ăIf that story is true then there might be a summoned hero in this villageă
ăI think weâll recognize them immediately since theyâll have the same black hair as meă
ăThere have been a lot of heroes with black hair after allă
We walked around the village for a while.
ăAh, this village has a hand pumpă
ăHand pump?ă
ăAh, moving that stick makes the water come out of the wellă
ăHee, thatâs pretty convenient. It would make drawing water easier for sure. So, do you know the name of the hero here?ă
ăIt seems to be Aidaă
ăDoes that sound familiar?ă
ăWell, itâs a name thatâs used in our world, thatâs for sureă
ăIn that case, we just need to split up and gather informationă
ăAre you looking for Aida?ă
A girl who came to the pump to fetch water asked us that question.
ăThatâs right. Do you know where he is?ă
ăAida lives alone in a house outside the village you know~? Itâs over in that wayă
ăThank you, young lady. As thanks, this lump of muscle will help you draw wateră
ăReally!? Thank you, big brotheră
ăOi oi, donât put me in a situation where I canât refuse. Geez, fine. Give me the bucketă
Mason operated the pump which caused water to gradually pour out.
ăWoah, thatâs convenient. This is pretty interesting. Oi, bring me more bucketsă
ăThereâs no way we can do that unless we bring it back to her house firstă\n
ăThen go and do it. Oi, Rock. Go and find that Aida while weâre busy hereă
ăThanks, Masonă
I arrived at the said personâs house and knocked on the door.
ăWho is it?ă
ăMy name is Rock. Is this the residence of Aida-san?ă
ăYeah. Iâll open the dooră
The door opened and I was met with a man who was about 35 years old with slightly greying hair.
ăA Japanese, huhâŠâŠă
ăYes. My real name is Iwamoto but I call myself Rock here. Do you have some time? I would like to talk to you about somethingă
ăSure. Come ină
He beckoned me inside as he said that.
ăAre you a hero as well?ă
ăYesă
ăI was summoned too, but as you can see, with such a thin body, I contributed with my knowledge rather than in battle. So, what is it that you want to ask?ă
ăYou know of Demon Lords right?ă
ăI do. They are the enemy of the human race, arenât theyăŒ?ă
ăI thought so too. However, a Demon Lord thatâs a bit difficult to subjugate appeared. This one claims to be a former Japanese person reincarnated as a Demon Lordă
ăI seeâŠâŠă
As he said that, Aida-sanâs eyes narrowed and the mood slightly changed.
ăI had a conversation with the said Demon Lord and he said that the hero summoning is pretty much the same as an abductionă
ăHmmă
ăHe died and reincarnated so he doesnât have that much lingering attachment to our world. As for us, however, since we were summoned, what happens back at home while weâre here? Can we go back? Has there been anyone who was able to go back? After he said that to me, I started to wonder. Will I really be able to go back?ă
ăI see. Iâve also had the same thought about a year ago now. This is just something I heard but do you still want to hear it?ă
ăPlease, let me know.ă\năAre you sure you wonât regret it?ă
ăI still want to know even if I regret ită
Aida-san sighed when he heard my reply.
ăIâll just give it to you straight. I donât think anyone was able to return home. While searching for clues when I was working in the castle, I couldnât find anything that relates to a ceremony to send us back. They only know how to bring us hereă
ăI, I seeâŠâŠă
ăThere was this guy I got along with called Ugajin who was summoned together with me. Heâs the one who told me that. He was frustrated with the treatment he was receiving so he used a concealment skill he had to sneak inside the castle. After a few days of tailing the king, something awful slipped oută1
ăWhat did he say?ă
ăAccording to Ugajin, when the king heard that a hero was killed by a Demon Lord, he just ordered his retainers to immediately summon the next âdisposable pawnâ. Thatâs why I immediately decided to run away by telling them that I had no more knowledge to teach. Oi oi, donât make a face like that. Youâre scaring meă
ăIâm sorryă
I only realized I was making such a face after it was pointed out to me.
ăSo, is that all you wanted to ask?ă
ăYes. Youâve already told me more than enough since I only wanted to know whether or not there was someone was able to go backă
ăI see. Youâre still young so donât get any weird ideas you hear me? Why donât we eat something before you go?ă
ăOkay. Thank youă
The meal he prepared consisted of white rice, miso soup, some kind of pickled vegetable, and a grilled river fish.
ăItâs a good thing I was able to find something similar to the rice we have at home. Iâm part of the rice faction after allă
ăMe too. I was disappointed when they served the karaage lunch with bread in the cafeteria you know?ă
ăRight?ă
We both laughed as we ate the Japanese-style meal before us.
I put some rice in my mouth first, took a sip of the miso soup, ate a piece of the grilled fish, then another mouthful of rice.
ăI received the rice and miso from Enomoto-san who lives in the neighboring village. Heâs a veteran hero whoâs been here for almost thirty years. You can go and meet with him if you likeă
ăThank you for the informationă
ăAre you going to continue your journey?ă
ăYes but I think I should cool my head down a bit firstă\n\năThatâs right. They might only be able to summon us but there might be magic that can send us back since Iâve only been here for a year. It might be a good idea if you also try finding clues from the human magicians of this worldă
Aida-san gave me a bit of encouragement before I left.
Â
Idle Talk
Heâs usually like that though
Â
A: ăCaam-san was pretty calm, wasnât he? He was efficiently giving out instructions after allă
B: ăHeâs usually like that but it seems like he changes the way he talks when there are emergenciesă
A:ăMaybe thatâs just how he really talks. He probably just being considerate of usă
B:ăThatâs trueăŒă
Fox: ăThatâs right. He does sound more threatening when heâs mad though. Itâs really scaryă
B: ăReally?ă
Fox: ăHe made a military doctor tremble before, you know? It wasnât even directed at me and I was scaredă
A: ăI guess heâs the type thatâs nice but scary when you make them angryă
Keith: ăWhen he was being harassed at the base near the frontlines, he would keep doing simple things just to get back at the guy like sneaking into his room while he was asleep to burn addicting contraband plants. When that guy was finally thrown in jail, as punishment, he made him walk inside the narrow cell for two days without sleep. He made the guards hit the guy with sticks whenever he stopped. He couldnât kill him so I guess that was the best revenge he could get while the guy was in jail but how do you even come up with something like that?ă
B: ăUwahâŠâŠă
Keith ăThatâs why everyone in that frontline base made sure that they didnât anger Caam. Thereâs one last thing. I donât know how he did it but even though we all ate the same meal, that guy was the only one who had diarrhea. He lost so much weight that he was sent to the frontlines in such a haggard state. I would say he just reaped what he sowed but I also think that was too muchă
A: ăWe should make sure we donât get him mad thenă
Keith: ăDonât worry. He rarely gets angry. From what he told me, he only started retaliating after the seventh day so he was able to bear with it until thenă
B: ăThat amount of patience is also amazing in itselfă
Enomoto, hero (75 Years old)
The figure of him wielding his hoe was very imposing and exquisite. The sickles he throws seem to hit monsters like they were being sucked to them.
All of the goblins heâs killed have been buried and turned into compost.
After completing his task, he would shout words that were from a country that didnât use the common language.
ăèŸČćź¶ăȘăăăȘïŒ(Donât look down on farmers!)ă