Book 2: Chapter 5: Part 1

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There’s an error before, I posted this chapter instead of the chapter 4 part 3, I’ve edited it already, please check it again and sorry for the inconveniences.

Chapter 5 – Encounter In The Forest

Part 1

“Hmm… I don’t know how to do this…”

“Woof?”

I was now trying to figure out what to do for transfer-based magic. This is a top priority for Night and me now that I’ve decided to go for a field trip. However, I didn’t have any good ideas in mind.

First of all, it’s hard to imagine moving from one place to another. Because I can’t get a clear image for my destination, at such level, no matter how I try to memorize it, it doesn’t come to my mind. It would be different if I had a special skill like perfect memory, though. Besides, if there is a stone or tree in the destination, and I think about getting buried in it, I’m even more scared and can’t move.

“…Not good, my head is getting confused. Let’s take a break.”

“Woof.”

I moved through the different world door into my own home.

“…Hmm?”

I feel something tugging at me and move to another world once more.

“…Hmm?”

“Woof?”

What’s wrong with Night? But I was too focused on the situation to speak back. What is it…what’s the thing that obstructed me──.

“Hmm! Aaaaahhhhhh!”

“W-woof!?”

I screamed, and Night was startled by my voice. Sorry, Night! But I understand now!

“That’s right… it’s hard because I think of instant travel and all that kind of stuff! Just think of it as moving through a door or a gate or something, and it’ll solve the problem!”

First, I won’t have to worry about getting buried under a rock or a tree or any of those scary experiences!

“…That’s right; I can put a feature on that door that will allow me to remember the location!”

For example, if I develop some kind of magic to take a picture, and then combine that magic with that transfer-door magic, I could move to the location of that picture.

“Now that it has come to mind, I guess I’ll just have to try and do it!”

“Woof!”

Act on the spur of the moment! And so I immediately began to develop the magic. Then the magic was made so easy that it was anticlimactic. The effect of this magic is, I can move to a place that I have been to even once. The problem with this magic is probably the location I’ve been to.

I’ve created magic to take pictures… or rather magic to memorize them in my brain as vividly as photographs, and then integrated them into this transfer-door magic, but when I tried to move around by memorizing a scene from a textbook about an American scenery I’d never been to, I couldn’t do so.

Maybe it matches the scenery in my brain with the kind of information I’ve experienced in my body. I think that’s selfish. It’s uselessly powerful and subtly inconvenient, but it’s not a problem for me because all I need is to get between this house and the destination.

“Now I can take care of Night without any problems while I’m going to the field trip. Well, it’ll only be at night or for a short time, but…”

“Woof.”

As if to tell me not to worry about it, Night raised one of his front legs. It’s cute.

”Well, now that I’ve created the transfer-type magic I’ve always wanted, I can finally travel through another world!”

Even if when I am traveling, when the time comes, I can just go back to this house and go back to the same place again with magic, which is excellent. No! Don’t tell me about ruining the fun of the trip! Forgive me, but I’m short of time.

“Alright, then we need to finish exploring this forest as soon as possible! So, let’s go!”

“Woof!”

Night and I stepped into the forest after a quick preparation.

＊＊＊

“Yeah, let’s take down a few of monsters near the entrance to the forest for the next time we meet Owen-san and the others again.”

“Woof.”

I don’t know how much that action will affect, but if I can reduce the number of monsters, even if it’s just a little bit, it will make it easier when I meet Owen-san and the others again.

Maybe I will go to the forest entrance after a month, but it’s also possible that Owen-san and the others will come to my house anytime… Perhaps it was because I had been stepping more in-depth into the forest, opposite of the entrance until now, the monsters inhabiting the entrance felt a little weaker.

Some monsters seemed to use magic in the depths of the forest, but near the entrance, only familiar monsters like the goblin elite, bloody ogre, and hell slime could be seen.

Nevertheless, I’m sure that I have defeated quite a few goblin elites, but there are still too many of them, it doesn’t seem to have decreased. As I thought, there’s no point for me trying hard to beat it all, right?

“Woof!”

“Hmm? What’s wrong?”

Night barked all of a sudden; I called out to him, he looked at me once but then suddenly started to run.

“Eh, what happened?”

It’s the same situation as when he found sage-san’s book before, so maybe Night has noticed something. As I continued to follow Night so as not to fall behind, his presence suddenly faded.

“Woof.”

“Eh? Erase my presence?”

“Woof!”

I don’t know why, but if Night says so, I guess it’s better to follow him. I’m sure Night knows better than me what it’s like to live in the forest. I immediately activate the [Assimilation] skill and follow after Night while holding my breath. Then some kind of battle sound reached my ears.

“Kuh!”

A closer look revealed a girl dressed in tattered clothes, standing alone against a group of goblin elites. Her silver hair, which been tied together, was shaking with her each intense movement, and her blue eyes were drawing lines.

I looked around to see if there were any other people around, but all I could see was only the girl in front of me. It’s like with Lexia-san before, why is there a girl in this place?

“A-anyway, let’s help her──.”

“Woof.”

I hurriedly tried to move from my location, but for some reason, Night held me back by biting the hem of my clothes.

“What’s wrong, Night? We’ve to help her quickly…”

“…..”

I don’t know why, but Night won’t let go of my clothes. Even now, the girl is still in danger, and I felt uncomfortable thinking about that.

…That girl is standing alone against a group of goblin elites, you know? At the time with Lexia-san, her opponent was a goblin general; she hadn’t shown any signs of fighting. However, the girl in front of me was still being attacked by the goblin elites, but she managed to continue to avoid them. It’s obvious that she is used to fighting. Despite that, for some reason, there are no swords or other weapons found in the girl’s hands.

...Did she come to this forest empty-handed? What does she think?

The more I looked at her calmly, the more the mystery to the girl only deepened. As I was thinking like that, the girl raised her right hand, which shouldn’t be holding anything, with all her might.

“Hah!”

“Guoooooooo!”

At that moment, the right arm of one of the goblin elite was suddenly cut off.

“Eh!?”

What happened now? The goblin elite was just as baffled as I was, but another individual who took advantage of the girl’s opening approached the girl from behind.

“Guh!? Crap──.”

“Gugaaahh!”

She tries to avoid it somehow, but the goblin elite thrusts its fist at the girl faster. And when the girl realized she couldn’t avoid it, she crossed her arms as quickly as she could to prevent it, but she was blown wide open and hit the tree and fell down.

“Night, as expected, I can’t just watch! Let’s go!”

“…Woof!” Night looked troubled for a moment, but he quickly followed me and ran from the location.

First of all, I ask night to draw the attention of the group of goblin elites at the same time as I run-up to the girl.

“Woof!”

“Gogaahh!?”

The surprise strike by Night had left one of the goblin elite unable to do anything just like that; Night’s sharp claws had decapitated it. His attack completely distracts the goblin elites’ attention from me, and I reached the girl safely.

“…Thank goodness. She just blacked out…”

As I managed to hold her in my arms, some of the goblin elite that had been at Night’s mercy noticed my actions.

“Guo?”

“Gugaaa!”

“Whoa… now we have to do something about this situation… Night! I’ll leave some of them to you, are you okay with that?”

“Woof!”

Night nodded vigorously to my request. I knew I could count on Night, he’s reliable, after all!

“Well then, I guess I’ll just have to take care of this one!”

“Guoo!”

While holding the girl in my arms, I made one of the sage-san’s weapons… the [Heavenly Whip] to appear in my free hand. The [Heavenly Whip] is a long, pure white whip, and there were no other features that seemed to be distinctive in its appearance.

However, the effect of this whip is──.

“Hah!”

“Guooh! Gwaahh!”

I lightly swung the whip on the spot, and it surged forward towards the goblin elite as if it were a living creature. The goblin elite managed to avoid the attack, but the whip automatically followed the goblin elite and wrapped itself around the goblin elite’s arm.

As the whip wrapped around the goblin elite’s arm, only the part of the whip that was wrapped around it turned black, and with a light tug, the arm was easily squeezed and shredded.

The goblin elites are momentarily trembling when their companion’s arm is knocked down. I didn’t miss the opening that was created there, and I swung the whip in succession. Then, even though only one whip existed, the tip of the whip appeared as many times as it was swung, and it automatically attacked the goblin elite again, it’s really like a living creature.

This [Heavenly Whip] makes the tip of the whip appear as many times as it’s swung, and yet it automatically attacks the target I set. Furthermore, once wrapped, it automatically tightens up the opponent and even shreds the body as it is.

Even in the forest, an environment where there are many obstacles, it’s really just a matter of shaking it a little bit, and it will attack the monsters on its own. I’m really grateful for this. I mean, as usual, there are too many strong things in sage-san’s weapons…

When I safely finished defeating the goblin elite on my side, Night had just defeated the goblin elite that he was dealing with. After collecting the drop items scattered around the area for the moment, I turn my attention once again to the girl passed out in my arms.

“Now… what should we do with her? I think it’d be better to take her home so she can get a good rest…”

“Woof.”

Night biting on the hem of my clothes, just like he did before, and he shook his head lightly. I’m not sure, but Night seems to be against bringing this girl into the house.

Hmm… but there must be some reason for Night to react like that. There’s indeed the possibility that this girl is a bad person, and it’s dangerous to bring her into the house carelessly. Even from the girl’s point of view, it would be scary to wake up in a strange man’s house.

But as it turned out, Night didn’t strongly object to helping this girl, so I think she’s not that bad. I think that selfishly that she’s not a bad person. But I really hoped that.

“Woof… woof!”

“Hmm? You think we should move to the forest entrance for now?”

“Woof, woof!”

I followed Night’s lead, and we made it through the forest safely. Outside the forest, the visibility cleared at once, and a grassy field spread out all around. The grass was ankle-length at most, so it would be nearly impossible for a monster to hide in it.

For now, I put the girl down under a nearby tree and waited for her to wake up. Once she wakes up, I can make her drink the [Complete Recovery Herb Juice]. I’m sorry if she dislikes citrus’s taste, but you’ll have to put up with it.

Anyway, it’s a relief to get this far, but considering that Night thinking it’s better not to go to my house, it’s probably not a good idea for this girl to know about my house. I’m not sure why, but I can’t blame Night for being wary.

Then I’d have to figure out how to explain it to the girl when she wakes up… Yeah, honestly, I can’t think of any idea. What should I do? If I have to lie, probably, I’d say I was about to train in this forest and happened to find her being attacked by the goblin elites and saved her. Well, it’s an impossible setup, but I feel like this is the sanest one yet. That’s it.

As I was miscellaneous thinking about it, the girl woke up.

“Hmm… Uu… Aa… Where… is… this?”

She woke up, but she still seemed to have the damage from the battle with the goblin elites, and she quickly grimaced.

“Are you okay?”

“Huh! Hyii…! Y-you…”

The moment I called out to her, she tried to raise her body with great vigor, but it seems the damage was still severe, and she quickly returned to her original position.

“Uhm… would you mind drinking this for now? In case you’re wondering, it works the same way as a recovery pill…”

When I took out the [Complete Recovery Herb Juice] in a plastic bottle and put it in front of the girl, the girl looked cautious.

“What is it? This container… and the contents…”

Since I had no choice, I drank it in front of her to prove that it wasn’t poisonous, and the girl let down her guard a bit and eventually drank the [Complete Recovery Herb Juice].

“Huh!? T-this is…!”

The effect was immediately apparent, and the girl’s body, which should have been covered in scars, instantly returned to a clean state. It’s indeed the sage-san’s house medicinal herb.

“So, what are you doing here?”

After her wounds had healed and she had calmed down to some extent, I asked that and she tensed up for a moment and then opened her mouth.

“…I came here to train.”

“Train?”

I didn’t think it was for the same reason I made up! No, wait, I didn’t mean to look at people just from their outward appearances… but she didn’t have any equipment or anything for her training… Ah, could it be that fighting with light gear is one of her training?

“Woof…”

For some reason, Night let out a sigh as I thought about that. Huh? What’s with that?

“Ahem! Ah… well… what are you doing in a place like this? Besides, I was supposed to have been attacked by a group of goblin elites…”

“Eh? Ah, yeah… me too… that… training! I came to this forest to train as well!”

“W-what?”

The girl was shocked by my words.

“I-I never thought anyone would actually practice…”

“Eh?”

“I-it’s nothing! You and I have the same purpose!”

“T-that’s right!”

“A-ahahaha.” we both laughed.

…I don’t know why, but we both had a hollow laugh.

“So… may I ask your name?”

“Eh? A-ah… name… name, huh…”

The girl makes a little troubled gesture and looks a little hard to say.

“Ah, um… I’m not going to force you if you don’t want to, you know?”

“…No, no problem. I’m Luna. Nothing more, nothing less.”

“O-okay…”

Is there more or less to the name originally?

“Oh, I’m… Yuuya Tenjou. And, this child is Night.” T/n: He changed the order of his name.]

“Woof!”

“A family name? Are you noble? And this black… dog? Is…”

“No, it’s not like that, but…”

In this world, the order seems to be “name and surname”, so I did that… but now that I think about it, having a surname seems to be unusual, to begin with.

“Luna-san, I heard that you were training just like me… but do you plan to continue your training here in the future?”

“…Well, that’s not the case. I can’t go home until the request is complete…”

“Eh? Aah… but isn’t that a little dangerous? If you get attacked by a group of goblin elites again like before…”

I don’t know for what reason Luna-san is training in this dangerous forest. That’s why I don’t have the right to stop her, but I’m still worried about her, so I said it out loud.

“U-umu… Even so, I can’t oppose it… ah!”

Luna-san seemed to know that it was dangerous, and she seemed to be much troubled by it, but then she screamed out as if she noticed something.

“Then, Yuuya. Would you be willing to join me in my training for a while?”

“Eh?”

“I have a reason why I have to stay in this Great Devil’s Nest. But Yuuya said it’s too dangerous to do that, right? And Yuuya is also training in this Great Devil’s Nest… then I will also train with Yuuya, who seems to be capable of taking down a group of goblin elites.”

“Huh…”

“What do you think? Would you be willing to join me in my training for a while?” [T/n: it’s actually the same with above from the raw.]

“Uhm…”

…As for me, I don’t have a problem with going along with Luna-san’s training. But, I just don’t know how long I’ll be able to stick with that practice thing. Rather, I’d be more worried about refusing here, and then she would force herself to train in this forest alone.

“…I understand. I’ll go along with your training for a while.”

“Really? That would be a big help!”

“However! I sometimes can’t go along with the training, so I’m sorry about that. Also, it’s not good for you to train today, you must go home quietly. If you can take these terms, I’ll help you.”

“Mu… I have no problem with not being able to go along with the training sometimes. I can’t always be here, either. But do I have to go home today?”

“Yes, of course. Because even though you’ve recovered, you’ve still done some damage. Get a good night’s rest for today.”

Luna-san seemed unhappy with my terms, but eventually, she agreed, though she puffed up her cheeks.

“…All right. I’ll take Yuuya’s words for today.”

“Thank you.”

“But! You have to accompany me tomorrow, okay?”

“I understand.”

I replied, and Luna-san nodded in satisfaction.

“Un… So we’re going to train together from now on. You don’t need to call me with an honorific. I don’t mind if you call me by my name too.”

“I-is that so? Then… again, best regards.”

“Yeah!”

Thus, it was decided that I would train with Luna for what it’s worth. As I was thinking about how strange this was, I noticed that Luna was looking at her own body and was concerned about something.

“What’s wrong?”

“Hmm? Ah… I was attacked by the goblin elite earlier, and my body was pretty dirty from running away so desperately. I’ve been sweating a lot and…”

Luna frowned as she said that, sniffing herself and reassessing her current outfit again.

“…No. I can’t go back to town looking like this. If only there was a river somewhere…”

“If that’s the case… Do you want to take a bath?”

“Huh?”

Luna tilted her head at my suggestion.

“Bath you mean… that bath?”

“I don’t know what the perception of a bath is in Luna’s mind, but since I have a bath right now, I thought it would be a good idea to go for it.”

“You have a bath?”

Luna’s eyes widened at my words. Well, that’s the kind of reaction that I’ll get. But I do have a bath that I can actually carry around with me, so I can’t blame her. It has become one of the amusement items for Night and me, but it’s a pretty nice item to have in these situations.

“Yuuya… I don’t want to doubt you, but there’s no way I’m going to believe you if you tell me you have a bath or something. Besides, baths are a luxury that only nobles or rich people can afford, you know? Moreover, we are at the entrance to the Great Devil’s Nest…”

“Ah, as for the bath… If I remember correctly, it’s from crystal deer? It’s a drop item I got from a monster, and I can make it invisible to those around me when I’m using it. You don’t have to worry about the monsters, either. Also, Night and I will be watching around for you.”

“C-crystal deer?”

Luna looked even more surprised and nodded quietly after thinking for a moment.

“…If you say that much. I will accept your kindness.”

“Alright, then I’ll prepare for it.”

Afterward, I set up the bath in front of Luna, she had a big surprise looking at it, and then she was obsessed with the charm of the bath.