Chapter 11: Terrible encounter
{M: Shirasu are tiny white fish. You can look it up if you want to see.}
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"Halt! Cursed child!"
I was trying to secretly enter Fenoben Village as usual when some village adults blocked my way.
In their hands were sticks and sickles, adding to their disturbed and dangerous atmosphere.
“............?”
It's been three days since I learned Torch-kun and Caro-chan’s shocking secrets.
I wanted a pot for making dinner, so I just came to the village to borrow an extra from Cody's kitchen, since he doesn’t cook for himself.
Yeah, that's right.
While I was picking up pebbles for stone throwing, I suddenly turned over a large stone.
Then there they were.
Shirasu.
There were shirasu! Behind the stone! A lot of them! Together with woodlouse-like creatures!
I thought it was some kind of insect at first, but apparently it's a fish.
As far as Omake-sama knows, it is a little-known creature and probably has no official name, so I named them "Okashirasu".
It seems they can weakly manipulate magical power, and by keeping hydrated using water magic, it is possible to live in a damp place like the underside of a stone…
That’s the kind of creature they are.
They can probably move around on rainy days.
And so, there were shirasu. Should I boil and eat them?
Until now, I've only eaten whole roasted or raw food, so I thought I'd try a new cooking method and enter a new stage in my life.
As Omake-sama says, it's dangerous to get involved in the "story" of the hero and all that, so it's a little scary, but it's okay if I only go get a pot quickly!
I was heading to my parents' house thinking so, but…
…The state of the village is strange.
It is extremely alert.
People are placed on a normally unused watchtower, and multiple armed villagers are constantly patrolling the village.
While I was taken aback by the changes, the patrol happened to come by, and that lead to the opening scene.
"Black-haired, black-eyed cursed child that brings disaster! You won’t be allowed in this village any longer!"
It seems that the mayor was among the villagers who gathered in front of me.
The village mayor stepped forward and ignorantly rebuked me in a solemn tone.
"..."
No, in the first place, I’m living in the forest and not the village though.
What’s this old man going on about now.
"I've ignored you so far because there hasn't been any serious damage, but my patience is at it’s limit!"
E, eeh? Did I do something?
I haven't done anything?
……At most, I took seasonings from my parents' house, right?
Ah-, I also wanted new cooking utensils though.
"That big explosion in Naso Forest! I can’t believe your curse is... able to cause such a disaster!"
Hah?
"Truly the work of the devil! Unforgivable!"
"Where are you going to burn next!?"
"We will protect this village!"
Haaaaahhhhh!!?
The village adults start swearing at me.
Eh? What? Basically, it’s that?
They’re blaming me for that huge explosion the other day!?
Nonononononononononononononono!!!!
No way, no way! I can't do something like that!
I mean, mayor, your son! Did that! Torch-kun!!
A five year old child like me can't do that!!
……Ah-, Torch-kun is also five, huh?
No, that's not the point!!
Let's calm down for the time being.
Un, this turned into a problem.
As it is, I can’t enter the village.
I won’t be able to get a pot.
<<No, isn't there something more important than getting a pot right now?>>
No, the pot is important. Omake-sama wants to eat shirasu too, right?
<<I want to eat shirasu.>>
See, after all, the pot is important.
<<No no no... I mean, Emmy, you've settled down in no time, right?>>
Un, I got used to it in my previous life. Things like this.
<<............?>>
Even in my previous life, if something went wrong, it was mysteriously all my fault.
If someone’s stomach hurt after eating a school lunch, it was because I did something to it.
If someone slipped on the stairs, it was because I was walking behind.
……If someone went missing, I talked to them the day before, so it was my fault.
Without any evidence, I at least didn’t get charged with any crimes.
<<……......>>
That's why I'm used to this much! Bullying, persecution, no problem! You know what!
Ehehe, this is the first time I've been the culprit of a big explosion though!
<<......Emmy...>>
"Oi, cursed child! Wanna say something!? You aren’t gonna apologize for burning our important forest!?"
When I stay silent, an impatient villager, it’s Rand Oji-san, Rand Oji-san shouts at me.
He thinks I'm a potato thief, so I hate him too.
"............it wasn’t me."
"Shut up cursed child! Do you think we'll be fooled by your words!?"
Yay, here it is~~! Excuse refusal mode activated~~!
In my experience, nothing I say works once this happens. Talking is useless~~.
Anyway, what is he doing? Cody, I mean.
He's my father, the village guard, right?
In every sense, if you’re not here, you’re really useless, right?
"Oii! Parasite! What are you just standing around for! Get rid of this cursed child already!"
The villagers seemed to feel the same, and pulled Cody out from in back.
I mentioned it before, but Parasite is Cody.
He’s a useless human being and is living a life of discomfort in the village.
Even now his face is completely red... he’s definitely drunk.
He’s done great to not be fired already, hasn’t he? Does he have some sort of connection in the village? I don't really care though.
Cody came out holding a weapon… a cheap looking spear.
Holding it, Cody actually looks pretty cool. Nothing less from a former adventurer.
But that coolness, I wanted you to show it when you protect me, not when you confront me. Yes.
"Ah... umm...?"
The red-faced Cody points his spear at me, swaying a little.
"Well, that's why? Can you get out of here~?"
In his eyes, the sorrow for having to point his spear at his daughter… …was not there at all.
Un… …well, if he had felt strongly about that, he wouldn’t have left his daughter to live in the woods by herself.
I knew that, I knew that.
"I mean, I… don’t really wanna hurt a little girl y’know~.”
How about that, huh!
When I was at home (that is, when I was too young to move well), he immediately hit me when he was in a bad mood.
If I hadn't been taught [body strengthening] by Omake-sama, I would’ve been killed by this guy. By domestic violence.
Again, he is not a good father!!
"Get~, get out already. Otherwise, it’ll hurt… " Jou-chan "."
……Hah? Eh? "Jou-chan"?
Eh? What’s with this guy, who does he think I am?
Aren’t I your daughter?
Even so, "Jou-chan"?
Ahh, is it so painful to point a spear at his daughter that he has to deceive himself? That kind of guy? Using that kind of system? In that kind of mental state?
Eh? Wrong?
Sure, we haven't met recently, but?
Does this guy not even know the face of his own daughter?
……Let's kill him.
<<Emmyyy!!!>>
Awah! Oh no!
Involuntarily overflowing killing intent~!
Gotta hide it, gotta hide it!
<<No matter how out of shape your opponent is as an adventurer and how much you can improve your physical strength, challenging an armed adult is dangerous! If you want to kill him, how about waiting until the middle of the night?>>
Wait, Omake-sama! Completely supporting the killing intent!!?
<<Well, for me, the life or death of creatures other than Emmy is trivial. Even if they die, they just return to the flow of reincarnation and get reborn. The total amount of souls in the world does not change, so there should be no problem.>>
Uwa, there it is, the perspective from god!
No, but you know, un.
No matter how terrible the things he says are or how much he irritates me, killing someone just for that is something I should avoid.
Un, okay, I'm calm.
………Let’s go back home, to the forest.
"Leave quickly!"
"Don't ever come back!"
Through a shower of small stones the adults started throwing, I turned my back on the village and started walking.
Sometimes they hit me, but thanks to [body strengthening] I don’t have a single injury.
That level of stone throwing doesn’t even itch.
They couldn’t kill a single naked nasty rat!
Because of that trash man, I shook off my anger, and I don’t care about this trash village anymore.
Up to now, somewhere in my heart, I think there was a slight feeling toward the villagers, like, "I don't want them to hate me~", but…
That’s all gone now. Nothing left.
On the contrary, I feel refreshed and reenergized.
It's a strange feeling to me.
The relationship was cut off.
Sliced through.
Yes, that village and I were completely disconnected on this day.
Until now, I was "village girl Emmy, living in the forest".
From now on, I am “homeless child Emmy, living in the forest".
Something like that.
My living situation hasn’t changed.
So what~? That type of feeling?
Just before we got to the forest, the sky suddenly darkened and began to rain.
I don't want to get wet and cold, so for the time being, I took shelter from the rain under the closest trees.
This is the boundary between the village and the forest.
A small meadow.
Listening to the rain, I sat alone, holding my knees.
The warm air was turning colder.
The smell of green grass drifted around me.
My thoughts began to wander.
If the big explosion was my fault, I wonder if that means Torch-kun was able to hide his divine protection well?
<<Well, that’s probably how it is.>>
……Torch-kun blamed that on me?
<<It’s probably the adults in the village who linked the big explosion to Emmy. Isn't that boy just pretending he doesn’t know anything? The children in the village... …well, the adults intentionally kept their children away from you, so the boy wouldn't even recognize Emmy in the first place, as you thought before... So I don't think he meant to make you the bad guy.>>
Fuun, I guess so.
Then, Torch-kun will live in the future without knowing anything about what happened to me.
I’m envious.
That’s how things are for the hero, huh.
<<……Emmy.>>
...Sorry, Omake-sama. I‘m thinking too much about it.
Okay, let's think about more fun things.
Let's think about okashirasu.
The pot’s not an option, so it's impossible to boil them now.
But just off the top of my head, I think there are many ways to cook them.
For example, wrap them in large leaves and steam them.
Un, I feel like that would be delicious to eat!
Once we’re back at the base, let's go get okashirasu and try it!
Ah! But it's raining... …maybe they've moved from where we found them last time!? Shoot!!
<<......Emmy!>>
………What's wrong, Omake-sama?
<<I will always, no matter what happens, I will always… …I will always be on your side.>>
............
<<You are not alone. I will always, always be together with you.>>
......I see.
<<Yes.>>
............
After waiting for a while, the rain passed.
It looks like it was just a short downpour.
Warm light shines through gaps in the black clouds, illuminating the nearby Naso Forest.
I... …wipe my slightly wet face with my hands and lightly slap my cheeks.
And then I…
We start walking.
Into the forest.
Chapter 11: Terrible encounter
{M: Shirasu are tiny white fish. You can look it up if you want to see.}
<Previous
Next>
"Halt! Cursed child!"
I was trying to secretly enter Fenoben Village as usual when some village adults blocked my way.
In their hands were sticks and sickles, adding to their disturbed and dangerous atmosphere.
“............?”
It's been three days since I learned Torch-kun and Caro-chan’s shocking secrets.
I wanted a pot for making dinner, so I just came to the village to borrow an extra from Cody's kitchen, since he doesn’t cook for himself.
Yeah, that's right.
While I was picking up pebbles for stone throwing, I suddenly turned over a large stone.
Then there they were.
Shirasu.
There were shirasu! Behind the stone! A lot of them! Together with woodlouse-like creatures!
I thought it was some kind of insect at first, but apparently it's a fish.
As far as Omake-sama knows, it is a little-known creature and probably has no official name, so I named them "Okashirasu".
It seems they can weakly manipulate magical power, and by keeping hydrated using water magic, it is possible to live in a damp place like the underside of a stone…
That’s the kind of creature they are.
They can probably move around on rainy days.
And so, there were shirasu. Should I boil and eat them?
Until now, I've only eaten whole roasted or raw food, so I thought I'd try a new cooking method and enter a new stage in my life.
As Omake-sama says, it's dangerous to get involved in the "story" of the hero and all that, so it's a little scary, but it's okay if I only go get a pot quickly!
I was heading to my parents' house thinking so, but…
…The state of the village is strange.
It is extremely alert.
People are placed on a normally unused watchtower, and multiple armed villagers are constantly patrolling the village.
While I was taken aback by the changes, the patrol happened to come by, and that lead to the opening scene.
"Black-haired, black-eyed cursed child that brings disaster! You won’t be allowed in this village any longer!"
It seems that the mayor was among the villagers who gathered in front of me.
The village mayor stepped forward and ignorantly rebuked me in a solemn tone.
"..."
No, in the first place, I’m living in the forest and not the village though.
What’s this old man going on about now.
"I've ignored you so far because there hasn't been any serious damage, but my patience is at it’s limit!"
E, eeh? Did I do something?
I haven't done anything?
……At most, I took seasonings from my parents' house, right?
Ah-, I also wanted new cooking utensils though.
"That big explosion in Naso Forest! I can’t believe your curse is... able to cause such a disaster!"
Hah?
"Truly the work of the devil! Unforgivable!"
"Where are you going to burn next!?"
"We will protect this village!"
Haaaaahhhhh!!?
The village adults start swearing at me.
Eh? What? Basically, it’s that?
They’re blaming me for that huge explosion the other day!?
Nonononononononononononononono!!!!
No way, no way! I can't do something like that!
I mean, mayor, your son! Did that! Torch-kun!!
A five year old child like me can't do that!!
……Ah-, Torch-kun is also five, huh?
No, that's not the point!!
Let's calm down for the time being.
Un, this turned into a problem.
As it is, I can’t enter the village.
I won’t be able to get a pot.
<<No, isn't there something more important than getting a pot right now?>>
No, the pot is important. Omake-sama wants to eat shirasu too, right?
<<I want to eat shirasu.>>
See, after all, the pot is important.
<<No no no... I mean, Emmy, you've settled down in no time, right?>>
Un, I got used to it in my previous life. Things like this.
<<............?>>
Even in my previous life, if something went wrong, it was mysteriously all my fault.
If someone’s stomach hurt after eating a school lunch, it was because I did something to it.
If someone slipped on the stairs, it was because I was walking behind.
……If someone went missing, I talked to them the day before, so it was my fault.
Without any evidence, I at least didn’t get charged with any crimes.
<<……......>>
That's why I'm used to this much! Bullying, persecution, no problem! You know what!
Ehehe, this is the first time I've been the culprit of a big explosion though!
<<......Emmy...>>
"Oi, cursed child! Wanna say something!? You aren’t gonna apologize for burning our important forest!?"
When I stay silent, an impatient villager, it’s Rand Oji-san, Rand Oji-san shouts at me.
He thinks I'm a potato thief, so I hate him too.
"............it wasn’t me."
"Shut up cursed child! Do you think we'll be fooled by your words!?"
Yay, here it is~~! Excuse refusal mode activated~~!
In my experience, nothing I say works once this happens. Talking is useless~~.
Anyway, what is he doing? Cody, I mean.
He's my father, the village guard, right?
In every sense, if you’re not here, you’re really useless, right?
"Oii! Parasite! What are you just standing around for! Get rid of this cursed child already!"
The villagers seemed to feel the same, and pulled Cody out from in back.
I mentioned it before, but Parasite is Cody.
He’s a useless human being and is living a life of discomfort in the village.
Even now his face is completely red... he’s definitely drunk.
He’s done great to not be fired already, hasn’t he? Does he have some sort of connection in the village? I don't really care though.
Cody came out holding a weapon… a cheap looking spear.
Holding it, Cody actually looks pretty cool. Nothing less from a former adventurer.
But that coolness, I wanted you to show it when you protect me, not when you confront me. Yes.
"Ah... umm...?"
The red-faced Cody points his spear at me, swaying a little.
"Well, that's why? Can you get out of here~?"
In his eyes, the sorrow for having to point his spear at his daughter… …was not there at all.
Un… …well, if he had felt strongly about that, he wouldn’t have left his daughter to live in the woods by herself.
I knew that, I knew that.
"I mean, I… don’t really wanna hurt a little girl y’know~.”
How about that, huh!
When I was at home (that is, when I was too young to move well), he immediately hit me when he was in a bad mood.
If I hadn't been taught [body strengthening] by Omake-sama, I would’ve been killed by this guy. By domestic violence.
Again, he is not a good father!!
"Get~, get out already. Otherwise, it’ll hurt… " Jou-chan "."
……Hah? Eh? "Jou-chan"?
Eh? What’s with this guy, who does he think I am?
Aren’t I your daughter?
Even so, "Jou-chan"?
Ahh, is it so painful to point a spear at his daughter that he has to deceive himself? That kind of guy? Using that kind of system? In that kind of mental state?
Eh? Wrong?
Sure, we haven't met recently, but?
Does this guy not even know the face of his own daughter?
……Let's kill him.
<<Emmyyy!!!>>
Awah! Oh no!
Involuntarily overflowing killing intent~!
Gotta hide it, gotta hide it!
<<No matter how out of shape your opponent is as an adventurer and how much you can improve your physical strength, challenging an armed adult is dangerous! If you want to kill him, how about waiting until the middle of the night?>>
Wait, Omake-sama! Completely supporting the killing intent!!?
<<Well, for me, the life or death of creatures other than Emmy is trivial. Even if they die, they just return to the flow of reincarnation and get reborn. The total amount of souls in the world does not change, so there should be no problem.>>
Uwa, there it is, the perspective from god!
No, but you know, un.
No matter how terrible the things he says are or how much he irritates me, killing someone just for that is something I should avoid.
Un, okay, I'm calm.
………Let’s go back home, to the forest.
"Leave quickly!"
"Don't ever come back!"
Through a shower of small stones the adults started throwing, I turned my back on the village and started walking.
Sometimes they hit me, but thanks to [body strengthening] I don’t have a single injury.
That level of stone throwing doesn’t even itch.
They couldn’t kill a single naked nasty rat!
Because of that trash man, I shook off my anger, and I don’t care about this trash village anymore.
Up to now, somewhere in my heart, I think there was a slight feeling toward the villagers, like, "I don't want them to hate me~", but…
That’s all gone now. Nothing left.
On the contrary, I feel refreshed and reenergized.
It's a strange feeling to me.
The relationship was cut off.
Sliced through.
Yes, that village and I were completely disconnected on this day.
Until now, I was "village girl Emmy, living in the forest".
From now on, I am “homeless child Emmy, living in the forest".
Something like that.
My living situation hasn’t changed.
So what~? That type of feeling?
Just before we got to the forest, the sky suddenly darkened and began to rain.
I don't want to get wet and cold, so for the time being, I took shelter from the rain under the closest trees.
This is the boundary between the village and the forest.
A small meadow.
Listening to the rain, I sat alone, holding my knees.
The warm air was turning colder.
The smell of green grass drifted around me.
My thoughts began to wander.
If the big explosion was my fault, I wonder if that means Torch-kun was able to hide his divine protection well?
<<Well, that’s probably how it is.>>
……Torch-kun blamed that on me?
<<It’s probably the adults in the village who linked the big explosion to Emmy. Isn't that boy just pretending he doesn’t know anything? The children in the village... …well, the adults intentionally kept their children away from you, so the boy wouldn't even recognize Emmy in the first place, as you thought before... So I don't think he meant to make you the bad guy.>>
Fuun, I guess so.
Then, Torch-kun will live in the future without knowing anything about what happened to me.
I’m envious.
That’s how things are for the hero, huh.
<<……Emmy.>>
...Sorry, Omake-sama. I‘m thinking too much about it.
Okay, let's think about more fun things.
Let's think about okashirasu.
The pot’s not an option, so it's impossible to boil them now.
But just off the top of my head, I think there are many ways to cook them.
For example, wrap them in large leaves and steam them.
Un, I feel like that would be delicious to eat!
Once we’re back at the base, let's go get okashirasu and try it!
Ah! But it's raining... …maybe they've moved from where we found them last time!? Shoot!!
<<......Emmy!>>
………What's wrong, Omake-sama?
<<I will always, no matter what happens, I will always… …I will always be on your side.>>
............
<<You are not alone. I will always, always be together with you.>>
......I see.
<<Yes.>>
............
After waiting for a while, the rain passed.
It looks like it was just a short downpour.
Warm light shines through gaps in the black clouds, illuminating the nearby Naso Forest.
I... …wipe my slightly wet face with my hands and lightly slap my cheeks.
And then I…
We start walking.
Into the forest.
