Chapter 3: Monsters and Village

Without looking back, Soru walked in the direction the twig pointed. Reika stood still for a moment.

D-Did he really just use that stick to decide where we’re going?

Reika looked back to the burnt remains of the Wyvern. The faint smell of burnt flesh was still in the air. The forest around her felt unnaturally quiet, and the thought of another monster appearing sent a shiver down her spine. Reika quickened her pace to catch up with Soru.

The forest grew darker as they ventured deeper in the forest. The trees here were taller and denser than those they had seen before, their massive trunks stretching far overhead. The air was cool and heavy—both of them could feel it.

Deep in the forest, the faint sounds of insects chirping, the leaves rustling, and distant screeches echoed through the air. Yet, Soru walked forward without hesitation. Behind him, Reika followed closely.

As she followed Soru, Reika tried to calm her restless thoughts. She recalled the encounters that led up to this moment. Nothing about their situation made sense—or so she thought.

Monsters, strange creatures, magic, and such... Is this what they call "another world?"

Reika looked around the deep forest. Everything appeared similar to what she had seen on Earth, but the monsters she had encountered—along with the strange flame that had erupted from a monster's mouth—made it clear that this world defies common logic.

I thought all of this was just fantasy—a fiction that fans of adventure stories, had fancied. I never imagined it could be real...!

She clenched her fists. If I'd known I'd end up in a world like this one day, I should've read those kinds of mangas, so I wouldn’t be so clueless. Instead, I’ve only read slice-of-life and romcoms!

Reika stole a glance at Soru.

Given how calm he is, I bet he read those kinds of mangas, like any other guy at school. That’s why all of this strangeness doesn’t seem completely new to him...

...Or maybe he's just too eccentric to realize it.

As they continued, Reika heard the rustling of leaves behind her. The noise made her feel uneasy, so she tried to move closer to Soru. Before she could visibly react, a massive blur of shadow lunged at them from the left and pounced straight at Soru.

"Eek!"

She stepped back, but her feet caught into something and set her crashing to the ground. Her heart raced as the strange shadow locked its glowing red eyes on her.

It was the wolf-like creature she had seen before, the Rabid Wolf.

"T-That’s the wolf from earlier!"

Reika's eyes widened in horror as she watched the Rabid Wolf swallowed Soru's upper body. But to her surprise, something unexpected happened...

The Rabid Wolf’s lower body suddenly collapsed to the ground, severed cleanly from its upper body. The upper portion followed afterwards with a thud.

"What...?"

Reika blinked in disbelief. Soru was completely unharmed.

She had expected to see something tragic that would haunt her for the rest of her life. But instead, Soru stood there as if untouched—seemingly impervious to the creature’s attack. Even his clothes don't have any visible tears or bloodstains.

Reika rose to her feet and cautiously approached the lifeless creature. She couldn’t shake the feeling that the monster might still be alive.

Upon closer inspection, she observed that the Rabid Wolf's wound appeared to be the result of a bite. Only canine creatures were capable of making such a mark.

Reika stepped back as the wolf's guts spilled out, mixed with its purple blood.

Urk...! That's kind of disgusting!

As she turned to her left, she saw Soru adjust his uniform. Once he was done, he continued in his tracks like it was nothing.

How is he so unbothered by all this? He almost died, and yet he’s not even fazed?!

Reika scratched her head and followed him. She couldn’t understand his actions at all.

As she recalled the moment they had fallen from the sky, Reika realized that Soru had remained calm and composed the entire time. Even after they survived the fall, he wasn’t fazed by such absurdity and remained stoic.

The way he had stared at those… dead, strange creatures. They didn't even exist on Earth, and yet...!

Despite everything—despite the impossible nature of it all—Soru never questioned why they managed to survive. He didn't even ask who saved them or if there was anything strange going on.

Even at the time when he should’ve been bitten in half by that wolf-like creature, the wolf had instead died in his place...!

D-Did he anticipate that all of those things were bound to happen?

Reika gazed at Soru, her eyes filled with doubt and confusion.

Shin-kun... Don’t tell me he knew something about this?

On their way, Reika noticed several creatures similar to the Rabid Wolf. All of them share the same fate as the one that died earlier—bitten in half and dead on the spot.

Judging from his strange behavior, I think he knows something and is hiding it from me.

Reika shook her head.

B-But blatant assumptions aren't good, especially since I don’t have any solid evidence that he’s involved...

Reika quickened her pace. Argh! It’s better if I just ask him directly!

"Shin—Oww!"

Reika couldn't finish her sentence when she bumped her head against Soru's shoulder.

Hey! Why did he stop all of a sudden?!

"Here we are."

Reika wondered what Soru meant. She moved around to get a better view.

"Ugh..."

Reika instinctively raised her right hand to shield her eyes from the sudden bright light. As her vision cleared, a breathtaking scene unfolded before her.

In front of them stretched a vast plain, covered in golden wheat fields. The sky was a soft blue, with a few clouds scattered above. A narrow path stretched ahead, leading toward a gate. From within the tall, sturdy wooden fences, Reika could see smoke rise into the air.

It was a village situated between the vast fields.

As Reika was still lost in the beauty of the scene, Soru made his way toward the village in the distance.

Soru looked around as his feet traced the dirt path. He ran his hand along the ripe stalks of wheat and felt their rough texture.

Back at the forest's edge, Reika didn't budge at all. She's still there—savoring the gentle breeze that brushed against her face. It wasn’t until then that she realized Soru was no longer beside her.

"Shin-kun...?"

Reika looked around. Up ahead at the golden fields, she spotted him walking down the narrow path.

That bastard left me already...?

Reika continued on her way. After she arrived at the center of the fields, Reika glanced back at the forest. She was astonished at how vast it was. The trees stretched from left to right, all the way to the horizon.

How huge that forest is! Luckily, we managed to get out easily. If we hadn't, we would’ve had to spend the night there, with no food or shelter...

Looking back at the village entrance, Reika saw Soru talking to someone.

Somehow, we managed to stumble upon this village. Maybe we could rest here for a while...

Meanwhile, Soru managed to arrive at the entrance. Although he approached without any malicious intentions, the guard was wary of him. His unfamiliar clothes and face made it clear that Soru wasn't from the village.

The guard stepped forward and blocked Soru.

"@#$&@."

Soru assumed that the man was attempting to know his identity, so he told him his name.

"Wa ta shi wa, So ru - kun de su."

"@#$&@#, @&#-*?"

Soru didn't understand the words the guard spoke and tried to speak again. Reika saw it and was disappointed by what he was doing.

How foolish of him. Of course, this is another world. What did he expect—that they spoke the same language as us?

Due to the language barrier, the guard misunderstood his actions and gripped his hatchet tighter. It was clear that he wanted to drive them away.

"@$&$*&@_$!!"

Just then, Soru felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around and saw Reika beside him.

"Let me do the talking."

Reika stepped forward and confronted the guard with confidence. Soru stepped back as she began to try and communicate with the guard.

Reika raised both her arms and began waving her hands in the air.

"What are you doing?" Soru asked as he observed her.

"Shushh. I'm trying to communicate with the guard using gestures."

Reika continued her strange gestures. She raised both hands in the air, fiddled with her fingers, and kept pointing toward the direction of the forest. The guard only grew more confused.

"We. Are. Lost. We. Came. From. Deep. Forest."

To Reika's surprise, the guard suddenly pointed his hatchet on her face. Reika immediately raised her hands in surrender and slowly stepped back.

"Oops..."

"It's no use," Soru told her.

Reika sighed and lowered her hands, ready to give up. Just then, a hoarse voice spoke behind the guard.

"Oho, so you can speak Japanese as well, huh..."

She was flabbergasted by it. Those were the words she understood clearly.

"H-how did you—"

She noticed an old man behind the guard. He was kind of short, with both hands resting on his back. His bald head contrasted with the white eyebrows and mustache that framed his face.

The guard heard his voice and got startled at first, but then bowed his head respectfully to the old man.

"@#-$*&@$_@... @#-$*&?"

The old man smiled and nodded.

"@#&#."

He glanced at Reika for a moment before he uttered something that she and Soru couldn't understand in the slightest.

"@#&@%."

The guard nodded and left his post. The old man then stood in front of them.

"Welcome, guests from afar. I'm the chief of this humble village."

Reika didn't respond right away. She wondered how an old man from another world could speak Japanese with such a level of fluency. The old man noticed her shock and suddenly chuckled.

"Hahaha! Are you surprised that I can speak Japanese so well?"

Reika snapped back at his words.

"How... can you speak Japanese? Does it even exist in this world?" she asked.

The old man scratched his beard thoughtfully.

"Well, that dialect doesn't exist in this world, I think..."

"May I ask where you learned it?"

"I learned it thanks to my son's guidance."

Reika was confused by his answer and pressed further.

"What do you mean, from your son?"

The old man walked past her and gazed out at the wheat fields in front of him.

"You see, my son was born in a pretty normal way, but his mother and I always felt he was special. He was an extremely active baby, though surprisingly, he never cried. Unlike most babies, he was quiet and simply stared at us while we fed him."

"By the time he reached three, he uttered his first word—one we couldn't understand. Even though we taught him how to read and write, we often caught him talking to himself, repeating those strange words over and over again."

"One night, we tried to reach out to him, trying to get some light on his unusual behavior. Finally, he told us that he could speak 'Japanese,' a language we had never heard of. He could also see visions that neither of us understood."

The old man paused for a moment before he continued.

"Out of curiosity, I asked him to teach me that language. He was nine at that time, so I thought he was already capable of teaching me how to…"

"At first, he was shocked to hear my strange request, but then he smiled gently and agreed to teach me—how to speak and even write Japanese."

"How many days or months did it take you to learn it?" Reika asked.

The old man chuckled.

"Months? Ohohoho! It took me two... maybe three years to master it!"

"It was hard at first, but once you get the basics down, it becomes easier. Although I'm not as proficient as my son, mine's still quite understandable, given the fact that I could speak to you with such ease..."

Reika took a glance at Soru, whom she noticed was staring at the old man. Then, her gaze went back to the old man, "Where is your son now? Is he here?"

The old man lowered his head and stepped toward the wheat fields.

"Fumeirō... He's in the kingdom's capital now. He has some... business to attend to."

Reika fell silent after she heard the old man's answer. A sense of longing and loneliness was evident on his face.

After a while, someone spoke and broke the silence between them.

"Can we stay here tonight?"

Reika was surprised and quickly recognized the voice.

It was Soru who had asked the old man.

"You..."

This idiot can't read the mood at all!

The old man heard Soru and turned around. He smiled a little and began to walk inside the village.

"Ohoho! Of course you can! Follow me."