Chapter 4 (1/2)

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 s.h.i.+rt 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 finis.h.i.+ng 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! (????????)