Chapter 12

"Hey, can we take a quick detour to where we just defeated that goblin? It'll only take a moment, I promise."

A few minutes into our walk, while looking ahead, I figured Jink-kun was probably talking to me.

He seemed to be bothered by it earlier, so if we're heading in the right direction, it shouldn't be a problem...

"Do you have a reason for that?"

"That goblin was carrying a sword, right? We can sell the sword for money, and if we leave it there, another goblin might pick it up and cause trouble."

I see, that's the reason.

If you had said that earlier, it would have been better... but then again, I couldn't understand Jink-kun's words back then either.

It would have been rude for him to just collect the sword while I was fighting, so I guess he had no choice but to leave it there.

Not bad, he's a good kid.

"If that's the case, a small detour won't be a problem."

"Actually, I'd like to collect the monster parts and magic stones too... but we don't have the time. For now, let's just get the sword."

...What? Monster parts? Magic stones!?

There's someone here who has been ignoring all of this until now!

I had the knowledge but forgot about it!

...Well, I don't have a knife or anything, so I probably couldn't have done it anyway.

"By the way, can you sell those magic stones?"

"The magic stones from the monsters in this forest are all small, so they don't fetch much money. But for beginners like us, it's an important source of income. Normally, we collect everything."

"Doesn't the noble know about magic stones? You seem to use them a lot."

"No... I'm not a noble, I'm a commoner, and I was a low-level salaryman..."

"Eh? Are you raising some amazing creature?"

No, it seems like I can't really communicate with Mei-chan.

And Potta-kun already looks exhausted. He doesn't seem to have the energy to talk.

When I asked in more detail, Mei-chan is 10 years old, Potta-kun is 11, and Jink-kun is 12. They are a trio of good friends, all registered with the Hunter's Guild and form a party together.

That's the so-called Adventurer's Guild. It's a job that people from another world naturally become. Fantasy, indeed!

Mei-chan's parents are pharmacists, and even though she's young, she's good at identifying herbs.

That's why she joined the Hunter's Guild, which allows registration from the age of 10, to train and earn money. In the party, she's in charge of gathering.

She picks herbs along the way and throws them into the basket Potta-kun is carrying.

In this world, there's a way to heal with magic, so it's hard to imagine a situation where a 10-year-old child has to work, like a pharmacist in Japan.

Pharmacists mainly deal with internal diseases rather than external injuries, so there isn't much work unless you're in a big city.

From what I heard, the things pharmacists handle are similar to traditional Chinese medicine.

In this world, poor people generally try to heal minor illnesses by sleeping, and if they can't, they just accept that they will die. So, not many people buy medicine.

Those with extra money can request a pharmacist, but above that, there's magic healing or specialized medical treatment. If it gets worse, they can request one of these, which are more expensive.

So, even at 10 years old, she helps her family financially. Listening to her, I almost cried.

Potta-kun's parents are tenant farmers, and because he has been helping with transporting crops since he was young, he is quite strong.

However, his timid personality makes it difficult for him to face monsters with weapons, so in the party, his job is to carry the large basket with the hunted and gathered items.

Indeed, he seems to exude kindness, so he's not suited for a cutthroat world.

But then, why did he register as a hunter? When I asked, it turns out that defeating or accompanying a hunter increases the chances of the "Prayer to the Goddess" being granted. During busy times like harvest and planting, he helps his parents, but when it's not so busy, he accompanies Jink-kun to earn money and increase the chances of the "Prayer to the Goddess" being granted.

...I'm not sure how much of this is true, as Mei-chan is answering for him.

The "Prayer to the Goddess" is a process where you stand in front of a statue in a church and ask to improve a skill, and the skill is learned or its level is increased.

Potta-kun, who had never studied, can speak the language of this country.

However, because he can't read or write, he's been struggling for over a year to decide whether to ask the Goddess for "Language Understanding" or "Farming," and Mei-chan was making fun of him for it.

Mei-chan, who has decided to focus on "Pharmacology," which is necessary for a pharmacist, and "Gathering" if she has time, is annoyed by his indecisiveness.

It's a bit childish and cruel of her to suggest a third option, like using the free "Status Check" at the time of guild registration to improve his already acquired "Brute Strength."

Potta-kun might go bald at a young age.

Finally, Jink-kun is the leader of this party. Before Mei-chan and Potta-kun joined, he hunted alone in this forest.

His father was a hunter, so he has a solid knowledge of monsters and hunting, which is reassuring. He's the party's monster slayer.

The reason is vague, but his father has passed away, and his mother doesn't have any particularly useful skills, so Jink-kun is now the breadwinner of the family.

He mainly hunts the creatures I called Horn Rabbits, and he told me that in this forest, Horn Rabbits are the most profitable because their meat sells well.

Jink-kun has been tapping the side of the sword he just collected against trees and the roots of the ground as he walks.

When I asked him about it, he said he's making noise to lure out a creature called a Furi Mole.

When I asked if it was a mole that throws stones, he said that was correct. Furi Moles are sensitive to sound, so by making noise, they come out of their burrows, and he strikes them before they can use their magic.

The strategy I was using wasn't wrong, but the professional's method feels more natural and is a good learning experience.

Needless to say, I quietly threw away the small stone I had in my pocket.

This method is fine when we're moving straight, but when we're gathering and moving around aimlessly, it's dangerous. The Furi Moles in this "Palmera Great Forest" are troublesome, so it's not very popular.

Jink-kun wants to go to the "Locker Plain" to the northeast of the town, where slightly stronger monsters appear, once he improves his "Dagger Skill," "Awareness," and "Archery" through the "Prayer to the Goddess," but I wonder what will happen to Potta-kun and Mei-chan when that time comes.

He seems to be the type who would take care of them, so he might stay in this forest out of necessity.

Incidentally, both Jink-kun and Mei-chan said they learned "Language Understanding" naturally from their parents.

In this world, if you live a normal life, your "Language Understanding" level will naturally increase with your age, and once you reach level 3-5, it only improves for those who have exceptional talent or whose job requires it, such as merchants who travel to other countries or important people in the government.

In Potta-kun's case, it might be a problem with his parents' education, but everyone's living environment is different, so it's not for others to judge.

While chatting about such things, the group continued to walk without stopping, heading for the exit of the forest.

A Horn Rabbit appeared on the way, but Jink-kun dodged its charge and easily sliced it with his knife.

The Horn Rabbit was then hung on the basket Potta-kun was carrying, and Potta-kun's face showed his discomfort with the added weight.

It seems to be a way to drain the blood, but... walking behind him, I feel a bit uneasy.

(Come on, Potta-kun, you can do it... I could carry it, but it would hinder the battle if something happens, so I'm sorry.)

While looking at the blood dripping on the ground, I let Jink-kun take the lead and think for a moment.

Even while moving smoothly and chatting idly, I gained a lot of information.

Especially for someone who knows nothing about this world, the amount of information from this conversation alone is overwhelming.

I'm also annoyed with myself for skillfully avoiding giving out information, even though I'm asking them so many questions.

Jink-kun and the others don't seem to mind, but my life experience has made me subconsciously cautious about the risks of revealing too much.

Whether or not to reveal that I'm from another world.

One wrong step could lead to a very troublesome situation.

If I slip up or do something out of the ordinary for this world, it could lead to rumors spreading.

When I obtained "Language Understanding" in front of the three of them, I couldn't say, "Wait, I need to check the status screen."

Donguri said, "It's amazing because it's my own creation," but...

Is it amazing because it can be seen anytime?

Is it amazing because the status screen is different from others?

Or is it amazing because the status screen was made easy for me to understand?

I don't know.

It's not that I absolutely want to hide the fact that I'm from another world.

If there are more benefits to revealing it, I don't mind, and if there are more drawbacks, I'll have to hide it.

But at this stage, there's not enough information to make that judgment.

I don't even know why Donguri brought me to this world.

I don't know if there are other people from my world here, and if there are, what positions they hold and what their goals are.

Until I know these things, it's probably better to hide it if I can.

If someone finds out I'm from another world and tries to harm me... I'm too weak to do anything about it now.

For now, I'll organize the information one by one and accumulate knowledge about this world.

While walking, I opened the status screen for a few seconds, which I thought wouldn't be a problem, and checked the three values.

Level Experience 8%

【Charge】 81%

【Awareness】 87%

Since I can remember these numbers without taking notes, I immediately closed the system screen and focused on my surroundings.

What is a party in this world?

In a game, you can immediately see who is in your party, and the experience and loot distribution are defined differently in each game.

Am I in a party with Jink-kun and the others?

Or do I need to register or prove something to form a party, not just have the intention to do so?

If I don't know, I should try what I can now.

From the experience points of the enemies Jink-kun has defeated, I might be able to predict whether I'm already being treated as a party member and the distribution during party play.

I should have checked before we started moving, but it was an unexpected turn of events, so it couldn't be helped.

It would have been best to test it with the Horn Rabbit Jink-kun just defeated...

While I was thinking about this, Mei-chan turned around and asked.

"By the way, what's your name? I didn't ask!"

Oh, right... I was calling them by their names, which I understood from their conversation, but I hadn't introduced myself at all.

That's quite rude.

But what should I do?

From their names, it seems like "Yuto" would be less out of place as "Yuto" in this world...

After a moment's pause, I answered.

"Sorry for the late introduction. My name is Loki."

I deliberately gave a different name.

A name I used in a game I was obsessed with.

Back then, I was suffering from severe otaku syndrome and desperately searched the internet for a cool and strong character name.

There must have been a lot of people doing the same thing.

I spent a whole day just deciding on a name.

Among the vast number of god and myth names I searched for, I chose this character name because it was a rare, two-character, easy-to-understand name, even though I already knew it.

I won the name battle right after the open beta and was so excited that I did a fist pump.

Honestly, I thought it would be fine in this different world.

With this name, I could remember the fun times I had back then.

The relentless pursuit of strength. I thought I could live in this world with the highest motivation.

That's why.

"“Eh?... The Demon King?””

I didn't expect such a response from Jink-kun and Mei-chan, who said it in unison.