Chapter 2: The Name of That Emotion is "Jealousy"

I headed in the eastern direction that the Goddess had pointed out. Since I wasn’t in any particular hurry, I walked at a slow, leisurely pace. Whenever I got hungry, I hunted random beasts or ate nuts and berries. After walking like that for a while, I saw a person walking toward me from the front.

A person in the middle of a forest like this. Normally, it would be unthinkable. A bandit or something? A scout? I approached with a bit of caution. Come to think of it, the only ones I talked to on the mountain were a dragon, beastmen, a skeleton, and an elf. It’s been quite a long time since I’ve met a person of the same race as me.

The person was alone, dressed entirely in black clothes with a black robe worn over them. The robe obscured their hair and the upper half of their face. However, since they were carrying a somewhat large backpack on their back, they looked like a merchant at first glance. Judging by the visible parts and their general vibe, they felt about the same age as me.

When we reached a distance where we could clearly see each other, they seemed to notice me too. The visible part of their mouth curled into a smile, and they raised one hand and called out to me.

“Hey there! I didn’t expect to find another person in a place like this~. Oh? Am I supposed to greet you first in this kind of situation? Hello. I’d really appreciate it if you weren’t a bandit or something~?” “…Hello, I’m not a bandit… is what I want to say, but I wonder if you’ll believe me with just those words… Hmm… For now, for both our safety, should we talk from this distance? Judging by your appearance, you look like a merchant?”

Whether they accepted my proposal or just saw me stop, they stopped walking as well, and we decided to talk while maintaining a certain distance.

“That’s right~! I work as a merchant~! Do you happen to have any items you want to buy? What do you need? I don’t have anything expensive like high-grade potions or elixirs, but I do have regular potions and stuff~?” “No, I’m good on that front.”

Or rather, I don’t get injured or suffer from status ailments anyway. I’ve ended up with quite a convenient body.

“Still, I never thought I’d run into someone in a place like this.” “I feel the exact same way~! I was just taking a shortcut to get to my next destination, but I certainly didn’t expect to run into anyone here either~. I thought I was the only one who knew about this path~.” “Ah, I got a little lost… well, not exactly lost, but someone told me it would be good to head in this direction, so I was just going this way.” “Is that so~!” “Yep. But, I guess meeting here is some kind of fate, huh? Maybe we’ll run into each other again somewhere?” “Fate, huh~… I suppose that might be true~. In that case, it would make me happy if you bought something~?” “Ugh… Sorry. I don’t have any money on me right now…”

The only money I have right now is the dozen or so silver coins I took with me when I ran away from home.

“Ahaha! Then we’ll save the business negotiations for next time. Oh, my name is Shiro. I look forward to crossing paths again~.” “My name is Wazu. Nice to meet you too. How should I put this? We seem to be around the same age, so could we call this being friends?” “Friends… friends, huh~… Ahaha, you’re right~, we’re already friends, friends~!”

For a brief moment, Shiro cast his eyes down as if deep in thought, but it was only for a second before he burst into cheerful laughter again.

“Ahaha~, well then, I need to head to my next destination, so I’ll be going now~.” “Yeah. If we ever run into each other again, let’s grab a meal or something.” “Sounds good~, I’ll be looking forward to it~.”

Saying that, we exchanged our goodbyes and went our separate ways.