Chapter 26

Ossan, unnecessarily meddles.

*Apparently the t.i.tle (お節介を焼く), refers to when you're caring too much about another person to the point where it starts becoming really annoying for them, even when you're only acting out of goodwill. 

With a ragged breath, Zeros runs through the forest in the middle of the night.

The surroundings are filled with monsters that prey upon each other, the weak being nothing but fodder for the strong. 

The days of concealing his breath and erasing his presence continue.

"Kuh… For how long do I have to keep doing this s.h.i.t!?  Is there even a way out of this forest?"

He returned to his younger self's way of speaking*, and while he had a severely haggard appearance, his eyes were sharp like a beast's.

(*T.N: he usually talks with a super polite speech, while here he's speaking casually, though it's hard to translate his usual tone without sounding too awkward imo.)

But, he couldn't afford to worry about his speech right now. 

All around him are monsters that attack as soon as they see him, so he has to keep being on high alert even while eating and sleeping, and because of that, the mental fatigue keeps acc.u.mulating.

There's barely even time to rest, as he's in the middle of a nest of h.e.l.lish demons. 

Individually, the monsters aren't very strong, but every time he defeats one, others immediately come to attack him, attracted by the smell of blood.

Depending on the monster's species, they might come alone or in groups, increasing his exhaustion. 

He adjusts his breathing in between battles, but pays attention to the surroundings without relaxing his guard.

Just a moment of carelessness could prove to be fatal.

He jumps away immediately after sensing a presence behind him.

――Slash!

A deep incision is carved onto the ground. It was an enemy attack, though he can't see where it is.

He sharpens his senses and focuses on searching for signs of movements in the surroundings.

(It's… I can feel it looking at me…)

Though he doesn't have any visual confirmation of the enemy, it's clear that there's a dangerous predator aiming for him.

Beasts instinctively avoid clashing with a stronger foe, but it's a different story altogether when they sense a weaker opponent.

The survival of the fittest is the original providence of nature.

Naturally, you can't live if you don't kill and eat other living beings. And that's true for both Zeros and his opponent. 

He doesn't know what kind of monster the other party is, but there's no doubt that it has the ability to camouflage itself. 

"The problem is which type is it… an optical camouflage, or some sort of cognitive disruption ability?"

Optical camouflage refers to the ability to hide one's figure by refracting the light from the surroundings.

Cognitive disruption is the type of camouflage that sends a specific wavelength directly to the opponent's brain, interfering with their five senses and causing them to be unable to recognize the user, thus, successfully concealing their presence from their prey. 

It was impossible for the latter to be the case, given that Zeros definitely felt a monster's presence the moment it attacked.

He determined that there was a high probability that it was some kind of optical camouflage. 

Sensing another attack, Zeros instinctively jumps again, hooking a wire to the branches of a giant tree, big enough to make one think that it must be over a century old to get to that size.

And, sure enough, on the place he was standing just a moment ago, there were a few marks carved onto the ground again. 

At this point, Zeros was sure it was an attack by slashing.

Moreover, he was able to confirm the enemy's appearance for a brief moment. It was something more similar to a blur caused by the s.p.a.ce distorting, but it was obviously a large size monster.

Incidentally, most likely because they're afraid of the existence of such a powerful being, the surrounding monsters are not approaching them.

"Pierce, 〖Arrow of the Hunting G.o.d〗."

The dust floating around instantly condenses forming an arrow capable of piercing through steel, which is then released towards the direction of the optical distortion.

It probably managed to penetrate its back, but due to its camouflage it was impossible for Zeros to confirm the damaged dealt.

――Kishaaaaaa!!!

Maybe because of the pain it felt, the monster released its optical camouflage and showed itself.

Though it looked like a giant praying mantis, somehow its appearance was grotesque and repulsive. 

Possessing a black outer sh.e.l.l, long sickle-like forelegs, and long and stout hind legs that supported its ma.s.sive body. Its sharp pincers gouge the ground and its compound eyes glows with a crimson hue.

"Death Mantis…"

In the game, it was a type of monster that could be easily defeated, but suddenly having it actually in front of him, makes its presence feel much stronger.

There was a vast gap between its level and its gruesome appearance.

It had innumerable sharp protrusions all over its body as if to protect it from external threats. 

"Is it an evolved species or a subspecies…? How annoying, do insects even feel pain?"

Though it was a rather naive thing to ask in this otherworld.

Because this world has a different common sense, he has no way of telling whether his knowledge is useful or not. 

In any case, the monster had to be defeated, but its armor-like outer sh.e.l.l made it a truly troublesome opponent.  

It was able to raise its defense power by circulating mana throughout its already tough sh.e.l.l, and only weapons similarly clad in mana would be able to counterbalance its enhanced defense.

Even though Zeros could easily defeat it, considering the magnitude of the forest he was in, he wanted to preserve as much mana as he could, because, no matter how high your mana capacity is, it will reach its limits.

In this harsh environment, magic is his only lifeline, thus he doesn't want to waste even the tiniest amount of it.

Zeros accelerates towards the bosom of the Death Mantis.

Reacting to his movements, the Death Mantis swings its scythe-like foreleg towards Zeros with tremendous speed.

But he aimed for that exact moment.

"Here!"

Two short swords are swung against the joints that connect both sickles to their respective forelegs. 

It's common practice to take away the enemy's strength first, that's why he aimed to sever its ma.s.sive scythes.

Without waiting for any confirmation, Zeros ran and slashed at the weak joints with his two short-swords. Striking the same spot at the same time, Zeros swords instantly cut both its forelegs apart. 

The Death Mantis' sickles fly through the air and pierce the ground.

Furthermore, the same action is repeated with each of its limbs, and so, the Death Mantis, whose limbs have been completely mutilated, falls to the ground.

After quickly dismantling the beaten-up monster and placing its parts into his inventory, Zeros starts walking out again, promptly leaving that spot as soon as possible. Given that monsters are very sensitive to the smell of blood, they are bound to approach sooner rather than later.

But this was a demonic forest where many powerful monsters gathered. 

Even after defeating a monster, this is a h.e.l.lish environment where another powerful monster will attack you without a moment's delay. 

――Buruburuburu…

A heavy, low-pitched sound resonates in his head. And, as Zeros turns in the direction of the sound… it appeared there.

A creature with a jet-black outer sh.e.l.l shining with an impressive l.u.s.ter.

It's a strong insect that has roamed the planet since time immemorial without much change to its appearance.

And above all… huge.

"G-Great Giveridon*…"

(*T.N: The name is supposed to be some kind of pun involving the name for c.o.c.kroaches in j.a.panese [ゴキブリ gokiburi] and making it sound like some kind of dinosaur, but I couldn't think of a way to translate it into English.)

A thing he didn't want to see even more than those white monkeys, came flying towards him at a high speed.

The Great Giveridon lands on the ground with a roaring sound.

It was the strongest insect-type monster, with a body much larger than the Death Mantis.

It moves its giant antennas searching for food, and the moment its compound eyes caught sight of Zeros' figure…

-Zazazazazaza!!!

It started running with unbelievable swiftness. 

To put it plainly, it's an incredibly disgusting creature.

Moreover, as it approaches, it creates a large dust cloud while knocking down all the nearby trees in its path.

For many reasons, Zeros' face goes pale. 

"No! Oh my G.o.d!! Help me!!!"

*T.N: said in English.

Due to the extreme terror and mental stress the monster caused him, he stopped being j.a.panese for a moment there. 

The Great Sage not only was terrified of a certain ape with strange tendencies, but also completely dreaded c.o.c.kroaches. 

(*T.N: The author probably didn't mean it like that, but the literal translation sounds really offensive, like, d.a.m.n. It was something like 'he hates the gays and c.o.c.kroaches'.)

Rather, if there's someone who likes both of those, then by all means, they are welcomed to take Zeros' place and engage in all sorts of 'biological relationships' with them.

"Why… Just why c.o.c.kroaches in this world had to be f.u.c.king gigantic!!"

It's as Zeros said. Even if the Death Mantis had those fiendish protuberances growing out of its sh.e.l.l, unlike the mantises he knew, the c.o.c.kroaches had an appearance comparable, if not the same, to the ones in his former world.

In this otherworld, it's a creature that has maintained the same appearance since time immemorial, and has also become as big as a dinosaur.

It would be easy to kill them with a single swing of one's slippers, if it were the c.o.c.kroaches from Earth, but that wouldn't be a suitable approach for a 10 meters long insect. More like, it would be completely useless. 

To make matters worse, Zeros' appraisal didn't work on it for some reason, even its status couldn't be read.

That episode was only one in the series of incidents that could only be thought as hara.s.sment.

It's also one of the reasons behind his apathy towards the four G.o.ddesses*.

(*T.N: The term used 四柱の女神 can mean that there's a G.o.ddess with or supporting four pillars, or that there are simply four G.o.ddesses[the word pillar being a counter for G.o.ds], which is what I'm going for until it clearly appears differently in future chapters. Also, I think I translated previous chapters in a different way, so I'm going to recheck afterwards.)

The Giveridon gives chase to Zeros who promptly started running away.

He's chased by the gigantic, disgusting, and fierce insect until early morning. Soon after, the cry of a heartbroken middle-aged man resonates in the forest. 

Ironically, the mortal pursuit made him get closer to the highway. Though Zeros doesn't know that fact.

The c.o.c.kroach might be an unexpectedly good fella.

"… And that's how it went. Huh? What's wrong?"

The three mercenary girls, Iris, Rena, and Jane, were lying flat on the table and mumbling things like: "c.o.c.kroaches… scary", "I don't want to ever see a gigantic c.o.c.kroach monster…", while trembling.

At breakfast, Zeros was asked to speak about his experiences, so he told them the anecdote of the time he was lost in Far-flung forest and encountered a ma.s.sive c.o.c.kroach, but it seemed that imagining such a monster caused them to have a mental breakdown all at once.

"Mister… that's quite the adventure…"

"Zeros-san, you've done well in coming back. No one would want to approach the evil monsters inhabiting that G.o.d-forsaken forest."

"A gigantic c.o.c.kroach huh… I'm amazed you managed to defeat such a fiendish thing…"

Incidentally, the Great Giveridon he encountered was the biggest specimen ever registered, because up until that moment, they were yet to find an individual Giveridon over the five-meter cla.s.s.

Nonetheless, it was still hard to conceive the heinousness of a monster with such a huge body moving at an insane speed while mowing down all nearby trees.

Additionally, the larger it is, the thicker its outer sh.e.l.l is, so, without using something at the level of siege weapons, it would be impossible to hurt it.

It's even difficult to escape from such an outrageous monster.

But, the girls were scared of it in a different sense. They didn't even know what to feel about him anymore.

"Wouldn't it be better if we quickly finish breakfast? We're going to the mine now, right?"

"You're right, but…"

"I lost my appet.i.te… ugh, gigantic c.o.c.kroaches…"

"….. (buruburu)"

(*T.N: shaking sfx apparently.)

One they start imagining it, they can't stop. 

A fiendish figure creeps inside their mind, depriving them of their appet.i.te. 

"If you lose your appet.i.te with something of this level, you won't last much as a mercenary. There will be times you will have to kill human opponents, right? Like bandits, thugs, or even other mercenaries."

"Mister, can you stop saying such nasty things? We specialize in monster subjugation."

"That's right. I can't kill other human beings, even if they're bad guys…"

"So that's how you were both caught? You need to think about how are you going to survive if there's someone trying to harm you. As a mercenary, it's your own responsibility to take care of yourself, you can't expect someone to help you every time you are in trouble."

Iris and Rena seem to have never killed a person before. That's why they hesitated and were captured by bandits.

It's really naive, thinking they could survive while refusing to kill a person in this world, where the price of life is rather insignificant.

"Well, I'm not someone who can smile and calmly kill other human beings, but I'm resolved to kill someone if I had to."

"I've killed before, and I didn't feel good about it."

"If there's someone who can kill people comfortably, they have something wrong in their head."

It appears Jane has killed bandits before, but she wasn't fond of it.

As mercenaries, they will sometimes be faced against criminals, and killing them is allowed in order to protect themselves.

Even so, Zeros still thought of it as unpleasant because he would still be responsible of taking another person's life.

"Then, why don't we wrap up our food in a bento* instead, and save it up for later?"

(*T.N: j.a.panese lunchbox.)

"Ah! Right, there was that."

"Bento? What's that?"

"Never heard of it, but Iris seems to know, right?"

There were no such things as bentos in this world.

Most workers live in the city, and often work close to their own homes. And, even if they can't return to have a meal, there are many shops where they can get something to eat.

There are street stalls as well, so there wasn't a real need for bentos.

"I'll make a sandwich with the smoked meat and the vegetables and wrap it up in paper."

"I see, then Iris will take care of the bentos."

"Good idea! Can I leave it to you, Iris?"

"Okay～♪! Then, wait for me in front of the inn until I'm done, mister."

Iris heads towards the kitchen with a light gait. 

Incidentally, it seems like the innkeeper of Ahhan village's inn was also the chef, like the owner of a certain inn for sailors from somewhere.

(*T.N: didn't get the reference, and also, totally random.)

"By the way, are the materials from the Death Mantis good? Can you make equipment with them?"

"Its sh.e.l.l is great for making different kinds of weapons and armor. It's light and strong, though it's weak against fire magic."

"Well, it's an insect, so it's a taken that it'd be weak against fire."

"The meat around the sh.e.l.l was exquisite. It tasted like crab or shrimp."

The air suddenly froze as he said that. 

"D-Did you eat the Death Mantis…?"

"It's a monster! Are you sane!?"

"It's alright. You guys also eat things like Orc meat, so is not that strange, is it? And above all, it was a situation where I had no choice but to eat monsters' meat to survive, that's why, if there was no poison in it, I had to eat it."

"I get that but you'd eat a huge insect too?"

"It's not something I'd usually consider eating… No, actually, it's impossible. No way!"

"With that mindset, you'll starve to death in the case of an emergency. Living is a battle… Yes, it can be called a war, even…"

(Somehow… their eyes look scary.)[*Zeros]

(I know it must've been a horrible experience, but isn't that a bit too extreme? Yup, I definitely won't ever go near that forest.)[*Jane]

Because Zeros had eaten gra.s.shopper tsukudani* in his former world, he didn't have that much aversion to eating insects.

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(*T.N: seafood, meat or seaweed preserved in soy sauce and mirin; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsukudani)

*** You are reading on https://www.novelhall.com/ ***