Chapter 29
“Tenner, I’m here.”
“Oh, welcome, Elaine.”
When I cracked open the shop door and stepped inside, Tenner greeted me with his usual friendly smile.
We’d gotten pretty close ever since I started bringing him monster parts to process after finishing combat requests.
How close, you ask?
Well—close enough that I knew he liked Taylor, the owner of the tailoring shop, and that I even ended up giving him dating advice.
Taylor was a modest young woman with light brown hair always braided into two neat plaits.
Both Tenner and Taylor had recently inherited their parents’ workshops, and they’d been childhood friends who grew up together in the same village.
Tenner, with his round cheeks and honest smile, and Taylor, with her freckled face and shy grin—
They looked perfect together, and I was silently cheering for Tenner’s romance to blossom.
Honestly, I don’t think Taylor dislikes his attention either.
After all, I’d caught her several times humming cheerfully while watering the flowerpot Tenner had given her.
I’d even noticed her ears turning a bit red—until she pricked her finger with her needle while sewing.
From that incident, I learned a valuable life lesson: never get distracted while sewing.
“Is this your first time doing leatherwork?”
“Y-yes.”
My heart was thumping pleasantly with excitement at the thought of trying something new.
I’d watched a lot of leathercraft videos back on Earth—mostly from random algorithm recommendations on video sites.
But actually doing it for the first time was a whole different story.
“Then today, we’ll start simple. I’ve prepared some basic leather for you.”
“Huh? Why? I have my own leather. A lot, actually.”
I proudly took out a pile of different leathers from my inventory.
They were all hides from various beasts and monsters I’d hunted during combat requests.
I’d sold most of them to Tenner, but I’d kept a few for leathercraft training.
“Ah… well, monster hides like these are thick and tough. They’re hard for beginners to work with. You can use them later once you’re more skilled. For today, let’s use this—lambskin. It’s soft and gentle.”
“Ah, I see. Then I’ll use that… thank you.”
Feeling embarrassed, I quietly put my fancy monster leathers back.
How shameful—
My enthusiasm had clearly outpaced my skill level. My cheeks warmed a bit.
For a shooter like me, leathercraft was an essential skill—
Most of my gear and armor were made of leather, after all.
Even my current defense +5 armor was leather-made.
So yes, maybe I was too eager.
Following Tenner’s instructions, I began learning the basics of leathercraft:
Cutting the material to shape, punching holes, threading sturdy string, and stitching carefully.
Before I knew it, I was completely absorbed in the process.
“You’re good at this. Guess it helps that you learned sewing from Taylor, huh?”
Tenner smiled as he complimented me.
He was right—leathercraft and sewing shared a lot of similarities.
Both required needles and thread, and both involved shaping materials carefully.
Yet, the difference in texture and handling made it all the more fascinating.
“Alright, that’s enough for today. Let’s finish this next time.”
After some time, Tenner stood up, signaling the end of the lesson.
“Okay, see you next time.”
I was a little disappointed—it felt like I could have finished the small coin pouch if I’d just done a bit more.
But I couldn’t exactly insist on continuing.
After all, Tenner didn’t even charge me for lessons—he said his mother would scold him if he did.
He was giving me his precious time for free; I couldn’t complain about the short sessions.
After finishing the morning’s work, I headed back to the dormitory.
Since I hadn’t packed lunch today, I decided to eat in the cafeteria for a change.
When I went down to the basement cafeteria, the smell of food filled the air—and so did familiar faces.
My roommate Rena, her twin brother Leo, and Darren were all there.
After getting my meal and sitting down beside them, Darren immediately greeted me.
“Yo, Elaine. Heard you went to the leather workshop today? You really try everything, don’t you?”
“…Do you know everything that happens on this island or what?”
His network was unbelievably wide—it amazed me how he always found things out.
“Well, I grew up here. My parents passed away early, so my grandma raised me. I’ve lived here all my life, so I’m close with everyone in the village.”
“Oh… I see.”
He said it so innocently that it caught me off guard.
I felt a little solemn for a moment but pretended not to dwell on it.
“I mean, I’ve lived here for twenty years—it’s natural. You haven’t even been here a month, and yet you’re already famous around the village! Even Dioscorides is comfortable with you. I still find that guy hard to approach.”
“That’s just because everyone here’s so kind. And that person… well, he’s quiet and eccentric, but he’s a good man.”
I scratched my cheek, embarrassed by the compliment.
Still, it was true—Dioscorides, the pharmacist, didn’t seem close to social types like Darren either.
Well, at least he pays generously for herbs, so that’s nice.
Thanks to him, my purse had gotten much heavier lately.
Even though I didn’t really have much to spend it on, just watching the gold coins pile up in my inventory gave me a warm, content feeling.
They say peace of mind often comes from a healthy bank balance, right?
“Anyway, things definitely got livelier since you showed up,” Darren said.
“Leo and Rena never used to take village requests before, but they started after you came.”
At that, Rena—who had been eating silently—turned bright red.
“Wh-what does that have to do with her?”
“Come on, admit it, Rena. You were inspired by Elaine, weren’t you?”
Darren teased her with a mischievous grin. Rena huffed, stood up abruptly, and stormed off, with Leo hurrying after her.
“Stop teasing her, seriously.”
“It’s funny though. She reacts so easily—it’s satisfying to tease her.”
I sighed, tapping his short, cropped head like scolding a mischievous schoolboy.
“You need to grow up, Darren.”
After finishing my meal, I left the cafeteria and headed straight for the Heroes’ Guild office.
“Alright then~ what kind of request should I take today~”
Wasn’t there a saying that Koreans tend to sing to themselves when talking alone?
I used to think my brother sounded so weird when he did that… but now I caught myself doing it too.
Anyway, humming to myself, I arrived at the quest board—
And of course, the yellow-haired twins were already there ahead of me.
“Let’s take this one. It’s been sitting here forever and nobody’s picked it up. We should do it.”
With that, Rena reached for the quest notice I’d been deliberately ignoring—
The main quest.
…?!
Wait a minute—if Rena and Leo complete the main quest instead of me, what happens?
Does the story progress automatically?
That can’t happen!
Before I knew it, I dashed over and snatched the note right out of her hand.
“What the—hey!”
“I-I-I mean, um…”
Flustered, my words tangled up as my brain went blank.
“I’ve, uh, been planning to take that one for a while… so I just, kinda… reflexively…”
Rena glared at me sharply, her expression fierce.
“What are you talking about? There’s no such thing as a ‘reserved’ request. Did you write your name on it? If you wanted it, you should’ve taken it earlier—it’s been here for days.”
She was right. There was no rule saying I owned the request.
If this really were a game and I were the protagonist, the quest would be mine by default.
But I already knew this world didn’t follow the game exactly—the tutorial had proven that much.
I didn’t want to ruin my slowly improving relationship with Rena over this, so I carefully handed the note back.
Still, I couldn’t help worrying about what would happen next.
This quest was the second-to-last one before the next region unlocked.
After this, only one quest remained.
You might think that’s fine—but as soon as that last one ended, the next chain would trigger automatically, opening the next area.
Which meant this was effectively the final quest on Mid-Isle.
After this, the story would move to a battlefield swarming with demons under the Demon God Phoneros.
And I wasn’t ready—neither in name, level, nor power.
It was terrifying.
“…Whatever. I don’t feel like doing it anymore. You take it. Leo and I will find something better.”
And then something unbelievable happened.
Rena—the stubborn Rena—gave me the quest.
She pretended it was out of annoyance, but her faintly blushing cheeks told a different story.
She was just embarrassed—she’d actually given it up for my sake.
“Rena…! Thank you so much!”
Overcome with emotion, I hugged my prickly roommate tightly.
She was smaller than me, fitting perfectly in my arms.
“L-let go! What are you doing?! Let me go!”
She struggled adorably, like a hissing kitten.
For a moment, I almost understood why Darren found teasing her so entertaining—just a tiny bit. Maybe two percent.
But the heartwarming moment shattered when Leo spoke up.
“Actually, Rena, we can’t take that one anyway.”
“Huh?”
“We can’t swim, remember? That quest requires diving into the ocean.”
“…!”
Right. The main quest this time involved diving underwater to retrieve a lost item.
