SWNOVELXO Chapter 42
**Chapter 33**
The time for a new role is gradually approaching.
Although I am not in a hurry and am preparing everything slowly, time is not as leisurely as me, and before I know it, there is only about a month left until I really have to leave.
A traveler drifting through the world.
That has been my long-desired role.
It was just a fantasy for so long; merely a wish that I had longed for.
To some, it might just be an unattainable dream without meaning, but for me, there has been a desire to face everything directly.
I definitely had such dreams.
However.
Now that I have become an adult, those dreams have not retained their original form completely.
Many thoughts and worries have become intertwined, and the image of a certain woman has intruded in between.
As time passes, some parts have worn out, while others have changed quite distinctly.
I was facing a slightly different version of what I originally wished for.
And it whispers to me as if it has a soul.
Embark on a journey for the woman in gray.
Set out on a journey to find the ending that has been in my heart all along.
Though I said I would escape from the eye of the storm, step forward again toward the end of the story.
Overturn the stage created by the gods.
That is the new story I must obtain through this journey.
Only tearing apart the tragic pages written by the gods is my mission.
To that whisper, I can’t help but nod my head.
So.
Before I knew it, such breath had seeped into my role, and it had become something more than just mere curiosity and a will to explore.
The journey without a goal had suddenly been etched with a signpost.
I want to follow that path.
Amidst the weekend scenery.
Only three people remain in the grocery store, collapsed with hollow expressions like defeated soldiers after all the customers have left.
There is the uncle who had been busy moving groceries the whole time, me who had been guiding customers with a smile of capitalism, and a woman who stood by the counter to send off the customers.
The weekend always felt like a battlefield; after facing a diverse crowd of humans pouring in all at once, only when the three of us were left did we tend to cry out for help.
And.
“Ain…, I’m exhausted.”
Just like always, there is a woman who lightly rests her head on my shoulder.
She is born of gray, but that doesn’t mean she possesses physical superiority, and while working busily in the grocery store, she becomes utterly worn out.
“You did well.”
“Right… I really worked hard.”
Now she has become mature and dignified, so she isn’t as limp as before, but seeing her struggle like this every weekend is somewhat pitiable.
So I think.
Removing the magic, I can’t just leave like this, saying she is too fragile to just let go and embark on my journey.
At the very least, I think I should build enough stamina to not become limp while working.
Before I knew it, I came to that conclusion and smiled at her.
“…, I don’t know what you’re thinking, but I’m not going to do it.”
“Let’s go to a different place today, Asha.”
Of course, she is quick on the uptake and can sense something ominous from just my smile.
“I don’t even know where that is, but just looking at Ain’s smile makes me think I shouldn’t go.”
“So you’re not going?”
“….”
With her mouth tightly shut as if she doesn’t really want to go, she quickly turns away her face that’s leaning on my shoulder.
“Do you really not want to go?”
“…, I have to go.”
When I ask again with a smile, she nods without even a few seconds of hesitation.
So.
Asha.
No, Aseyi.
I will personally present you with the agony of muscles crying out.
Somehow, my steps while walking together only felt lighter.
“…Ain, can I go back now?”
“Are you really going to go back?”
“….”
And naturally, the face of the woman following behind me fills with increasing fear, and her steps grow slower and slower.
However, she does not respond with a ‘no’ to my question.
“It’s all for you, but if you don’t want to, it’s okay to go back.”
“…, that’s cheating. It’s unfair.”
She merely walks along with a strangely pouting expression.
Thus, we arrived at the destination.
“Hmm, a new customer. Female customers are rare, you know. Thanks to you, my passion to teach properly after a long time is rising, young man.”
“Yes, please. I would appreciate it if you could give me a full session from the first day like me.”
“Don’t worry, young man. That is the true mindset of a muscle man.”
This place is where the gym owner, who can’t contain his excitement at the sight of a stick-thin person, resides.
“P-please save me, Ain… I just want to go back.”
And there is a woman who makes eye contact with the owner as if she were me in my younger days, instinctively grasping her feet.
That would certainly be a survival instinct based on instinct and intuition, but now that she’s entered this place, there are no options.
“Welcome to everyone’s club, which used to be a club just for men. I shall help you become a true woman.”
“Uh, no thank you, you don’t have to welcome me….”
“Don’t look back. You can’t go back the way you came.”
The unchanged welcoming words spat at all new members for the sixth year sound familiar for the first time in a long while.
“No… ugh…!”
“Welcome to everyone’s club!!!”
It’s absurd that they once said it was only for men and have subtly changed it to a club for everyone.
“Ain…, Ain…!”
“Fight on. I’ll be exercising beside you, so let me know if it gets too tough.”
“Ain, you, you bad…!”
Even while being dragged along by the back of her neck, her eyes glaring at me makes me think that today’s workout will be anything but easy.
I ponder like this.
As time flows.
Three hours of listening to a woman’s screams that I had never heard before came to an end.
“I’ll see you again tomorrow, lady! Tomorrow you’ll be a stronger woman!”
The excited gym owner even came out to the front of the building to wave us off.
However, there was no response directed at him.
I spoke to her, who seemed to have her soul drained and was blankly staring up at the sky.
“Asha?”
“….”
“Asha, are you okay?”
“Ain, do you really call that….”
After calling her a couple of times, her eyes, which were blankly staring at the sky, regained some vitality.
Although she had been stubbornly using formal language, she accidentally let informal language slip out like before.
While I said “vitality,” her eyes, mixed with feelings of injustice and betrayal as well as other emotions, were now looking at me.
I smiled at her.
“Don’t laugh. I’m not feeling well.”
“You did well today.”
Her red lips keep pouting, and her eyes narrow sharply, glaring at me.
With trembling hands from exhaustion, she pokes my side, and her face gets closer and even bites my arm slightly.
And that is one of the few expressions of her emotions.
In fact, while it is an expression of feelings, it is not so much hating me as it is a cry for me to show her words and actions for her soon.
So, I address the pouting woman again.
“Still, you did pretty well. You really worked hard.”
“…, do you think that the only remark I received was that I worked hard?”
“Sorry.”
When I say something that she might find pleasing, her pout begins to soften little by little.
Her previously sharp eyes have now become rounder as she gazes at me.
Her voice has also calmed down, and her hand, which had been poking me in the side, is now slowly inching toward mine as she grasps it.
“…, e-even if you say that, I still don’t feel any better…”
“Tomorrow, let’s go for a walk somewhere with a nice view, okay? It’s spring, and the flowers will start to bloom soon.”
“Sure…, um. I haven’t answered yet.”
Then, eventually, she lifts the corners of her mouth as I speak and nods.
Of course, she was startled at the fact that she had acted and spoken that way, so she shut her mouth and tried to glare at me with a flustered expression again.
“Pfft.”
“…, don’t laugh.”
“Got it. It’s getting late, so let’s hurry back to the store.”
I chuckled at her appearance and held onto her little hand.
Since it was getting late and the surroundings were starting to darken, I intended to walk her back to the shop.
However, there was a slight problem.
“Ouch… but my legs hurt so much that I can’t walk…”
“Hmm.”
There was a woman who became a pitiful sight after having pushed herself too hard with exercise, taking one step to go and immediately turning into a sad face.
“Ain, I’m in pain…”
“Hmm.”
It seemed that it had been too much for her to exercise for three hours from the very first day.
I suddenly realized that I had assumed it was natural since I started out learning to exercise at the age of 10.
“Um, it’s not ‘um,’ it’s painful. Let’s go into that alley and just….”
Thinking about it, it was actually an inconsiderate action done under the guise of caring about her stamina.
So, I looked at her, knelt down, and spoke.
“Then do you want me to carry you? Ah, but didn’t you want to say something?”
“…, ah, I didn’t say anything.”
“Really?”
“Yes. I’ll get on your back quickly, so just wait. Hmph….”
Now that I think about it, she seemed like she was trying to say something, but then she shook her head, insisting it was nothing and quickly hopped onto my back.
So I lifted the woman onto my back.
To be honest, she was very light.
“Hmph, you’re heavy.”
“Ain, that’s very rude!”
“I’m just kidding.”
I took a step forward after getting hit on the back of my head.
As night fell, the scenery grew darker.
As I looked at it, I saw streetlights blinking at uniform intervals.
The sounds of parents returning from work could be heard echoing through the streets.
Carriages rattled along the road, creating a bustling atmosphere.
And.
“…, heehee.”
The woman and I were also walking through that scenery.
To be precise, I was the one walking while she was laughing helplessly on my back.
Her arms, though still thin, firmly wrapped around my neck, seeming intent on not letting go.
The two legs I was supporting were playfully flapping around as if she were excited.
“heehee.”
Her strange laughter had been bubbling out since earlier and was now swirling close to my ear.
Her breath, released in a huff, brushed against my neck, sending shivers down my spine.
Her scent, too, danced in the close distance and tickled my nose.
Perhaps because of that.
Even as we walked together, there was no conversation, only her laughter echoed.
My mind became convoluted, my nerves sharpened as if I were anxiously wondering why.
The gazes of passersby were somewhat bothersome, and her breath sent chills up my spine again.
For some reason, I couldn’t figure out, I had completely forgotten what kind of words would be appropriate to say.
And.
“heehee, hey.”
Her laughter never stopped.
Entering the marketplace, despite the gazes of the people passing by, it just kept going.
Her arms became tighter around my neck, and her head turned a little closer to mine.
Whether it was instinctive or whether she had some thought in her mind, I didn’t know.
As we reached the front of a shop, I was about to set her down when suddenly, she dared to come in contact with my neck and bit down on it.
“No, wait…!”
“Haah…”
“Asha, you can’t do that. No, wait…!”
Despite my pleas, her strange behavior continued.
In the end, a red mark remained on my neck.
And.
After she lowered herself from my back, she turned to me with a satisfied expression.
“Ain.”
“Yeah.”
“If my legs hurt next time, will you carry me again?”
“….”
The redness on my face from earlier still remained, and she smiled brightly in that state.
It emitted an atmosphere quite different from usual, and while I merely stared at her, her words came out again.
“Are you not going to carry me next time?”
“…, if you want.”
And so I replied.