7-7 One Of Us

After sending Ars to the Beast-Ear Garden and introducing him to Ed, I also gave him a quick tour of the grounds.

“This is my room. For now, you can use this place. I’m going back to the Empire again.”

“Okay, boss.”

“Ah, I’ll hand this over too. This is a communication magic tool. How to use it is…”

Yes—I had made another magical cellphone.

I still couldn’t assign individual lines yet, so this one was also a dedicated line just for me and Ars.

That meant I had to carry two—one for Antonio as well.

It felt incredibly hollow that I kept accumulating “dedicated lines” with men.

I’d improve it later.

When I returned to the inn in the Empire, a message from Count Marius had arrived.

I immediately went to the embassy using teleportation magic.

Since it was too much hassle, I had already confessed to the ambassador that I could use teleportation magic.

Huh?

I didn’t think I had told His Majesty the King yet, but whatever.

No—during the stampede incident, His Majesty had permitted me to use teleportation magic to bring the children from Elmia, so he did know.

After all, I had been bouncing around all over the place in an absurdly short time.

“Hello, and sorry for calling you so late. As for the origin of the decorative picture-work you requested, we have identified the name of the magic-tool artisan. She is apparently a young woman who calls herself Aoi. With the same black hair and dark eyes as you.”

So it really was her.

When I checked the government’s special missing-persons list, the name was there.

Aoi Hagiwara—disappeared in Kanagawa Prefecture when she was a second-year high school student.

If it was a young woman, it was probably her.

There were no other names on the list that could be read as “Aoi,” so it was almost certainly correct.

Alright—then I’d go meet her directly.

I asked where she was.

I would go see her tomorrow.

Strictly speaking, I wasn’t purely black-haired and dark-eyed myself.

But once we met, she’d know I was Japanese.

And then it became the morning of the third day since I first arrived in the Empire.

Right after breakfast, I headed out.

Starting today, the A-rank exam matches would begin.

I had already scouted the arena, so I could teleport anywhere inside the venue.

If I cast invisibility, I didn’t have to worry about being seen.

Using a combination of teleportation magic and flight, I went to the location where the woman named Aoi was—and there was a sign that looked like it belonged to a workshop.

It was a pretty impressive building.

A place like this had to be extremely expensive, but she was still young—remarkable.

In Japan, a high school girl wouldn’t be buying a mansion.

Money-wise, wasn’t this like a luxury penthouse in a central-city tower… no, even more than that?

Maybe it was a rental.

A woman who looked like a security adventurer stood at the entrance.

When I tried to step into the workshop, she drew her sword just enough to warn me—hand on the sheath, blade lightly pulled from the scabbard on her sword belt—and sharply stopped me.

She looked like a capable adventurer.

Good character, too.

The slight lift at the corner of my mouth reflected what I felt inside.

“You can’t go in without permission. We get weird types coming here all the time, trying to force her to make things.”

“I see. Understood. Then please announce me to her.”

“No. Make an appointment through the Commercial Guildmaster. Though an obvious suspicious person probably won’t even get a meeting.”

“Then let’s do this. Tell her that Takahiro came to see her. If that doesn’t work, I’ll leave. But she’ll definitely want to meet me.”

At that, she made a doubtful face.

I had no hostility at all—in fact, the opposite.

Because I had simply come to pick her up.

“Which Takahiro?”

“Takahiro from Aichi Prefecture. I came to see Aoi-chan from Kanagawa Prefecture. And make sure you say it properly—‘-kun’ and ‘-chan,’ okay?”

Hahaha, saying that to a rare visitor was basically the kind of thing that ended a conversation instantly.

Still, she relayed the message despite her suspicion, and she returned quickly.

“She says she wants to meet you right away. But… what are you?”

I smiled and, without a word, tugged at my own hair, and she seemed to catch on.

Where she led me, a young Japanese girl was waiting, fidgeting nervously.

“Um… are you really Japanese?”

It was real, spoken Japanese I was hearing again for the first time in a long while.

A young woman with glasses and a slightly round face asked with a tearful expression.

Her hair was shoulder-length and semi-short—very “high school girl”—and she was pretty cute, I’d say.

It was the same face from the photo on the government’s special missing-persons list.

Unfortunately, in my case, they apparently couldn’t obtain a face photo, so none was posted.

Not surprising—I’d been a shut-in living alone.

No image, basically.

I barely even had photos of myself, and I didn’t use social media either.

I only made an account at all for the sole purpose of contacting Mari.

“Yeah. Born-and-raised Nagoya guy. I probably came here around the same time as you. For me, it was November 18 last year.”

“I-I came on the same day.

My name is Aoi Hagiwara.

Until last year, I was a second-year high school student.”

“I’m Ryusuke Inoue. Until last year, I was a shut-in old man. Man… Japanese. I missed it.”

“Um, you don’t look like an old man, though?”

“Hahaha, fair enough. That’s just how this other world works. Even if I look like this, I’m fifty-three—no… wait, damn, my birthday in May already passed. I’m fifty-four now.”

Aoi-chan’s eyes went wide.

Well, there were limits to “looking young,” right?

I had a lanky body that looked about twenty-two, and on top of that I had a baby face.

“I’m an adventurer now. I’m SS-rank, and I’m also an honorary marquis of the neighboring Albatross Kingdom. Though my day job title is kindergarten headmaster.”

“Kindergarten?”

She tilted her head, so I pulled out my tablet and showed her photos.

I also showed her the blog.

The title was Elegy of the Beast-Ears—The Headmaster’s Battle Chronicle.

“Whoa, so cute! Wait—this is the internet? Does this world have the internet?”

“Yeah. It’s my skill. My status screen is basically a PC display, and I can connect normally to Japan’s internet through a connection tab. I’m basically like a router myself, so even with a laptop, tablet, or smartphone I’m carrying, I can browse online.”

“What even is that? That’s totally overpowered.”

“That’s not all. I was at a campsite when I got brought here, so I had a bunch of Japanese food and supplies on me—and I can copy them by spending MP. Here.”

I produced a strawberry shortcake.

Without saying a word, the young lady shoveled it down like she was possessed.

Then with watery eyes, she held out the plate and demanded seconds.

Was this the birth of an Erin the Second?

No—her reason was completely different.

I gave her another cake and a cup of coffee too.

“You calmed down? By the way, are you cooperating with the Empire?”

“Huh—cooperating?”

“I mean, are you providing your knowledge and technology to the Empire?”

“I’m not really sure, but I don’t think that’s happening,” she said, tilting her head adorably.

Man, she was carefree.

Over here, the mood was practically on the verge of bloodshed.

“Well, yeah, that makes sense. If you were, you’d be locked in a cell somewhere by now. And I’m sure some harsh torture would be waiting for you.”

“Bweh—!”

Aoi-chan sprayed coffee.

I explained the reality of this country and its friction with the Albatross Kingdom.

She trembled after hearing it.

“Uwaa, I didn’t know… I thought it was just a normal country. I mean, I’ve had a lot of harsh experiences, but I thought that was just because this is another world…”

“Yeah, this country is… that, on the inside, but for some reason it looks pretty normal on the surface. It’s weird like that.”

“W-what do I do? I don’t want to get caught and tortured…”

Now that Aoi-chan understood the situation here, she was half in tears.

“Alright, fine. I didn’t expect it to be like this. I saw the picture-work you made and thought the tech could be adapted into weapons. I came to check because I suspected weapons made from your tech were driving their invasion of a neighboring country—but it seems I had the wrong idea.”

“Ehh. Was it really that dangerous?”

“Yeah. So for now, come with me. You’re still a minor girl. I’m going to place you under our protection. Just think of me as something like Japan’s on-site proxy. At the very least, age-wise, I’m definitely a rare-visitor elder. Do we need to greet the Commercial Guild and such? If we go say hello carelessly, you might not be allowed to leave this country.”

“What do you mean?”

“It means the Empire and other dangerous people want your technology. And there may be people in the Commercial Guild who are connected to them. Haven’t you heard anything like that?”

“That might be true. The Commercial Guildmaster who’s been kind to me has said a lot of things. People have tried to target me many times, and there were some seriously dangerous moments. That’s why I’ve been relying on adventurers for protection. I-I want to run for it right now.”

She said it decisively.

She must have had doubts for a while.

“That’s the right call.”

“Come to think of it, the Commercial Guildmaster also warned me that rare visitors often end up in trouble. But I didn’t think the country itself was this dangerous. No wonder so many weird people kept coming.”

“What about the rent here?”

“Oh, this is my own place. If I hand it over to Jeremy-san, it’ll be fine.”

“Who’s Jeremy-san?”

“The adventurer outside. She’s helped me so much. She and her lover—they both saved my life.”

“I see. Then do that. Do you have a storage skill or magic tool, or an item box?”

“I don’t have anything that good!”

“Then pack everything up. This is an item-box bracelet. I’ll give it to you.”

“Seriously?!”

She held the bracelet up with both hands, murmuring “Ooh~” while examining it, then quickly learned how to use it.

I had enhanced security on the current bracelets, so the owner could attach and remove them at will.

And even if it was lost, if the registered owner willed it, it would home back to them via teleportation magic.

As you’d expect from a young Japanese kid, she mastered it immediately.

Then she began storing her belongings one after another.

I had her collect everything, leaving behind no trace of her technology.

Once she was ready, I had her greet the adventurer outside.

“Um… Jeremy-san! Thank you so much for everything, truly, for so long. I’m sorry this is sudden, but I have to close up here urgently. Someone from my hometown came to pick me up.”

“That’s sudden. But given your circumstances, it can’t be helped. Still, I’m glad someone came for you. We’ve been together so long, it’ll feel lonely. Take care, Aoi.”

“Thank you. Um, if you’d like, please use this house. It’s my thanks for everything you’ve done for me.”

“W-what? Are you sure?”

She stared in shock.

Yes—this fine workshop really had to be worth a fortune.

In Japan, it would have been a workshop-home that looked like it could fetch hundreds of millions of yen.

“Yes. I don’t have time to sell it. Besides, it’s basically a gift from the Commercial Guild anyway. I’ve tidied the inside and cleaned it with magic. I’ll leave all the furniture, so please use it.”

“Understood. Then I’ll accept it gratefully.”

“Please give my regards to your lover too. He helped me so much, and it hurts that I’m leaving like this without even saying goodbye. And to the Commercial Guildmaster as well. He really took care of me. He was so kind, and yet I’m leaving like this—it’ll weigh on me.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll tell them. They’ll understand what’s going on, so you don’t need to worry.”

“Someday, I’ll come visit again. Please tell everyone to stay well.”

“We’ll both be looking forward to it. You take care too.”

Visit again, huh.

I hoped that day would come.

But that depended entirely on what the Empire did next.

Still, I was glad this girl had been loved by the people around her.

In a country like this, no less.

Even so, whether we would ever meet them again…

With the current situation, who knew.

There was no outlook at all.

I called out to Jeremy, who was seeing us off at the storefront, with heartfelt thanks.

Thank you for doing so much for a lost Japanese girl.

“Um… you. Sorry for suddenly making you unemployed. Here—use this for living expenses for the time being.”

I handed her one gold coin.

She was probably around a C-rank adventurer.

From experience, I could roughly judge rank by a person’s vibe.

For guard work, this was probably about a month’s going rate.

“How very considerate. Thank you so much for your concern. Then I’ll accept it without hesitation. Please take good care of Aoi. She’s like a little sister to me.”

Jeremy thanked me politely and accepted it.

“Yeah, leave it to me. Believe it or not, I’m the only SS-rank adventurer in the world right now.”

That made her eyes go wide.

Well, for now it was a title that only I had, anywhere in the world.

Then, after giving the two of them a moment to say their goodbyes, we waved farewell as Jeremy saw us off with a smile—and we teleported to the Albatross Embassy in the Imperial Capital of Bern.