kscans

Chapter 266 - Side Story 5: An Adventurer's Life in the Other World

"Um, could you please explain the situation… Marui-san?"

"J-Just a moment, please."

Marui-san frantically pulled a notepad from his pocket and began to speak haltingly to the girl.

But it was likely his first time dealing with a 'dog-eared girl with light blue hair, one eye covered, who immediately assumes a submissive doggy pose upon meeting someone.' I couldn't understand the other world's language, but I could tell from the atmosphere that his pronunciation was more than a little off.

I doubt she understood him; it was questionable if she was even hearing him at all. The dog-eared girl looked terribly frightened, her gaze unfocused. If this were a manga, her eyes would be spinning into spirals.

On top of that, the stares from everyone around us were piercing. Some people were looking over with keen interest, while others had expressions of complete disgust.

What in the world was I supposed to do—

"■■■, ■■■■■■."

"Huh?"

At some point, the professor had knelt beside the dog-eared girl and was speaking to her while helping her up.

It was, presumably, the language of this other world. The girl’s focus finally returned, and she let out a small shriek upon seeing the professor’s face so close.

"Wait, Professor… you can speak the language here?"

"Why are you so surprised, Kyo-chan? Both my grandmother and I were made to help with translating the otherworld language, you know. I can manage to a certain extent. Besides, it’s like a mix of English, Italian, Greek, Russian, and Chinese. It’s surprisingly easy."

"Sorry, could you stick to Japanese, please?"

"Hmph, honestly. Was that too difficult for my little Kyo-chan to understand?"

"I understand perfectly. When we get back, I just need to punch you, right?"

"I’m sorry from the bottom of my heart!"

"Very good."

"Oh, by the way, what Grandma just said was, ‘Are you all right? Please calm down.’"

"Right. Thanks for the translation."

While we were talking, the professor placed her hands under the dog-eared girl’s arms and lifted her to her feet.

Professor Arisugawa wore a gentle smile, the kind you’d use when talking to a small child. In response, the girl still looked frightened, but not as distraught as before.

"…For now, let’s sit down over there. Marui-san, could you explain the situation to the master of this establishment and order something for us? Anything but alcohol."

"Y-Yes, of course!"

The professor guided us to a table a short distance from the entrance.

We sat around a circular table, with the dog-eared girl to the professor’s left and me to her right. Kageyama-san sat next to the girl.

With Aira-san translating, we managed to hear her story… and it seemed our meeting was nothing more than an ‘accident.’

"Sorry to keep you waiting."

"Thank you, Marui-san."

Marui-san returned, carrying drinks for all of us.

He placed down wooden mugs filled with fruit water. Judging by the color and smell, it was some kind of citrus.

"So, what did she say?"

"…This girl, ‘Katarina-san,’ is both an adventurer and an Awakened Person."

The professor explained the situation while gently stroking the back of the dog-eared girl, Katarina-san.

Apparently, she’d been an adventurer for three years, traveling from place to place completing requests.

Her skill gives her a high level of danger perception, which she has even used to explore imperial ruins outside of dungeons.

Today, however, she was exhausted after finishing a request and had planned to report to the Adventurer's Tavern before heading back to her inn for a long rest.

But when she opened the door, she saw two unbelievable beings, and the moment their eyes met, she was certain her death had come.

…She called us ‘two beings,’ not ‘two people.’ That kind of stings.

"Hmm, a perception type? Kyo-chan, could you point the hand mirror at her for a moment?"

"No way. Appraising someone without permission is just bad manners."

"But isn’t it strange? If she’s a perception type, you’d think she would have noticed Grandma or Kyouta before even entering the tavern."

"There are many kinds of perception skills. If hers is the type that detects danger, she probably didn’t judge Grandma or Kyo-chan as threats."

"Well, we don’t have any reason to attack her, after all."

As we muttered back and forth through the earring, Katarina-san kept glancing our way.

Her long bangs covered her left eye, but her right eye darted around nervously to compensate.

"■■■, ■■■■?"

Marui-san spoke to her.

"What’s he saying?"

"Marui is explaining to Katarina that we aren’t dangerous. More importantly, Kyo-chan, while listening to her story, I noticed a phrase that has thoroughly piqued my interest."

"Yes?"

"What a coincidence, Aira. So did I."

The professor, who had just joined the conversation, had a fire of curiosity burning in her eyes, just as she had back at the embassy when she’d gotten ahead of herself.

"Imperial ruins… outside of a dungeon…!"

"One can only imagine what treasures lie dormant within…!"

"Ah."

I get it. The mention of ruins, especially from the Atlantis Empire, certainly interests me too.

"Grandma! Don’t you dare let Katarina get away! Secure her, even if you have to put a collar on her!"

"A physical collar would be ethically questionable, so let’s be civilized and put a leash around her neck with a contract. She’s an adventurer, isn’t she? And not the Japanese kind, but the type from the games and anime Aira loves."

"That’s it! Let’s hire her exclusively! It’ll be fine, if you and Grandma ask her with all your hearts, she’ll accept!"

"Isn’t that just coercion?"

"Let’s begin negotiations at once!"

"Annnnd stop."

I grabbed the professor’s shoulder as she cheerfully tried to speak to Katarina-san and pulled her back.

"We don’t even properly understand how adventurers in this world work yet. We can’t just go around hiring people. Besides, we still haven’t confirmed the extent to which Japanese citizens can even engage in economic activities here."

"From our perspective as well, we would appreciate it if you could proceed with caution…"

Kageyama-san, who had been silent until now, spoke up with a forced smile, her eyebrows furrowed into the shape of a ‘八’.

"It has been determined that the composition of currency in this world and ours is almost identical. For that reason, we ask that you refrain from any transactions exceeding the pre-approved budget for this investigation…"

"Muu… What a shame."

It seemed even the professor had regained her composure, as she sat back down in her chair.

I’ll never understand the passion of academics. Still…

"Um, Professor. Hasn’t Katarina-san… fainted?"

"Oh my."

From her perspective, it must have seemed like two beings she could only describe as monsters were fighting—unwillingly, I’m sure, so very unwillingly. The sight likely filled her with intense terror.

As a result, her mind shut down to protect itself.

"This won’t do. Wake up, Katarina-san. At the very least, please, tell me more about these ruins you mentioned!"

"That’s right! Everything! Spill it all!"

"Please calm down, Professor. Seriously."

Her usual intellectual demeanor was nowhere to be found. Professor Arisugawa had become a runaway express train, grabbing Katarina-san’s shoulders and shaking her back and forth.

As I felt a headache coming on from this situation—like having two Aira-sans at once—

"You are welcome to become one, you know. An adventurer."

"…Huh?"

"What?"

"Hold on."

"Seriously!?"

Marui-san’s unexpected comment left everyone but Katarina-san speechless.

Wait, what did he just say?

"Marui-san? Is it really okay for us to do that?"

"Yes. In this world, being an adventurer is a profession that ‘anyone can take up.’ This isn’t a rule specific to this country, but a worldwide custom. Though criminals, of course, would be stopped."

"Um, why is that the rule?"

"To put it simply, it’s because they don’t have enough people to deal with the monster threat. In that respect, it’s the same as Japan."

"…I see. I heard this world’s technological level is a hodgepodge of medieval and early modern. They don’t have the power to maintain a sufficient standing army."

Aira-san’s words made sense to me.

To protect the people and the land from monsters and what Japan calls ‘special hazardous organisms’ unique to this world, you obviously need military force.

However, maintaining soldiers isn’t free. For countries that haven’t even gone through an industrial revolution, they likely lack everything needed to sustain an army capable of handling these problems.

It wasn’t just a matter of money; they were short on farms, ranches, and factories. Their production capacity was insufficient.

As for whether Awakened Persons could cover the gap, I’d heard that this world is rather harsh towards them… and that their numbers are quite low.

They’re lacking in every department. So what was the solution?

"They outsourced it to the private sector."

That’s what it came down to.

"However, there are regulations regarding numbers."

Marui-san continued, looking at his notes.

"For non-Awakened, groups are limited to ten people. For the Awakened and semi-Awakened, it’s five. If a group exceeds that number, they become wanted criminals."

"A measure to prevent rebellions. It’s crude, but I suppose it’s better than nothing."

Aira-san scoffed through the earring.

"But isn’t this place like an adventurer’s guild? It seems strange for there to be rules against forming parties…"

"No, this is a ‘state-run facility.’ Because it often handles quest reception and mediation, and also operates as a tavern for adventurers, it’s come to be called the ‘Adventurer’s Tavern.’"

"I see…"

In that case, they’re probably keeping track of adventurers’ whereabouts here, too.

"In this world, being an adventurer also serves as a safety net to prevent people from becoming bandits or vagrants. That’s why the rule was made to accept anyone."

"Kyo-chan, I figured it out. This is that thing. They give ridiculously difficult quests to penniless people on the verge of turning to crime and make them ‘go missing.’"

That kind of convenient population control… No, they’d do it. If medieval values still persist here, they’d absolutely do it.

"For that reason, we have already confirmed with this country’s government that even people from another world are permitted to become adventurers."

"…Marui-san. You brought us here knowing from the start that we’d take the bait, didn’t you?"

Professor Arisugawa gave Marui-san a beaming smile.

But her eyes had regained their sharp glint.

"Did the government on this side ask you to gauge the power of Japan’s Awakened? Or perhaps the Japanese side wanted to engage in some gunboat diplomacy and show off the power of an ‘A-Rank Candidate’? Doing so with the Self-Defense Force would draw strong opposition from the United States and other nations. So, you wanted to make it look like something a private adventurer did on their own initiative?"

"…Even if you say that, I have no idea what you’re talking about."

Marui-san also maintained his smile as he replied.

"Well, it’s not surprising. There’s no such thing as friendship in diplomacy. Any statement from a powerless nation is judged as nothing more than a plea for its life. Therefore, a show of strength is necessary."

"A show of strength can be more than just intimidation; it can also be a presentation of the benefits of partnering with us. Ah, now that I think about it, the nations of this world have difficulty using Awakened Persons for public works due to the negative legacy of the empire and for religious reasons… Showing this country ‘what a trained Awakened can do’ might be a very sweet carrot to offer, don’t you think?"

These two suddenly got their IQs back…

It all happened so fast that Kageyama-san and I could only stand there with our mouths agape. Katarina-san, for her part, was still unconscious with her mouth hanging open.

"…My apologies. This was my own decision. If I have caused any offense, I offer my sinceres—"

"Not at all. If there are benefits for your side, that’s quite convenient for us. Besides, this wasn’t really your decision alone, was it? Therefore, there is no need to apologize."

The professor rose and placed a hand on the shoulder of Marui-san, who had started to bow, stopping him.

"As long as such benefits exist, the government won’t stop our activities… is what this means."

Her eyes were once again burning with the flames of curiosity.

That gaze turned to me.

"What will you do, my dear son-in-law? I’m going."

"…I understand. If we have permission from the government, then I have no reason to object."

I raised a hand slightly, signaling my surrender.

It would be a lie to say I wasn’t interested in this other world. If permission has been granted, then there’s nothing more to be said.

As long as there’s no extreme danger, I will gladly accompany you.

"W-Wait, I haven’t heard anything about this…!"

"Ah, Kageyama-san. This is a letter from a high-ranking official in the Ground Self-Defense Force."

"Now!? Is that…"

Kageyama-san took the letter from Marui-san, who half-forced it on her.

Her face turned pale, then red, and then…

"…I will also… become an adventurer."

She said it in a voice as faint as a mosquito’s buzz.

"Well then, it will be myself, my son-in-law, Kageyama-san, and Katarina-san. The four of us shall go!"

At some point, the professor had scooped up the unconscious Katarina-san.

Oh, she’s waking up. Her eyes met the professor’s. She fainted again.

…Is her head going to be okay? And I don’t mean that as an insult, I mean medically.

…Well, she is an Awakened Person. She’ll probably be fine.

"Now then—let’s register as adventurer—"

"Yoo-hoo! Grandma, Kyo-chan! Looks like you’re having fun!"

"Huh, Erina-san?"

Suddenly, Erina-san’s voice came through the earring.

"I’m visiting the senpais’ lab!"

"We just let her in!"

"U-Um. I called her on the phone, you see?"

"Anyway, Grandma!"

"What is it, Erina? We are currently about to add a new page to the history of mankin—"

"You haven’t forgotten about the university meeting tomorrow, have you! It’s an important meeting!!"

"…Yes. Of course."

Going to another world and registering as an adventurer.

Even in such a dream-filled situation, the thing called reality refuses to let go.

And so, with a deeply reluctant expression on Professor Arisugawa’s face, we left the Adventurer's Tavern.

"On another note, what should we do… with her?"

"We can’t just leave her here unconscious. For now, let’s have the embassy take her in. We should stop by the guard post on the way and explain the situation. I’d rather not be suspected of anything later."

And so, the girl with dog ears, light blue hair, and one eye covered remained cradled in the professor’s arms the entire time.

…Tough luck!