“Ahm…”
Crap. At times like this, I should try speaking in English first, right?
“Who *****”
“Cre*ture…!”
“Jesus…!”
About the only the thing I caught was “Jesus”. And maybe they were asking who I was.
“Ma-mai neemu iz Kyotaro Okawa. Ai kyan nat spiku Ingurish”
That was some serious engrish, if I may say so myself. Back in junior high, I was told in class that my pronunciation was painfully horrible and I haven’t improved much if at all since then.
Anyway, I gave my name, sheathed my dagger, and then raised both my hands, all so that they wouldn’t think of me as an enemy. I didn’t really get it, but it seemed to me that they were scared of me…but then again, they were scared for their lives just a moment ago, so I could understand why they were being so wary. I could understand that, but it still didn’t feel great to be intensely stared at after helping them.
Probably because I was able to convey I wasn’t an enemy, 3 of them looked at one another. The 4th person, the one being carried, was alive but didn’t seem to be conscious at the moment.
“Nice to meet you. My name is Arthur.”
…they can speak Japanese!?
A man stepped forward and raised his helm’s visor. He was wearing a full-plated armor so I wasn’t able to tell before, but he was apparently a young black guy.
“Thank you very much for helping us.”
“It’s nothing. I mean, we should help each other out, right?”
I then reconstructed on my back the sword I threw away. I also had Layla return to me and then re-summoned her by my side. Arthur-san looked surprised when Layla appeared. He looked on-guard when I introduced her as my Guardian Spirit, but he nonetheless nodded in acknowledgment.
“I’m assuming you’re a group of adventurers, but is that right?”
“…yes, adventurers, we are indeed.”
“Ahm…is that person alright? She looks hurt.”
I said so as I looked at the unconscious woman being carried by a tall woman.
The woman carrying the other on her back had a face that made me think she was Spanish. She was wearing light armor, and she had a dagger and arrow quiver on her waist.
As for the woman being carried, she seemed to be of German descent. I decided to think she was simply European for the moment. She seemed to be the same age as me, or probably older. Couldn’t really tell. She was wearing a white robe, so maybe she was a magic user…?
The last member of their party was wearing chain mail and a white surcoat. With the exception of his face, chain mail also covered his head as though it was some headgear. The face that was exposed suggested to me that this person was a European man. He had had an impressive mustache, but he didn’t seem to be old given his youthful eyes.
“She, was hit by flames in the leg. She can’t move, therefore we are in the process of returning.”
…it was a bit hard to understand his words, but I got the gist of what he was trying to say.
“I think I understand now. Maybe it’s more than coincidence that brought us together. What do you say to sticking together until we find the exit?”
“You don’t mind?”
“I don’t.”
If I just “K, bye” them here and they die, I didn’t know how my conscience could handle it. Besides, I wanted to know why they were so cornered earlier.
“…we don’t have a lot of money though”
“Huh? Ahh, no, I wasn’t asking for any…”
Instead of putting them at ease, it would seem I only made them more wary.
I think I heard foreigners were into the give-and take mindset, were they? No, it’s more like modern people are basically like that now. Then, should I just ask them bluntly?
“Instead of money, I’d like you tell me how did you guys get into that situation and stuff.”
“…I, understand. Then, we’re in your care.”
“Ah, yeah, me too.”
I can take that as an ok for sticking together, right? …but man, this is really hard. I’ve never had a proper conversation with a foreigner before.
While sweating coldly under my bucket helm, I glanced at Layla. She, however, only smiled awkwardly as she shook her head. It would seem I had to handle this myself.
Before that though, it looked like I should take care of our latest “guests”.
I turned around while drawing my sword, and then moved it to where my Magic Eye told me the approaching Salamander’s neck would be. My upward swing hit the Salamander in the softer portion of its scales and managed to chop off its head. When the Salamander fell to the ground as quickly as it jumped out of the lava, the 4-man party shrieked for some reason.
I decided to ignore them for the moment and instead kick the reinforcement that crawled out of the lava. The tip of my boots destroyed the new Salamander’s abdominal scales and even gouged the flesh there. The kick launched the monster upward. As it was in mid-air, I swung down as though I was chopping wood. That resulted in the second Salamander being sliced from its stomach down to the tip of its nose.
A third Salamander sent a fireball at me but I simply charged at it. I broke through the flames without issue, got close to the monster, and then seized it by its upper jaw. While it was like that, I slammed the pommel of my sword really hard at the monster’s left eye. The Salamander emitted a strange cry as it writhed and tried to hurt my left arm with its claws and teeth. However, all its effort didn’t even cause so much as a scratch on my gauntlet. I slammed my pommel again and this time, the monster breathed its last.
And…there’s still no drop.
But with the enemies disposed of, I sheathed my sword again and turned to face toward Arthur-san and the others.
“Alright, let’s get going. I mean, we have to get that person to a hospital, don’t we?”
The party looked at me dumbfounded, which in turn made me confused.
I mean, they’re Awakened Ones too…or is it because it’s rare that someone can dispel a point-blank fireball from a Salamander with just their Resistance stat? Even so, do they have to be that surprised? Well, maybe I just can’t read a foreigner’s expression that well…wait, they’re foreigners.
“Ah…”
It then dawned on me the probable reason why the party was so cornered before and why their movements seemed so slow to me.
Is it because…our standards are different?
* * *
While I served the role of vanguard and Layla the role of rearguard, we and Arthur-san’s party made our way through the dungeon.
“Sorry but can you tell me how she got hurt? What happened?”
While watching out for any Salamander attacks, I asked so to Arthur-san who was behind me. I was being more observant of our surroundings compared to when it was just me and Layla. If my assumption was correct, then this place was pretty lethal to them.
“…we got attacked, by a Salamander.”
With pauses, Arthur-san relayed the story to me.
“We, thought we were, strong. Especially after, we survived exploring, E rank dungeons, for 3 days. Compared to folks back home, we were amazing. We thought we would be, in Japan too.”
“I…see.”
I had thought of something else to say but decided to keep it to myself, instead encouraging him to continue.
“But, we screwed up. One Salamander, took lot of time, to deal with. Before we knew it, lots showed up. Surrounded. We tried to run.”
“…I see. I just want to make sure, but you weren’t poisoned or cursed or anything, were you?”
“…we weren’t. We just lost, plain and simple.”
In the end, it wasn’t because the Salamanders had some power that I didn’t know about or had laid a vicious trap. What caused the party to be driven up to the wall as much as they had been was simply their lack of strength. I had heard that Awakened Ones from countries other than Japan and the UK were weaker, but I didn’t expect the gap to be this much.
At the risk of sounding like I was asserting dominance with a power that simply fell on my lap out of nowhere, I would say they were too reckless. Before entering the dungeon, they should have watched videos and clips about it, visited the relevant municipal hall’s homepage, and…well, it was too late to even consider any of those things now.
“Thanks for telling me. Unforeseen situations aside, there shouldn’t be any problems. I promise to get you out of here.”
“Thank you…”
…this is so awkward!! They’re all so gloomy…I mean, I get it, even my heart is aching from the groans the girl is making after all…
The girl being carried had enough willpower to maintain her magical attire, but that was the extent of it. Frankly, to be able to do that after passing out was amazing to me.
Layla had now bandaged her with the supplies I brought, but underneath it, she was hideously burned from her right knee down. Honestly, just looking at it was enough to make me recoil.
Her nails, her skin…never mind burn marks, she might suffer from after-effects. In fact, if we couldn’t get her treated soon, her very life could be in danger.
I had a way of treating her completely and in one go too, but I dared not suggest it.
It was my [Silver Apple].
I hadn’t tested it, but I had confidence of how special it was based on Layla’s staff and my Item Bag. It was likely that it worked as it was described and could heal any wound and sickness. That didn’t mean I could use it though. I mean, what if news of its effectiveness got spread around?
I wanted to turn around and ask Layla for advice, but steeled my resolve instead and kept looking ahead. Even if I were to ask for her opinion, I was certain she would say to not reveal it. If I was ever to become complacent in pushing Layla into that kind of role, it would be all over for me. I would be worthless as a person. As such, no matter what, I couldn’t fall that low.
So, if I couldn’t give the girl a Silver Apple, I thought I could at least see to it that she could make it outside to a hospital.
With the girl still groaning in pain, I glared at the lava.
Argh! Why does my stomach have to ache for a bunch of people I’ve only just met! This is all because of their carelessness, and even more because of the existence of dungeons! All of you, apologize to me and my aching stomach!
I vented my frustrations by slaying the Salamanders that approached. If any appeared from behind, Layla took care of them by skewering them with spears made of rock. Seriously though, if this many of them were going to come at us, I wished they had the decency to drop some items.
We continued walking like that for about 30 minutes. In that time, the girl’s breathing grew more ragged. No matter how much vitality an Awakened One might have, it was bound to be close to the limit by now.
Should I stop the cameras from recording and hand her an Apple? Probably don’t have to yet, but…
We had been traveling along a path that eventually led to the next floor. Further ahead, we saw something white.
“That’s…!”
Arthur-san, who was behind me, exclaimed so and then ran past me. I took that as a chance to sigh albeit only internally. Now at the farther side of the cave-like new floor, Arthur-san turned around and beckoned for us to come.
“Here! Over here! Hurry!”
Finally, this awkward atmosphere—
But then, my Magic Eye activated.
Before I could even process the vision it gave me, I rushed forward and brandished the sword on my shoulder.
“Duck!!”
“Huh?”
*Splash*
Coinciding with that loud sound, lava sprayed out. I moved to get between it and Arthur-san, all while keeping my gaze upward. I could hear my magical attire partially burning from the lava that touched it, but what worried me more was the large figure over us.
Ack, I can’t redirect it. We’ll be crushed.
I pulled my sword away from the large figure, and instead grabbed Arthur-san by the waist and ran. I sprinted as fast as I could toward the middle of this cave-like space. With a tremble in the ground, it landed. Getting a better look at it, I realized it was probably the kind of monster that caused the large crater in the now-ruined shopping district outside of this dungeon.
“******!?!!?”
Arthur-san and those behind were shouting, but I had no idea what they were saying. I wanted to complain that they should speak in Japanese. Were they even speaking in English?
At any rate, I tossed Arthur-san toward the others and wielded my sword with both hands. As though in reaction to that, the monster roared.
This monster was called a Salamander General. Simply put, it was an over-sized Salamander. However, even that description might be underselling just how great of a difference in size were between the two. The height of its head alone was about 2 meters high, making it easily taller than even me. The monster was probably as wide as a road. And its overall length, including its tail, was likely 10 meters long.
It was baring its set of fangs as it growled and roared at us. Not only was its tail on fire, its back and four limbs were as well. It was almost like a kaijuu. It was intimidating, sure, but I also felt myself get a tiny bit excited.
“Layla, please protect the others.”
“Understood.”
If the fight continued in the middle of this cave-like space, the others would be at risk. As such, I decided to charge. The moment I did so, the Salamander General shot out an extra-large fireball from its mouth. The fireball had a diameter the size of a person’s torso and was intensely bright perhaps due to how hot it was.
All that being said, it didn’t have enough power to overcome my Resistance stat. The flames dispersed and then vanished in midair. Without skipping a beat, I continued my charge toward the General.
In response, the monster, with its mouth still wide open, charged at me as well. It seemed like it wanted to finish me with a bite, but its attempt at doing so was actually convenient for me. I stomped its lower jaw into the ground and with that momentum, I stabbed my sword at its upper jaw, in an angle that would let it hit the monster’s brain.
My blade went through and the tip was exposed on the other side. And yet, for some reason, the Salamander General didn’t stop moving. Was this monster just too big or did monsters in general simply not comply to the laws of nature?
At this rate, the Salamander General was liable to escape by going further into the cave. Layla would probably stop it with her magic, but I would prefer it if I could I could settle this soon. And so, with my sword still lodged in its head, I activated my Magic Power Discharge and allowed a storm of magic power whirl around my sword. That crushed and blew away the flesh, bone, and everything else in the General’s upper skull. All that remained was the lower jaw I stomped on and its body. But those too would vanish in a couple of seconds now that the monster was dead.
…I know it’s kinda late to realize this, but even though monsters are sorta living things too, I don’t feel any remorse in killing them. Maybe it’s because cutting them feels a bit different, or maybe it’s simply because I’m more cold-hearted than I thought.
At any rate, I defeated it without any incident. The part of my magical attire that got splashed on by the lava was a bit burnt, but there was no real damage. There was no item drop either though. Dejected, I turned toward Layla and the others.
“It’s over. Time to get out of here.”
I said so in a cheerful tone, hoping to reassure the group. However, the party was clearly recoiling. Only Layla was applauding.
…I don’t get Awakened Ones from abroad.
Salamander Generals were regarded as D+ in rank, so they were quite strong. In fact, they said online something to the effect of “if you can take this guy by yourself, you’re a full-fledged adventurer already”. I was a bit delighted by that.
* * *
POV: Arthur Santos
I pressed my hands together and prayed in front of the operating room. It was for Emilia, a mage and, more importantly, one of my cherished comrades. She had been been injured in her right leg while we were in the dungeon. She was currently receiving medical treatment.
Before I knew it, Julia, my lover and fellow party member, stood beside me and placed her hand on mine. I held her hand back and gave a glance to our other party member. That member being the mace-user Paul. Being Emilia’s older brother, he continued praying as he stared at the operating room.
…what a stupid decision we made…
I thought back to our dungeon exploration earlier in the day. Had we not met that monster, err, young man who wore a bucket-like helm, I had no idea what we could have done to save ourselves.
Until today, until we explored that dungeon, we thought of ourselves as special.
Our party had known each other even before the [Return of the Age of the Gods] happened. We were a part of the community of foreigners living in Japan. And when stuff from fairy tales, like monsters and dungeons, appeared in the world, all four of us Awakened.
Furthermore, the average of all our stats was E+. This was a slightly higher stat average than what those back in my home country had. We then combined that with the inferiority complex that had been building up within us lately.
We couldn’t become Japanese, not fully, but at the same time, each of us had reasons that made it hard for us to return to our home countries. For that reason, we decided to delve into dungeons this year in hopes that we could make a name for ourselves as adventurers.
We soon found out that we had no problems in exploring E rank dungeons. We were liable to lose our lives if we let our guard down, but what mattered was we were able to complete the training course and debut as adventurers.
And we were so sure we could go higher. I had a good reason to do so too: my pressing need to support my younger siblings who were still students in place of our now-dead parents. But, to be honest, I was being fueled on more by my self-conceit.
The result was this tragedy. No amount of regretting could ever be enough.
“What will we do now?”
Julia asked me so in English. I still wasn’t that fluent in Japanese, so our party instead often used English, which all of us knew.
“What do you mean…?”
“We have medical fees to pay, so…are we still gonna go exploring?”
“I…”
I was about to say that wasn’t something we should be discussing about now, but I held that back. I was the party leader. I forgot about it, but it was supposed to be my duty to think about those things.
“That depends on Emilia, doesn’t it…?”
“Can we keep doing this though?”
“Julia?”
“I mean, it’s, it’s a miracle we were able to make it back alive from that place where monsters like that fought and killed each other…!”
While clasping my hand real tight, she said so with a quavering voice. In response, I slowly rubbed her back with my other hand.
“Come on, don’t say that. He’s our savior. No matter how scary he might be…”
“But, but that guy’s not human…!”
I couldn’t say anything to refute those words. I mean, in what world could a human traverse a hundred meters in a single bound? In what world could a human throw a beast that was at least the same size as a large tiger with one arm? In what world could a human cut down in a flash a fiend that towered over them?
And yet, even after doing all of those feats, that thing acted like nothing at all happened. No matter how I looked at it, such an individual was simply out of this world.
“…you got it wrong.”
Paul, who had been praying, told us so while his gaze was still fixed on the operating room.
“He was just behaving normally. Think back on the rumors we often hear and the general atmosphere in the dungeon store. If you take those in account, he’s more or less the norm. Here, in Japan at least.”
“But…”
“It’s us who are not normal. We’re simply too weak compared to the Awakened Ones in Japan.”
With that, the atmosphere around us got heavier.
I had no choice but to accept what he said as fact. I mean, I was vaguely aware of it after observing the other attendees who completed the training course, as well as the other adventurers and the staff members in the E rank dungeon stores.
Even so, I had averted my eyes and refused to accept it back then. I didn’t want to accept that even in this regard, we were “outsiders”. That we didn’t belong.
“…about what we should do from now on though. It depends a bit on Emilia’s state after this, but I for one intend to continue being an adventurer. We also have our visa to consider.”
“You’re right…I intend to continue too. I’ll only be doing E rank dungeons though.”
Although Awakened Ones were in great demand, such people were still in a rather precarious spot in this country. Due to the atrocious crimes concerning Awakened Ones happening both in and out of the country, prejudice against Awakened Ones were getting reinforced.
The prejudice was worse for “outsiders” like us. We were pretty much viewed by some like crazy people who would stab people whenever the fancy struck us. Worse, some of my countrymen proved that to be true.
Finding employment here was hard.
“Then, I’ll stay too. I still have to earn money for my sister’s education, after all.”
“Julia, you have citizenship, don’t you? Then, you don’t have to party with us.”
“What are you saying? If I leave you guys on your own, you’ll surely be killed next time.”
Julia lightly slapped me on my shoulder and smiled wryly.
Geez, she’s always so helpful at times like this.
“Fine…with you guys, I’m sure that even in this country full of monster-like people—”
At that moment, the sound of footsteps echoed in the corridor.
When I turned toward the source of the sound, I saw two men walking toward us. One of the men wore glasses and a white coat. He was short and had a large belly that bounced as he walked. He also kept wiping himself with a handkerchief even though it wasn’t hot. I thought he was doctor at first, but something was off about him to be one. There was also the matter of the other man beside him.
In contrast with the white-coated man, this other man—who was scowling for some reason—was rather large for a Japanese person and brawny to boot. I could tell what he was. The way he walked was like that of a soldier’s…more specifically, a member of the JSDF.
“Hey, hey, hey! You guys speak English? Brazilian?…or maybe Portuguese?”
“…what, can we do for you?”
“Oh! Thank goodness you speak Japanese! I want you even more now!”
The white-coated man jubilantly approached closer and gave us all a good look.
Highly wary of these people, I stepped forward as though to hide Julia behind me.
“Hello…? This is the first, we meet, right?”
“Ahh! Sorry for the late introduction. I am Yajima Kotaro. I am the head of Magic Equipment Research department that belongs to the Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics Agency. Pleased to make your acquaintance!”
“Yes, me too…”
Even though I shook his outstretched hand, I remained wary.
I’ve never heard of his post before. Is it part of the Ministry of Defense? But then, what can such people want with us?
“I’ll get to the point! Why don’t you work for us?”
“…why?”
I had no idea what he meant. I even almost replied in English in my confusion.
“Each member of your party might be only slightly stronger than an ordinary person, but you are still Awakened Ones. Meaning you could move about inside a dungeon! We need people like that!”
While the man called Yajima began to explain emphatically, the creases in the brow of the JSDF soldier in civilian clothing behind him deepened.
Seriously, who are these guys?
“Please, you absolutely must come to our research facility! We’ll make it so that even for non-Awakened Ones, a dungeon—”
“Yajima-san.”
“Oops.”
Yajima seemed to have said something he shouldn’t have for the soldier made him stop.
“Anyway, what I can say is that it’s nothing bad. I promise you that. I’ll send you the documents and whatnot later, but what do you say? Wanna give it try!?”
“We, aren’t much, school.”
“Hmm? Ahh, are you trying to say you haven’t received a lot of education? That’s not a problem at all. What we want you to be are testers. Well, being more knowledgeable certainly can’t hurt, but since humanity as a whole know next to nothing about magic anyway, one’s level of education doesn’t matter at all.”
He talked quickly, so I had trouble keeping up. But what he basically said was “become testers for things we don’t fully understand”, wasn’t it?
“And! And! And if you decide to work for us, we’ll do whatever we can to make your lives so much easier! Like say, shoulder the medical fees for your injured companion!”
“Tch…”
This guy has already looked into us. No, that much is a given. There’s no way we just happened to bump into each other in this place. Not to mention, he begun by asking whether he should talk in Portuguese, my mother tongue…
I hesitated, but only for a moment. Keeping in mind the things that happened before and things that could happen in the future, I spoke,
“We’d like, to think about it. I think, you can expect, a positive, answer.”
“Is that so!? We’ll be waiting then! Though, please don’t take too long! A head start is important when it comes to new technology, you see!”
Yajima handed over his business card and then quickly wiped his brow with his handkerchief again.
“I must say though, when I heard your party delved into a D rank dungeon, I was filled with dread. So thank goodness you made it out.”
“Someone, saved us.”
“Oh. Then, thank goodness for that adventurer!”
“Yes…”
I thought back to that boy with monstrous strength. Whatever my opinions were, the fact remains that he saved us.
…which makes it all the more awful that I’ve forgotten his name.
I found it hard to remember Japanese names to begin with, but the events that happened just knocked it out of my memory. Strangely though, his helmet that looked like an upturned bucket left quite an indelible impression.
—they did not know at this point in time that the person they just met, Yajima Kotaro, would leave his mark in history for “a certain reason”.
* * *
POV: Okawa Kyotaro
“Got anotherrrr!”
“Congratulations, master!”
I shouted so while holding up a red, marble-like stone. It was a Salamander’s magic stone.
My morning exploration was just terrible with all that awkwardness, worry, and total absence of Item Drops. However, my afternoon exploration was proving quite the opposite. I just had my 3rd Item Drop. Two of those were Salamanders’ magic stones, and the other was a fang.
It was some serious earnings. Even if we kept one of the magic stones, the two Item Drops would still net me 800,000 yen! That amount was simply impossible for an ordinary high school student to earn in any honest way. This was truly the adventurer dream!
Fighting the many Salamanders that appeared greatly exhausted me though. From the morning session up until now, I had taken down probably close to 200 Salamanders. Still, the results made all that effort more than worth it.
“I guess it’s true what they say, that no good deed goes unrewarded!”
“Yes, exactly!”
Layla and I laughed out loud in that dungeon filled with bubbling lava.
But man, being an adventurer really is the best!
A lot had happened today, but I put it all out of mind as I made my way out of the dungeon with a spring in my steps.
Taroppe-sensei(author)’s Q&A corner
Thank you for reading!
Also, please consider leaving some of your thoughts, a review, and bookmark the title over at the narou site (https://ncode.syosetu.com/n7336ie/)
Your support is appreciated and I hope you continue doing so.
Q: won’t anyone be scared if someone jumped that distance and then went ham?
A:
Kyotaro: “I mean, most Japanese Awakened Ones can do as much, right?”
Kumai: “Nah dude. Maybe only 1 in 20 or 30 Awakened Ones can do that”
Q: What would have happened if Kyotaro didn’t go to this dungeon?
A: The 4-person party would have been annihilated. Plus, a few days later, the dungeon would have overflowed. Such things have sadly become quite common in this story’s world.
Q: What was the visa mentioned there?
A: It won’t be explained through the course of the story, but Minister Arikawa has created an adventurer visa.
Impressions on Salamander Generals
Japanese and British Awakened Ones: “It’s strong, but as long as you’re not greatly incompatible with it, you can solo them. That said, only a few people would be able to defeat it in an instant. If you’re gonna be scared of anything though, it should be slimes.”
The average Awakened Ones from everywhere else: “That’s a raid boss, ain’t it??? Wipes out a whole party. You’re better off hunting after slimes. At least then, you’ll only have to sacrifice one of your party members.”
TL note: I put 孝太郎 as Kotaro, but it might be read as something else like Takataro.
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