Chapter 5: An otherworlder?

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Yasutaka, having heard Aoi’s theory, repeatedly compared Eru and Aoi with a blank expression.

Before long.

「Ha, hahahahahaha. Th, that’s ridiculous. Eru isn’t an alien but an otherworlder? There’s no way that would happen, right?」

「Why not? You believe in aliens but not otherworlders?」

「Of course? Aliens are more realistic than otherworlders.」

With Earth that has given birth to intelligent life forms as an example, Yasutaka thinks that somewhere in the wide universe, aliens ーー intelligent life forms surely exist.

Although, Yasutaka doesn’t believe that aliens riding in UFOs would come secretly and attack Earth in droves.

But accidentally landing on earth due to an emergency is a possibility. That was Yasutaka’s view on it.

However, when it comes to people from a parallel world, the premise is that the other world must first exist. A universe that is confirmed to exist outside of Earth or a parallel world that one can’t be sure exists. If you were asked which is more believable, you would probably answer the universe.

「Well, fine. I’ll talk to Eru-san directly. Let me borrow the translations earring for a bit.」

After informing Eru, Yasutaka hands over the translations earring to Aoi.

Attaching the earring onto her own ear, Aoi starts to talk with Eru.

Although Yasutaka could not understand the contents of the conversation between the two at all, it appears that they’re speaking quite familiarly based on Aoi’s words.

Fellow girls get along, after all?

While thinking that, Yasutaka once again observed at his childhood friend’s facial profile.

Though Eru’s appearance is worthy of being called a beauty, Yasutaka thinks that Aoi is in no way inferior to her.

She has slightly quirky (?) light brown hair that reaches up to her shoulders and slightly slanted black eyes[1].

With a sharp face line and her other parts well proportioned, she gives off the impression of an active girl.

She has a cheerful disposition and is friendly when talking to anyone, moderately knowledgeable on otaku matters because of her brother and another childhood friend’s influence, a bit partial with her hobbies in school but has a lot of friends regardless of gender and, because her grades aren’t bad, she’s well received by teachers.

Rumor has it that the student council requested her to run for office next semester too.

Yasutaka, Aoi, and another childhood friend, Takashi, the three of them have always been together from elementary school to high school.

This is a rural area where the chances of ending up in the same cla.s.s are high because the number of cla.s.ses isn’t that large, so the three were able to do everything together.

Aoi has always been spirited, a leader-like existence for the three, she is truly reliable in times of trouble.

Right. Just like now.

Eru and Aoi have really opened up to each other and are now chatting happily.

She could get along with anyone in a blink of an eye, as expected.

While Yasutaka was thinking such, Aoi turned to him abruptly.

「As I thought, it seems Eru came from a parallel world.」

「Fr, from a parallel world…… Is that really even possible? Wait, since when have you been calling Eru, Eru?」

「Since just a while ago. Eru said it was fine to call her that. But she won’t call me Aoi though.」

There was a tinge of sadness in Aoi’s words. Speaking of which, it reminded Yasutaka that Eru also calls him Yasutaka-san.

「But how on earth did she come here from another world?」

「It’s definitely magic, isn’t it? A world where there are elves. I’m sure it’s a fantasy world with swords and magic.」

With a strangely cheerful countenance, Aoi talked to Eru. But as Eru answers Aoi’s question, Yasutaka notices that Eru’s expression is gradually darkening as Aoi’s eagerness became apparent.

「H, hey Aoi…… don’t ask in such a straightforward way……」

「Yup, yeah, that’s right… eh? You want both of us to hear this?」(Aoi to Eru)

Yasutaka and Aoi exchange glances. Then they faced Eru, her expression was dark but shows determination. Confirming that, Yasutaka faces Aoi again and they nod at each other.

Eru hands the translation earring she was wearing over to Yasutaka. Now, the two can understand what Eru says. On the contrary, Eru now can’t understand what Yasutaka says but questions can be saved for later.

After Yasutaka wore the earring, Eru talked about what happened to her, slowly.

✧

Yasutaka and Aoi were considerably shocked by the contents of what Eru spoke of.

The death of Eru’s companions whom she travelled with for several years. No, what shocked Yasutaka more was how a human’s life was taken so lightly.

「Su…… for such a reason…… for someone else’s treasure, just because they couldn’t get any themselves…… they killed others just to steal it……」

「Ara, there are similar places on Earth at present, aren’t there? Even in developed countries such as the USA, I’ve heard even now, if you go to a place with bad public order, there will be people with the intent of stealing would kill. In countries with something like civil war, people dying is an everyday occurrence. Not to mention, Eru’s world and this one are fundamentally different…… the slave trade seems to be done openly there.」

「Hmm…… even if what you’re saying is true…… It’s still a big shock for me.」

Yasutaka crosses his arms and looks at the ceiling of the living room as he grumbles.

「It’s not like I wasn’t shocked too, you know? To have the friends you’ve been with for years murdered, for me it’d be like Yasutaka and Takashi were suddenly killed. Just thinking about it terrifies me.」

Aoi hugs her own body and shudders.

Although Yasutaka was happy that Aoi said he’s important to her, when he imagined suddenly losing Takeshi and her, he felt just as terrified as Aoi.

Looking at Eru closely, tears were welling up in her eyes. Despite seeming like she would break down at any moment, Eru desperately endures and is smiling bravely.

「……Nevertheless, I was able to meet Yasutaka-san and Aoi-san…… Losing my companions is undeniably sad but we were adventurers, so I was somewhat prepared.」

Although Eru said such, a drop fell along her cheek.

Before long, the large teardrops started to overflow, and Eru was frantically wiping it off with the back of her hands. For a while, Yasutaka and Aoi could only watch over her silently.

✧

Eru eventually calmed down and, upon seeing this, Aoi opened her mouth once again.

「By the way, what are you gonna do about Eru from here on?」

「Yeah, about that. As I’ve said a while ago, I asked you to come here because I needed your advice concerning Eru.」

「……What about her? I’m saying this now, I won’t be of much help.」

「That’s not true. You are truly reliable when I’m in trouble.」

「Mou…… Saying such (good) things……」

Looking peeved, Aoi turns her face away. And yet, she sounded somewhat happy when she spoke.

「Then, just to confirm, the dagger Eru mentioned in her story wasn’t in this room, right?」

「Yeah. Eru was the only one in the living room. There was nothing like a dagger anywhere.」

There’s no doubt that Eru pa.s.sed through the dimensional walls with the magic imbued in the dagger. That means that if they have the dagger, Eru could most likely return to her former world.

However, without the key dagger, the likelihood of her returning to her former world is extremely low.

「Was the dagger brought along with Eru into this world or was it left behind……?」

Aoi muttered while she was deep in thought.

「……There’s no point thinking about a dagger that isn’t here. Setting aside the whereabouts of the dagger for now, let’s settle the more pressing matters first.」

As Yasutaka agrees with Aoi, from here on, Eru will join in the discussion while the earrings are aptly exchanged.

「To start with, I think we should buy clothes for Eru.」

「Now that you mention it, Eru is currently wearing Yasutaka’s clothes, right? What happened to Eru’s clothes? It wasn’t like a template where she showed up nude in this room, right? 」

「Well, it’s over there.」

Yasutaka pointed at the laundry drying in the garden. There, Aoi could see fantasy designed clothes along with Yasutaka’s clothes as they sway gently when the wind blows.

However, what caught Aoi’s eyes was a small, white cloth.

「I, is that…… perhaps……」

「U, un……」

Yasutaka’s cheeks were dyed red as he avoided meeting her eyes.

「So, so then…… Right now, Eru is……」

Aoi stared at Eru who is sitting in front of her.

The design and size of Yasutaka’s clothes, which Eru is wearing, are loose and does not show her body’s form.

But even so, it’s still a fact that the elf girl in front of them is not wearing anything under those clothes.

「…… This is a big problem……」

Aoi grumbled as she looked back and forth between Yasutaka and Eru.

It was certainly a grave problem. In various ways, for Aoi.

「We’re buying Eru’s clothes right now.」

With eyes filled with determination, Aoi looked at Yasutaka and Eru, then stood up quickly.

✧✧

Yasutaka, Aoi and Eru walked out Yasutaka’s house together.

While Eru was looking at the surroundings curiously, Yasutaka and Aoi were discussing where to go from here.

「To I-ON, after all?」

「That’s right. The I-ON in Miyoshi will have everything.」

The two were talking about I-ON, a large suburban supermarket. It’s in Miyoshi City, a town next to Nisshin City where Yasutaka lives, and it’s a large establishment with ten-odd specialty stores, all sorts of restaurants / food stores and even has a movie theatre.
From daily necessities to women’s clothing, shoes, socks, and of course, underwear.

Everything Eru needs is in I-ON.

Though Yasutaka’s house in Nisshin City, it’s not a problem of distance since it would only take 20 minutes to reach Miyoshi City if a bicycle is used.

Of course, it can’t compare to supermarkets and department stores in the urban cities[2], but it’s one of the places in the area Yasutaka lives in that has the largest selection of products.

Aoi, who came here on her bicycle, and Yasutaka took out their bicycles from the corner of the garage.

「U, umm, what are these?」

With great interest, Eru looked closely at the two’s lined up bicycles.

Yasutaka’s red bicycle and Aoi’s white bicycle. They were not new but because they were regularly used as a 「means of transport[3]」, they are well maintained and have a peculiar metallic shine.

「They’re pretty, but…… are these things a work of art in this world?」

「Oh, this is a vehicle called a bicycle. Because it doesn’t require a license to be ridden, this is the only vehicle we students can freely use. 」

「Th, this is a vehicle!?」

Eru’s eyes widened in surprise. Looking even more interested, she poked the two bicycles alternately.

What Eru knows as vehicles are living things that could be ridden, such as horses and some trained magic beasts.

Be it a horse or a beast, any living thing used as a vehicle had a large body. And yet, in front of her is the small object, with nothing more than a frame, called a 「Bicycle」. Eru didn’t think it was something that a person could ride.

「Well, seeing is believing. So, Eru will sit here.」

Yasutaka pointed at his bicycle’s rear luggage rack. But even though she was told to ride, Eru didn’t know how to.

「U, uhh……」

Baffled, Eru kept alternating looks between Yasutaka, the luggage rack, and Aoi.

Right now, Yasutaka is wearing the earring so Aoi can’t understand Eru’s words but even so, she was able to guess what was troubling Eru right now.

Aoi separated from her bicycle and showed Eru how to sit behind Yasutaka’s.

「Like……this. Step over and straddle it like this. When you get used to it, you can sit with both legs on just one side.」

Imitating Aoi’s demonstration, Eru sat on the luggage rack nervously.

「L, like ……this?」

「Yeah. Make sure to hold on to me firmly so you don’t fall later.」

Yasutaka straddled the bicycle and after confirming that Eru was firmly holding on to the hem of his clothes, he started pedalling slowly.

Though it was unsteady at first, it became stable as they picked up speed, and the refreshing feel of the wind made Eru’s eyes sparkle.

「This, this is amazing……!! To think such a small vehicle with only a frame could move this fast……!!」

Although it isn’t as fast as a horse running at full speed, the bicycle is still faster than a person running.

In Eru’s view of the scenery that flows by, appeared the figure of Aoi, who was riding a bicycle just like them.

Aoi turned to Eru, who had a smiley expression, and waved at her.

Nervously, Eru unclasped one of her hands from Yasutaka’s clothes and waved back at Aoi.

As they exchanged gestures, the two bicycles left the narrow streets of the residential district and headed east on the National Highway Route 153.

Footnotes:釣り目 – Tsurime. Search for pictures? Easier to imagine that way. Also, I can’t imagine quirky hair. [↩]Might be typo by the author. 都会の百貨店やデパート since デパート / Depāto and 百貨店 / Hyakkaten both mean department store so i changed one to スーパー / Sūpā. [↩]The kanji used here is 足 / Ashi, meaning foot / legs / means of transport, rather than 乗り物 / Norimono which means vehicle. [↩]

Author’s Note:

『Freeloader Elf』 update.
They finally went shopping.
*Fuu* It took a long time to get here……
I"m looking forward to your continued support

Translator’s Note:

Thanks for reading! The weather has been brutally cold lately. Hope no one gets sick.
Oh and, I have no idea why I always type bicycle instead of bike. lol 私はドMじゃない！馬鹿！

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