Chapter 10

A human. Male. Taller than me, and more solidly built.

He wore a white shirt with a crimson cross tie, a vest of the same color, black slim trousers, and boots. He had golden ornaments with red gems on his ears, wrists, and the knot of his tie.

And he had dark red hair... and crimson eyes.

This person, with a somewhat otherworldly appearance, stood there, staring at me and the horse, dumbfounded.

So, the Pegasus and the unicorn were afraid of this person.

...That's why they surrounded me and ‘protected’ me, right? Yeah, I guess I do look the weakest here. I understand.

"O-oh...?"

The man, seeing me, approached the spring. The Pegasus and the unicorn became alert; the Pegasus spread its wings, and the unicorn pointed its horn at him.

"Whoa, wait, wait a minute! I have no intention of attacking! I don't, okay? Uh... "

He seemed to realize that getting any closer would be dangerous and stopped where he was... then called out to me.

"Are you the spirit of this spring!?"

...Yeah.

"No, I'm not."

No, I'm not!

"What!? What do you mean!?"

"No, I'm not."

Rustle, rustle, rustle. The Pegasus flapped their wings in unison.

"Wait, I can't hear...! One more time! Please, one more time!"

"No, I'm not!"

This time, the unicorn walked over and started poking the red-haired man with its horn.

"Ah, damn, hey, I'm not a bad guy! Stop poking, stop poking! I'm sorry! I'm really sorry for intruding into your home! I'm sorry, spirit! I'll leave right away!"

"No, that's not it! Wait! Please wait!"

I managed to push the Pegasus aside and get out of the spring to clear up the misunderstanding. I'm human.

"Huh!? Ah... huh? Spirit...?"

"I'm human!"

...I think the misunderstanding was finally cleared up. The red-haired man, who was still dumbfounded, and I, who was tired from pushing the horses aside. The horses were still restless...

It was... really, really tiring.

"So, you're human... I thought you might be a woman, but you looked more like a man, yet the unicorns seemed to be so fond of you... I just assumed, ‘This must be the spirit!’ Sorry about that."

Even after I cleared up the misunderstanding, the Pegasus and the unicorn stuck close by, making it hard to have a calm conversation. I had to keep a distance of about two horses between us and the red-haired man.

...Maybe the horses are afraid of strangers. Maybe they're just shy. ...Thinking about it, they're kind of cute. I decided to stroke their necks, which seemed to calm them down a bit.

"Man, I was surprised. A spring where a spirit bathes with a Pegasus and a unicorn, that's definitely a sacred place. I thought I must have wandered into a sacred area by mistake and panicked!"

...What does a sacred area mean? And what is a spirit? I don't really understand this world. Do they call someone who gets along well with horses a spirit? No, I don't think so. I think there was a bigger misunderstanding.

"Well, that's a relief. If you were a spirit, I might have been killed. Hahaha."

It seems spirits can kill people. That's a bit scary. I wouldn't do that.

But, are there a lot of dangerous things in this world? It's a bit scary. ...This really is another world, isn't it?

"Ah, right. I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Fay Blade Redgard, the second son of the Redgard family. Nice to meet you."

...And hearing his name, I thought again.

This really is another world, isn't it?

"So, can I ask your name?"

When Mr. Redgard asked, I... hesitated for a moment but decided to be honest.

"Kuji Aku. I probably came from another world."

"...From another world?"

"Yeah. Probably..."

"That's... amazing."

Mr. Redgard looked delighted, almost like a ball of curiosity, and leaned in closer to me.

"I've heard rumors. Sometimes people from other worlds wander in, but I always thought it was just a fairy tale."

Then he broke into a wide smile.

"Welcome, traveler from another world! It's an honor to meet you!"

...Seeing that, I thought, ‘This person is a good person.’

I had no real basis for this. Trusting people like this is probably not a good idea.

But, somehow. His curiosity-filled expression reminded me a bit of my teacher.

"There's a lot of land and forests, but thank you for coming to our Redgard territory's forest!"

...And if this person were a bad person, I'd be in big trouble.

He seems to be the owner of this forest... which means I'm staying on his land without permission...

For a while, I was bombarded with questions.

What was the world I came from like? Why are the fruits around this spring so delicious? How did I tame the Pegasus and the unicorn (apparently, that's what they're called)?

...In the process of explaining, I felt I couldn't hide anything, so I told him I could materialize drawings. Mr. Redgard's eyes lit up with joy and he bombarded me with more questions about materializing drawings... but honestly, I don't fully understand it myself, so I couldn't answer many of them.

Still, Mr. Redgard didn't seem to mind and just looked at me with his curiosity-filled, crimson eyes.

...In the middle of this, he also told me a bit about this world.

Apparently, this is indeed another world. Yeah, I already knew that.

And this is part of the land governed by the Redgard family. Yeah, I kind of knew that too.

"Well, this area is like a poor draw. It's reasonably close to the capital and reasonably large, but... most of the territory is an unexplored forest. And it's right in the middle of the territory, so practically, the Redgard territory is just a thin ring around the forest."

...As a Japanese person, this made me think. Japan is also... well, because of the mountain range right in the middle of Honshu, it has less arable land relative to its area.

I listened solemnly, and Mr. Redgard smiled a bit mischievously.

"Besides, this forest might belong to the spirits. If you enter carelessly, you might anger the spirits. Cultivation is impossible. Even entering the forest carelessly might be frowned upon. This is that kind of forest. ...So, we might be in trouble, you and I?"

"Huh?"

...This forest is a spirit's forest, and the spirits get angry if humans enter...?

Does that mean I... am already being punished...?

When I froze for a while... Mr. Redgard finally burst out laughing.

"Hahaha, just kidding! It's fine! No, sorry, sorry. Don't look so worried."

From his reaction, it seemed I was being teased.

...I'm from another world, so I don't understand this world. I can't tell if it's a joke or not, so I wish he wouldn't tease me.

"...Really?"

"Who knows. I can't say what the spirits think. But, even if I'm in trouble, you should be fine. The Pegasus and the unicorn are so fond of you."

Is that really okay? I still don't understand what a ‘spirit’ is... but it feels like something similar to a ‘mountain god’ in Japan. If that's the case, angering them... well, it's probably not good.

In my case, entering this forest was... well, beyond my control. I ended up here without realizing it, so it can't be helped. I hope they understand.

But, Mr. Redgard probably came here on his own.

"...Why are you here? If it's true that you shouldn't enter this forest..."

I was curious and asked.

People who fear ‘spirits’ so much that they leave the forest alone. I can't understand why someone would enter the forest, knowing it might anger the spirits, without a good reason.

"Hmm... Well, that's true, but we're in a situation where we can't just leave it alone."

When I asked, Mr. Redgard scratched the back of his neck and hesitated... then softly answered.

"There are poachers in this forest. I came to find them."

"...Poachers?"

"Yes. ...It seems they're after Pegasus feathers and unicorn horns."

That's when I realized. The horses were all injured. There were many cuts that clearly weren't natural... and some horses had their wings cut off or their horns broken.

"...Do you have any leads?"

Looking at me, Mr. Redgard's gaze sharpened a bit. ...This person is good, but also a bit scary.

"...Not the poachers themselves, but because there were injured horses."

When I answered, Mr. Redgard nodded, seemingly satisfied.

"I see. Makes sense. You're so close to them. They probably come to you when they're hurt. ...Wow, they really trust you."

I'm not that close to the horses, but... whatever.

"Well, I don't suspect you. You don't look like it. You're skinny and don't seem to have much stamina. You don't have the energy for poaching."

"Yeah..."

It was a comment I didn't really want to nod to, but I knew it would definitely look that way, so I nodded. Yeah, I'm skinny, weak, and lack energy.

"You seem to be bad with blood and conflict."

"...Yeah."

I nodded honestly.

"Besides, the Pegasus and the unicorn are so fond of you. There's no reason to doubt you. They trust you because you're a good person."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah. That's right. ...What? Are you mistreating them?"

I don't. I don't... yeah.

If the horses trust me because they think I'm a good person, that's nice.

"Ah... but, what to do. We have no leads."

Then Mr. Redgard sighed deeply, looking quite frustrated.

"I can see why poachers would have a field day with so many Pegasus and unicorns here. But actually catching them in the act is difficult."

Yeah, I think so. Poachers aren't stupid. They'll hide and do their dirty work. They won't show up at the same time and place.

"...And it's getting dark."

Also, it's getting dusk. It's getting a bit dark to walk in the forest.

"Besides, I got lost on the way here."

...Yeah.

I don't know about that.

But, you're right. From what I saw from the Pegasus, this is deep in the forest. People who fear spirits wouldn't come this far unless they got lost.

"...So, here's the thing."

Mr. Redgard suddenly bowed deeply to me.

"Meeting you here must be fate! So, can I stay the night?"

...Hmm, I can't say no.