Interlude: The Fifth Hero
Several months ago, around the time Satsuki, Rui, Hiroaki, and Takahisa were summoned to the Strahl region...
In the group of small kingdoms sandwiched between the Galarc Kingdom and the Proxia Empire, there was a small country called the Vilkis Kingdom. On the eastern side of this kingdom, a hero was secretly summoned.
The hero’s name was Kikuchi Renji, a high school student who lived in Japan. He was slightly below the average height of a male high school student at 160 centimeters tall, and he had an innocent but strong-willed look on his face.
“Where...is this? Am I...standing in a crater?” Renji muttered, wide-eyed and confused.
After returning home from school, he had left the house still dressed in his uniform to drop by the convenience store. Yet before he knew it, he found himself standing in an unfamiliar place. The area where Renji stood was gouged into the ground like a round crater, leaving him in the center. It was no wonder he was surprised.
There was no sign of anything man-made around him, and it seemed whatever had created this crater had blown away everything around it during the impact—there was nothing but the ground spreading out in a circle around him wherever he looked. The edge of the crater appeared to be several hundred meters away, but Renji couldn’t tell what was going on outside the crater from where he stood.
“It’s a little cold... And today was meant to be warm... Is this still Japan?”
Renji trembled in his school blazer as he took another good look around. The time of day hadn’t changed, but the location was completely different. It was at this moment that a thought crossed his mind.
It’s almost like one of those other-world summoning novels.
Japanese people were reading a lot of novels involving summoning to another world, so the possibility occurred to him.
“Nah, that couldn’t be.”
The novels Renji read were merely a form of entertainment to kill time. Fictional worlds inside fictional stories. There was no way that could happen in real life.
“But...”
Something that should’ve been impossible had happened. He was in a situation that couldn’t be explained in any other way. Renji cast his eyes over the area and gulped.
I guess I’ll check what’s going on outside the crater.
With that decided, Renji started walking towards the edge of the crater. There was an incline from the center to the farthest edge, so moving out of the crater was easy. He arrived at the edge to see a forest of trees spread before him.
“A forest, huh...” Renji closed his eyes as though to avoid reality and tapped himself on the head a few times, then opened his eyes and looked around again. The crater was still surrounded by trees as far as he could see.
“That’s right, my smartphone...is out of range, huh?” Renji suddenly took his smartphone out of his blazer pocket. The impossible situation had shaken him so much, he forgot about the first tool he should have checked. However, the symbol near the battery indicator showed he was out of the network range. This meant that even if he was still in Japan, he wouldn’t be able to use an app to find his location.
“I guess...I’ll look around outside the crater for now.”
It was possible that this crater was located at the edge of the forest, and he’d be able to make his way out easily.
With that decided, Renji sighed heavily and started walking.
Some time later...
“Well, that was a waste of time after all...”
Renji was unable to find a way out and sighed heavily. No matter where along the outer perimeter of the crater he stood, he couldn’t see the end of the forest.
“Do I have no choice but to enter the forest? I guess not... Hm?”
He leaned against a tree while looking around at the area and talking to himself. Then, from the other side of the crater, a group of people appeared from the forest. There were eight of them.
“That’s...!”
Renji spotted the figures opposite to his position and almost ran forward without thinking. However, he was stopped by the caution that rose within him.
No matter how you look at it, they’re not Japanese... They’re dressed like they walked straight out of a fantasy world. Some of them even have swords.
Renji quickly hid behind the tree he was leaning on and strained his eyes to watch the group that came out of the forest. They were all men in their twenties to forties. Some of them had spades in their hands. If those were farming tools, were they being used in place of weapons? They didn’t have any defensive equipment like armor, shields, or helmets equipped, and the clothes they were wearing all varied. Compared to the school uniform Renji wore, they seemed quite plain.
They don’t seem like soldiers... Are they villagers? Renji guessed.
They’re pointing at the crater and saying something.
The villagers seemed to be excited. He couldn’t tell what they were saying, but there didn’t appear to be any anger in their expressions. Were they surprised?
That aside, my eyes feel like they can see really clearly right now... They should be pretty far away, yet I can see their faces without a problem, Renji suddenly thought. His vision didn’t require glasses, but both eyes were below 1.0. He wondered why he could see so far and so clearly.
Are they coming this way?
The men started walking along the outside of the crater.
Even if I showed myself, we wouldn’t be able to communicate. I don’t want to approach armed men barehanded either. Let’s see what happens a bit longer.
Renji decided to retreat a little farther into the forest. The attention of the villagers was drawn to the crater, as though they were wary of something.
There may be wolves or other dangerous beasts. Wait, this is a fantasy world, so monsters might also be possible.
Once he reached that thought, Renji glanced back at the forest in fear. There were only dense trees growing there, but the thought of dangerous creatures gave him the chills. However, he couldn’t move from his current position. Renji hid himself in the trees and waited for the villagers to approach.
After roughly ten minutes had passed, the men were finally beside the trees Renji was hidden behind. Renji retreated a little farther into the forest to avoid detection, holding his silence while listening attentively to them.
“Chief, how do we explain this to the lord of the region?”
“No clue. We have no choice but to report the reality as is—that all the water in the lake has vanished.”
Obstructed by the trees, there was roughly ten meters distance between them, but he could clearly hear the conversation between the villagers.
So that crater was a lake, huh... Wait. Wait, what?! I understood their words?! They can speak Japanese?!
Renji swallowed his breath in shock.
“We went around once but there was nothing. The sun will set soon, so let’s head back,” the village chief said, ushering the other villagers to move. They proceeded to leave briskly without noticing Renji’s presence. Once he confirmed that, Renji followed them at just a far enough distance not to lose sight of them.
Being able to speak Japanese is like the exact template of an other-world story, but I’m grateful. I don’t want to approach armed strangers, but if I can communicate with them then I may be able to negotiate something. At any rate, there’s no point in staying here. Whether I negotiate with them or not, I should at least follow them to get out of this forest.
Renji was almost certain that this was another world now. He decided he would follow the villagers until they left the forest.
We only walked for a bit, but we got out of the forest pretty fast, surprisingly.
Renji had arrived at the edge of the forest. A hundred meters ahead of him were the villagers he had been following, and past them was the village they were heading towards. The village was surrounded by a rather tall fence to prevent intruders from getting in, and there was a gate as an entrance to the village.
They must be residents of that village.
From the sight of the poorly built wooden rooftops and their numbers, the population of the village was probably a few hundred or so people. The sun was already starting to set, so his only choice was to rely on the hospitality of the village or sleep outside.
I can guess what their standard of living is like from the look of their buildings, but I suppose it’d be better than sleeping outside. Well, I’ll have to make do. Renji decided on going to the village.
If I follow those guys into the village like this, they’ll realize I came out of the forest after them. It’d be an issue if they pried into why I was at the crater. I should move. With that thought, he took a detour. He distanced himself so the villagers wouldn’t spot him, then went around the outside of the village to the opposite side to the forest. The opposite side to the forest was farmland. The road towards the village cut through the farms, so he made his way to the road and through the gate, when—
“...”
He encountered a girl who appeared to be a villager. She must have been in her mid-teens—either the same age as Renji, or younger. The girl spotted him and froze at the sight of an unfamiliar stranger.
“Hey, are you one of the villagers here?” Renji marched right up to her.
“Yes, I am. Umm... Are you a noble?” the girl asked, looking at Renji’s face a little warily.
“No, I’m not a noble.”
“But you’re wearing fine clothes...”
“Hmm. So these look like fine clothes to you?” Renji looked down at the high school uniform he was wearing.
“They’re so clean... Only a noble would wear something like that.” The girl looked between his clothes and her own in comparison. Hers were rather worn out and dirtied by her daily work, looking rather shabby in Renji’s eyes.
“Right, your clothes do seem worn out. But I’m not a noble.”
“O-Oh, I see.”
“By the way, what are you doing here?” Renji asked the slightly sullen girl.
When the girl realized Renji wasn’t a noble, she relaxed her guard and sighed lightly. With her shifted attitude, she questioned him in a less formal manner. “That’s what I should be asking... Haha. Who are you, anyway?”
“I’m a traveler.”
“A traveler...” The girl shot Renji a dubious look.
“There’s no need to be suspicious of me. I’m not here to do anything bad.”
“Hmm... So what do you want from our village? Oh, are you here because you saw the pillar of light?” The girl still looked at Renji distrustfully, but then she thought of a possible reason why Renji came to visit and asked about it.
“The pillar of light?” Renji tilted his head.
“It disappeared right away, but there was an amazing pillar of light in the sky just now.”
“Ah... that light. Right. I saw that from a distance and wandered in this direction. I didn’t really have a destination, so I followed the light.” Renji quick-wittedly matched his story with her words.
“I knew it. If it’s the pillar of light you’re after, it came from the forest. Everyone in the village was shocked and made a commotion about it. Some people went into the forest to investigate, but they should be back soon,” the girl explained excitedly.
Based on the situation, the center of the crater where I stood would have been the point of the light pillar, right? So that light was what summoned me into this world.
“I see.” Renji nodded as he analyzed the situation in his head.
“If you want to hear more about it, I can show you to the chief,” the girl offered kindly.
“No... I’m interested in that too, but I have another favor to ask.”
“A favor?”
“I don’t have anywhere to go. Could I stay in this village?”
“Huh...?”
“Could I? Otherwise I’d have to sleep outside.”
“I’d have to ask the village chief.”
“Please ask him, then.”
“Huh? Why me? I’ll show you the way to the chief, so you ask him.” The girl frowned.
“Fine. I have to do it, I guess,” Renji agreed with a shrug.
What a weird guy. His hair color is also...not quite strange, but black isn’t a color I’ve ever seen in this village. His face isn’t quite girlish, but rather childlike? Still, he’s cocky and shameless. I guess all boys are like this, though. The girl’s childhood friend came to mind as she compared Renji’s attitude to his, making her sigh quietly.
“Let’s go, then,” she prompted.
“All right.”
“By the way, what’s your name?”
“...It’s Renji.”
When the girl asked for his name, Renji hesitated before answering. The reason why his reply was delayed was because he feared giving his Japanese name would sound questionable. However, Renji was a name that passed even overseas, so he figured he could use it openly here.
“I see. My name’s Rhea. Nice to meet you.”
This was how Renji and Rhea first met.
That night, at Rhea’s home...
“Ugh, why does he have to stay here? I’m a single young woman, living alone...” Rhea muttered to herself with her lips in a pout as she cooked in the kitchen.
“You’re the one who agreed,” Renji said awkwardly.
“Honestly, why did I agree?”
Rhea had shown Renji to the village chief, but he had expressed his disapproval in providing accommodation.
“Seriously though. Who are you?”
“I said I was a wandering traveler.”
“That’s so shady...”
Renji refused to explain his background properly. Because he was trying to hide his summoning into this world, he couldn’t help his lack of background, but as a result, all the villagers—including the chief—looked at him with a distrustful gaze.
If he wasn’t a noble, why did he have such clean clothes? If he was a traveler like he claimed, why didn’t he have a sword on him? Why was he traveling without any money or tools? On top of that, he wanted them to show him to the nearest city.
“Well it’s the truth, so I can’t help it,” Renji had boldly declared, leaving a bad impression on the village chief. He had expressed his displeasure in letting an unknown outsider stay in the village.
But the one who had stopped the chief was Rhea. “The nights are cold; it’d be too pitiful to make him camp outside...” were the words that started an argument between her and the chief about how “this man doesn’t have any manners,” and “that doesn’t mean we can let him sleep outside,” and so on.
In the end, the chief had said, “If you’re that insistent, then host him in your own house. I’ll allow that much.” And with Rhea’s permission, it was decided he would stay at her place.
“Well, I’m grateful I don’t have to sleep outside. Sorry...” Renji apologized awkwardly, feeling bad for everything he had done.
“It’s fine. But you’re leaving the next time a merchant comes, got it?” Rhea stressed. Renji was staying at her house under the condition that he would leave with the next merchant that came by the village, which was at most one month away.
“Yeah, I know. In exchange for staying here, I’ll help out with whatever work I can.”
“That goes without saying,” Rhea snorted. She turned back to her cooking and said curtly, “I’ve left a change of clothes out, so use the ones I put over there.”
“You live alone because your parents died, right? Whose clothes are these?” Renji asked.
“My late older brother,” Rhea answered smoothly.
“Hmm... I see.” Renji was taken aback, but he didn’t know how to react, so he lightly brushed it off.
“...” Rhea said nothing more than that, silently working away at cooking. Thus began Renji and Rhea’s temporary life together.
Late that night, when the villagers had all fallen fast asleep...
“Mm...” Renji was sleeping on the bed that Rhea had lent him. He was dreaming, yet his consciousness was stirred completely.
Where am I...?
Before he knew it, he was in a pure white room. The room continued endlessly.
(Hero.)
An unfamiliar male voice suddenly echoed in Renji’s head.
Who’s there?! Renji looked around with a gasp.
(Hero. The chosen hero.)
Hero...? Does he mean me?
(I impart upon you the knowledge of how to use the Divine Arms of Ice you have been bestowed. Accept it.)
What? Wha...?!
In the next moment, knowledge burst into Renji’s head. It was knowledge about tools called the Divine Arms, which he had never heard of before. All of a sudden, he understood what Divine Arms were, what they could do, and even how to use them.
This is... Renji was taken aback in his dream.
(Divine Arms will respond to your requests, granting you power. You are a hero. You are a special, chosen existence. Know that.)
Gah! What the hell is that?! Who are you?! This is so one-sided! Renji questioned the owner of the voice.
The owner of the voice spoke to Renji with no acknowledgment of the other. There was no conversation to be held. And then—
(This is my final advice to you. Until the day comes: survive.)
The owner of the voice left behind those words and faded from Renji’s consciousness.
H-Hey, wait! Did you leave?! Who are you?! Are you the one who brought me to this world? Why did you do that?! Renji called in a hurry, but there was no response. In the next moment, Renji jerked awake.
“Ah?!”
His heart was pounding, possibly out of excitement. “Hah... Hah... Was it... a dream? No...” Renji gulped.
Imagine it. The Divine Arms I’ve obtained.
According to the information in his head, the Divine Arms would materialize in the shape of the weapon imagined by its wielder. Renji closed his eyes and focused his mind, thrusting out his right hand.
After a moment, faint light particles floated in the air, gathering together in the next instant to form a halberd in his hand. It was taller than Renji’s height, with an intricate and artistic design.
“I did it...” Renji grinned. “According to what I learned, this Divine Arms wields the power of ice. Apparently if I name it, my impression of it will strengthen and speed up the materialization... Ice, huh? Then maybe... Cocytus.”
Cocytus was the name of the icy world in the final layer of hell. Though he kept it a secret from the people around him, Renji was actually a nerd when it came to things like that, so he had an abundant amount of useless knowledge.
“Disappear.”
Cocytus vanished in an instant.
“Okay, it’s gone. Cocytus.”
This time he tried to materialize it. Perhaps it was because he had named it, but there was practically no time lag at all.
“It feels familiar in my hand. It isn’t heavy at all. Looks like it was true that my body and physical abilities were enhanced as well.”
The halberd was roughly two meters long. He didn’t know what material it was made of, but it was a metal object that should weigh pretty heftily. However, for some reason, it felt like he could handle it freely.
“I want to try swinging it...” Renji couldn’t help the desire within him to test swing Cocytus. He had the eager expression of someone who had just bought a new game to play.
“Maybe I can sneak out quietly and try...”
The villagers were all asleep, including his housemate. They shouldn’t notice if he snuck out of the house. With that thought, Renji slipped out of Rhea’s home.
The full moon is almost here. I should be able to walk in this darkness.
There were no lights leaking from any of the houses, so the villagers must have all been sound asleep. The only source of light was the moon, but the rod cell of the human eye could see clearly enough under the moonlight without any street lamps.
The region Renji lived in in Japan had been surrounded by farmland without man-made lights as well, so he wasn’t afraid of this much darkness.
“This far should be fine.” Renji arrived at a location far enough to oversee the houses of the village and began spending a few minutes doing some light stretches to relax his body’s muscles. Then—
“Cocytus.” He called the name of the Divine Arms he had vanished earlier and materialized it in his hand. Then he tried holding it in a stance with both hands.
“I don’t know if this is the right grip to use, but... Hah!” Renji relied on the strength of his enhanced body to swing Cocytus horizontally with all his might.
“Hmm... Mmph! Hah!” He swung the halberd a second and third time to grasp the feeling of it.
“I see.” Renji grinned smugly and began to swing the Divine Arms silently. Horizontally, vertically down, vertically up, rotating it over his head... He nimbly performed all the tricky movements he considered to look cool. It was a feat no normal person could do. After that, he switched from a two-handed hold to a one-handed hold, swinging Cocytus many times to draw the path that he wanted.
“I’ve got the feel of it now.” He swung the halberd down one last time, stopping barely before scraping the ground. He then lifted it up and rested the handle against his right shoulder, laughing.
“Still, I’ve been swinging such a huge thing around so dramatically and I’m still not out of breath. Makes sense since I’m in another world, huh?”
Thanks to all the other-world novels and stories he had read while obsessed with the subgenre, Renji was somehow able to accept the situation he had been left in fairly smoothly. However, since he didn’t know anything about how to return to Earth at the moment, he still had his concerns.
“...Time to go back, I guess.”
Renji looked up at the sky, lost in thought, before returning to Rhea’s house.
The next morning, during breakfast...
“Say, Rhea.”
“What?”
“Do you know about the heroes?” Renji asked.
“I do, but... Are you making fun of me for being from the country?” Rhea had an exasperated expression, as though there was no way she wouldn’t know.
“No, that wasn’t my intention...” Renji scratched his cheek, frowning.
“We hear about them in fairy tales, so even children know about them. They’re the disciples of the Six Wise Gods that saved the world, right?”
“Yeah, that’s right... I was just wondering if there was any disparity with the fairy tales that I know of. I’m curious. What are the fairy tales told in this village like?” Renji asked, immediately adjusting his words to fit her reply.
Rhea looked up at the ceiling to recall her memories of the story. “Hmm. I doubt there’d be much difference, but... It’s a long story, so to summarize, an evil demon king that could control monsters appeared a thousand years ago. In order to save the world, the Six Wise Gods imparted wisdom upon us humans. The fight with the demons intensified, so the Six Wise Gods summoned six heroes from the world of the gods for the sake of humanity. The heroes could cut down thousands of monsters in a single swing. The Six Wise Gods and the heroes worked together to defeat the demon army, bringing peace to the world. And they all lived happily ever after. Sound familiar to you?”
“I see. It isn’t any different to the story I know, then.”
“Well, it is a story written in the holy scriptures. If anyone tried to twist the truth, they’d be declared a heretic and denounced.”
“Yeah, that’s right.” Heroes were religious beings, apparently.
If it’s knowledge even a child would know, then I can’t ask too many questions about it. Otherwise my lack of knowledge would be exposed. With that thought—
“Do you think heroes exist?” Renji asked.
“They’re the great heroes of legend, so it’d be a huge deal if they appeared, don’t you think?” Rhea answered with an amused laugh.
“Right, of course. And even if they did appear, it’s unlikely anyone would believe them,” Renji muttered meaningfully, then spoke nothing more about heroes to Rhea after that.
Five days had passed since Renji arrived in this world.
He was getting used to life in Rhea’s home, but he still didn’t fit in in the village. He had completely familiarized himself to life in Rhea’s home, but the villagers all gave him the cold shoulder for being a suspicious outsider.
He was treated like an enemy by Rhea’s childhood friend more so than anyone else; he was a boy who came up to him the day after he first stayed at her house and demanded he leave the village. At that time, Rhea stood on Renji’s side while acting as the mediator, which caused Renji to smirk and send the childhood friend flying into a rage. Renji had immediately enhanced his body with the power of his Divine Arms to evade all of the boy’s punches easily, continuing until the boy ran out of stamina to move. It was barely even a match.
Some villagers who witnessed that scene feared Renji’s strength, spreading rumors until Renji became completely isolated.
The villagers had no ill feelings towards Rhea, but they didn’t try to approach her while she was with Renji. On top of staying at her house, he always went with her to her work outside, so an uncomfortable atmosphere surrounded the village.
“Your childhood friend was glaring at me again,” Renji said to Rhea over dinner.
“After what you did, that’s only natural,” Rhea snapped.
“Just so you know, what I did was legitimate self-defense,” Renji said calmly.
It would be more accurate to say that he had purposefully created a situation where his act of self-defense would be seen as legitimate, but Renji didn’t have the faintest intention of showing mercy to someone so hostile towards him, so it was really nothing more than an act of revenge. Rhea hadn’t seen the provoking smirk he had sent towards her childhood friend.
“But with your strength, wouldn’t you have been able to pin Yoran down easily?” Rhea inquired indirectly.
“Don’t be silly. I didn’t have the leisure to do something like that. Your childhood friend is the strongest person in this village, no? I’m a lot shorter than him, too.”
“That’s true, but...”
At the time, Renji had seemed unusually happy about being attacked by Yoran. In reality, Renji wanted to test how his physical body enhancement would fare against Yoran, so the impression Rhea received wasn’t mistaken.
However, Rhea didn’t think Renji was a bad guy. He was blunt and uncommunicative, and sometimes spoke with an arrogant attitude, but actually living with him made her notice his unexpectedly kind side. He carried the heavy things for her when she was at work, and he also helped out around the house. The other men in the village lacked such consideration.
“Is that guy in love with you?” Renji asked, watching Rhea for her reaction.
“Huh? What are you on about?”
“He got real worked up over you. That’s why I was wondering if he was.”
“Please. We’re just childhood friends. He’s been foul-mouthed towards me since before you came to this village. I have no idea why he’s so mad about it now,” Rhea said with a tired sigh.
“Hmm. Then are you in love with him?” No matter how Renji looked at it, it was clear that the boy had a crush on her, but he decided not to point that out.
“...You must be kidding me. Do you want to get punched?”
“I see.”
Rhea had sent a fierce glare at him, but Renji merely brushed it off with a cheery laugh.
“It’s not like anyone will want to marry me. I’m doomed to grow old alone in this lonely house,” Rhea said sulkingly.
“Eh, you can do housework well. I’m sure there are plenty of people out there who would want you as a bride. Your face isn’t too bad either,” Renji muttered.
“H-Huh...?! What are you saying?!” Rhea blinked several times before turning red.
“I just said what I was thinking.”
“But you said you think my face isn’t too bad... Does that mean you think I’m cute?” Rhea stared at Renji with a faint blush on her cheeks.
“Now, as you are aware, I’m a wanderer... An immigrant, basically. I haven’t had many women around me before, and I haven’t seen the faces of the women in other villages, so I cannot give an objective opinion.” Renji averted his eyes and dodged the question. He had attended an all-boys middle school and high school, so he felt some charm from the reluctantly caring Rhea. Perhaps that was why he had said something in praise of her, but couldn’t be frank and call her cute to her face.
“I’m asking what you think right now, though.”
“I just said it. Your face isn’t too bad.”
“That phrasing...” Rhea pouted, glaring at Renji scornfully.
“What?” Renji turned away and asked.
“You’re always so arrogant, Renji. That’s why you end up antagonizing everyone in the village,” Rhea pointed out frankly.
“Me? The arrogant ones are the villagers. Especially the village chief and your childhood friend.”
“I won’t deny that. But you also have a condescending attitude when you speak sometimes. When you went to ask to stay in this village, things would have gone better if you had explained things before making your request. We’ve had lots of travelers stay in the village in the past.”
“But they were also given the cold shoulder by the villagers for being outsiders too, no?”
“Well, we did keep our distance to watch what they did, but no one actively avoided them like they do with you right now.”
“...” Renji fell silent.
“I know you’re not a bad guy, so I bet they’d change their minds if they had the opportunity to do so,” Rhea said, watching Renji once again.
“Is there a need to change their minds?”
“You said you were a wanderer, but do you have a goal for your journey?” Rhea responded to Renji’s question with one of her own.
Renji thought for a moment before replying. “No... Not in particular.”
“Hmm... Then how about you live in this village for a while?” Rhea suddenly suggested.
“...I’ll see.” Renji evaded the question.
“I think you’d be a great help to the village if you stayed. You’re strong.”
“The villagers already dislike having an outsider stay here temporarily. It’d be even worse if I settled here.”
“That’s not true. We’ve had people move into the village before. People will change when they’re given the right opportunity to do so.”
“I wonder about that. Plus, I don’t have anywhere to live.”
“...You can just keep living here.”
“Wasn’t the agreement that I could only stay until the next traveling merchant comes?”
In other words, it could be a month at the longest, or as early as tomorrow. Renji looked at Rhea in slight surprise.
“If you insisted on staying in this village, then I wouldn’t mind, you know? It gets boring living in this house by myself, and it’s a little scary at night. I’m the only one in this village that lives alone, too...”
“Are you lonely?” Renji asked, watching Rhea’s expression.
“Not exactly lonely, but...having someone to talk to and eat meals with in the house has just been kind of nice, that’s all,” Rhea mumbled.
Perhaps that was why the living arrangements she had been so against in the beginning didn’t seem so bad anymore. She no longer had to watch the other villagers returning to their families at the end of the workday with envy. “Don’t you get lonely traveling alone, Renji?” Rhea asked cautiously.
“I...” Renji stumbled over his words in thought. It was a lie that he traveled alone. However, he could understand how it felt to be alone. In reality, he did find living together with Rhea in this tiny home a lot more fun than when he stayed shut inside his room whenever he wasn’t at school. There was a part of him that agreed with her.
“But isn’t it problematic for an unmarried young man and woman to live together for real? Our current living arrangement is questionable enough...” Renji expressed his hesitation, asking his question in an inarticulate manner.
“Shall we just get married, then?”
“...It’s been five days since we met. Right?” Renji said awkwardly, his eyes widening. He was fairly shocked.
“...R-Right. It’s all because you said such weird things to begin with. Calling me cute and all that.” Rhea collected herself and spoke with a bright-red face.
“I don’t recall calling you cute...”
Renji trailed off, unable to give a clear denial. After wandering into another world and living together with a girl, his mood had been in high spirits without his realization. In his ten-odd years of life, he had never experienced the feeling of being wanted by anyone other than his family, so Rhea’s feelings echoed deeply in his heart.
The next afternoon, Renji and Rhea took a break from their work and returned home to have lunch, when a visitor appeared.
“Hey, Rhea. Come with me.”
It was Rhea’s childhood friend, Yoran. Yoran walked to the dining table and shot a glare at Renji before ignoring him in favor of talking to Rhea.
“What do you want?”
“The village chief is calling for you. He has something important to discuss about the future of the village.”
“The village chief...? What do you mean by ‘important’?” Rhea asked, eyeing him warily.
“I can’t tell you in front of the outsider,” Yoran answered, aware of Renji’s presence.
“...Does that mean it involves Renji?” Rhea asked sullenly.
“H-How would I know? I was just told to bring you there,” Yoran said, his tone harsh out of awkwardness.
“Go on, Rhea. Don’t worry about me.”
Renji smirked at Yoran in a relaxed manner while speaking to Rhea.
“Fine...”
Rhea seemed unhappy with being called out for an unclear reason, reluctantly nodding her head only after hearing Renji’s words.
“Grr... Come.”
Yoran clenched his fists and left the house. Rhea followed after him, heading towards the village chief’s house.
Yoran brought Rhea to the village chief’s house.
“What did you want to discuss, ch...”
Rhea spotted the village chief as soon as she entered the house and started to question why she was summoned in an aggressive tone. However, she trailed off mid-sentence. There were people who weren’t from the village in the house—a total of eight people. They were all armed and dressed in expensive-looking military uniforms. The most well-dressed among them was a plump man positioned at the head of the room.
“Are you the girl living with the man named Renji?” The plump man in a military uniform glared at Rhea.
“U-Umm...” Rhea was completely bewildered.
“Answer the question. Are you the girl living with the man called Renji?” the plump man said in a threatening tone.
“E-Eek!”
He was a noble. Once Rhea sensed the other party’s social status, she nodded her head in fear.
“I’m going to question you about that man. Answer with everything you know.”
After the plump man spoke again, he asked Rhea question after question. Things like, was his hair really black, did he make any ideological statements, where did you meet Renji, do you know the reason why he came to this village, did he say anything regarding the lake in the forest, and so on. Rhea answered each and every question honestly.
“I see. So you don’t know anything useful. In that case, I have no choice but to investigate him directly.” The plump noble sighed in annoyance.
“U-Umm, why are you investigating Renji?” Rhea could easily predict that Renji was the “him” the noble was referring to, so she questioned the reason why nervously.
“The lake near this village completely dried up. That lake was one of the holy grounds of this kingdom, and that man named Renji is suspected of drying up that lake. If this is the truth, then it is a crime deserving of capital punishment,” the plump nobleman said.
“P-Please wait a moment! Renji wouldn’t do such a thing...!”
There was no way he would do that.
“That’s what I’m investigating. Let’s go. Lead the way, chief.”
“Y-Yes, sir.”
The nobleman turned a deaf ear and stood up, leaving with the knights in the room.
Wh-What should I do...?
Rhea watched their retreating backs in horror before snapping back to her senses and following them.
Several minutes later, at Rhea’s house...
From the entrance, she could see Renji seated opposite to the plump nobleman at the back of the house. Two knights stood behind the noble, and Rhea stood farther behind them by the entrance. There were more knights on standby outside Rhea’s house, along with a gathering of curious villagers.
“What’s the meaning of this?” Renji asked unhappily, glaring at the noble and knights who had barged into the house.
“Your name is Renji, correct? The one who came to this village six days ago?”
“So what if I am?” Renji’s attitude didn’t change even when he was in front of nobility. He questioned the noble in return with an equal way of speaking.
The man furrowed his brows in displeasure as he spoke. “I am an interrogator of the Vilkis Kingdom. I was dispatched here from the capital in order to investigate the pillar of light that appeared six days ago. After questioning the villagers, I’ve determined that you are under suspicion of drying up the nearby lake in the forest.”
Renji paused for a moment, feigning ignorant composure. “...What are you talking about?”
“That lake was a holy ground of the kingdom. Six days ago, on the day you came to this village, a pillar of light rose into the sky. Was that something you were involved in? The drying up of the lake was your doing, was it not?”
“You’re suspecting me of that without any proof whatsoever?”
It seemed that the villagers had passed on information about him after the nobles arrived in the village. Renji came to that conclusion and sought the disclosure of evidence.
“I am not required to show you anything. What was your purpose in visiting this village?”
“In that case, I’m not required to tell you anything.”
Renji gave a scornful smile as payback. This made the nobleman frown openly.
At this rate, Renji would incur the noble’s displeasure and be killed. Rhea was pale-faced as she peeked through the entryway and called out to Renji. “Renji! This is a nobleman you’re speaking to! Apologize immediately or you’ll be killed!”
“I have nothing to apologize for,” Renji replied sullenly.
“I don’t care if you don’t answer. You will be sent to an appropriate location for the crime of drying up the lake,” the nobleman stated coldly.
“I didn’t do it,” Renji insisted firmly.
“In that case, you can prove that by answering my questions. If a suspicious person with an unfamiliar hair color and unusual clothing visits a village immediately after a pillar of light rises into the sky, it’s only natural to feel a certain amount of distrust, don’t you think? You claimed to be a traveler, yet you were practically bare-handed. You said you lost your belongings, but where did you lose them?”
The nobleman didn’t lose his temper over Renji’s impolite attitude, instead observing him closely as he asked his questions in a flat tone.
“I came to the village from the road opposite to the forest. I literally went through the gate on that side and ran into Rhea in the farmlands there. I didn’t go near the forest. My belongings were lost somewhere along that road. Since I lost them, I obviously don’t remember where.”
It seemed that Renji couldn’t stand the current situation, as he spoke firmly.
“Hmm. If it’s the road opposite to the forest, then you mean to say you came from the western road? That means you may have lost your belongings in the valley a short distance down the road. That area is rocky and difficult to walk on,” the plump noble guessed as though he was in deep thought.
“Yeah, that’s right,” Renji declared immediately.
“Hmm... That’s strange. Very strange. I remembered things wrongly just now, and there shouldn’t be any valley down the west road at all.” The nobleman narrowed his eyes.
“What...?” Renji’s face froze.
The nobleman suddenly adopted a serious expression. “Did you really come to the village from the west road?”
“...” Renji’s gaze wavered as he fell silent.
“Why did you lie? Where did you come from? You really were in the forest, weren’t you? You must know something about the lake drying up—or perhaps you are the perpetrator behind it...” After concluding that Renji had been lying, the interrogator looked at him sharply. As expected of an interrogator, a mere high school student like Renji became cornered easily.
“...I don’t know anything.” Renji shook his head, faltering.
“Do you think the words of someone who lies during an interrogation can be trusted?” the nobleman asked sharply.
“Guh...” Renji finally felt a sense of danger and shot up out of his seat. The next moment, the knights behind the interrogator parted left and right to surround Renji.
“Don’t act rash, now. It’s my job to reveal the truth. However, if a suspect struggles or attempts to flee, I cannot guarantee you’ll keep your life,” the plump interrogator warned sharply.
“...” Renji glared at the two knights approaching him in succession to keep them in check.
“Seize him.”
At the interrogator’s order, the two knights promptly closed in on Renji. They charged forward with vigor in order to capture Renji, who had backed up all the way to the wall.
Two knights who had undergone military training, versus Renji who had been a normal high school student just days ago. The difference in their physiques was clear as day, and it was only a matter of time before the shorter-than-average Renji was apprehended, no matter how much he struggled.
“Oh no!” Rhea squeezed her eyes shut against the heartbreaking scene. However, the next moment, something happened that no one other than Renji could have predicted.
“Haaah!” Renji, who had been cornered against the wall, suddenly charged towards one of the advancing knights.
“Ugh... Guh...!” The knight approaching from the right received Renji’s tackle and was sent flying towards the wall. He proceeded to crash through the thin wood and tumble outside.
“Wha...” Those who had witnessed that scene were all frozen speechless. In the next moment, Renji used that chance to send the knight approaching from the left flying with all his might as well.
“Nngh?!”
The knight that was sent flying crashed through the wall just like the other knight. The events were so unexpected, the entire room fell silent.
Everyone watched Renji, frozen.
“Hah... Hah...” Renji must have been intensely agitated, as his breathing was heavy while he looked down at his hands with bloodshot eyes.
“R-Renji...?” In a state of shock, Rhea called his name with a trembling voice.
“...” Renji slowly raised his face and stared at the entrance where Rhea was.
“Eek!” Rhea shrank away, clearly terrified.
Renji gulped. “...It’s not my fault. I didn’t do anything wrong!” he yelled while running towards the destroyed wall.
“D-Don’t let him escape! Kill him if you must!” the inspector yelled at the knights outside.
The knights were on high alert after the house’s wall was destroyed and awaiting Renji at the broken wall. They all had their swords drawn.
“Come, Cocytus!”
Renji materialized his divine halberd as soon as he was out of the house. The knights froze in their tracks for a brief moment, before they all recited the spell to enchant their physical ability and slashed their swords at Renji together.
“Augendae Corporis!”
“Raaargh!”
Renji swung his halberd desperately at the knights closing in on him. His movements were completely those of an amateur, but he had overwhelming physical strength. The axehead at the end of the halberd sliced through the bodies of the knights like a knife through paper.
“Wha...”
The interrogator that belatedly appeared from the destroyed wall watched Renji fight, lost for words. Where did he get the halberd from? Why were the experienced knights being slaughtered without even putting up a fight...?
“U-Urgh...”
When Rhea and the villagers saw the scene, they pressed their hands to their mouths to hold back their nausea.
“Y-You monster! Ignis Iecit!”
The interrogator nobleman pointed the wand that was hanging at his waist at Renji and recited a spell that would kill a regular human upon contact. A magic circle immediately appeared at the end of the wand, forming a fireball over a meter large that was fired towards Renji’s back.
“R-Renji!” Rhea screamed right away.
“Wha?!”
Renji promptly turned back and used his momentum to swing his halberd. Then, a sturdy spear of ice shot out of the spike at the tip. The spear of ice pierced through the fireball easily, passing smoothly through the torso of the interrogator behind it.
“Guh...?”
With his wand still raised, the interrogator looked down at the cavity in his abdomen. The next moment, he fell forward with a thud. Everyone could tell he had died instantly. There were still three knights left.
“Aaahhh!”
They all fled as fast as they could, leaving behind the corpses of the interrogator and other knights.
“Hah... Hah... Hah...”
Renji panted heavily, frozen in his stance after swinging his halberd. Silence fell for a long moment.
“S-Shit. What have you done? You’ve killed a noble that was visiting the village. This is b-bad. Very, very bad...” the village chief muttered with a pale face, having accepted the scene before him as reality.
Immediately beside him was Rhea’s childhood friend Yoran, who stepped forward.
“Wh-What have you done?! Are you trying to bring this village to ruin?!”
“Y-Yoran!” Rhea tried to hold Yoran back in a fluster.
“Shut up, Rhea! This all started with you letting that monster stay in this village! Now there’s a dead noble! What are you going to do about it?!” Yoran said, looking around at the corpses on the ground.
“I-I didn’t... That’s...” Rhea turned deathly pale as she struggled for words with tears in her eyes.
“You’re not the one at fault. It’s all that guy’s fault!” The blood seemed to be rushing to Yoran’s head, as he pointed to Renji and yelled hysterically.
“...” Renji glared at Yoran.
“Wh... What, are you going to kill me too?” Yoran squeaked in fear.
“...”
“What about it? Huh? Huh?! Don’t just stay silent, say something!”
Renji’s silence gave Yoran more confidence. Eventually, he was encouraged enough to move closer, grabbing Renji by the shoulder and shaking him. Then, with the exception of Rhea, all the villagers began to look at Renji with angered gazes.
“H-Hey! Stop it, Yoran!” Rhea called for him to stop, but Yoran’s anger only intensified.
“I’m not stopping! It’s all this bastard’s fault!”
“...”
“You—Hey!”
“Don’t touch me!”
“Gah?!”
Enraged at Renji’s continued silence, Yoran finally raised his fist, but Renji punched him back and sent him rolling across the ground. He didn’t use as much strength as when he had sent the knights flying earlier, but Yoran was bleeding from the mouth.
“Huh...?” Yoran looked up at Renji’s face as though to ask why he was punched.
“Don’t try to take this opportunity to look cool. Piece of trash. What I did was legitimate self-defense.”
That’s why I wasn’t at fault. I didn’t do anything bad. Renji looked down at Yoran, emphasizing his point.
“Renji...” Rhea called Renji’s name sadly.
“I...” Renji opened his mouth to say something.
I’m not at fault. That’s why I want you to come with me!
He was driven by the impulse to yell that and reach for Rhea’s hand. However, Renji drew his hand back. Then, he averted his gaze from Rhea with a guilty conscience. “If you guys attack me, I won’t hold back,” he said, glaring back at the village onlookers looking at him with critical gazes.
“Oh...”
The villagers backed away in fear.
“...” Renji bit down on his lip and started running to flee the village. Beyond that was the lake where Renji stood when he first wandered into this world, and farther beyond that was the Vilkis Kingdom’s enemy nation, the Rubia Kingdom.
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