Looting × Reunion × Strange Woman—The Fun Otherworld Life Begins Here

“Uh, armor… no, that won’t work. I don’t know how to take it off, and I don’t want to wear the armor of some guy I killed in the first place.”

The armored man had sunk into a pool of blood, and Tooyama crouched down and began rummaging through the corpse.

“Great spear… I don’t really like huge weapons. They’re cool, but practicality is the problem. Come to think of it, there were urban legends that the Guild and America were developing power armor. I’d want something like that.”

“A horned helmet… yeah, the knife definitely went all the way through to the skull. Gross, so I’ll leave that alone.”

“The cloak’s made of amazing material. Actually, what the hell is this made from? Well, I don’t need it normally. Somehow, this guy’s outfit kinda looks like those Designated Explorers from Vatican City.”

There was nothing that seemed particularly useful.

However, Tooyama had guessed that the armored man might have a spare of a certain item.

“Oh, a pendant? Isn’t this a hit? Claw-shaped, with an inscription… I knew he had a spare. Hm? There’s another one. What’s this, a dog tag? Well, it’s gold and looks expensive, and it looks easy to carry around, so I’ll take this too.”

He ripped off the thing shining at the man’s neck. It was the so-called Return Seal he had handed to Lazaar. Along with it, he tore off a golden plate that resembled the identification tags used by soldiers.

“Actually, what the hell was this guy, seriously? Wings and a tail. Was he not human? …Well, I killed him, so whatever. Namu Amida Butsu, Namu Amida Butsu. Well, if there’s a next time, you’ll probably win then. I pray you never get born again.”

It looked like an easy victory, but in truth, it had been a tightrope walk.

Tooyama Naruhito’s trump card, the Unregistered Relic Kiriyaiba, was a weapon that could work even on stronger opponents if it hit just right, but its performance was actually extremely finicky.

“Kiriyaiba catches me in it too. Good thing the wind was blowing. It takes time to spread the setup to a level where it can kill properly… and the backlash is rough too. Well, I’m alive, so whatever.”

The opponent had completely underestimated him. He had not known about Tooyama’s trump card.

And above all, it had been a one-on-one duel, so Tooyama had been able to fight without worrying about catching anyone nearby in the crossfire.

All of those factors intertwined, and Tooyama had won his life.

After finishing a brief review of the battle, Tooyama looked at what he had stripped from the armored bastard.

“All right, then I might as well use it right away.”

He considered only the facts. Was this a dream, or was it reality?

“If it was a dream, then that’s fine. No matter what I do, I died back then, and everything ended. I’ll accept that.”

But if, just if—

“If this is reality, and I’m still alive. If this is the continuation, then I’m ridiculously lucky. Modern dungeons exist, after all. It wouldn’t be strange for something like this to happen.”

If it was a dream, then he would give everything up. But if there was even the slightest possibility—in other words, if he was still truly alive, and this was the continuation of that final moment—

“…This time, I won’t die. I’ll survive.”

Tooyama’s answer to this situation was simple.

Once he had reached a temporary acceptance, Tooyama looked once more at the seal in his palm.

He already knew how to use it. He had no idea how it worked, but this was the only method.

He did not know which place was where, but he knew the air filling the area well.

It was the same air as the modern dungeon, Babel’s Great Pit—in other words, the air of another world, a place where humans were not supposed to be.

“Calm down. Think carefully.”

He stared only at the facts. First, regarding the fact that he had killed a person—

“Phew. Well, thinking about it carefully, I’m fine after killing monsters. It’d be weird to get sentimental only when it’s a person.”

With a diagonally skewed way of thinking, Tooyama accepted one reality. The modern dungeon, Babel’s Great Pit, intoxicated people.

That phenomenon, which affected the amygdala and the brain’s synapses, distorted one’s ethics and transformed people into explorers.

Through his three years as an explorer, that intoxication had mutated Tooyama Naruhito’s brain.

“And one more thing. Lazaar definitely left from here. Using this so-called Return Seal.”

The second fact.

Only that Lazaar had left this place.

If it was the same Return Seal and the same method, then perhaps he could go to the place Lazaar had headed to. That was Tooyama’s hypothesis.

There were many other things he wanted to think about, but the place was what it was.

Tooyama abandoned his thoughts and gripped the seal in his hand.

“Tooyama Naruhito!”

Hold it and chant the name. It’s like a magic item. Tooyama waited with a little excitement.

…Nothing happened.

“Hm? Huh. Tooyama, Naruhito.”

All he could hear was the sound of water falling from the waterfall basin and the sound of the brook flowing.

“…Tooyama Naruhito.”

“Tooyama Naruhito.”

Even changing the pronunciation a little did not work. He was not enveloped in light like Lazaar had been, nor could he leave this place.

“No reaction at all… Is this thing defective?”

Splash.

As Tooyama stared at the seal and grumbled, he suddenly heard the sound of water.

No, that was wrong. It was the sound of the water’s surface peeling back and something wet striking the ground.

“Gator.”

“Hm?”

Before he knew it, that thing was at his feet.

It had a soaking wet body, huge jaws like a crocodile, and a body crawling along the ground with no limbs like a tadpole, possessing only fins arranged vertically.

“Whoa, seriously?”

Its eyes were clouded white, and its fangs were clearly sharp. Carnivore. Tooyama understood that in an instant, and—

“Gator.” “Gator-gator.” “Gator-gator-gator.” “Panic.” “Gator-gator.” “Gator-gator.” “Gator-gator-gator-gator-gator-gator.”

Splash, spla-splash, splorch.

One after another, those things appeared from the brook, shivering their black bodies. They twisted and swayed their slimy bodies, glaring as they drew closer to Tooyama.

“…Oh my, little boys, why did all of you come out?”

“Gator.”

Clack!

Suddenly, one of them opened its huge jaws and aimed for Tooyama’s leg.

At the last second, Tooyama pulled his leg back and dodged.

“Eek!? You’re totally ready to go!?”

“Gator-gator.”

“Panic.”

“What’s with that stupid cry!? Tadpoles and crocodiles?! What a ridiculous monster!!”

“Crap, did the smell of blood draw them here? Damn it, I got way too carried away. Hey, you! Gatorpoles!! Instead of going after my scrawny-looking but perfectly healthy self, there’s a bloody, freshly turned piece of armored raw meat right there! Aim for that! That one!”

“Gator?”

“Gator-gator?”

“Gator-neenee?”

At Tooyama’s voice, the half-crocodile, half-tadpole creatures—to whom he had given the tentative name Gatorpoles—began gator-gator chatting among themselves.

All of them glanced at the armor sunk in the pool of blood.

“Panic.”

Then, shaking their heads, they turned back toward Tooyama. Their glittering fangs showed, and drool dripped from their mouths.

“I see. So living meat is fresher, huh? Fine, fine. Hff!! Oraah!!”

Tooyama broke into a sprint all at once.

For a brief moment, an explorer’s judgment was swift. He instantly chose to flee from the spot.

Turning one’s back on a wild animal and running away was a bad move because it would provoke it, but monsters were different. Whether you provoked them or not, they would try to kill and eat you.

““““Gator!!!””””

“Damn it, damn, damn, damn!! Kiriyaiba is weak against surprise attacks!!”

As expected, they chased him. Despite having no legs, their speed on land was fairly fast.

Mucus. They were sliding along the ground.

“Gator!!”

“Hyaaaaaa!? They’ve increased like crazyyyyy!? What the hell are these things? Why are they targeting me!? Argh, all or nothing!! Relic, disperse!! Kiriyaiba!! Thick!! Super thick!!”

He looked back while running. They had multiplied so much that counting them made him sick.

Tooyama activated the relic while screaming. What emerged from his chest was a bug in the world that had slaughtered even a dragon.

At once, centered on Tooyama, a deep, heavy pure-white mist rolled out into the world.

“Gator?!”

“Crap!? I can’t see either!? Miss Arrow!! Miss Arrowwww!! Destination! Tell me the destinationnnn!?”

“Oh? Nice response.”

“The text is garbled, but whatever! Arrow, arrow! There it is!”

In the white space, only the arrow clearly showed him the path he should take.

While those things were lost in the mist—

“Gator!!”

Clack!!

It was only by chance that he dodged it. An attack aimed at Tooyama’s neck missed because he happened to crouch, and the Gatorpole leaped over him.

“Uoba?! Huh?! They know where I am?! They don’t sense by sight?!”

“Gator-gator-gator.”

Even while panicking, Tooyama’s brain, optimized for exploration, spun rapidly.

Other than sight, the sense organs that could serve as sensory organs were ears and nose. But these things had come out of that river. If they were aquatic creatures, then hearing and smell would be weak as their main sensory organs.

What remained was—

“Heat!! Pit organs!! Don’t tell me these things—”

“Gator.”

“Even though they look like tadpoles with crocodile faces, don’t tell me they’re related to snakes?!”

“Gator.”

“That cry of yours is a scam, damn it!? Crap, kill them, Kiriyaiba!! And—owowowowowowow!!”

All or nothing. He used the relic without a plan, knowing the risk, but just as expected, that was a bad move.

Fsh, psh.

Tooyama’s clothes were sliced apart. That power bared its fangs even at its master. When it came to cutting the world to pieces, even its master did not matter if he was inside the mist.

Kiriyaiba’s misfire—its finicky performance was practically suicidal in this chaotic melee.

“As I thought, this is impossible!! Cancel, Kiriyaiba, stop!! Stay! Home!! Go home!!”

Kiriyaiba immediately stopped moving according to Tooyama’s instructions. It seemed to have killed a few of them, but it was no good. Kiriyaiba’s lethality was low when it had not spread sufficiently.

“Damn it!! It’s hard to run!! These crappy shoes!!”

Slip. His flimsy, crude leather shoes slid across the wet gravel by the riverside.

“Gator-gator.”

“Ah, this is bad.”

Tooyama fell. It was the same as that time. He would be tormented to death by monsters, by a multitude of monsters.

“Seriously?”

He was going to be killed again—

『Negative. Confirmed a swarm of numerous aquatic monster species, as well as a figure resembling a local being chased by them.』

『Warning. I recommend lowering your head and lying flat on the spot.』

It was a clear voice.

A voice like wind running freely over an endless wheat field. Though the way it spoke was somewhat robotic.

“?! Hup!!”

Reflexively, he followed the instruction and slid headfirst while his posture was already broken.

『Positive. Good reaction, local. Wenfilbarna, please authorize engagement. I, who am currently on the surface, will rescue him.』

A mechanical voice came from the depths of the darkness.

“Gator!!!”

“Ah, close!!”

『PERK ON: Hawk Eye』

“Gator-gator-gator-gator-gator-gat! Panic!!”

『Furthermore, using Wenfilbarna’s wind authority.』

A glowing rock that illuminated the area lit up her figure.

『Combat efficiency evaluation: extermination without injury judged possible. M-66, parasitic biological weapon “Mars,” “temporary symbiote” Wenfilbarna.』

It was a woman.

Long hair—

『Call sign, “Sierra Special,” engaged.』

“Gold”—

Even in the dim space, it seemed to shine on its own.

Golden hair, richly extending to her waist, rippled.

Her blue eyes captured every monster in the swarm.

With a slender body and flowing movements, the woman drew her bow.

“Panic?!!?”

The arrow she released flew toward the head of the monster leaping at Tooyama.

Shpan. There was a clean sound.

“No way.”

With that alone, everything ended.

It should have been only a single arrow.

It flew through space like a living creature and pierced a monster’s head.

After piercing one, it continued as though searching for its next prey. The arrow moved like a living thing, completely ignoring the laws of physics, and pierced and killed every monster.

In an instant, the swarm of monsters fell silent.

『Extermination of hostile reactions confirmed. Combat efficiency evaluation has increased further. …Please do not get too carried away, Wenfilbarna. Even so, the combination of him and me is stronger.』

Her golden hair was fluttering. Wind was blowing unnaturally only there. It was as if she were drawing the wind toward herself.

“Amazing. What was that, a bow and arrow? Wind?”

『Are you injured, local? You are extremely fortu—』

A strange outfit.

It was a design like fluffy ethnic clothing, something he had never seen even on Babel Island, where all sorts of races gathered.

As she put the bow and arrow away on the belt at her back, the blonde woman reached out her hand.

『Eh?』

Then she froze.

Her blue eyes opened wide, and her shapely mouth hung open.

She was an incredible beauty. Though Tooyama was slightly intimidated, he said,

“Ah, yes, thank you. You really saved me. …Um, is something wrong?”

『Negative… Impossible. Black hair, chestnut eyes, that DNA structure… A person from Japan?』

“Ah, yes, I’m Japanese, but…”

Had something gone wrong?

Then, all of a sudden, the blonde woman frowned.

『Negative. What is it, Wenfilbarna? I am currently analyzing this local—eh? An acquaintance? Wait, wait. Today’s bodily operation rights belong to me—』

It was as if, yes, she were talking to someone.

Even though only Tooyama and this woman were there, the blonde woman began talking alone to someone.

Then, just as he thought she had suddenly fallen silent, her head drooped, and she stopped moving.

“Eh?! Hey, hello!! Are you okay? Hey—ah?”

He lost his words at the obvious abnormality occurring right before his eyes.

The golden hair, that hair of gold that evoked an abundant golden wheat field and the sun, began to change.

The moon, the moon shining in the night sky, a cold spoon, the wind blowing through a secluded valley.

Her hair rapidly turned “silver.”

“—K, kukuku. Ah, what a thing. I see. So that was what it meant.”

The wind scooped up her hair.

Skillfully taking only the middle of her long hair, the wind braided it as though a mother were tying her daughter’s hair.

“Huh? Your hair, why?”

Tooyama widened his eyes.

“Kukuku. Ah, don’t look so surprised. Well then, long time no see, Japanese person.”

The color of her eyes had also changed. Those eyes that had seemed to contain the summer sea and sky had now become an incomprehensible seven colors.

Those rainbow-colored eyes, which seemed enough to drive one mad just by looking at them, distorted as if she had seen something amusing in Tooyama.

“Huh? Who… are you?”

“Ah, yes. That’s right. For the wind, this is a reunion, but for you, it is our first meeting. Kukuku. What an interesting place this Tower is. Truly, it is a convergence point where all times and places have been mixed together.”

“…Sorry, and I know you saved me, but are you okay? Somehow, your way of speaking and your atmosphere are completely different from just a moment ago.”

“Kuku, ah, I have a few circumstances. Sorry for confusing you. Once again, nice to meet you, Japanese person.”

“…What are you?”

“Wenfilbarna Gilbasol Tusk. A traveler. Now, already, just that.”

“W-Wenfilbarna?”

“Kukuku, it’s refreshing to see that kind of face from you. The wind did not remember seeing much of your human expressions. Well, considering the relationship between you and the wind at that time, I suppose it could not be helped.”

“………”

They were strange words he could not understand, and her tone made it sound as if she knew Tooyama.

Reflexively, Tooyama quietly activated it.

He began spreading the transparent “mist” around himself.

“Do not be so wary. I simply became a little excited at this nostalgic, surprising reunion. So please stop spreading Kiriyaiba—Tooyama Naruhito-kun.”

“…Seriously? What the hell are you, really?”

His level of caution rose sharply. She knew not only his name, but even his weapon.

“Hmmm. Your… future archenemy?”

She pressed her index finger to her chin and tilted her head.

The gesture was so cute it seemed unearthly, and he almost stared in fascination, but he did not let it show on his face.

“What are you talking about?”

“Mars, I want to talk with him a little. Do not be so angry. You can listen too.”

Without answering Tooyama’s question, the silver-haired woman began talking to someone again.

It was as if there were two people—two humans with the same face.

“Well, this is no place to stand around. The wind’s campsite is very close by. I will guide you there. Would you allow me to invite you?”

“…What if I said I’d rather not?”

“Hmm, that would be troublesome. Ah, yes, you were that kind of person. Let me present the benefits first. If you obediently accept the wind’s invitation, I will tell you about your current situation. Also, let me see, there is delicious black tea. How about it?”

Black tea.

Tooyama’s terribly exhausted brain began protesting, seeking its aroma and warmth.

Tooyama was terribly weak to desire once it had taken root.

“…I’ll be in your care.”

“Mm, obedient is good enough. Now, this way. Tooyama Naruhito, follow me.”

“Ah, yes. We… um, what should I call you?”

“Hmm? Ah, right. Casually, Wen—no, I should stop after all. Having you call my name is, kuku, a little frightening and unpleasant.”

“…Do you hate me?”

“Kuku, you will hate the wind. Ah, yes, there is a very good name.”

The silver-haired woman twisted her rainbow-colored eyes like a cat.

She shifted her fluffy hat a little, tilted her face, and smiled as though showing Tooyama a certain part of her body.

“Those ears, are they pointed? Don’t tell me you’re that famous thing from fantasy…”

They were pointed.

They were not human ears. They were the feature of that race familiar from fantasy—

“Kuku, ah, yes. Feel free to call the wind this. Umm. I believe at that time, you… ah, yes, yes.”

As though recalling the past, a distant memory, the long-eared woman touched her head and gazed somewhere far away.

“Was it ‘damn elf,’ I wonder?”

The long-eared woman smiled broadly and winked with one eye closed.

“…Are you a masochist?”

“Rest assured. The wind will not ask that kind of thing from you alone.”

He followed the swaying silver hair.

Soon, he saw tents and chairs, and a campfire crackling and scattering sparks.