Chapter Seven: Fleeing the Capital—The Reason for Heading to Buena Village: An Unwanted Visitor?

“Delicious!”

The bright red pork, streaked with sinewy muscle, had been neatly cut into nearly equal, palm-sized thin squares. Folded in half, the pieces were skewered onto water-soaked branches, being turned repeatedly over the flickering flames.

With a sizzling crackle, the meat gradually took on an appetizing reddish-brown hue. Bubbles of fat and juices continuously seeped out and burst from the meat.

Allen’s damp hair still clung to his forehead as he focused intently on grilling the meat.

The praise came from Roxy’s mouth.

She watched Allen sprinkle some strange powder onto the meat, propping her cheek with one hand, her mouth stuffed full of grilled meat like a squirrel, a look of contentment spreading across her face.

“I’ve never tried seasoning like this before.”

“It’s ground seeds of the Battler’s Flower. They carry a very mild toxicity that causes a tingling sensation on the tongue, but the seeds themselves are sweet—a natural sweet and spicy seasoning. They say the Miglud tribe loves sweets; it seems that’s true.”

Roxy nodded in agreement.

Allen finished grilling all the meat, then placed it on freshly washed fallen leaves before Roxy. He stretched lazily and stood up.

His swordsman’s outfit was still tattered, but he had taken it off earlier and entrusted Roxy to wash and dry it. Though wrinkled now, it looked far better than when it had been stained with blood.

‘Thankfully, the lining wasn’t stained. When it’s time to swap laundry… I’ll still have clothes to wear.’

However, Roxy maintained a serious expression, facing away from Allen the entire time as she carried out a series of tasks. She only washed his hair after he had dressed.

So shy...

Quite different from the anime’s version, where the tutor would sneak a peek at Paulsenis during the night, sweating nervously...

[Jobless Reincarnation Major Event Participation Rating Increased.]

[Current Stage: Childhood; Accumulated Participation Rating: 25 points.]

[Pending Immediate Task: Gain Rudius’s Favor.]

[Rudius: Countdown: 87:02:37]

Allen looked at the words that appeared before him. Suddenly, a bright light streamed sideways, shining through the gaps between the words and illuminating Roxy’s face. Her eyelashes fluttered as she looked up at Allen.

Dawn had come.

Morning light leapt over the horizon’s edge, casting a hazy glow through the tree trunks, enveloping the two of them.

Roxy’s smile blossomed in the radiance.

——

Because they were deep within the forest, Allen did not realize that less than two kilometers to the south lay a road.

When Roxy finally led him out of the woods, he felt somewhat dazed.

Under the sunlight, stretches of decayed fences lined both sides of the road. Beyond the fences lay vast, untamed grasslands dotted sporadically with trees.

Allen instinctively pulled out his map to confirm their location.

“We’re now at…”

A pale little hand reached out from beside Allen’s shoulder, pointing to the southwest on the map, near Fitoria Territory, less than a fingernail’s length from the red-circled Buena Village.

Allen turned his head, only to be poked in the face by a tuft of hair standing upright.

——

Roxy looked up at him.

The poor lighting last night had masked their height difference, but now, bathed in sunlight, Allen’s additional fifteen centimeters over Roxy was unmistakable.

This was a Yodel god one did not need to look up to.

The god spoke.

“With your physical constitution, if you hurry, you should be able to reach the village tonight… Sorry to have delayed your journey.”

Allen twisted his slightly sore wrist with a helpless sigh.

Roxy was laden with grilled meat wrapped in leaves of various sizes, and in her hand was a jar of Battler’s Flower seed powder that Allen had given her.

The most delicious parts of the wild boar—a whole thigh, tenderloin, and ribs—were all hanging from Roxy’s person.

Of course, the meat was cooked, having taken Allen a full hour.

“By the way, can you really eat that much? Wouldn’t it taste worse once cold? You could have just cooked and eaten it fresh.”

Roxy shook her head, glancing down at the scabbard at Allen’s waist as she mumbled.

“My knife skills aren’t quite there yet… I can’t slice as thinly as you did. But now, if I get hungry, I can just use fire magic to reheat it… Thank you for grilling the meat and giving me seasoning.”

“That’s true…”

An awkward silence settled between them.

After a moment, Allen looked up at the sky.

“Well… then, I should press on. The village…”

But unexpectedly, Roxy looked up and interrupted him.

“Perhaps you could travel with me. Since you’re heading to the countryside to seek refuge anyway, leaving the Asura Kingdom directly would better conceal your whereabouts. With your skills, you could be a capable adventurer on your own. After a year, if you’ve made a name for yourself, you could return to the kingdom with honor.”

Allen was momentarily stunned, meeting Roxy’s gaze.

Her face flushed slightly, but it was clear she was earnestly making the suggestion.

Logically, her assessment was sound. In the Jobless world, it was not uncommon for oddballs to leave home alone at ten or so to gain experience.

The closest example was the fierce person before him, who at fourteen had run off secretly to become an adventurer and never returned; her parents had no idea if she was alive or dead.

A little farther away was Paul Zhixiang’s brother, who completed his coming-of-age ritual at ten, soon unlocking noble group achievements at the aristocratic academy, but unexpectedly was sued by his victim’s family, had a huge fight with his father, and then left without a word…

Wait, this storyline development… Could it be that Roxy is also speculating about me like this? We’re all nobles of the Asura Kingdom and share the same surname…

Hiss… Surely not to that extent; after all, I’m a proper…

“And by then, that girl will probably have given up on you. She might even have a new love by the time you return. Her family will likely leave you alone then.”

“???”

Allen, a decent person, was dumbfounded, staring at Roxy as she spoke so frankly.

He instinctively retorted.

“No, you just want to kidnap a free cook, and a free child laborer at that.”

“! No!”

——

Roxy pursed her lips.

“You don’t look very old, but you should be over ten, right? How can you call yourself a child laborer?”

Allen blinked.

“I’m nine years old.”

Roxy was taken aback, eyes wide as she stared at Allen.

“Nine…”

Allen watched her stunned expression and furrowed his brow, lost in thought.

…This butterfly effect is arriving far too quickly… I just met my first important character, only one night has passed, and already I’ve received an enticing offer from a god. Whether it affects the future plot remains to be seen, but at this rate, my rating could be in jeopardy.

Just as he was about to figure out how to politely decline Roxy, she spoke first.

“At nine, you’re still quite young. I think after laying low for a while, you should study swordsmanship for two years at the Water God Dojo in Asura’s capital, then go out to gain experience… Um… Since you’re a noble, shouldn’t you gradually take on your family’s responsibilities? If so…”

Roxy lowered her gaze.

“Maybe after this occasional meeting, we might never see each other again… Ruddy too, and you…”

“We will meet.”

Roxy looked up.

In the sunlight, Allen’s smile was radiant.

“We will meet again. Not just me, but Ruddy as well.”

Roxy nodded, dazed.

“Yeah… It’s getting late. I should be going, or else I might not reach the village before nightfall.”

“...Alright.”

Allen turned away. He hadn’t gone far before suddenly turning back to Roxy.

“…You never know where life will bring us to cross paths again. As long as we walk the right path, we will meet again.”

He turned back, waving casually over his shoulder.

Then he broke into a run, dashing along the road.

Whether it was an illusion or not, Roxy felt his retreating figure seemed somewhat hurried, as if fleeing.

She watched Allen’s silhouette grow smaller, then turned and walked in the opposite direction.

“…You never know where life will bring us to cross paths again…”

Roxy smiled softly and took her steps into the distance.