Having become a member of the merchant group, four months have pa.s.sed continuing to travel through Kei.
I have a feeling that I was able to grasp this country quite well.
First off, public order is terrible.
We were attacked by bandits many times.
What I did during those times?
I threw stones at them.
Together with the children of that area around there.
At the beginning they had unreasonable expectations.
Somehow it seems that they held onto the formula that elves are a lot stronger than humans.
But, after telling me “Let’s see your skills in swordsmanship and archery”, they understood that I won’t become a combat potential right away at my level.
That’s only natural as I haven’t ever possessed either in my life.
However, with my power being on the powerful side after all, I was told to occasionally shoot at opponents in the far distance since I’m able to draw the bow string more or less.
Be that as it may, I hit them more by throwing the stones in my hands than with the bow, if the opponents are nearby.
Therefore the modest me was being only a nuisance to our opponents with my stone throwing.
Sword?
I, who don’t understand the ways of fighting in a group battle, would apparently kill my allies.
In the first place, don’t bandits come attacking on top of horses, if one is unlucky?
Since you won’t be able to catch up if you can’t ride a horse, I was rather waiting for them to approach to throw my stones.
Although it’s not thanks to me at all that the bandit attacks didn’t cause large harm to the merchant group.
That’s because the merchants were properly protected by guards.
I will insist that it turned out well in the end.
I have been practicing horse riding so far as it goes, but there is a limit to my free time as well. Despite being careful about falling off the horse, there haven’t been any noteworthy results.
It’s an unsaddled horse after all, you know.
As the result of having to use muscles I usually don’t use, I end up being tormented by muscular pain after a short time of practicing.
That’s harsh when travelling.
It causes an adverse effect while gathering firewood, which is the* ch.o.r.e. (T/N: “the” is written in English)
Anyway, I was able to personally experience that the public order completely changes depending on the person governing the area.
According to the location, it’s impossible to be careless even down-town.
At any rate, the public servants who should be acting on behalf of protecting the public order, are dangerous.
It went even as far that there are cities where crimes are fabricated if you don’t hand over money.
And in such cities I have seen many starving people.
Since starving people can’t be seen in cities with good public order at all, those are basically regions with abundant harvests, I guess.
I understood it qui~~te well.
This country is on the brink of collapse.
Because of hunger and injustice, the populace’s unhappiness is rising with a terrible momentum.
Looking at it from the outside, even I can feel that the people are quite capable of rising in rebellion against the hated feudal lords, if there’s some trigger.
This is… there might really occur something like the Yellow Turban Rebellion.
If we talk about the things I understood about this after-death world… women are strong. As in physical strength.
Although they are women, this place seems to be full of people resembling generals. It’s apparently not unusual for a woman to be a feudal lord either.
But, 90% of them are elves.
Nonetheless, as they are people of the same Kei Empire, there isn’t much of discrimination between elves and humans.
If it’s fellow elves, they mostly give birth to elves, but if you look at their ratio in the population, the number is below one elf per several hundred humans.
If it turns into something like humans vs. elves, the elves are aware they will perish. Is what I guess.
I don’t know either whether there is some history pertaining that, but I don’t have the methods, curiosity and leeway to investigate such issue.
That’s because I’m currently travelling.
Although there is little discrimination, it’s impossible in the first place, if you aren’t an elf, to become distinguished to the degree of people knowing your name.
Anyway, on top of having to appear on battlefields, if you are famous, important people get targeted.
Consequently it doesn’t fit, if you are an elf that isn’t stronger than humans. That’s apparently the theory behind it.
Tentatively there are also humans, who are civil officials that don’t partic.i.p.ate on the battlefield. But, although I heard that, it’s only a very small minority.
I caught sight of several elves during our travels, but they didn’t seem to be anything but normal people, except the colorful shades of hair color, which are unattainable for an earthling, their pointed ears and their many beauties.
That doesn’t mean that all of them are slender either. It’s also not the case that every of them has that characteristic long and narrow face.
There were also those having pointed ears with a Dokaben face. (T/N: Dokaben seems to be a manga about some fatso playing baseball. It got an anime, movie and game and was serialized from 1972 – 1981)
Then again, if you consider their long lifespans, they won’t change at all after all.
Their only difference is their powerful strength that stems from being able to gather mana.
No, if this much is different, it will be plenty, I think?
I won’t say something like that I don’t want them to be president of a certain strongest country of the world, if they aren’t beautiful since I will have to always see their face on TV.
Actually, all presidents are ikemen…
If an elven beauty doesn’t stand on top just like them, those below won’t have any motivation. …… maybe?
Ah, if you say that’s only natural, then that’s how it is, but there was no magic.
Mana and such apparently can only be used for strengthening the body.
When I tried to say 「If I were able to cast magic at such time, it would be fine though」 in a casual manner, I was told 『Don’t kid around. Even if you were called magician Liu, that wouldn’t mean that you can truly use magic』.
It’s because I ain’t Liu. It’s impossible, right? One character was different. How regrettable. (T/N: Liu = riu = リウイ … ライル = rairu = Lyle)
I also realized several things about myself.
No matter how I look at it, my physical ability seems to be quite low as an elf.
Even so, if I train, it looks like I will be able to reach the level of a human not being able to win against me.
Well, although I might say that they won’t be able to win, it’s only a talk about one vs. one.
If I end up getting surrounded and ganged up on, I likely won’t have the greatness of elves.
And, I was able to write the characters.
Though you might think ‘what the h.e.l.l’, isn’t it more ridiculous if you can’t write while being able to read?
However, even if they are readable, you will be unpopular, if the characters aren’t beautiful.
It’s far too disheartening.
Currently I was taking lessons in penmanship from O-kun and I regret it the second time in my life.
I’m taking lessons in penmanship in order for my hand-writing to become pretty, especially since even a child can do it.
No, that’s really important.
Isn’t it terribly saddening, if you are told 『Write this down』 by your senior at work and then, after you noted it down frantically, you are told 『How messy ……』?
If the characters are messy, you will get embarra.s.sed at various situations.
I want the young people to do their best.
Umm ……
Ah, yea, I received praises by quite a few people about my calculations.
Because there was the decimal system here, I’m able to keep using my calculation power, which I fostered until now, without change.
But, 0 isn’t 0.
Apparently an Arabian-like genius hasn’t been born in this country.
When inadvertently writing a numerical formula, I secretly write it on the ground or do mental arithmetic so it doesn’t appear to be strange because I end up writing 0.
I recall having heard that your mental arithmetic will rapidly improve, if you learn using the abacus. Although I had the regret that I should have learned using it, it’s sill sufficient, I guess.
In other words, it’s the blessing of compulsory education.
Thank you, compulsory education.
At the time of finding a job I got mad thinking that there’s mostly no meaning in your grades, even if they are great, but now I feel inclined to say that I will forgive it.
Since it’s truly a support in situations dividing life and death, I have to express my grat.i.tude.
Even though there’s a place I want to write a letter of thanks, once I return to j.a.pan, I have already given up going back to j.a.pan.
If I think about it in a calm manner, I was in a different world after waking up from sleeping. It’s an explosion of dynamite in s.p.a.ce at said time.
That’s Basara-likish (T/N: Basara is a manga which later on also got an anime. It plays 300 years into the future, so maybe that’s why it’s mentioned here? no idea. The word itself has a meaning too, but that would make even less sense.)
I absolutely don’t believe that such special thing will happen twice.
To be able to believe in such a miracle, it’s already around 20 years ago since I thought I might be special.
This opinion has a sequel as well.
I’m not a special human.
In the first place, I don’t believe that special humans or such exist.
Muuh …… that’s my philosophy and not common sense?
Anyway, something that happens to me, should be something that happens to everybody.
I believe that. No, I know that.
If that’s the case…
Am I the only person from another world in this world? I have doubts about that.
Well, if they experienced the same as me, almost everyone might have died being attacked by bandits or having starved, but ……
If there are humans possessing a different knowledge than me having come from a different civilization ……
There might happen outrageous things depending on their intentions.
In that case, the existence called me, regarding them ……
…… It has ended up becoming an a.s.sumption being piled up on top another a.s.sumption. The very thing has turned into a delusion.
Even thinking about it is meaningless, I’d say.
Currently I should only think about the matters connected to my own life.
Well then, returning to the story, there has been a very important surprise concerning my body.
I got young again.
When I asked around in the merchant group, everyone said that I was likely 14~15 years old.
Eh? That’s a lie. Thinking that, I have looked at my face at a river. I’m clearly young again.
Moreover, with my former face changing a bit, I’ve become somewhat an ikemen.
Nevertheless, as an elf I seem to have quite the plain face.
However, it looks like my height is normal for my age. My body build is average as well.
Let’s call it a representation of a medium build. Although it’s a very cool appearance, if you consider the history of the galaxy, no one will probably understand that. How regrettable. (T/N: Likely a reference to Star Driver (Ginga bishounen))
Ah, that’s right, though I realized that, it might not be as tall in height as I expected Rastil-san to be.
Although I wondered whether she has a height of around 175 cm since she is slightly taller than me, it looks like it was in fact no more than right around 160 cm with me being in the middle of growth.
Accordingly, somehow everyone thought that I’m tall.
I haven’t realized something like shrinking when I became young.
And thanks to becoming young, my hair has become deep black and plentiful as well.
I was super happy at the time I noticed that.
No, was it more than Okazaki, the best j.a.panese soccer player from before. (T/N: Shinji Okazaki (岡崎 慎司 Okazaki Shinji, born 16 April 1986) is a j.a.panese footballer who plays for Leicester City, and for the j.a.pan national football team as a forward.)
Ah, I won’t approve an opinion other than Okazaki being the best.
If you have any complaints, let’s have you become a regular in the championship team of the league, where the most money in the world is spent. (T/N: aka the English Premier league. Leicester City won the t.i.tle in 2016)
Even if I ended up coming to a different world, if I consider that I will be able to enjoy a longer life than a human, I have complaints as well ……
I experienced it.
In the first place it doesn’t mean that those called elves live as young people for 200 years. Even the high elves, living in some place, won’t.
The life span was known to be around 70 years.
It’s quite disappointing, even if it’s this many.
In addition, if you calmly think about it, even if I became 20 years younger, once I end up dying 10 years later, let alone being meaningless, it will be quite detestable.
And, as for the current me’s life expectation, rather than having 60 more years, the ways of the world seem to be that I will be at the point of my death earlier.
It is a tragedy what happened to me after all.
I won’t be able to watch the World Cup.
Or rather, no one knows soccer itself.
Ha!? I won’t be able to watch Okazaki anymore either?!
What the h.e.l.l …… This tragedy exceeds King Lear. (T/N: Shakespeare, read it, and yea, it’s quite the tragedy, that one)
That’s a drama, but this here is actually happening to me.
Did I give up?
…… d.a.m.n it!
Well then, finishing the journey, where such discoveries and grievances happened, there is currently a tremendously long continuing earth wall in front of my eyes.
The imperial capital of the Kei Empire, Land, is concealed by a rampart.
This is amazing!!! (T/N: Instead of saying Suge~ (or Sugoi~), it’s Sunge~ (or Sungoi~) putting extra emphasis on it)
As expected of the capital city lasting for 400 years. How much money and personnel did this take?
It’s always easier to make an earth wall rather than a stone wall since it uses soil, but even then it takes amazing effort.
Did the people of this country like to make the wall, I wonder?
Even the great person, who apparently died drinking mercury on Earth, seemed to like walls to the extent of deciding to surround the country with a wall, but …… (T/N: Reference to Qin Shi Huangdi, First Emperor of Qin and founder of the Qin dynasty, who died drinking Mercury in his pursuit of eternal life)
Ah, that one’s probably here as well, that wall, which deceived me by being told that I can even see it from s.p.a.ce. (T/N: Chinese wall, huh?)
The pure me, err the me, who was pure, really believed that, although …… From olden day, that nation ……
Anyway, I ended up recalling something nice.
By the way, there were the Yellow river and the Yangtze river. (T/N: Chinese rivers)
Their names are the same as well.
In the old days, or rather, even among some of the present time they are apparently only called river and large river. (T/N: Yangtze being the large one)
What the f.u.c.k! Is what I thought, but they were already yellow, they were long, therefore it might only be natural for their names to be like that, I changed my mind.
They were magnificent.
I wanted to see their appearance before they became yellow.
Anyway, I arrived at the place, where everything gathers the most, this country’s capital city.
From the huge gate, I have already seen, many people and wagons, pulled by horses and cattle, can be watched coming and going.
I could feel the city’s liveliness spreading to the stallholders even outside the gate.
There’s no doubt that this city gathers the most people among the cities I have seen so far.
As I thought, I was able to possess the belief that a lot of information converge in this place.
If possible, I want to find a job in this capital city.
A journey is dangerous after all, right?
However, no matter how I look at it, it seems to be a society of connections. I have no doubt that it will be difficult to take part on the spur of the moment.
When I talked with the merchant group leader, I was told to try searching since they will stay for a month.
If I can’t find anything, it will also be fine to work as group member once again.
It seems that people who are capable of calculation are fairly valuable.
It’s an appreciated story.
Since I have secured a method to stay alive, my stress has rapidly decreased.
Nonetheless, for the sake of determining my plans hereafter, I want to obtain the basic knowledge and trends of society.
For that goal, I want to reach the point of living in the capital city, Land, in front of me gathering everything.
Let’s do this!