Chapter 2: This Is What Communication Looks Like

“Communicate, damn it! Communicate! Com-mu-ni-cate!”

“Why are you only emphasizing the ‘-cate’ part?”

“Is that really what you wanna nitpick right now?!”

I exploded at Siwoo, who—as always—managed to find the weirdest things to argue about.

The people around us looked over, then turned away again like it was nothing.

Yeah, it wasn’t their first time seeing me fired up like this.

“We’re heading to the academy tomorrow, you know that?

“It’s been, what, half a year since I got named a Hero Candidate? And in all that time, you haven’t told me anything about your ability. I figured, ‘Okay, if I give him space, maybe he’ll open up on his own.’ But now it’s the day before we leave and you’re still keeping your mouth shut—what the hell were you thinking?”

I downed the rest of my milk and slammed the cup onto the table.

Thankfully, it didn’t shatter.

“Hey, how old were we when we first met?”

“In this world?”

“Obviously in this world. You know how old I was in the other one?”

“No, I don’t.”

“Exactly. So. I was, what, seven?”

“Yeah, sounds about right. Seven.”

“Right. Seven.

“You were a homeless stray and I took you in. We’ve been living together under the same roof for ten years now. Sure, separate rooms, but still. Ten years.”

I didn’t actually know Siwoo’s real age.

He didn’t either, honestly.

He’d looked about my age when we met, so we just decided to treat each other like same-age friends.

If anything, he had been a bit smaller back then… which makes it even more annoying that he’s taller than me now.

But that’s not the point.

“The point is, how the hell do you hide something like that for ten whole years?”

I grumbled, and Siwoo wiped the sweat from his temple while glancing around nervously.

Then he leaned in close and spoke in a careful whisper.

“…I didn’t keep it a secret for no reason, okay? I had to.”

“You had to?”

“Think about it. If people found out I had a power like this, you don’t think someone would come after it? Nobles would try to snatch me up just to power up their own kids or troops or whatever.”

…When he put it like that, it did make a lot of sense.

Yeah, this was exactly the kind of ability you could get kidnapped for—especially in this kind of world.

“You were right, by the way. My ability boosts other people’s potential and raises their overall stats. I didn’t expect you to pinpoint it that precisely, but… yeah. I got it when I came to this world—from the goddess herself.”

“I see…”

“So… yeah. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. But if you can, I’d really like to keep it between us.
I mean, if that info got around…”

“I get it, but—”

“Hey, you two! What’re you whispering about over there?!”

Bang!

Both of us flinched when the bar table suddenly shook.

We were sitting at the bar counter, right by the tavern owner—Tom, who also ran the inn upstairs.

Turns out, he’d noticed my empty glass and slammed down a new one, like always.

He had a bit of a… loud personality.

He was known for barely listening to customers, and just shouting over them with his own stories whenever he was nearby.

“Hmm? Getting all close like that? What, planning on getting married soon?”

The tavern owner, with his usual cheeky grin, looked back and forth between Siwoo and me.

I glared at him.

“Stop talking nonsense.”

“Haha! Come on, seriously, is Siwoo really the only one who could take you? What guy would want a wild, untamed girl like you? You better hang on to him, alright? Otherwise, you’ll end up single forever! Though, I guess once you become a hero, you won’t have to worry about that kind of thing anymore!”

“Shut the hell up!”

I raised my empty cup, and the tavern owner quickly backed away with an exasperated

“Whoops!”

That wasn’t just some random motion—he was fast.

He’d mentioned he used to be a guard back in his younger days, and it seemed like that wasn’t a lie.

According to him, if it weren’t for an arrow hitting his knee, he could’ve become a commander of a knight’s order.

I didn’t quite believe it, but still…

“Yeah, yeah, I get it, you’re embarrassed,” he said, still grinning.

I debated whether to throw the cup at him but settled for just slamming it back onto the table.

Sigh

I took a deep breath and calmed myself, then opened my eyes and spoke again.

“…Anyway.”

I raised my finger.

“From here on out, we’re really getting into the main story. It’s important that we share everything we know. I’ll do my part to take care of things, so if you’ve got anything to say, don’t keep it from me. That way, we’ll both have a better chance of surviving whatever comes.”

“Got it. I’ll do that.”

Siwoo responded without hesitation, and I raised my glass of milk once more.

We spent a little more time talking, and most of what we discussed was about the academy.

Tomorrow, we’ll leave.

Some of our luggage had already been sent ahead.

The capital had some high-tech magic and engineering stuff, so it wasn’t too different from modern Earth life.

But outside of those big cities, you could hardly expect things to be that advanced.

Naturally, we had to travel by horse, and the journey would take us a few days, so we had plenty of things to plan for besides just the main story.

As we reviewed the plans we’d made, the evening was beginning to fall.

“Hey, you two! Not gonna have dinner before you leave?”

The tavern owner suddenly shouted at us as we were about to get up.

“We’re leaving tomorrow! You should be having your last dinner with your parents!”

It was kind of expected, but honestly, we’d been avoiding eating here for a while now.

The food was overpriced and not great at all.

Even if the owner gave us a bit of a discount as locals, it was still pretty expensive.

“Oh, is that so? Well, I guess I won’t see you two for a while, huh?”

The tavern owner said seriously for once, then added,

“Stay healthy, both of you.”

“Take care, too,” I replied.

As I stood up, I left four silver coins on the table.

The tavern owner nodded at me with a quick gesture.

“Today’s on the house. Just take it with you.”

“Really?”

I quickly slipped the coins back into my pocket, but the tavern owner’s expression turned a little strange.

“Hmm, you’re a hero candidate and yet you’re refusing? You’re gonna end up making enemies with the nobles if you keep that up.”

This guy—who had only ever worked guarding the gates—probably didn’t understand how nobles worked.

“I’m a hero, so I can’t just turn down people’s kindness,” I replied with a shrug.

“Haha,” the tavern owner chuckled, shaking his head in disbelief.

Then, with another gesture, he said,

“Well, take care, then. When you’ve got time, come visit.”

“He said it like we won’t be able to come back.”

“Well, once you become a hero, you’ll be busy, won’t you!”

The tavern owner chuckled, and I shrugged my shoulders as we turned and walked out.

“This neighborhood… we won’t see it for a while,” I said, taking a deep breath.

Siwoo nodded in agreement.

“Yeah.”

I was feeling a little sentimental as I looked around.
Then, I spotted an elderly woman walking in the distance.

She used to run the small general store in the village until recently when she retired.

Her children had moved to the city.

The woman was struggling to drag a load that was about half her size.

From the way the bundle rattled, it looked like it contained the leftover goods from her shop—cups and plates.

I wondered if she might break something while carrying it.

Thinking it was the perfect opportunity, I nudged Siwoo’s shoulder.

“Hey, watch this. I’m going to show you what communication really is.”

“Huh?”

Siwoo blinked in confusion, but I didn’t wait.

I quickly walked over to the woman and snatched the bundle out of her hands.

“Oh, my! Don’t just take it like that—ugh?”

Despite my rough actions, I was pretty well known in the village for being capable.

I knew how to carry things without breaking them, and when the woman saw my face, she didn’t protest further.

“Granny, where are you headed?”

“Huh?”

She looked up at me, still trying to process what had just happened.

“I said, where are you going? Let me carry that for you.”

“No, no, it’s fine, really…”

“Don’t argue with me, just let me help! You’re barely carrying it, and you’re dragging it all over the place.”

The elderly woman stared up at me, mouth agape, but eventually relented.

“Well, if you insist… I’m heading that way…”

With that, the woman began to walk in the direction I pointed out.

I turned back to see Siwoo staring blankly at me, his eyes wide.

“See? That’s communication,” I said with a grin.

“It’s so nice when people understand each other.”

As we followed the elderly woman, Siwoo stood there for a while, still staring at me in awe.


***

Siwoo’s Perspective:

Siwoo stood there, his mouth open as he watched Lila and the old woman’s retreating figures.

So that’s… communication?

While it turned out the old woman did get help, and Lila didn’t seem to have any bad intentions, Siwoo couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off.

Isn’t it supposed to be better to ask if someone needs help first, instead of just taking things from them?

Even if the person was a little slow to understand, surely it would’ve been better to offer help, not demand it?

As he recalled past encounters, he realized this was a common pattern with Lila.

She could be incredibly insightful, seeing through situations, but she often blurted out her thoughts without warning.

Like earlier, when she bluntly pressed him about his abilities.

Siwoo knew Lila wasn’t a bad person, but he couldn’t help but feel worried.

If Lila continued to act this way at the academy, she was bound to clash with some of the nobles, especially the ones who weren’t as virtuous.

In fact, some nobles were downright cruel.

He made a silent vow.

If Lila kept this up, he would have to stick close to her at the academy.