TFCG 25

My parents are wronged.

‘Ga’ for beautiful, ‘Eun’ for grace. They’re the ones who gave me such a pretty name, hoping I would become a beautiful and gracious person.

At my vehement denial, large question marks popped up on my colleagues’ faces as they looked at me.
Their expressions seemed to say, “If your parents didn’t name you, then who on earth did?”

“Then, was it your grandparents?”

Darren clapped his hands as if he had figured it out.
But that wasn’t the correct answer either.

All four of my grandparents, from both my father’s and mother’s sides, were the type who would say, ‘Shooter? What’s a shooter?’
They weren’t from a generation that played games in the first place, and even when my brother got a job at a game company, achieving alignment between his interests and his work, they disapproved, saying he had joined a ‘company that makes children’s toys.’
Would people like that, who don’t even know what a shooter is, name their granddaughter “Choi Gangshooter, hmm hmm…”?

“N-No, that’s not it either!” I waved my hands frantically, my face turning red.

“Then who gave you the name?” Darren tilted his head. At his question, the other colleagues also nodded.

“To be honest, I did think the name was a bit unique, but I thought it would be impolite to ask about a precious name given by your parents, so I refrained from mentioning it,” Leo said.

…So that meant everyone thought it was strange but had been tolerating it.
My face felt so hot that it wouldn’t be strange if steam started coming out of my ears.

Who gave me the name? The culprit was me.
I’d rather stick my head in a washbasin and die right now than say this out loud.
But if I kept my mouth shut like this, it would be an insult to my parents and grandparents.
So, I decided to confess, mixing a little lie with the truth.

“S-So… my original name is Irene. But when I started my adventure… ahem, due to various circumstances… well, somehow I ended up adding the appendage ‘Choi Gangshooter’.”

Well, the name ‘Irene’ also has its own origins (?) of sorts; if you trace its roots, it’s the English name given to me personally by the director of my English academy.
And it wasn’t a lie that there were various circumstances, either.
What was I supposed to do when the name was already taken?

“What kind of circumstances lead to that? Were you drunk when you registered as an adventurer?”

At Darren’s question, I could no longer bear the embarrassment and buried my face in my palms.
Let’s just say I was drunk. Let’s pretend I was drunk when I registered as an adventurer.
This was the goddess’s fault, for arbitrarily reflecting my game nickname into reality without even asking for my opinion.

“Stop asking. I really want to die right now.”

Unlike the knight who was laughing out loud in front of us earlier, their faces were pure and without malice.
But this was even more embarrassing for me.
There were more of them, for one, and I had to honestly reveal that I was the mastermind behind this name.
Ah, I’ve lost my appetite.

“I’m going ahead…”

Sulking, I returned my half-eaten meal and headed straight to my room.
Then, I hugged my knees and crouched in a corner.
I needed some time alone.
I’m embarrassed. Really embarrassed. I’m going to change my name soon.

Perhaps because I hadn’t eaten much, my stomach growled.
This darn stomach was throwing a fit, demanding food without any consideration for its owner’s feelings.
How much time had passed like that?
I heard a noise from outside. It seemed Lena had returned.
She must have been rolling around the wasteland here and there to catch the lizard, so she’d probably need to wash up before going to sleep.
But I didn’t have the confidence to face Lena right now, so I planned to hide in my room and wait until she finished washing up and went in first.

But then, I heard a knock on my firmly locked door.

‘Is Lena knocking on my door?’

Our roommate life hadn’t been that long, but it was a first, anyway.
Curious about what it was, I quickly went to the door and opened it.

“…Here. The head chef asked me to give this to you.”

She shoved a small basket through the crack in the door.
It was a basket containing various light snacks.

‘Head Chef…’

It seemed he had been worried that I hadn’t eaten much of the food I usually cleaned up, so he had asked my roommate to bring me something.
I really need to treat him well someday.

With a slightly touched expression, I accepted the basket she held out.
But then, I felt her gaze examining my face here and there, even though I thought she would leave now that her errand was done.

“Wh-What? Is there something on my face?”
“Looks like you’re not bawling. Okay, get some rest.”

With that, she disappeared as if running away. It seemed she was worried that I might be moping in a corner of my room, crying.
Of course, it was true that I was so embarrassed I wanted to run away, but it wasn’t to the point of crying.
Anyway, this… is her way of worrying about me, right?

Just as I was about to thank her for her concern and send her off,
I could see a hint of reluctance remaining on her face.
It felt like she had something to say but was holding back because of my mood.

“…Um, you can say it if you have something to say.”
“Then come out and sit down for a bit.”

I thought she might refuse, saying something like, ‘You must be tired, so I’ll tell you later,’ but there was none of that.
That, too, was a very typical Lena thing to do.

I let out a sigh and went out to the living room, sitting on the sofa.
Lena also clomped over and plopped down exactly opposite me, crossing her legs. Then, she bit her lip tightly for a moment, carefully choosing her words for a long time.

“…You might have sensed it from my attitude, but I actually didn’t like you very much. All the other colleagues joined the Hero Party after passing a difficult exam, but you didn’t. I thought you were unqualified.”

And when she opened her mouth. A direct hit came flying.
I can’t believe she’s saying this so directly.

Of course, I was fully aware of her feelings. Not because I’m quick to pick up on things, but because it was depicted that way in the game.
But to actually say it like this?

“Uh, hmm. That’s right… I understand.”

I nodded honestly. It wasn’t just saying I understood; I truly understood how she felt.
If I were in her shoes, I would have felt the same way.

“……”

At my words saying I understood, she bit her lip again.
And then, a brief silence.
Lena spoke again.

“Anyway, to get straight to the point… I don’t think that now. You have outstanding innate abilities, and even if you weren’t specially recruited, I think you could have joined by passing the regular exam.”
“……!”

I was shocked by her words.
I knew that she would eventually acknowledge the protagonist as a member of the team.
But that wasn’t now; it was after moving to the next region and resolving the incident there.
What had changed so much for her to acknowledge me this early?

“To be honest, that knight… he’s been subtly looking down on our Hero Party for a while. He’s even been disrespectful towards me. I feel good that you put him in his place.”

Lena let out a big sigh, as if feeling greatly relieved.
Of course, since she’s from a prestigious family, he probably didn’t laugh in her face outright, but it seems he would smirk and subtly make passes at her.

‘How did a guy like that become a temple knight, and a knight from the main headquarters at that?’

No matter how I look at it, he doesn’t seem to have the intelligence for it.
Anyway, it seemed I had scored big points with her for flattening that knight’s nose.
Well, she is someone who values the honor and pride of the Hero Party. There’s no way she would like someone who looks down on that.

“Th-Thank you.”

I scratched my cheek and expressed my gratitude for her acknowledgment.
Was she this hesitant because she wanted to say this? She has a surprisingly cute side.

Just as I was about to end the conversation in this warm atmosphere.

“I’m not done talking yet.”

Lena crossed her arms with a click and spoke in a stern voice.

“I acknowledge that your talent is outstanding. I’m amazed because it seems like you’re getting stronger bit by bit every time I see you. But why are you running around doing pointless things with that talent?”
“Huh? Wha-?”

I made a dumbfounded sound.
It was true that my level was rising bit by bit, so I was getting a little stronger.
But I was surprised because I didn’t know the people around me could feel it.
Other than that, there was nothing particularly surprising about her words. I had already expected her to think this way.

“Fishing, kitchen work, farm work… Why are you doing such odd jobs? Those aren’t things you should be doing. If you devoted that time to training in the training grounds, wouldn’t you be several times stronger than you are now?”

But this is… kind of unpleasant.

Lena’s words were wrong. I needed to run around panting and doing the ‘odd jobs’ she mentioned.
Even though it was initially to obtain the Rainbow Stone, it was different now.
In order to survive, I needed to craft good equipment, good food, and good potions with my own hands.
Even putting that aside, her saying it’s ‘not my job’…
Someone needs to do the cooking and farming that she calls ‘odd jobs’ for this Hero Party to function properly.
If someone has to do it, I don’t think it’s right to push it aside saying, ‘It’s not my job.’
In the first place, when I joined this Hero Party, the contract didn’t firmly stipulate that ‘You must only fight.’
Most of the schedule is free time. The agreement was to occasionally accept and resolve requests.

Of course, from Lena’s perspective, she might feel that way. She’s from a prestigious family. She grew up in an environment where hired help did all the ‘odd jobs’ and she only needed to elegantly practice her magic.
But since I couldn’t just accept her words as correct and move on, I carefully opened my mouth.

“I don’t think so.”

When I said this, Lena’s eyes widened into circles.