Seeker 91

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Chapter 91. The Farmer Uncle

The road descending from the hill eventually merges with another major highway. 

As we pass by people and carriages, we head towards the city gate. 

Along the way, a middle-aged man dressed like a farmer calls out to us.

"Oh, are you adventurers? Black hair is quite rare. Are you from the East?"

Just like when Yuzuki spoke in English, I heard Japanese pronunciation in dual voices, different from the movement of his mouth.

Now, what should I do?

 When I look at Kazane-san and Yuzuki, they seem to be saying, "Go ahead. It's your turn.".

Well, you two have better communication skills than me.

There's no helping it. I gather my courage and respond to the farmer-like uncle.

"Well... Can we communicate?"

"Oh, you have the [Translation] skill. Adventurers sure are amazing."

Good, we can understand each other. 

I'm just speaking regular Japanese, but the other person hears it in their native language with dual voices. 

Judging from what the uncle said, he doesn't possess the [Translation] skill. 

The effect of my [Translation] skill seems to work on the listener's comprehension too.

However, being called an adventurer bothers me. 

How should I answer?

"Um... Around here, do you call people like us adventurers? In our hometown, individuals like us were called Seekers."

"Oh, I see. You must have come from a faraway place."

I improvised within the limits of the truth, and somehow the conversation went through. 

After exchanging a few more words, we waved goodbye to the farmer-like uncle and parted ways.

It seems he was just curious about us.

I let out a sigh of relief. 

I managed to get through it somehow.

"You're amazing, Daichi-kun. The way you smoothly speak is impressive."

"Yeah. Senpai, was your silent character at work just a façade?"

"No, my heart was pounding. It's a miracle that I managed to respond appropriately. However, we need to come up with some 'background setting' regarding our situation. Now that it seems like a genuinely different world, we need to think of a plan."

After accepting that this place seems to be a different world, we need to devise a plan of action.

Saying, "We came from a different world." and telling the truth feels like it could lead to various complications.

But our black hair seems to stand out.

According to the way the uncle was talking, there are probably people with black hair in the eastern part of this world, so should we say we're from the East?

But that would be bad if something goes wrong.

However, that might raise suspicions if we encounter someone who knows about the East and questions why we lied.

In that case...

"We'll go with the 'amnesia' line. We found ourselves on top of that hill without any memories before that."

"That seems like the safest option."

"Ugh... I feel like I'm completely useless. I'll leave everything to you, Daichi-kun. My life is in your hands. I'm sorry for being such an unreliable big sister..."

Kazane-san tightly grips my hand with both of hers.

Kazane-san looks at me with a downcast expression (´・ω・｀).

She must still be bewildered we're coming to a different world and doesn't know what to do.

Well, that's probably a normal reaction.

It seems like I should lead the way for a while.

"Understood. I might make some mistakes too, but I apologize in advance for that."

"No, that's fine. If I make decisions, I'll probably make many more mistakes than you. It's better to have Daichi-kun make the decisions."

"No matter what. I'll follow your lead, Senpai. I have faith that you'll be reliable in critical moments."

"The responsibility is heavy, huh?"

The weight of their trust is heavy.

But in times like this, as a guy, I need to be firm and reliable, embracing somewhat old-fashioned values.

Alright, let's do our best.