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“Uurara! Urara! Uurarara!”
“Huh…?”
A new world, brimming with enthusiasm, we had just arrived at. Greeting us were semi-naked women dressed in cloth breastplate and skirts woven from plants, dancing fervently.
“Hey, Ed!? What is this!?”
“I have no idea.”
It was unusual for us to arrive at night. The mysterious ceremony illuminated by the flickering flames in the deep darkness was strangely powerful. Tia clung to my arm with a scared look on her face, but I could only respond as such.
I could never forget such an impactful welcome, but I genuinely had no memory of it. This suggests that some kind of alteration had been made here, too.
“Uurara! Urara!”
“Umbabo! Umbabo!”
“Uurara! Urara!”
“Umbabo! Umbabo!”
A cheerful rhythm echoed through the air, and we were surrounded by six women with serious expressions. In the outer circle, someone wearing a large wooden mask was beating a drum in time, providing a backbeat. Mysterious patterns were drawn under our feet, and it was probably like when we encountered Miguel – we had appeared during some kind of summoning ritual.
“Uurarara!”
With one final, particularly loud shout, the women who had been surrounding and dancing around us backed away. Then a slightly larger woman, her hair decorated with nuts and branches, came from the building at the back.
“Welcome, hero!”
“Hero!? Wait, us!?”
“Yes. Come, let’s have a welcome feast!”
As she spoke, the woman approached me… passed by me, and tried to take Tia by the arm and lead her away. Huh?
“Wait, what about me?”
“Hm? You’re a man, not a hero.”
“Oh, I see.”
She looked at me as though I were an insect, and I forced a smile. I mean, who cares if I’m not a hero?
“But wait, what happens to Ed?”
“Ed, that’s your name? Men are nuisances. We’ll tie you up and throw you outside the village. Ladies, handle this!”
“Uurarara!”
“Hey, hey, hey, hey!?”
The women who had been dancing just now gathered around me, took my sword from my waist, and quickly tied me up with ropes. Tia, watching this unfold, raised a frantic voice of protest to the large woman.
“What are you doing, stop it! Ed is my important comrade!?”
“Comrade or not. Men are troublesome! Men are useless! Men only look at breasts and buttocks!”
“Ugh!? Well, I can’t deny that he has that side to him…”
“Could you stop glancing at me while you say that?”
I mean, I’m a healthy man, right? I can’t say I’m completely uninterested. But I’ve never shown that side of me so blatantly… right?
“But anyway, Ed is different! If you’re going to be cruel to Ed, I won’t cooperate with you, regardless of whether you’re a hero or whatever!”
“Hm, that would be a problem… Alright. We’ll tie him up and throw him in the prison. Ladies, take this man away!”
“Umbabo!”
“Ed!?”
“No, it’s alright. She’s probably ‘that’, so respond accordingly.”
“Huh!? Got it. Be careful.”
From my perspective, a strong sense of heroism was radiating from the large woman. In fact, she seemed familiar somehow. That being the case, it wouldn’t be wise to upset her or sever our relationship. Tia, understanding my intentions, disappeared into the building at the back with the woman, while I, tied up head to toe, was hoisted up by another woman and thrown into a prison made from thin plants on the outskirts of the village.
“Guha!?”
“You should be grateful for being allowed to stay, man!”
“Well, thanks… But aren’t you going to untie me?”
“Of course not! No freedom for men!”
“But I’m inside a prison cell here. And I can’t move like this. Are you going to feed me with a spoon or something?”
“No way! …Tsk, you girls, keep an eye out.”
Smiling broadly, I made a joke, and one of the women who had carried me in clicked her tongue and entered the cell. Once she had closed the door securely and confirmed that I couldn’t move, the other two women pointed their spears at me, and then she untied my ropes.
“Phew, finally free. Thanks.”
“Hmph! No need for a man’s gratitude!”
“Don’t say that. By the way, my name is Ed, what about you?”
“I have no name to give to a man!!!”
“Whoa, no need to shout, right? Alright, alright, if you feel like it, let me know.”
“…..Hmph! Let’s go, everyone!”
“Uurara!”
Three women left the scene once the cell was securely closed. It didn’t seem like there was any guard to watch me, so I checked the material of the prison cell for now.
“Hmm, hard plant? It’s quite flexible… Impossible to break it bare-handed.”
It’s not as strong as a prison made of stone and metal, but it’s impossible for a common person to escape easily. Well, I have my Banishment skils, so I can handle such a prison.
“What should I do next…?”
For the time being, I prioritized my relationship with the person who seemed to be the hero and was quietly captured. I’m somewhat worried about how Tia is doing, but since she’s being called a hero, she’s probably not being treated too badly.
“I want information, but hmm…”
There’s no guard, so I have no way to investigate. There’s also the option of using [Mirage Shift] to take a tour of the village, but it might get complicated if someone comes back here in the meantime.
(Well, even if I’m completely neglected, water and food can be managed somehow, so for a while I’ll wait and see if Tia contacts me. Or… Huh?)
Suddenly, I thought I saw the grass rustling in the corner of my sight. Paying attention to it, a man wearing a similar grass skirt to the women appeared.
“Shhh! Be quiet! I came to help you.”
“Help? That’s helpful… You’re quite efficient, huh?”
It’s only been about three hours since I came to this world. If you’re moving this quickly, I can only think that you had information beforehand.
“I understand what you’re trying to say. But we, men, know when we’re caught. We’ve had our comrades caught numerous times before.”
“Oh, I see, is that so?”
I see. It’s not because I was caught, but if they’ve been helping comrades who were caught before, that explains the immediate response.
“First of all, you’re lucky. Normally, you’d be tied up with a rope and thrown into the forest. In that case, we can’t help you right away. You get your face licked by the beasts of the forest… It becomes very smelly.”
“…That sounds subtly unpleasant.”
My [Invincible] can defend against physical attacks, but it doesn’t prevent saliva from getting on you when you’re licked. Being tied up, having your face wet, and squirming around while enduring a foul smell… Yeah, I really hate that.
“That’s why we move quickly. But you’re special. You might not be thrown out immediately. This is the first time. So I’m a little hesitant too. What will you do?”
""
“Right…”
At the man’s words, I started thinking with my arms crossed. I can escape from any situation at any time if I’m alone. So this situation was not a crisis or anything.
But that’s only for me. If I escape from here, I don’t know how it will affect Tia’s treatment. So rather than escaping from here now, it seems more productive to stay here and gather information for later activities.
“…Sorry. It looks like you came to help me, but I’m going to stay here. But I want information about this world or why I’m in this situation. Can you tell me that?”
“Hmm, I can, but it’s difficult. It’s absolutely impossible to not be found by the guard. It’s very dangerous to talk here.”
“I guess so. So……”
I organized the cards in my head and came up with an answer. When I told him my method, the man stared at me with a face that said he didn’t understand what I meant.