Chapter 15 - Lulusena Village
Author's Note: Happy New Year!
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After driving the camper for about twenty minutes from the spot where I picked up Aina, the GPS announced that we were near our destination.
As I continued straight along the road, I soon spotted a wooden fence surrounding the village.
The entrance resembled a gate, with a watchtower-like structure nearby.
"Aina, is that Lulusena Village?"
"Yeah, that's it! Wow! We’ve already arrived!"
While it would have taken about two hours on foot, the camper made the journey in no time.
Slowing down as I approached the village, a crowd gathered at the entrance, causing quite a commotion.
"What is that?!"
"Is that a steel carriage?!"
"How is it moving on its own without horses or oxen?!"
It seemed that in this world, automobiles were not a common sight.
The villagers were expressing their surprise as they saw the camper van for the first time.
"S-stop right there!"
As I eased the camper van to a stop, several men surrounded us, thrusting spears toward us.
Judging by their behavior, they seemed more frightened by the unknown than being aggressive. But there was something else—an underlying tension? I couldn't help but feel that way.
Not expecting to get through without issue, I stopped the camper.
However, not feeling safe with spears pointed at us, I narrowed the barrier’s range and activated it to prevent anyone from intruding.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Tohru, a traveler. I mean no harm to the people of Lulusena Village, so would you please lower your spears?"
When I greeted them with a smile upon opening the window, the man at the front, still holding his spear, cautiously approached.
"A traveler, you say? What’s this steel carriage?"
"It’s a camper van, kind of like a self-propelled carriage, I guess..."
"A kyamper ban? I've never heard of such a carriage being developed! You must be up to something shady!"
Just as the man pointed his spear toward me, Aina, sitting in the passenger seat, leaned forward.
"Dad! Tohru-san's not a bad person! He even saved me earlier when I was attacked by grey wolves!"
"Aina?! What are you doing there?!"
The man with the spear looked surprised.
It seemed that this man was Aina’s father.
"Dad! Tohru-san is my benefactor! I’ll explain everything later, but please lower your spears for now!"
"G-got it."
Faced with Aina's fierce demeanor, her father faltered for a moment before instructing those around him to lower their weapons.
It seemed that, as her father, he couldn’t win against his daughter’s will.
"Just go ahead and enter the village as you are."
"Oh, before that, is it okay if we have a familiar with us?"
"A familiar?"
I pointed to Haku, who was lying on the lounge sofa in the back of the camper, and Aina’s father leaned in to get a closer look.
"...A white wolf?"
"Who’s a white wolf?! Don’t compare me to such low-tier monsters!"
Haku, perhaps offended by Aina’s father’s words, suddenly became agitated.
"The monster just talked?!"
"Father, Haku-san’s Tohru-san’s familiar, so it’s fine."
"Well, even so... A monster that can speak is a high-ranking one. Letting such a creature into the village...no, I guess it’s too late to worry now."
Though Aina's father initially showed reluctance at her words, he eventually sighed as if resigning himself and muttered quietly.
"You're right. If I really wanted to, I could force my way through."
"Sorry. I’ll make sure Haku doesn’t speak too much while we’re in the village..."
"That’ll help keep things calm, so I appreciate it."
As long as they thought Haku was a white wolf familiar, they’d probably settle down.
And so, we were allowed to bring the camper into the village.
"Well, I was thinking of taking Aina home. Would you like to join us?"
"No, our house is nearby. I’ll run ahead."
It wasn’t so much fear of the strange vehicle as it was probably the discomfort of being in a confined space with Haku sitting in the back. Aina’s father grimaced but then began running ahead, as if leading us.
I slowly pressed the accelerator, following him as we moved forward.
Once we passed through the gate, wooden houses were scattered around the area.
The women were gathered in the street, engaged in idle chit-chat, but their eyes widened in surprise as soon as they saw the camper. It wasn’t just them—men busy with carpentry, hammering nails, and even old men leisurely puffing on pipes froze in their tracks, staring at the vehicle in utter disbelief.
A self-propelled vehicle, one that didn’t need horses or oxen to pull it, seemed like quite a shock to the people of this world. Without Aina’s father explaining while running ahead, there might have been a small uproar.
As we slowly rolled along, taking in the village, Aina’s father stopped in front of one of the houses, raising both hands.
"Is this your house, Aina?"
"Yeah, this is it."
Aina’s house was a wooden home, located a little away from the village’s residential area.
I turned off the engine and stepped out of the driver’s seat, followed by Aina from the passenger seat and Haku, who had been lying in the back, getting out as well.
"Please, come in."
"Thank you for having us."
Aina’s parents opened the door for us, and Haku and I entered without hesitation.
Instinctively, I looked around for slippers or indoor shoes, but there were none.
It seemed that in this world, it was common to live indoors without removing shoes, similar to some European cultures.
Though it felt awkward to step inside someone’s home with shoes on, I reminded myself that this was another world and proceeded to enter the living room.
As guests, Haku and I sat down in chairs, and Aina perched herself on the opposite side.
Aina’s father was in the kitchen, boiling water to prepare drinks for us.
"Here, tea."
"Thank you. Um..."
"I’m Aina’s father, Lugh."
With all the commotion from the camper, I had forgotten to ask his name, but now I finally learned it.
After taking a sip of tea to refresh my throat, Lugh’s expression grew serious as he spoke.
"I’ll get straight to the point, Tohru-san. Could you tell me how you met my daughter outside?"
"Sure."
Though, my information wasn’t all that much.
I had been driving the camper, passing through the forest, when I saw Aina being attacked by a pack of grey wolves on the road. Haku and I had rescued her, and that was pretty much it.
"What?! That happened?! I can’t thank you enough for saving my precious daughter’s life!"
He must have known Aina had gone outside, but it hadn’t occurred to him that she was on the brink of death from a monster attack. Lugh’s eyes widened in shock, and he bowed deeply, almost rubbing his forehead on the table.
"Please raise your head. I just did what I could, and it was really Haku who saved her."
I couldn’t have saved Aina on my own. It wasn’t just my accomplishment, and it felt uncomfortable for me to be bowed to by someone older than me.
"Aina, why did you go outside the village?"
As soon as Lugh raised his head, he gave Aina a stern look.
"I needed medicinal herbs to cure mom’s illness."
"You fool! I told you not to go outside because of the grey wolf pack!"
"B-but mom was so sick, and she was suffering!"
Lugh yelled at her, and Aina, in tears, desperately tried to explain.
Aina didn’t just run outside for no reason.
She must have had a strong desire to help her mother.
"Is Aina’s mother sick?"
"Yes. The apothecary said it wasn’t a very serious illness, but my wife has a weak constitution, so it got worse..."
What started as just a cold could have triggered complications like pneumonia or bronchitis.
If you’re already frail, the risk of those complications is much higher.
"Is it not possible to prepare the medicine?"
"Of course, I would like to gather medicinal herbs for my wife too. But recently, a pack of grey wolves has appeared around the village, so I can't go out to collect them."
In reality, Lugh probably wanted to go gather the herbs for his wife himself. His fists, clenched tightly on the table, creaked under the pressure.
The villagers' heightened vigilance must be due to the recent attacks by the grey wolves.
"Aina’s basket had two herbs, but is that not enough to heal your mother?"
"Two aren’t enough. They said at least five are needed to make medicine for one person..."
Aina murmured, looking down.
That must have been why she seemed reluctant when we were about to leave the road, realizing the herbs she had weren’t enough to make the medicine.
"Tohru-san, may I ask you something? You came here through the forest in that camper van, and you also drove off the grey wolves, didn’t you?"
"Yes, it was Haku who drove them off, though..."
I nodded to confirm, and Lugh suddenly stood up with urgency.
"Tohru-san, I have a request! Please, will you help us by defeating the grey wolves and collecting medicinal herbs?! I don’t have much to offer, but I will ensure you are properly rewarded!"
"Please, Tohru-san! Help my mom!"
Lugh pleaded, pressing his forehead to the ground, while Aina bowed deeply in front of me.
It seems that even in this world, a gesture like the Japanese dogeza exists. But now wasn’t the time to think about such trivial things.
They were asking me to collect medicinal herbs for them.
However, I didn’t have any expertise in herb gathering.
I could buy medicine from the Shop in the camper, but I wasn’t sure how well the medicine from my world would suit the people here.
After all, this was a world where magic existed. It wouldn't have been strange if their physical structures were different from mine and the summoned high school students.
Testing drugs without clinical trials was also dangerous and ethically unacceptable.
It would be best to follow the apothecary's advice and create medicine from the herbs to cure Aina's mother's illness.
I didn’t have fighting skills, but maybe I could still make this work by using the camper’s abilities?
I could find a medicinal herb patch, stop the camper, and deploy a barrier.
That way, even if we encountered the grey wolves, we could safely gather the herbs.
But defeating the grey wolves would require Haku’s help.
"...Haku, let's take on Lugh-san’s request. Will you help?"
"Sigh... You really are too soft-hearted."
"This time, it's a proper request with a reward, so there are benefits to it. Even though we're using the camper, we still need money. And with money, we can buy magic stones in town. Isn't that right?"
I glanced at Lugh, who raised his head after bowing.
"Y-yes. There aren’t many magic stones in this village, but in the larger towns, high-quality magic stones are available for purchase."
Thanks to Haku, I had accumulated CP, but we barely had any money.
To live in this world, we needed money, and if we were going to get paid for our work, it wouldn’t be a bad deal at all.
"Hmm, considering it that way, it’s not a bad offer. Alright. Let’s eliminate the grey wolves around here."
"Then, we’ll take on your request."
Since Haku had also agreed to actively help, I decided to accept the request from Lugh and Aina.
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