My Parasite Skill System - Chapter 96
Humans had come to me. They wanted to do something with me, it seemed. We had some business together, from what I understood so far.
And so I was called out.
Not by a word though–“We had tried talking to you, but you wouldn’t just reply, it seemed you were too distracted by that thing you were doing … (talking to yourself),” he’d added, only whispering the end.
–Or maybe I had, but was too concentrated with my uncle to pay them attention.
Since I wasn’t paying attention to them, the way they’d called me out startled me.
Which brings us to their apology.
They insisted. They had to apologize. And, “Now this is a proper apology,” they stopped bowing their heads to me at once.
I didn’t like being surprised. But still, I’d forgive them, if that’s what they wanted. They said they were sorry, and so, this was my forgiveness for them.
That’s what I replied to them. I wasn’t used to talking to folks. Hopefully, I wasn’t being too awkward.
“Oh … okay, thank you, and sorry again, hehe.”
“And anyway, kid, you–”
But I had to cut him short.
“–Oh, that’s right, what did you want with me again … I’m busy with my old man, right now, (he’s in the distant trees over there, see him?).”
And told him I was indeed being busy before they’d disrupted me. But then again, he must’ve thought, as he indicated to me, that I was just talking on my own. So maybe that’s that.
“Ah, ah, and I reckon we shouldn’t have disturbed, huh, we just thought you were a weirdo, to be totally honest.”
“Yeah, we shouldn’t have, hehe.”
“A weirdo, hm? … Is being a weirdo cool? … Also, if you shouldn’t have, then what are you still doing here?”
The human to whom was addressed my question didn’t answer it right away.
Before doing so, he turned towards his fellas at the rear and waved them to rest. The look on his complexion gave me cool sort of vibes.
From his rather tall and muscled stature, he seemed to be cool, but only cool.
His friend was the human that had touched my shoulder trying to catch my attention.
And with the same friendly and easygoing look on his face from the beginning, he was just looking at me breaking into smiles from time to time, always adding his usual ‘hehe,’ funny laughter to it.
Cool guy turned back to me.
“Ah, that, cool, it is, yes, kid … are you still busy with your uncle, then … ah! I can see him, heh heh, really thought you were a weirdo, sorry.”
Was being a weirdo cool or not cool in the end?
I wanted to ask … but ended up thinking that as I said, I was being busy right now, so I’d better get back to it.
But wait, another fresh idea just flashed through my mind, “Or wait, aren’t you human enemies, too?”
That was right.
What a genius me, seriously.
“Err, I’m afraid we’re not … err … how to say that…” as I thought he’d only known to break into smiles from time to time, just as he did, and to laugh ‘hehe this,’ ‘hehe that,’ he started to talk.
“Not following you–” only, before he could finish, he was whacked on the back by his rather tall and lively friend.
“Ah? Enemies, nah, we’re not, kid … and sorry to disturb you more, but so, while we’re at it, you collect the head?”
And he brought back up this with which they’d addressed me in the first place.
“The head?”
“The orc’s head … and were those two your friends … I’m sorry if err…”
“They were just enemies, don’t be sorry. More importantly, why collect the head?”
“Ah, okay … I don’t get it?” also putting in his usual ‘ah’ sounds, he continued, “And, ah, to answer your question, aren’t you an adventurer?”
“–Oh?!” and I jumped in a frenzy!
After what I’d just heard, it was only natural for my eyes to go sparkling like crazy! “Can–Can I be an adventurer, human mister?”
Taking steps towards them, as enthusiast as one could be, “Say, can I become one too? And, you human folks are adventurers too?? You think I can become one adventurer??”
“Ah, err … let me finish: you collect the heads in order to exchange them for silver coins, right?” he told me, before he turned to his friend, whispering, “I don’t get this kid no more, ah…”
But I ignored that!
It makes sense!
It really does!
Adventurers!
I mean, these humans, they aren’t quite equipped like the others, right?
The others, the others … I think it was ‘soldiers.’
Yeah, that’s actually the word Old Sipping had referred to when he talked about them … and err, the soldiers were all equipped the same way.
It was just as if they’d all been the same being.
Hmm…
And the ‘convention’ was another word. Old Sipping had said, too. It was just conventional for them to dress that way.
Going from top to bottom (I hadn’t really met one face to face, so I couldn’t really see well), they had the same helmet, with the same breastplate, with the same gauntlet, and with the same legs.
All the same uniform, if I can call it that way … “And so, that’s what the old man had meant!”
I didn’t quite listen to him when he talked about boring things, but eh, so there are adventurers running down here too.
Not like the adventurers, no, no. They were completely different. And Old also told me that, among other things, they could do whatever they wanted, the adventurers.
And so, are these ones adventurers?? “You tell me this like I’m understanding him, hehe, leader.” That’s so cool!
I had met adventurers before, and they were cool too.
I didn’t think I would meet others of them here, heh.
“Happy~.”
“Ah, kid, calm down, okay?”
Oh?
And was I being too enthusiastic, just now?
With an awkward smile, he just looked at me, scratching the back of his head and looking down at me.
“Yes,” I told him and nodded. “I understand.”
I calmed myself down at once.
“Just tell me, why collect the head again?”
“So you wanna collect it, ah,” he finally managed, looking a bit disappointed, “and, you must know already … right?”
“You tell me, I want to be sure I know,” I insisted.
Though quite reluctant to explain all the details to me, he’d finally decided to get down to the task at some point.
With this head, he’d said, adventurers would be headed over to the Trading Bureau, (I decided to remember the name, maybe it’d be useful), which was roughly in the rear, I think.
He’d jabbed his fingers at the rear when he did tell me about this bureau thingy, so I gathered that it was at the rear.
There, the Guild, which was, by the way, the main organization behind all of this, would be collecting the heads of the enemies back before doing away with them.
Why would the Guild stuff do that? To count the number of enemies you’d have been killing.
And why, again, would they count the heads? To give the adventurers silver coins according to what they’d accomplished in the battlefield, of course!
To get all this info I had to ask so many questions.
And, hmm.
This business was related to adventurers, it got me interested–I needed to ask more questions.
“Ah! That’s it, kid, we’re lea-ving!” he’d suddenly snapped, though.
Was it too much?
“If we can’t collect the head, we’re leaving.. Good day.”