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Departure – Second Half
You are reading a translation by Jun from scarletmadness.org. Please read this chapter on the original site or on patreon(translatorjun) if you wish to show support to me. You may not read the actual translation if you don’t.
Early morning, I was at the village outskirts.
“Are you already going?”
“Yeah. I’m not someone who can waste time too much, so yeah”
Around the time I was going to leave this village, several men of the village came to see us off.
“Thanks for the food and bed, you helped me out there”
“It’s fine, really. I don’t understand the whole thing at all, but the village is saved because you were here. You are a benefactor to the village”
“Treating such person coldly would be a disgrace to this village after all!”
I reflexively smiled to the smiling faces of the good natured guys.
I fix the backpack, filled with food and camping tools, on my back and turned my back towards the village.
“Bye then, I’ll drop in if I’m nearby again alright?”
“I’ll be waiting for you anytime, okay!?”
“Come again, you hear!”
While lightly waving my hand, I leave the village behind.
◆◆◆
“So the large city is this way…”
According to the guys at the village, there is large city if I go straight on the road of this grasslands, or so it seems.
For now it’ll be good to aim for a harbor, where we have more options to return to the demon continent.
There shouldn’t be any boats in that large city, but it should have a way to go to a port city.
Looking for something like a carriage would probably the fastest.
I’m probably faster on foot than a carriage even with the current me, but I know I’ll lose my way because I don’t know much about the geography of the human country.
In this case, a stable carriage would be better.
…Oops, that aside.
“ … How long are you gonna sleep, you damn god”
“I’m sleepy… zzzzz”
“It’s already bulky with just the bag, so get off of me!”
“Mh… a piety-lacking man are you not…”
I’ve been letting her sleep on my shoulders the whole time until now, so I would like her to at least thank me instead.
Reluctantly separating her hand from my head, Stroh started walking beside me.
Even so, I’m starting to have doubts on the fact this girl is a god, seeing her walking while dozing off and her unkempt bed hair.
“Being this unkempt… I know you’re erasing your figure, but you should at least pay attention to your personal appearance. The foundation is fine after all. Also, you stayed up late yesterday, didn’t you? Next time I’m not gonna do it ‘kay?”
“M- mhh… That you would preach to me, a god…”
“Your reply”
“Aye”
I squat and adjust Stroh’s hair.
As long as I can use magic then I would have done it in one shot by using fire and water, but since I can’t use it, I have no choice but to do it by hand.
Lightly combing her hair with my fingers, I managed to smooth over it.
“It’s still jumping up, but it should be something like this.”
“ … You are quite at home at this are you not?”
“Ah? Well… I’ve always been doing something like this after all”
It has always been like this with my childhood friend Yuuhi, starting from my reincarnation until I returned to this world again.
The whole time when her slovenness was at its peak, from elementary school until around middle school, I had been fixing her bed hair which turned upward everyday.
Due to that, I’ve gotten familiar with it.
Speaking of which… right now she’s become quite the levelheaded person isn’t she…
“What is it now, making a face like you’re lost in thoughts”
“No, never mind”
I stand up and once again start to walk on the road.
And when we walked ten minutes like that, changes could finally be seen on the grassy plains.
“Hm? What the heck is that…”
A carriage was stopped at the side of the road.
“Even the horse has luggage, but… is nobody there?”
“! Hey Setsu, I can hear sounds of battle from the other side, you know”
“Oh?”
When I went around to the other side of the carriage, there was a boy who looks like the owner of the carriage, fighting several small figured monsters.
Those monsters are… goblins I guess.
Their ranks on their own are the lowest D, but since they move in groups, they would jump up to a rank equivalent to A, depending on their numbers.
Right now their number is five. Enough to make or not make them barely C rank.
“Kuh! Why you!
“Gigigi!”
The man seems to have a hard fight.
Judging from the sword he’s holding, he must be close to an amateur. He doesn’t have much in the way of battle experience I guess.
“Well, I guess I’ll save him then”
I take out Kuromaru that was fastened to the rucksack and then cut in between the boy and the goblins with a kick.
“I’m lending you a hand”
“Wuoh! Tha- thanks!”
I decapitate the heads of the goblins, who stiffened in surprised from my sudden appearance, with Kuromaru.
I cut up the heart of another one before they calmed down.
“Gigi!?”
“Gii!”
“I dunno what you’re saying you know”
They finally recognized me as an enemy, so I cut down the two goblins, who leaped at me, in one go.
When the goblins who were bisected up and down fell on the ground, the last one became afraid, turned his back and ran away from us.
“Giiii!”
“Think I’ll let you go!?”
Well, it would be fine even if I let him go, but… it’ll be annoying in that case after all.
I’m glad I hid a knife inside the jacket-like clothes that I newly got from the village, just in case.
The current me will be helpless against long ranged attacks, so for now I will be relying on these guys.
“Here!”
“Gi-”
I throw the knife I took out and it cleanly stuck into the crown of the goblin’s head.
It did the trick, even if I say so myself. I may be able to make them eat this when they’re bothering me.
“So one hit out of five thrown is it… Well, you hit nicely compared to your first throw”
“… Don’t tell me”
My hand just slipped, it ain’t like I’m absolutely hopeless at it.
“Wow! You did it, brother! Thanks!”
“Hm? Aah, it ain’t such a big deal. More importantly, why are you pulling the carriage alone? The monsters around here looks weak, but it’ll get difficult if they come in numbers like now, you know? You have to get escorts…”
“About that… I’m something like a courier, but I was tricked by the escort adventurers just before departure and they went and only took away my money… but I had no time to find new escorts for the goods I’m transporting, so I reluctantly went out alone”
“Oh I see…”
When commissioning escorts in general, it’s popular to pay them thirty percent before departure and the rest after arriving.
Commissioners putting in complaints and not paying were why they made this way of doing things.
But still… That they would run away from a safe commission with nothing but these kinds of small fries, quite the cowardly guys.
“… That’s right! You! Won’t you become my escort!? I’ll pay you the proper  remuneration of course!”
“Ah?… Hmm, I can’t give you a decent answer because of our destination, you know?”
“It’s fine I tell you! You guys are aiming for Lacria that’s ahead, right? Passing through this road can only mean that place! I’m also going there after all!”
If I’m not mistaken, the name of the large city I heard from the guys of the village was Lacria.
If that’s the case, then accepting this guy’s commission would even seem good.
If he’s giving me remunerations, then… if it’s now where my wallet is light, it may be better to accept it instead.
“… Alright then, looks like we have the same destination after all. I’ll protect you until the city”
“Really!? Noーthat would be helpful! Now that that’s settled, let’s depart!”
“Before that, can you let me put this one on the carriage?”
I ask while putting my hands on Stroh.
This girl can’t fight… or more like she won’t fight, so I’ll feel more at ease if I can guard him outside on my own.
“If you need a fare, then you can take it off of the remuneration.”
“Nono that’s unthinkable! You saved me from the beginning after all. Letting one companion take a ride is just fine!”
“Big-hearted aren’t you. Well, we can’t afford it right now, so that saves us”
“Don’t mention it! Then missy, come this way!”
Being called, Stroh went on the boy’s back.
He’ll probably be surprised when a brat like her has that way of talking… since she looks perfectly like a little girl on the outside.
“Here, get on here”
“Thank you, uncle!”
Hm?
“Heyhey! It should be brother for me right? Uncle’s still too early for me you know!?”
“Ehehe, sorry brother!”
“You’re cute so I’ll forgive you! Dahahahaha!”
…………
“Hm? What’s wrong? Standing still there. Let’s go already”
“It’s nothing… there was something I couldn’t understand somewhat”
Come to think of it, that girl’s tone was a performance isn’t it…?
◆◆◆
“Wow! You guys are amazing, travelling as brother and sister!”
“It ain’t that amazing you know”
The road on the grasslands is still quite long.
In the meantime I glossed over Stroh’s relation with me.
Parent and child is impossible and if we were to go as complete strangers, then a modern person’s intuition would ring alarm bells so I gave up on that.
Our haircolor is nearly identical, so brother and sister is the best in the end, I guess.
“You’re so young and doing well… Someone like me is…”
“? Did something happen?”
“No, never mind”
What a strange guy.
Well, it doesn’t matter since it’s farewell once we reach the city either way.
No need for me to learn unnecessary stuff.
Oh, by the way, this guy’s name seems to be Gullus. (グルス; gurusu; if you have a better name for this, tell me)
“Oh, there’s someone actually in front of us”
“Hm?”
When I look closely at in front of us after being told, I see two figures.
They aren’t monsters… A man and woman I guess.
When we got a lot closer, I could see well what those two are.
Demons, both of them.
And I know these two.
I knew them… enough that I would at least unconsciously frown.
“Hey, that carriage there, won’t you let us ride on it a little? We will pay you money you know?”
“You, you two are demons aren’t you…”
“Hey hold on a minute, you’re not telling me that you’re not letting us get on just because we’re demons, right? Can’t stomach it, something like that”
“It isn’t really my hobby to do something like threatening, but.. it would trouble us if you don’t let us on just this time.”
The woman reached out to the katana that she wore on her waist.
Seeing that, I stand in front of Gullus.
This woman’s sword cuts are… bad news.
“Hey wait, Ramina and you too, a little much bloodthirst here… Let’s go cool. We won’t put you in any harm as long as you give us a ride. You guys don’t have any need to argue with us either if we don’t start anything. Right?”
“That, that’s true, but…”
“Then the conversation would be easy. Give us a ride and we pay some money for it”
“ … A- alright”
Gullus swung his head front and back.
And because of that, the woman kept her hand away from her katana, and I separated my hand from Kuromaru too, which was fastened on my back (The rucksack is carried by Stroh inside the carriage).
“You narrowly escaped death, didn’t you boy”
“ … Thanks”
The demon man and woman passed beside me and boarded the carriage.
Honestly, me narrowly escaping death can’t even become a joke.
Fighting against these guys with the way I am now won’t end safely for me.
Jion and Ramina of the five great demon generals… they’re guys I want to fight the least.
He has enough strength to compete fair and square with us Heroes in the worst case.
They’re without a doubt the demon’s highest military strength.
Why are they here…
“Let’s go quickly, alright!”
“Su- sure thing!”
A voice came out from the carriage and the carriage once again started to move forward.
What is it I wonder… I’ve been told in the former days that no decent thing happens when it comes to those two.
In other words, if I’m pushed to say something――――――――――
“ … I got nothing but bad feelings about this”
I mutter as I hide my face with my hands.