Lost World-Chapter 58: Escort Mission 2

"The frontlines are... brutal," Donovan said quietly. "I saw too many soldiers die from wounds I couldn’t heal fast enough. Good people, brave people, cut down in their prime, some even before they reached their prime. After a while, I couldn’t handle it anymore. The guilt, the helplessness... I took my discharge and came down south, hoping the adventurer lifestyle would be different... but... people still die, I learnt that recently. It’s still better if you compare to the north, but perhaps not enough..."

An uncomfortable silence settled over the group for a moment, then Cole cleared his throat.

Cole turned his attention to Thorin, who’d still been eating silently, his expression neutral. "What about you? Where are you from?"

"Does it matter?" Thorin said flatly.

"It does if we’re going to trust each other and work well."

Thorin drank the remaining soup in his bowl and set it down with deliberate patience. "I’m here to work, not share my life story. You want to know if I’ll do my job? Yes. You want to know if I’ll watch your backs? Yes. Anything else is irrelevant."

Without waiting for response, he stood, nodded once to the group, and walked away from the fire, disappearing into the darkness beyond the wagons.

The silence that followed was thick with awkwardness.

"Well," Cole said eventually. "That went about as expected."

"Give him time," Donovan suggested. "Some wounds are too fresh to talk about."

Cole turned to Yamamoto. "What about you? You’ve been with us for a few weeks now, but I realized we know almost nothing about your past."

Yamamoto considered his response carefully. The truth was impossible for anyone in this world to comprehend, it wasn’t like he could say—I’m from another world, I used to be a failed NEET addicted to a VR game that somehow became real—it’d sound like a stupid lie.

Then again, he needed to lie, and the lie needed to be believable.

"I grew up poor, no family to speak of," he said, echoing what he’d told Kenneth before, at least with as much of the same details he remembered. "Traveled a lot, took odd jobs, learned to fight out of necessity and through that realized my skill with the sword. Well, nothing particularly interesting. I became an adventurer because I needed money and didn’t want to turn to any improper means, and discovered I was decent at it."

"That’s it?" Ninia asked. "No dramatic backstory? No defining tragedy or great ambition?"

"Sorry to disappoint," Yamamoto said with a slight smile. "Sometimes people are just... people."

Cole studied him for a moment, clearly sensing there was more to the story, but he didn’t press. "Fair enough. We all have our secrets."

’Geez, listen to this guy.’ Yamamoto thought to himself.

The conversation shifted to lighter topics after Cole gave his own story—funny quest stories, guild gossip, speculation about the upcoming demon war campaign. Eventually, they began drifting off to sleep, the watch rotation beginning.

Yamamoto took the second watch, relieving Thorin around midnight. When he left them, he had already gone to start his watch.

The forest was quiet as expected, he walked the perimeter, checking sight lines and listening for anything unusual. On his third circuit, he found Thorin sitting on a fallen log at the edge of camp, just within the remaining firelight’s reach.

"Can’t sleep?" Yamamoto asked.

"Don’t need much," Thorin said. "Three, four hours is enough."

’Doesn’t that just kill productivity?’ 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"The others say you’re strong," Thorin said finally. "What level are you?"

"What level are you?" Yamamoto countered.

"Fair trade. I’m level 10."

"Level 12."

Thorin nodded slowly. "Two levels isn’t much difference. But I heard you took down that dungeon boss in the Collapsed Mine solo. The Undead Foreman. That’s a level 16 enemy... how did you do it?"

"I had help."

"Not much, from what I heard. Apparently, you knew exactly what the boss would do, where to strike, how to dodge. Like you’d fought it a hundred times before."

Yamamoto said nothing, which was answer enough.

"Level alone doesn’t determine strength," Thorin continued. "I learned that the hard way. Fought a level 8 swordsman once who destroyed me when I was level 9. Technique, experience, knowing when to commit and when to hold back—that matters more than raw stats."

"You’re right," Yamamoto said. "I’ve seen lower-level fighters with better skill beat higher-level opponents through superior technique."

"Like Caius at the sword school," Thorin said. "I’ve heard about him too. Level 6, but he demolished you in sparring, didn’t he?"

"He did."

They lapsed into silence again, but it was more comfortable now.

"I don’t trust easy," Thorin said eventually. "People let you down, betray you when you need them most, so I keep distance. It’s safer."

"I understand that," Yamamoto said honestly.

"But you held formation in the mine. Saved the team, even kept your promise to a dying man you didn’t even like." Thorin looked at him directly. "That counts for something."

"Just did what needed to be done."

"Most people don’t." Thorin said as he stood, stretching. "I’m going to get some sleep."

"Of course."

Thorin walked back toward the wagons, then paused. "Yamamoto?"

"Yeah?"

"If you’re as good as they say... maybe this team isn’t completely hopeless after all."

It wasn’t exactly warm, but it was acknowledgment... Respect, perhaps.

Yamamoto however, was kind of confused by it all.

’Just how much gossip goes on in this guild? And what’s with him?’

...

The next four days passed without incident.

They reached Mint City on schedule, a smaller settlement than Mashlow but prosperous in its own way. Gareth thanked them profusely, paid them in full, and went about his business.

The team spent the night in a local inn, then began the return journey the next morning.

Yamamoto received his quest reward once again, which was nothing special aside a few gold coins that materialized in his inventory as usual. Once again, only he got the system reward, which he had now taken as normal. The payment for the mission, he still took, which was split honestly by Cole.

Like that, the return trip began, peacefully.