It had been about half a year since I arrived in this world. When I first arrived, it was springtime, but now we had passed through summer, and the weather was starting to cool down.
You might be wondering about Temuan. Well, surprisingly, he is full of energy and doing well. And Ignis? he has managed to regain his smile.
When Temuan seemed to be in pain that one time, I was really worried. But it turned out to be nothing serious. His condition didn’t suddenly worsen and cause him suffering. Instead, it was just that the medicine he had to take was incredibly bitter and unpleasant-tasting. It was the bitterness that overwhelmed him, not any deterioration in his condition.
Wait, let me correct that. His condition did actually worsen, but after sleeping for one night, he woke up surprisingly healthy and energetic. That sudden change in condition was definitely surprising.
After Temuan recovered, the first thing we did was gather the corpses from all around the village. To be honest, it was a challenging task. Originally, I was supposed to do it alone, but Temuan recovered so quickly that he was able to help me a lot.
I didn’t want Ignis to see us doing that, but he always followed me wherever I went, and I didn’t want to leave him alone. So, in the end, I had to let him help as well.
Together, the three of us couldn’t bury all the bodies in the ground, so we gathered them in one place and cremated them.
After that, our daily lives became relatively peaceful. We didn’t encounter any real dangers, and everything was quite calm. There were still many things that surprised me, but in this world, they were just part of everyday life. It was actually Temuan and Ignis who found them surprising.
During good weather in the daytime, we mostly tended to the crops and fruit trees. Of course, we couldn’t take care of everything, so we focused only on what was necessary for our daily lives and what we could manage with just the three of us.
But we didn’t spend all our time doing farm work. Sometimes we went into the forest to set traps for hunting, or we went fishing at the lake. However, when I say “hunt,” it mainly involved setting traps rather than confronting beasts with swords and spears, as you might see in fantasy stories. This world may have fantastical elements, but it’s not a whimsical world where convenient fantasies come true.
Animals won’t stay and fight until their lives are taken. They’ll instinctively run away. That’s just how it is.
So on rainy days and at night, I focused on studying. It was all to quickly understand the language. I was handed a book by Temuan , and through gestures, he quickly understood my intention and patiently read it aloud for me. It seemed that Temuan explained to Ignis what I was trying to do, and from then on, Ignis was a big help. Hhe was always by my side, and whenever I found something interesting, He would point it out and answer in the local language, which was a huge help.
This continued for about six months, and I was able to converse like a native speaker. It felt like a long time, but considering I learned an entirely unknown language in just half a year without a dictionary, it was actually quite fast well I had help from Mai as well.
“Are you not coming in?”
Oh no, Temuan called out to me from inside the room. They must have noticed me lingering outside.
I had made up my mind that it was about time to start having discussions with Temuan now that I had learned the language. But as I approached the door, I became nervous and started
reminiscing in a storytelling manner without even realizing it.
I need to snap out of it.
“I have something to talk to you about. Is that okay?”
“You can come in.”
As I entered the room, Temuan closed their book and slowly turned their gaze towards me.
I made my way over to the sofa.
There were so many things I wanted to ask and talk about—the world, the village, the armed group, the flying ship, the mysterious tools, the mysterious energy, and the future. There was so much.
“So, what’s on your mind?” Temuan asked.
Where do I even begin?
“First of all, thank you for accepting me,” I started off with gratitude.
Even after I started learning the language and was able to communicate, they never once questioned my identity. That meant they never showed any signs of rejecting me, even though I had no ties to this world.
Although I rescued Temuan, I’m the one who feels like I’ve been saved by their existence.
“Haha, is that why you’re being so formal? Go ahead, ask me anything.”
“Thank you, I appreciate it.”
“Now then, let’s ask questions as they come to mind.”
“Why did that incident happen in this village six months ago?”
“I don’t know.”
“I see. The armed group… you may not have interacted with them directly, but what was their objective?”
“Ah, not only do I not know why they attacked, I don’t know their objective either. However, based on the characteristics of the man who stabbed me, the equipment and number of people that I heard from you before, and the story of the airship, they must have been the Mildecina National Army.”
Mildecina… the name of a foreign country beyond the border mountain range.
Hearing that, I breathed a sigh of relief.
However, thinking that it might have been insensitive to bring up such a topic that hurt the villagers, I changed my expression.
As I was thinking that it would be good if my thoughts weren’t noticed…
“Don’t worry. I understand that a foreigner, wouldn’t know anything about the people of this land.”
It seemed like Temuan easily saw through me.
I guess that comes with experience.
“Sorry…”
Although I had put off asking them directly because it was awkward, now that a foreign country’s name had come up, I was finally convinced that there was no reason for the villagers of this village to be executed.
If it were their own country’s army, it would be a different story, but it is impossible for another country’s army to cross the border for purification or suppression.
So, I felt a sense of relief that I didn’t have to ask them directly, but in the end, Temuan had figured it out.
“Another country did such a thing… so does that mean we’re in a state of war?”
“Information is difficult to come by in this village… I can’t say for certain, but is that unlikely? Even if they were at war with our homeland, it is strange that they didn’t invade or loot but only abducted residents. It doesn’t seem like a military action during wartime that would establish a base or loot and pillage.”
“Right, I see. All we know now is that the Mildecina guys kidnapped the residents as a means to an end, for some kind of purpose.”
Temuan nodded.
We don’t know anything more than that for now.
“Next. Is an airship a common thing in this world?”
“That is also speculation, but I don’t think so. About five years ago, there was a story from the central homeland that ‘a flying ship had been developed.’ I don’t think such a thing could become popular in
just a few years, and I have only seen it fly once in these past few years.”
“I see. Do you understand the principle?”
“It must be a levitation stone.”
“That thing from the fairy tales?”
“Yes, but it’s not a fairy tale. It’s a real mineral that floats when infused with magic.”
The word ‘magic’ came up.
I am almost certain of its existence now, and although I had planned to ask later, another word caught my attention even more.
A levitation stone… Could it be that anti-gravity material actually exists?
“I want to take it in my hand and see for myself.”
“Is it a rare item?”
“It’s not that rare. It’s not found around here, but it can be mined fairly easily. However, it’s small and not much on its own… but if they’ve discovered a refining method, that’s probably it. If countries are eagerly building airships, it may disappear from the market. So, in that sense, it may have become a rare item now.”
“Well, if that’s the case, it seems like it could be easily obtained for now.”
“I see. I’d like to get my hands on it someday.”
“Hahaha, if you wish for it, it won’t be difficult to obtain.”
Maybe I got a little too excited. Temuan laughed as they observed my reaction. Even when I saw strange tools, I was often laughed at like this. Older people seem to like the innocent appearance of children. Well, it’s not an unpleasant feeling, but at my age, I don’t want to be treated like a child.
With a bit of rebelliousness, I hid my expression and continued to ask Temuan questions one after another.
And so, the night grew late.
