I Have a Task Log

Ale quickly composed herself.

She pulled a Knight novel from her bag, sat by the bed, and began to read aloud.

From what he could hear, the Knight novels of this world were quite archaic. The various writing tropes hadn’t yet taken shape, and the content felt almost like a fairy tale.

Ale also kept her voice very soft, as if she were afraid of disturbing someone.

At first, Colin listened intently.

Before long, his eyes slid shut and he drifted off to sleep.

When he woke again, it was already evening.

Ale was still sitting by the window, this time with her head lowered, looking at the book in her hands.

"Uh, sorry. I think I fell asleep," Colin said.

Ale closed her book and looked over with a smile. "It’s all right. Sleeping will help you recover faster."

"You should smile more often. I think you look prettier when you smile," Colin teased.

A faint blush appeared on Ale’s fair cheeks. She lowered her head slightly and gently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear with her index finger.

Colin tentatively tried to move his fingers.

To his surprise, they moved this time. With another push, he propped himself up into a sitting position on the bed.

The movement sent a wave of soreness through every muscle in his body. On top of the ache, a sharp, stinging pain pricked at his skin, as if a swarm of ants were gnawing on him.

Sitting up straight, Ale said seriously, "You need to rest, Colin."

"You know I can’t sit still," Colin said with a laugh. "Help me find a crutch or something."

"You don’t listen to what anyone says."

Ale crossed her arms, adopting a posture of reluctant cooperation.

But after a moment, she still went out and returned with a pair of crutches.

Colin scooted to the edge of the bed, then slowly got to his feet using the two underarm crutches. He could now move, albeit with difficulty.

Just then, a pair of small hands steadied his arm.

Looking to his side, he saw Ale standing there. She said, "I have to support you. Wherever you’re going, we’ll go together."

"Fine. Let’s go check on Kase and the others first," Colin said.

As he finished speaking, he was reminded of when Ale had said she wanted to leave the party. He decided not to bring it up now, though. He would just pretend they hadn’t said anything that day. If Ale truly wanted to leave, he would wait for her to bring it up again herself.

The two of them left the room and shuffled clumsily down the hallway.

They went down the stairs, came to the living room below, and then opened the cottage’s wooden door.

The moment they opened the door, they saw several familiar figures in the yard in front of the cottage.

Kase and Dorn were more than half-covered in bandages. The former’s arm and a leg were injured, while the latter was wrapped up around his chest, shoulder, and thigh. It was clear they had just been through a bloody battle not long ago.

The two of them were sitting on the steps of another house, shelling and eating nuts.

Orelia, dressed in her white Priest robe, seemed to be in much better shape. She was hanging clothes to dry nearby.

"Hey, damn it, isn’t that Colin?"

"HISS... Don’t touch my arm!"

Seeing the door open, Dorn quickly reached out and thumped Kase’s bandaged arm.

The pained Half-Orc lightly smacked Dorn’s shiny bald head before belatedly looking over.

The Half-Orc shot to his feet, kicked his injured leg in the process, and grimaced in pain for a good while before hurrying over.

Despite the advantage of his long legs, his approach speed was about the same as the unhurried Dorn beside him, and just a little slower than Orelia, who was carrying a bundle of clothes.

"You damn little rascal! Thought it was a real thrill, fighting a dragon on top of the Church, huh? You didn’t call for us, you went and faced it all by yourself! You think you’re so damn special? Huh? Say something! I..."

Kase roared out a torrent of words, but his rough voice slowly choked with emotion until he couldn’t speak anymore.

Orelia, standing beside them, was more direct with her emotions.

The young girl didn’t say a word. Her eyes just widened, and tears started streaming down her face. As always, she cried without making a single sound, a sight that was strangely heart-wrenching.

Colin said with a smile, "It’s not like I actually died."

"Forget what I just said." Kase reached out a hand, but then lowered it after seeing Colin’s condition. "Welcome back, little bro Colin."

"Welcome back, sniff... Mr. Colin."

Dorn watched the scene, scratching the back of his head. "Welcome back, little bro Colin and the pointy-eared little princess."

"Didn’t you use to think death was a good thing?" Colin thumped Kase on the shoulder.

"For a true Warrior, yes," Kase said. "But not for a little bro. A big bro who lets his little brother die before him is no good big bro."

Colin couldn’t be bothered to argue with him.

He asked, "Alright, tell me what happened. Were you guys around the village at the time? Did you see me dueling that crazed beast?"

Kase shot Colin a sour look.

"Alright, we saw it," he said as he went back to pick up the nuts on the ground. "We’ve got a lot to tell you. You should go back and lie down first, little bro Colin."

Hearing this, Ale immediately began to forcefully guide Colin back inside.

Seeing this, Colin had no choice but to obediently return to his bed.

A little while later, Kase and the others gathered in Colin’s room, bringing a plate of nuts and a few mugs of beer. Orelia followed behind them, carrying three glasses of milk.

As soon as Dorn entered, he bellowed, "Alright, little bro Colin, are you going to drink beer like a man, or drink goat’s milk with the ladies?"

"I’ll have the goat’s milk. It’s more expensive than beer," Colin said without hesitation.

"By one Copper Coin at most." Dorn tilted his head back and took a big gulp, GULP GULP, then let out a loud burp and wiped the white foam from his beard.

"So, what exactly happened after I fell into the chasm?"

As he spoke, Colin took the goat’s milk Orelia handed him, while Ale picked a few nuts from the plate and began to shell them.

"After you fell, those two dragons fought for a while longer, snapping several large trees on the spot. The forest instantly became a sea of fire..."

Kase and Dorn’s spirits instantly lifted.

Playing off each other, the two began to recount how the three of them had made a miraculous escape from the fiery forest.

Along the way, they also managed to fight off the Black Dragon that had targeted them, save the people on the other side of the chasm, and plan the rescue of poor little Colin who had fallen to the bottom.

Colin just watched them spin their tale, taking a few sips of goat’s milk from time to time.

After a moment, Ale reached out and poked the back of his hand.

Colin held out his hand, and she placed a few shelled, round nuts into his palm.

Colin tossed the nuts into his mouth. As he chewed, a rich, oily, and nutty flavor exploded between his teeth. The taste was somewhat similar to processed macadamia nuts.

After the two had finished their vivid performance, Colin turned to the fascinated Orelia and asked, "So, what really happened?"