The Unwanted Undead Adventurer: Volume 5 Read online

  I was curious about what version Lorraine heard growing up. “Lorraine, why was the traveler heading west where you’re from?”

  “Me? For me, he wanted to meet the All-Knowing Sage. One day, the traveler realized he knew nothing, so he headed west. That’s where a sage with the answers to all the world’s questions lived, according to the story I heard.”

  It was a predictable answer coming from Lorraine. Maybe that story was why she grew up to be this way.

  The look on my face must have told her what I was thinking. She asked me the same question. “Well, what about you? Why was the traveler heading west in your version?”

  “Oh, it might’ve been a bit odd where I’m from.”

  “What’s that mean?” Lorraine looked curious.

  “Nothing. The traveler had no goal. If anything, he went west in search of one. He thought there could be something there.”

  Lorraine was at a loss for words. After a while, she nodded and said, “That might be interesting in itself. It’s the answer I’d expect from an adventurer. I see, that’s the kind of story a man like you could be raised on. Makes sense.”

  Her reply was reasonable. Stories alone wouldn’t determine anyone’s course in life, but I supposed they occupied some part of your mind. That was why you could see a hint of them in one’s personality.

  “How do you think Alize is going to tell it?” I whispered. The traveler’s objective is what I meant.

  Lorraine considered the question. “Well, Alize is a girl. The traveler will probably be looking for a girlfriend. You know how it is.”

  And in order to do that, he would have to overcome trials over the course of a journey. The traveler was male in most tellings, but some bolder types also changed that element. Therefore, stories where the traveler wanted to see their significant other could play out either as a male traveler struggling for the sake of his girlfriend, or a female traveler doing the same for her boyfriend. They were both common archetypes popular with young girls. Boys, however, didn’t take well to these versions. Love seemed to be foreign to them at that age. In that regard, girls were more mature. You could see the difference in how boys and girls grew up through these tales.

  “Alize doesn’t seem like she’d be obsessed with love, though,” I reflected.

  “You think so?”

  “She takes things as they come, sort of. It’s like she tries to act older than she is.”

  My evaluation convinced Lorraine. “Oh, I see what you mean. When you have to toil at a young age, it tends to make you a realist. You’re saying Alize is that way?”

  “Right, yeah.” I didn’t know how to put it in words, so Lorraine’s eloquent description impressed me. I nodded in agreement.

  But Lorraine was hesitant to concede. “That may be all the more reason for her to wait for a knight in shining armor, though,” she said.

  I couldn’t say she was wrong. But there was only one way to tell.

  “We’ll find out from her story. Let’s have a seat and listen for a bit.”

  We tiptoed into the chapel and sat near the wall. Lorraine and I both had ample experience as adventurers, so avoiding the attention of orphan children was simple enough to do in our sleep. Alize didn’t notice us at all as she continued to read.

  “The man’s life continued as such until he had an idea: he could go on a journey to the west.” She was still at the start of the story.

  Alize paused for a breath.

  “Why’d he want to do that?” a young boy chimed in. Maybe he had heard other versions, or maybe it was simple curiosity.

  This question would determine the course of the tale.

  Alize answered the boy’s query. “He was a chef. So he went west in search of new ingredients and recipes. The lands in the west had a very advanced culture, you see.”

  He was more driven by gluttony than lust. It was somewhat disappointing, but my expectations seemed to be spot on. Her realism caused her to pick food over love.

  “I guess I lose this one. Not that it was a competition,” Lorraine remarked, but she looked irked. I, on the other hand, gave her a victorious smirk. Lorraine ground her teeth.

  Ignorant to our presence, Alize went on.

  ◆◇◆◇◆

  The man’s route was not without its difficulties. Many hardships befell him.

  On his way to the west, something stood in the middle of the path. Struck with curiosity, the man drew near. What he found surprised him. It was a red-eyed monster.

  The monster spoke. “If you wish to pass, you must leave behind that which you hold most dear.”

  The man was disturbed, but he took out a kitchen knife and handed it over.

  “What is this?”

  “I’m a chef. Cooking requires a kitchen knife. That being the case, nothing is more important to me than this.”

  The monster was confounded. “I have no reason to accept this. Take it back. You may pass.”

  The man nodded and hurried onward.

  ◆◇◆◇◆

  “A kitchen knife? Well, I get it. You can’t cook without one.”

  I nodded, but Lorraine wasn’t so sure. “If you tear up some vegetables with your hands and toss them in a stir fry, they’ll turn out just fine. The traveler was smart about how he got through that.” She pointed out his surprising amount of cunning.

  I had to admit she was right. But now the monster’s brain seemed a little lacking. It was a fairy tale, so maybe I was overthinking it.

  Alize continued.

  ◆◇◆◇◆

  The man continued on his way until he reached the end of the road. The lands beyond appeared to be an endless wasteland. There were monsters in that treacherous region, so it was no place for humans to go. The man recalled that before his journey, the villager who taught him about the road had said as much. But the man had a goal. He had to go west to find new ingredients and recipes. There was no other way.

  Determined, the man set forth. He proceeded through the badlands so long he lost track of the time. Eventually, he came across something. What was it? Intrigued, the man approached and found something quite out of place. It was a woman clad in white.

  The woman spoke to the man. “If you turn back now, you can still make it home. Head straight in that direction if you wish to go back where you came from. But if you keep going forward, you may lose your life.”

  He didn’t know how the woman would know that. But the man had a goal. He had to go west to find new ingredients and recipes. No threat to his life could put an end to his journey.

  The man responded to the woman. “I’ll be heading west regardless. I’m set on it,” he declared.

  The woman was disappointed. “Why? Nothing should be more important than your life. What are you going west for?”

  “The west will have new ingredients and recipes. I’m a chef. I want to make people happy. It’s something I’m willing to risk my life for.”

  The woman thought for a moment, then waved her hand. A kitchen and ingredients materialized in the empty wasteland. She looked to the startled man with a vague smile. “If you truly mean that, then treat me to your cooking. Prove yourself if you wish to pass.”

  The man had no idea why the woman made this demand. But as a chef, he couldn’t turn down a request for food. Besides, his journey had gone on so long he hadn’t touched a kitchen in ages. The man was happy to start cooking.

  Later, after a table appeared from nowhere in front of the woman, he set an abundance of dishes upon it. “Bon appétit.”

  The woman nodded at the man’s salutation and started to eat. She only nibbled the food at first, but she devoured it faster and faster until every dish was licked clean.

  Satisfied, the woman addressed the man. “So you are indeed a chef. If you make it to the west, I’m sure you’ll learn to cook even more scrumptious dishes. Allow me to grant you my blessing.”

  When she waved her arm, the man sparkled. His body felt lighter. Now he thought he could make i
t west with ease.

  The woman continued. “I shall attend you,” she said and closed her eyes. The next thing the man knew, she had split into four women. The first had a smile that was dark. The second had a smile that was serene. The third was a young girl, and her smile befitted her age. The fourth had a smile that oozed allure.

  The women spoke in unison. “This girl will go with you. We pray your journey is a success.” With that, the three older women left the youngest of them and disappeared to parts unknown.

  The girl bowed and said, “Nice to meet you.”

  The man did likewise. Then the odd pair’s journey began.

  ◆◇◆◇◆

  “Have you ever wondered where the other three women went?” I asked Lorraine.

  For every version of the traveler, this part of the story stayed the same. But the other women never showed up after this segment. I always found it strange.

  Lorraine offered her opinion. “Fairy tales feature a lot of metaphors. The woman probably wanted to help the man out of good faith, right? This is supposed to express that or something. The other three women likely display other elements of human nature. One of them seems like she’d be full of bad faith, don’t you think? Even those with the best intentions have darkness in their hearts. But ‘The Westbound Traveler’ has many interpretations. I’m not an expert, so pick up a book on the subject if you’re interested.” She considered the question to an extent, but threw in the towel in the end.

  I thought her take on it was somewhat eccentric, but I could see what she meant.

  Alize kept reading.

  The traveler went on to meet with and speak to a number of people, solve riddles, and overcome trials until he reached the west. He obtained the ingredients and recipes he sought, used his talent to turn those recipes into something even greater, and became famous over time. Many chefs gathered around the man. Crowned as king for his accomplishments, the man acquired territory and founded his own country. Known as the King of Chefs, he lived happily ever after.

  “The end,” Alize said as she closed the book.

  It sounded like she was done. But something seemed off.

  “Is that it?” I asked.

  Lorraine answered. “Yeah. ‘The Westbound Traveler’ always ends when he founds a country. Some parts can vary, but not the conclusion.”

  “I see.” I nodded but remained confused. The story I heard as a child continued until the country fell to ruin.

  If a chef was the traveler, for example, once he mastered cooking, the man called chefs from around the world to create a nation built on cooking. This drew the ire of other countries. Their jealousy at the cooking talent in the man’s country inspired them to attack and take it for themselves.

  The man did not wish to fight, but he had no choice. In the end, the man’s country was devastated, and the other countries were fatigued as well. The man’s dream of making everyone happy through cooking had ended in failure. Left in despair, he departed from the country and disappeared to an unknown land.

  The man’s power had built that country. Now that he was gone, a struggle for control of the nation made them wearier and wearier, until they were engulfed in the waves of history. Over time, even the country’s name was forgotten. That was how the story would end.

  “Did my parents make all that up?” It was a tragic way to end the story, but a more realistic one, I supposed. Still, something bothered me.

  “Say something?” Lorraine asked.

  “No, nothing. Anyway, let’s go talk to Alize.”

  We stood up and walked toward her.

  ◆◇◆◇◆

  “You’re both here? Need something today?” Alize asked as she looked at us.

  “Yes, something,” I responded.

  “What, is it complicated?”

  “I wouldn’t say that, but we’ll be out of town on business for a while. I wanted to tell you the lectures will be on hold for the time being,” I informed her.

  Alize looked shocked. “How long is a while? A year? Two?” she asked.

  We had no intention of being away that long, so Lorraine shook her head and responded. “No, no, about two weeks. We’ll be back to teach plenty more before long.”

  Alize was relieved. “Thank goodness. I was so convinced you were going away forever. If that’s all, then that’s perfectly fine,” she said.

  Not that I wanted to leave town for such a long time, but I wondered why she thought I would. I couldn’t help but ask. “Why would we go away forever?”

  “Because you’re trying to become a Mithril-class adventurer, aren’t you? Then going to the capital would help you achieve that much faster. And Professor Lorraine is an incredible mage, not to mention an excellent scholar. I worry you’d be better off in the big city than out here in the middle of nowhere.”

  That was understandable. I had thought about moving at some point. But that was a long way off.

  In any case, Alize’s impression of me didn’t seem to match her thoughts on Lorraine. I was only attempting to achieve something in her eyes, while Lorraine was already accomplished. Well, she wasn’t wrong.

  Lorraine laughed at Alize’s concerns. “I’m not that great of a scholar. I do think my magic is decent enough, but it’s not that special either. Same goes for Rentt. He wants to reach Mithril-class, yes, but is he good enough to get by in the capital? Not quite, as far as I’m concerned. We’ll teach you the basics of being a mage and an adventurer before we leave for good,” she declared.

  That was the plan. The basics wouldn’t take long to learn, so we had every intention of taking our time. A year might have been too long, but if we left for a few months and occasionally returned to teach her bit by bit, that would be fine. In that sense, Alize had no need to worry.

  She nodded to Lorraine. “That’s good. If you both went away, I don’t think I could ever become an adventurer,” she asserted.

  “Really? Well, even if that doesn’t work out, I imagine you could be a storyteller or a bard. Judging by that reading you just did, at least,” Lorraine joked.

  Only then did Alize realize we were there for the story. She blushed. “You heard that? How embarrassing.”

  I consoled her. “It’s nothing to be ashamed of. Making the traveler a chef is an interesting choice, though. Are you obsessed with food?”

  “Rentt! I most certainly am not, but if there were a nation of cooking, I might like to visit,” she said with a smile.

  A nation of cooking? No such place existed, of course. It was all conceived from Alize’s imagination. But a land where you could eat all the food in the world would be a dream come true. Even adults would want to go there. Aristocrats were always in search of delicacies, so they bought fresh monster parts for ludicrous prices. There wasn’t much but Orc meat in the area, but other regions had a wider variety. That included moving mushrooms and flying fish.

  “This discussion is making me hungry. Oh well. Alize, it doesn’t have to be right now, but can I ask for a bit of your time?” I asked.

  “For what?” Alize questioned me in return.

  “I want to make some equipment for you. I already acquired the materials, but you need to go to the blacksmith to get your measurements taken. I also have plans to get a magic catalyst made. We could also do that today, if you want.”

  I didn’t expect her to take the sudden invitation, though. All I wanted was to inform her there would be no lecture today, and to ask what day she would be available. It would be easiest if we could get it done right away, but that was a lot to ask. Alize was busy with her own matters.

  But then she surprised me. “Hm. I don’t have anything scheduled for today, so it’d probably be fine. The thing is, I’ll have to ask Lady Lillian before I can give you my answer,” she told me.

  We didn’t have all the time in the world, but a little waiting wouldn’t be a problem. If it didn’t work out, we could use the day to go shopping for assorted goods for the journey instead. So we nodded.

>   “All right, no problem. We’ll wait here,” I replied.

  “Okay, got it. Then give me a second!” Alize said and left the chapel.

  ◆◇◆◇◆

  Alize returned some time later. She was free to go out that day, so we decided to visit the blacksmith together. When that finished, I was going to create a wand from parts of the Jyulapus Ents I defeated.

  It wasn’t just for Alize, though. Over the two-week journey to come, I wanted to practice magic using a catalyst, so I had cause to get a wand for myself.

  “Oh, Rentt and Lorraine. Err...”

  It had been some time since we visited Clope’s Three-Pronged Harpoon. Upon entry, we were greeted by Luka, Clope’s wife who was tending to the store.

  When she saw my face, her expression filled with shock, confusion, and some nostalgia. My mask covered only half of my face now, so I expect that was why. I hadn’t shown my old face around there in a while, hence her reaction.

  “Hey, long time no see. This is Alize. She’s our disciple. We’re here for some equipment. Is Clope around?” I asked.

  “Ah, yes, give me a moment. I’ll go get him. Dear! Dear!!!” Luka ran to the forge in the back room and shouted.

  Lorraine watched her go. “Are you sure you want them to see your face?” she asked tersely.

  “Well, I’m sure it’s fine. Hiding my face didn’t sit well with me. I’m not worried about it anymore. It’s not an issue.”

  I kept it vague because Alize was present, but Lorraine knew what I meant. I used to be a mere Undead, but by this point, I looked like an ordinary human. The Holy Fire had also cleared up suspicions about me being a Vampire, so I figured I wouldn’t bring any trouble anymore.

  Alize cocked her head, but she was as understanding as ever. She got the sense our conversation was none of her business and moved away from us to observe the equipment around the store.