can just hunt and cash in? Besides, the Guild Master told me I’d have to pay again if I moved to another town. That settled it. I was never registering.

“Master, why don’t we become adventurers?”

But today, Thorn chimed in. Crap. I couldn’t just say, “Because I’m cheap,” so I dodged, “I’m… heading north. My master told me to.”

Later that night, at the inn, Thorn looked at me with an anxiety I hadn’t seen in a long time. “Master… when you leave this town… you’ll take me with you, right?”

Whoa, this kid can be pretty cute. …But no. I’m totally leaving him. If he’s nearby when he finds out I’m weak, he’ll beat me to a pulp! I have to run. I couldn’t say that, so I just gave him a vague, noncommittal smile.

Still… this was probably the right time to ‘release’ Thorn. He’s had his awakening. By the time his real story begins, he’ll be way stronger than me. If I’m still hanging around, he’ll find out I’m a fraud.

Right now, he respects me as his master, and he’s strong enough to hunt and earn his own living. He’ll be fine. He’ll get stronger, make a name for himself, and be ready to defeat the Demon King when he appears.

But… if I just leave, he might follow me. I have to avoid that. Why? Because my plan is to make more disciples in other towns. If he follows me, I’ll have this huge entourage, and when they all find out I’m weak, I’m pretty sure they’ll tear me limb from limb. That’s terrifying!

So, I devised a plan. A perfect plan. It pained me, but I took my hard-earned money to the guild and paid the deposit to register Thorn as an adventurer. If I make him an official adventurer here, he’ll feel obligated to stay. It’s a parting gift from the master he respects. He can’t just throw it away. While he’s busy being a new adventurer, I’ll be long gone. It’s a flawless strategy!

I put it into action immediately. We went hunting, finished our training, and went back to the inn. While Thorn was fast asleep, I placed the bronze adventurer’s tag and a farewell letter by his pillow. And under the cover of darkness, I skipped town.

Good luck, Thorn. When you’re famous for slaying dragons, I’ll sneak back into town, order a drink at a corner table, and savor the feeling of being your master!