Chapter 6: Regress
A few days after the incident, as the tension gradually began to ease, another adventurer arrived in the village.
Lately, I had been pushing myself hard every day to climb the ranks, so today I decided to take it easy, sleep in, and take a leisurely stroll around the village. As I returned to the village to settle some magic stones, I was called to Yarzak’s office.
“What’s up?”
“Actually, last night, an adventurer arrived.”
“An adventurer? Is their goal…?”
“No, that’s the thing—we’re not sure.”
“Not sure?”
It seemed the man arrived in town yesterday evening. After that, he didn’t bother looking for me or finding a place to stay. Instead, he camped out in the town square. Then, in the morning, he apparently joined the state soldiers who were heading out for road repairs.
Since we woke up a bit late today, we had been out in the nearby forest hunting monsters while feeding Mera, so we hadn’t heard anything about the adventurer.
“Well, I wanted to know what kind of person he was, so I allowed him to accompany us. But I still don’t know much about the situation.”
“Why did he follow the state soldiers?”
“He said he wanted to hunt for food. He also had a rare mount that I’ve never seen used as a mount before. Apparently, it’s a big eater.”
Hmm. I have no idea what kind of person this is. But given the recent disaster, I can’t help but feel tense about this.
“Well, in any case, once the soldiers return, we’ll ask about the adventurer. Until then, it might be best for you to stay in the dormitory.”
“Got it.”
After hearing about the adventurer, we decided not to go outside and instead stayed holed up in the dormitory.
Although the dormitory aren’t off-limits to outsiders, since they’re state military facilities, there’s enough visibility in town to make it a safe place.
Inside, for some reason, Vito was also there. It seemed that Kimijima and the others had been frequently checking out the Vito inn where they planned to stay. Among them, Sakuragi seemed particularly fond of Vito and had brought her along.
“Sorry for dragging you into this.”
“It’s not your fault, Sensei.”
“I’m glad you feel that way… Oh, wait a sec!”
“Wait? No way!”
“Wait means stop! Hey, Nishina!”
I was playing a wooden puzzle game with Nishina that we found in Vito’s inn. It was a 3D version of Connect Four, and it was surprisingly tricky.
Meanwhile, Vito was being played with by Sakuragi.
“Hey, hey. You can call me Miki-nee, okay?”
“Miki-nee?”
“Yeah, yeah. Hehehe. So cute~”
Vito looked confused, but she didn’t seem to dislike the attention. He wasn’t used to people being so forward with their affection.
As for me, I wanted to show some adult dignity, but that was becoming increasingly questionable.
“Come on, Sensei. There’s a dangerous person around, and here you are playing games.”
Kimijima was right, but according to Stroman, the man didn’t seem particularly dangerous.
Given the recent incident, maybe my senses had been dulled by that escape.
…No. That’s not it.
“Even if there’s an adventurer around, we can’t hide here forever, right?”
“That’s true, but…”
“Somehow, I’ve started thinking that if it comes to it, we’ll fight.”
“Huh?”
“People who would raise their swords just to reach a higher rank… I can’t stand the thought of them taking away not just my freedom, but yours too.”
“Sensei… Are you okay?”
“Hmm. As long as we don’t let our guard down, we’ll probably be fine.”
“I know you’re strong, but…”
I understand Kimijima’s concern, but we have to keep living in this world. There will be times when life and death are at stake. I think it all comes down to my resolve.
“Well, that doesn’t mean we’re going out immediately. If the adventurer doesn’t seem like a problem, we’ll go rank climbing again tomorrow. Mera needs to eat, right?”
“Yeah, you’re right.”
Somehow, after hearing my words, Kimijima seemed to relax a little. Good. I don’t want her to stress too much over me.
“So, Kimijima, help me take my revenge… Nishina’s too strong.”
“Hehehe. Leave it to me.”
Kimijima sat next to me, a confident smile on her face.
That evening, Stroman arrived with information about the adventurer who had returned. The workers and state soldiers didn’t have anything bad to say about him. Apparently, he had even come to the outpost to see if he could sell some materials.
“It seems there’s no problem. Yarzak also thinks we don’t need to be too cautious.”
“That’s good. So, can we go out again tomorrow?”
“Yes. I’ll come along, but it’s for rank climbing, right?”
“Right. Thanks. Mera’s craving raw meat.”
“Hahaha.”
The next morning, we each prepared and headed to the cafeteria. The state soldiers were already there, eating breakfast and dividing into groups to confirm their plans for the day.
There was no road repair work today, but we planned to walk through the forest as usual after reaching the maintained area. Stroman had selected two additional parties to accompany us in case something happened.
After finishing our meal, we headed to the village gate. As always, the mounts were ready outside, tied to the cargo carts. It’s an adventurer-like organization, but the division of labor is surprisingly efficient and stress-free.
…And then.
“Yikes!”
Suddenly, Kimijima let out a scream. Her panicked voice made me immediately turn to look at her. She was frozen, staring in one direction.
I quickly followed her gaze.
…What the…?
It came into my view. A monster etched into our memories with terror.
Behind the Sebek tied to the cargo cart was a monster.
The six-eyed, hippo-like monster we had seen in Gallarblue.
“What the… Why is it here!”
I already had my hand on my waist. If it went berserk here, it would be a disaster.
The hippo monster ignored us and was noisily drinking water from the large wooden trough set out for the Sebek.
Wait, one of its six eyes was definitely looking at us.
“What… What is that…?”
Seeing it for the first time, Nishina tried to approach it without any caution. Kimijima quickly grabbed her hand.
“Don’t!”
“Huh?”
“Stay back!”
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With my left thumb on the hilt, I took a step forward. It was dangerous, but if I struck quickly, it would be fine. In Gallar Blue, I had dealt with them that way.
I lowered my stance, focusing my energy on the sword. Sensing my killing intent, the hippo monster turned its head toward me with a curious look.
My foot dug into the ground as I closed the distance in an instant. I drew my sword and slashed.
The blade, released from its sheath, was about to strike the monster. But at that moment, a sword blocked its path. A jarring, dissonant sound echoed, signaling that my blade had been stopped.
…What the?
My thoughts froze as my blade halted.
The one who stopped it was a man. With a sword of an unfamiliar bluish color, he held my blade in place while looking down at me with a troubled expression.
“Hey, hey. What are you doing to my Genuin-chan? Isn’t it cruel to suddenly slash at her?”
“…Huh? Yours?”
“Yeah, yeah. She’s my mount. She’s not a monster. So, could you put that sword away?”
“Ah… Yeah…”
What…? He stopped it? My strike?
I don’t mean to be arrogant, but I had been growing aware of the sharpness of my iaido in this world. In my compressed timeline, I thought no one could interfere.
…But I had overestimated myself.
The man tied his long, unkempt hair back casually and wore a shabby outfit with holes here and there. Despite his appearance, he carried an ornately decorated sheath and smoothly sheathed his sword with no wasted movement.
Seeing him sheathe his sword, I hurriedly did the same.
“My mount,” he had said. Calming down a bit, I looked at the monster and noticed something like a ribbon tied to one of its ears. Was this creature, like Mera, a subordinate?
But wasn’t it a high-level monster?
Back in Gallar Blue, when we first encountered it, it had let out a strange cry and charged at us the moment our eyes met. Compared to then, it didn’t feel as sharp or aggressive now.
The man, seeing that I had sheathed my sword, gently stroked the monster’s head to show that it was harmless. The monster closed its eyes in contentment and nuzzled against him. Seeing this, it was clear that the monster posed no threat.
“Sorry about that.”
“Well, no harm done. Just be careful when you draw your sword.”
“Right…”
Still… Was there someone like this in town?
…Ah.
Right. This must be the adventurer we heard about.
When he heard we were going rank climbing, he decided to come along, saying he needed to feed his mount. Stroman, who had seen my earlier draw, had turned pale, but since I was the one who drew first, he couldn’t exactly tell this adventurer to leave.
“My name’s Regress. Just call me Reg.”
“Reg…?”
“Yeah, yeah. Feel free to call me that.”
“Uh, sure.”
Regress, sitting cross-legged on the massive hippo next to our cargo cart, struck up a conversation. The hippo monster was called a Hipodd. Its six-legged gait was unlike anything I’d seen on Earth, but the ride seemed surprisingly smooth with little back sway.
It’s probably because of some trauma, but Kimijima seems afraid to get close to the hippo-like monster, sitting on the opposite side of Regress. On the other hand, Sakuragi is overjoyed, finding it cute.
“Hey, Miki, want to ride it?”
“Really? Is that okay, Reg-san?”
“Of course! Here.”
“Hey, Sakuragi…”
“Takato-kun, please, give me a hand.”
“Wait, what?!”
With a little help from the confused Nishina, Sakuragi hops from the edge of the cargo carriage onto the back of the Hippod. I don’t understand what’s so cute about it, but she seems to have been struck by the ribbon tied to the hippo’s ear.
Even so, in this short time, Regress has seamlessly blended in.
I can’t help but feel swept along by the flow, but Regress doesn’t seem like a bad person. He probably gave the same impression to the state soldiers we went hunting with yesterday.
…I don’t mean to overestimate my own abilities, but I didn’t hold back at all when I drew my sword to strike the Hippod. I focused fully and put in more than enough effort. Yet, he appeared out of nowhere and effortlessly stopped my blade.
In my life, I’ve never seen anyone—human or monster—who could do something like that.
…Who is he?
No matter how I think about it, he seems to be above my rank… but I’m certain he’s not here because he desires the Celestial ranks. And yet, neither Stroman nor Yazzack knows anything about Regress.
After getting off the cargo carriage, the three parties take turns guarding the Sebek. Tamed Sebeks are often attacked by wild monsters if left unattended.
“If you’d like, I can leave Genuin here?”
Regress chimes in with a smile. Hearing this, Stroman responds.
“Genuin? You mean that Hippod?”
“Yeah, it’s an upper-tier monster, so just leaving it here should keep other monsters away. If they do come, it’ll probably just eat them.”
“I see… Are you sure that’s okay?”
“Sure thing. Right, Genu?”
Genuin responds with a “Byo~!” as if answering.
Just like that, Regress casually follows us.
“…Regress-san, are you aiming to raise your rank?”
“Hm? I’m good with my rank. Don’t worry, I won’t take any prey.”
Somehow, he’s hard to pin down. I can’t figure out what he’s here for. For now, I’ll stay on guard, just in case.
……
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