2. Veil.
Player Name: Kaga Michio
Character Information & Equipment:
Class: Villager Lv2, Hero Lv1, Thief Lv2
Accesory: Ring of Determination, Sandals
Chapter 2: Veil
Player Name: Kaga Michio
Character Information & Equipment:
Class: Villager Lv2, Hero Lv1, Thief Lv2
Accessory: Ring of Determination, Sandals
「Michio-sama, you're more than welcome to stay here for tonight if you want. We'll prepare the best feast possible to show you our gratitude.」
The Village Chief told me that while we were eating breakfast, which consisted of oatmeal with salad and cheese. I can't say it was the best I have ever had, but all in all it wasn't that bad either. If we assume that this is the absolute bottom tier when it comes to food quality and that it can only go up more civilized cities, then I think I won't have any problems adapting to living in this world, at least as long as the food is concerned.
From what the Chief said I think it is safe to assume that dinner is going to be on the more luxurious side, fitting for a hero who saved the village from the Bandit attack. Nothing was said about lunch. It is possible that I am biased based on my current lifestyle where I always had three meals a day, but it looks like in this world the standard is two meals a day: breakfast and dinner.
「Thank you very much. Allow me to take you up on your kind offer.」
「Also, about your plans for tomorrow, the merchant said that his carriage is going to be departing for the city of Veil early in the morning. If you plan on going with him, then I suggest you to go to sleep early tonight.」
「Exactly how long will the journey to Veil take?」
「About three hours by carriage.」
The biggest question now is whether or not three hours here are the same as the three hours back in my old world. If I assume that they are, then I can do the following calculation: if we were to depart for Veil at around 8:00 AM then we would arrive at our destination at around 11:00 AM. If the merchant wants to wrap everything up in a day trip, he would have to leave the city by 3:00 PM to return to the village by 6:00 PM, meaning that the total time he would be spending in the city would be around four hours. He said he was going to restock on food and basic supplies, so I think that shouldn't take him very long to finish? 'Cause if we were able to return here before it gets dark, then maybe I'll have some free time to go fishing.
「Then I shall do just like you suggest.」
「Wonderful. I will be sure to relay the message to the merchant.」
With that settled, what should I do until tomorrow? Just sitting idly by would most definitely be counterproductive, so it would be nice if I could maybe find myself a spot to hunt some mobs in order to increase my level as much as possible.
「If I may ask, are there any mobs around this village?」
「Mobs? Could you perhaps be talking about monsters?」
「Ahh, yeah. That's right. Monsters. Are there any monsters around here?」
Note to self: Monsters, not Mobs. Gotta keep my player habits in check if I want to avoid making everybody needlessly suspicious of me.
「Well, I guess there are Slow Rabbits in the depths of the forest not far from here.」
「Slow Rabbits? I've never fought them before.」
The name suggested that they are weak as shit, but my gut was telling me that I shouldn't be overly confident just yet. Maybe it's one of those cases where the name is deceitful, masking the monster's true strength?
All right now, Village Chief. Time to make you spill some more beans for me!
「What kind of a monster are they, exactly? Those Slow Rabbits, I mean.」
「Oh, they are relatively harmless because they tend to distance themselves from any human settlements and even in direct combat they are not much of a threat.」
「Oh, is that so? Good to know.」
Lucky me! Looks like I'll be able to grind with relative ease if they really are so weak. They will serve as a good way to pass the time and who knows, maybe I'll also be able to farm some items that I'll be able to sell for a nice prize?
Yes, that should be my current mindset. No use worrying that I might not be able to go back to Japan for now. Instead, I should focus all of my energy into securing a relatively stable situation for myself and I'll definitely need a clear head on my shoulders for that.
「As expected of an Adventurer! Even though they are hardly worth the effort, you'll still get out of your way to hunt them to keep the village safe from their menace!」
Dude… I think you're reading too much into it. Also, why have you reacted by shouting like that?
「If they are as weak as you describe them to be, then is it really a reason to be getting so emotional over them?」
「Y-Yes, of course they are.」
「Uh-huh, okay, keep going…」
「Even the Villagers can defeat one if they assault it in a group.」
Hey. What was that? It took several of you to defeat just one Rabbit?! How is that… no, Michio, keep your cool about you. Remember, gather information first, be a judgemental prick later.
「What about the drops? Did it left anything behind when you killed it?」
「Well we did managed to salvage the Rabbit's Fur out of it.」
「I see.」
Does that mean its fur is a drop item or something they salvaged manually by skinning it? It would be nice if it was the former.
「What is it, Michio-sama? Is there any problem with hunting those monsters?」
My doubts must have shown on my face, because the Chief asked me in a worried tone.
「No, everything's fine.」
Although I really wished it wasn't.
That was another dilemma for me. Should I really go for it? Will I, a low-level character be able to defeat monsters that higher level villagers had to gang up on to defeat just a single one? Then again, if I really want to live in this world as its full-fledged denizen, I'll have to eventually venture into the wild and start hunting monsters myself. I have no guarantee that this Slow Rabbit is really easy to defeat, but if I decide to do it after all then the sooner I take care of it the better.
I have no idea if I can even go back to the Japan I know and even if I could, I don't know if I want to go back to the shitty life I had there. And, objectively speaking, how much worse can this world be compared to my own. The risk of imminent death? Sure it's unpleasant, but everyone will die eventually. Ironically, I've found my way into this world thanks to a suicide website. I wanted to end my own life, so what difference does it make if I do it myself or with the assistance of some random monster? I have literally nothing to lose, so I might as well go check those Slow Rabbits out.
「All right, I think I will go check out those monsters now. It won't be a problem as long as I return here in time for dinner, right?」
As long as I use my Durandal, things shouldn't go south too quickly, and if they do, I can always tuck my tail between my legs and run. I stood up from my chair and started heading towards the door, when the Chief called out to me again.
「Michio-sama. Actually, some of our village youths want to hunt the Slow Rabbits as well. If at all possible, would it be all right for them to join you in your venture to the woods?」
「You mean go for a hunt together with them?」
「If they go with you, I have no doubt that they are going to have a good experience.」
Damn, what do I do now?
It would definitely be safer if I had more people with me. But…
「With all due respect, but I think it would be better if I went alone. I have never fought a Slow Rabbit before, so if worse came to worst I don't know if I'd be able to keep all the other's out of harm's way.」
「Now that I think about it, you're right. How wise of you to think about our youths well-being, Michio-sama!」
There was that, but I also had another reason for turning his request down.
At my current level I am weak, even if one of my weapons is OP as heck, so if one of the guys who went with me died a gruesome death it would be possible that the family or close friends of the deceased would want me to take responsibility for that, and since this village has adopted a slavery system, I concluded it is in my best interest to avoid such situations at all costs. I'm not risking any chances of becoming a slave because of somebody else's stupidity, oh hell no!