Sora uses metastasis and transports himself and his party to a small village called Na.n.a.lia Village. The village consists of small, run down houses surrounded by several fields. Sora chose that destination so he could avoid encountering too many people. He does not want to deal with the ten thousand to one chance that he might run into a student of the Sholidaya Academy.
At present, he stays with the village head due to there being no inns in that village. As such, he shows his thanks by helping with the field work. Currently, he plows a field alongside the villagers. The work is somewhat difficult, but it"s much better than fighting monsters. Also, with the villagers giving him breaks and providing him with refreshments, the work isn"t that bad.
As for the others, Yami is teaching Laila language arts in the shade. Sora, realizing that life must be difficult for Laila with only knowing the Ryuu language, asked Yami for the favor. Sura continues to ride on top of his head. Carrying her is a little uncomfortable, but her nice and cool body is very refreshing.
I need to make sure I don"t plow with my back…… This would be way easier with Reinforcement Body. That spell makes all sorts of inhuman feats possible…… But reapplying it over and over is too annoying.
Sora sticks his hoe into the ground and lets out a heavy, "Fuu~"
Gourevitch= Lamdi Udine[1], Gorilla for short, gives Sora a smile. "Oh? Nii-chan, need a break?" His DQN[2] like face matched with hair that looks like it"s been dyed brown leads to the conclusion, a terrible face and name, but an overall nice and friendly person.
Sora says, "Yeah, I"m still not used to doing this sort of thing."
"I guess not. Alright then, take a break! I"ll be right back with something tasty that"ll pick you right up."
Sora calls out to Gorilla as he enters his house. "I"m looking forward to it." He then sits down on a rock to wait.
Gorilla returns a few minutes later with a basket dangling from his hand. "Sorry for the wait."
Underneath the cloth cover are sandwiches. They are recognizable with a glance, yet because of the antic.i.p.ation sparkling, kira kira, from Gorilla"s eyes, Sora resigns himself to ask, "…these are?"
"Fuahaha, listen well! These are sandwiches made by my wife! They were made with vegetables from the village along with a special dressing made from wild goblin meat!
He sure is enthusiastic…… wait, Gorilla is married? No way!
Gorilla says, "Hm? What"s wrong? You"re looking pretty shocked…… Well, that"s fine. Go on and eat."
"Yeah, thanks." Sora takes a bite, mogu mogu, and goes, "Uwa!? It"s delicious."
"You"ve got good taste, nii-chan! I"ll let you eat this if you help me out every day!"
I can eating something this tasty every day?
Sora says, "Seriously! I"ll do it!"
The two return to the fields upon thoroughly finishing and enjoying their sandwiches.
For about a week, Sora, Yami, and Sura help Gorilla with the fields while Laila focuses on her studies in the shade. Around then, to Sora"s surprise, more people appear to help with the fields. Seriously, I thought this place was a secret.
Their arrival allows for longer breaks which give Sora more time to enjoy the deluxe sandwiches made by Gorilla"s wife. This again continues for another week.
Then, after the field work has finished, Gorilla says, "Anyway, we"ll be picking herbs today."
"Medical herbs?"
Sora, Yami, and Sura follow Gorilla to a nearby mountain. Goblins attack while they"re picking herbs, but Gorilla instant kills them. Dang, he"s strong.
They eat sandwiches during a break, pick more herbs, and then ease their way back to the village. As they get closer, Gorilla stops walking and says, "Somethings wrong."
"Yeah." Sora also notices. The sun is still up, but the village is dead silent. Regardless of the time, children can always be heard laughing. Right now, not even the loud, talkative grandfathers and grandmothers can be heard.
Sora says, "What are you going to do?"
Gorilla says, "…Nii-chan, you guys wait here. If I don"t come back in ten minutes, go get help."
"I see, got it."
Sora watches Gorillia charge into the village. He"ll be fine, Laila"s in there. Regardless of what happens, she"s still a member of that legendary race.
After a while, he says, "Mn~, he still hasn"t come back."
Yami says, "Is this your doing?"
"Don"t say something that horrible with such a serious expression! ……Ah." With more than ten minutes having pa.s.sed since Gorilla entered the village, Sora feels a need to confirm a doubt. "Hey, Yami, was today one of Laila"s study days?"
"No, today"s her sleep day."
What bad timing.
Sora says "……Haa, let"s go," and dashes into the village.
"Yeah."
They reach the center of the village and from their hiding spot discover that the men and women have been separated. Some of them are covered with wounds and are bleeding from all over. One particular man is surrounded by a convoy.
Sora says, "Uwa, just one glance and that guy totally feels like an aristocrat."
He must have ordered this.
Yami says, "Yeah, I don"t like him."
"Me neither. By the way, where"s Gorilla?"
Yami points with her finger while saying, "Mn, over there."
Gorilla is kept a bit further away from the rest of the villagers. He was tied up and left to roll on the ground. That"s when he"s kicked by a group of guards wearing iron equipment. A tied up woman near him screams at the sight.
"Ohh…" That must… be Gorilla"s wife. I"ve seen her once before.
She has the same dyed brown looking hair as Gorilla, but is beautiful.
I"ve finally met your wife, Gorilla. I"m so jealous… How did a DQN guy like you meet such a beauty? Either way, I need to focus on the situation…… Guard A is pointing in my direction?
Guard A says, "Hey, another villager!"
The other guards turn while saying, "Oh!" and "Right over—"
The aristocrat like guy says, "Well, well, aren"t you a pretty ojou-chan…. Where have you been hiding?" He then speaks to the other guards. "All right everyone, bring that girl along and tie that man up properly."
Four guards proceed towards Sora while saying, """"Yes!""""
Like I thought, he"s the leader…… Still, he"s got some nerve to want Yami.
Sora speaks in a low voice so no one can over hear him. "Yami, I"ll take the two on the right. The two on the left are yours. Don"t kill them."
"Understood."
Sora isn"t afraid of killing the guards, but the villagers would talk if we killed them…… Dealing with that would be way too annoying.
Sora grins once the guards are halfway to reaching them. He rushes the two guards he"ll be facing and says, "It"s been a while since I"ve been in a fight. Let me enjoy it?"
The guards gasp at his action, but raise their weapons without hesitation.
Sora mumbles "Physical Strengthening [Reinforcement Body]" as he runs and applies a body strengthening spell to his entire self. The world within his eyes blur as he reaches an inhuman level of speed. He appears before a guard and sinks a fist into that guard"s stomach.
The guard bends over with a "Gofuu," and clutches his stomach. Sora grabs the guard"s hand and forces it over the guard"s head. The guard goes, "Uwuuu?"
An eerie smile cross Sora"s face at the guard"s distressed moans. He then breaks the guard"s arms while saying, "This"ll hurt, but it won"t kill you. Do your best enduring it."
"Augh, aughh……"
Sora cuts the guard"s indecent groans short with a chop to his neck.
The second guard says, "You b.a.s.t.a.r.d!" as the first guard falls unconscious. He swings his sword at Sora with the intent to kill him, but Sora catches the blade with his left hand. A metallic ginn rings out as the swing is forced to stop. "What is this?"
Sora focuses strength into his left hand and snaps the sword.
—Bakin
He then takes the sword"s tip and stabs it into the guard"s right thigh. The guard, with a "Uaaaah!" collapses onto the ground.
Sora kicks the guard onto his back and says, "Suffer, Gravity Manipulation [Gravity Control]."
The guard shrieks as the sword tip stabbed into his thigh sinks deeper, don don, from the increased gravity. The pain becomes so unbearable that he faints midway through.
Sora says, "Fuu, finished. Yami…… you done yet?"
Yami stands by the side with a bored expression on her face. A paired of charred guards lay on the ground not too far from her. She notices Sora"s glance and runs up to him.
Sora pats her head, pon pon, while saying, "Good job."
Yami"s face lights up as she says, "Masta too."
Sora continues to stroke Yami"s head as he looks at the aristocrat like person and the remaining guards. "So, who"s next? How about you, aristocrat-san?"
"Hiii, e-everyone do something—"
—Bushaa!
"Agh, agh, agh, agh, agh, agh, agh!" Blood flies from the aristocrat"s arm as it dances through air.
A silhouette appears behind the aristocrat and says, "Really now, don"t bother my husband."
Sora says, "That was surprising… Laila, that you?"
That"s some amazing timing. Actually, wouldn"t this mess have never happened if she wasn"t taking a nap? Then again, it has been a while since I"ve been in a good fight.
The guards, having lost their will to resist, are tied up and gathered. Those who are bleeding are treated by Sora. Afterwards, the villagers are untied. Those who are bleeding are treated by Yami with her skill [Full Recovery].
The grat.i.tude expressed to Sora by the villagers make him uneasy. He can"t even bring himself to face the children now yearning to be like him. Their sparkling, kira kira, eyes are too much for him.
"Well, Laila has something she wants to say, but before that." Sora can"t figure out why the aristocrat and his guards would attack the village. Therefore, he turns to the one who"d most likely be able to answer. "Village head, what the heck was all this about?"
The village head jumps, bikuu, as everyone turns towards him. He soon regains his composure and strokes his beard as he says, "……Well, according to the rumors flying around, that aristocrat is a slave hunter. He probably took notice of our village by chance and came to hunt. That"s when an A ranked adventurer showed up. The impatient aristocrat then turned us into hostages, tied up the adventurer, and beat him up. After that, your lordships appeared."
A slave hunting aristocrat…… just like what happened to Laila. She was spot on today.
Sora, feeling uneasy to what could have happened, strokes Laila"s head. Surprise flashes across her face before it melts into bliss. A disturbing sound leaks from her mouth. "Nuuehehehe~"
He then says, "By the way, who"s this A ranked adventurer? I haven"t meet a guy like that here."
An embarra.s.sed and uneasy expression crosses the village head"s face as he looks in a certain direction.
"Eeh?" But that"s where we left Gorilla. He was pretty beat up, boro boro, last I saw. Actually, I wonder if anyone has united him?
Laughter rings out from Gorilla"s wife as Sora turns his head.
Gorilla says, "He- hey, nii-chan, mind untying me?"
A heartless smile crosses Sora"s face as he says, "Mn~ what do you think, Oku-san[3]?"
The entire face of Gorilla"s wife lights up as she says, "I think he"ll be fine for a bit longer."
Sora agrees with her to which Gorilla says, "Hey, come on, what did I say!? Please!"
Sora says, "Oh, calm down. Yami, restore him."
Gorilla"s entire body glows with green light at Sora"s words. He goes from being beat up, boro boro, to clean and tidy. Gorilla says, "Y-yo, Jou-chan, thanks. No, wait a minute! This isn"t what I asked for! I"m still tied up!"
Sora says, "You"re so noisy……"
"What did you say!? My good nii-chan, I"m not letting you eat any sandwiches ever again!"
I don"t care…… Not being able to eat some that delicious doesn"t bother me at all……
Gorilla"s wife says, "That"s all right, Sorsan. I can make you sandwiches anytime you"d like."
Uooh, an angel! How did Gorilla end up with an angel? ……Well, that"s fine. To each their own.
Gorilla says, "Gah! You"ve betrayed me!!"
"Fufufu"
This b.a.s.t.a.r.d, flirting right in front of me…… Actually, "Hey, shouldn"t we get back on topic?"
Gorilla says, "I"d really like for something to be done about this rope…… Well, whatever. Anyway, what"s up?"
"……You"re an A ranked adventurer?"
I did think he"s stronger than the average person, but I never thought was A ranked.
Gorilla says, "Yeah, that"s right……" His lively spirit drops as he adds, "Are you disappointed?" His spirit completely dies as he then says, "Are you?"
"Ahh, you"re an A ranked adventurer, but you can"t free yourself from some rope? Just remembering how beat up, boro boro, you got disappoints me. You couldn"t ever save a single person? Yo, is being an A rank just a decoration?"
……Just what should I say to him?
Sora says, "Haa, hey, you don"t understand a thing."
"Eh?"
"If you were an idiot, some of the villagers have died. Letting yourself be taken hostage is the only reason no one was killed. Had you given in to your emotions and fought, you wife would have definitely died. That"s why you left us those instructions and entered the village alone. Had I been an ordinary person like you thought, there would have been nothing more I could do. It was a judgement you could reach only because you"ve faced countless life and death battles to reach your rank."
Right, that should be enough. Actually, what the heck am I even saying!? Counseling others isn"t something I"m suited for……
Sora says, "Well, something like that anyway. I honestly think you did a great job."
Great, a perfect finish! It"s so amazing that he"s crying!?
Gorilla says, "Ough, augh, rogh, gadouh, yough."
"Wh-why are you crying!?"
"Wait, I can"t understand a word you"re saying! Stop crying and talk like normal."
Seriously, a grown up broke down in tears……
Gorilla stops crying after a bit and says, "Well, of course I"d be moved if my nii-chan says something like that."
"I- I see."
Looks like I got through to him. Right, just perfect.
Gorilla says, "So, nii-chan, you"re an adventurer too? From those words, you sound like you"re pretty experienced."
Ack, shoot, looks like I got exposed pretty easily. It"s just, Physical Strengthening [Reinforcement Body] is too useful to not use.
Sora hands Gorilla his golden status plate while saying, "Yeah, I"m an adventurer too."
Gorilla furrows his eyebrows in confusion as he accepts the plate. Then, upon reading the contents, says, "S Rank!? Noooooooooooooooooooooooo waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!"
"Uwaa! Stop! Say it, don"t spray it!"
The villagers then treat Sora and his party as heroes and throw them a feast that very evening.
A/N: …When did Gorilla get freed from the rope to even accept the status plate?? I would really like to see Sora run into a wall. Not a literal one, not that that wouldn"t be interesting, but a metaphorical one were no matter what he tries to do or say, he gets shot down. A while has pa.s.sed since my last Yuusha Ni update, but this is not what I was expecting. Then again, this author is pretty good at introducing unexpected developments.
Fufufu, in a bad way, that is~
~Gandire Alea
[1] ゴリエヴィチ＝ラーマディウデヌ
[2] DQNis the short form for ‘dokyun." The slang DQN is a derogatory term which is used to mean individuals or delinquents who are stupid, uncultured, or socially inferior.
[3] Wife
3.2 Anthropomorphication and Sora>>