CH 116

Chapter 116 – Adventurer From Another World

(TL: Unfortunately, I have to announce a rather major name change today: Komon → Torakado. As you might know, in Japanese, names are generally written in Kanji, especially surnames, which can pose a challenge in previously untranslated literary works since each kanji character has multiple ways of reading them. It was never articulated by the author how to read Komon/Torakado’s name, so I chose the more obvious, conventional reading for the name. But as of Chapter 117, the author finally spelled out her name in katakana, so now I know that it’s actually Torakado. Interestingly enough, this name doesn’t actually exist in Japanese. If you look it up on Google for example, you’ll see that no one is actually named Torakado. Anyway, I’ve gone back and corrected it in all previous chapters. I apologize for the inconvenience it may bring to the reading experience, and thanks for continuing to read thus far.)

—Three days after the naming of the island.

In my form as Torakado Shiina, I was working away at clearing dungeons. Of course, I had received a request.

The request was to restore a bamboo grove that had been turned into a dungeon. By restoring the bamboo grove, it would be possible for people to harvest bamboo shoots and wild plants once more. For those who were forced to be self-sufficient, this was a place they wanted to take back at all costs.

“The last thing we need to do is kill the Core Monster, and then we’ll be all set.” (Torakado)

Shiki had wiped out all the other monsters. All that remained was to take down the Core Monster before the other monsters respawned.

Gripping [Sakuranami-hime] in my right hand, I was about to go in when I abruptly became aware of something.

Suddenly, the Core Monster’s body was cut cleanly in half down the middle, slicing it into two neat halves, which turned into motes of light and vanished.

The dungeon had been cleared beyond doubt. But what bothered me was that I wasn’t the one who did it.

…Who in the world…?

Behind the spot where the Core Monster once stood was a man that looked to be in his thirties. In his hand was a greatsword that was even larger than Torakado Shiina herself. The fact that he was wielding it one-handed hinted that he boasted considerable strength.

“Who are you, might I ask?” I asked warily. After all, his appearance wasn’t ordinary.

He wasn’t dressed like a normal Japanese person. Rather, he was clad in silver light armor like something out of a video game, giving him a rather overdone presence. His head was wrapped in a turban, with striking crimson hair peeking out from it. Upon closer inspection, his eyes were the same color as well.

If this were a cosplay venue, it wouldn’t have been strange to see a guy like this, but here, he clearly looked out of place.

But upon hearing my words, the man narrowed his eyes. A few moments later, however, he broke into a friendly smile.

“Oh, you’re quite the looker, ain’t ya? Hey, you ever heard of ‘Elrond’?” (Stranger)

His rough, audacious voice shook my eardrums.

“Elrond…? What’s that?” (Torakado)

“Oh? …You can understand me? And you aren’t even a townsfolk of Elrond, either?” (Stranger)

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but you’re in a place called Earth now. I’ve never heard of Elrond before.” (Torakado)

This guy… From his appearance and his words just now, could he be…

“Earth… So this really isn’t Elrond? I gotta find a way to get back fast. If I dilly-dally around any longer, the country’ll be in trouble. No, well… maybe if it’s those guys, they might be alright.” (Stranger)

He seemed to be in a hurry. But there was something I wanted to confirm.

“Hey you, do you know anything about a place called Femir Forest?” (Torakado)

“Hah? Isn’t it that place? That forest blessed by the World Tree, Yggdrasil, where the elves live.”

I knew it! Without a doubt, he…!

“I see. It seems you’re an otherworlder.” (Torakado)

“Otherworld…? What’s that supposed to mean?” (Stranger)

“Before I answer that, let me ask you another question first.” (Torakado)

“Huh? Ah, sure.” (Stranger)

“When did you find that you were standing in an unfamiliar place?” (Torakado)

“…! Last night.” (Stranger)

After that, he told me that before he knew it, he had found himself lying on the road a short distance from this bamboo grove. Naturally, waking up in a strange place led him to walk around, looking for people to help him figure out where he was.

He met a few people, but they were all a bit startled at his appearance and weren’t able to communicate with him, so he was at a loss for what to do. In the meantime, he had gotten hungry and thus came here to this bamboo grove in search of food.

I see… His situation is almost the same as Yofel and Ior’s once was.

“This is a world called Earth. The Femir Forest doesn’t exist here.” (Torakado)

“What?” (Stranger)

“Is this Elrond you speak of the country you used to live in?” (Torakado)

“I don’t live there, but it’s the biggest country in our world. There’s no one who hasn’t heard of the Grand Empire of Elrond there.” (Stranger)

“Unfortunately, no one who lives in this world knows of it. Well, except for other people like you who suddenly came to our world.” (Torakado)

“….! Did I encounter a light pocket by any chance?” (Stranger)

Now, I could be certain that he had come from the same world as Yofel.

“….? But you, how do you know so much about my world? There are no elves in this world, right? Then how do you know….” (Stranger)

Well, naturally he would be overflowing with questions.

“It’s simple. I’ve been in contact with otherworlders like you.” (Torakado)

“You mean there are others like me out there?!” (Stranger)

“Yes, there are. And they’re elves, too.” (Torakado)

“….I see. That’s why you know about elves. Damn, so this really is a different world! What do I do now… Damn it!” (Stranger)

“Why are you in such a rush?” (Torakado)

“I’m supposed to be… in the middle of a war right now. Of course I’d be in a hurry.” (Stranger)

“…?! A war…?” (Torakado)

“I see. The elves have almost no contact with the other races, so it’s not surprising that they don’t know about it. I’m an adventurer.” (Stranger)

Ooh, so adventurers really do exist in the other world, huh?

“And so, I was on a journey with someone when Elrond and another country started a conflict.” (Stranger)

“A conflict… So, a war then. For what reason?” (Torakado)

“Our world is wrapped up in the absolutism of the Empire. So of course there’d be other countries dissatisfied with that. The Empire rules however they please, you see. There have been countless towns and villages that have met their ruin ‘cause of it. So they all decided to team up and overthrow the Empire.”

So the people living in other countries and regions had a buildup of discontentment against the oppressive rule of the Empire. And when that buildup of discontentment finally exploded, a rebellion broke out.

“My partner… well, the guy who was traveling with me, was a man with a strong sense of justice. I decided to lend him a hand in the efforts to overthrow the Empire, and, well, ended up getting caught up in the flow of it.” (Stranger)

Getting caught up in the flow and ending up in the middle of a war… How in the world?

“The power of the rebel army was incredible, and we were just one step away from killing the Chancellor, Vodara, who had been controlling the Empire from behind the scenes. But that bastard was in league with the Curseweaver.” (Stranger)

“The Curseweaver… What’s that?” (Torakado)

“Huh? You’ve never heard of it from those elves? The Curseweaver is an incarnation of the calamity that is said to appear once every 1,000 years. They look human, but they’re said to be a condensed form of all of the negative emotions. Last time it appeared, the world was apparently on the brink of destruction. But to think that our world’s eras fall into a 1,000 year cycle… It’s the worst.”

It seemed that just like how isekai worlds tended to be, there were terrible things happening there.

“Does that mean that Vodara managed to suppress the rebellion army with the power of the Curseweaver?” (Torakado)

That was the impression I got from his story, but…

“No, that bastard Vodara abandoned the Empire and fled with the Curseweaver.” (Stranger)

“Eh? H-He fled?” (Torakado)

“Yeah. But the war ain’t over yet. Even after Vodara was gone, that bastard… No, it was probably the people who were brainwashed by the Curseweaver. They fought the rebellion army until the very end. My partner and I, too… But in the middle of it—”

“You were sent to this world.” (Torakado)

The man hung his head dejectedly, grunting in agreement.

“Damn it…! What happened… to the rebellion army and my partner…? I really hope they won.”

Of course, I wouldn’t know anything about that. Even Izu, who was well-versed in the affairs of this other world, might know about the war itself, but even she wouldn’t know the result of it because she wasn’t there.

“Shiki, what are your thoughts on this person?” (Torakado)

“Judging from his words and actions, he’s definitely from the other world. But the Curseweaver, huh…?” (Shiki)

“Are you familiar with the term?” (Torakado)

“Izu-dono would know more than I, but there’s been something passed down to me about the Curseweaver.” (Shiki)

“What is it?” (Torakado)

“That the existence of the Curseweaver will surely transform the world.” (Shiki)

Transform, huh…? It made sense, since it was a calamity that appeared only once every 1,000 years. And in fact, the last time that it did appear was apparently when the world was on the verge of destruction.

In other words, there could be something happening in this other world that was literally changing the world.

Well, what should I do here…?

There didn’t seem to be any particular danger from this guy. He didn’t seem to be lying either. But unlike Yofel, this guy was human. Humans, which I detested so much.

Even if he was an otherworlder, I had no intention of bringing this human to my island, Joysprout Island.

“Argh, damn it! How am I supposed to get back?!”

He tore his turban off in exasperation and started anxiously running his hands through his hair.

But at that moment, something caught my eye.

—Pyon, pyon.

There were two unfamiliar things sticking out of his hair. Parts that an ordinary human would never have.

That’s right—animal ears.