The Runaway Warrior from Extra

Chapter 12: Extra Hunter (2)

"Hannah. Do you know where James went?"

As long as we found James, we would find the Extra who had been giving us so much trouble.

"I-I didn't hear the exact destination, but I know roughly where. He said he was heading to Avon Village. Oh, and his luggage was lighter than usual."

"Avon Village... It looks like their next target is the underground cathedral nearby."

"Wow, isn't that the place with some staff and a crown? They're really planning to sweep the place clean."

"Exactly. The 『Staff of Clarity』 is a unique item that's great for Mages until the mid to late game. And the 『Crown of Sanctity』 is an artifact related to 『Honor』."

If we could catch this Extra, we could make up for all the trouble we had endured so far.

Emily could finally relieve all her pent-up stress. Walter could shape my growth in the direction he wanted. Hannah could earn some money, and I would no longer need to hire a tutor.

Everyone would be happy.

"Not really."

"Huh?"

"We're going to teach the Extra a lesson and recruit James. We still need a Mage, after all."

"No way…."

Suddenly, my happiness evaporated. I was the only one who became twice as miserable, now needing both training and a tutor.

"Um… So if you know where my brother is going, maybe I could, you know, leave now…."

Seeing that Walter had figured out their destination from just the direction, Hannah subtly suggested that we no longer needed her.

"Weren’t the contract terms clear that you’d identify him in person as well?"

"Th-That's true, but if you already know where they're headed, I thought maybe I'm not needed…."

"Hmm… So you're saying you'd like to break the contract? Then we'd need to recalculate the payment. Since it would just be information provision, we might even need the advance back."

"N-No! I'll go with you! I'll see him in person and confirm it myself!"

"Then there's no problem."

Of course, her timid rebellion was quickly crushed the moment her pay was threatened.

"I-I already spent the advance payment… What should I do…? Still, I’ll try to hurry…."

That day, I saw Hannah secretly biting her nails in distress.

It seemed that James’s family really needed the money.

Otherwise, why would both the Mage James and his sister Hannah be so desperate to earn money?

Hmm. If things ended well and Hannah did a good job, I should ask Walter if we could give her a bit more for her efforts.

"T-The underground cathedral in Solbury? I never heard about that…!"

Hannah seemed to be pretty nervous since it was her first time going into a dungeon.

***

The next day, for some reason, Hannah was brimming with motivation.

"Sh-Shouldn’t we hurry? It would be better to catch up to them in the city rather than in the dungeon, right?"

"Well, honestly, wouldn't it be too late by the time we reached Avon Village?"

"It's not too late! My brother left three days ago, and it takes five days on foot to get to Avon from here. He shouldn't have arrived yet. Plus, we have a carriage!"

"If we push the horses a bit, it might just work…."

"Right?!"

"But are you sure? That only works if they really walked to Avon instead of riding horses."

"T-They walked! Absolutely! My brother doesn't know how to ride a horse yet."

"Or they could have taken a carriage like us…."

"They didn’t have a carriage either!"

"Still, they could have hitched a ride with a merchant caravan heading to Avon…."

"I checked everything! There hasn’t been any large-scale trade caravans heading that way in the past three days!"

"...I have no rebuttal."

Though she seemed timid and weak, when she got excited, Hannah spoke clearly and quickly. Her unexpected competence was a bonus.

"Ah, d-did I overstep?"

"No, not at all. As a guide, you're doing an excellent job. Honestly... you're exceeding expectations."

Since Hannah was a local, she knew far more about the area than we did, which helped a lot in tracking them down.

"T-Then…?"

"If we can finish this in Avon, there's no reason to waste time here. Sid. Can we leave immediately?"

"Yeah. Let's go."

We quickly prepared and set off for Avon. Not long after, an even more surprising fact was revealed.

One: All things are in flux. Two: Inertia requires no force.

After getting into the carriage, Hannah raised both hands and focused.

『Reason: Carnot's Endurance』

She used magic.

"Hannah, you're a Mage too?!"

"Ah, y-yes! W-Well, we come from a Mage family, after all."

Come to think of it, even though James was a mercenary Mage, his family background explained it. It was obvious, but since Hannah never seemed like a Mage, I hadn’t considered it.

"What kind of magic was that?"

"I-It’s a spell that helps us travel without getting tired. We’ll eat a bit more than usual, but…"

"That's amazing!"

Hannah was the first Mage I had seen other than Leopold. Since Leo was hiding his status, he rarely showed his magic, but Hannah wasn't like that.

"What other magic can you use?"

"W-Well, I can only do 2-verse chants, so it’s just minor spells…."

"Then if I chant the same spell, can I use magic too?"

"That’s not how magic works. You need to understand the principles of the 'Logos' for it to activate…."

"What’s the Logos principle?"

"Um, well, our world is unstable, so you borrow power from higher concepts…"

"Why is the world unstable?"

"Um… Th-The textbook said so… Uh, uuu…"

In short, I could ask all I wanted about magic and even see it demonstrated.

"Sid. Don’t pester Hannah too much."

"Why?"

"…No more 'why' questions today."

"Why?!"

"Because I said so."

I asked so many questions that even Walter got annoyed with me.

"Young Master. Do you really want to use magic that much?"

"Of course!"

"Since you’re going for the Magic Swordsman build, you can learn magic. But…"

"But?"

"You’ll have to study, obviously."

"…I’ll be quiet now."

"Oh dear, what a shame."

When I still didn’t stop, even Emily couldn’t take it anymore and shut me up with a single blow.

"Phew… Th-Thank you."

"Our Young Master is always so curious."

"Y-Yes, it seems that way."

"That’s why I think it’d be great to hire a Mage as a tutor to satisfy his curiosity."

"H-How much are you willing to offer?"

"Oh, nothing much. I just thought it would be nice to have someone chat with him on the way."

"B-But that’s a separate issue from our contract…."

"There are rules of fairness, you know. It wouldn’t be right to bring it up first…."

It seemed like some shady negotiation was happening in the corner of the carriage, but fortunately, nothing came of it.

"At this pace, we should arrive by tomorrow, or the day after at the latest."

"Already?"

"Yeah. We didn’t factor in the magic when we first estimated the travel time."

Thanks to Hannah’s unexpected contributions, we arrived at Avon much sooner than expected.

This meant our chances of encountering the Extra in Avon were very high.

Srrk. Srrk—

"Hehe, did you hear that, Shapsal? Tomorrow is the day you get to break your kill count."

"...Emily, did you name your shovel?"

"I just did. His name is Shapsal. Isn't he cute?"

"A name like Shapsal makes it sound like a cute dog, but when you say it, it sounds terrifying…."

A girl who talks to her shovel and even gives it a name…

“Shh. Don’t listen, Shapsal. It’s not your fault.”

She was just a crazy person!

“Emily… Can’t you just not carry that shovel around? I mean, you could at least leave it in the carriage when you’re not using it.”

In stories, witches usually flew on broomsticks or wielded magic staffs, but our witch insisted on carrying a shovel. Why?

“How could you say that! Do you know how useful a shovel is? You can dig pits to set traps, hide yourself, dig up graves to collect items, and even use it as a staff substitute if needed. You can cut branches, and if you clean it well, you can even use it as a cutting board or frying pan! It’s the perfect tool for both combat and everyday use—a travel essential! How could you say such a thing?!”

Wait a minute. Weren’t there a few weird examples mixed in there?

“How could you ask me to abandon my loyal travel companion that’s been with me since the Witch’s Forest? Could you do that, Young Master?!”

“Emily…”

I wasn’t sure, but it seemed like she had gone through a lot without me knowing. No wonder the shovel looked a bit worn out.

But then, Walter, who had been listening quietly, pointed out another fact.

“Wait, Emily… You didn’t cook our food with that shovel, did you?”

“Ahaha….”

“…And you didn’t use it to dispose of garbage or anything, right?”

“Of course not! I may look like this, but I’m quite hygienic. I always make sure to wash it thoroughly and boil it before using it.”

“…….”

“N-No, it was a joke! Why won’t anyone believe me?”

I take it back. From now on, I’d have to watch closely whenever Emily cooked, just in case she tried to use the shovel.

“Emily. Let’s use proper cooking tools for cooking. Please.”

“I-I think I’ll cook my own meals from now on.”

“I guess we’ll be living on hardtack for a while.”

“I said it was a joke!”

Despite her desperate attempts to prove her innocence, no one believed Emily.

That night, for some reason, I dreamed of a witch flying through the sky, not on a broomstick but on a shovel.

It didn’t suit her at all.

****

“Jin.”

“You called?”

The knight, Naid—or rather, the Extra, Oh Young-jin—had abandoned the name Naid and now called himself Jin, taking one syllable from his real name.

“Looks like we’re done restocking. How long are we staying in Avon?”

Naid was a nameless Extra, and he didn’t like the name much. Besides, Jin sounded better than being called Young-jin.

“Don’t rush, Jina. We’re still inexperienced, so we need to prepare thoroughly.”

“Well… I don’t hate that about you, but we should ask James for his opinion too. He’s our companion, after all.”

More importantly, Jin had named himself after meeting Jina, a female bandit in a situation similar to his own.

“James will surely become a good ally, but we still lack trust. To him, it might look like we’re hiding too much.”

“I mean, it’s not surprising. Finding a new dungeon and treasure at every turn would seem suspicious to anyone.”

“Exactly. One day, we’ll have to tell him we’re reincarnators… but not yet.”

“Well, I’m not against your idea. I’m in favor of keeping it a secret as long as possible.”

Jin and Jina. Their names even sounded like a perfect match, didn’t they?

“And don’t push yourself. Your wounds haven’t healed yet.”

“Heh, are you worried about the wounds you gave me?”

“That’s because you suddenly appeared in the middle of the dungeon…”

“Well, I did try to ambush you first to steal the treasure. Still, fighting you… It was worth it.”

“Jina…”

Young-jin still couldn’t believe what had happened. After a fierce battle over the Moon Blade, he never expected they would end up working together. It felt like a scene straight out of a drama.

Ever since he found himself reincarnated in the game, his life had become as dramatic as if he were the protagonist.

“I could see potential in you. No regrets. But what about you? Can you trust me?”

“I will. I trust the woman named Jina, who I’ve seen and experienced for myself.”

“Jin, that line is straight from the protagonist’s script….”

“Believe me. In spirit, I’m not so different from the Hero….”

“Jin…”

“Jina…”

As their eyes met and the distance between them closed—

“Jin, Jina! Just in time. I found some good information at the library….”

“J-James!”

It was James, who had gone to the library to research the underground cathedral.

“Ah, I seem to have interrupted. My apologies. I’ll be more careful next time.”

“Wh-What are you talking about? Haha. N-No, it’s fine. Y-You’re back! So, did you find anything?”

“Well, it’s not particularly important, but I did find a record about a certain mausoleum.”

“A mausoleum?”

“It’s the tomb of a great ancient High Priest named Solbury. They say there was a grand, magnificent mausoleum built west of Avon, but strangely, it vanished overnight. Not a trace remains today….”

“Looks like you found the right place.”

“Really?”

James had done more than expected.

Honestly, even Jin only had a rough idea of where the dungeon was. In a world where the game had become reality, pinpointing the exact location was a whole different challenge.

If James hadn’t found a clue, they would have had to search the entire area randomly, just like last time.

“Well done, James. This is great!”

“Hmph, just doing what I was paid for.”

“No, I knew hiring you was the right choice.”

“Oh? If the employer says so, that’s good to hear. Hahaha.”

Everything felt perfect.

“Then let’s head out tomorrow morning. How about grabbing some dinner now?”

This expedition would go smoothly, and their bond would strengthen, making them true companions.

‘I’ll definitely tell Jina how I feel next time….’

As Young-jin was lost in sweet thoughts about the future, heading toward the dining district—

“Brother! James, Brother!”

“Hannah?”

James’ younger sister suddenly appeared, frantically calling his name.

“Hannah!”

“Brother! How did you….”

And beside Hannah were a stern-looking man, a small child, and—

“Run away from there right now!”

“You… are him?”

Heehee—

The blood-red witch stood there, smiling.