Chapter 54 - Mizuki's Feelings and the Wandering People
Our journey by carriage continued. The season should have been heading towards summer, but the temperature had dropped compared to when we were in Richelle. It seemed we were gradually gaining altitude. We would be camping out tonight. If nothing happened, we should arrive at a town about the size of Richelle tomorrow. Our destination, Migul, was still a long way off. A bird soared in circles in the blue sky, its wings outstretched. The sunlight was strong, but the wind was pleasant. It was comfortable under the carriage's canvas cover. Right now, I was on lookout duty with Mizuki at the rear of the convoy. We were sitting side-by-side at the back of the carriage. Nothing had changed. We continued along the same road through the forest. I'm so bored, I thought, and a yawn escaped me.
"Hmph."
Mizuki glared at me.
"Wh-what is it?"
"Take this seriously."
"I am being serious. I can't help yawning."
It was because I'd been up all night fighting with Fam. Mizuki probably had a vague idea. She sighed.
"And what was with you this morning? I'll apologize for secretly asking Avea to train you, but please stop saying lewd things in front of everyone. Save it for when we're alone!"
So, I had gone too far this morning after all.
"...So it's okay if we're alone?"
I made a grabbing motion in front of her, as if I were groping her breasts.
"...If that's what you want to do, Mash."
She slapped my hands away.
"Then now's the time."
"Are you serious? Do you really think about lewd things all the time? Don't you get tired?"
"The most fun I have is running simulations in my head of how to make you come."
"...And that's why you were crying when you lost to Avea and couldn't get your 'lewd thing'."
I had been frustrated because I lost, but she thought that's what it was about? That was less embarrassing, so I decided to keep my mouth shut.
"You think about it enough to masturbate every day, don't you?"
"I'm not doing that anymore!"
"Really?"
That came as a shock.
"Yeah. After I started having sex with you, I didn't need to anymore. I'm actually really grateful for that."
A high school girl, Mizuki, grateful for being subjected to lewd acts by an old man.
"...I would think masturbating would be better than being assaulted."
"I felt so guilty, I was always apologizing to my mom and dad in my head. One time my mom caught me and got really, really mad. But I couldn't stop, and I couldn't talk to anyone about it. I thought I was the only one, so it was really hard."
Which is better: a daughter who's addicted to masturbation, or one who's doing lewd things with an old man?
"I wonder what your parents would think if they knew about our current situation."
"Hmph, that's your responsibility, Mash. When we get back to our world, you'd better properly greet my parents and get their permission for us to date!"
"...Are you serious?"
"I'll ask with you."
There was no way her parents would ever approve of our relationship. That just made me want to return to our world even less.
"So, that's why I'm not doing it by myself anymore."
"Is that how it works? I wouldn't mind. In fact, I'd encourage it."
"I'm sure you would, but... ugh. I just want to have a normal conversation."
Mizuki sighed. The carriage gave a large jolt, perhaps as a wheel ran over a stone. The road was still muddy from yesterday's rain. The carriage swayed every time we crossed a rut or got stuck in a puddle. Fortunately, we hadn't gotten stuck so badly that we couldn't move.
"In that case, can I ask you something difficult?"
"Okay."
She nodded.
"Mizuki, what... what do you think about it?"
"...I can't answer if that's all you say."
"About people dying."
"You mean about Emma?"
"That's part of it, but it feels like we've been involved in so many deaths, even though it's only been about a month since we came to this world."
The settlement attacked by goblins, the members of Black Sky, the bandits... Up to that point, I had managed to rationalize it by telling myself that these things were normal in this world. It's fine as long as I'm not the one doing it, fine as long as it doesn't happen to my friends. I was able to see it as something that didn't concern me. But Emma's death was different. Riley's sobs were stuck in my head, and I couldn't do that anymore.
"I try not to think about it, but... am I the only one who feels strange? Beers... is it okay to say his name? I can't forget. It makes my head feel weird."
Mizuki answered in a murmur.
"Me too."
"Aren't adults supposed to teach you how to deal with feelings like this?"
Mizuki pouted and nudged my side with her elbow.
"That's impossible. I have no idea what to do either."
I'm sorry for being such a useless adult.
"From now on, we might have to fight other transfer students, and it could turn into a real fight to the death. I don't want to kill, and I don't want to be killed. I want to go back to our world."
Even without special beings like transfer students, bandits and robbers were a part of life here. Death was always close by. The memory of when I first met Fam resurfaced, and my chest tightened.
"Our world was the same. Especially the country we lived in. It's just that everyone works together to hide it so it's not so obvious. I don't want to kill, and I don't want to be killed either."
Thinking back on it now, death in my original world was hidden away so you wouldn't feel it directly. It was different for family, but with strangers, you could just close your eyes and not have to see it. But in this world, everything was laid bare.
"Being in this world, there will come a time when you have to make a choice yourself. What will you do then, Mash?"
"I don't know. But I especially don't want Fam and you to be involved."
"Because you're an adult?"
"Yeah, because I'm an adult. It's like alcohol."
We were living with weapons in our hands. That day would surely come. But I was still putting off that resolve. Do I have to prepare myself? If I do, I'm afraid I'll go to an extreme. I don't know what will happen to me. Mizuki leaned against me. She rested her head on my shoulder.
"No matter what you choose, Mash, I'll be with you. The two of us can make it in this world, right?"
"Yeah. As long as we're together, we'll be fine."
I put my arm around Mizuki's waist. I had to protect her.
"I wish days like this, just peacefully swaying in a carriage, could last forever."
Mizuki's soft-looking lips were close. Forgetting I was on watch, I found myself drawn to her lips. Just then, Cecily, on horseback, rode back to where we were at the rear of the convoy.
"Hmph," I muttered again.
"What is with that 'hmph'?"
Cecily's expression turned stern.
"Oh, it was just a bug flying by. Do you like bugs, Cecily?"
"...I don't like or dislike them."
"I see. I was thinking of going to catch some stag beetles later. Want to come?"
"...What are you going to do with them?"
Cecily asked. Mizuki was listening silently, looking embarrassed. She was probably flustered about being seen so close to me.
"Sell them to the kids in town."
"Who would buy them? You'll just have leftovers."
She said the same thing as Aira. I guess the people in this world really weren't interested in stag beetles or rhinoceros beetles.
"If there are any left over, I'll give them to Aira as a present."
"Huh? To Aira? This is the first I've heard that she likes stag beetles."
Perfect. Now, whenever Cecily finds a stag beetle, she'll bring it to Aira. A small punishment for interrupting my quiet moment with Mizuki, just like she did with Maira.
"Oh, right. I have a message from Avea."
Cecily said.
"...That sounds ominous."
I had a bad feeling about this.
"Who knows? Apparently, a group of wagons has stopped up ahead and is blocking the road. She said to prepare for a fight since we don't know what to expect."
"Prepare for a fight, huh..."
"I'll go tell Fam and the others."
Mizuki went inside the canvas cover to inform Fam and the others waiting in the carriage. The inside and outside were only separated by the canvas, but the vibrations of the carriage and the sound of the wheels made it hard to hear what was going on outside.
"Did you see them, Cecily?"
"Yes, I saw the canvas of a carriage through a gap in the trees. It wasn't just one."
If bandits were lying in wait, would they set an ambush in a place where they could be seen from here? Mizuki returned from inside the carriage. Her expression was tense, probably because of the news I'd just shared. The carriage came to a halt. Cecily spurred her horse forward to check on the situation at the front.
"Cecily, wait. Let's all go together."
"Alright, understood."
Cecily nodded. Mizuki and I got down from the carriage, and Fam and the others came out from inside as well.
"Well, shall we go?"
Everyone nodded in agreement. I started walking towards the front of our caravan.
There, about twenty wagons were stopped. There were also a few goats. The people there wore clothes I had never seen before. Nearly twenty of them were out of their wagons. The men wore short vests with colorful embroidery and low-slung short pants. The women wore short vests and long skirts, also made of brightly colored fabric and decorated with embroidery. I hadn't seen anyone walking around with their midriffs exposed in the cities.
"They're a people who live on the road in their wagons. They're called the Wandering People."
Avea said, coming up beside me. Speaking of women with exposed midriffs, there was one right here. I wondered if the Wandering People were treated the same as freemen.
"They're not nomads? Why are they wandering around in a forest like this? Are there many of them?"
I always pictured nomads majestically striding across vast grasslands.
"No, they don't raise livestock for a living, so they aren't nomads. It's true you see them more often in the grasslands to the south of here, though."
"I see. So, what are they doing?"
"Looks like one of their wagons got stuck in the mud."
It seemed we wouldn't have to fight. I relaxed.
"I'll go help. The rest of you can rest."
I headed towards the stuck wagon. For some reason, Fam and Mizuki followed me. As I got closer, I saw that about a third of the wagon's wheel was sunk into the mud. It looked like about four wagons had managed to get through, but each passage had made the road worse, leading to this situation. The axle connecting the wheels also seemed to be broken. The whole thing looked like it was tilting. Men were pushing while a horse was pulling, but the wagon wouldn't move forward. Instead, it was threatening to tip over.
"Mizuki, what should we do in a situation like this?"
"We should leave it to the experts."
Mizuki stated flatly.
"...Well, you're right, but can't we use some knowledge from our world to do something amazing?"
"It's not knowledge from our world, but maybe we can draw the moisture out of the mud?"
"I see. Fam, could you go get Cecily for me?"
Fam nodded and brought Cecily over.
"Could you use your water magic to pull the moisture out of the mud?"
"Got it. I'll give it a try."
Cecily raised her staff. She activated her water magic, gathering the moisture from the mud to form a sphere of water. Once the ground had hardened sufficiently, they had the horse pull the wagon again. The wagon began to move, and a cheer went up.
"Cecily, that was amazing!"
As I called out to her, she hit me with the water sphere. I was soaked to the bone.
"Cecily... why would you do that?"
"I found a stag beetle earlier. When I took it to Aira, she got really mad at me!"
I was reaping what I had sown.
Thank you for reading. To those who have liked, bookmarked, and rated this story, thank you very much. It encourages me to keep going. I'll do my best.