[Likes NTR] Episode 24 – Blonde Magician Girl

Morning of G.o.d of Creation Day, my consciousness is drifting around as the sound of a famous rock song from the past is ringing in my ears. The music came from the pocket of my green colored coat that I hung on the wall. I ignored it with all my might and try to resume my sleep.

After five minutes had pa.s.sed, the music that replaced the alarm sound had stopped. I gathered my resolve and begin to rummage around my surrounding. I found my cold and hard equipment after putting my hand under my pillow, now I need to find my other goods.

I got up while rubbing my sleepy eyes and then searched my surrounding. I found my objective resting on top of the table near my bed, so I lit a fire on it and smoke my first morning cigarette.

I immediately feel like an anemic person. The surface of my body is getting colder, my senses are  becoming dull, and my consciousness feel like it was sinking. I don’t even know whether the taste could be described as good or not, I only felt those sensation cras.h.i.+ng down on me at once.

If this was the usual day, I should be having my relaxing morning time right now. Yuela would be taking care of her hair with a comb, and Kerebryl would be having fun choosing the clothes that she’s going to wear for the day. But that’s not the case right now.

I closed my eyes and spit out lot of smoke that quickly mixed with the air in this room where I’m alone. This is the morning of second day after I was separated with Yuela and Kerebryl.

“……G.o.dd.a.m.nit”

I won’t disappear without telling you two anything. I promised that to both of them, but look at me now. Seriously, what a joke.

–

“Thanks for the food landlady, it was good”

“Yes, you’re welcome”

The landlady cleaned up my dishes swiftly. I said my thanks and then sipped the tea with some sugar in it. This landlady is good at making tea.

“Did you sleep well last night customer ?”

“Yeah, I was really tired so I slept like a log”

Me and the landlady conversed while telling a white lie.  The truth is, the landlady invited me last night. Would you like to visit my room— she said, but I refused her.

She already had a fascinated look on her face when she filled the guest book with my status yesterday. I [Likes NTR] and [Peerless] after all, my status is filled with s.e.xual skills.

“Morning, nice weather right ?”

“……Good morning”

I spoke to a boy who had been staring at me from the dining hall. He’s the landlady’s child, his age is about 5 years old. It’s my principle is to eat the delicious stuff offered to me, but married women are a special case.

In my previous world, I received a love letter from a married woman that I only met once. That kind of thing is rare right ? That was extremely bold of her in many ways.

She wrote in the love letter that she fell in love with my smile at the first sight, she also included her mobile phone number in the letter, and for some reason, a printed photo of her husband and child.

I didn’t get excited from the feeling of immorality, and I thought that it would be bad for her family.

It seems like I’m not cut out to become a netori protagonist.

Since that time, I always treated married women as a special case. At the very least, I need to know about their family first before I would change my mind. And right now, I’m also not in the mood because I’m concerned about Yuela and Kerebryl.

“Thank you landlady, I have to go soon”

I finished drinking my tea and stand up, the payment was already done yesterday.

“……I see, so you’re going”

The landlady said so with a disappointed face.

“See ya”

“……Bye bye”

When I waved my hand to the boy, he waved back at me and replied shyly, he’s a cute one.

“Thank you for everything”

“……Please be careful customer”

I took the bento that I requested and said my grat.i.tude, the landlady is sending me off at the front door. Since this is the last time, I guess I’ll ask the thing that I’m concerned about.

“Landlady, your husband is ?”

The landlady has turned silent.

“……My husband died three years ago in the war with [Country of Law]”

“……I see. Sorry, I made you remember bad memories”

So the landlady is a widow.

“……It’s fine. I feel lonely sometimes, but I have this child with me”

“Yeah, he’s a cute kid”

The landlady is looking at my face meaningfully and patted the boy’s head with full of love.

He has the same flax colored hair like his mother, and the boy who knew nothing is acting all bashful after receiving his mother’s love.

“Goodbye, customer”

“Byee-byeee”

“Goodbye”

I said my goodbye and then walked down the village’s road alone.

–

I thrust my hand into the pocket of my mod coat and took out a smartphone with copper gold color. There’s ‘No Service’ warning message displayed on the screen.

I need some distraction, so I decided to walk while listening to some music with an earphone.

I set the volume to high and then let my mind wonder to some foolish topic.

Women are strong aren’t they ? After knowing that she’s a widow, the landlady suddenly looks more s.e.xy to me. It feels a bit wasted, perhaps that was a chance for cheating that will never be exposed. The landlady’s face is ordinary, but her body is quite filled. In short she’s the curvy type.

Some men might prefer their women to have some bit of meat inside them, but that’s a bit different from my taste. In this regard, Yuela and Kerebryl are truly the best for me.

Both of them are extremely slender, but their body was soft like what one would imagine from a girl and their b.r.e.a.s.t.s are big like a melon. Then to top it off, they also have lovely face and personality.

“Haah…..”

I let out a long sigh. I’m worried about my girlfriends, yet at the same time I’m also thinking about stuff like this, I’m awful  aren’t I. It can’t be helped though, I’m a man after all.

But the one I truly like are Yuela and Kerebryl, there’s no doubt about that.

After leaving the village, I walked on a straight road that is peculiar to a continental land with fast pace. This fine and wide road is stretching straight until the next city. When I’m alone like this, I become discouraged and my mind is filled with anxiety.

I keep walking while looking downward at the rut from a horse carriage, then before I notice the path had become an uphill one.  The terrain around here isn’t all flat, so there might be a hill or the like at some place. When I looked at the horizon, the road feels like it had been cut off by the elevated terrain.

The climbing route is also not uniform, there are part where the road turned into a short downhill before going uphill again. I become irritated and hurried my body while ignoring the tiredness in my legs and also the uneasiness in my mind.

It’s tough. Not just for my body but also for my heart. I’m in a hurry here, I want to see my girlfriends as fast as possible. I want to kill whoever designed this road.

I ate the bento that the landlady made for lunch. To distract my mind, I play around with my smartphone which is connected to a solar charger right now. I browsed around the menu and then opened the picture folder without any specific purpose in mind.

I wonder why didn’t I take Yuela and Kerebryl’s pictures with this. At the very least, I can look at their face that way. I thought I was a person who can stand solitude, but it seems I was wrong.

Instead, the picture that came out from my phone is that of Keiko-chan. She had said ‘Let’s go drinking with just the two of us next time’ to me in my previous world. She’s a persistent person, but that doesn’t matter anymore now.

I resumed my journey immediately after lunch. Perhaps I’m going to see the next city soon, because the surrounding of the highway is filled with corn field now. The terrain is also completely flat, and I could feel the strong sunlight hitting my face directly.

Long ahead of me, I could see something dark hiding in the shadows of the corn field by the roadside. It doesn’t move, but the figure is definitely that of a human. I wonder what is that person doing in such place.

I took my left hand out from the pocket of my coat and prepare myself so I could pull my revolver out at any time. I’ve become cautious haven’t I. A bitter smile is leaking from my face as I thought so.

I lowered the volume of my music and walked forward. I lit a cigarette and put it on my mouth while stealing some glances as I slowly inched closer at the human figure. Basically, I was acting with some caution.

The person is a girl. Moreover, a beautiful one with golden colored hair. She’s wearing a tight one piece dress with flower pattern and is sitting bare legged on the ground under the shadow of tall corns.

She held a wooden cane in both hands, and there are s.h.i.+ny high laced shoes, black cloak, and black triangle shaped hat cluttered on the ground beside her. This girl is surely a magician adventurer.

But rather than a magician, a witch would fit her better if she wore that black pointed triangle hat and cloak. As expected of different world with RPG style I guess. It’s nice, I always want to see something like this.

“……”

The beautiful girl is staring at me straight without hesitation. Meanwhile, I was looking back at her in a rude manner while smoking cigarette.

“h.e.l.lo”

“……h.e.l.lo”

The girl is beautiful enough to be an actress. Her age seems to be the same as me now that I have rejuvenated. Or to put it simply, around high school girl age. She greeted me with a cute voice, so I greeted her back, normally.

“……”

Her head is small, and her loose golden colored hair extends until her back. People might call it flashy or the like, but there’s no doubt that her hair with the same color as the sun would attract many eyes to her.

The most impressive things to me would be her exceptionally big eyes. Our eyes met earlier, so I noticed that immediately. It’s also green like jade, and the color fit her big eyes really well.

“……”

I have a habit from my previous world, I like to think to myself while walking in front of a girl.

For someone this cute, I’m sure her pride is high as well. I’m sure she won’t give me the slightest attention if we pa.s.sed by each other in the city.

I turned my line of sight from this pretty girl toward the highway in front of me, seems like I don’t need to be wary of her. Now that I’ve seen some eye candy, I should hurry and resume my journey again.

“Hey, wait”

I could hear the beautiful girl’s voice from my back.

“……What ?”

I stopped the music of my smartphone and removed the earphones. I looked back at her and speak while holding the cigarette in my mouth.

“Why do you keep walking without saying anything ?”

I pulled a wry face, that’s quite an unexpected question. The girl is asking me that in dissatisfaction while sharpening her lips. I guess a beautiful girl will still look as one no matter the expression they’re wearing.

I discarded my cigarette quietly. I still don’t quite get what’s this girl is talking about.

“I’m in trouble”

She declared so brazenly. To me, she looks like someone resting under the shade of  trees because it was hot, but I stayed quiet about that.

“Shouldn’t you notice it immediately when a beautiful girl like me is in trouble ?”

This girl is similar to Yuela. She knew her beauty is her strong point and can speak straight about it, they’re a different type though.

“……My bad, I’m accustomed to beautiful women so I didn’t notice that you’re in trouble”

If someone is going out with a beautiful woman, they surely will get used to one right ? I didn’t get all self conscious in front of her beauty, nor do I have any intention to please her on purpose.

“Hee, used to beautiful woman huh……”

The girl is grinning and looked at me like she had found something amusing. It seems she like my response to her.

“So ?”

“……What ?”

My question doesn’t come across.

“What are you troubled with ?”

“……My feet hurts”

The girl raised her beautiful feet high, the skin on her heel is scratched and bruised red. There’s no way I can notice that you know.

“……”

I need to make a choice here. Should I help this troubled beautiful girl or not ? Is this choice a minor one, or will it turn into something big in the future ? I don’t know about the later, but I guess I can decide for the first one.

I opened my Item Window and pulled out a medicine box, I think this choice is a minor one.  This medicine is the one I received from the chemist in that city with bad security. Thanks chemist, you’ve helped me plenty.

“Here’s some medicine good for wounds”

“……Thank you”

She was  hesitating for a while, but she thanked me sincerely afterward. I moved toward the shade and kneeled while opening the lid of the medicine bottle, then I scooped the oddly colored ointment with my fingers.

“It smells”

The girl is wrinkling her nose, this ointment has a poisonous color and the smell is unpleasant too.

“Good medicine taste bad. Come on, show me your feet”

“……It’s fine, I’ll do it myself”

It seems she’s a bit wary. With her cheeks red, she lowered her left hand to the ground and hold the magician staff in her right hand. To be honest, I think this is too much of a ha.s.sle.

“Ah- wait……, Nh……”

I paid her no mind and grabbed the front part of her thin foot casually. While staying as it is, I proceed to spread the ointment on her delicate heel thinly. The girl is gasping seductively, she made some good reaction.

“Uu……it stings……”

Yeah, I can see that from your reaction. The girl is swinging her left arm up and down in agitation.  Poor you,  but I can guarantee the medicine made by the chemist works well.

“……That shoes, did you just buy that ?”

“Yes, I bought it in the capital of [Country of Industry]. The leader in fas.h.i.+on might be [Country of Commerce], but almost everything was designed in [Country of Industry] right ? Since that’s the case, surely it must be cheaper to buy it directly from the workshop, so I went with it. Look look, it’s really cute right ?”

The girl broke into long speech about unrelated stuff. Rather than cute, I think punk would fit this reddish shoes better. I smiled wryly and then proceed to answer her.

“Yeah, I think that’s some good shoes. Also, it looks really expensive”

“You’re wearing an expensive one yourself”

The girl protested so to me. The one I’m wearing is a slim hunting boots made in England, the color is honey brown, and the material is leather. Certainly, this thing is expensive.

“My shoes are fine, that’s not the problem here……”

“You’re noisy, I know already.  My wound is caused by this new shoes”

So this girl isn’t just a magician, She had a good head on her shoulders and she knows her right and wrong too.

“I want to wear it no matter what, so it can’t be helped. I had already bought it, so I’ll just have to adapt in the meanwhile”

“……Yeah, it can’t be helped”

She had guts too, albeit a wrongly placed one. Still, I can understand that sentiment of wanting to wear a newly bought shoes no matter what.

“Let’s proceed with rolling a thick bandage then. Do you know any other way ?”

“No idea”

I don’t know any other way to deal with shoe sores, the girl is also shaking her head.

I proceed to wrap a bandage around her foot. Her leg is small and white, the whiteness might come from her race.

“……Somehow, you seems to be used to it”

“Yeah, the skin on my feet is weak. I had similar problem often”

The girl is muttering while watching me wrapping her feet in bandage. The tone of her voice had turned into a kind one.

“I’m done”

“……Thank you”

The girl stood up and thanked me, she’s pretty tall. She wear her socks over the bandage, and then proceed to wore the shoes again.

“How is it ?”

“……It doesn’t hurt as much, I’ll be fine”

She ties her shoelace, and then tapped the tip of her foot on the ground. If she’s fine then that’s good. I stood up too while wiping my hands with a handkerchief.

“You shouldn’t give the pain any mind”

“Are you stupid, what hurts hurts”

She’s saying some awful thing even thought this is our first meeting. I was just talking like I normally do, this girl is quite foul mouthed.

“My name is Rachel, you ?”

“……Kaoru”

The girl told me her name. She just insulted me a little while ago, but now she spoke with a bright voice like nothing has happened.

“Thank you very much Kaoru, you’re a kind person”

“……It’s nothing. There’s a saying in the place where I was born at, those who are kind benefit themselves, or so it goes”

Surprisingly, Rachel is showing me a bright smile. I’m sure there are men who would misunderstand just from seeing that smile alone.

“Which country were you born at ?”

“I was born in [Country of Commerce]”

I lied flatly. It’s a secret that I was summoned from another world by the G.o.ddess of Darkness, so I didn’t exactly feel bad about it.

“Hee, so that’s really the case. The clothes you’re wearing have unusual design, are those popular in [Country of Commerce] ?”

“This isn’t exactly fas.h.i.+on goods. I just had a friend who love to make interesting clothes”

I dodged Rachel’s question skillfully and piled up another lie. This girl might have a good head on her shoulder, but she’s unexpectedly easy to deceive.

“[Country of Commerce] huh…… I want to live in the capital of [Country of Commerce] too……”

Rachel is letting out a cute sigh. The capital of [Country of Commerce] is the leading figure of fas.h.i.+on and trend, so lot of young men and women yearn to live there.

“Why don’t you do it ? Adventurers are free right”

“I planned to, but…… right now is no good”

I tell her an appropriate response, albeit a bit irresponsible. Rachel answered as such while bending her waist and picked up her black cloak.

“Why ?”

While watching her movement, I noticed something unnatural. Her white hand is gripping the black cloak, there’s something underneath it. I found out about it soon after she lifted the cloak up, there’s a black colored sheath on the ground and a silver rapier that already had its blade exposed.

“h-……”

“Kyaha~ ……Surprised ?”

When she saw me gasp, Rachel opened her mouth and smiled. Her laughter is a youthful one.

“You might look like a gentleman, but see, I’m a beautiful girl right ? They said men are all wolves don’t they”

“……Clever aren’t you”

Seems like I’m not the only one who is cautious. Rachel was also hiding her weapon.

“But aren’t you a magician ?”

I said so with a jaded tone. To be honest, I’m a bit surprised. I didn’t expect a magician would carry a sword.

“I am. My family had always been one, the same with our ancestors”

Rachel is saying that with a disgruntled tone. She put the rapier with many ornament in its expensive looking black sheath, and then hang it on her waist with a belt.

“I like moving my body. Even if I look like this, I have studied swordsmans.h.i.+p under the guidance of a master”

Rachel’s mouth has turned into a crescent moon shape, she had declared so while smiling gracefully.

Her figure as she donned the fine looking sword above her equally impressive pink one piece with red rose flower pattern looks mysterious, yet at the same time it fit her really well.

“Besides, don’t you think using a sword is cool ? I could call myself a Magic Knight, it sounds strong right ?”

“In the place where I was born from, kids around the age of 14 think so too”

While looking at Rachel who gave her reasoning while smiling, I remembered the term chuunibyou.

“……You’re making fun of me aren’t you ?”

“Half of it, yes”

Rachel pouted while inflating her cheeks, she sure had many variation of angry faces. I smiled too from looking at her like that.

“……Despite your face, you’re quite mean”

After wearing her cloak and hat, Rachel stepped out from the shadow of the corn field. She turned her face halfway toward me and said so while glaring at me with one eye.

“Come on, let’s go”

It seems Rachel is waiting for me. She had decided to tag along like it was a matter of course.

“I’m in a hurry though”

I don’t want to— that voice nearly escaped my mouth, but I refrained and changed my response.

My travelling speed will surely change if Rachel is coming with me.

“You’re heading east right, you’re not going to stay at the next city ?”

It’s just as she said. I’ve been walking with a high pace so far, but I’ll still stay at the next city. I want to reach my destination by tomorrow.

“……Let’s go”

I lined up next to Rachel, jumping into things too quickly is a bad habit of mine. I guess I’m not quite calm after being separated with Yuela and Kerebryl.

“Are you an adventurer ?”

“I’m not. I have an objective, I want to go to the [Country of Freedom]. What about you ?”

Rachel is walking slowly. I wonder if her wound still hurts. I tried to adjust my pace in accordance to her.

“I’m an adventurer…… a newly registered one though. For the time being, I’m heading toward the next city”

“For the time being ?”

However my pace is still faster than her no matter what. I think I’m always half a step ahead.

“A beautiful girl like me are bound to have lot of problems you know. I registered as an Adventurer at the guild in the capital of [Country of Industry], however I got wrapped up with a bad man in there, that’s why I’ve been running away like this”

“Hmm”

Rachel had a fed-up face. Was she involved with a stalker ?

“They why not going to [Country of Commerce] ? You seem to be interested with that place”

“That’s not going to work. I was planning to register at the capital of [Country of Commerce] in the beginning, I’ve been longing for that city since I was young after all. But that man is my acquaintance, so he must’ve set an ambush for me in there”

“……That’s really over the top”

From my position, I could only look at her face diagonally. However her face is still cute no matter the angle I see it from. Somehow, I also had a feeling of Deja vu.

“You said the man is your acquaintance right, what kind of person is he ?”

“Someone rotten to the core, good for nothing, and also the absolute worst. I wish he would die already”

Rachel gave out a flurry of awful criticism. She also used the term rotten for the person in question, so there might be special circ.u.mstances surrounding her.

“I was able to escape somehow, and then I ran toward the capital of [Country of Industry]. But in the end, that man managed to follow me there”

“A beauty like you would stood out after all. But that man is amazing too, he sounds like someone who would have a tracking skill or the likes.”

While talking to Rachel, I was thinking about something entirely different. I feel like I’m close to remembering something.

“That man had a good nose like a dog, and he’s persistent too. Aargh, it’s p.i.s.sing me off just talking about this……”

When I saw Rachel’s frustrated face, I somehow was able to remember the unrelated stuff I was thinking about. It’s related to my drinking session with Keiko-chan from my previous world and two girl whose name I already forgot, let’s just call them A-chan and B-chan.

“—So after crossing the Great River and arriving at the [Country of industry], I pretend to go to the [Country of War] and……”

Suddenly, Rachel’s face is turning into a pouting one again real fast. I wonder why.

“……You, what are you grinning about”

“Hm ?”

Before I realized, I seem to have smiled from remembering the past.

“…….I was grinning ?”

“You sure did, you’re awful”

Rachel said so in displeasure. I guess I’m in the wrong here, let’s apologize to her honestly.

“Sorry. When I saw Rachel’s face, I remembered the girls who went for a drinking party with me long time ago……”

She’s listening to my explanation while her cheeks is still puffed cutely. I talked about another woman while I’m currently together with one. Certainly, I’m awful. But I continued nonetheless.

“One of them is called A-chan”

“……Strange name”

Rachel said so in a mocking tone. Sorry A-chan, I totally forgot your name.

“About this A-chan, her face when seen from the front is somewhat similar to you Rachel”

“Hee……, is she cuter than me ?”

While looking a bit peeved, Rachel turned her face toward me.

“No, Rachel is far cuter. That girl have cute side too of course, even me and my friend who was together with me secretly adored her in the beginning”

“Hmm……”

Seems like her mood has recovered a bit, she’s looking at me normally now.

“I’ll continue, this A-chan would always face us straight when she was talking to us, so we eventually thought that something was strange. We found out about it soon, apparently her face is only complete when it was seen from the front. She was someone whose jawline is as flat as a home plate”

“What’s home plate ?”

“……Actually, forget that”

I regretted it for a bit. Without giving it much though, I had conversed with Rachel like I was talking with a male friend. Earlier was no good right ?

“Hey, is that it ? Is there anything else ?”

However, Rachel is smiling like she had found it amusing. It seems my random talk was transmitted to her safely.

“……Yeah, there are three girls with us.  The other one is, let’s call her B-chan”

“Is she ugly too ?”

Rachel made a cruel remark which is reserved to cute girl only.

“No, she isn’t. She’s tall and dignified, and us guys thought that she’s the cutest in the group”

“Hmph……”

And then Rachel is suddenly getting cranky again, this girl sure had lot of expression. She keep changing between them, but she still looks cute no matter which one she wore. It might be one of her charm point.

“In the place where I was born from, it’s common to drink alcohol while eating to deepen friends.h.i.+p with girls”

“That sounds like fun”

I’m not familiar with the culture of this world, so I added some remarks and explained it to Rachel in an easy to understand manner.

“During the drinking party, this B-chan who is dressed neatly had a dark colored seaweed stuck in front of her teeth. She didn’t notice it at all and keep talking normally. All of us don’t want to embarra.s.s B-chan, so we tried our best to ignore it during the whole time”

“Kyahaha~ the heck was that”

Rachel burst out laughing, I also laughed together with her.

“We should’ve told her about it even if we have to invite her to the toilet,  both me and my friend keep regretting it like that until now. We were really desperate to hold back our laughter whenever B-chan was smiling back then”

“Haah, haha……”

Rachel nodded and wiped her tears that had came from laughing.

“That drinking party was disaster. Me and my friend keep saying ‘girls are scary aren’t they’, but still—”

“Only uglies would do that kind of thing”

Both of us walk along the highway while I talk to Rachel about foolish mundane topic, and we also tell each other about various  stuff. This doesn’t feel bad.

It feel like I was talking with a close female friend, it’s quite fun. Rachel also looks like she’s having fun with me and keep laughing happily. I think this happy looks that she’s showing to me right now is her cutest expression.

“……Hey, do you have girlfriend ?”

While we’re walking, Rachel suddenly asked that. It’s really abrupt, I was talking about a drinking party just earlier.

“I do”

“……Hmm”

Her voice had a boorish tone behind it.

“Where is she now ?”

“I don’t know”

The uneasy feeling has returned, it feels like someone is grabbing my heart. I can even tell that my facial expression had became dark right now.

“You don’t know……that’s……”

Brightness had also disappears from Rachel’s face. Her expression are also gradually turning into a cloudy one, she must have regretted it and thought ‘I shouldn’t have asked about it’ after she saw my expression turning dark.

“……”

For a while, both of us kept walking silently while watching the rut on the ground that was drawn by a horse carriage. I had fun talking with Rachel, so I felt a bit guilty about this too in my heart.

Rachel is walking while casting her gaze down. Sorry Rachel, you didn’t do anything wrong.

“There’s a dragon running amok in the Great River”

“Ah-……”

Rachel was a bit surprised after I suddenly spoke.

“I heard that too from the port city. I was crossing the river too on that day……”

“……I see”

By the way, Rachel said that he came from the capital of [Country of Industry], so that means she crossed the river from the south going to the north.

“I hope your girlfriend is okay”

“……Thanks”

I said my grat.i.tude after hearing her gentle encouragement. Then I recalled the event of that day while enduring the pain in my chest.

“On that day, I was the only one boarding the s.h.i.+p. That’s because……”

–

Morning of G.o.d of War Day, we are waiting for our s.h.i.+p’s departure time in the port city.

It’s been one day since we parted way with the professor from [Country of Magic] and the homunculus butler.

//TL Note :There’s lot of days mentioned in this chapter, so I’ll make a note just in case.

Monday : Met with professor

Tuesday : Parted way with professor

Wednesday : This flashback

Friday : Met with Rachel

//

This port city is located on the north bank of the Great River and is quite large. The atmosphere is vibrant and the city flourishes thanks to its fis.h.i.+ng industry and transport industry.

Moreover, this city is also used by travelers who want to cross the Great River. It seems there’s a specialized ferrying service which had been opened since long time ago. This city is lively thanks to all the travelers visiting this place.

Until yesterday, this city is crowded  but in a different sense compared with that lodging city from before. Because of the rampaging dragon, it seems the fisherman and the people from transport company cannot proceed with their work.

I interpreted the situation like a natural disaster specific this world.  If the people manage to endure, then the natural disaster would pa.s.s by itself. And right now, I heard the rampaging dragon has left already.

“……”

I was standing at the harbor and stared at the Great River. The strong wind is blowing the hem of my coat and scattered the smoke of my cigarette. The big body of water is stretched beyond me until it turns into a horizontal line far away from me.

This was a sight that I could never see in my birth country. I held back my breathing and gaze at the scenery of flowing water that covered all my field of vision.

“Hey, shall we go now ?”

“…..Ah, Is it time already ?”

I could hear Kerebryl’s voice from behind me. I turned my body around and looked at her lovely face.

“Yeah, our s.h.i.+p is going to leave the port after this”

Kerebryl is pressing her long silver hair that were fluttering in the air thanks to the wind with her right hand. I gazed at such feminine gesture with satisfied feeling in my heart.

“You seems to like the Great River”

“It’s really overwhelming, it’s as if I’m looking at the ocean”

I gave my honest impression. Something of this large scale will surely impress all people, I’m a little excited about it.

“The water’s color is really good too. This is my first time seeing a river as wide as this”

“Really ?”

Kerebryl is looking at me gently as I had gotten excited by myself. I walked closer to her while taking off my coat.

“Thanks for picking me up. The wind is cold right ?”

I hung my mod coat over Kerebryl’s shoulder, my hand brushes with her shoulder that was exposed from the white one piece dress. Guess I was right, Kerebryl’s cafe au lait skin is cold, her body temperature was sapped away by the wind.

“Fufu. ……Thanks”

Kerebryl laughed happily. In order to not let the coat blown by the wind, she grabbed the area near the collar with her left hand.

“I’m really happy”

“Hm ?”

Kerebryl said so, then in a hurry she pulled my right hand and joined her fingers with mine.

“By doing this, I feel like our hearts are connected while we’re thinking of each other. Even if I live hundreds of years from now on, there won’t be any moment like this one right now. I ‘m really happy that I’m able to meet you”

“Kerebryl……”

Kerebryl isn’t human, she’s a dark elf who had a long lifespan. Even after I died, I’m sure Kerebryl will still live for a long time. It’s making me sad to think about it.

“Mou……, don’t make such a sad face like that”

With a bright voice, Kerebryl rea.s.sured me while smiling. Her brightness is blowing off my dark feeling in an instant, it was a nice voice.

“We’re going to live together from now on right. I love you, I want to make you happy”

“Me too, I also want to make Kerebryl happy”

I grasped her small hand tighter, Kerebryl’s long slit eyes is also showing her joy together with her gentle smille.

“We should go soon. I’m sure Yuela is waiting for us”

“Yeah, let’s go”

I pointed my back to the Great River, and then while holding Kerebryl’s hand in mine, we walked side by side together in under the blowing cold wind.

“Yuela”

“Oh, you’re late…… Hm ?”

Yuela who was sitting in a couch raised her face when she heard my voice. It seems she had noticed my mod coat hanging over Kerebryl’s shoulder.

“Here, thanks”

“Yeah”

This place is the waiting room for the people who use the ferry service to cross the river. Kerebryl returned my coat after we entered the room.

After looking at my interaction with Kerebryl, Yuela looks like she’s a bit jealous.

“Yuela, what were you reading ?”

“Ah…… I was bored, so I’m looking at the boarding tag”

The thing that Yuela is holding are the tag with our name on it. It’s something like a ticket to prove that we’re a pa.s.senger for the ferry that is going to cross the river.

I suddenly feel my clothes being pulled. As I looked downward, I noticed Yuela is grasping the hem of my s.h.i.+rt.

“I wish I could’ve picked you up too”

Yuela is sulking slightly.

“You’re cute Yuela”

“Nnh, Kerebryl”

Kerebryl said so and sat down next to Yuela. Yuela is gazing at Kerebryl’s face for a moment when she mentioned her name.

“Well, it’s not wrong. There are lot of people calling out to me since they think I’m alone. They’re annoying”

“Ara, really ? Fufufu, you’re not saying that just because you’re jealous of us ?”

Kerebryl is laughing mischievously as she said that.

“Kuh…… You’re mean today Kerebryl”

“And you’re cute as always Yuela”

Before Yuela’s adorable response, Kerebryl can’t hold herself back and hugged Yuela tightly from the side.

“You don’t need to be jealous of us Yuela. Aren’t the three of us going to live together from now on ?”

“……Yes, that’s right. I’m looking forward to [Country of Freedom] Kerebryl”

Yuela is smiling too. Both of them are really on a good terms, they’re close just like a sister. I can’t help but smile too when I saw their interaction.

“……”

When I tried looking around the waiting room, I found a small hall with a large window facing the river. I could see a s.h.i.+p being anch.o.r.ed from there.

The s.h.i.+p is quite large, it had many sails with triangle and rhombus shape attached on a complicated setup. It looks much better than what I imagined it would be.

I think I could hear a child’s crying voice from somewhere as I walked back toward my place in the waiting room. As we’re getting closer to the departure time, the place is filled with many faces now. It’s quite lively.

“It’s great that the s.h.i.+p can be used again”

“Yeah, our timing was good”

Yuela and Kerebryl are sitting side by side. It’s just like what they said. Previously, the s.h.i.+p can’t be used because a dragon is running rampant in the Great River, we’re lucky that it can be used already now.

We arrived at this port city yesterday, and at that time, the s.h.i.+p was already moving. The dragon seems to have gone somewhere else. I’m a bit worried before we arrived, but now I’m  glad we decided to head to this city straight from that lodging city.

“I wonder what kind of dragon was rampaging ?”

“Who knows, probably a water dragon or the likes”

After hearing my question, Yuela replied back nonchalantly. Yuela is a Dragonkin, but she surprisingly doesn’t care about the dragon for the slightest bit.

“I think it’s about time for departure”

“Yeah”

I’m sure Yuela is spot on, the waiting room is getting noisy too.  There were some sailor with same uniform and some clerk hopping around inside the place. It’s finally time for our s.h.i.+p to leave the port.

“Thank you for using our service. The preparation for departure will be completed soon, all pa.s.sengers please move to the harbor to board the s.h.i.+p”

A man wearing a fine suit stepped forward and informed the people about the departure loudly. Following his voice, many people in the waiting room are moving one after another.

“Let us go too”

“Yes”

Yuela and Kerebryl stood up too. This is my first sailboat trip, I’m looking forward to it.

“Uwaa……., Hic……, I want to go with mom……,Uu……,Waaa……”

“You can’t be selfish okay. Onee-chan will be here with you……”

There’s small boy crying in front of the waiting room door. There’s also girl trying to comfort him by patting his head, perhaps the older sister.

“Papa is with you too, you don’t need to be afraid”

“Uuuu……Mama……”

The man who seems to be his father is crouching down and comforting him too, but the boy doesn’t stop crying, he’s clinging to a woman who I think is the mother.

“Mama will go next, you mustn’t be childish now……”

After she said so, the mother is stroking the boy’s head gently. Apparently, the mother was separated into the next s.h.i.+p.

It was quite a common situation. I also have memory of bothering my parent like that. For example, during the time we’re waiting for a ride in amus.e.m.e.nt park, I would trouble my mother by making the same complaint. Of course it wasn’t something that can be helped since the capacity for the ride is something that is fixed. But children are children, they can’t stand being separated with their mother.

Yuela and Kerebryl also had stopped walking and looked at those family anxiously. Both of my girlfriends are worried about them too.

The thing I’m particularly worried though, is that Kerebryl would propose to replace her position in the s.h.i.+p and stay behind. Kerebryl really likes children after all.

The s.h.i.+p that we’re planning to ride is the first one of the day, while the next one will only depart after the morning. It’s not really a big deal judging by the time alone.

“Would you like to switch places with me ?”

“Eh……?”

The mother sounds surprised at my voice. I think this matter is just a minor choice.

“You’re the only one on different s.h.i.+p right ? I don’t mind changing my places with you”

“Excuse me…… is that really fine ?”

While watching Yuela and Kerebryl, the father said so reservedly.

“I’m sorry, I’ll go with the next s.h.i.+p. Please take care of our accommodation in there today”

“It can’t be helped”

Yuela sounds worried, but she also nodded at me with a proud face.

“……Are you sure ?”

“Yeah, it’s okay. Let’s spend some time together in the afternoon later”

Kerebryl sounds apologetic. I’m sure if I remain silent, Kerebryl herself will took the initiative of doing so.

It’s a pity that the three of us won’t be able to enjoy the s.h.i.+p ride together. But I’ll make due by spending some leisure time together in the southern bank of the Great River later.

“We’ll be fine, shall we change our place then ?”

“We’re sorry, thank you very much for the help”

The father lowered his head slowly.

“Thank you”

“Don’t worry. There’s a saying in the place where I was born at, those who are kind benefit themselves”

The mother followed and lowered her head too, then after saying so to her, I called the clerk, he’s the man who is wearing a black suit.

“I would like to replace my spot in the s.h.i.+p with this person”

I showed my boarding tag to the clerk.

“Certainly, I will arrange it for you”

The clerk answered me back while smiling, perhaps he had watched our situation from afar.

“Aren’t you glad, you can go together with your mom now”

“Yes…… Thank you, onii-chan”

The boy nodded cheerfully to Kerebryl’s words, and then thanked me happily.

“……”

I was sitting on a bench outside of the waiting room by myself. The light of the sun combined with the cool breeze feels pleasant on my skin, it might be nice to just doze off like this.

But suddenly, I could hear lot of noise from my surrounding. I stood up and noticed lot of clerk in their uniform walking hurriedly in the harbor. I wonder what happened.

I also saw the clerk with black suit from before entering the waiting room with a pale face. This situation doesn’t seem normal.

I walked away from the bench and opened the door of the waiting room. There are lot of people here, probably more than 100, and each of them is shouting something.

“Please listen to everything calmly. We have received a report that the s.h.i.+p from first departure was caught by the dragon that had appeared again, and it was sunk……”

For a moment, I feel like my vision has gone dark. I know this feeling, it’s the same one from when I just met with Yuela and she was attacked by adventurers. I’m sure this is what people would call despair.

After a momentary silence, the inside of the waiting room is filled with overflowing rage of many people. They were shouting stuff like ‘are the pa.s.senger safe or not !?’, ‘how will you take responsibility !?’ and the likes.

“Everyone—……, Calm down—……, Guh—……, The information is——……, It’s still—……”

The man in black suit is shouting loudly, however it was drowned by the anger of the people around in and can’t hardly be heard. It’s annoying.

Next to him, there’s a man who is wearing an armor. I think I’ve saw those armor from somewhere. He’s looking toward me and shouted something too. His face looks desperate.

I looked at the Great River quietly through the big window. I can only saw blue horizontal line stretched in the horizon. I can’t just run toward the place where the two are like that time.

The information is insufficient too. I want to know if Yuela and Kerebryl are safe, but my surrounding is noisy and I can’t hear anything. Argh, annoying, this is annoying……

I opened my item window and pulled out a shotgun with my left hand. Merkel model 303, the one I purchased with Kerebryl.

I folded the double barreled shotgun up and down, and then load a sh.e.l.l in the lower chamber. At the same time I pointed the gun toward the window, I immediately pulled the trigger.

Together with a roaring sound, the gla.s.s in the window cracked open and the fragments are scattered all over. The window is just a big hole now.

The sh.e.l.l that I loaded is something called a buck shot. There’s 6 pellet and 9 pellet variant, and I just used the 9 pellet one just now. It was a good choice.

I didn’t say anything. Everyone in the waiting room is looking at me with their eyes wide open. Their eyes are cold and white.

“……I want to talk. It’s noisy…… I can’t hear anything”

I squeezed out my voice, my tone sounds really harsh.

“……I’m the manager, allow me to explain the situation”

It seems the clerk in black suit is the manager of this place. I nodded and urged him to keep talking.

“The report was brought in from the fis.h.i.+ng boats manned by the local residents. There was a big wave appeared near a sailing s.h.i.+p, which is the ferry from our place. During that time, they said they saw a part of the dragon body for a moment……”

A rumbling and muttering voice is spreading inside the waiting room.

“After that, the s.h.i.+p was seen shaking greatly and flipped to its side. The bow was then turned upside down, and the s.h.i.+p was swallowed by a wave. A large hole was also confirmed below the s.h.i.+p’s waterline……”

The manager finished his talk until the end with a pale blue face. No one is saying anything.

“……Can that information be trusted ?”

I asked while holding the shotgun downward with both hands.

“The eyewitness information was brought by multiple fis.h.i.+ng boats”

The manager confirmed my question with a painful expression.

“Yu-……, What about the pa.s.sengers ?”

“Unknown. After the fis.h.i.+ng boats confirmed the situation, they evacuated all at once. It would be irresponsible to ask fis.h.i.+ng boat to continue operating near an area close to a dragon……”

I chewed my teeth after hearing that.

“Then, about the rescue operation……”

“About that, I will answer in place of the coast guards”

The man in an armor replied loudly on behalf of the manager. Aah, that armor, I think that’s the same one with what the border guards wore.

“We the coast guards of the [Country of Industry] will treat the dragon’s action as a national crisis. We have decided to block this whole area and launched a military operation to subjugate the dragon as soon as possible”

“……Then you’re not going to bring out a rescue s.h.i.+p right now ?”

After my question, I could hear other people yelling as well.  The coast guard is silent.

I stared at the guard with a dark emotion. The person is still a young man. I glared at him to make him speak and also aimed my left eye at him.

“Why not ?”

“……It’s the army’s decision”

The coast guards responded bitterly.

“……”

He’s staring at me with a blank face, his whole body is s.h.i.+vering.

“I understand…… Thank you”

I said so, then with my gun still on my left hand, I opened the door at the entrance of the waiting room. I glanced back for a moment, and noticed that everyone is staring at me.

I moved my glance and shut the door quietly, as I did so, I could hear angry voices erupting again from inside.

“……”

I have some choices right now.

Yuela and Kerebryl are definitely alive, so should I wait in this city, or find a way to cross a river ?

There’s no need for me to think about the possibility that the two have died.

Life is a series of choices. I tried my best to make a choice that I wouldn’t regret, and even if such time would come, I definitely won’t blame other.

However I regretted the choice that I made today. I know that family is not at fault, they’re also the victims in this. I still remember clearly waving my hand toward Yuela and Kerebryl from the harbor. Both of them are smiling. At that time, I thought that I could meet with them again in just a few hours.

“Musketeer-san, please wait”

Inside the city, I turned my back and found the young coast guard chasing me.

“Huff…… Huff……”

He’s out of breath, seems like he’s been running in full speed.

“What ?”

I asked while making a thin smile. I have no more business with him.

“East from here,  there’s another city where the coast guards built their base. You might be able to cross the river from that base by using the coast guard’s s.h.i.+p”

“……Really ?”

It’s quite the unexpected words.

“Yes. Besides that, we also know from the boarding tag that Musketeer-san’s companion is a Spirit User. If your companion managed to borrow the power of water spirit, there’s a high chance that they’re going to be safe”

I was expecting for that as well. Kerebryl is a Dark Elf Spirit User, there’s no way those two would just drown like that.

“On top of that, there’s also the dragonkin person. If they encountered the water dragon, perhaps, they might have……”

“……Yeah”

Yuela possess the [Dragon Language] skill, perhaps the dragon won’t attack them because of her. Therefore, I don’t need to consider the possibility that the two have died.

“East from this city right ?”

“Yes. After you follow the east road, you’ll encounter an inland village, then after you pa.s.sed that, you’ll arrive at a medium sized city. From there, you can use the highway going down straight to the south. You’ll find the city with the coast guard base afterward”

“Alright”

I nodded to him.

“There’s the possibility that a pa.s.senger would drift to this town, in that case……”

“Yes, in that case the coast guard will take responsibility and contact you as soon as possible”

“Okay”

“You can give my name at the coast guard base. I think the other base members will cooperate with you then”

“……Thank you”

I thanked the young coast guard from the bottom of my heart. Even thought I described him as young, he’s still someone in his mid twenty.

“……Well then, I’ll be off. Thank you very much”

“Yes. Please take care of yourself”

“You too, please be careful with the dragon subjugation”

My heart feels slightly lighter now. After I heard the coast guard’s name, I said my goodbye and walked toward the city’s east gate. I walked with a face like I was running.

“Musketeer-san”

I heard the coast guard’s voice calling me out from behind. I wondered why and turn my back.

“Musketeer-san, I thought I was going to be shot by you in that waiting room earlier”

He’s yelling at me loudly from the distance, I smiled slightly.

“There’s no way I’m going to do that”

“No, your eyes were really scary back then Musketeer-san. I couldn’t move my body at all”

I made a bitter smile again. Certainly, I might look like that when I’m aiming with a gun. But I don’t shoot people that easily, I don’t like murder after all.

“Then why did you treat me kindly ?”

“We have received a letter from the border guards about Musketeer-san. Our country will welcome excellent young people like you at anytime”

“Ah……”

I’ve heard those words before. Certainly, the coast guard’s armor and the border guard’s armor look alike, so perhaps all of this is thanks to that captain.

“Goodbye, Musketeer-san. I hope your lover is safe”

“……Goodbye, guard-san”

I waved at the young coast guard and moved my leg toward the east again. I could feel a warm sensation inside my heart.

“Hee, those who are kind benefit themselves huh. That border guard captain is a good person”

“……Yeah, that’s right. He’s a good man”

I nodded to Rachel. Certainly that person is amazing, and in many ways too. Captain, thank you very much.

Of course I didn’t tell Rachel about that interrogation. There’s no way I could tell her that Yuela and Kerebryl was interrogated by the captain’s c.o.c.k that time.

“But still, you’re truly the lowest”

“……Why ?”

Just what is this girl saying now.

“You have two girlfriends. You’re dishonest and an awful man”

Rachel is staring at me with a piercing gaze. I think she need to stick with her own business.

“I know that it’s not normal, however it doesn’t matter right ? It’s our own problem after all”

“No way, you should break off with one. Don’t you feel sorry for them ?”

Rachel is speaking as she likes.

“No, I love both of them, I won’t break up with any of them”

“Muu……”

Rachel is sulking now, she doesn’t seem to like my answer.

“Besides, don’t you think you need to put more muscles ? You won’t be able to protect your loved one if you look like that”

She said so while tapping the muscle in my arms a lot.

“I’ll be fine…… Do you like macho guy Rachel ?”

“It’s not like that…… See, I’m a beautiful girl right ? Of course I want to be protected by the guy I like. I want to feel like I’m being loved”

When I tell my stories to Rachel, I lied about the gun parts. We just met for a short while, and I thought it’s going to create lot of problem if she know about it.

“See, what’s with this slender arm that looks like a girl”

“……That one is not my fault”

Now she’s complaining about my arm, this is tiring me out. My arm is thin and feminine, but it’s something that I was born with. It’s also not her business that my fingers are long and slender.

“Hey, what’s this thing ? Hmm……? There’s something attached”

“Ah-……”

Rachel had suddenly took my earphone from my neck. My smartphone also had come out and is being grabbed inside Rachel’s hand. I didn’t expect this.

“What is this ?”

“……It’s a secret tool of trade, give it back”

I said that strictly and reached my hand to Rachel. There’s no way she would understand even if I explained it.

“Wah, something is appearing”

Rachel is tinkering with an important evidence that I had came from another world, and something appeared from the screen of my smart phone.

“Is this your girlfriend ? Kyahah……She’s ugly”

On the screen of my smart phone, the picture of Keiko-chan who is holding a beer mug happily is reflected. Keiko-chan isn’t that cute indeed.

“Wrong, that’s not my girlfriend. Come on, return it”

“Hmm……? Hey, look look”

Rachel is looking at the highway behind us next, what is it now.

“A horse carriage is coming. Hey, let’s hop on to it. Oooiii~……”

Rachel is waving her hand at the carriage in the distance, she’s truly a lively one isn’t she.

“Thank you Ojii-san. We’ll pay you when we reached the city, you can get it from this person here”

It’s too annoying so I won’t say anything.

“Well now, I was on my way back from transporting some corns, but I guess I’ll be able to obtain some extra income”

“Yeah, I’ll pay you accordingly later”

I told so to the Ojii-san from inside the shaking carriage. Certainly, it’s necessary to reimburse him properly for this. Guess I’ll have to pay for Rachel’s share as well.

“Onii-chan and the cute ojou-chan. Please sit tight, we’re going to climb a hill”

“Got it Ojii-san. That’s quite the climb isn’t it”

“Don’t worry, this horse can handle it. I’ll just have to feed it lots of fodder latter”

Rachel and the Ojii-san is chatting cheerfully.

“……Hey, your face looks a bit brighter now, don’t you think so ?”

“I wonder”

The truth is, it’s just like what Rachel said. I don’t know why, but I feel a lot better now.

“……How about your legs ? Does it still hurt ?”

“Nah, it’s okay. You walked slowly”

Rachel said so while smiling.

“Waa~, It’s pretty”

“Yeah, it’s really beautiful”

The horse drawn carriage is moving downhill following the wind toward a single straight road. From the top of the hill, the beautiful scenery of this different world is spread in front of me. There were many corn field in the surrounding, and far in front of me, I could see the city that is my next destination.

I thought to myself while looking at the scenery.

The guy who designed this road have a good taste.