The village suddenly became very quiet.
Everyone's eyes were on me.
The adventurer who spoke earlier stepped closer. His armor looked newer than the previous squad that used to guard the village.
He studied my face carefully.
"You…"
He looked confused.
"The report clearly said you died."
Robert stepped forward immediately.
"What kind of nonsense report is that?"
The adventurer turned toward him.
"The previous squad submitted it to the guild before leaving for the capital."
Another member of the new squad crossed his arms.
"They claimed the boy died fighting a Crimson Goliath."
The villagers murmured among themselves.
"A Crimson Goliath…?"
"That's an A-rank monster…"
"How could he even survive that?"
The adventurer looked back at me.
"So explain something."
"Did you fight that monster?"
I hesitated for a moment.
Then I nodded.
"...Yes."
The adventurers exchanged glances.
Robert looked shocked.
"You actually fought that thing?"
"I didn't exactly plan to."
I rubbed the back of my neck.
"The party I was hunting with attacked it."
One of the adventurers frowned.
"And they left you?"
I nodded again.
"During the fight."
Robert's face turned red instantly.
"Those damn bastards!"
He clenched his fists.
"I knew those people were trouble."
The adventurer leader raised his hand calmly.
"Easy, old man."
He looked back at me.
"So what happened after they left?"
I took a slow breath.
"I woke up the next morning."
"Then I walked for several days until I found another hunting party."
"A Rank C party."
That caught their attention.
"You traveled with them?"
"For a while."
"They helped treat my injuries."
One of the adventurers whistled.
"You were lucky."
"Most people don't survive even five minutes after meeting a Crimson Goliath."
Robert crossed his arms.
"Lucky or not, the important thing is that he's alive."
The adventurer leader nodded slowly.
"True."
He looked toward the other members of his squad.
"This complicates things."
"Why?" Robert asked.
The man sighed.
"Because the previous squad received full credit for killing that monster."
The villagers gasped.
"They said they defeated it themselves."
I wasn't surprised.
Robert slammed his fist against the wooden fence.
"So they lied?!"
The adventurer leader shrugged.
"That's what it looks like."
One of his teammates added quietly.
"If the guild learns they abandoned someone during an A-rank hunt…"
"...their reputation will collapse."
Robert snorted.
"Good."
"They deserve it."
The adventurer leader looked at me again.
"What exactly is your name?"
"Kazu."
"Kazu… what?"
"Kazu Asamura."
He nodded slowly.
"My name is Captain Rylan."
"I'm the new leader of the squad assigned to protect Ravenwood."
He gestured toward the others.
"My team arrived two weeks ago."
"So you're the new guards?" I asked.
Rylan nodded.
"The previous squad was promoted."
I already knew that.
But hearing it still made my stomach twist slightly.
Rylan crossed his arms.
"For now, I'm going to pretend I didn't see anything."
Robert frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Rylan shrugged.
"This situation smells like politics."
"If I report it immediately, the guild will drag everyone into a long investigation."
He looked back at me.
"So here's what we'll do."
His voice lowered slightly.
"You rest."
"You recover."
"And if anyone from the capital asks questions…"
He paused.
"We'll talk again."
Robert nodded approvingly.
"That's reasonable."
Rylan then turned toward his squad.
"Alright."
"Back to patrol."
The armored adventurers walked away toward the village gate.
The tension slowly faded as the villagers returned to their daily work.
Robert finally looked back at me.
His expression softened slightly.
"You really went through hell, didn't you?"
I smiled weakly.
"...A little."
Robert sighed.
"Come on."
He pointed toward the stable.
"You look like you're about to collapse again."
That was probably true.
As we walked through the village, people kept staring at me.
Some looked surprised.
Some curious.
Some even a little afraid.
The boy who was supposed to be dead…
Had somehow come back alive.
But deep inside my mind, another thought kept echoing.
Somewhere in the capital…
The party that abandoned me was celebrating their promotion.
And they still believed one thing.
That I was dead.