3-2 Coming Out

Day twenty-six in another world.

I hurried to Eri’s house.

I planned to treat Risa-san again this morning.

Her illness was progressing in a good direction.

Today, I’d camp out at Eri’s place all day.

Both to treat her, and to act as a bodyguard.

I also wanted to hear about Eri’s family’s debt, and about those guys.

Even if I failed the A-rank exam this time, I didn’t care anymore.

It sounded like a festival held every four months.

I didn’t need to be A-rank. It wouldn’t change anything.

Even B-rank was already a rare class, more than good enough.

I wasn’t exactly short on money either.

A B-rank adventurer should be able to earn plenty.

Though if I planned on going hunting for something like that red-carpet-looking stuff laid out in the palace audience hall, that’d be a different story.

Anyway, for breakfast I had her eat a whole spread—portable ration bars, cereal, fruit, supplements for vitamins, minerals, iron, and calcium, a nutrition drink, the works.

And just like that, Risa-san’s malnutrition vanished completely.

Then I gave her a thorough round of treatment, and for now the status ailments disappeared.

But whether she was truly cured… I had my doubts.

I didn’t know the original diagnosis, and I didn’t know if I’d removed the root cause.

I didn’t think she’d suddenly die from her current condition, but I was still worried.

One of my cousins had been hospitalized for a different illness—he’d apparently been laughing and doing fine the day before, and then the next day he died suddenly of acute leukemia and shocked the entire family.

Blood diseases were truly terrifying.

Especially acute ones.

Eri was overjoyed, but I explained all that to her mother and told her to rest and take care of herself.

“After all, I’m a merchant with healing magic, not a doctor.”

I said it a bit formally.

I wanted her to take it seriously.

“Even so, I feel so much better. Thank you so very much.”

Risa-san’s eyes glistened with tears.

“Eri. If your mother starts feeling unwell again, contact me. I’ll still be around this area. If I’m not, then leave a message at the royal capital’s Adventurers’ Guild.”

“I can’t go to the royal capital alone. And even if I did, they probably wouldn’t let me inside.”

“I see. Then I’ll arrange it so if you leave a message at this local Adventurers’ Guild, it’ll get delivered to the royal capital. This is a labyrinth city near the capital, so they must be in frequent contact with the capital’s guild.”

“Okay, I’ll do that. Thank you, big brother.”

Eri said it happily.

“By the way, I want to ask—who were those guys who came yesterday?”

“Those people are… from the underworld. They lend money at insane interest to people who are so desperate they have no other choice. If you can’t repay, or you can’t pay the interest, they drag women away and sell them to shops, or seize your house—whatever they want. And the government officials pretend they don’t see it.”

Yeah. Guilty.

I decided it. I’d crush them.

Uh-oh.

The blood of my rampaging old man of a father—and the blood of those Mikawa ashigaru farmer-soldiers who helped seize the nation and went swinging horse-chopping cleavers—started pulsing on its own, zawa… zawa…

But I couldn’t forget the warning from my ESP—passed down from my maternal grandfather—and from my Seventh Sense.

“Then how much is the debt?”

“One silver coin. At first… it was. But then the debt kept growing because of the interest, and now the interest alone is five silver coins a month. We’re even poorer than before we borrowed…”

“When did you first borrow money?”

“A year and a half ago, after Dad died.”

Eri answered with tears filling her eyes.

Hmmm. Maybe I should just kill them.

—No. Bad.

My thinking was sliding completely into “another world mode.”

I never would’ve thought like this back in Japan.

But by now I’d already killed a whole lot—from humanoid monsters to bandits.

My mental restraint was starting to come loose.

No—actually, that’s a lie.

Even in Japan, I constantly thought about killing villains.

I just couldn’t do anything because I had no power.

Like that “disease” they say cops in the U.S. can’t live long with.

Even if you got old, your nature from youth didn’t change easily.

Maybe “doesn’t change” is the better way to put it.

Kids ten years younger than me were way more dried-up and resigned than I was.

I was the kind of person who couldn’t hold back anger at injustice, no matter how old I got.

Get it together, civilized man.

Still… if we crushed the “organization” that was collecting the debt, the debt would effectively be wiped, right?

I should go consult someone.

In this case, maybe it really was as simple as me paying the money.

But no—if I did that, it wouldn’t be right.

I wanted them to carve out their future with their own strength.

“I’m going to go consult someone!”

I said that, and left Eri’s house.

“Guildmasterrr—”

I immediately teleported to the guildmaster’s office in the Adventurers’ Guild—familiar for better or worse.

Teleportation magic really was convenient.

“…How did you just enter this room?”

“Teleportation magic.”

I answered instantly, and the guildmaster grabbed his head.

“…I’m not even going to say anything anymore. Listen. Don’t ever use that in public, got it?”

“That’s why I came here where nobody would see.”

Hearing that, the old man planted his elbows on the desk and slumped forward with his head in his hands.

Well, technically I was the bigger old man.

And not just middle-aged either—I was properly elderly.

“So, uh. There are scum in Adros making townspeople cry, and I was wondering if it’s okay to crush them.”

“What kind of brain do you have to have to think that wouldn’t be a problem? They’re connected to nobles in the royal capital. Never touch them.”

“Ah, nobles. Which ones? Like, important ones, or just the bottom feeders? Where do they fall in terms of rank?”

So that was what my Seventh Sense had been warning me about.

Good thing I’d stopped.

Taking on a bunch of corrupt nobles alone, with no backing… yeah, that was bad.

I’d end up unable to stay in this kingdom.

“Probably from the low end—baronets—up to, at most, viscounts. Counts and above have their own complications. They don’t usually do petty evil like that. At least, not in this kingdom. The royal family won’t allow corruption at that level. They say it’s because of the guidance left by the rare visitors. But there are also central ‘robe nobles’ with no land—little income—who still like living in luxury beyond their means. Those types notice towns like that and start doing dirty business. The king can’t fuss over all of it. National defense is the priority right now. Those scum are just small fry.”

“And if it got exposed?”

“If it’s not big enough to matter, it’ll probably be ignored.”

“Then what if I make it into a problem?”

“You… Let me ask you: what do you think happens if an adventurer—B-rank, even A-rank—defies nobles? But why are you so determined?”

“Because I’m a rare visitor, obviously!”

A long silence filled the room.

“…Huh? What’s wrong?”

“Y-you… you…”

“What? Come on. Even if I tried to hide it, it’s obvious. You too, right?”

“…No. No, why would you think that?”

“Your magic is too broken. You don’t look like a person from this world. You’re some kind of reincarnator, right? If I’m a reincarnator—dark hair, dark eyes, plenty broken myself—why would you think I wasn’t a rare visitor?”

Ah—right. My eyes were actually brown.

And my hair was dark chestnut.

My face had deeper features too.

When I was a kid, my hair had a glossy light brown—almost blond—so people used to call me a foreigner.

“That’s not it. I have rare-visitor blood. My ancestor was someone connected to the royal family.”

“Oh. So you’re just a descendant. But the ‘rare visitor’s teachings’ are still yours, right, you descendant bastard? I’m an active, full-powered rare visitor! So I’ve decided to follow the Yamato spirit and punish villains.”

Also, it’s not like I had anything else I absolutely had to do.

I’d have to keep searching for a way back to Earth little by little.

That was like trying to grab a cloud.

Though honestly, I could probably grab a cloud now.

Fly up and snatch a cloud I’d frozen solid.

It was just frozen water molecules in the air, after all.

Looks like I’d adapted to this world quite a bit.

“Yamato spirit? What’s that?”

“Something the first king and the other rare visitors knew— and you descendants forgot a long time ago.”

For me, that word carried a bit more meaning.

The word “Yamato.”

The guildmaster exhaled and laced his fingers, resting his chin on them.

“I see. That sounds like watching a legend from a thousand years ago speak. Yeah… rare visitors were like that. My ancestor probably was too.”

Amon thought for a moment, then spoke.

“Well, if you’re going to do it, do it after you become A-rank. If it’s you, you could even reach S-rank—equivalent to a count’s title. At that point, those small-time nobles who run with criminals won’t be able to touch you. You’re also a hero who saved a prince.”

“Huh.”

So that was a thing.

I’d only been using it as a bluff, but it could be seen that way too.

“So I’m allowed to rampage?”

“Become S-rank. Everything comes after that.”

“What are the requirements to become S-rank, former S-rank adventurer?”

“Achievements worthy of recognition by the kingdom. A war hero. A dragon slayer. Someone who saves the kingdom from a crisis, loud and clear. Something you can show the royal family as undeniable merit.”

“And you?”

“I fought a dragon and brought it down.”

That. Right there.

“Where are the dragons?”

“No idea about wild ones. But there’ll be some in the deep floors of serious labyrinths. I’m pretty sure there’s one at the bottom of this Adros dungeon too. But not many people go all the way through a labyrinth just to hunt a dragon. It’s been two years since I became guildmaster, and no one’s brought back a dragon part yet. Go look at the guild records. Even I fought a dragon as part of a party. Before you go, you must get my approval. I’ll test you to decide whether you’re fit to go dragon-hunting. That’s a guildmaster’s order.”

“Yes, sir.”

Right—don’t forget.

“One more request. I want to protect a family I know in Adros. I want to hire a skilled escort. Someone absolutely trustworthy—someone who won’t sell out for money. Skill matters, but that part matters more. Don’t worry, the enemy is street thugs. I’m not going to ask them to fight a chimera.”

“Understood. I’ll prepare someone.”

“As soon as the escort is arranged, I’m going to start training for the A-rank exam. Oh—and it’s mostly women and children, so make sure you include at least one woman in the escort. Also, can you have the staff get me dragon cheat sheets, I mean, dragon reference materials? And teach me how to fight dragons.”

“Fine.”

“I’m counting on you. Dragon Slayer.”

“…Hmph. What a problem child. And a rare visitor, at that!”

Sorry.

And I’m a way older problem child than you.

Bloodline-wise, I’m a wild horse type.

More like an overexcited ‘problem grandpa.’

I’m from Aichi, where the three unifiers stood together.

And in the end, the one who seized the nation was our Mikawa lord.

If I keep doing shady things that make people frown, it’s probably the bad influence of that lord reaching me across more than four hundred years.

My lord got called a tanuki nonstop—his reputation was awful.

“Ah—! I forgot something important!”

“W-what is it now?”

“I told the escort target that if anything happens, she should leave a message with the Adros Adventurers’ Guild. Her name is Eri. Make sure that message gets to you.”

“Got it. I’ll take care of that too.”

“Thanks—”