Book 4: Chapter 3

Book 4: Chapter 3

Chapter 3 I Talked About Japan

A normal ship would take five days to reach the royal capital from Fort Port.

But with Blaznirs speed, it was expected to arrive by noon tomorrow.

Thats very fast.

But when I went out on the deck, I found that the wind was not that strong. When I looked closely, I saw that the ship was surrounded by what looked like a faint blue barrier.

This was probably to block the effect of the wind.

Looking at the view from the rear of the deck, Fort Port was already getting smaller.

Oh!

I involuntarily raised my voice.

Whats wrong?

Iris, who was standing next to me, looking at the view, called out to me.

Did you forget something?

Speaking of forgetting something, I guess I did.

There was a large casino in Fort Port that offered not only basic games such as cards and roulette but also athletic games with prizes, a huge maze that took up an entire floor, a mystery-solving event where you try to escape from the basement, and many other things.

If I were to use an analogy, it would be the otherworldly version of a comprehensive amusement facility.

My original plan was to go there for fun, but I was caught up in a pirate ruckus as soon as I arrived in the city, and when I went to investigate Mahoros Island, we came across a volcano that was on the verge of erupting.

I should have gone out to play at least once.

Well, why dont we stop by on the way back from the royal capital?

That would be fine too.

This trip was not a one-way ticket to go away and never return.

After the awards ceremony, I planned to head back to Aunen, and on the way there, we could stop at the casino in Fort Port.

I want to go back to the hot springs in Surier, as well.

And Id love a meat meat sandwich.

That sounds good.

The meat meat sandwich is one of Toues specialties. It is a sandwich consisting of a Toue beef hamburger steak sandwiched between two pieces of Toue beef steaks.

It is not a sandwich in the strict sense of the word because it does not use bread, but I like it because it was an exquisite menu item that flooded me with the flavor of the meat.

Then, on the way back from the royal capital, shall we retrace our route in reverse?

Im all for it. It had been a bit of a hectic trip, so Id like to take it easy on the way back.

I agree. Well, first, we have to arrive safely in the royal capital.

Iris and I were alone, watching the scenery flow by for a while.

Eventually, back on board, we ran into Milia.

Kou-san, Iris-san. Excuse me for interrupting your date.

We werent really on a date. Well, since it was Milia, I guess she was trying to make a light joke.

I smiled and asked her, letting her go through with it.

Whats the matter? Do you need something?

Surara-san said he wanted you to come to the lab to discuss something. Can you come now?

Of course. Iris is okay with that, right?

Yes. The repair of the recording crystal should have been finished this morning, right?

Maybe we will talk about the contents of the recording crystal.

So I took Iris and Milia to the ships laboratory.

There, not only Surara, but also Leticia, Relic, and Lily are all there.

Sorry, did I keep you waiting?

Its alright. I just came in a few minutes ago.

Oh, Im so curious about the contents of the recording crystal! Im looking forward to it! Im looking forward to it!

Relic couldnt seem to hide his excitement and was sniffling wildly.

Lily, on the other hand, was scurrying around the lab for some reason.

Are you looking for something?

Where did Glasses Slime-san go?

Come to think of it, I dont see him.

The glasses slime was working on repairing the recording crystal with Surara. Certainly, he should have been here, but where did he go?

If its Glasses Slime, hes sleeping in his room!

It was Surara who answered my question.

I think hes a little tired from all the detailed work we had to do on the repairs.

Surara asked, Should I go wake him up? But I shook my head.

No, let him sleep. Is he all right?

Yeah. But Im going to bed early today! Then, lets get started!

Saying this, Surara held up the recording crystal above his head.

Light was emitted from the crystal ball, and images floated in the air.

The images were all still pictures, with text written in white letters on a black background.

Of course, it was all in an ancient language.

Important passages were highlighted in red, bold, or underlined.

Let me see.

I have seen something similar in Japan. Isnt this some kind of presentation material?

Ancient civilizations have many similarities with modern Japan, but I never imagined that they shared the same concept of presentation.

Frankly, I am surprised.

Putting aside my personal impressions, lets move on to the contents of the presentation material.

It seems that the people of ancient civilizations made various preparations to fight against calamities.

One of them was a plan to summon [Transmigrator], and the document reported on the progress of this plan.

There were three types of [Transmigrator], or natural enemies of calamity: the hero, the demon king, and the sage.

One of them would be summoned from another world and asked to save the world.

That was the general framework of the [Transmigrator] Summoning Plan.

What can I say I thought that this was a common setting in fantasy anime and games.

Perhaps if there were other modern Japanese here, they would have had the same impression as I did. But unfortunately, the plan seems to have failed.

A very large-scale ritual was required to open the door to connect to another world and summon a [Transmigrator].

During the ceremony, an accidental outburst of magic power occurred, and more than 300 magicians who were present at the ceremony fell into a coma.

In addition, the facility The No. 0 Underground City, which was used to support the summoned [Transmigrator], was destroyed by a monster attack, and even rebuilding it was impossible.

The document ended with the following words: Considering the current situation, we have no choice but to cancel the [Transmigrator] Summoning Plan. The situation is hopeless, but we must not give up.

As I said earlier, all the documents are written in an ancient language.

Only Surara, who was created around the time of the ancient civilization, and I, whose [Transmigrator] title provided a translation function, could decipher them.

For the time being, I translated the documents and explained them to everyone.

After we finished talking, Relic muttered thoughtfully.

Kou-san. The No. 0 Underground City mentioned in the documents refers to the underground city of Aunen, doesnt it?

Yes, that should be it.

I nodded and looked at Surara for confirmation.

Master-san is right. The official name of the underground city where I lived is the No. 0 Underground City. According to the documents, it was destroyed and can no longer be rebuilt

Thats a contradiction, isnt it?

Relic says.

The underground city of Aunen has not been destroyed at all and is still functioning perfectly. When the Black Dragon returned, it was a tremendous help to the residents as a place of refuge.

Strange, isnt it?

The situation we know about the underground city and the contents of the documents are completely different.

What is the meaning of this?

There are other questions as well.

According to the documents, the [Transmigrator] summoning plan has been canceled. Then why am I here?

When I said this, everyones reaction was divided into two.

Iris, Lily, Leticia, and Surara, who knew that I was a [Transmigrator], seemed to be wondering the same thing, nodding their heads in agreement.

On the other hand, Relic and Milia, who knew nothing about the situation, had puzzled looks on their faces. These two are trustworthy people, and its okay to reveal things to them.

Ive got this skill called [Transmigrator] that was mentioned in the documents. Im from a completely different world where magic and monsters dont exist.

Thou who art from a faraway land, empty thy vessel if thou wilt challenge the dragon..'

It was Milia who muttered those words.

The faraway land written in the spirit ring, does it mean another world?

That is what it means. Im sorry I didnt tell you until now.

Its all right.

Milia puts on a warm, enveloping smile.

It doesnt matter to me. I understand that you are a good person, no matter where you were born. Please tell me the story of where you lived next time.

Its not that interesting a place.

Im interested in it, even if it is. So are you too, right, Relic-san? Relic-san?

Relic did not reply.

His mouth tightened into a single line, and he turned his gaze toward me. Furthermore, he was trembling and shaking for some reason.

Ko-Kou-san.

What is it?

If this is a world without magic, then magic tools dont exist either, right? Then how on earth did you establish your civilization? Wow, I want to know! I want to know!

Relic was not only an archaeologist but also an inventor of magic tools. If he was told that a civilization developed without magic tools, it would be natural for him to be curious.

I wouldnt mind telling him about Japan, but that can wait until later.

So, we decided to continue our examination of the documents.

I have one thing on my mind.

Iris raised her hand in a small gesture.

According to the documents, either the hero, the demon king, or the sage, was supposed to be summoned, right? So which one of them does Kou fall under?

Its a delicate question. I would say none of them apply to me, but also all of them apply to me.

What do you mean?

Iris tilted her head, and I began to explain.

The first is that Leticia had taught me this before, based on her knowledge as a calamity.

There are three natural enemies of calamities.

The first is the hero who possesses the [Dexterity], the second is the sage who possesses the [Magic Ingenuity], and the last is the demon king who possesses the [Calamity Summoning].

I have the [Dexterity] and the [Calamity Summoning], and my [Full Assist] also has the [Magic Ingenuity].

In other words, I alone possess the power of a hero, a demon king, and a sage.

In addition to that, I also have the power of [Creation], which is a big difference from the way the [Transmigrator] was originally supposed to be summoned.

Its truly an out-of-this-world existence.

After listening to my story, Iris muttered to herself.

After all, Master-san is an amazing person!

In addition, Surara shouted innocently.

Hmm?

Wait a minute.

I suddenly recall the first time I visited the underground city of Aunen.

There was a vast space there, and the person who became the master that is, me, was supposed to build the city using the [Building Instructions] skill.

Lily was looking around the store with a twinkle in her eye. It must be the first time for her to come to this kind of place.

Well, thats understandable.

Whenever we went out for a drink in Fort Port, it was always just Iris and me, and Lily always went back to the inn with Leticia.

Kou-san, where would you like to sit?

Right

Im the type of person who usually sits at the counter, but this time there were many people.

Oh

How about the tables over there? Sofas are placed around the table in a U shape, and it looks like there is plenty of room for seven people.

The nearby wall is made of glass, so we can look out over the starry sky and the sea at night.

All right, lets go over there.

Yes!

Lily seemed to be more excited than ever and made a short run for the table.

Surara followed behind her, jumping up and down.

Yay! Its a bar! Im an adult slime!

Lily-san and Surara-san are both so cute and innocent.

Milia muttered with a smiling face.

Kou-san is a strong drinker, isnt he?

I dont think so.

Well, just a little bit stronger than others. Not so much a heavy drinker probably.

By the way, I have never had a hangover since I came to this world.

One of the effects of being a [Transmigrator] is to nullify abnormalities, and Im sure this is the reason for that.

The bar had a full range of alcoholic beverages, including wine.

It seemed that fresh fruits were brought from the underground city, and fruit cocktails were also available.

I ordered something refreshing and dessert-like from the bearded slime and was served a frozen strawberry cocktail.

Two small strawberries were displayed on the rim of the glass.

Its kind of stylish, isnt it?

Said Iris, sitting next to me on my left, holding up her glass. She ordered the same thing as I did.

I am also matching with you.

Lily also has a frozen strawberry cocktail in her hand, but this one is non-alcoholic.

She is only 15 years old. Still, it seems to be enough to make her feel like an adult, and Lily seems happy.

Ive never been to a bar before in my life.

Relic was looking around with a curious look on his face.

Im the type of person who generally goes out on my own, but Im always a little nervous when I go into a bar like this. Im very grateful to have had such a good experience. Thank you, thank you.

After snapping his hands together, Relic began to worship me.

Are you drunk?

Oh, no, Im not drunk at all! You know!

While spouting a completely unconvincing line, Relic sipped his whiskey.

He seems to be the type of person who gets drunk very quickly. In a sense, he has good fuel efficiency, which makes me a little envious of him.

Master-san. This cheese is very delicious!

Surara ordered a cup of hot milk and ate all the cheese on his plate with a crunchy mouth.

Its all dairy products, isnt it?

Next to him, Milia was squeezing a lemon wedge into the blue cocktail and stirring it around with a straw.

Hmm?

What is that?

The blue cocktail turned pink in no time at all.

As I was surprised, Milia smiled and spoke to me.

Its interesting, isnt it? This one.

Whats the principle behind it?

I dont know either. Should we ask bearded slime-san about it?

Wait a minute. Ill try to get an evaluation.

Hmm Hmm

I see.

If we apply modern scientific knowledge to this cocktail, it seems that the pigments contained in this cocktail change color according to the properties of the liquid, such as acidity and alkalinity.

It is like a litmus test paper from a science experiment.

The lemon juice must have made the cocktail acidic and changed its color from blue to pink.

I called up the bearded slime to check, and it seemed that I was right.

Kou-san, thats amazing.

Its all thanks to my [Appraisal] and the knowledge I learned in my homeland.

Kou-sama, may I say one thing?

Leticia, sitting across from me, calls out to me while sipping a cup of tea with brandy.

Since this is a good opportunity, why dont you tell us about your hometown? Everyone is interested too, right?

At Laetitias words, everyone looked at me and nodded their heads.

Alright.

I dont know if I can explain it well, but its nothing to hide.

I coughed and started talking about Japan.

* * *

A world where there are no monsters and magic does not exist.

Humanity has significantly developed through the power of science, and if we wanted to, we could communicate with people worldwide with a single smartphone.

I explained this information step by step, making it as simple and easy to understand as possible.

Master-san, your hometown is similar to an ancient civilization, isnt it?

As one would expect, there are no orichalcum golems there.

However, they may eventually develop a giant robot that can walk on two legs. The speed of technological development cannot be underestimated.

Even the Internet has spread at a rapid pace in just a decade or so.

Before I knew it, the topic of conversation had shifted from the world I lived in to my own life.

When I was little, I wanted to be a firefighter. The job was to put out fires and rescue people who were left behind.

That sounds like the perfect job for you, Kou-sama.

Leticia nodded in agreement as she sipped her third cup of brandy-infused tea.

So, were you a firefighter in that world?

No. Im ashamed to say that I gave it up halfway through.

What is it, what happened?

Milia asked with a probing expression.

Ah. If there are any circumstances that make it difficult for you to tell us, please dont force yourself.

Its fine. I dont have any deep reason for it.

Its not that Ive experienced any dramatic setbacks.

Its hard to become a firefighter, and somehow it didnt seem like it was for me, so I went on with my job search as if I was being swept along by those around me.

I finally found a job at a reasonably well-known IT company that handled bank data.

However, because of the companys large scale, there were a lot of flare-ups. The construction of the system was delayed by several months, the person in charge of the project fell ill, or a customer gave a reckless order.

There was a department within the company that specialized in putting out fires, and I was assigned to that department.

Apparently, I had the aptitude for the job, and after solving a few cases, I was promoted somewhat and became a leader of the team.

Wow, thats great!

It was Relic, who was finally sober enough to speak up. He was leaning against Surara, who was on his lap as if he were going to fall down on him.

In other words, you have been you since the time you were in that world, havent you?

What do you mean by that?

I tilted my head and asked back.

But no answer came back.

Suhh Suhhh

All I could hear was Relic sleeping. He was asleep using Surara as a pillow.

He looked very comfortable.

As for Surara, he is saying, Relic-oniisans helpless.

I understand what Relic-san is trying to say.

Lily said as she sipped her second non-alcoholic strawberry cocktail.

Kou-san has helped many people in Aunen, Toue, Surier, and then Fort Port. Youve been doing the same thing in that world, too, havent you?

Well, in terms of helping people, I guess its kind of the same thing.

When I answered that

Wait a minute.

Iris suddenly shouted as if she had noticed something.

When you were in that world, you didnt have a job where you had to fight with a sword or an axe or any other kind of weapon, did you?

Yeah.

At most, I used a keyboard, a tablet, and a smartphone.

Its all brilliantly electronic devices, isnt it?

So when was the first time you held a weapon in your hand and fought?

It was when I rescued a merchant, Chrome-san. It was against an Armored Bear. I think it was a high-ranked monster.

Yes. Its not something a novice can win against. Were you scared of it?

Of course, I was scared.

I answered, thinking back to those days.

But I had [Dexterity], and I had a powerful weapon thanks to [Creation]. More importantly, I didnt want to do something like abandoning someone.

Truly, everything is out of the ordinary.

Iris says with a small chuckle.

The same goes for skills. A person who until yesterday had never held a weapon in their hands, no matter how strong their skills are, would not normally be able to choose to fight on their own.

It is only when one has great power that ones true nature is revealed.

Leticia said in a calm voice as she put the cup of tea on the table.

Even if you have extraordinary skills, you use them not for yourself but to help others, so I think you are a good person to the fullest.

Perhaps Kous good-naturedness is the reason he was summoned to this world.

I see.

I was embarrassed to be called good-natured directly, as you would expect.

I answered shortly and drank the remaining cocktail at the bottom of my glass.

Seeing me like that, Iris, on my left side, leaned her shoulder toward me and murmured.

Are you embarrassed?

Well, you know.

Fufufu.

Whats wrong?

Its no big deal. Im just glad it was you who was summoned. I thought so.

Iris looked up at me and relaxed her expression.

I drank the water that the bearded slime had just served me, feeling the temperature of our shoulders as we touched.