I Have a Task Log

Ale took a deep breath.

She spoke fluently, as if she had been weaving these words in her heart for a long time, only now finding someone she could confide in.

"Mother harshly reprimanded Dad and me. She told me our enemies were trying to provoke us in the most blasphemous way, to make us reveal a weakness. Although we wouldn’t fall for it, those mortals had undoubtedly become victims of our own selfish desires."

"That’s a bit of an exaggeration," Colin said.

"I know. My father and I were in the wrong, but the ones who should truly be brought to justice are the evil-doers of the Dragon Worship Cult. They are the real culprits, but..."

Colin turned his head and found Ale looking at him.

Her pale golden eyes shimmered in the moonlight, seeming to radiate a light of their own. On her small face, her thin lips trembled slightly.

"I’m scared, Colin."

Colin looked at her intently.

Ale choked back a sob. "After seeing that secret letter in Three Bays City, after coming back here with you all, after seeing that village a few days ago... I’ve been so scared.

I’m afraid that if I’m recognized, the Dragon Worship Cult will target you. I’m afraid something will happen to my parents while I’m away. I’m afraid of losing anyone else close to me.

I have so few friends, yet someone is always plotting to take everything away. It’s so unfair..."

Colin could feel the Half-Elf’s sorrow.

Or rather, anyone who wasn’t an idiot could hear the anxiety and terror in her voice.

He suddenly didn’t know how to end the conversation.

Ale’s thinking was clear; she wasn’t getting bogged down in irrational thoughts like many people would.

She understood who truly deserved to be punished, she understood where her own problems lay, and she understood even better what she had to do.

The problem was, as long as the Dragon Worship Cult existed, she would never know a day of peace.

And right now, Colin didn’t have the power to solve this problem.

If he were a powerful Demigod Mage, he could mobilize his forces to deal a heavy blow to the Dragon Worship Cult, or even wipe them out completely.

But he was just a Little Mage who had just learned Tier Three Magic and barely escaped his apprenticeship. Today, he had only just managed to deal with two Black Dragon Descendants and had to fight for his life to escape a Kobold lair.

They were the ones being hunted by the Dragon Worship Cult.

Therefore, Ale’s decision to leave was absolutely correct and wise. Colin should even be grateful to her for making such a choice...

But he couldn’t bring himself to say it, nor did he think it was a good thing at all.

After that, the two of them exchanged a few more aimless words.

Colin had wanted to say more, but after the bloody battle they had just been through, he was physically exhausted.

After having Ale use Cantrips to clean him up a bit, Colin crawled into his sleeping bag and went to sleep.

The next morning, after Ale had used [Repair Technique] to more or less fix the Armor, the two of them set off again.

However, neither of them could accurately determine their direction in the Supreme Forest. In the end, they had to rely on Colin’s memory of the map and the sun’s position to make a rough estimate.

The two of them continued on their way through the forest.

They occasionally encountered some wild animals. Perhaps because of the Dragon Worship Cult’s recent increase in activity within the forest, the creatures were much more easily startled than usual.

The moment they saw the pair, they fled from a great distance.

This forced Colin, who had wanted to gather more food, to set his sights on the fungi and wild vegetables growing around the tree roots.

As they traveled, they also took the opportunity to adjust their daily routines. Ale didn’t seem to be too affected, but the situation was taking a heavy toll on Colin.

「Two days later.」

Colin was walking through the dense woods. He stepped on a slippery tree root, carefully making his way down a gentle slope.

He hadn’t taken two steps before a sudden push came from behind.

The shove made Colin lose his balance, and he immediately slid down the root.

He raised a hand to his sword hilt, entering the [Sword Dance] state. Using the effect it provided to maintain his balance, he flailed about but managed to keep his center of gravity and slid all the way to the ground without falling.

"Alright, you can get down now." Colin patted the small hand that had opportunistically grabbed his shoulder during the slide.

"Sorry."

After saying this, Ale silently let go and dusted off her skirt.

Colin glanced at the ground below the root. There were two distinct, grassless ruts—clearly a main road.

He said to Ale, "Finally, something reliable. If we follow this road, we should be able to find the nearest village."

Ale nodded, silently watching him.

Colin turned and started walking down the road, following the ruts.

As he walked, he asked, "So, what do you plan to do after you leave the party?"

"I want to see the corners of this world. I want to see the high mountains, the great seas, and Hell."

Ale’s voice came from behind him. For some reason, her words sounded familiar to Colin.

He replied, "That sounds pretty nice."

"In any case, I want to leave the Northern Lands and get far away from here. Then, like a true Knight, I’ll travel the south or somewhere, righting wrongs." Ale said. "Do you think I’ll find good things out there, Colin?"

"Good or bad, people have to keep moving forward," Colin said. "I agree with your idea. For a Half-Elf your age, you really do need to see more of the world."

After a moment of silence, Ale spoke again. "Thank you, Colin."

"I didn’t do anything. What’s there to thank me for?"

"You were the first friend I made after leaving home. Thank you for letting me join your adventure." Ale took a deep breath and added, "I was truly happy during my time in Thousand Masts City."

"You helped us a lot during that time, too," Colin said.

Just as he finished speaking, a group of shadows emerged from behind a large tree up ahead on the road. They were too far away to tell if it was a merchant caravan or just travelers.

"Alright, we’ve finally run into some living people," Colin said, hurrying forward.

Halfway there, he started to worry that they might have run into a Dragon Worship Cult convoy transporting stolen goods. After all, their luck seemed to have been pretty bad lately.

He had only taken a few more steps when two sharp shouts came from the bushes on either side of the road: "Halt! Who are you?!"

Immediately after, Colin saw two figures in green hoods and camouflage clothing slowly emerge from behind the tree trunks on both sides, holding recurve bows.

Seeing this, he was finally able to relax completely.

Colin quickly raised his hands and said, "We’re Field Staff from Thousand Masts City! We came here to help the Silver Star Court, but we recently got separated from our squad!"