Inside a room with wooden walls and closed windows, a young man with black hair and light clothing, almost identical to the villagers' attire, stepped forward. His hair was still wet, so he kept shaking his head as he walked toward a girl sitting on the bed, counting coins she had placed near her hand. She seemed completely absorbed in her counting.
"Yoooh! Nothing beats a cold bath after a hard day of work!" Laos said as he sat on the bed beside Maris.
"We sold the servants uniform for ten nova. That's not enough!" Maris said as she gathered all the coins in her hand.
"Not enough for what?" Laos asked.
"Well, I'm planning to leave for another town once the week is over. It's already been five days, and there are only two days left," Maris replied.
"Traveling to another town? I think that'll be difficult, especially with the cost of living… Maris, don't you think living here is enough?" Laos said as he lay down on the bed.
"What?! Absolutely not! You don't get paid for your work because you live in their homes and eat their food… There's no way living here is enough!" Maris replied, gesturing with her hands as if explaining something complicated.
"Alright, alright. But of course, we won't be able to buy a house…" Laos murmured.
"Yeah, that's why we'll go to the town I have in mind… And since you have that Thalesa, we can become an active party and make money by completing guild quests. That'll be our income. Then we can rent a place, and later, we'll buy our own home!" Maris said with great enthusiasm.
"Which town are we going to?" Laos asked.
"Iveleth Town. It's the second-largest town in the Duchy of Ethelas, right after the holy capital, Ethelas. It's full of adventurers, and I heard there's a dungeon there that no one has reached the final floor of yet. Plus, it's near the Forests of Yavan, making it one of the best places in Yarum for adventurers," Maris explained.
"Iveleth? So that's the town where the villagers sell their crops…" Laos muttered.
"Well, what do you think, Laos?"
"Ahh… Of course, I'd like to become an adventurer and live somewhere else, but I'm still confused right now… I just wish Thalesa would come back. Then I'd be able to do whatever I want," the black-haired young man replied, his gaze troubled and stray.
"Well, there are only two days left," Maris said as she got up from the bed.
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What's up with Maris? She's being really serious! Well, she has a point. In just two days, we'll have to leave this village and start working to earn money… Fuck! I never thought getting transported to another world and working as an adventurer would be this tough… Well, I guess it wouldn't be that hard if I were lucky. I mean, imagine if I had a cheat ability! Something that let me steal any power I saw… Yoooh! But unfortunately, things don't work that way for me… I'm just one big unlucky guy.
I suddenly felt bitter, so I stretched out on the bed to sleep. Maris had left, and I was the only one left upstairs. Unfortunately, I didn't feel sleepy, so I just stared at the space to my right. Out of nowhere, a tear fell. It streamed down my face, passed my nose, and left an itchy sensation… Oh, does involuntary crying caused by severe trauma actually exist? Fuck, I'm like a high school girl who just got dumped by her boyfriend… Stop crying, fuck!
I turned over and lay on my back, staring straight at the ceiling… Thalesa, where are you?? Wait, wait, wait! Thalesa said that spirits die when their user dies… Does that mean I'm dead, and everything I'm experiencing now is just the afterlife? Hah, like that makes nonesense… But then again, I stopped seeing things logically a while ago. I'm in another world now—a world with magic, monsters, and girls with animal ears… Anything is possible.
Yaaah… I feel so fucking miserable. Iveleth, huh? That's where the adventure arc of my isekai story will begin! I hope life is great there. Just imagine—adventurers everywhere, and you have to wait your turn to buy a potion to heal your party member who got poisoned by an attacking plant. Then, just as you finally get the potion, you bump into a dwarf with a thick beard and a massive hammer slung on his back. He glares up at me and growls in a rough voice: "Can't you watch where you're going, human?!"
Then, a girl from his party steps in—an elf with long green hair. And, of course, I won't forget her perfectly round boobs and gorgeous face. She grabs that brute before he smashes me and smiles apologetically. So, I end up staring at her beauty, my eyes scanning her features so much that I naturally smile back at her. After that, I continue on my way to heal my comrade, only to find out I was too late and he died… No, no, I'm just messing around. I heal him, and we continue our lives as adventurers… Hah, what a life!
Well, I know I'm never lucky, and adventure life will probably suck in this world! Yaaah, what kind of future awaits me, I wonder? After lying around for a while, I got incredibly bored—and even more depressed… Yeah, that kind of sadness that makes you want to scream at the top of your lungs. I jumped up from the bed and stepped outside. The weather was pleasant. Well, it was evening, and the sun was about to set.
"Hurry up! Bring as many stones as you can!" one of the villagers shouted as he walked, followed by others carrying loads of small stones in their shirts.
"What's going on?!" I asked as I followed them.
"Oh, Laos! It's the stoning day. Every time we finish selling our crops, we go to stone the grave of the traitor hero who was slain by the goddess," one of the villagers explained, quickly heading toward a small forest near the village.
It was a small forest with scattered trees, some of which had been cut down. Wow, the place was beautiful inside. Why hadn't I come here before? After a while, they finally stopped in front of an ornate grave. What? Anyone looking at this grave would think it belonged to a king or some great person. Why the fuck does a traitor—the enemy of the greatest goddess—have such a fancy grave?! I didn't get it. I just kept staring at this incredible grave, surrounded by pure plants and small flowers.
"Here, throw with us!" one of the villagers said, picking up a stone and gesturing toward a pile on the ground.
So, I grabbed some stones and started throwing them at the grave along with them. They took turns stoning it, all while chanting, "Curse you, traitor!" So, I followed along, throwing stones and chanting with them… Hah, as if I actually cared. Honestly, if there was an enemy of that bitch, I'd be the first to support him. So, sorry, oh great hero… Oh, oh, wait! I was just kidding, oh mighty goddess Lunariss… Fuck, you idiot, she's a goddess. What the fuck do you think you're doing?!
But speaking of a traitor hero… Isn't this story similar to the one I made up on my first or second day in this world? The story about a hero who didn't love the goddess, so they cursed him or something…? Well, I need to learn more about this hero. He seems famous, and he even had a painting in Tiana's palace.
After a while, they finally finished stoning the grave. Then, suddenly, they all started gathering the stones and carefully cleaning the grave… Huh?! No, no, I better not ask, or I'll look like an outsider. But why the hell are they cleaning the grave of a traitor?! What's going on here? I'll ask Maris.
After finishing, we all left the small forest just as the sun had set. As I walked back into the house, I spotted the little girl, Titta, trying to sneak into the forest. Suddenly, her mother rushed over and slapped her hard across the face, yelling: "How many times have I told you?! The forest is dangerous for children!"
Dangerous? What, are there monsters? No way, it's just a tiny forest. I climbed the stairs and reached the second floor. Maris was lying down, reading a book. I walked over to her… Yoooh, Maris is seriously gorgeous! As she read, her boobs was so prominent that it made me feel a little heated. But I quickly asked: "What book is that?"
"A book one of the women here gave me… It's about the best recipes for cooking vegetables," Maris replied, looking me straight in the eyes… Oh, she totally had that look that said, "See? I care about cooking, so I won't be a bad wife."
"By the way, Maris, what's the story of the traitor hero who was killed by the Moon Goddess?" I asked as I fondled her boobs with both hands before lying down.
"Oh, that... It happened in a time long, long ago, an era no one has lived through. Before the Elder Calendar, before everything. It was the Divine War, a massive war where all twenty gods clashed. It was an enormous war, and the Moon Goddess, Lunariss, had her own paladin—one who fought under her command, served her, and spread her name in battle. But it turned out he was a traitor, aiding the Sky Goddess, Sailla. Despite that, the war raged on without end, and in the end, Lunariss managed to bring down the traitor hero and kill him in the Battle of the Fourteen Hearts..." Maris explained.
"What? Why were the gods even fighting?!" I asked, thinking about how typical this lore sounded.
"No one really knows. But many say they fought to divide themselves into ranks—great gods, worthy of being worshiped by most creatures, and lesser gods, who didn't necessarily need worshippers... Also, during this war, four gods died," Maris said.
"Four gods died?!" I repeated in shock... Yooo, this is insane!
"Oh, also, they were stoning that hero's grave, then cleaning it again. Why?" I asked, finally remembering the question that had been stuck in my mind.
"Oh, that... They do it as a form of torture. Each time they stone it, it's like they're inflicting pain. Then they clean it, which symbolizes healing him, so they can stone him again and make him suffer the same pain over and over... That's their reasoning," Maris answered.
"Well, this isn't his real grave, right?"
"Of course not! There are countless graves of the traitor hero all over the Kingdom of Yarum. No, not just Yarum—every nation that worships the Moon Goddess has them."
At that moment, I could no longer hold back. I swiftly removed my clothes and pulled Maris into a tight embrace before exclaiming in a slightly raised voice:"Beautiful and knowledgeable... You're truly amazing, Maris!"
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And so, the life of NPC Laos continued in the world of Staria, side by side with Maris—or his 'wife,' as they both believed, at least. They had ambitions, but just as many doubts about what the future held. Would luck smile upon them, or would it turn its back? These were the questions lingering in both of their minds.
But beyond dreams and concerns about the future, they carried sorrow—deep sorrow that could only fade with time.
So, Laos, this is your life in another world—the life you always wished for, now in your grasp. But it wasn't quite as you had envisioned... Well, just because you get what you desire doesn't mean you get it in a good way. Still, a gift is a gift, even if it comes from a monster. That's what Laos was experiencing now—an NPC waiting patiently, with high hopes.
Only two days remain, Laos, and then you'll set off on your adventure... An adventure, huh? A life he wished would be like the games he played or the novels he read. But little by little, he was lowering his expectations. Well, realizing that life won't unfold exactly as he imagined—that was a good first step for this NPC in his new world.
So, take your wife's hand and move forward together toward an uncertain future.