A village

"Well, I guess I have found a settlement for now..."

He said that as he observed a small village-like place, completely enclosed by wooden walls to guard against beasts. Two men were guarding the village gate under the flickering torchlight, armed with spears and wearing light leather armor.

"Fuu... I really need some water..."

He took one last deep breath and tightened his grip on a pile of materials he was carrying on his back, along with two space pouches attached to his waist belt.

"Hey! Someone seems to be approaching! Who is it coming from the forest at midnight!?"

Suddenly, one of the guards shouted, alerting his partner. The other guard also noticed a figure approaching and immediately became wary as the scent of blood reached his nostrils.

"This bastard! He reeks of blood!? Maybe a bandit or a maniac! He's coming at midnight! Only scoundrels do that! Get ready!"

"R-right! He really smells of blood everywhere?!!"

Both guards prepared themselves, and as they saw the figure approaching just a few dozen meters away, they roared:

"Who are you!?"

"Identify yourself!!!"

He looked at both guards and their alert expressions. Realizing their apprehension and being aware of his own physical condition, he raised his hands to show he had no intention of fighting.

"Don't be alarmed! I'm a bounty hunter returning from a job. There was a territorial dispute nearby, and I participated. I got lost on my way back. I have no intention of fighting!!!"

As he spoke, both guards seemed to relax a bit and adjusted their stances. One of them asked:

"What do you need from our village?"

"I could use some water..."

The guards assessed his situation. He was covered in a black cloak and carried a large bag of materials on his back, along with a sizable axe hanging behind him. Although he was dirty, his face was unscathed, and his ashen hair, though unkempt, appeared unharmed.

"Well, our village is currently a bit short on funds, so we can offer you water, but you'll have to pay for food. Is that acceptable?"

"Understandable. I'll pay for the rest. Maybe a few days here will be good, as I need to prepare for my next destination. What do you say?"

Both guards nodded, and the older one relaxed. He gestured inside the village and said:

"I'll show you to a place where you can rest. You can have water now, but for food, you'll have to wait until morning."

He nodded in response, and the guard led him to a rundown wooden house with a single room and a sort of hall with chairs.

"Here is water! We'll provide food in the morning!"

The guard placed a large bucket of water on a table with a carved-out wooden glass and then left the house. Thankfully, there was an oil lamp inside, providing enough light for him.

He immediately picked up the entire bucket of water, his immense thirst driving him to gulp down as much as he could. Finally feeling satisfied, he placed the bucket back in its spot and collapsed onto the rough bed provided in the room. He placed the large bag of materials and the hefty axe beside the bed on his side.

"F***ing hell... This is one hell of a hiking experience. I don't even know where the heck I am. Well, let's see everything in the morning..."

He muttered that as exhaustion overtook his body, and he fell asleep without even realizing it. Since waking up in this world, he had endured an intense workout session, starting with his half-dead body, followed by burial, looting, and searching for a settlement in the middle of the night, all while being thirsty, hungry, and utterly exhausted.

It wasn't long before the sun began to rise again. In the village, people began their daily activities with the first rays of sunlight. Smoke from the chimneys of the village houses started to waft into the air as they began preparing breakfast. In about an hour, some children were seen standing outside the wooden house where he was resting.

"Oh~ is that really a Bounty Hunter?"

"Man, he looks so badass!!!"

"Look at those muscles!"

"Woaah! What a big axe!!!"

The kids seemed to be excited to see an outsider as they watched him from windows outside, standing on their tiptoes. Suddenly, a brown-haired kid, no older than maybe 10 years old, knocked on the door, accompanied by another girl a bit younger than him, carrying some soup and bread in her hand.

"Hey! Come out! We won't be feeding you with our hands now! Come out and grab the food!!!"

After he said that and received no response even after a minute, he sighed with an irritated look on his face. He immediately opened the door himself and entered the house, making his way into the room where the man was sleeping.

"Gahh! He smells like rotten corpses! Why am I always the one to be doing this stuff!?"

The kid frowned, and a small crowd of curious kids had already entered the place behind him. The kid decided to finally wake him up by poking him with a stick he had in his hand.

"Don't blame me for being merciless! It's your fault for sleeping like a dead horse when your job deals with life and death every day-"

The kid was just about to poke the stick onto the man's arm, but suddenly, in a flash, everyone in the room saw the man leaning over the bed with his axe in hand, just a few inches away from the kid who was about to poke him.

"What the..."

The man quickly came back to his senses as he noticed a crowd of kids looking towards him with shocked faces, and the kid who had been inches away from the axe was shaking with fear.

"Ah... crap! The reflexes of this body are really something..."

He scratched his head as he tossed the axe aside and grabbed the food from the little girl's hands. Then, he walked away, leaving the kids still petrified in shock and fear.

"Thanks to the Lady Saintess~"

He casually said that and placed the tray of food on the table in the adjoining hall. He started eating the bread and soup there, showing absolutely no concern for the still-shaking kids on the sidelines.

"That was a really close call..."

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