Chapter 11

Sōma had been awake for four days since he regained consciousness.

Since waking up, Sōma had been learning the basics and common knowledge of this world from Shemul and an elderly Zoan woman she introduced him to.

First, he would have breakfast with Shemul in the morning, and then be entrusted to the old woman. There, he would learn about myths and the history of the country from the old woman. When the sun reached its zenith, Shemul would come to pick him up, and they would return to the tent. After that, they would have a meal, and Sōma would help Shemul until the sun set. During this time, Shemul would teach him about the trivial customs and taboos of daily life. When the sun went down, she would sing and tell the stories passed down in the Zoan village.

This morning, after having breakfast with Shemul, Sōma was sent to the prayer hall by her and came to learn from the old woman.

"Old lady, I'm counting on you today. --But, you don't have to teach me unnecessary things like you did yesterday."

After sending Sōma off, Shemul, who said she had something to do, told the old woman this as she left.

"Hmm, what are you talking about? I must be getting senile, I don't remember well..."

"This, you old hag! You remember unnecessary things but pretend to be senile right away!"

Sōma could only smile wryly at the two bickering.

Yesterday, what Sōma learned from the old woman was about the "Miko."

"Do you know what a 'Miko' is?"

When the old woman asked, Sōma honestly said he didn't know.

"As I've already told you, there are seven gods in this world. The gods do not show themselves, but they always watch over us."

The most shocking thing Sōma learned about this world was that the gods actually exist.

When he said that in his world, there were no gods, or if they were believed in, they were never seen or heard directly, the old woman was surprised.

"Of course, even in this world, the gods do not interfere with us so easily."

The old woman pointed to a line of ants (or similar insects) crawling on the ground with the tip of her cane.

"Sōma, can you distinguish each of these many insects one by one?"

When Sōma said, of course not, the old woman nodded and said, "That's right."

"It's the same for the gods. No matter how much a race worships them, they don't care about each individual. Even if their race is in trouble, they won't easily lend a hand."

The old woman poked a stone that was blocking the line of ants with her cane, causing the ants to change their path. Then, from under the moved stone, wet-loving insects scurried out.

"Even if they help their own race, if it causes trouble for other races, it could lead to a conflict between the gods. For most people, the gods are not there to do something for them."

The old woman poked Sōma's forehead with the tip of her cane.

"But, a very small exception is the 'Miko.'"

Sōma was wearing a headband given by Shemul, but under it, there was a mysterious mark that looked like a combination of 8 and ∞, which he had been told about.

"A Miko is someone the gods are particularly interested in and want to take care of. As proof, a mark of the god appears somewhere on their body, and in most cases, they are granted power as a favor."

"But, why would I have such interest...?"

Sōma couldn't imagine that he had anything that would attract others' interest. He thought of himself as just an ordinary Japanese child.

"That's something only the gods know. However, from what you said about hearing a voice when you fell into this world, I think the gods have a special interest in you."

"Aura, right? The name of the god who made me a Miko is..."

"Don't say that name out loud."

The old woman lowered her voice and checked to make sure no one was around.

"Unfortunately, I don't know much about Aura. She is a great goddess of death and destruction, and I think she is the one who brought you to this world."

The goddess Aura, who brought him to this world.

What intention did she have in bringing him to this world?

"If you want to return to your original world, you can only rely on Aura. Fortunately, as long as the mark on your forehead remains, it's proof that Aura is still interested in you. One day, you might meet Aura."

"Can I meet a god?"

"Of course," the old woman nodded vigorously. "In most cases, it's in the form of a dream or hallucination, but it's possible to communicate with a god. Usually, it happens when you are chosen as a Miko and granted a favor..."

"But, I don't have any such power."

Sōma had already heard from the old woman about various forms of favors, but none of them seemed to apply to him.

"Hmm. It's rare, but you might not have been granted a favor yet, or it might be a favor that doesn't stand out in daily life."

"Is there such a favor?"

"Yes. For example, the favor of being able to breathe underwater only works when you're underwater, and the favor of not getting a disease you once had is impossible to check."

At that moment, the old woman seemed to have a good idea and smiled slyly.

"By the way, Shemul is also a Miko of the animal god."

"Shemul, too?"

That was news to Sōma. As far as he knew, he had never seen a mark on Shemul's body, and she had never said she was a Miko.

"Yes. When the animal god asked what favor would be good for her, she didn't ask for power, but only wished for her pride to be protected. As a result, she can't do anything that would tarnish her pride, and in return, she has the favor of bringing misfortune to those who tarnish her pride."

"Bring misfortune?"

"Well, it's not that serious. If you try to use poison in a duel, you might accidentally hurt yourself. The severity of the misfortune depends on the degree of the offense, but unless it's something really bad, it's just a minor inconvenience."

Sōma and the old woman didn't know this, but the squad leader who had captured Shemul at the fortress had died in agony after doing something really bad.

"I see. Shemul is also a Miko."

To Sōma, Shemul was the only person he could rely on. Without her, he would have died long ago. She said it was a favor, but Sōma felt a debt of gratitude to her that he could never repay.

It was a very pleasant surprise to learn that she, like him, was a Miko, albeit of a different god.

"Yes, yes. For your own good, you should ask Shemul to show you her mark."

Suddenly, the old woman said this.

"Show the mark?"

"Yes. We Zoans are very hairy, so the mark is hard to see. It's not easy to show it, either."

Sōma thought that made sense. Indeed, with body hair like a Zoan, it would be hard to see a mark on the skin.

"Shemul is probably busy during the day. It would be good to ask her to show you her mark when she's getting ready for bed, for your own good. Understand? You must ask her."

Although Sōma thought it was strange for the old woman to emphasize this so much, he convinced himself there must be a reason and did as he was told, asking Shemul.

He didn't want to remember what happened next.

At first, Shemul's eyes widened in surprise, then she wrinkled her nose and made all sorts of faces in front of Sōma before turning to face him directly and said, as if lecturing him,

"Sōma, I know it was the old woman's idea. But, my mark is... well, it's on the upper part of my left breast. And you're asking me to show it to you, a man, in the middle of the night, when I'm getting ready for bed! Try to understand how I feel. You might not understand as a human, but I'm a young woman, too."

After that, Sōma had no choice but to apologize profusely until Shemul's mood improved.

Of course, he didn't get to see the actual mark, but Shemul told him that the mark of the animal god was "three claw marks."

"Then, I'll come to pick you up in the afternoon. Wait here until then."

After finishing her argument with the old woman, Shemul told Sōma this and went down to the village.

As he watched her go, Sōma noticed the old woman staring at him with a sly smile. Feeling uneasy, he leaned back and asked, "What is it?" The old woman smiled broadly and said,

"How were the girl's breasts? They were big, right?"

Sōma looked up at the sky in exasperation.

◆◇◆◇◆

Sōma was at a loss.

While he was learning from the old woman, a Zoan he didn't know came to visit. The Zoan, who glared at Sōma, told the old woman that the clan leader was calling her. The old woman apologized to Sōma for cutting their lesson short and went down to the village with the Zoan.

Sōma, who was told not to go back alone until Shemul came to pick him up, had no choice but to kill time by himself. However, since Shemul and the old woman had taught him that this was a sacred prayer hall, he couldn't tamper with things or walk around, and he was at a loss for what to do.

Reluctantly, he sat on a stone at the edge of the prayer hall and waited for Shemul.

When Sōma was getting tired of waiting and Shemul still hadn't shown up, a nearby bush rustled.

Thinking it might be an animal, Sōma stood up and became alert. In Japan, he had heard news of people being attacked by bears that had failed to hibernate every year. This was a different world, so there might be even more dangerous animals than the bears he didn't know.

"...? A, a child?"

However, what came out of the bush was two Zoan children.

They were only about as tall as Sōma's waist, and the slightly larger child was holding the hand of a child who looked like a girl. They were probably siblings, and they were wearing matching loincloths.

"Big brother, are you a human?"

The boy, who was probably seeing a human for the first time, asked with wide eyes.

"Um... yeah, I think I'm a human."

Sōma wasn't sure about the humans here, but he thought he was probably the same.

When Sōma answered, the girl hid behind the boy.

"Mom said humans are scary. They bully us."

The boy stood in front of the girl, protecting her, and they both took a step back. Sōma found it endearing to see the boy trying so hard to protect his sister, but this misunderstanding had to be cleared up.

"I, I wouldn't do that! I wouldn't bully you."

When Sōma waved his hands and denied it, the two looked up at him with wide eyes, as if asking, "Really?"

Sōma tried to reassure them with a smile, remembering what Shemul had told him, "Showing your teeth to a Zoan is a sign of aggression."

It was a clumsy smile, but it seemed to work. When they realized Sōma had no ill intentions, they approached him with curiosity.

"Hey, hey, are you a good human?"

"Hmm. Am I a good human? I don't think I'm a bad person, though."

"Hey, which one? Which one?"

Seeing the children's behavior, Sōma thought of the child who lived next door. The boy, who was going to start elementary school next year, had become very attached to Sōma because he had no other children his age in the neighborhood.

Children, whether human or Zoan, are the same, no matter what world they're from, Sōma thought.

"Hey, hey. Since this big brother isn't a bad human, you don't have to use this, right?"

Sōma's heart skipped a beat as he looked at the children.

The girl had taken out a short dagger from her clothes, with a loop on the handle and a string around her neck. The boy also had a similar string around his neck.

"Yeah. This big brother doesn't seem like a bad human."

"Then, that's good."

"Yeah. That's good."

The children smiled at each other, but Sōma was tense at their unusual behavior. Trying not to upset them, he asked gently,

"Use it? What do you mean by 'use it'?"

From what Sōma had heard from Shemul and the old woman, this world's civilization seemed to be in the ancient to medieval period. In those times, many places were not governed by law, and such places were often ruled by simple violence.

The children probably carried these daggers to resist when they were exposed to such violence.

Sōma felt the difference from modern Japan, but the reality of this world was even more tragic.

"Before being caught by a bad human, we were told to use this to stab our throats."

"If we're caught, we'll suffer terribly, so we were told to do this."

For a while, Sōma couldn't speak.

The parents of these children were teaching them to commit suicide?

And the children thought this was normal, which Sōma couldn't believe.

"Jeta! Shemoma!"

A voice calling for someone was heard from a distance.

"That's Dad and Mom."

"Da, Ma! Over here!"

It seemed the children's parents were looking for them. The children, spotting their parents climbing up, waved their hands excitedly.

"Jeta! Shemoma!"

The voice, which had the same content, now had a more urgent tone.

What's going on? Sōma and the children looked at each other, tilting their heads.

Suddenly, a sharp pain and shock ran through Sōma's left cheek, and his body fell to the ground. Blinking in surprise, Sōma realized he had been punched by a Zoan man who had run up to him.

"You filthy human! What were you doing to our children?!"

The Zoan man, looking down at Sōma, had eyes burning with anger and hatred.

The children, startled by their father's outburst, started crying loudly with tears in their eyes.

"Jeta, Shemoma! Are you okay?!"

A Zoan woman, presumably the mother, hugged the children and pulled them away from Sōma.

"You humans not only take our land and homes, but now you're taking our children too?! You monsters, scavenging in the depths of hell! I'll kill you!!"

The Zoan man drew a machete from his waist.

Sōma's body trembled at the real anger, hatred, and killing intent he had never experienced before.

Am I going to be killed?!

Why? I haven't done anything wrong, why?! Why?! Why?!

His brain boiled in his skull from fear and confusion. Unable to scream or call for help, he could only watch the machete the Zoan raised.

The blade of the machete, raised high, glinted.

Am I going to die?!

The machete was about to strike Sōma's head.

"Stop it!!"

It was Shemul who finally arrived and stopped it at the last moment.

Shemul, with a stern look, stopped the Zoan man who was still raising the machete, and slowly approached the crying siblings.

"Don't cry, Jeta. You're the older brother, so you have to be strong to protect your sister. Shemoma, don't cry so much and make your mother worry."

When Shemul gently lectured them, the siblings, though still sniffling, stopped crying. She patted their heads and said, "Good job."

"Jeta, Shemoma. Did this human do anything to you?"

Shemul, kneeling to be at eye level with the children, asked them gently. The two shook their heads vigorously.

"We were just talking to the big brother."

"Yeah, just talking."

Shemul murmured, "I see," and patted their heads again before turning to the Zoan man with the machete.

"That's what happened. This human did nothing."

"But, Miko-sama! He's a human!"

The Zoan man, who had objected, was surprised when Shemul placed her right hand on her left chest.

"This human is my benefactor. Please forgive him."

For the Zoans, placing a hand on the left chest was a gesture meaning "I'll stake my heart on it." It was not a formal gesture like "a lifetime request" in modern Japan. If the heart was actually demanded, it had to be ripped out on the spot. If it couldn't be done, one would be called a coward for life. It was a gesture used only in extremely important situations.

The man, along with the mother who was hugging the children, was shocked by this gesture and had no choice but to back