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09. Encounter in the Woods

Synopsis of the previous chapter:

“…in any case, above all else… it was due to that, Mizus.h.i.+ma-senpai’s appearance.”

“Were you acquainted with Mizus.h.i.+ma Miho?”

“Yes.”

A second later, Kato-san drops her eyes.

It’s possible, that she was remembering the Mizus.h.i.+ma Miho that died.

“By the way, Lily’s chest, in comparison to Mizus.h.i.+ma-senpai’s, it seems larger than I remember.”

“Ah. I thought so as well.”

*As can be seen by Lily’s lower half, which is that of a slime, Lily can freely change her body through her mimic ability.

Chapter 9.

A few weeks later.

We are still staying in the cave we have been living in, though I have decided to leave Kato-san in the care of the Expedition Unit.

I spend my nights in the cave, and explore during the day.

This is now my life.

I’ve encountered monsters several times.

I’ve stayed alive so far because of Lily and Rose’s protection.

It’s quite an impressive feat.

However, we have been fighting the monsters whenever we encountered them.

In other words, the original objective of “Increasing the family” has not been going well.

I know there is no other choice but to look patiently, but I am restless.

The biggest problem is that I don’t fully understand the conditions in which I can tame a monster.

When I see a monster, I can sense that it’s “no good.”

I didn’t fully understand the case with Rose, since I was panicking at the time, but if I calmly look and consider a monster, I can tell if they can be part of the family or not.

But, I still don’t understand the condition.

If I knew the conditions, then we wouldn’t have to fight so much.

Recently, I’ve begun to think the condition has something to do with me.

I don’t want to think that way though…

“I’m back.”

“You’ve returned.”

Lily has come back to the cave, so I’ve stopped swinging my wooden sword.

“Ah, you’ve been training.”

*to to to*

Lily smiles wryly as she runs towards me.

“Quit making that smile.”

“Ok, Why?”

“It’s embarra.s.sing. I’m just pa.s.sing time with this.”

Recently, in my spare time, I practice swinging my sword as part of my daily routine.

Since I took cla.s.ses in high school for kendo, I know how to practice swinging a sword.

Without it, I’d just be mimicking what I’ve seen other people do.

Whether there is a point to all the training, to be honest, I have no clue.

Well, it is better to be prepared in the case of an emergency.

At least, I hope I’ll be prepared.

I haven’t got a clue what the future holds.

Well, if I asked someone else what to do, I bet they’d be quiet…

It might be that because nothing can be done, training my body is the correct thing to do.

By the way, I asked Rose to make the sword from a fallen tree that seemed like it would be suitable.

That was a few days ago.

Because Rose doesn’t need to sleep like us humans, she can freely use the night time for other things. With that being said, recently she’s just been manufacturing things according to my instructions.

So I requested as an aside “It’s ok if you make it during your spare time; the blade can be attached later, the grip can be loose, it’s enough that it’s of a certain length and weight.”

But, she instead got excited, and also made me armor.

The day after I made my request, she amazed me with what she made.

――Though it’s made of wood, the blade is s.h.i.+ny and grayish.

――The grip is dark and strong; it also allows for a tight grasp.

――It’s lighter than it looks, and the center of gravity is perfect.

――High durability with a sharp edge.

――It gives off an appearance of a practical weapon, though the grain pattern on the sword gives away that it is made of wood.

…odd.

Though I just asked for something to practice swinging.

This is entirely overkill.

Even an amateur like me can tell that Rose poured her soul into making this sword.

She made it a bit too good.

Lily referred to the knowledge of Mizus.h.i.+ma Miho and said, “This looks like ‘Damascus steel’.” While I don’t know what that is, it seems to be a famous metal.

It seems I just obtained a sword that was extraordinary.

I would have given this to Lily… but Rose created this for me, with her dedication to me. I did not think it would be a good idea to kill her expectations.

Better not do that then.

Currently, Rose is creating a stock of upgraded parts, to retrofit her body with.

Rose does heavy manufacturing when we go to bed, due to prolonged familiarity with the technique - they'll certainly be completed; upgrades are proceeding as planned.

Though, had I not requested a sword, she may have finished already.

“Sorry Lily, for asking you to go alone.”

“Nnn.”

As I talk to her, Lily comes over to me like a friendly dog, so I pat her head as she holds onto my right arm.

After finis.h.i.+ng up today’s exploration, I took a break in the cave, and she had gone out to search for food.

Of course, she also checked to see if the Expedition Unit was around.

This was a job only Lily could do.

This is because, if, by chance, Rose were to come across the Expedition Unit, they would not hesitate to attack her since they cannot differentiate between her and a monster.

With that in mind, Lily in human form would not raise too much suspicion.

Additionally, she gained Fire Fang’s keen smell ability.

Although her ability is not as great as the original, it still works to strengthen her senses and raise her searching ability. This also allows her to find the other group while remaining out-of-sight.

However, it would be a problem if Takaya discovered her. But even this situation is slim-chance, at best. At the very least, she should have enough time to retreat and join us.

For those reasons, and because Rose is busy with manufacturing, I relied on Lily for searching for other humans and food procurement.

“Has anything changed?”

Running my fingers through her hair while she clings to my arm, I ask the same question as the last few days.

I can’t blame her for not finding them, to be honest, I didn’t expect her to be able to.

Even if the Expedition Unit returns to the region, it’s still guesswork as to their location.

According to Kato-san’s info, Takeya knew the route the Expedition Unit was taking.  I don’t know if he ever ended up finding them.

Six days after the Expedition Unit left, the rebellion in the colony started.

Like this, both Kato-san and I just barely escaped.

I holed up in this cave for three days during the fallout. Takaya escorted his small group using his cheat ability, which gave him extra physical strength.

She said that Takaya left after they found the cabin in order to catch up with the Expedition Unit, but even for him, trying to catch up to a week’s worth of distance would be tough. Especially when they were still continuing on.

Even when he does catch up, they will still take awhile to turn around and cover the same amount of distance on the return trip.

For those reasons, I wasn’t really expecting them to come back any time within the week. It’d be nice if it was sooner though.

“You know that cabin… the cabin with the barrier mark. I found some traces there.”

With this, Lily’s words surprise me.

“Someone from the Expedition Unit has returned?”

“I don’t know; in accordance with your orders master, I returned immediately.”

“I see. Hmm… something is odd. It’s way too early.”

“It might not be the Expedition Unit, it seemed to be only one person.”

Lily presented another possibility.

“There is only one person?”

“Yup. It wouldn’t make sense for a student of the Expedition Unit to be alone, it could be another survivor. Even master is a person from the colony that has managed to stay alive.”

“Certainly, there’s that possibility too.”

There’s often dangerous monsters roaming the woods, but with care, avoiding them is not that hard. It’s possible to not even see one for a day or two.

While some monsters like the Fire Fang have high tracking abilities, staying in a place like this cave helps to avoid them.

In the end though, it depends on luck - as even a man without a cheat ability can wander about without being hunted.

In fact, a month after we were teleported to this world, the Expedition Unit was formed.

Since I was a part of the Stay Behind Group, I don’t know all the facts, but it’s possible that it’s a residual effect of the Expedition Unit that this region is safer.

It’s possible because Takaya, who knew the Expedition Unit’s path, knew of the existence of the hut.

To ensure the safety of the colony, the Expedition Unit also moved with a priority towards clearing monsters.

Therefore, the path of the Expedition Unit and a radius around it are relatively clear of monsters.

Thinking about it now, it only makes sense if the monsters were hunted.

Regrettable. Well, there’s nothing to be done about it now.

Come to think of it, it’s really lucky they didn’t find Lily during that time.

Because I met her, my fate has been better.

“Whether it’s a student or someone else, we should go and confirm it.”

I made my decision.

“Whether it’s a member of the Expedition Unit, or a survivor from the colony, we need to ascertain whether or not it would be safe to leave Kato-san in their care. “

“…it’d be nice if it went so well.”

I noticed that Kato-san was nearby and heading towards us.

Recently, she’s begun to look healthier.

She still looks haggard, but she no longer looks so depressed.

There are even times, such as meal times, that she shows a bit of a smile.

“If the person we find doesn’t have a cheat ability… what will we do?”

Like this, it became necessary for us to check it out.

This is, a good trend.

Due to Kato-san’s circ.u.mstances, her wariness was raised to an extreme state.

“Sure…”

I consider Kato-san’s response.

“Whether we get information directly from the person, or through observation, the end objective is still the same.”

“…what do you mean?”

“If the other person doesn’t have a cheat ability, there’s no benefit to contacting the person. But, if they do, they might be part of the Expedition Unit a.s.sociated with the colony.”

“Ah. There’s that possibility. I’ll be right back.”

Lily expressed her agreement and left to prepare.

I continued on.

“Alternatively, this person might have information on the status of the colony. To find out this information, it makes sense to contact the person.”

“I…see, Thank you very much.”

Kato-san lowers her head and bows to me.

With no more reasons not to, we prepared to leave the cave.

　　　＊＊＊

We move through the forest, marking our path on the trees.

Lily, with Fire Fang’s sniffing ability, can sense any potential danger around us. This gives us a greater amount of peace of mind as compared to before we encountered the Fire Fang.

Still, no point in being reckless, we continued on carefully.

And fortunately, did not encounter any monsters.

When we arrived at the cabin, it looked nothing like it had when we first saw it.

After I destroyed the barrier stone, the cabin looks like it was destroyed by monsters.

Now, there isn’t much left of the cabin except debris, and with monsters able to wander by, I wouldn’t expect even that in a few weeks.

Soon, it might even appear that there wasn’t a building here before at all.

Now though, there was a figure of a male student wandering around the ruins.

He seems a bit taller than me and a bit more muscular as well.

The atmosphere around him seems frivolous though, what with the high school uniform the boy is wearing that is only common to j.a.pan.

The boy is wandering about the ruins and occasionally bends down to inspect something.

…What is he thinking.

Well, that was what came to mind when I first saw him.

If he can guess that the cabin was destroyed by monsters, he should not remain in this place for a long time.

In fact, I was half torn to leave the trail towards the cabin and have Lily search the region around it, but it doesn’t seem like that will be necessary now.

“Is he with… the Expedition Unit?”

Kato-san muttered the same question I was thinking as well.

If he was with the Expedition Unit, then it’s entirely possible for him to wander about nonchalantly with the threat of monsters looming.

His behavior indicates that he does not care about the threat of monsters, and that can also be said of the carelessness of the strong. But…

“No, it’s different.”

I rejected these opinions.

Simply put, he’s just not aware of the danger in the first place.

It’s evident.

“He’s a part of the Stay Behind Group.”

“Do you… by chance, know him?”

“Ahh”

I bitterly bit my lip and watched the boy walking around the ruins, kicking at debris in frustration, then nodded.

“It’s a cla.s.smate.”

　　　＊＊＊

After some consideration, we decide to split up.

Just in case.

I, accompanied by Lily, approach the hut.

I can hear the boy grumbling about a short distance away.

“Yo, Kaga.”

“Hiiii!”

It seems he was in deep concentration.

When I called him from behind he jumped in surprise and ducked behind some wreckage.

“… oy oy, don’t run away.”

It looks like he thought I was a monster. After I called again, he stopped trying to desperately hide.

From his actions, I was convinced that Kaga was a part of the Stay Behind Group, and that he had no cheat ability.

“You’re…”

Kaga’s face changed to one of relief.

“Is that really… oooh, that’s Mizus.h.i.+ma-san!”

After he noticed her, his att.i.tude changed.

He was that kind of guy.

Even saying that, I don’t really know the guy all that well anyways.

Kaga was a cla.s.smate of mine, but only to the extent of us greeting each other. We were never friends or even talked all that much.

I don’t really like his type all that much.

It’s probable that the feelings were mutual.

“You were safe!”

“You as well, Kaga.”

Kaga came forward to grab the hands of Lily, but I stepped in front of him and blocked his path.

“In all that confusion, you did well to stay safe.”

Because I thought it would end up like this, I prepared myself for it.

As I expected, Kaga moved as I thought he would.

It’s likely we won’t get along this time as well.

“Majima.”

He looked at me with brazen eyes when I blocked his way.

“I see you’re doing ok as well. How is it that you’re with Mizus.h.i.+ma-san, Majima?”

Kaga’s eyes kept flicking back to Lily while he was talking to me.

“Ah…”

I swallowed my unpleasant feelings and pressed on.

There’s no sure way to do this.

Lily is a beautiful woman. Her kindness stands out as well.

Though that’s hard to say since she’s always smiling to me.

“…’Mizus.h.i.+ma-san’ and I we escaped in the confusion of the rebellion, luckily.”

I consciously kept my tone to a casual everyday conversation level.

“And like that, we’ve been working together up till now.”

I wonder if it went well?

Before coming to this world, did I have to lie all that much?

…I don’t remember.

The peaceful days of the past, even though it was just a few months ago, it seems like it was a long time ago.

“I see.”

Fortunately Kaga doesn’t look too suspicious.

This is probably because Kaga isn’t really paying attention to me rather than my oh-so-charismatic lie.

Kaga was still flicking his eyes at Lily, but eventually stopped and turned to me.

“Kaga also escaped from the colony, huh.”

“Ahh. I felt like I was going to die.”

“Your luck seems to be good.”

“Ahh. Glad to see you.”

“Yeah.”

Kaga was unlikely to lie in this type of conversation, so I managed to get a supportive response.

I can’t easily tell when a person is lying, so this is easier.

Better to be safe than sorry.

Of course it’s like that.

This survival sense is the new norm for me.

I don’t have thoughts of “All you humans should go die,” or those of an end boss.

Well it’s not like I can become a hero either, with my distrust in humans.

“I just got here today, were you two staying in this cabin, Majima and Mizus.h.i.+ma-san?”

“That would be impossible.”

This time, I was not able to hide my surprise.

“We’re living in a cave that is hidden and inconspicuous.”

“Heh, a cave. How primitive.”

“Being primitive is better than this place. …did you not notice that this place was destroyed by monsters?”

“What!? Really!?”

Kaga turned to me in surprise causing me to release a small sigh.

“Why would humans destroy a place like this… and this level of damage is not caused by natural decay. If you examine closely, you’ll see the signs.”

The evidence was clear in the destruction of the cabin, it could only be monsters.

Kaga took some time to examine the ruins more carefully… and said nothing more on the matter.

“Well then, let’s get out of here quickly then.”

“Yea.”

Kaga seems to panic and urges us to quickly leave.

“Now that I consider it, you guys have done well to stay safe so far. Is there someone else with a cheat ability with you two? Majima and Mizus.h.i.+ma-san should both be part of the Stay Behind group, right?”

Kaga asked worriedly.

In his voice he sounded troubled.

So I respond with a question.

“Isn’t that the same case as yours?”

“If there was such a guy, I wouldn’t leave his side. I’ve just been lucky so far.”

“We’re much the same. We ran away desperately and managed to escape relatively unharmed. We even managed to pick up a few things like this.”

I slapped the wooden sword that was at my waist.

“It was taken from a magical puppet.”

Kaga makes an odd face.

“…huh? Isn’t there something off about that?

“…I just picked it up, so I don’t really know anything about it.”

In fact, Rose made it with her fighting spirit.

“Even though I have this, we don’t really fight monsters. I use it mostly for self-defense… or for hunting small animals for food.”

“I have been surviving on the food from the colony.”

“You’re a shrewd guy.”

Kaga laughed loudly and pointed at the backpack.

This guy, probably survived up till now because he’s clever.

Is it his strength or just pure luck though, I can’t really tell.

And so as we talked, we walked through the forest.

After awhile, my breath got ragged because I usually leave all the hard work to Rose.

Leaving aside Kaga, “Mizus.h.i.+ma Maho” occasionally helped me.

“Somehow, Majima ended up with Mizus.h.i.+ma-san huh.”

“It just happened.”

“In regards to the cave, is it close by?”

“It’s up ahead. Be careful though, it’s still about an hour ways away.”

“Is it only you guys?”

“Yeah.”

Along the way, Kaga has been asking a lot of questions.

I’m concerned, but it’s not unreasonable. A lone person usually desires some conversation.

It could be interpreted as thus.

It’s not good to think about the unnecessary. Just need to focus on getting back safely.

“So then, I went to the cabin because the Expedition Unit might pa.s.s by that way.”

“There’s still time, it will take time for them to get back. There’s no guarantee they’ll even pa.s.s by there anyways.”

“It’s enough though! We’ll survive until then!”

“Yeah.”

I continued on the path back to the cave while answering appropriately.

We eventually stopped questioning each other and the conversation degraded into something like small talk.

“Come to think of it, wasn’t there someone fighting the monsters in this area?”

“Did they get ripped apart?”

I recall the students we found a week back. I spent some time to search for others but never found any other corpses.

“I was still hiding. Did something happen?”

“No. It was a guy from the Expedition Unit by himself.”

“…What? Is that true?”

This was information I didn’t know

I raised a hand to stop Kaga involuntarily.

“Ah. It must have been a guy with a cheat ability that wasn’t a.s.signed to the Expedition Unit, but instead to the colony defense.”

“I didn’t… take notice of that.”

“He was just some guy I didn’t really know. I guess his ability wasn’t as useful so he wasn’t included in the Expedition Unit.”

“…I see.”

Kaga was keeping some information to himself, but I’ll let it be for now.

If this guy wants to withhold information, I will do so as well.

But, if what Kaga is saying is true, it could be bad.

This guy that can kill monsters with his cheat ability is an unknown, and should be taken into consideration.

Alternatively, he could be thinning the forest of monsters to keep the students safe… I shouldn’t a.s.sume the worst.

Either way, I should move my base.

Though, I need to consider that since he’s killing monsters, that means this area is relatively safer…

No, that’s too optimistic.

We should definitely move anyways.

While I was considering these things, Kaga was chatting up Lily behind me.

I told Lily to just respond curtly and with a smile. If she talked too much, her true character might get revealed.

Fortunately, Kaga only seemed to want to impress her.

Even so, for awhile now I’ve been wondering about his situation. He’s trying to get along with women.

Though he knows it’s unlikely, he still tries hard.

“We’ve arrived.”

”Hmm. So this is the place.”

We returned to the cave without running into any major problems.

Kaga looks around curiously.

While I recovered my breath from the hike back, I watch Kaga carefully.

“Then from now on I’ll ask you for help with various things, such as gathering food and supplies. We’re short on people here.”

“I know. Oy oy. Don’t nag me. You trying to be the leader?”

“I didn’t have that intention. In the first place, there’s no need for a leader with only three people.”

“You got that right.”

*Heh heh heh* Kaga laughs and cracked his knuckles as if he just realized something.

“Come to think of it, we need to talk about something first.”

“We need to talk about something? What’s that?”

“Eh, how do I say it.”

Kaga takes a position of thinking about it with absolute arrogance.

“Before that… can Mizus.h.i.+ma-san go to the back of the cave?”

“Why?”

”This is a talk for men only. You get it?”

This guy, what’s he going on about.

Like that, Kaga lowered his voice and closed the distance between us.

“This was said earlier, by the Expedition Unit.”

“Expedition Unit?”

I lower my voice as well.

“Ahhh. n.o.body knows when those guys will return… in the first place, how are they even going to get back. You want to hear what I’ve got to say?”

If this guy is for real, I should listen to him.

Though I don’t get why he doesn’t want Mizus.h.i.+ma Miho to hear this.

However, from Kaga’s expression, cede this point.

No choice.

I put “Mizus.h.i.+ma Miho” out of my mind.

“I get it. Are you okay with that ‘Mizus.h.i.+ma-san?’ Please go on ahead of us.”

“Un. I understand.”

With a nod, she disappears into the cave.

Then I turn around and face Kaga again.

“And so? Continue the story about the Expedition Unit…”

“Idiot. Mizus.h.i.+ma-san might still be able to hear it.”

Kaga blocks my request like that.

“This story is very graphic. That’s why Mizus.h.i.+ma-san shouldn’t hear it. Let’s go a ways away.”

Without waiting for my reply, Kaga started walking.

And with that, I sigh heavily and follow after him.