Reluctant Hero | Amaki Ren

Chapter 9 | Punch & Kick

A/N: hello!!! i wont be able to update tomorrow because i will spend all day doing school assessments, so i decided to update tonight rather than the usual Monday schedule to make sure that I updated this week.

Enjoy reading!!!

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"Protect yourself. No one else will do it for you without condition."

She only got a good look on the village's condition when Naofumi led her down the mountain. The plague was way more serious than expected, and the woman that Ria cured earlier in the forest was only facing the first stage of the plague when they found her. She was lucky that Ria learned advanced healing magic to overcome an illness this bad.

Sakura sits on the edge of Raphtalia's bed, watching carefully as the nurse tended to her burn marks. It appears that she was cursed during the fight against the dragon. She still has no idea how those things work, so she didn't say much about it and toned down her worry for the girl when the nurse said that it won't be as life-threatening as it seems.

She folds her arms over her chest and turned to Naofumi who was standing by the doorway. "Do you know who even killed the dragon and left it there in the first place? It was irresponsible." She asks.

"Ho? I thought you would know." Naofumi sighed. "It was Ren. He slayed the dragon and left if there. I think he still sees this world as a game where slain monsters disappear the moment they get killed."

Sakura face-palmed. There is no reason for Naofumi to lie about it, as his claim was supported by the rest of the villagers because they did witness the Sword Hero kill it. "Well, with the dragon gone, there is no reason for me to stay here any longer. I'll be sure to talk to him about it." She stands from the wooden stool she once sat on. "I need to meet up with my party soon."

"Thank you again, Sakura. We were about to die when you appeared." Naofumi chuckled. "What about the drops? Don't you want to split it?"

"No need. You were there first, so I don't mind letting you have all of it."

"Alright. More for me, then."

Sakura bid goodbye to both Raphtalia and Filo, who she found out was the filolial bird that came out of the dragon's guts earlier. The villagers were kind enough to escort her out and even offer rewards to her for helping with the dragon, but Sakura refused all of it kindly. The fact that she went there was purely out of her own free will. She didn't expect any reward in return.

She ventured through the forest once again, where she split up with the rest of her party. She did say that she will teleport to where they are, but the village that they went to isn't one she was registered in. According to the condition of her teleporting skill, she can only use that power to transport herself in places where she already went to.

A small sigh escapes her lips as she intertwined her fingers behind her head and supported it while she walked. The hanging leaves above her was blocking the stars out, but one glimpse was enough for her to realize that she stayed in the village longer than anticipated. Her party members may be worried because of her disappearing for more than two hours.

Shing!

Her ears picked up the sound of a sword being unsheathed in all directions.

Thwack!

She tilted her head to the right, dodging the arrow that came for her from behind. It stabbed the tree trunk parallel to her, about 3 meters across. Another came shooting towards her. Sakura tilts her head to the left this time, catching the arrow with her hand. She turned around to face the attacker, breaking the arrow in two.