V1C4

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This weird boy, who just happened to be nearby during the wyvern attack; who seems to have come from somewhere strange and far away; who wears unusual clothing and doesn’t know the simplest thing that even a child should – this weirdo, in the midst of his endless complaints, lets something slip that I simply can’t ignore: the word ‘Japan’.

“Hey, guy. Do you know Old Man Japan? Are you guys from the same place?”

“Old Man Japan? What are you talking about?”

“He’s my neighbor – an odd old man. He’s really nice to kids and likes to tell us stories about his homeland. The stories are all crazy and made-up, though.”

For example, he talks about iron birds that people ride through the sky and horseless carriages that run at tremendous speed on iron rails. Things so ridiculous that even kids can’t believe them.

Adults in town say that he’s wrong in the head, and they tell their kids not to go near him. Even so, the kids like him because his make-believe tales are fun to listen to. I haven’t heard most of them, but I do like listening to them when I’m bored.

The boy looks interested. “Really? Can you take me to him? I want to meet this Old Man Japan guy.”

“Sure thing. I was thinking myself that I should bring you his way.”

Old Man Japan sometimes says, as if suddenly remembering something important, “If you ever see someone claiming to be Japanese, bring them to me please.”

And he follows that up by saying he’ll reward anyone who does with a silver coin. Of course, I never thought that I’d actually run into a Japanese person! This one’s rude and he annoys me, but a silver coin’s a pretty big deal. That can buy me a day’s worth of food.

*****************

“Oh yeah. What’s your name anyways?” The boy finally asks as we make our back to town. Kind of late for introductions, but whatever.

“When you ask someone for their name, you should first give them yours. That’s something my dad told me. He also said that, if someone’s being shady and not giving you their name, you shouldn’t tell them anything.”

“Yuck. Didn’t think I’d be lectured like this in an isekai too. My name is Ryūsei Ocean. You can just call me Ocean.”

“Osshan. Got it. I’m Marron. Nice to meet ya.”

“Whoah whoah. It’s not Osshan. It’s Ocean! When you say it like that it sounds like you’re calling me an ossan, a geezer!”

“Yeah, yeah. Osshan, right? I’ve got it learned already, so you don’t need to make me repeat it.”

“Dammit! Come on, I worked so hard to come up with that character name, and you’ve just ruined it…”

I don’t know what his problem with me saying his name is, but he certainly seems unhappy, grumbling yet again to himself. I decide to just ignore his whining and keep going.

“Hey, Marron! I’ve been meaning to ask you about this for a while now. Back in town, you slew that wyvern, didn’t you? What’s up with that? Are even little snots like you that strong in this world, or are wyverns just big and scary looking but actually no stronger than a slime?”

Uh oh. Looks like I should have done something to make him keep his mouth shut, and I didn’t. I didn’t think I needed to – I’d never seen him before, and he’d only maybe caught a glimpse of me. But he knows my name now, so it would be a mistake not to make sure he keeps his mouth shut.

But, before I get to that, let’s try one thing.

“You’re so funny, bud. Maybe the wyvern scared you so much you dreamt that up? A wyvern passing through is supposed to be like a natural disaster. You really think a little kiddo like me can take one down?”

I take a deep breath.

“It just left. You and me were the only ones out in the open. I bet it took one look at the two of us – at how skinny we both are – realized we wouldn’t even make a good snack, and decided to go hunt somewhere else.”

If he didn’t get a good look, maybe, just maybe, he’ll fall for it.

“That can’t be right. I saw it. I saw the wyvern crash down. There was blood gushing out of it and everything.”

Oh, okay, great. He did get a good look. But I can still fix this.

“If that’s true, where’d the wyvern go, huh? You said it was gushing blood, but I don’t remember there being any blood splatters in the plaza. Do you? You must’ve been so scared you fainted or something. Have you checked to make sure your drawers are clean?”

I flat out reject the reality he’s trying to claim. If I really killed that wyvern like you say, where’s the proof?

“Now that you mention it, I don’t remember seeing its body at all. Hm, Marron, do you have access to like an inventory interface or storage box system or something?”

“Storage box system? Inventory interface? What are you talking about? I’ve never heard of those before.”

“Dammit, again! Stupid isekai not having the stupid things I’d stupid expect in a stupid fantasy world. Okay, got it – no inventory interface. That’s pretty messed up, though. It seemed so real, but I guess it must have been a dream.”

He stretches out his waistband and peers down. “Doesn’t look like I pissed myself or anything either. Guess I just lost my hold on reality for a second.”

Okay, great. Looks like he fell for it, and I didn’t even have to lie. After all, he didn’t ask me if I had the Storage Increase skill.