Episode 15: Big Frog.
"Good morning, Jin-dono."
The morning after a trip to the mall to buy groceries. Seram's voice echoed in the living room.
"Oh, good mor--."
I reflexively turn around and try to return her greeting, but I stop halfway because Seram's appearance has changed.
She is wearing different clothes than usual.
Instead of her usual unfashionable red jersey, she wears a white T-shirt and denim.
She's wearing the Unisilo clothes she just bought yesterday.
It's a simple fashion, but it looks great on a beautiful woman with a nice style like Seram.
As I am stunned by her appearance change, Seram touches her clothes with a slightly worried expression.
"How is it? Do my clothes look weird?"
"Don't worry. They don't look weird."
"Okay. Well, I'm glad."
As I reply with a nod, Seram looks relieved.
On her chest, there is a shiny gold necklace. I guess it's one of Kaho's recommendations.
Kaho attends a university in the suburbs and admires city fashion, so she has a good sense of style.
"She did a good job picking out something that would look good on you. I should thank Kaho for that."
"Ah!"
I muttered something like that, and Seram suddenly let out a loud voice.
"What's wrong?"
"I haven't properly thanked Kaho-dono!"
"Oh, come to think of it, we were too busy carrying and delivering the groceries."
I thought she had made a terrible mistake, but it was nothing serious.
"It would be rude not to express my gratitude even though Kaho-dono has cared for me! I must thank her!"
However, it seemed to be of great importance to Seram.
Seram hurriedly attempted to run out of the house as soon as she remembered.
"Wait, wait! Do you know where Kaho is?"
"Ah!"
When I stopped her, Seram calmed down and halted her attempt to leave.
"If you're a knight, now is the time to stay calm."
"I tend to act before thinking. It's a bad habit of mine. It's embarrassing."
Seram says with an embarrassed expression on her face.
"First, you should check if Kaho is at home."
"How can I do that?"
"By sending a text message from a device like this. Then you can contact anyone who has the same device, even if they are far away."
"Anywhere?"
"Unless you're deep in the mountains or underground, you can communicate with them from anywhere."
"How convenient. With this kind of communication, the battlefield will be completely transformed..."
Seram shudders as she looks at the message I sent to Kaho.
It's crazy to think that the first thing that comes to her mind is military use when learning about the convenience of smartphones.
While pondering such thoughts, I receive a reply from Kaho.
I expected her not to respond immediately since it was early in the morning, so it was surprising that she was already awake.
She had plans to go out with her college friends and woke up early.
"She said we could meet her briefly this morning."
"Then let's go see Kaho now!"
"But before that, let's have breakfast first."
"Oh, okay."
After calming down Seram, who was about to rush out again, we ate breakfast as usual.
●
After breakfast, Seram and I leave and go to Kaho's house.
Visiting early in the morning can often be seen as an inconvenience. Still, it's more convenient for Kaho this time, so it shouldn't be a problem. If we miss this opportunity, Kaho will be busy for a while, and it will be difficult to see her.
Kaho's house is about a fifteen-minute walk from ours. Since we're in a rural area, there are no crosswalks or complicated roads to navigate. We just need to follow the path.
It is already past seven-thirty, with the sun gradually rising and the temperature climbing. At this time, we can walk comfortably.
If the temperature remains like this throughout the day, we can work comfortably and steadily.
The surroundings are adorned with vast rice fields, and the water's surface reflects the blue sky and white clouds.
It is a countryside immersed in awe-inspiring nature.
As we leisurely walk, admiring the scenery, a frog emerges from the rice field.
The countryside teemed with abundant wildlife, and such scenes are familiar, yet Seram's reaction is quite dramatic.
"Big frog!"
As soon as she uttered the unfamiliar name, Seram unsheathed her sword.
Under the scorching midsummer sun, the sword in her hand glowed.
It was a sight that seemed out of place in the quiet surroundings.
"Hey, hey, what are you doing?"
I warned her against drawing her sword, wondering why she would do so here.
What happened to her previous words about knights won't unsheathe their swords recklessly?
"Jin-dono, you claimed there are no monsters in this world, but you're lying! This is undoubtedly a juvenile Big Frog! Stay back!"
What in the hell is this female knight saying?
I sighed and hit Seram on the back of her head as she held up her sword.
"Ouch! What are you doing!"
"I don't know if it resembles a monster from another world, but this animal is called a frog. It's not a monster."
"Is that so? Sorry. It just looked too similar to the monsters in my world..."
"What kind of monster is Big Frog?"
"This frog is about five meters long."
"Five meters long frog... Do such creatures actually exist?"
From the point of view of modern people, the biggest frog that can be imagined is a bullfrog at most. I can't even imagine that there are bigger frogs than that.
"It's a terrifying monster that often appears in rural areas and swallows livestock and humans. When I encountered Big Frog in my first battle, I was entangled in its long tongue and nearly swallowed alive."
I don't know much about the situation in the other world, but I understand that Seram was traumatized by frogs.
"Well, there are no creatures like Big Frog in this world, so don't worry. Frogs are common around here, but they're all small."
"... It seems so. It doesn't seem to attack us when it sees us. Um, it's just an animal."
"If you understand, put away your sword."
"I-I'm sorry! I'll be more careful from now on!"
Please don't get caught violating Swords and Firearms Control Laws.
After confirming that Seram has sheathed her sword, we continue walking along the path.
However, she still gazes at the frog with a timid expression. It seems that she is still worried.
Feeling mischievous, I decide to approach the frog from behind.
Sensing the danger, the frog abruptly jumps toward Seram.
"Uwaa!?"
Then Seram collapsed on the side of the path as if her knees had given out.
The frog ignored her and hopped past Selam, returning to the rice field.
"Hahahahaha! You're getting terrified over a frog... Wait, wait! Don't draw your sword! I'm sorry for what I did!"
I laugh, amused by Seram's reaction. Then she puts her hand on the sheath with an annoyed expression.
When I think about it, I'm absolutely no match for Seram when it comes to fighting. I am not supposed to make her angry.
Until we got to Kaho's house, I was supposed to keep Seram in a good mood.
