The first order of business was cleaning my hands. They were filthy and covered with blood. The bakery was quiet, and it didn’t seem that anyone outside heard the commotion, and from what I could see out the window, there were no guards or villagers in the area.

 

I turn around and see the front door is slightly opened due to Madeline unlocking the door and rushing out of here.  I slowly make my way to the door and close it with my feet. I should be okay for now, but I need to stay vigilant in case anyone does show up.

 

I let out a deep breath. I just need to calm down and focus. I’ll worry about everything else later. The image of Madeline’s horrified face is stuck in my head. I doubt she’ll want to go adventuring with me after this.

 

I look down at Mrs. Frost’s body. I can’t bring myself to speak. I just feel an intense feeling inside of my gut. Regret.

 

My anger got the better of me. If I had just calmed down and listened to Madeline, this wouldn’t have happened. But it’s too late now. If the guards find out what I did, there’s no doubt that I’ll be stripped of my adventuring license. That’s not even the worst part, though. I’ll most likely be put on trial and executed. I doubt that they take kindly to murder in this world. The punishments are definitely more strict.

 

I wouldn’t be able to defend myself in a trial, either. I could try to say that I killed Mrs. Frost out of self-defense, but that would never work. She may have attacked me first, but I put her on the floor afterwards. At that moment, I had the opportunity to just walk away. But instead, I killed her. Another reason is because there was a witness. Madeline saw the whole thing go down, and judging how she reacted, she’ll definitely testify against me.

 

I shine the lantern around the room and head behind the counter to the door which leads to the baking area. I grab the knob to the door and turn it. Not surprisingly, it was locked.

 

“All I have to do is find a key or something to pick that lock…” I whisper to myself as I head to the counter area.

 

Despite thorough searching, I couldn’t find a single thing of use. It was starting to feel hopeless. 

 

“Come on, think! Where can I find a key here?”

 

A feeling of dread made its way through my body when I finally thought of something. The only thing that I could think of doing right now was to search for Mrs. Frost. 

 

I reluctantly walked over to Mrs. Frost’s body and kneeled down, my clothes getting soaked with even more blood. I quickly search her body, feeling for anything that could be of use to me. At last, in one of her pockets, I found a small key.

 

My hands covered the key in blood, and I quickly headed back to the door.

 

“Here we go.” I whisper. 

 

I insert the key into the keyhole and slowly turn the knob, and with that, the door to the baking area slowly opens. I sigh in relief and head inside. 

 

I raise my lantern higher and take a good look around the room. It was a considerably large area, and rightfully so, considering how busy of a bakery it was. Various stovetops and ovens were in the room, along with various knives and other kitchen utensils. 

 

It would be easy if there was actually running water in this world. But because there wasn't, there were no sinks. Even so, there had to be water around here somewhere, whether they retrieve it from the wells or the river outside of the village. Neither of those were an option for me right now, though. People would notice me and become suspicious.

 

“Just gotta keep looking.” I say to myself as I wipe away the sweat that was rolling down my face.

 

I eventually stumbled across three large metal buckets near the rear of the baking area. After shining it with the oil lantern, I realized that it was in fact three buckets of clean water. I gently put my lantern down and make my way towards the buckets. 

 

I kneel to the floor and stick my large, bloody hands into one of the buckets, and the water easily cleans the blood off. Soon enough, the water is murky and red.

 

I take the second bucket and splash the water onto my clothing, which was now stained with both fresh and dried blood. I was an absolute mess.

 

And last but not least, I use the final bucket to wash my face and my hair thoroughly. My face was bloody and full of sweat and grime, and the hair under my golden cowl was greasy and dirty, my beard unkempt and all over the place.

 

The water was nice and cool, and it was refreshing to feel it on my face. Most importantly, I was no longer covered with blood aside from my clothes.

 

“Alright, now all I need to do is get rid of the body and clean up all that blood…” I say to myself. 

 

Wait, even if I touch that body I’ll just get bloody all over again! Shit! I didn’t think that through! I’ve wasted precious time cleaning myself when I’m only going to get dirty again.

 

I look at the three buckets. One of them was unusable due to all of the blood that stained the water. The other two were clean enough. I still had water to wash the blood off again. I still have time.

 

Knowing I had no time to waste, I stood up and headed for the door. But as I’m about to turn the knob, I hear the sound of a door unlocking. It was the front door to the bakery.

 

The sound nearly gives me a heart attack, and with my heart beating fast, I run to the back of the bakery. I had to get out of here now.

 

I’m breathing so heavily that it’s difficult to get a decent grip on the small key.  As I finally manage to get the back door unlocked, the last thing I hear is a scream.

 

 It was a loud, blood-curdling scream coming from a man. I quickly make my escape, carefully moving through the village streets, making sure I’m not seen by anyone.

 

I had mixed feelings. I was relieved that I managed to escape in time, but I’m scared because I left way too much evidence, including the body itself and the three buckets that I also wanted to dispose of.

 

 I never expected anyone to come back to the bakery. It had to have been Mr. Frost. He’s the only person other than Mrs. Frost who would be able to unlock the doors to the bakery.

 

It was nighttime now. The sun had set while I was inside the bakery. I slow down and take a look around the area. I noticed a lone guard patrolling the streets with a torch in hand but that was about it. I don’t think anyone noticed me.

 

I better head back to the Adventurers Guild. I’ll be able to blend in with the crowd of adventurers and I also need to make my report. I took deep breaths in an attempt to calm myself down, but my whole mind was an intense storm of emotions that couldn’t be quelled.

 

I never should’ve come to this world in the first place. That seraph should’ve just sent me to Hell where I belong instead of giving me a second chance at life. I fucked up miserably in my previous life on Earth and I also fucked up miserably here. No matter how many chances I get, nothing can fix me. 

 

Maybe I should just give up and turn myself in. They were bound to figure it out eventually. And once I’m dead, no one will ever see me again. I won’t have to hurt anyone here again.

 

I’m about to turn around and approach the guard that was patrolling, but I suddenly stop. Is this really the right thing to do?  To confess my crime and lay down my life?

 

It is the right call. I know it is. I can’t take this anymore. I feel like if I keep on living here, I’m just going to keep hurting people that I don’t mean to.

 

All of a sudden, I think of Catherine, Arthur, and Archibald. The first people I’ve met in this world. They’re at the tavern back in Harlan Village, working hard and awaiting my eventual return. I think of Gwendolyn. That elderly shop owner who was incredibly kind to me. I think of Bella. She still needs to get back home to her kingdom and I’ve already said I’d do whatever it takes to get her back. I think of Leif. A prideful dwarf who despite knowing him for a short time, I’ve taken a liking to him. I think of Madeline. A girl who I had just started adventuring with, but now probably a girl who hates me and will never speak to me again.

 

I think of everyone I’ve met in this world so far who have made me feel joy and other emotions. My friends. Can I really just abandon them all like this? I had nothing like this in my old world. But now, knowing that I have people who I care about…

 

What the hell am I thinking? I can’t just throw this life away. I’ve made terrible mistakes. I’ve done things that are unforgivable and things that cannot be justified in any way, but I can’t allow myself to give up. As long as there’s still people important to me here, I can’t leave them.

 

I turn back around and press forward to the guild. Was I still afraid of what was going to happen? Was I still afraid of the consequences of my actions? Of course I was. For all I know, I might die tomorrow. But I’m not going to give in right now knowing that I still have something to live for. 

 

Once I make my way to the guild, I make my way inside and look around. The place wasn’t too crowded. Most of the adventurers have either headed back home or are still out adventuring. That reminds me… what about Bella and Leif?

 

I look around the room carefully, seeing if I can spot them on the first level of the guild. I don’t see any sign of them. I look up to the second level. I don’t see them there either. They might be out on their quests or they might be somewhere else entirely, I don’t know. I’ll see them eventually.

 

I slowly make my way up to the receptionist’s desk, and I notice other adventurer’s staring at me, most likely due to my unsightly appearance.

 

“Mr. Bale? Is that you?”

 

It was the receptionist with the black hair bun. She looked surprised to see me and rather concerned.

 

“Yeah. It’s me.”

 

“I mean this in the nicest way, but you look terrible, Mr. Bale…” 

 

“I know. I’m not at my very best right now. A lot of things happened…”  

 

“So I’ve heard. Your partner, Miss Madeline, came in here earlier. She already made the report. We know every detail about how your quest went." 

 

Huh? She did? I figured she’d just run home. To think she actually came back here to report...

 

“Well, in any case, we will still reward you with the 12.5 silver pieces. Your partner already got her equal share of the reward.” 

 

“I don’t understand. The quest was an utter failure. Why are we still getting compensated?” 

 

I felt guilty. I definitely didn’t deserve this reward. Not with what I’ve done.

 

“Let’s just consider it a reward for surviving your very first adventure and we’ll leave it at that, okay?” the receptionist smiles, handing me the reward. 

 

“Okay, thanks…”

I hesitantly grab the money and slip it inside of my satchel. 

 

“No problem, Mr. Bale. May I assist you with anything else?” 

 

“I was just wondering… did Madeline say anything about me?” 

 

“Hm? No, nothing in particular except for the details of your quest. She mentioned that you saved her life. You’re a good man, Mr. Bale.” 

 

“Ah, thanks, but… sometimes I don’t think so. I hope she’s doing alright…” 

 

“I’m sure she is, Mr. Bale. She did seem a little stressed out while giving her report, but that stress should go away once she gets some well-deserved rest. You both seemed to have gone through quite a lot. My condolences.” 

 

Yeah, she was stressed because of me… 

 

“Don’t worry about it…also, one more question, if you don’t mind.” 

 

“Of course. Ask away, Mr. Bale.” 

 

“Have you seen Mr. Leif or Miss Belarus around?” 

 

“Oh, the dwarf and the girl? Of course! Come to think of it, they were asking for you both earlier today and last night! They went on separate quests this afternoon and neither of them have returned yet. I’m sure they’ll be back soon, though!”

 

They’re not back yet? Weird. Must be pretty tough monsters if it’s taking them that long. In any case, I guess I’ll wait for them.

 

I make my way to an empty table and take a seat. 

 

“I need a drink.” I mutter. 

 

I ordered a mug of ale. It was nice and fruity. Just what I needed. 

 

I couldn’t keep my eyes open any longer. I was exhausted. Completely exhausted by everything that happened in the span of these two days.

 

After finishing my mug of ale, my head hits the table and I’m out cold.