Chapter 91: That time when we discussed our plans
Heya. Sorry for the delay. Was pretty swamped with work but more importantly, we lost our freaking internet for a week. I, kizenpain, live in spain without the s a place that’s pretty much in the middle of nowhere so things take a while to get done…
P.S. This is still the second chapter for February so there will be two chapters this month.
It’s the next day after the heroes came to the island. I got into a dispute. The main reason was the hot spring we visited yesterday.
「No no no, I’m telling you, it’s not yet possible. Do you realize how much work it would take to build a house near that hot spring? How do you even plan to transport the materials there from the s.h.i.+p in the first place?」
「Me, Oda, and the carpenter we’re going to borrow, will have to bring whatever we’ll use for each day but that should be fine right? We’ll just need Caam to clear out land and dig holes for the pillars」
「Still, you’ll need to bring a water source closer to the mountain, you know? Are you thinking of just digging a well? We also don’t have enough manpower for irrigation, you know? Even if I do it myself, I’ll still need at least two weeks to get to the foot of that mountain」
「There’s a hot spring so you’ll just have to dig a bit to find water right?」
「There’s a hot spring by the beach and if you dig around that area, all you’ll find are more hot springs. This is why I’ve been telling you to wait for 6 months to a year. It’s better if we draw water from the lake close to the mountain. We’re also going to slowly increase the number of islanders and build houses around that area so we can set up a second village. If it’s just a house you want, it would be faster if I made one with earthen walls and planks for a roof using magic so the only problem left is water. Are you just going to get the hot spring water, cool it down, then use it to water the plants and give it to the livestock to drink? Can you even grow vegetables in that land in the first place? You haven’t checked if the soil composition is good enough you know?」
「Y-yeahー」
「Then please wait for a while okay?」
「Fiiine. I’m not going to insist on living there. But take me to the hot springs. I’m not budging on that one」
「That’s fine if you’re going to wait. There will be days I won’t be able to take you there though like when I go back to my hometown to visit my family」
「I won’t die if I don’t take a bath for two to three days you know? Besides, I’m going to get Oda to make a bath for me so I don’t mind」
「Ohー, Caam-san and the heroes are fighting」
「It’s for a stupid reason though」
「We can hear you, you know!?」
「Hiie! We’re sorry」
Sheesh, this stubborn geezer sure is a handful.
That night, we had a meeting at one of the houses near the beach where there were no other humans.
「Well, putting the thing this afternoon aside, what are we going to do?」
「What do you mean?」
「I’m talking about the summoned heroes thing. If we leave them alone, there would just be more victims you know? If we’re really going to make a move then let’s meet up with Ugajin, and come up with an elaborate plan to either kidnap or dispose of the princess who is doing the summoning. We could also threaten the current king to step down.」
「You just casually said it but either option involve a.s.sa.s.sination, right? I’ve been trying my best to avoid killing since I came here though」
「But you do have some experience with that right? Even if they’re kings or princesses, they’re still human you know?」
「Even if you’re smiling like that, your eyes are not. Just how much resentment have you guys acc.u.mulated?」
「「Quite a lot」」
「I see」
Hmmー, their resentment runs deep it seems. Both Enomoto-san and Oda-san remained silent. Was it that horrible?
「Fine, I’ll think about it」
「For the time being, let’s look for heroes and do whatever we can to get in touch with them. To be honest, our situation is too good since we have an island like this for our base. All sorts of primary industries have already been established after all. And when it comes to agriculture, we have livestockraising, pisciculture, and forestry. We even make our salt, sugar, and sweets here. Confectionery isn’t a primary industry though. And besides, have you ever seen another human village this far away from Corundum?」
「Nopeー. Well, if anyone saw me roaming around the human side of the continent, I’ll just get killed or hunted down like prey」
「You look like that so you’d definitely get attacked on site. Dark-blue skin, red eyes, if you had wings growing out of your back, you’ll totally look like a devil. Well, devils in the children’s stories in this world are replaced with the demonkin and the Demon Lord though. I haven’t even heard of the term “devil” used in this world」
I also haven’t. I wonder if this has something to do with the church? They are probably just preaching that demonkin are the absolute evil and it’s okay to kill them all.
「Well, putting that aside, we only produce wheat and raise livestock in the village. If we’re not careful, we’ll starve once winter comes. Even if we explain the modern way of doing it, I don’t know if it would change anything so we have it rough」
「But still, even if they’re humans of this world, I think it’s unforgivable for fellow j.a.panese to get treated as sacrificial p.a.w.ns 」
If Enomoto-san had alcohol in front of him, he would have drunk it up in one go and slammed his cup on the table as he said that. He’s like an old man whose daughter was taken in some kind of period drama.
「I agree. That’s why we should make saltpeter. We’ll use that or some kind of subst.i.tute to hara.s.s them」
Please don’t say that with a sinister smile as you sip your coffee.[TL: This sounds weird. Is he doing it at the same time? That’s pretty amazing then]
「Since we have a hot spring, there should be sulfur right? Let’s just sneak that in the castle and burn it. That way, we’ll be able to hara.s.s them but just enough to keep anyone from dying」
He also looked like he was enjoying himself this time as he once again casually inserted that dangerous remark. Wait, once we’re able to make saltpeter, if we had sulfur, we’ll have most of the ingredients to make gunpowder, won’t we? I mean, the only thing we need is charcoal and we already make that so it’s only a matter of time.
「The demonkin side readily accepted my proposal though. I wonder why there’s such a discrepancy with the treatment」[TL: idk what this is and what proposal tbh. Kinda feels like when the author edited this, he accidentally deleted some parts]
「I think it’s because they’re too religious. For some reason, rather than letting people take on new challenges, the church encourages people to live a constant and stable life. That’s why farmers end up becoming bandits. They don’t even receive any education so if they’re born in a slightly larger village, there’s no reason for them to leave. They’re villagers their whole life and the church teaches them not to have too many unnecessary thoughts」
「Oh yeah. I’ve invited a member of the church to the island to fill the humans’ spiritual needs you know?」
「Still, the humans on this island are better off. I even think that nun would probably change for the better while she’s here」
「That’s true. They said that they’re living better lives than before they became slaves and it seems like they been letting that nun know about that fact a lot」
After a while of talking about random stuff, I finally asked about the main topic.
「So, how about we go back to the main topic?」
「You know, Ugajin is actually a ninja from Earth」 [TL: pretty brunt way of going back to the main topic. Kinda like a whiplash lol]
「……what?」
「Ninja. He’s a ninja」
「Is he stealthy and all that and stuff?」
「He didn’t do actual ninja things for a living but he’s been doing that since he came here. He’s really lively you know?」
「……is he someone who appears on tv a lot? A guy who’s good at making use of his muscles?」
「He said he’s appeared a few times, yes. He seems to be a ninja from a village similar to Edo that’s located at the northern side of the Kanto region」
「He’s the real deal in a lot of aspects then huh? Amazing」
「It seems like his physical ability has increased significantly ever since he arrived here that he’s become a certified genuine ninja. That’s why he was able to sneak into the castle and learn about how we’re being used as p.a.w.ns」
「It’s a good thing he’s not the American type of ninja. So, what made you decide to come to me?」 [TL: Thought “American Ninja” was different but after reading this chapter again, it might actually be a reference to that tv show]
「We thought it would liven things up if a Demon Lord was involved」
「Haaー」
I let out a loud sigh.
「Let’s set the scene. If a hero defeats the king, all the humans around the world would probably hunt down that human. What happens if it’s a Demon Lord that defeats the king?」
「The humans would band together and wage war on the demonkin?」
「Precisely. Then we’ll spread an exaggerated story all over town about how the demon lord, who pitied the heroes after learning of their story, decided to work together with them. They’ll find out that it was actually the heroes who asked the demon lord for help to defeat the princess who keeps on summoning heroes left and right for their selfish agenda without a way for them to return」
「So heroes get hunted down if they become a threat huh? That’s why you’re going to the pity route?」
「No no no, it’s actually clever. We wouldn’t want the heroes to end up becoming villains after all」
Aida-san smiled and snickered as he said that. He’s pretty twisted, isn’t he? I wonder what kind of situation he had to become like this?
「Anyway, could you do us this favor as a current Demon Lord and a former j.a.panese? I’ll come up with a plan」
「Haa. Are you making a hero liberation group?」
「Oh, that sounds nice. Let’s do that」
「……what have I done?」
◇
Ten days after that, we talked about building a windmill in the commercial district at the planned castle site of my predecessor. To check the state of the wind, Enomoto-san swiftly climbed a ladder held by several people like what the firefighters do in the dezomes.h.i.+ki event during New Year. Once he reached the top, he coiled his leg around the step to prevent him from falling then checked the state of the wind.
「Ohー, it’s pretty windy here. Doesn’t seem like anything is obstructing the wind reaching here from the sea. It looks like it’s settled」
So that means the wind is always blowing where Enomoto-san is huh?
「Well then, seems like this is a good place to put a windmill」
「Please wait. I haven’t experienced any storms since I came here. Since we don’t know how intense those get, wouldn’t it be a bad idea to build one just like that?」
「We are former j.a.panese you know? Taking measures against that is nothing. We can just make the blades out of cloth. We’ll remove the cloth whenever a storm comes. If we reduce the width of the blade and increase the number, we can reduce the force applied on it while still maintaining its function as a windmill」
「Well, that’s true but」
「You’re mistaken if you’re thinking it’s going to be some large-scale structure. We’re only making a small one that can grind grain even with minimal power. If that doesn’t work, we’ll build one with a tripod foundation so if a storm comes, we’ll only need about three men to take it down. It doesn’t matter if it’s the fan one with small blades or a savonius one after all」
「Savonius?」
That’s true. I can only imagine a large structure when I think of a windmill.
「Isn’t it fine then? I’ll go discuss it with the carpenter」
After saying that, Oda-san went to the carpenter’s place carrying several sheets of blueprints.
「Windmills are only useful for turning stone mills, aren’t they?」
「At this moment, yes but we’ll also harness the power of the wind to bring water to higher places using wooden water channels」
「That’s right. We only have a small water channel right now but it would be useful when we have to draw water to a slightly elevated area」
「If we want the technology here to catch up, we can also make use of the wind to generate electricity. Ah, if we had some bamboo, we could make Edison’s lightbulbs you know? We could also make some potato batteries with zinc and some sheet copper. We probably won’t get much light from it though」
「Making candles or lanterns would be easier after all」
「Yeah. It’s probably not something we can do before I kick the bucket」
「Should we write some books and call them the wisdom of the heroes or something?」
「Maybe but if we store it on this island and things end poorly, it might all just get burned」
「Of course it willー」
While we were having that silly conversation, the coconut sprout on the flower pot by my feet called out to me.
「Caam, there’s a small boat being dropped off by a s.h.i.+p and is heading towards the island. There’s only one human riding it though」
「Thank you for letting me know Palma-san」
「Woah!」
Aida-san sounded really surprised. Come to think of it, I didn’t tell them about her.
「Ahー, I forgot to introduce her. This is Palma-san who is a dryad of almost all the palm trees on the island. There’s also Fleur-san who is a red flower alraune」
「Got it. That guy on the boat is probably Ugajin. He was supposed to come after us but it seems like he’s a bit early」」
「I’ll get my weapons just in case. Shall we go meet him together?」
「Ah, alright」
I grabbed my weapons then met up with Aida-san at the beach where I saw a silhouette of a person standing by the water’s edge.
「I can’t really tell until he gets a bit closer」
After saying that, Aida-san slowly approached the shadow.
「Heyー. Aida」
Since he called out to Aida-san using his name, it looks like it’s someone they know. It’s probably that guy Ugajin.
「It’s been a while Ugajin」
That’s great. Looking closely, he looks like just an average person. I definitely wouldn’t remember him if we happened to pa.s.s by each other in town. He doesn’t have any particularly memorable facial features.
He was equipped with something that looks like a dagger or a larger-looking knife that villagers carry on their waists for self-defense.
He was dressed in the same type of clothes I was wearing. A common hemp s.h.i.+rt, long hemp pants, and he looked perfectly inconspicuous in a way that would make him look like villager C if he was just walking around.
However, his black hair does stand out. It’s rare to find someone with black hair in this world apart from the j.a.panese after all. If he went bald, his hair color won’t get revealed but I guess that will also stand out.
「I think you’ve already read about him in the letter but let me introduce you two. This is Caam, a j.a.panese reincarnated to a demonkin and is this island’s Demon Lord」
「h.e.l.lo there」
「This guy is Ugajin, a combat-type hero. He’s originally a ninja before getting summoned but also acts as a ninja in this world」
「Nice to meet you」
「It’s a relief that you aren’t the American type of ninja」
「There might be a lot of ninjas that aren’t discreet back on Earth but the ones in this world are pretty good at what they do. Anyway, this island is pretty interesting, isn’t it? It’s pretty too. I’ve never been to a place like this before」
「Well, now you’ll get to see it every day. We more or less have houses over there but we moved the village a bit more inland as a measure against storms. We’ll take you there」
「I seeー. Indeed, this place isn’t safe if a storm does come. If anyone comes to check the fields and s.h.i.+p, they probably won’t be able to come back」
「At the moment, we’re on good terms with our neighbors the aquatic demonkin so if anyone gets washed away to the sea, they’ll probably help us out」
「Will they end up like that prince who got saved by a mermaid princess? That’s a pretty exciting development, isn’t it?」
「Unfortunately, they can actually speak the common language. There are also some sahagin types and fish with legs」
「Are there no sea witches?」
「I think there are ones who are called witches but I think most of them can use magic. Here you don’t need to pay a hefty price for love」[TL: Cannot little mermaid references…]
After that conversation, Ugajin-san gave me the thumbs up so I also did the same before we headed for the village.
Ugajin-san probably likes mermaids. Well, can’t blame him though since they’re beautiful.
PR: Filip/Gecko
Author’s Notes: Some people(probably after this chapter was first posted) wanted clarification so let me explain.
Ugajin, who admired ninjas, worked in a ninja village in Nikko(a city in j.a.pan that has a ninja village I think). That means, he wasn’t a ninja. However, when he came to this world, his work involved secret espionage.
As for the hero’s name, due to various reasons, it will be revised starting next chapter.
To make things clear, I will be using the “a” character for all of them.
The hero Iwamoto uses “i” so I will be leaving it as is.
TL from the future: Looks like it was already fixed