Chapter 6

Well, I was all fired up about traveling the world, but first, I need to break out of this situation.

No, if I really wanted to, I could easily escape.

But I kind of wanted to stay here for a while, even considering the danger from the knight captain.

Reason? Of course, I want to see the summoning of the hero.

Besides, Shara, though she speaks with a lot of energy, is actually weak. I really want to let her rest for a while, that’s the truth.

No matter what, I look cool worrying about Shara...

But I have no money, and what’s more, I don’t know anyone here. Unfortunately, this is a different world, and there’s no one I know.

"Reia has a face that doesn’t seem to attract anyone. It’s too ordinary, to the point where being ugly would be better."

"Hey, why are you saying that all of a sudden?"

It was really sudden. She just dug into my heart out of nowhere. I was thinking about all sorts of things for her.

"By the way, aren’t you going to tell me who Reia is?"

Seeing my face twitch, Shara changed the subject.

"It’s nothing much. It’s not an interesting story or anything..."

Saying that, I looked away with a distant gaze.

Then I exuded an aura that said, "I’ve had a lot of things happen in the past, and I don’t want to talk about it, but I’ll tell you if you ask."

A cigar would have been perfect, but I didn’t have one.

"Ah, then it’s fine."

Ask me.

"..."

All my gestures were in vain as I looked at the night streets of the different world.

The light was moving around everywhere. It was probably the torches of the people searching for me.

The streetlights in this town are much dimmer than in my original world, so it’s quite dark. But my eyesight has improved, so it’s not a problem.

"By the way, don’t you know anyone here?"

"No, I was brought here against my will."

That’s right, I asked something I shouldn’t have. But it’s a problem. What should I do?

With no solution in sight, I was at a loss when...

"There he is!! Over there!!!"

Damn, they found me.

I immediately stood up and hoisted Shara.

"W-What are you doing! Put me down!"

"We’re running, just bear with it."

But Shara kept struggling. Does this princess not understand the situation?

I forcibly restrained the struggling Shara and leaped from one rooftop to another.

"Don’t touch weird places!"

"Got it, got it."

I was careful not to lose my footing on the roof. We were running at a pretty good speed, so Shara was scared and screaming.

After running for a while, I thought, "Have we lost them?" when...

A light flashed in front of me. When I focused, something like a spear was flying at me at high speed.

Startled, I jumped to the side. The spear passed by me with a hiss and hit something behind me with a loud noise.

"What was that!? What happened!?"

Shara was panicking, but I kept my eyes on the enemy in front of me.

There he was, the angry knight captain.

The knight captain was still enveloped in an aura, making the surroundings slightly brighter.

"You humiliated me earlier."

"You’re mad."

I could tell his face was contorted even from here. He was that angry. Did he really get it?

While I was grinning at the knight captain, Shara, who was on my shoulder, muttered softly.

"That’s the person who locked me in that box..."

I realized she was trembling in fear after being silent while facing the knight captain.

And Shara, without even realizing it, had set a flag that I had to defeat the knight captain. I have to take my hat off to her for that.

Anyway, what should I do with this knight captain? I might as well provoke him.

I made a "come here" gesture with my index finger.

With a thud, the knight captain kicked off the roof and came at me.

But I jumped down from the roof and landed on the ground.

Better to run than to fight, so I turned my back on the enemy.

Of course, the knight captain had no intention of letting me escape and came down to the ground as well.

But I created a pit right where he landed. It was about three meters deep.

Naturally, the knight captain fell into the pit. His expression at that moment was serious.

"Ha!"

I couldn’t help but burst out laughing at the absurdity of it.

I couldn’t stop laughing.

Because of that, I tripped and fell while running, and Shara was thrown off.

"It hurts! What are you doing!?"

"Sorry, I’m laughing so hard my stomach hurts."

While panting, I managed to stand up and hoist Shara again.

Just then, the furious knight captain had climbed out of the pit.

He looked like his hair was standing on end.

"Was that the power of a treasure?"

He was trying to act calm, but his voice was trembling with anger.

"No way, it was just a pit made by a kid. To blame it on a treasure... hahaha."

The knight captain, with a demonic expression, dashed at me. I ran with all my might.

I created another pit in the direction the knight captain was chasing me.

With a thud, he fell into it again.

As a follow-up, I created a lot of konjac in the pit.

Konjac is a minor food, something like jelly.

Anyway, where should I run? If I keep this up, I’ll eventually run out of stamina and be caught.

Just then, a helping hand was extended to me.

"Over here!"

A man’s voice called me from an alley. I looked over and saw a face I recognized. Who was it?

After a moment, I remembered. It was the prisoner from next door whom I had helped earlier.

In fact, the only people I had properly interacted with were the prisoners. Who else could there be?

He must have escaped thanks to me distracting the knight captain.

Well, whatever, I’m glad.

With Shara on my back, I disappeared into the dark alley before the knight captain could climb out.

---

So, with the help of the neighbor, I ended up in a bar underground in the city.

This place was unknown to the knight captain and seemed perfect for hiding.

Currently, the bar was filled with the prisoners who had successfully escaped, and it was quite chaotic.

Most of the prisoners I freed were innocent people who had been unjustly captured, though there were probably a few real criminals as well. But in this situation, they wouldn’t cause any trouble.

The prisoners were so happy to have escaped that their excitement was off the charts. They were shouting and celebrating everywhere.

In the midst of all this, I was...

"In that moment, I said to the knight captain,

‘Go home, kid, and take a crap and go to bed.’”

I was at the center of the excitement.

"Wow!""You go, man Reia!!""Whoo!""I admire you!"

The bar erupted with cheers at my story. Even though it was a made-up story, it felt great.

Thinking about the knight captain still searching for me outside, my heart was pounding.

Feeling a bit elated, I forced myself to drink alcohol, which I had never tasted before. I was even drinking brandy straight.

I wasn’t drunk because I hadn’t drunk much, but the others were completely drunk.

They looked like they were having a great time, but I wondered if it was really okay to be so carefree.

As for Shara, she was sound asleep in a separate room.

She must have been exhausted, as she fell asleep as soon as I put her in bed. I didn’t know how long she had been locked in that box, but it must have been terrible.

She could have gone mad.

Thinking about that, the urge to grope her breasts again faded.

So, I decided to let Shara rest here for a while.

She needed a few days to recover both mentally and physically. There were proper women here, so I was sure she would be safe.

In the meantime, I thought about going to see the summoning of the hero.

But I didn’t know when or where it would happen. I was sure it would happen within a few days, though.

With my ability to create things, I could figure out the location. I had gotten the hang of using this ability, so I should use it.

"Hey, this guy isn’t drinking at all!"

While I was lost in thought, someone noticed and said something unnecessary.

Because of that, a bunch of drunk guys gathered around me.

"What, it doesn’t taste good, hero?""Hey! Bring a barrel of alcohol!"

The energy of a drunk guy is bad enough, but this many?...

Thinking it was dangerous, I tried to stand up.

Suddenly, a small barrel of alcohol was placed in front of me.

What’s the point of this, I thought, and glared at the person who put it there.

Then, to my surprise, he started chanting, "Chug! Chug!"

I was shocked and at the same time, felt despair.

"Hey, stop it..."

Of course, the "chug" chant spread like ripples and soon enveloped the entire bar.

"Chug! Chug! Chug!"

"Wait, what? What? Really?"

It was clearly not a chuggable amount, and what’s with this college-like atmosphere? Do they have "chug" chants in this different world?

This is definitely wrong.

But, being a man, I couldn’t refuse with all this attention. Yes, I’ll do it.

"Damn, can’t help it."

Saying that, I stretched a bit to warm up.

Then I picked up the barrel, which was not a chuggable amount, even though it was small. The lid was conveniently open.

I put my mouth to the barrel and tilted it.

But by the second sip, I realized something was wrong.

Ah, this is bad.

Then my consciousness faded.

---

When I woke up, I felt terrible. I must have passed out after chugging and slept until now.

I stretched and saw an incredible sight. Everyone was passed out and sleeping.

If everyone was passed out, I must have slept for quite a while.

I was thirsty, so I wanted to drink water. It was too much trouble to get it, so I tried to create it.

Here, konjac.

"Fuck!"

I slammed it on the floor.

Maybe I was still groggy from just waking up, but I was irritated that I couldn’t create anything.

But I decided to eat the konjac anyway.

Since konjac is mostly water, I thought it would hydrate me.

While munching on it, someone spoke from behind.

"Reia, you’re awake."

"Shara, are you feeling better?"

"I’m fine."

"That’s good. But you should rest a bit more."

"No, I’m fine."

Hmm, she says she’s fine, but that’s a lie. She just wants to leave this town as soon as possible.

Thinking about that, I was suddenly hit on the head from behind. It didn’t hurt much, but what was the point?

"What’s up?"

I turned around.

Shara was silent for a while, then asked.

"…Why did you save me?"

I thought it was a trivial question and went back to eating.

Then, while eating, I answered without looking at her.

"Because the route whispered to me to save you."

"I don’t understand."

Of course, you wouldn’t understand.

"Answer seriously, or I’ll kick you."

Being kicked would be fine, but she would probably aim for my balls without hesitation.

That would be bad, so I decided to answer seriously.

"Because there was a flag set."

This was a serious and honest answer. But Shara furrowed her brow, probably not understanding it.

But she must have sensed I was being serious, so she changed her question with a look of exasperation.

"…Then why did you invite me to travel with you?"

"Because I like your face."

I answered immediately. Her personality isn’t really my type, but she’s incredibly cute, and I’d probably be lonely traveling alone.

Besides, I knew she had nowhere to go.

"That’s the most terrible reason ever. I thought you’d have a better one."

"Men are like that."

The conversation ended there, and silence fell. The loud snoring of the escaped prisoners was the only sound.

I finished eating the konjac and was just spacing out.

Incidentally, it didn’t hydrate me at all.

Shara was also sitting on a chair behind me, spacing out.

It was incredibly boring. There was absolutely nothing to do. I might die of boredom. But I couldn’t go out and wander around...

The reason I was staying here was to see the hero’s summoning.

But I couldn’t tell Shara, who wanted to leave this town as soon as possible, that I wanted to see the summoning.

Forget it.

"Ah, well, let’s leave this town, then."

Hearing that, Shara stood up energetically. But it seemed to be an unconscious action, as she coughed and sat back down.

I don’t know what pride she had, but she didn’t want to ask to leave.

Seeing that, I had no choice but to give up on seeing the hero’s summoning.

So, Shara and I left the underground bar. We didn’t need to prepare anything since we had no belongings.

When we went outside, we were quite cautious about the soldiers and the knight captain, but there was no sign of them. But I was sure the knight captain was still searching for me.

I guessed that the town was quite large, and the slums, where information didn’t spread well, were extensive, so the search hadn’t caught up yet.

But we couldn’t let our guard down.

It was already morning, and the sun was just peeking over the wall.

But the town in this different world was still quiet, and the only sound was the chirping of birds I had never heard before.

In the midst of this, Shara and I were already at the edge of the slums.

All that was left was to get over the wall.

"Alright, let’s go."

Saying that, I hoisted Shara.

"Kyaa! Don’t just pick me up like that!"

Shara accidentally let out a slightly loud voice, and I was internally worried, but it seemed there were no pursuers nearby.

As long as we got over this wall, we would be free.

Of course, I would jump over it.

I bent my knees and gathered all my strength. Then, I kicked off the ground.

I flew up with a whoosh, but I must have miscalculated the force, as I went far beyond the height of the wall.

But because of that, a wonderful view spread before me.

"Wow..."

Shara, who was being carried, also let out a sigh of admiration.

I took a deep breath in the air and basked in the morning sun. If I weren’t carrying Shara, I would have spread my arms wide.

It felt amazing.

But just as I reached the peak and was about to start falling, I saw something.

In the distance, on top of the wall, stood a figure.

The face was hidden by the sun behind it.

But I could tell who it was from the aura and the presence.

It was the knight captain.

"I’ve found you, great sinner."

The knight captain’s voice echoed. Well, it was more like I could barely hear it with my enhanced hearing, but the joy in his voice was so intense it felt like an illusion.

Then, countless magic arrays unfolded in a straight line connecting me and the knight captain.

This is bad.

I couldn’t dodge anything while in the air.

I tried to create a shield with my ability, but it didn’t work.

Probably because my mind wasn’t clear and I was quite panicked.

I was completely done for.

I could see the knight captain’s motion in my eyes.

It was like he was about to throw a spear...

"Shara, I’m sorry."

"...Huh?"

I threw Shara towards the top of the wall.

"Kyaa!"

Shara fell onto the top of the wall. It was quite high, but with that landing, she should be fine.

The next moment.

—Divine Thunder Spear

A voice rang out, and a flash.

The spear, aimed at me, was launched from the knight captain at an incredible speed.

I managed to grab it with my hands before it hit my chest, but I was blown back with the spear.

"...Guh!"

The tip of the spear slowly pierced my chest.

I tried to pull it out while being blown back, but I couldn’t.

If I relaxed the strength in my hands even a little, it would pierce my heart. In this situation, it was impossible to use my ability to create anything.

The town disappeared from view.

How far had I been blown back?

I might really die.

Just as I was thinking that.

"...!"

My back hit something.

No, the soft thud sound doesn’t describe the impact.

It was probably a rock or something, but I hit something hard.

The unexpected impact weakened the strength in my hands, and the spear slipped through them.

"Damn...!"

And my heart was easily pierced.