Ryuugoroshi no Sugosuhibi

The time was 7pm. The two had slept for about 5 hours and were woken by the attractive smell of food.

After they got enough sleep, their bodies changed priority from sleep to food.

“Are you awake? Come here and sit down, the food will be ready soon.”

Seeing Kosuke not understanding her she thought that the interpreting magic effect had ended and she cast it once again.

On the table there were three portions of bread and soup.

The sound of frying meat on a pan could be heard.

After smelling the meat Kosuke couldn’t help but gulp.

After Horun’s greeting he obediently sat in a chair.

Alice brought out the main dish which consisted of ham steak and cooked vegetables.

Before starting their meal, both Horun and Alice closed their eyes and performed the same action.

“Is that some religious rite? Do I also need to do that?”

After hearing Kosuke’s question, the two of them looked hesitant.

“What we did just now was express our thanks to the G.o.ds of this world. This is something natural for us to do. Do you need to learn how to do it, Kosuke?

“If you want to blend in better you should probably learn it. Especially if there’s a situation where you’re in a hurry since everyone in this world does it. The movements are a bit different depending on the country, but you can learn their way when you get there. For now, stick to the way this country does it, okay?”

“My country had some that did something similar, it was done like this.”

Kosuke put his hands together, showing that he wants to start eating.

“Does Kosuke’s country also have similar rituals?”

“We show our grat.i.tude not to G.o.d, but rather the food on the table. To all the plants and animals, and to the person who worked hard to gather everything. Other countries have rites where they give thanks to G.o.d before eating, but I don’t belong to any of those groups.”

Kosuke was talking about the Christian religion, but Kosuke´s family followed the Buddhist’s teachings.

Kosuke didn’t have a strong belief in it, but if a time ever came when he really needed it he would believe in it.

Pretty much the same level of belief as most people.

“Giving thanks to the food and ingredients? That’s quite interesting. Kosuke, for now just use the rite of your country and over time people will think it’s a unique rite of your hometown.”

“I understand.”

The three of them ended their dialogue and started to eat.

After not eating a proper meal for a while Kosuke was eating without restraint.

Horun was smiling and Alice could hear Kosuke saying in between gulps that the food was delicious.

After finally being able to eat a meal in a relaxing environment Horun had also eaten more than usual.

The food that Alice had prepared was quickly devoured by the two.

Seeing them satisfied by the food Alice was also happy.

After Kosuke placed his hands together to signify that we was full, Alice asked if that was also part of his rite. He nodded in confirmation.

As Horun and Alice put away the dishes, the three of them continued the talk from earlier.

Horun began with a submissive mood but Kosuke wasn’t as depressed as before.

The food and drink had put him in a good mood.

He was the kind of person that would change moods fast. His parents and friends also said he gave up too easily.

He felt at ease since he didn’t know about that last part.

“Continuing from earlier…if we keep thinking about what happened we’ll all just get headaches so we should quit while we’re ahead. The solution will probably become clear someday. Instead of worrying about what has happened, we should worry more about what will happen from now on. Since I know nothing about this world I imagine it will be very hard for me to live here.

Even on Earth each country had different values and common sense.

He’s in another world now…Kosuke couldn’t even imagine the difference.

Kosuke realized just how many problems he’s going to have after thinking about the future.

He can’t even protect himself in this world.

For now that doesn’t matter since Alice is giving him a free room to stay in.

But what will happen after he leaves? Can he survive?

Kosuke became uneasy.

“Even if I can’t send you back to you world I will make sure you can live in this one. You can trust me.”

“I won’t neglect the savior of Horun. If you have any questions feel free to ask.”

Kosuke bowed out of thanks to their goodwill.

“About the questions you have regarding this world…can we save them for later? I want to know what happened after you came to this world and before you met Horun. Can you tell me?

Since it wasn’t a big secret Kosuke nodded and told his story to them.

While reviewing what happened nothing became clear. It was still a mystery.

“After I regained my consciousness I had already landed, and that’s all.”

Horun continued with what she discovered after she found Kosuke so Alice roughly grasped what happened.

“So Kosuke crashed into the dragon’s weak spot…it’d be rather difficult to shatter one’s shoulder otherwise.”

“After receiving such a serious injury I actually survived…”

Learning he had been gravely injured, his face drained of color.

He’d never had such a serious injury his whole life. He couldn’t even imagine his state at that moment.

“You survived thanks for Horun’s healing and the power you absorbed from the dragon.”

These weren’t the only reasons, but n.o.body had realized it.

Alice continued to talk with Kosuke.

“Horun is one of the best doctors on this continent, in regards to healing she’s a natural genius. Since she treated you, she would have been able to heal even the deepest of injuries. They say that she could even bring you back from the gates of h.e.l.l as long as there is still life in you.”

“That’s amazing. Thank you, Horun. Thank you for saving my life.”

Having medical skills on top of her beauty, she is most likely very popular, thought Kosuke while bowing his head.

“Treating injuries is the job of a doctor and you are my savior as well. Of course I would save you.”

Savior. That word was confusing Kosuke.

“I keep hearing you call me your savior. Why? I killed the dragon, but what does that have to do with Horun?”

“Because Horun was originally a sacrifice.”

“Sacrifice…For the dragon to eat?”

“Yes. That monster came here 30 years ago and demanded 2 sacrifices every year.”

*“That’s quite a common tale.”

“Indeed.”

Although Alice had agreed with Kosuke, they had totally different views on the matter.

Kosuke had meant that is was a common fairy tale plot while Alice had meant that it was something that happened often in the past.

The two continued to talk.

“Not everyone can become a sacrifice. The dragon only ate human girls with outstanding abilities. If the sacrifice didn’t meet the conditions the dragon would go on a rampage. It had already destroyed a total of 10 cities and villages combined.” (TL: d.a.m.n picky dragon)

“Was there n.o.body who could defeat it?”

In every fairy tale there was always a hero to save the day and kill the dragon.

“In the past there were many adventurers, brave knights, and heroic warriors that challenged the black dragon but all failed in the end. We slowly came to realize that we couldn’t beat the dragon and thus we accepted its demand. Eventually Horun’s turn came to be sacrificed.”

“Miss Alice, aren’t you a strong magician? Could you not do anything?”

In the fairy tales, magicians had always been the support for the heroes and brave warriors.

But reality it was different.

Alice hung her head. Horun tried encouraging her by putting her hand onto Alice’s shoulder.

“Alice tried her best. She used her magic to weaken the dragon but even when the dragon was weakened we still couldn’t beat it.”

“…Even though I was famous, I still couldn’t protect the person I hold dearest. I’m ashamed.”

The three of them went silent.

Horun’s hand was still on Alice’s shoulder, and the depressed Alice had placed her own hand on top of Horun’s.

In order to fix the gloomy atmosphere that he had caused with his indiscretion, Kosuke asked:

“Ah, uh-about what you said before, I ‘absorbed the power of the dragon’. What were you talking about?”
(TL: It literally says: “Ah,uh – We haven’t finish talking about the topic from before,[…]?” but I changed it a bit since I had the feeling that it would sound quite tactless.)(ED: You’re not wrong)

Alice looked up, grateful for Kosuke’s kindness and answered:

“After killing a dragon, one can absorb its power and become stronger.”

“Absorption refers to?”

“Is there no concept of absorption in your world?”

“In my world, absorption is a phenomenon like the stomach absorbing nutrients from food, or fabrics absorbing moisture.”

“It seems your world doesn’t have a similar concept to ours. ‘Absorption’ refers to the killing of a monster or beast and taking their power.”

‘Like receiving experience points in an RPG’, though Kosuke.

In other words, its just like getting a lot of experience at once to level up and gain strength quickly.

Originally he was in a certain death situation but thanks to that ‘absorption’ he was able to be saved in time by Horun.

[It’s really worth it to be summoned to another world, especially one that has an EXP system.]

Even though he was in such a situation, Kosuke couldn’t help but be excited.

Thanks to taking the dragon’s power and Horun’s help, he was still alive. Though incidentally absorption and EXP weren’t the same concept.

One couldn’t receive the same amount of power from a monster again.

When one beat a monster a couple of times, the absorption rate would decrease slowly until it no longer took power from the fallen monster.

“From what you two have told me I should be much stronger than before. I don’t really feel different…ah, I didn’t feel tired at all during the trip here, could that be what you meant? My body would normally have been exhausted with such exercise.”

Even if he wanted to deny it that he had become strong, facts slowly appeared in his head.

“It seems like you understand now. Are you interested in testing your strength?”

“Do you have a measuring device?”

Alice nodded to Horun’s question and stood up.

“[Gaileien] wanted to replace their measuring device for a new one, so they took into account the development costs of the new one and decided to sell the old one. If you only use it occasionally it should last for a while.”

Alice left the room and returned rather quickly. She had returned with a metal plate about as big as a newspaper folder into a quarter, and metal cards.

She placed the metal plate on the table.

“Place your hand on the plate.”

“… something’s happening?”

After Kosuke put his hand on the plate, a surge of heat flowed from the tips of his fingers to his wrist.

After removing his hand from the plate, some letters surfaced.

But of course, Kosuke didn’t know the meaning of those letters.

Horun and Alice glanced from his sides at the plate, and both of their faces showed an astonished expression.

“…even though I had already guessed as much, seeing it is still a shock.”

“…being able to kill a dragon is really incredible.”

The two of them were surprised and perplexed at the same time.

This also proved how astounding the data on the plate was.

“Can you explain it to me? I don’t understand it.”

Kosuke asked them timidly.

“No problem. Then shall we start from here.”

Alice pointed at the plate as she spoke to Kousuke.

First the data is divided into five main parts: Strength, Endurance, Perception, Intelligence, and Spirit.

Strength, Endurance, and Perception are pretty self explanatory, while Intelligence represents wisdom and knowledge, and Spirit represents magical resistance and affinity.

There are also some subsections like Stamina, Magic and Agility. Those three are also pretty easy to understand.

Their values weren’t represented with numbers but rather in ranks. These 15 ranks ranged from A+ to E-.

According to Alice, E is common, D is excellent, C is first-rate, B is to be feared, and A is worthy of worship. (TL: Or in other words: G.o.d)

Kosuke’s stats were: Strength B+, Endurance B, Understanding B, Intelligence C+, and Spirit C-.

“Not even one A.”

Kosuke thought those stats were rather underwhelming and just spoke his mind. Hearing that, Alice and Horun both showed a disapproving expression.

“Ah…you can only say that because you don’t understand.”

“If you had an A somewhere, our reaction would have been much different. We would have suspected this machine was defective.”

“Is that so?”

Seeing the reaction of those two, Kosuke was confused at the difference in how these stats were treated.

“A normal adult male who doesn’t serve the army would have something like: Strength E+, Endurance E+, Perception E, Intelligence E, and Spirit E. Knowing that, can you still take your stats so lightly? By the way, the dragon which you killed had its ranks averaged at B+. Such power is already that of a lesser G.o.d. That monster had the power to destroy a whole country. Your average is at B which is enough to destroy a whole town. Of course, that’s just from looking at this data.”

“…isn’t my power kind of ridiculously high?”

“Yes, it really is. In the history of humankind, the strongest hero, Marcus Tesco Rato, had only an overall rank of C!”

“Correct, he had an average of C. You’re already the strongest human on the planet.”

“This power I was granted is just too much…it doesn’t feel real for me.”

Kosuke disliked the power he received. Even though he has never been in a fight, he was given power beyond any human before him. Faced with this situation, he could only smile bitterly.

“You’re not to be blamed for this. You came from a world that lacked the concept of «Absorption». You’ll understand it sooner or later. I think we should talk about talent next. Even though you don’t have a talent, you have a t.i.tle which is practically the same thing as a talent.”

“I’m curious about the t.i.tle  as well, but could you explain the talent thing first?”

“Talent refers to the special abilities of an individual. Horun and I have innate talents, while yours came about from some unknown source.”

“There is a saying that a talent is really a gift from G.o.d. My talent is «Heal 3» while Alice’s is «Magic Fusion 2». One can receive such a talent from birth, or from some rare source.” “What to those numerals mean?”

“The numbers represent the size of the effect and its potency. It goes from 1 to 3, and the higher the number is, the stronger the effect is. The numbers can be increased, but I’m not sure how to do that yet. I heard that if you practice enough, you can improve your talent.”

“Does everyone in this world have a talent?”

“No, more like one in every ten people has a talent.”

Kosuke nodded, it seems a talent isn’t rare to have.

But someone who has a talent isn’t always aware that a talent is slumbering within them.

If one narrowed it down to those who know about their talent, it would be about 1 out of 100.

“Now to explain the t.i.tle. A t.i.tle might be given to you by G.o.d, or it could be received by achieving something. Even from how the people around you perceive you.”

“An example would be the t.i.tle «Giant Killer». The hero Marcus Tesco Rato achieved that t.i.tle from slaying a giant.”

Alice nodded in agreement and added onto the explanation:

“A talent has an impact on one’s quality and ability. Now, a person can have an infinite amount of t.i.tles, but can only choose one to be in effect. Choosing is pretty simplistic, you just concentrate on the name of the t.i.tle and it will come into effect. You can change your t.i.tle once a day, keep that in mind. My t.i.tle is «Genius Witch» which raises my magical abilities, while Horun’s t.i.tle is «Leilier’s Favored».”

It seems the effects of Horun’s t.i.tle are medical and healing related.

“Leilier is?”

“The G.o.ddess of Medicine.”

“Really? Then what is my t.i.tle?”

“Your t.i.tle is «Dragon Slayer 2». Like I said earlier, there is a number because your t.i.tle and talent are the same. The effect of «Dragon Slayer» raises your overall stats by one, the overall amount is determined by the number after it. Though, the effect of your t.i.tle should include more, since increasing all stats by one is the effect of «Dragon Slayer 1». If I were to give it my best guess, looking at how other t.i.tles interact with people…your stats weren’t the only things that have been affected. In other words, all of your actions will be influenced. Of course, this is just my guess, so take it with a grain of salt.”

This t.i.tle was one of the reasons Kosuke managed to survive.
(TL: When he crashed against the dragon and nearly died)

After he absorbed the power of the dragon and got stronger, he obtained the t.i.tle which further reinforced his body and his natural healing speed.

“That’s such a cheat.”

Although it was his own power, Kosuke still found it absurd.

“Cheat?”

“It means to break the rules.”

After hearing the description, Alice nodded.

“That’s right. If all of your actions are going to be affected, then it means your learning ability is also improved. Your growth may actually not have a limit. In the eyes of others, you would be very cunning. That t.i.tle is very fitting for killing the strongest dragon.”

“Strongest Dragon?”

“Well…the Dragon which died by your hand was the highest cla.s.s of the dragon species.”

“…Such a strong monster really died after being hit once in his weak point?”

Kosuke couldn’t help but be baffled. The highest cla.s.s of a species, unable to overcome such a crippling weakness?
In his confusion, Kosuke forgot something important.

All living things have a weakness. Some of which cannot be overcome or compensated for.

Any biological life would fade and die if the brain or heart were destroyed.

The scale that Kosuke had crashed into just happened to be that weakness.

“That collision was rather powerful, after all. You almost lost your life just from the impact, it was most likely more powerful than you imagined. Couple that with the fact that you hit the dragon’s weak point…but in the end, we can’t verify it anymore. Well, that’s notentirely true. I could perform an autopsy to figure it out, but I don’t want to get near that beast.”

“Well, you were terrorized by it after all. Is there anything else to discuss?”

“Other than the cards, I can’t think of anything else that would need explaining.”

“Yes. Even if we forgot, we can always explain afterwards.”

“True.”

Alice put the metal card on the plate.

The text on the plate slowly disappeared, and after about ten seconds the plate was blank again.

She picked up the card and gave it to Kosuke.

Text appeared on the card, but Kosuke could only recognize his own name.

“This card is kind of like an ident.i.ty card, so be careful not to lose it. The information on it will only show under the consent of the owner, so it’s rather suitable to prove your ident.i.ty.”

“I can only read my name. What else is written here?”

“The city and country which serve as your homeland. Your card shows Ricardo of Piriaru Kingdom.”

“Ricardo was chosen as his home town?”

“It’s probably because he’s currently here. It was most likely impossible to show his original residence.”

“Where is Ricardo?”

“From here? On foot it would take about 2 hours to walk there. I also live in Ricardo.”

Horun said while pointing in the direction of the city.

“The only things that will automatically appear on your card will be your name and homeland. The remaining data will only show if you want it to. Now, since the explaining is done with, time to figure out what Horun is going to do from here on out.”

Alice finished her conversation with Kosuke. He was internally thankful since he had a lot of information to go over.

“Would it be better if I leave?”

“No, it’s fine for you to stay and listen. I’m just worried you’ll be bored.”

Horun gave her permission easily. Kosuke decided to stay and listen.

“Horun, do you have any idea what you’ll do from now on?”

“I’ve given it some thought…if possible I would like to stay here for a while. If you could contact my family for me…I’m afraid going back now would cause a huge commotion.”

“It really would cause an uproar…”

One could easily imagine the result. Alice smiled through the oncoming headache.

“I hope you can relay my well-being to my family, as well as confirmation of the dragon’s death. Once everyone has accepted that the dragon is dead, I will return. If I go back to my family before that…my family will most likely suffer a lot. If people spread rumors about the Earl’s daughter running away, other n.o.bles will seize the opportunity and we’ll have to deal with a lot of unnecessary problems.”

“Earl?”

Even though Kosuke wanted to be just an observer, he couldn’t help but react.

“Yes, I’m the eldest daughter of the Earl, if we go by age.”
(ED: “by age” seems to refer to hereditary peerage. Since Horun was due to be sacrificed, she ‘surrendered’ her right to take on the t.i.tle of Earl once her father pa.s.sed, therefore the younger sibling will take on that mantle. She is still the oldest, but has given up her rights as ‘royalty’. Of course, if she has a male sibling then this is moot. I’m trying my best here.)

“This is the first time I’ve seen an aristocrat.”

Kosuke opened his eyes as if seeing something incredible.

He couldn’t help but be surprised, you wouldn’t even see someone with such a t.i.tle on TV.

Kosuke had only seen a photo of royalty before, but this was the first time he had actually met one face-to-face.
(TL: well I would also be surprised or more shocked if the one that I traveled with is a n.o.ble)

“Kosuke, does your neighbourhood not have any aristocratic mansions?”

“We don’t have any aristocrats in our country. About 100 years ago there was the Wu family, which had a similar rank, but it has long since perished. Although there are gaps between the people, more or less everyone is equal.”

“So…you’re saying that your country doesn’t have any kings or n.o.bility, only civilians? How is your country managed?”

“Our country has a emperor, which is similar to a king, but the emperor is only a symbol of our country and does not take part in national politics. The ones whom actually operate the country are a group of representatives elected by the citizens.”

“It sounds like Qiuhan City.” (Temporary name)

Horun remembered about a continent next to Kaer Huode.

Quihan was suppressed by another country in the past, but then they stood up for themselves and gained independence.
(TL: like America)

After eliminating the interference of n.o.bility, they represented themselves with a public representative.

The only way it differs from j.a.pan would be eligibility for voting. You needed to own a store of a minimum size to be able to vote, it didn’t matter how old you were.

“Horun, when you were chosen as sacrifice, couldn’t you use your rights to save you?”

“If I did that, at worst I would have been stripped of my t.i.tle.”

“Why? Aren’t aristocrats of a higher rank? Doesn’t that grant you some privileges?”

“Sacrificing one for the good of the many. That’s the basic idea of n.o.bility. If one person’s life can save the whole country, shutting off your emotions and sacrificing yourself is the way to go. Even I’m afraid of death, but I accepted that I had been chosen as the sacrifice.”
(TL: n.o.blesse Oblige, well from the most stories I have read there aren’t that much which follow that )

“I can understand how those values work, but I could never agree to it.”

Kosuke understood Horun’s explanation, but even if his life could save thousands, he wouldn’t be able to sacrifice himself.

“Such a n.o.ble sentiment…civilians like us can’t do something like that. To just throw your life away after being told to, it’s the same as being crazy.”

After saying that, Alice looked at Horun. Horun had a wry smile on her face.

Horun came to understand that she held different views and values from Kosuke and Alice.

Being able to understand that, Horun is a black sheep within n.o.bility.

“My values don’t perfectly align with the rest of the aristocracy. When I was  2 years old, it had already been decided I was to be the sacrifice. I only received the most basic education and was able to live my life rather freely. If I had been educated and bred to be a proper, distinguished member of the n.o.bility, I think I would have been happy. Happy to have the chance to voluntarily sacrifice my life for my country. If someone had come to rescue me, I would have angrily rejected their kindness. n.o.bles are funny in that sense, though. They act for their own selfish interests unless the country is in danger, even though they say the well being of their country is the most important thing to them.”

“This world is really hard to understand.”

Kosuke recalled what he knew about n.o.bility on Earth, but he only really knew what was needed to pa.s.s tests. He was never taught things like this, so he couldn’t comprehend or compare.

“You don’t need to force yourself to understand it. Moving on, you want me to tell your family that you’re safe?”

“Yes.”

“I can do that, but the question is how to contact them. I don’t want to visit your home, but just a letter would be seen as a sick prank.”

“Right, and please make sure you keep Kosuke’s t.i.tle confidential. The «Dragon Slayer» t.i.tle is kind of a big deal.”

Horun is very clear about this topic, since the uproar from my t.i.tle would cause more commotion than her being alive.

“If the n.o.bles found out about the appearance of the «Dragon Slayer», they would rush to be the first to exploit it. Kosuke shouldn’t know how to deal with them, so he would be pushed around. Kosuke, are you able to handle n.o.bles?”

“If you’re asking if I can hold a conversation with n.o.bility, no I can’t. The only way I can think of to cope with them would be saying [I want to slaughter you], but that’s a little terrifying.”

That being said, slaughter is easier said than done.

If it’s just destruction of property, then it’s easy. But harming or killing innocent bystanders is something beyond Kosuke.

Using threats isn’t an option for the n.o.bles either.

Kosuke, at this moment, had the power to destroy the streets of a city. In the future, after learning magic and proper fighting methods, destroying a city isn’t impossible.

If any n.o.ble dared to annoy Kosuke or damage his territory, then they would be bound to suffer losses.

Unless they’re stupid to the point of it being incurable, they should understand that much.

Even though Kosuke may become a wanted target, if he stayed in the countryside of another Continent he would probably be left alone.

“Doing that is possible, but you need to make sure it’s believable. Otherwise you’ll end up putting yourself into a precarious position. At worst, you’ll have the whole country as your enemy. Make sure you’re mentally prepared for that possibility.”

“I just have to avoid coming into contact with n.o.bility.”

“That’s right. Also, there are some shops which tend to have contact with aristocrats, so you need to be careful.”

“I understand. Anyway, I know that the t.i.tle «Dragon Slayer» is something special, but is the presence of a «Dragon Slayer» also special?”

“Ah, if we include you, then there have only been three.”

Alice briefly explained about the other two Slayers.

The first «Dragon Slayer» appeared 5000 years ago, while the second appeared 2200 years ago.

The dragons slain by them had an average rank of B-, which meant they were lesser dragons.

They both gained the t.i.tle of «Dragon Slayer» due to the sacrifices of their comrades.
(TL: It means that they fought together with their comrades but they died in the fight while he killed the dragon)

Therefore, this was the first time that someone had killed an upper cla.s.s dragon, on top of doing so single-handedly, in their history.

If the aristocrats came to know that, who knows what they would do to get Kosuke.

“Having records from over 5000 years ago is quite remarkable.”

If one converted it to j.a.panese history, it would have been during the Jomon period.

Kosuke was very surprised by this, since places on Earth with a long history and rich culture such as Egypt and China, and of course j.a.pan, had very few records from that long ago.

“Records from that long ago should not be remembered.”

Kosuke had been admiring the existence of such records until Horun denied it. Kosuke’s expression rapidly turned to astonishment.

“…If there are no records, how do you know the legends of your «Dragon Slayer»s?”

“Even without records, as long one asks G.o.d, one will know it. The things which happened back then are still in the memory of G.o.d. In fact, there is a book which tells us our history as G.o.d told us. Everything I explained to you was from that book.”
(ED: Bibles are real here .-.)

Hearing that unexpected line, Kosuke stopped what he was doing.

The truth that G.o.d existed shocked him.

“…G.o.d is real? You’re not joking, right?”

“Of course it’s true. Why is that surprising? Could it be that there is not G.o.d in your world?”

“We have myths and legends about them, but there isn’t any evidence that they exist. Let alone holding a conversation with one. If you went around promoting that G.o.d existed, you were considered a little wrong in the head.”

“If there is no G.o.d, then how was your world created?”

“Some say by accident, some say miracles. There is also a reasonable argument that explains how everything was created without G.o.d.”
(ED: He’s referencing the Big Bang theory at the end)

“Religious people can’t believe in something like that.”

“I can’t image a world without the existence of G.o.d.”

“I believe it’s because the two worlds are so different.”

Kosuke wanted to convince himself with that.

“Perhaps accepting that conclusion will make it easier on everyone.”

Other people are other people, but we are ourselves.

Thinking that way is good for both sides.

Thinking about a world without G.o.d is meaningless right now.

Because he exists in this world.

Thinking about this question, at best, would yield ideas for a drama or novel.

“Since this world has a G.o.d, I just need to go and ask them how to get home, don’t I?”

Thinking that he had a good idea, Kosuke smiled.

But Alice shook her head.

“I don’t know where to find G.o.d. We may be able to talk to him, but meeting him directly is not within our power. Even talking to him requires a person with a rare talent, and for now we won’t be able to find such a person. We can only listen to G.o.d’s words, but since we cannot do anything but listen there is no true way to communicate.”

“Are there buildings where dedicated believers gather?”

“There is, why?”

“If someone goes there, they should be able to talk to G.o.d, right?”

A G.o.d should take special care about his followers, so Kosuke asked about it.

“Those people want to pray to G.o.d, so G.o.d will not particularly care about them. In the eyes of G.o.d, the Church has less worth than a place which has caught his eye. Hearing an oracle can happen outside of a church, which proves that point.”

There apparently was a case where G.o.d approached a devout believer that was holding a cat he had been raising.

“Is that so? I thought I had a good idea.”

“To be honest with you, I already thought about doing something like that. Meeting G.o.d isn’t easy, and I decided not to tell you about that option since he may not know how to send you back. My apologies.”

This was probably because of the different values Alice and Kosuke had.

G.o.d, on Earth, has an omnipotent image to the inhabitants.

But unlike Earth, the G.o.d of this world is an important being to every human. There were also examples where he is proven to not be omnipotent.

“Let’s get back on topic now, shall we? Let’s focus on how to pa.s.s along the news that Horun is safe and the Dragon is dead. The most reliable way to relay this would be to personally visit your home, but I really don’t want to go there.”

“I’ll personally write a letter. All you have to do is send it with some of the scales we brought as evidence. People should believe it then.”

“Should we lie and say the dragon died due to disease or an accident? As long as we leave a little room for imagination, they should come to their own conclusion.”

“Won’t someone suspect that a Dragonslayer has appeared?”

“Probably, but even if there was someone who figured that out, the possibility is so low that they would doubt it themselves. The most likely conclusion will be that a High Elf killed it, or the dragon died of natural causes.”
(TL: Not sure with the High Elf since it also has other meanings 大精靈)

“If they end up with that answer, that will work perfectly for us. Here’s hoping.”
(TL: The chinese text says 萬歲萬歲萬萬歲了 which was used in medieval china to greet the emperor, but it can also stand for something one says when they won something)
(ED: Banzai was originally at the end. English equiv pl0x)

Killing a dragon is an impossible task.

That was one of the human sayings, but it was a shared thought among all the races that have been attacked by the dragon. They would rather believe it was killed by G.o.d or another Higher Being.

But one couldn’t rule out that a great diviner will foresee the existence of the Dragonslayer.

Even so, Alice wasn’t worried about Kosuke’s ident.i.ty being leaked.

Even if the divinator knows about the existence of the Dragonslayer, he can’t see the ident.i.ty.

Such an accurate divination is impossible among humans.

At best, they could detect in which country he is staying.

Even if someone asked Horun whether she saw the Dragonslayer, Horun just needed to insist that the Dragonslayer had already left before she arrived at the Black Dragon. With that, the other party couldn’t continue questioning her.

“Well, even so, I will need to go to the mountain tomorrow and confirm the position of the corpse. If needed, I will attack the belly with magic. After that’s dealt with, I’ll head to your home and give the Earl the dragon’s location. They should start investigating themselves.”

After the three of them decided what to do tomorrow, they chatted a bit to pa.s.s time.

The topic was about the world where Kosuke came from, the difference between the two world surprised Horun and Alice.

As the night progressed, Kosuke and Horun were sent to bed early by Alice.

Alice took some wine out of her collection, and toasted to Horun’s safety as well as the dragon’s death.

After drinking it, she joyfully went to bed.