Dragged Into Another World Because of My Otaku Friend-Chapter 157: Gratitudes

"Huh? Did I fall asleep?" Cain woke up from his sleep. He'd been sleepless for the past few days, and only today did he finally have a chance to rest his head. He had a very nice sleep that he even dreamed of his family back at his village.

That's why he had no idea the shelter was being attacked by monsters. He only woke up when he heard the loud sound of a cannon nearby.

'Why does everyone look so scared? Are we under attack?' he thought as he looked at the anxious faces of the townspeople. Some parents were hugging their children tightly. All of them were moving toward one side of the hall, trying to get away from getting near to the windows on each side.

He tried to stand up when suddenly...

Pang!

One of the windows shattered, and a bat-like creature flew inside. It looked confused as it tried to find a way out, crashing into the walls again and again. It looked very desperate to get away from here.

The townspeople screamed and backed away, which only drew the monster's attention.

Its ears twitched, using echolocation to track the sound because it was blind. Once it pinpointed its target, it immediately dove toward its chosen prey.

"Aaaargh!"

Screams filled the hall as people scrambled in panic. All of them ignored anything on the floor as they only think of saving themselves.

The bat creature eventually managed to snatch one of the children.

"Mama! Help me!" the small, unlucky girl cried, tears streaming down her face as she struggled to break free.

"My girl! Please! Someone save my girl!" the mother screamed desperately.

"Release that girl, monster!"

Swoosh!

Cain shouted as he ran forward, drawing his sword and slashing at the bat. But the creature blocked his strike with its arm, blood spilling from the cut. It screeched and swung its wing at Cain, forcing him to deflect and step back.

The bat flapped its wings and lifted itself higher into the air. The townspeople tried throwing anything they could ; shoes, plates, whatever they had, but it was pointless.

"Damn it!" Cain cursed, furious with himself. How could he call himself a soldier if he couldn't even protect a child?

The bat rose higher, just about to escape when..

Bang!

Its head exploded, brain matter splattering everywhere. The people below froze in shock.

The bat's corpse fell, and the little girl dropped with it.

Cain rushed forward and managed to catch her, returning her safely to her sobbing mother.

Then he turned toward the entrance of the shelter, where a figure stood in the doorway.

---

I exhaled slowly. Luckily, I was fast enough to save the girl before she was dragged away and turned into monster food.

The moment I heard the screams, I jumped down without a second thought.

"Nice job, Alan. You're really quick," Evelyn said, giving me a pat on the back.

Suddenly, my sixth sense tingled. I moved away instantly, barely dodging a brutal slap from Selene, who swung right through the air. After getting hit by her so many times, my danger instincts had evolved to higher levels.

"Huh? Why are you dodging? I was just trying to praise you," Selene said, completely serious. This girl truly had zero common sense.

"You can praise me without physical assault," I replied.

Soon after, William explained the situation to the terrified townspeople. Fortunately, after a few minutes, a group of soldiers finally arrived. Judging from their blue-colored mail, they were local forces. Late, yes, but better late than never.

They explained that the monster numbers were dropping thanks to our group and Reymond's army cutting them down, which made it easier for the soldiers to reach the shelter.

"Thank you, Alan. For saving my girl. After everything is settled, I promise I will repay your kindness."

The girl's mother kept bowing to me nonstop.

I was in a completely awkward position. Back in my world, I barely helped anyone. I preferred to mind my own business. Even on the train or bus, if someone needed a seat, I wouldn't move an inch.

Why should I, when other people could offer theirs?

Even if people stared at me, I just ignored them.

So ever since I came to this world, being thanked like this always felt strange. I still don't know the proper way to react. My default response is just putting my hands behind my back and smiling like an innocent idiot.

"It's okay, madam. I was just doing my job."

After I finally escaped her attempts to reward me, I headed back to the party, only for someone to stop me.

"Hello. My name is Cain. Thank you for saving that girl."

Cain reached out his hand for a handshake.

Sigh.

Another round of gratitude.

"It's really nothing. I was just doing my job," I said, forcing a polite tone as I shook his hand.

"All of you must be adventurers, right? Are you heading somewhere? If you don't mind, I can guide you. I'm a soldier, not a local one, just temporarily stationed here," Cain said.

Apparently, after hearing from others about us holding off hundreds of bat monsters, he assumed we were strong.

And unlike the bandit group led by Phoenix that he met earlier, this group was kind. So he believed they could help this town.

"Who is this?" Bob suddenly asked as he and Linus walked over to me.

Cain introduced himself to them before we brought him to Beltimore.

"Beltimore, there's someone who wants to see you," Bob said.

"It's vice-captain Beltimore," Beltimore corrected, clenching his teeth as he adjusted his glasses.

"Heh. Why are you acting all haughty now? Didn't we already have an adventure together before?" Bob teased.

"With both of you, it's an exception. But in front of others, I need to keep my image," Beltimore said.

"Fine, fine, whatever. Anyway, this guy wants to join us. He says he knows the rough location of Kaoslith," Bob said.