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I am awake. 

My body hurts a lot. Rather than muscle ache, it is more like my legs are pickled in lactic acid.

But I stand up. There’s no one who I can spill out my complaints to, so I can’t get pampered either. 

It is close to noon right now. There’s something similar to a sun, but is it called sun in this world too? If a certain robot were to eat konjac, I am sure they would be fine with calling it sun. 

Even when I look back at that magical forest, I can’t see it anymore. 

Slimes aside, there’s the chance that a bear will show up again, so I have to traverse carefully.

I searched for what seemed like nuts as I made my way. I am understandably getting hungry already. 

I fortunately found what looked like raspberries at a pretty early juncture. I threw one into my mouth and see how it goes.

There’s sweetness, but the sourness was strong. It was honestly not tasty, but it wasn’t numbing my tongue, so it seems to be edible. 

I decide to hold back on eating too many just in case and move onwards while taking my time tasting them. 

The difficulty is jumping drastically here though. 

“Guh. Again, huh…” 

Let’s call the place I was before the Slime Zone. This area has insects instead. There’s cobwebs of spiders here and there, so this is incredibly distressing. 

On top of that, the slope grew sharper all of a sudden, and it now actually feels like I am descending a mountain. 

If I concentrate too much on the cobwebs, I might end up slipping. 

I used a stick I picked up to clear away the cobwebs as I moved on. My fatigue obviously accelerated from this. 

I pushed my way through the branches, but I would get caught by them every now and then, and it was hurting. 

It is great I had long sleeves. If it had been summer and I was walking around with short sleeves, I would be in a tragic state right about now. 

It is as if it were telling me I am off the road so get off the mountain. Makes me realize how grateful I am to roads. 

If I can conquer this mountain, I am sure I would be able to climb Mount Fuji. I would need to train my stamina though.

To be completely honest here, the slime zone was several times better. I want to go back. The slime is scary, so I won’t though.

A new sound entered my ears while I was thinking that.

“…Hm? This sound is…” 

That’s right. This sound is what I have been yearning for. 

My steps quickened as I headed towards the sound. 

And then, what entered my vision was a river. 

It is shallow and thin, but it is an honest to word river.

I ran towards the riverside overwhelmed with emotions and scoop water. 

I want to drink it, but I have to endure. It would be one thing if it were at the upper stream where the spring water came out from, but there’s a lot of factors to worry about if it is here. 

I wash up my face and hair, and clean away the spider webs.

I was feeling a lot more refreshed now that the discomfort was gone. 

And so, I decided to take a break at the river for a while. 

After that, I was walking along the river, watching and wondering if I could get fishes, and found something shocking. 

A piece of rope. 

“O-Oooh.” 

Of course I would let out my voice in admiration. Even if I have been thrown to an isekai, there was still the issue of whether there were actually people in this world.

That mystery is about to be unraveled here, you know? This is proof of civilization! Yahoo! 

Actually, this is proof that people have commuted here, right? Could it be that there’s a mountain climbing road nearby? This is the thought I had and decided to explore the surroundings. 

The result: it did exist. Can’t really call it a road, but there were branches that I can tell were broken purposely! 

I considered the possibility of an animal being the one breaking them, but I also found ones that were severed with what seemed like a bladed weapon. My excitement levels are rising! 

I advance through that path while feeling a grin escaping from my mouth.

After a while, I entered an area where I could see rocky areas here and there. And then…I found a cave. 

There was one pedestal at the side of the entrance that seemed to be for a torch, and I could see traces of it being used recently. 

This is already set, right? Have I found the first villager?! 

“…No, wait a moment.” 

Let’s think of whoever would be living in a place like this. 

There was a slime, you know? Wouldn’t there be monsters like goblins too, then? Even if it is humans, wouldn’t it be bandits? 

-Pattern 1: Goblins.

“Human, eat. Eat human…become strong.” 

“Gyaaah!” 

-Pattern 2: Bandits.

“Ooh, you’ve got some peculiar clothes there. Hand everything over.” 

“Gyaaah!” 

-Pattern 3: Hermit.

“Training.” 

“Gyaaah!” 

No good. I have to ascertain the truth of the matter. 

And so, I look around restlessly from a location where I can hide and observe the entrance. 

I smooth down the ground of a suitable spot, secure it, and lay down. 

Let’s stay on standby here for a while. 

After 1 hour of waiting… 

I was not sleeping, okay? My consciousness flew away, but I wasn’t sleeping. 

I heard people talking, so I peek at the entrance of the cave while hiding in the thicket. 

There were 2 people there. Pretty rough attires and brawny. 

I endure the happiness of finally meeting people. Those guys give off the vibes of THE bandits after all. They even have stuff like swords and axes at their waists, you know? 

But I must not judge based on looks. Maybe they are actually super good people and we might end up in a relationship where we call each other brothers. 

Ah, nope, not happening. They brought out the hand of a person… They are laughing… They are savages…

Moreover, I can’t tell what they are saying at all.

It is not that their dialect is too pronounced; the language is different. 

It is clear that it is not a popular language, and I doubt they will understand Japanese.

An otherworlder in front of bandits you can’t communicate with. No future aside from being assaulted.

I honestly don’t like to even watch this, but I will observe the situation for a while more. The arm they brought out had what seemed to be jewels and metallic chains wrapped around. 

This is just my assumption here, but maybe they found the accessories on the arm of a merchant or rich person they ambushed to be too much of a hassle to take off at the moment, and decided to take their whole arm instead. 

This reminded me of a story about a guy in some country cutting off the whole arm of someone to steal their watch. 

They might notice me if I stare at them too much, so let’s stealthily hide again and wait for them to enter the cave or leave. 

The bandits entered the cave after a while. 

That said, the path they came from looks like it leads to a pretty decent location though.

But I am scared to encounter other comrades of theirs. What should I do?

I found a path people have walked through near the cave. 

I judged it would be stupid to just follow that path blindly, so I decided to hide while moving onward. 

Even though there’s a more easy path right in sight…is what I felt, but I endure it. 

I would rather choose the path of hardships over encountering bandits among the mountains. 

Yup, I was right. 

I passed by bandits while I was sneaking my way. 

I passed by around 10 of them. Was on the verge of being discovered even.

I was about to mass produce buckets of cold sweat when I saw one of them reaching towards their axe.

But thanks to that, I didn’t lose sight of the road. I am thankful for that. 

And so, finally, I finished climbing down the mountain! 

“Well, it was more of a forest though.” 

But I found a road. It is not a paved road, but it is a road that I think carriages have passed through countless times. All that’s left is to follow this road, and I am sure I will be able to reach a place where decent people are living. I am so happy I don’t care about my hunger or anything of the sort. 

My excitement can’t be measured.

I was attacked by a bear…well, bear-san was eaten before that. Got attacked by a slime, went down a precipitous mountain road, and…

Uuuh, I am getting a bit teary from the emotion. I should doodle on the trees around me to celebrate this excitement with the rocks I picked up. 

{Return from the wild}.

Now then, let’s decide where to proceed with my sworn friend, Sword of Spider Web Mowing <<Wooden>>. Where will it fall?

“…Fall already!” 

I retorted to my sworn friend that miraculously stood upright, made it fall, and moved onward. 

◇◇

—At the entrance of the cave.

“Man, we had a good harvest this time around too!” 

“Yeah, check this armlet. I couldn’t tear it off from him, so I brought his whole arm with me though.” 

“I hope you didn’t stain the other treasures with blood.” 

“You can wash it off at the river anyways. Ah, where did I put the rope?” 

◇◇

—On the way.

“Wait, something moved.” 

“An animal, right? If it is a bear, we can just beat it down instead.” 

“I will use detection magic just in case. Hold a Magic Seal Stone and move away.” 

“Kay kay.” 

“—Not getting a hit at all with Mana Detection. Is it an animal?” 

“I told you so.” 

“Let’s take a detour just in case and return to the hideout.” 

“Yessu.” 

◇◇

“Finally… Finally…!” 

That’s right, I have finally found it. 

What’s in front of my very eyes is a rampart that continues on far to the left and the right. 

There’s a giant castle gate at the end of the road. 

I can see a classic fantasy world castle deeper in that’s mainly green-blue. 

I would say it is a pretty big castle measuring by distance, and I feel like the city around the castle has a pretty decent scale too. 

I approach the gate while tasting this happiness.

“Heey! Help me~!” 

And then, I remembered…that they don’t understand what I say. 

“Ah, yeah, sorry.” 

The guards protecting the gates directed their spears at me, shouted something, and I was arrested. 

Of course a strange intruder speaking an unknown language would be arrested. It is wonderful that their civilization is decently advanced.

I was then taken to a hut at the side of the castle, and thrown into a cell.

Ah, but there was a mat there, so I could take a nice beauty sleep there.

I was trying to play off my exhaustion, but I simply took a nap in the forest. Let’s sleep for the time being. 

I doubt this is going to be worse than being attacked by bandits. I am not jinxing myself here.

“Good night. Zzz…” 

I was punched awake a few minutes afterwards.

◇◇

—At the gates. 

“Oi, stop. I have not seen your attire before.” 

“—! ——!” 

“What is he saying?” 

“Black hair and unknown words… Oi, could this be demon language? Is he a demon?!” 

“Huh?! Oi, don’t move! Be still!” 

“-, —, ———-.” 

“Senpai, what do we do with this guy?” 

“Let’s throw him into the prison at the barracks for now and leave the rest to Ilias-san.” 

◇◇

Ilias Ratzel was troubled.

She was called by her superior, Lord Ragudo, the other day, and had been given the mission to subjugate bandits. 

She respects Lord Ragudo who evaluates ability regardless of gender, and she understands that he has high expectations for her. 

However, she has heard about the rumors of this bandit subjugation. A number of knights have already undertaken this mission, but couldn’t bring out results. 

It is not like they were incompetent. From the reports she has heard, there were some methods that even Ilias herself would have taken.

But the bandits surpassed that. 

They would appear at every location and disappear into the forest and mountains. 

They would never challenge strong knights, and continued attacking weak civilians.

Ilias acted as an escort the other day, but the merchant a few minutes behind her was ambushed and died.

Even his arm was severed to steal away his valuables, was abandoned there, and hemorrhaged to death. Just how much pain and fear was he made to taste there?

“But I have to answer the expectations of Lord Ragudo…” (Ilias)

The good ideas have all been expended by the ones before her. Is this something she can achieve? 

If she were to be told to just cut down all bandits alone, she has the confidence to accomplish it. It is not conceit but the truth. 

Her father was a knight that was killed on the line of duty in a battle against a demon. Her mother who was a cleric also followed after him at that time. 

Ilias felt sad about it, but she burned their brave figures into her eyes and chose the path of a knight. 

She trained zealously, had her strength recognized, and was assigned to the division of Lord Ragudo. 

She filled up the handicap of being a woman purely by her own efforts, and she showed her overflowing strength. 

But that’s only in her skills with the sword.

If she can’t show results, her own standing will be even more constrained. 

Only a few evaluate her highly. 

The men who had their pride crushed were jealous of her; the women who witnessed her wielding her abnormal strength would feel fear.

What she wishes for is living her life as a knight and not an evaluation of her as a knight. 

But it still bothered her. 

Her anger towards the bandits, the pressure as a knight; a variety of emotions mixed and unsettled her. 

“I lack training…” 

She continued her patrol while laughing at her wavering heart. 

And then, the report came in.

“Ilias-san, the gatekeeper at the castle gates wants you to come to the barracks. They apparently captured a demon.”

“…Huh?” (Ilias)

She let out a dumbfounded voice at the sudden added problem. 

She hurriedly headed to the barracks that the gatekeepers were using. 

The barracks are right after exiting the gates. They are simple ones, but there’s a prison too, and when troubles happen at the  gate, the travelers it takes care of aren’t few. 

“And so, he is the one?” (Ilias)

The one there is a black haired young man. 

He was sleeping extremely comfortably inside the cell.

You barely see black hair in this region, and it is a color you see from many humanoid demons. 

She was wary for a moment there, but once she looked calmly, she could tell immediately. She couldn’t feel any sort of threat from this man.

She tried mana detection just in case, but the mana inside of him was insignificant. This is the first time she has seen a human with as little mana as him actually. His clothes are pretty dirty, but at a closer inspection, they were well made, and as for his boots, they were made from a material she has never seen before. 

According to the gatekeepers, he was talking in a weird language…

She readied her sword just in case, had them open the cell, and entered.

“Oi, wake up.” (Ilias)

No response. He is sleeping with a nice face there. 

“Ooi.” (Ilias)

She shakes his shoulders. Not waking up. He is sleeping with a really nice face there. 

“Wake up~.” (Ilias)

She slapped his cheeks lightly. He reacted, but is still sleeping. 

“Get up.” (Ilias)

She slapped him hard. Oh, he woke up.

He peeked her way with a sleepy face, mumbled something, and went back to sleep.

“…”

He finally woke up after she hit him with her sheathed sword.

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