CH 2

Translator: Haruchin   Editor: JackOFallTrades

I was currently hard at work here at my base.

Made six baskets from twigs and vines, and submerged three of them into the sea, and the other three into the river as cages.

Caught fishes thanks to the cylindrical cages I set as traps, and the one submerged in the sea even caught a crab – what a pleasant and welcome change in taste. The trick was to put some of the trimmed fish as bait inside the basket.

Didn’t really know that much about crabs. Panicked after eating them, because it was already too late when I remembered that crabs and fishes potentially contained poison. Good thing I didn’t feel pain anywhere the next day, and my stomach’s okay, too. Nowadays, I just eat them since they’re fine, no longer thinking too much.

Totally clueless whether those mushrooms ー there’s a lot of them, too ー were poisonous or not. It would have been better if I already knew which food or water was dangerous, because if that was the case then I’d be able to get more food, probably.

It was unexpectedly easy to gauge stuff like the fishes and crabs’ lack of wariness in places not frequented by people, and whether plenty of them lived in that deserted place. Not sure if being ‘deserted’ was something I should be happy about, though.

Thinking about the future pushed my anxiety levels up, but securing food and water helped lift my mood. It’d be good if I live a bit more comfortably at this time, so I arranged my sleeping place whenever I’m free.

For example, I dug a trench in the perimeter and raised the floor since there were times when water accumulated depending on wind direction and amount of rainfall.

I didn’t stop with just raising the floor. Got a relatively flat stone and made a cavity under the floor so the bonfire’s smoke could pass through.

The bottom part was flattened with mud. Placed a stone on top, and the hot air passing through would warm it up, turning it into a heater. If it became too hot, I could either block the hole or shift the position of the bonfire. Had to do my best since it was getting colder.

Already had a wall made from the stack of trees, so I stuck mud to that and piled some stones to create a new one. Found animal tracks during the day ー probably a wild boar, a rabbit, or a fox, but when nightfall came, the presence of a beast became more apparent, though. Not sure where or what it was, so better make my sleeping place sturdier. It’d also prevent cold drafts from coming in, too.

Part of the roof and wall was made from plastic bags that were supposed to be for trash, and they made nice substitutes for windows. It’d be too dark at night if I made everything from tree branches and leaves since the bonfire was the only source of light.

My pots were initially made from tree barks, but I could make unglazed pottery now. Also, the flat stone that looked like a chopping board played a major role when grilling crabs.

Snow fell on the upper side.

Should I make dried fish and dried seaweed in preparation for winter in the meantime? I wasn’t that confident – maybe because it was getting colder, but it was getting harder to catch fish.

The sunlight, which had been strong despite the coolness, was also getting weaker.

I sprinkled seawater on the seaweed then let it dry ー er, just left it there after sprinkling, and it turned into something like seaweed salt. Well, seafood was generally salty as it was, so I didn’t use it that much. Already got accustomed to the light flavor before I made salt, after all.

Made a roofed platform to dry the firewood, so everything was already perfectly set; well, just singing my own praises here.

Didn’t have a change of clothes but I improvised so I could still take a bath from time to time. Just dig a hole in the dried-up river bed, pour water in it, throw some baked stones and viola, it’s a make-shift bath. Should be careful when throwing the baked stones, though, since broken pieces would fly when they’re smashed. Personally, I never minded that. Taking a hot bath was more important.

But how long do I still have until I can no longer move?

Just a few more days before snow fell here.

「 Kyahh! I’m sorry! 」

Suddenly, a ball of light the size of a volleyball appeared and shrieked in a high pitched voice.

I froze at the unexpected, surreal apparition.

「 I’m sorry, so sorry! Didn’t notice you got involved!」

The ball of light moved around restlessly.

「 What….the? 」

I had been hollering and yelling around previously since nobody else was here, but now, cat got my tongue, couldn’t even say a single word.

「 You got involved in the hero summoning! This is not the world you know! 」

「 Then return me! 」

I still haven’t grasped the situation, but I answered reflexively. Hey, couldn’t blame me since I had always, always wanted to go home, right?

「 I-I apologize! I can’t. In the first place, you were transferred here just before you died in the other world ー oh noooooooooo!!!! You still have the lifespan of the other world!!!! 」

This boisterous ball of light was a former deity reduced to being a spirit. It’s divine rank dropped because it lost the majority of its power during the summoning of the hero. Even its existence right after the summoning was unstable, so it seemed that the process of returning to its original state was still ongoing.

The purpose of summoning was to connect that world and this world just for an instant, so although it said ‘hero’, anything seemed fine as long as it was a living organism.

One of the deities in this world would transfer its power into the other world. This would prevent the latter’s destruction due to extreme materialization, though it would take a lot of energy to connect both worlds, so only a small amount of power could be transferred.

This world would then obtain the living organisms of the other world, preventing its collapse due to extreme spiritualization in turn.

Apparently, those things would result in the stabilization of both worlds ー I absolutely knew nothing about things like materialization and spiritualization, though. However, the deities purposely calling humans ー albeit those that are near death ー instead of using those small living things clearly showed how greedy they were.

One would receive a new lifespan in this world. The deity who used his power to create the path would also create abilities, along with bestowing either divine protection or guardianship. It would do this by converting the remaining portion of the human’s lifespan in the other world into abilities called skills, as well as into tools. The more frequently those skills were used, the stronger the power of the deity who created them would become.

The deities would summon strong people while they were still spirits in this world. The standard power they should have was apparently having the ability to influence the weather beyond the area of a single country; it was vague as it sounded.

Creating a path was an arduous task fraught with danger, and if something went wrong it could result in its existence being wiped out; moreover, there was too little room for adjustment so collaboration with everyone was impossible.

Creating a path was really dangerous. If something went wrong, the deity’s existence would be wiped out.

That was why there were perks for those who managed to succeed.

However, the gap between the power was too huge, so it wasn’t well received. Even the heroes that could be summoned here got their conditions restricted ー it turned into three people who were on the verge of death.

Sis and her friends matched that description. Was I supposed to die back then? No, this guy did say that I still have my lifespan.

「 Just when I thought the human realm is turbulent…」

A black-haired great man appeared.

「 V-van. K-keep it a secret」

「 Too late. 」

The man replied curtly to the ball of light.

An elder clad in robes-

A well-behaved child who looked just like a doll-

A cold guy who was more beautiful than a woman-

An old woman with a huge nose and a shawl draped low over her eyes-

A fluffy-looking girl that was adorable-

A blonde beauty that was totally gorgeous-

And finally, there was also a blind puppy.

They appeared one after the other.

I was totally floored when more people came. Been alone all this time, you know. Not sure if I should be happy or just be shocked ー they didn’t look like humans at all, no matter how hard I stared at them. Basically, I had all the right to get mad, and it sounded like a good idea, too. My thoughts and emotions were swirling around in chaos, making me frozen stiff.

「 The punishment for this will be dealt later. Let us listen to the hopes of this person first. 」

「Please wait, it was an accident！」

The ball of light was flustered at the robed elder’s words. Maybe it would be disposed of later.

「……！」

A small voice rang out as if appealing to each one of them.

「 That’s right! Riche failed, and this power remained in the path, so the scope spread! It’s not my fault! 」

Nope, it’s so your fault, alright.

This might sound hasty, but I already decided I hated this light ball.

「 Save it for later. 」

The cold guy interjected.

「 Indeed. Person from Isekai. Who will you choose?”

「 Me…? 」

I was perplexed at the granny’s query.

「 Your request to return cannot be granted, but you can choose your guardian deity. Ordinarily, though, the one who summoned you should be the one to lend you power and guard you. Name’s Van, got the attribute of fire and power, and also destruction and regeneration. 」

The great man who came earlier introduced himself.

「 I am Ludere. Earth and Silence, Magic 」

He was the beautiful guy with long hair and white face.

「 My name is Khadar. Verdure and Magic, I also govern Order. 」

He was an elder with a well-groomed, long beard.

「 I’m Ish. Water and Healing 」

That child remained expressionless, just like porcelain.

「 I am Pal. Earth and Harvest. 」

She was a plump, elderly woman.

「 I’m Mischt. Light and Wind. And Love and Whims, as well. 」

Quite the fluffy, adorable little girl she was.

「I am Haralfa. Light, Love and Beauty. ー Riche’s are Ice and Darkness, though he already lost most of his power. He probably doesn’t have enough energy to give you anything. 」

The beauty glanced at the puppy and said that.

「 He’s on the verge of losing his power, right〜, he was super confident before, though! 」

Shut up, light puff.

「 Power…. Will be restored? 」

The feeling that seemed to block my throat was fading. As expected, screaming was totally different from speaking.

「 Many things are born and many also depart and disappear. We are the only ones who came here, but there are many stronger people aside from us. 」

「It is rare for a human to gain enough power to the extent that he is treated as god by the humans, though〜 」

Khadar and Mischt explained it for me.

「 Who will you choose? 」

Van asked me once again.

「If I say ‘everyone’? 」

「 If your lifespan was the basis, then that’s more than enough even if everyone bestowed power on you. However, we would only negate the power of each other, thereby weakening their effectiveness. It will be a different story if the relationship among us is close enough to compromise, but honestly, we do not even meet each other on ordinary days. It will not be to your advantage. 」

「 If a single person becomes too strong… that’s not allowed, right? What kind of wish would you be able to grant me? 」

I adjusted my tone to be polite halfway through.

It was probably not for my sake, but I was happy that I got to talk to someone else- really glad that they came. I felt extra kind towards them, like, I absolutely didn’t care if they’re good or evil or whatnot. Except for that ball of light — it’s totally unforgivable for causing this mess.

I was completely under the suspension bridge effect. I also considered shunning mankind and living as a hermit, but that only applied if all my necessities were met, and if people existed in the first place.

This island’s situation was still impossible, as expected!