Chapter 3: What "Lust" Played Was the Clown
The character name is not finalized. The character name will be fix once the English official light novel is release.
About a three days’ walk from the elf village, I was currently lying on a tree stump near the exit of the forest.
Covering my face with both hands, what came to mind were the words Sarona-san had said and the situation surrounding them.
Wasn’t that a form of public execution?
I was essentially rejected in front of everyone in the elf village.
I wasn’t even able to say goodbye to the twins, Yuyuna and Ruruna, or little Siena. I slightly regretted that, too, but I couldn’t go back to that village anymore… or rather, I didn’t want to.
I stayed here, hanging my head in depression the entire time.
When I got hungry, I picked nearby wild vegetables and caught beasts. When I needed to use the restroom, I went in the nearby bushes. Other than that, I just hung my head on this tree stump. Of course, I also prepared meals for Meal.
As if to comfort me, Meal kept patting my head gently the whole time.
Her actions were soothing, but honestly, I didn’t feel like doing anything right now.
How should I put this… living is just painful.
That day, I fell asleep just like that, comforted by Meal.
The next day, I was depressed from the moment I woke up.
In my dreams, Aria and Sarona-san overlapped; it was a type of nightmare.
I cried a little that day.
When I woke up, it was the middle of the night. I scrubbed away my tear tracks and spaced out.
The stars are so beautiful… the starry sky was just like this on that day, too…
Before I knew it, I fell asleep.
The next day, I spaced out.
The next day, I spaced out. Meal had hunted a rabbit at some point.
The next day, I spaced out. The stars were beautiful.
The next day, I spaced out. I blocked the entrance of an ant nest with a small stone.
The next day, the stone I placed at the ant nest entrance had been moved by the ants. I felt somewhat moved.
The next day, I started feeling a bit more energetic. As expected, nuts are delicious.
The next day, a monster attacked me. Naturally, I turned the tables on it. The meat was delicious, too.
The next day, I washed my body and clothes in a nearby river. I felt refreshed.
Feeling refreshed, I finally managed to accept what happened with Sarona-san.
Being rejected made me sad.
However, to me, Sarona-san was like a flower on a high peak—someone completely out of my reach to begin with.
Of course, I would have been happy if she had stayed with me, but I suppose it just wasn’t meant to be.
I decided to think of it that way.
Also, the reason I’m able to look forward again like this is thanks to Meal.
Even though I was showing such a pathetic, depressed sight, Meal never left my side for even a moment, constantly comforting me. Somehow, I didn’t want to keep showing her such an unsightly version of myself forever, and I wanted to repay her kindness.
But wait, what even is a harem?
It is currently one of my goals, and that hasn’t changed, but… how exactly am I supposed to make one? Can I even do it in the first place?
No, no, wait a second. Why was I trying to build a harem to begin with?
Thinking about it now, I feel like I was totally sweet-talked into it by Neil the Necromancer.
Next time I see him, maybe I’ll snap at least one of his bones.
While pondering whether I could actually build a harem, clinging to straws, I decided to ask the Goddess.
I mean, she’s a god, so maybe I’ll learn something if I ask… When I checked my guild card, an answer of sorts was displayed there.
“Goddess’s Oracle” (Unique)Huh? What are you talking about? You’ve already got a harem going, Wazu-san!I mean, you already have the cute little dragon Meal, and above all, you receive the favor of me, an incredibly beautiful Goddess!See? That’s already a harem, isn’t it?It’s just the two of us, but this should definitely count as a harem!
…I already had a harem~!!! Wait, no, no, no! It’s not wrong, but it IS wrong!
It’s not that I mind a harem consisting of Meal and the Goddess. In fact, I’m grateful she would say that, and I even feel a bit unworthy, but that’s not the point.
I mean… essentially, my current harem is a non-human harem, right?
It’s not that I hate non-humans. In fact, I’d gladly accept them. In a way, I had discarded my humanity on that mountain, so being liked by non-humans now isn’t a problem at all.
However, if it’s only non-humans… you know?
As expected, I’d like to be liked by someone of my own human race too…
But honestly, acting with the constant goal of seeking fellow humans forever is a bit… maybe it’s better to operate on the mindset of “if it happens, it happens; if it doesn’t, it doesn’t.”
Thinking about it that way, maybe I should set some kind of time limit, and if I don’t succeed by then, I should just give up.
If I’m setting a time limit… alright, I’ve decided.
Since I made a promise to show Meal the outside world, I’ll travel around this continent with Meal. If it doesn’t work out by the time we finish, I’ll give up on aiming for a harem any further than that.
However, until then, I’ll give it everything I’ve got.
I filled myself with motivation for my newly decided goal, but then I realized a major problem.
…Where exactly am I?
I have no memory of how I got here from the elf village.
Should I go that way… or this way… which direction am I supposed to head…?
Come to think of it, I asked the Goddess the first time; maybe I should ask her again.
I turned my gaze back to my guild card.
“Goddess’s Awakening” (Unique)…What is this… this feeling dwelling within me…A harem… yes, it is true that I called myself a member of your harem, Wazu-san.Why would I say something to comfort you like that… Because I didn’t want to see you hurt…Because I don’t want you to be hurt any further…Having watched over you all this time, Wazu-san…Gasp! Could this be ‘Affection’! LOVE, perhaps?!
…Hopeless. She’s completely useless. I quietly slipped the guild card back into my pocket.
Well then… I don’t even know which way to go anyway, so maybe I’ll figure it out once I get out of the forest.
I placed Meal on my head and gently stroked her. Meal happily affectionately nibbled on the hand petting her, which tickled a little.
When I started walking from there, fortunately, I was able to exit the forest right away, and a highway stretched out before my eyes.
However, this presented a new problem. Which way should I go?
Hmm… I don’t really want to return to my homeland, the Iscoa Kingdom, if possible, so maybe I’ll just head left for now. Even if I end up reaching the Iscoa Kingdom, I can just turn back.
I started walking aimlessly.
Since the forest grew alongside the highway, whenever I got hungry, I temporarily entered the forest to secure food, and when I got sleepy, I found a suitable spot and slept. I wouldn’t have minded being attacked, but I didn’t want to deal with the extra hassle, and there was no need to deliberately make myself a target.
Even so, I expected to get attacked eventually, but nothing happened. The highway gradually moved away from the forest, and as I watched a few carriages pass by, I walked along the highway for about five days. Eventually, a large city surrounded by high walls came into view, and I could see a long line of carriages and people waiting at the massive gates to enter the city.
I still wanted to enter this city. The reason was simply that it was a city I didn’t know and had never seen before.
It seemed the path I took had been the right one.
I continued walking, lined up at the very back, and waited for the line to advance while playing with Meal…
Right now, in front of me is a merchant-looking person presenting his identification to enter the city, and one of the city’s gate guards checking it. I’m up next.
It didn’t take that much time to get to this point, but perhaps because Meal was a rare sight, children excessively tried to touch her, and merchants kept approaching me, asking to buy her.
Naturally, I declined all the merchants’ offers, and as for the children, I left it up to Meal’s mood.
I’m not handing Meal over to anyone! She’s my precious dragon!
Then, just as I thought, Is it about time I get called? I remembered something slightly concerning.
My identification is the guild card I always keep on my person. I have nothing else.
However, while this guild card still functions, I wondered if it could still be used as ID.
Well, I’ve made it this far, so I might as well try.
“Next person, please!”
The gate guard called for me. Heart pounding, I approached him.
“It’s rare to see someone taming a dragon… Ah, please present your identification.”
As expected, it must be rare; the guard glanced at Meal on my head before speaking to me.
“Umm… will this work?”
I handed my guild card to the gate guard.
“…Hmm… it seems to be functioning, but when was the last time you visited the Adventurer’s Guild? It appears it hasn’t been updated?”
“…I haven’t gone in two years.”
“Two years?! …Hmm, in that case, as an ID, this is a bit…”
“Thought so…”
As I suspected… I’m in trouble. What should I do?
“Do you have anything else?”
“I don’t.”
“In that case, I’ll issue a temporary ID. Enter the city with that and get your card updated at the Adventurer’s Guild.”
“Is that really okay?! If you can do that, please do!”
“Yeah. Well, it’s just standard procedure, so you looking that happy actually makes me uncomfortable.”
I see. So there was a method like that.
Thinking about it now, since I had never left the Royal Capital of the Iscoa Kingdom, I had no idea something like this was possible.
I grabbed the guard’s hand and shook it vigorously, thanking him over and over again, though the guard just gave a wry smile. That’s fine. I just wanted to express my joy.
After the guard returned my guild card, he called out to another guard to take over his post and told me to follow him, explaining that he needed to conduct an interview for the temporary issuance. I obediently followed behind him.
He led me to a simply built small room.
When I went inside, there were two chairs placed facing a desk in the center. Someone was already sitting in one of them, waiting.
It was a young man with short blonde hair and handsome features. Although he wore armor, I could tell even from over it that he was quite well-trained.
The gate guard who had guided me here said, “I’ll leave it to you, then,” to the man and left the room.
“Oh, there really is a dragon on your head! Hehh~, what a cute dragon… Whoops, I got the report, but I hear you only have an expired guild card? What in the world have you been doing up until now?”
“Umm, well… I was in a place where I didn’t need one…”
“Ah, you don’t have to force yourself to answer. We’ll find out if you’re a criminal later anyway, and even if you are, this room is surrounded by city soldiers. If you try to act up, you’ll be restrained immediately, so be careful, alright?”
“Ahaha… I wouldn’t do something like that.”
Well, even if that happened, they probably wouldn’t be able to restrain me…
“I hope so. If that did happen, I’d probably be the first one killed, after all. Well then, we’re going to have a brief interview, so could you take a seat there first?”
The young man pointed to the empty chair as he said that, and I obediently took a seat.
After that, it really was just a brief interview.
He asked simple questions like my name, hometown, purpose for visiting the city, and whether I had committed any crimes in the past, and I answered them. During that, he checked whether I had truly not committed any crimes using a specialized tool. Apparently, it was a crystal ball that glowed red if the person had committed even a single crime.
Of course, the color didn’t change. Even though I knew that, it still made my heart pound.
The young man told me about himself, too.
His name was Orlando. He wasn’t a noble, but he had an aura that made you easily believe it if he claimed to be one.
He was two years older than me, nineteen years old. He was the Captain of the Guard, making him the superior of the gate guards. Earlier he said he’d be the first to be killed, but was he just joking?
He had a friendly personality, and we quickly grew close, conducting the interview while mixing in some casual chatter.
“Alright then, I’ll issue your temporary ID. Make sure you go to the Adventurer’s Guild and update your guild card within a week, and then return this temporary ID. If you don’t, we might have to crack down on you.”
“It’ll be fine, I’m heading there right after this. Also, do you have any recommended inns? I don’t have much money, so somewhere as cheap as possible would be great.”
“In that case, if you go straight out of here and walk down the main street crossing the city, you’ll find the Adventurer’s Guild. Right across from it is a place called the ‘Light of the Wind Pavilion.’ It’s cheap and I highly recommend it. It’s run by a married couple who used to be adventurers, so they’re very considerate toward adventurers.”
“Hehh~… I think I’ll go with that one, then.”
After that, we chatted lightly, I received the completed temporary ID, and I walked down the passage to enter the city alongside Orlando.
When the passage ended and the scenery of the city spread out before my eyes, Orlando stopped walking and turned back to face me.
“Come to think of it, I forgot to tell you one important thing!”
“…?”
“Welcome! To the Fortress City of Linnick!”
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