I followed the man for around five minutes.
The place I was brought to was a dome-shaped tent twice the size of the surrounding ones.
It"s located in the middle of the village. It must be the residence of the chief of this village. The open place in front of the tent looks like a square where people gather.
I wonder if I too will be executed in the square in the middle of the village.
While I was only thinking that it"s good the pain won"t be prolonged, a man slowly came out of the tent.
The man in the prime of life had an imposing expression. He was wearing clothes made of clearly better fabric than the people before. The same big scar decorated his face. The man with a build becoming of a gra.s.slands nomad glared at me, but when the man who brought me here said something, he opened his eyes wide and in a fl.u.s.ter came here.

As usual, I didn"t understand what he was saying. Even so, I understood from the man"s appearance that he bears no hostility.
While wondering what will happen, I was invited by the man in the prime of his life into the tent.
I followed obediently. Although the ceiling was low, the room itself was s.p.a.cious, on the ground a carpet made of animal fur spread out.
Inside there was something like a chest of drawers, and in the middle of the room something like a sunken hearth.
In the corner of the room things that looked like pillows were piled up, on top of them was a carelessly placed towel. The man picked up the tower, and silently held it out to me.
―――― Perhaps it"s to wipe my body.
Certainly, it may be rude to be wet like this inside. Because I was drenched by rain, my suit absorbed water and became heavy.
There"s no reason to oppose. On the contrary I felt grateful, and so I received the towel, took off my clothes and lightly wiped off water. Then I put on the traditional costume that was handed to me. Perhaps it was made of hemp or something as it was a little stiff, but I was relieved to have dry clothes. Next I quietly sat at the presented spot.
The man who watched my actions in silence for some reason made a relieved face. While I was feeling suspicious, after a short time two women came from the entrance carrying trays. As expected, both wore traditional costumes, but their faces were hidden by thin veils. One carried a tray with a cup and an irregular pitcher made of wood, and the other a tray with a bowl filled with fruits.
They placed them in front of me, and left as if they were frightened.
I looked at the man who brought me to the room wondering what it means, but he averted his eyes and as if his role was over he went away.
A s.p.a.cious room. I was puzzled to be left inside alone.

"What… is this?"

It looks like I won"t be executed.
It"s only a guess, but judging by their behavior the pitcher doesn"t seem to be filled with poison.
And, thinking I was saved… I felt severe thirst.

"ah! Hah…"

I picked up the pitcher and poured its contents into the cup. Since my hands were shaking, I spilled a little on the carpet, but I had no time to mind. I thought that I"ll be embarra.s.sed later, but I didn"t take any countermeasures and drank the water in one gulp. The cool feeling moistened my throat.
Even though it"s not like I walked for hours, my whole body complained about thirst.
I continued pouring the water and drinking it over and over.
Then, when I almost emptied the pitcher, I could finally take a breath.

"… Haa…"

I wonder if tension left me thanks to drinking. Perhaps as my body, that had unknowingly stiffened, relaxed, I collapsed on the spot feeling like strength left me.
I was completely exhausted.

"Sakura…"

I spontaneously called her name.
What in the world has happen to me――――.
Without understanding at all, I fell asleep on the spot.

After sleeping for a few hours, I naturally woke up.

Immediately after waking up, I realized I was apparently put under house arrest.
With my energy restored by the nap, I tried lifting the cloth covering the entrance to the tent to go outside.
It won"t budge no matter what. For some reason it"s unperturbed.

"… It doesn"t seem to be just my imagination"

On the other hand, there are no signs that I will be executed either.
To begin with, if they intended to execute me, they shouldn"t have thrown me into the residence of the village chief and given me food.
I have to observe the situation. While I may have been locked up, it"s not a good idea to act violently.
If I rage without understanding the language, I"ll only cause trouble for myself later.

Having judged so, I obediently stayed inside.
Fortunately, because it"s the chief"s residence it has bookshelves stocked up with books, so I"m not troubled about how to spend time.
As a test, I picked up a book. I looked at the t.i.tle, but I didn"t understand the characters at all.
Although I felt disappointed that it"s a completely different language, thinking that it"s better than nothing, I tried carefully turning the page. It seems to be a picture book intended for children. It"s just right to memorize the letters.
Holding that book I settled down in the spot with cus.h.i.+ons, and while comparing the letters to pictures, began guessing what"s written.
While I was intently looking at the picture book, suddenly the tent opened and the women who brought water and food before entered. Perhaps as their guard, a young man holding a spear followed.
The women placed new trays on the floor, and having recovered the trays with emptied items left.
During that, they didn"t say anything to me.
Instead, the guard was saying something to the women, to which they frequently nodded.
I listened attentively.
I thought that there maybe will be something a little similar to the languages I know.
Anyway, I have to start communicating.
Through their words and the picture book, several days later I became able to understand the language called the Common Continental Language.

"What do you want to do with me?"

I"ve been trapped in this residence for probably 10 days. I wonder if they want to just keep me here without having me do anything. Unsurprisingly, I got tired of the situation, and decided to try talking with them.
I can generally understand the words they use in daily conversations. Fortunately, the language they speak has a similar structure to one of those I know.
It wasn"t that difficult once I realized that.

"Eh…"

Perhaps surprised to be suddenly addressed by me, the three people turned here with a start. While trembling, one woman responded.

"Tha… that was"
"I asked about what you want to do with me. Or are my words hard to understand? If that"s the case, I apologize"
"No… I understand. I understand, but…"

The three people looked at me with astonished eyes. Fear showed on their expressions.
There"s no point if I scare them. I tried to sound as calm as possible.

"It"s been already ten days since I came here. Meanwhile, you"ve only given me food and haven"t asked me to do anything. I"ve been wondering just what the purpose of that is"
"Umm…"
"Don"t talk. I will do it in your stead"

The guard stopped the woman who always brings me water from answering, and took a step forward. Dressed in a traditional costume and holding a spear that"s probably the real thing, not a replica, the man stared fixedly at me.

"How are you suddenly able to talk. On the first day you weren"t able to talk in the Common Continental Language"

I calmly answered to the question that laid within my expectations.

"… Various things happened so I panicked. I was finally able to compose myself, and"
"… Didn"t you speak a strange language?"
"I have learned various languages for work. Such things happen when you are overwhelmed by confusion, right"
"… Hmph"

He made a suspicious face, still he seemed more or less convinced.

"… According to the chief, you were a scary mage… That"s why, he told us to seal you in a barrier, but… Is it different? You learn languages… Does it mean you are a scholar?"
"Mage…"

At the man"s words, for an instant the figures of men covered by flames resurfaced in my mind. I shook it off and answered in a calm voice.

"I see. I think it"s correct to call me a scholar. Language is not my field of study… I major in historical science"
"Historical… science? I don"t quite understand, but… you aren"t a mage who came here to destroy our village? You aren"t an enemy?"
"Of course. I have no such intention at all… I just got lost a little during an investigation"

I spoke ambiguously about that.
I already understand I came to another world. But, I wonder if I can say it to others. I don"t know if cases like mine are unusual or commonplace.
But, I somehow understand it wouldn"t be good if it was exposed.
That"s why his words were a G.o.dsend.
A lost foreign scholar. I decided to play that part.
Professionally I was a university lecturer, so it"s not a lie at all.

"Hmph… Well done getting lost like that. Well, even if you say you"re a scholar, I wouldn"t know. Scholars are all said to be an eccentric bunch. And? What country are you from? You don"t have a scar on your face. You aren"t from Tarim, right?"

Going by his words, the place I"m in is Tarim. I understood that it"s a name of a country.
I made sure to burn the word into my memory. Information about place names is what I desperately want.

"… If I said the maritime nation in the southernmost part of the continent, would you understand?"
"Aah, you"re from Irvine! I see, I"m glad. So you aren"t from Wilhelm"
"Yeah, I am not"

Seeing the man"s reaction, I was relieved.
In the chief"s residence was something like a map. And with that I became convinced this is not the world I know.
It"s true I was disappointed, but I cannot only be depressed. I pulled myself together, and read the symbols and writings on it. As a result, I understood this is a country in the north of a large continent. Apparently, it"s in the state of war with the neighboring large country to the south.
Even if I falsify my position, I absolutely mustn"t bring up a name of a country this one is in the state of war with.
And so, I tried bringing up the country in the southernmost tip of the map… and the man seems to have splendidly believed me.
The southern country is Irvine. Then going by the talk, the hostile country is Wilhelm.

"I see, from so far away. Then did you use a transfer gate?"
"… Yeah, well"

Transfer gate - I had no idea what that was, but for now I nodded. It appears that my common sense fundamentally doesn"t apply in this world. There are things like magic, and thinking about what I saw on the first day, it doesn"t look like a world where science and technology developed. I considered that I should avoid careless remarks.
While I was conversing with the man who was under all sorts of impressions, I was intently pondering about what to do from now.

First of all, I thought about the method of getting out of this residence I was locked in, but unexpectedly that opportunity came early.
The man notified the chief about me, and immediately came to summon me on the next day.

"You say you"re a scholar… Um, do you have knowledge regarding crops?"
"… General one"

I don"t know the level of civilization of this world. That"s why I answered so, but with a relieved expression, saying "I want you to come" the man dragged me out of the tent.

"… Dazzling"

It"s my first time outside in over ten days.
However, I had no time to be deeply touched. Now that I came outside, many people surrounded me at distance and peeked at me.
The man drove them off with his hand.

"You all, this is the chief"s order. Don"t worry about it and scatter"
"B, but… he"s the one who killed Yakin"s group with an incomprehensible dreadful magic, right?  He was especially brought into a barrier, is it okay to let him out"
"… He"s not a mage, but a scholar. And so, he may be able to solve what"s troubling us, right?"
"But…"
"It"s the chief"s order. Or do you all want to starve to death as things are"
"… Got it"

Hearing the word chief, with a sense of reluctance everybody left.

"This way"

I walked led by the man. Before long we arrived at the outskirts of the village, where poor-looking fields were.
The moment I saw it, I felt like I understood the level of the civilization in this world.

"I see…"
"So you brought him"

The man in the prime of his life I"d seen on the first day was already on the fields, and facing me he spoke.

"… These fields just don"t turn out well no matter what. There"s still a lot of time until the migration time. We can"t move from here… If you"re a scholar, could you teach us some measures"

Seeing him troubled from the bottom of his heart, I smiled slightly.
Aah, I can manage with this.

"… Yeah, I believe I can prove helpful. I will return the favor of lodging and meals"

… It"s only a guess, but this civilization is on the level of Middle Ages on Earth. Then, I"ll manage with the knowledge I"d learned until now.
There are still plenty things I don"t know. Even if I want to move, I need more information.
Then it"s best to secure bed and meals as a scholar here, and then slowly think about the future.