Episode 4: The smell of RPG from the other world
“Dddou ddoudo ddoudo ddou”
This is bad. My heart wasn"t prepared at all. I wanted to try saying, ?Good afternoon? but I was being scared to death!
“What"s wrong? What are you doing at a place like this?” [hunter]
The hunter asked me suspiciously.
“G-G-Good afternoon” [Ayase]
I was finally able to barely greet him as usual.
The hunter looks like he is in his late mid-thirties with brown hair and stubbly beard nicely in the middle. A bow was hung on his shoulder and an oversized machete on his waist. He was clad in Matagi fur clothing. His pair of light brown was staring at me strongly. His stare was kind of scary.
It couldn"t be helped since I returned his question with a greeting…..! I-If I don"t make the first contact somehow…..! Anyway I should just twist my words.
“Ee~ atto, well that is, h-how do I put it, I don"t even know it myself why I am here. How should I……..when I realized it I was already in the forest……I can"t seem to remember my past……to be more exact I seem to have lost my memory!” [Ayase]
I tried going with the memory loss setting.
Well this was the setting that I came up with from the beginning since I couldn"t come up with any other good idea. However, when I took a look at the hunter"s dumbfounded facial expression, could it be that my plan has failed? I have no choice but to carry on.
“Memory loss is it……..From your look, you must be quite young……Oi, do you remember at least your name?” [hunter]
“…….I remember my name and age. Jirou Ayase. 21 years old.” [Ayase]
When I answered so, he placed his hand on his chin as if in deep thoughts. In the end he seemed to have grasp something by himself and replied “Um” with a nod.
“I see. I"m not sure why you lost your memory but…….It could probably be an inland group escape. There are no embroidered vest or shirt that looks like yours around here in this neighborhood…..Although you appear too neat to look like an escapee from the military police…..” [hunter]
“……Etto, is there a factor in being chased by the military police?” [Ayase]
I couldn"t ignore those words so I became impatient.
Eh? Do military police seriously exist here…..? If I had wished that village [Konyanyachiwa] in a carefree manner previously, was there a possibility that I might end up getting arrested?
“Aa, if you escaped from the inland you will either be captured by the military police and be forced to return to your own land or you might be made into slave labor upon request. Well, most of the escapees usually have people here co-operating with them so they will be able to merge in well……A half-a.s.sed escapee who appears in that getup like you is rare. IN-CI-DEN-TLLY the reward for handing in the escapees to the military police is 3 silver coins.” [hunter]
The hunter grinned as he said that. It"s not IN-CI-DEN-TLLY, it"s incidentally!
Just as I thought that coming to this world in this clothes was the right thing, I"ll seriously end up becoming a slave in just 5 seconds or could this be some kind of joke!!
If I knew this would happen, I should"ve come in my own clothes……If this beefy hunter hand me over to the military police, I will start living the "fun" life as a slave in the other world instead………
I might have a really desperate look on my face currently. That hunter who seemed to be having fun watching my reaction there laughed heartily and shook his hand repeatedly.
“My bad my bad. I"m just joking. Well, the 3 silver coins reward is true but handing you over to the military police is a separate matter. Meeting you here must be the guidance of Le Baraka (?·???) ” [hunter]
“……Thank you very much……..Iyaa, it was seriously bad for my heart……” [Ayase]
“Well, I will be going back home now to disa.s.semble this guy. What will you do? If you"re coming along then help me carry him.” [hunter]
As he said that, the hunter started walking in the opposite direction of the village while dragging the boar. What I can do now is only one thing. I can only depend on the hunter now and help him carry the boar.
The hunter"s house is situated roughly 1km away from the village on top of a small hill. It is basically the similar stone house as the ones in the village. The house is surrounded by a small field and how do I put it, it seems to be enveloped by a happy presence. It is that kind of house.
I was feeling amazed there since I hadn"t expected this beefy hunter to have that kind of interest. As I helped to carry the boar together, I can feel an atmosphere of an idyll lifestyle from the house. When I saw a lady there who looked like the hunter"s wife, for the time being it gave me a peace of mind. It is such a straight life.
The lady who might be his wife is–somehow it seems like there are only two people staying here–as expected that lady IS his wife. She is a red haired sensual beauty who looks so much younger than the hunter. Though not as tall as the hunter, she appears to be quite tall too. Both of them somehow look like a pair of hand-to hand combatant husband and wife.
While the hunter is dismantling the wild boar, his wife explained to me various things about this world.
First, for the [escapees from the inland], there were various reasons found.
At present, this place is an outskirt area under Erishe, a free city which is currently Hanouku Empire"s second territory. A free city is a special place in the empire so apart from Erishe, there are only two other places that were stipulated. It seems that trading with other countries is only allowed in those cities. Therefore, they are livelier compared to the other imperial cities and the goods are also in abundant. However if restrictions are not applied, then a huge number of people will just come flocking to this city from the other empires. So that was how the repatriation and enslavement topic emerged. In truth I might be in an actually dangerous place. This hunter…
The hunter"s name is Sh.e.l.lo Roth [????·???]. While he was hunting in this area, he has the job to monitor and get rid of the monsters that escape from the forest. It was explained energetically that he was a mercenary before becoming a hunter (?????????????????). The wife, Rebecca [????] was also from the same mercenary group similar to her husband. It"s definitely a different world"s quality when you look at it. The wife"s height is roughly around 180cm I guess………The hunter"s height is likely close to 190cm…..
There are basically no monsters in this area. Nevertheless the forest will suddenly be “infested” with them and they will usually head towards places with people. That was why it is important to keep this linear route between the village and the forest under constant surveillance……..that was the details explained to me but it was difficult to understand anything. Infested? (TN: referring to the part about the monsters)
“Monsters are not living beings with flesh and blood. There are sometimes too much demon elements collecting at certain places in the forest, so they appear. Then, they will go straight to humans with strong magical power and attack them. Those are what we have been finishing off. Well, this isn"t such a big deal for someone like him so you didn"t need to worry about it.” [Rebecca]
“Aa, no, it wasn"t that I was worried about that. However where do monsters usually “infest”? ” [Ayase]
“They will normally appear in the dungeon. Then places where dragon lives also has dense demon element so monsters tend to appear easily. Well, dungeon has barriers in the exit and entrance so the monsters doesn"t escape from the inside and places where dragons live are usually far from human dwellings too. Most of the time common people have very few opportunities to see a monster.” [Rebecca]
Dungeon ktkr.
[TN: “kita kore” (????), lit. “it came!”]
It is indescribably an orthodox RPG world. The definition of monsters was slightly out of my expectation and doesn"t appear often so it doesn"t seem likely to be attacked by them usually.
–Though when I think about it, could it be that demon beasts or sub-human clan are considered as ?wild animal?, so they could be dangerous since they are staying quite far from where human lives?…… Especially the stories on sub-human clan tormenting humans that they brought back, iya~ my chast.i.ty is in danger in many ways in this other world. It"s troublesome isn"t it! (????????)
Sh.e.l.lo-san returned after dismantling the boar then Rebecca followed him out after in order to help him (since it is necessary to hang the wild boar temporarily before skinning it). At that moment I decided to inspect the room quietly to check out their lifestyle. The civilization here doesn"t seem advance so I am really interested in the tools that they are using.
Basically, there are many wooden tools, the decorative dishes lined up against the wall seemed to be made of porcelain and the cutleries are silvers. Well, the dishes that were frequently used are not all made from porcelain (hard paste porcelain) but ceramics instead. Porcelains should probably be high quality items here. Unexpectedly, the cutleries are all silver (I think). They shouldn"t be stainless steel possibly.
The kitchen"s furnace type is definitely not with gas and charcoal seems to be used as fuel. Right now I am putting out the fire.
Sh.e.l.lo-san"s weapons and large sword (Claymore) that appeared to be frequently used were placed leaning against the wall. As I expected, it felt like I will be violating a rule if I touch them without permission so I held myself back. Next to the wall, I caught sight of a decorative dagger on display and my eyes ended up being glued to it.
The blade couldn"t be seen since it is inside the scabbard. However, the ebony scabbard inside that sheath that twists in an exquisite way is inlaid with a geometric design of mother-of-pearl. The hilt of the sword, the edge, and pommel are engraved with beautiful pale metal carvings. The handle seems to be made of the same material as the spiral shaped scabbard as well as ebony and the sheath looks really beautiful too.
Just by looking at it in a glance I could tell that it is an amazing item. Even though the entire article is in black, it gave off a calming presence and something that felt like a magical aura could be sense rising, claiming its presence.
No matter what, I want to see the blade.
It seems like Sh.e.l.lo-san and Rebeccsan are still "wrestling" with the wild boar so it will just be for a moment, just a little moment…….I picked up the dagger while muttering and pulled out the sheath.
The blade that was shining dully is a Damascus steel with a double edge design. There seem to be something like rune characters driven in the blade. (Anyway they are symbols that I couldn"t understand)
….Un. It is seriously cool. No question about it.
—-This is bad. Honestly I really want this.
It has been a long time since I last seen an item that stimulated my greed so much. If I put this up in the net, it will definitely enter the Hall of Fame.
That being said, if there are usually items like this here, could I obtain other similar items as well if everything goes well? This might be a short sword but also a long sword. There are amazing things like this as well, isn"t it?
This is bad. I wasn"t planning to get myself involved too much with this other world but if there are treasures like this here, I started thinking that it wouldn"t be bad if I push myself a little. My wish is beginning! To be frank, if this is j.a.pan, isn"t this an important cultural a.s.set cla.s.s? Uo-! What should I do, what should I do!
Uo~on!
“….Are you interested in that?”
“~Tsu!” [Ayase]
I jumped up when I suddenly heard a voice. I was being too absorbed in it that I didn"t realize that Rebeccsan has returned.
“….etto, yes, I"m sorry for touching it without permission…..I"ve never seen such a cool looking sword before. [Ayase]
“Fufufu, despite losing your memory you still understand it?” [Rebecca]
“…….(Ach)” [Ayase] (TN: Ayase"s thoughts)
s.h.i.t, I failed! Was what I thought but Rebeccsan didn"t seem to mind it and continued on.
“That item was actually bestowed to the leader by the Emperor when the leader was working as a mercenary. After leader died, I received it as a keepsake. It"s actually not an item I will use so I kept it as a decoration. It"s quite nice right?” [Rebecca]
“Yes……it"s not that my memory came back but, I was somehow drawn to this sword……it might have been that my previous work was related to these things.” [Ayase]
“Work? –by the way what is Jirou-kun"s vocation? ” [Rebecca]
“…….Vocation? Is it? ” [Ayase]
“You received the blessings right? For your vocation” [Rebecca]
……….I have been a NEET for about two years……….
Anyway what is a vocation? In the first place, why did the subject about work suddenly pop up? Was the overflowing scent of NEET coming from me too overpowering…..?
“……..I"m sorry, but vocation? You might have known that I actually lost my memory already….and I am not so sure about the blessing you meant…….. ” [Ayase]
“Vocation is something you have seen in mind after you received your blessings and prayed to G.o.d. This ?vocation, vocation, vocation….? you see” [Rebecca]
What a fluffy kind of description…….I don"t even know what"s she was talking about.
In the first place, I have not received something like a blessing so I have not seen anything. So I tried covering it up by saying “Impossible. I have not received any blessings”
“U~n? Jirou-kun a merchant apprentice isn"t it? There are times when you need to go on training in order to aim for your vocation……Well, anyway tomorrow you should try getting yourself blessed. Since you"ll be living in Erishe from now on, you"ll need a vocation for yourself.” [Rebecca]
“I"m actually not familiar what the blessing is at the moment. How does it go?” [Ayase]
“[Getting the blessings to obtain a vocation]. The Great spirit, Le Baraka will bestow a blessing. Then you"ll finally wake up to your true calling.” [Rebecca]
Receiving a blessing to obtain a vocation…is it. I kinda get it and I don"t really get it at the same time. But if it"s tomorrow then that means I will be staying here today. I"ve come here without leaving any message at home though……..
“Anyway you"ll be staying over here tonight alright?” [Rebecca]
“Y-Yes! Thank you very much! I"ll be in your care today!” [Ayase]
I suddenly recalled this line from a certain RPG, ?A brat like you should just stay over tonight? so I replied back in desperation.
Note: If you want to know how Sh.e.l.lo and Rebecca look like, they are in one or two of the header images above the page