CH 216

“Men are the worst! Ed, you pervert!”

“Huh…?”

The suddenness of the situation didn’t catch up with my consciousness. Alright, let’s stay calm and organize the situation.

Last night, I arrived in this 36th world. Here, the seemingly innocent and pretty girl Donatella had turned into a buff, macho warrior woman who despised men.

Following that course of events, I was thrown into a jail, and then today. As I was having a late breakfast, Donatella came with Tia, who suddenly pointed a finger at me and made such a declaration… Yeah, to put it mildly, I have no idea what’s going on.

“Um… Tia? Why are you acting like this all of a sudden?”

“It’s not sudden at all! I haven’t said it out loud, but I’ve been thinking about it for a long time! Ed, you’re always looking at women with lustful eyes!”

“Huh…?”

With these baseless accusations, I let out a pitiful voice once again. Unlike yesterday, the definitive tone of Tia’s voice and the obvious contempt in her eyes make me think… What is this?

“Calm down, Tia. Don’t be so angry. Let’s shake hands and make up.”

With a light smile on my face, I reach out to Tia from my cell. However, Tia, with an angry face, smacks my hand away.

“No way! I’ve woken up! I won’t give you special treatment anymore, so be prepared! Come on, Donatella. We have to discuss how to fight the black star.”

""

“Indeed, hero, I can rely on you! See you, man!”

“Ouch… Well, see you later.”

Donatella and Tia walked away, chatting happily with their shoulders aligned. From within my cell, I waved them off, turned my back to the guard in frustration, and laid down on the ground, quietly shifting my consciousness.

(This is more dangerous than I imagined.)

The sudden change in Tia’s attitude was clearly abnormal. Considering that it might be an act, I created a situation where she could naturally activate the [Missing Talk]. Of course, we wouldn’t be able to talk for long, but even if she just told me a single word, such as “act” or “lie,” I would have understood Tia’s true intentions and matched her story.

However, Tia knocked my hand away and didn’t use any force. This implies that there’s a high possibility that Tia was acting out of her true feelings. Another possibility could be that Donatella herself, or someone among the women around us, has the ability to read minds and covered for it by putting on a serious act… but I can’t understand why I would be fooled in the first place if that was the case.

(Mind control? No, perhaps brainwashing? I never imagined it would be this immediate…)

From Hamokin’s story, I knew Donatella possessed some kind of power towards her own gender. However, it was unexpected that Tia, who she just met last night, could be influenced so quickly.

(What are the conditions? It’s almost certain that it’s only for women, but what about the passage of time, or physical contact? Is the fact that all the women in the village are affected indicative of a wide range of effect? Or perhaps once the brainwashing is done, it lasts for a long time? Either way, the conditions are too lax for the effects. It’s not a proper power, but it doesn’t seem to strain her.)

Tia, being a spirit magic user, has a strong resistance to mental manipulation. Breaking through that in a single night would require a considerably strong power, but I didn’t see Donatella paying any price for it.

In essence, it’s a trick. And the culprit is probably that shining star.

(What the hell are you? You’re not doing anything good at all!)

I let out a tirade at the white thing trembling in annoyance at the tip of my finger. Of course, doing so neither gets a response from the white thing nor solves the problem.

(I thought I could take my time gathering information, but given Tia’s condition, I can’t afford to take it easy. I need to act quickly and think about countermeasures.)

Fortunately or unfortunately, given that she’s fully brainwashed, there’s almost no need to worry about Tia’s safety. Having made that judgment, I quietly get up and secretly activate [Mirage Shift] to escape from the jail. It’s fortunate that the guards turned their backs on me because they hate seeing men, and thus, I managed to escape without anyone noticing.

“Hmm, it should be around here…”

I used the [Akashic Compass] to look for Hamokin’s location while walking. Since it’s daytime, Hamokin is probably active, making it difficult to meet up.

Of course, if I ran full speed, I could probably find him right away, but as someone who is running away from women, I don’t want to draw attention by sprinting through the forest. I assume Hamokin feels the same, so I take my time walking and looking for him.

“Oh? There he is.”

While searching around like that, I finally spotted Hamokin a bit ahead. He’s lying low in the shadows of the grass, staring straight ahead, probably hunting.

His prey is… that one.

I realize from Hamokin’s line of sight that he’s targeting a wild boar ahead. I could wait for him to finish hunting, but… hmm.

“Hmph!”

Taking out a knife from the [Stranger’s Box] I approached the boar’s side at once with [Hermes Dash] Even a beast that survives in the wild can’t react to my high-speed movement, which even seasoned warriors can lose sight of.

“Yo!”

While the boar was frozen in surprise at the sudden appearance of a human figure, my downward swung knife accurately slashed its neck. The boar, despite receiving a clear fatal wound, charged at me with its last strength, but I calmly activated the [Orbit Reflector] and held out my hand.

The impact of the charge that I caught with one hand becomes an echo that shakes the boar’s brain. The boar, who collapsed unsteadily, twitched a few times and then ended its life.

“Well, this should do. Hey, Hamokin!”

“Ed? Why are you here?”

When I called out to him, Hamokin came out of the bushes. He seems like quite a competent warrior, maintaining a certain level of caution not only around his surroundings but also towards me.

“I had a bit of a situation. I’ve escaped. Oh, this boar is for you, Hamokin.”

“Are you sure? It’s a prey you took down.”

“I don’t mind. I just took it down because I didn’t want to wait for you. If you really insist, I’d like to join your group with this as a gift.”

“I understand. We welcome strong warriors. But before that, I want to prepare the prey.”

“Sure, I’ll help.”

If we don’t bleed the animal while its heart is still beating, the meat will smell. If we clumsily injure the internal organs, we can’t even eat it. I help Hamokin and quickly prepare the boar. Then, I walk into the forest led by Hamokin, who carries the meat.

“By the way, where were you, Ed? I didn’t notice at all.”

“Fufufu, I’m quite strong, you see. Well, I’m not much of a match in a pure test of strength, though.”

“Strong without strength? Hmm, I don’t understand.”

“Strength isn’t the only measure of power.”

For some reason, Hamokin, who wears only a waist cloth, has his upper body covered with taut muscles. My body isn’t particularly flabby either, but since I just arrived in a new world, I don’t have much muscle honestly.

“I wonder why you aren’t wearing any clothes… Why is that?”

“Since birth, we rub our bodies with a special grass and juice we gather from the forest. Thanks to this, insects don’t come near, and small injuries heal quickly. We can knit clothes and do the same, but clothes tear easily. If we change size, we can’t wear them. It’s not worth the effort.”

“Ah, I see. Well, that makes sense.”

Indeed, a bare body won’t wear out or become unfit due to size changes. This must be the wisdom of people who were born and live in this forest.

As we chat and walk on, we soon come to a slightly open area. The front is widely cleared, and there is a large cave in the back. It feels a bit lonely to call it a village, but there are definitely signs that several people live here.

“This is our base. Come on in.”

Invited by Hamokin, who gave a good smile, I stepped into the cave.

(T/N: Anyone willing to be a proofreader for this? If you are interested, please join the foxaholic discord and apply as pr)