I’m Back in the Other World?

Chapter 101 – Hero!?

 

I just can’t get used to this seemingly endless feeling of falling! I do know it ends at some point, but it still feels terrible!

After a while though, light did appear in the distance, so I adjusted my posture to fall on my feet. When I was about to reach it, I strengthened my body and prepared for the impact.

“Ouch!” My legs felt numb from the fall, but I was able to endure it because of the reinforcement. I think it wouldn’t go well if I hadn’t prepared myself in advance though.

Deciding not to worry too much about it, I started looking around. “There are plenty of trees…” Or rather, everywhere I looked was filled with trees, I was in a clearing surrounded by trees, though there was a fountain a bit far from here.

“This is…” I was overcome with déjà vu, “The place I fell three years ago?” The prince was in the middle of a fight last time, but right now I can only hear the wind and the flutter of the tree leaves.

“Maybe this place has a stronger connection to my world than the rest of this world?” It’s annoying though, because the nearest village is pretty far away… I moved this distance by carriage last time.

“I hope I can reach it before sunset…” While trying to remember the path from my memories of three years ago, I walked through the forest.

 

I somehow reached the village before sunset, but… What was its name again? Ratis? Satis?

Well, whatever, I need to find a place to sleep first. I have a few silver coins in my pouch, so this should be enough until I reach the capital, but the problem is… How much time passed since I left?

The money I have deposited in the guild only lasts for three years after its owner goes missing, otherwise that amount is seized… I don’t want to lose all my wealth, but maybe decades or even centuries passed since then, so there might not be anyone that knows me.

I’m afraid of learning how much time passed, but I need to. With such conflicting feelings, I entered the village’s inn and heard a voice coming from inside. “Welcome, are you a traveler?” When I looked at the direction of the cheerful voice, I saw a familiar oba-san1. “Eh…? You are…”

“You’re that missus… Right?” She was the inn’s owner from three years ago.

“It’s surely been a while, have you been doing well?” She asked me.

“Ah, yes, somehow… I hope you have been doing well too, could I get a meal and a room please?” The moment I said that, my stomach made a loud noise. “I’m sorry… I haven’t eaten yet…” My voice got quieter as I was drowned in embarrassment! But it couldn’t be helped since I walked all this way without eating… Stupid stomach!

Oba-san just smiled at me though, “Just sit in an empty table and I’ll bring you something soon. Also, there is a room available, so don’t worry.” I thanked her and sat on a table, before long she brought me some soup, meat and bread.

“Itadakimasu!”2 I was pretty hungry, so I immediately started eating, but… It tasted better than expected? I couldn’t believe it was this world’s cuisine.

Oba-san seemed to notice my surprise. “How about it? I tried imitating what you made last time…” She got this far from seeing it once?

“This is pretty good… If you want to improve it though, you could cook it for a bit longer to give it a deeper taste. Using different herbs as seasoning would also help, either to erase the meat’s bad smell or just to make the meal more flavorful.” I really think it’s incredible she made it this good with so little reference, she probably experimented a lot.

“I see, I’ll keep that in mind.” She seemed interested, so I decided to continue.

“Also, if you wish to make a stew, some dried leaves should help bring out its flavor, avoid putting more than 2 or 3 of them though, and be careful to not let it burn. Lastly, make sure to test various kinds of herbs to improve the taste of any meat you try cooking, there is no right answer to what herb is best, so go with your own taste. Same thing for fishes, but make sure to get rid of their smell.”

“Haa… There are a lot of things to worry about when using herbs.” It seems like I overwhelmed her a bit though.

“Just be careful to not put too much or it will be bad for your health. They can be medicinal in the right quantities, but poisonous in excess…” I had to give her this warning however.

“Alright, I’ll be careful with all that, thank you very much.” I might have said too much, but I think it was a good thing overall… Then, let’s get back to eating!

 

Once I was done with my meal, I decided to go around the room and hear what people were talking about, one can learn a lot about the current state of things by hearing people’s chitchat. Before long, the conversation in one particular table took my attention.

“And that’s why the hero is definitely alive.” One person said.

“They’re definitely dead, nobody knows their name and they disappeared since more than one year ago. Even the king couldn’t find them after searching all this time, do you really think nobody would have a clue about the whereabouts of a living person?” The other answered.

“They didn’t search well enough! Or they found and hid the hero.” The first replied.

“Are you an idiot!? Besides, the soldiers will get angry if they hear you say this kind of thing.” The second said angrily.

“But the war couldn’t have been won without the hero, over half of the people that survived it would be dead if it wasn’t for the hero’s intervention.” The first stated their point again.

“This doesn’t help your point…” The second replied with a sigh.

Hero? War? Missing…? Many interesting words came from that talk… I’d like to know more about it, so I approached them and asked if they could explain this story to me.

“Ahn? What? Do you need anything, Jou-chan?” Ugh, he reeks of alcohol.

“I… I was interested in the topic you were just discussing.” I rephrased.

“Sure, but it doesn’t really matter, does it? The hero is absolutely alive! Some people say they’re dead, but they can’t be!” He shouted.

“Don’t be silly! The army looked all over the country for a year and found no clue, they’re dead!” The other replied… Drunks are just so…

I sighed before intervening. “Please don’t fight! Rather, who is this hero?”

“You don’t know? I guess it’s because you’re too young…” Say what!? Patience, patience… Obtaining information is priority right now.

“Be quiet.” The other intervened, “The hero is an adventurer that helped the kingdom’s troops two years ago and led them to victory. Rumors say that they prevented an enemy’s traps, rescued the army from its impending doom, brought down the enemy’s mages and defeated their commander with a single strike. I don’t know how much of it is true, but it’s likely that they helped the kingdom in some form against a trap or something, but the hero disappeared and not even its shadow was seen even after the war ended, the royal family searched for them desperately, but no clue was found.”

“Even so, the army keeps looking for the hero… Apparently it’s a black hero from what the stories tell, but we just call them hero.” The first man said.

“Apparently they also used a special weapon, and it is the only thing left in that battlefield.” The second one complemented.

“What war was that? The one that Soutinsu attacked?” I asked.

“Yes, about two years ago Soutinsu attacked with 60,000 troops, while our kingdom defended with 70,000, most people would end up dying in the enemy’s trap if it was not for the hero’s intervention. We wouldn’t be able to drink here if it wasn’t for what the hero did.” This war is the same I participated, isn’t it? And a mysterious hero with a strange weapon is…

In any case, it seems the war happened two years ago, so the flow of time between both worlds got fixed? I don’t know how that works, but maybe it was a coincidence, or maybe there are no laws governing the time in the first place…

“Thank you very much.” They gave me the information I needed, so I felt it was time for me to go, especially now that I know the identity of the hero.

“Eh? Is this alright?” The second one asked.

“The children are going to bed now.” The first one replied.

“Haha, then it’s time for the adults now?” The other laughed… I’m already 18, you know?

Both of them got back drinking, so I decided to go to my room… I should move to the capital now anyway, and avoid talking about heroes for now.

 

In the next day I bought some preserved meals, a cloak and left for the capital. It’s around one day away by carriage, so I should reach it in two or three days by foot.

Let’s take it easy and enjoy the trip.

 

A somewhat respectful way of referring to an older woman.A common Japanese phrase that is used before eating a meal, it could be translated as “thanks for the meal”, but it doesn’t necessarily means thanking the cook for it, because you can also say it when you were the person that cooked it, so I decided to leave it untranslated.