Editing/Standardisation: Medicine Melancholy
Original Translation: Medicine Melancholy
Iris
Suddenly finding himself alone in another world.
The young boy, having just graduated from elementary school when he was suddenly thrown out on his own, with no one to turn to, no money on his person, and forced to live in the wild, running from monsters and bandits, a situation he had never experienced before.
That’s the story Hayato-kun told us.
“…So, I’m a player, just like you guys. Sorry for deceiving you…”
When Aini-san found him, he was already collapsed due to physical and mental exhaustion.
“I owe Aini-neechan a lot for taking in someone like me… but I can’t even stand up and fight for myself because I’m too afraid… so please, help me find her.”
He bit his lip and hang his head down in shame. When he had finished his story, I couldn’t help but…
“Wha-ack?!”
…I couldn’t help but want to hold him close.
“What was that for?! And why are you crying, Nee-chan?!”
“Because…”
How difficult it must have been for him to be suddenly thrown out of the sheltered environment of family.
As for me… I had to go through some terrible things that still make me shudder just to recall a few, I was soon sheltered by friends I could count on, and I had more people I could trust, so I wasn’t alone in the end.
Yet, the fear of being alone, even for less than half a day, was still etched in my mind.
I just couldn’t believe a child half my age was forced to spend days being alone and vulnerable like that…
“You must have suffered a lot… it must have been painful…”
I gently hugged his little body once more, with his head even lower than my short frame, and after a moment he began to shake his shoulders slightly.
“…I’ll make sure to find your sister and bring her home. I promise.”
I tapped him lightly on the back and muttered, and he gently nodded his head slightly in my chest.
Saul
After calming down, the boy promptly came to my side to avoid Iris.
He looked uncomfortable and stubbornly avoided looking at her, indicating that he was embarrassed that he had cried in a girl’s chest.
“Darn, I lost my composure back there… Hey Nii-chan, she’s the famous player called ‘Princess’ right? I thought she’s supposed to keep a distance from other players or something.”
“Well… she can be touch-starved at times. It isn’t easy having to keep your guard up all day, you know.”
When it was still a game, in order to keep up the “Princess” image among players, we avoided getting to close to people other than us, while behaving as fairly as possible with them.
Of course, it was to conceal the true person inside… Though, that person was kind of gone now.
“…I think it could be that you’re the first younger player she’s met over here.”
For someone constantly seen as a target of protection like her, she probably wanted to be on the protecting side for once when she saw a younger boy…
Though, Iris might think she’s in her 20s, but on the other hand, there is almost no difference between the boy’s mental age and Iris’s external age. It must be hard on the poor fella to be hugged by a girl he thought to be his age.
“Huh? For real? How old is she?”
“Twenty.”
That was actually my age. And Iris was supposed to be my little sister at the moment.
“Wow, so she’s an old auntie… Eep!”
I smiled at the little boy who made the unnecessary comment, and he suddenly paled and fell silent.
Oops, I didn’t know why he was so scared, but whatever. One does not simply call a 20-year-old woman “old auntie”.
Satisfied with the boy’s completely frightened appearance (for some reason), I continued.
“I’m going to talk with her about this later, so don’t worry.”
“I hope so… She really caught me off guard with that one, you know… Seriously, how could a person smell so good…”
The second half of the last part was probably meant to be a monologue, but unfortunately I could hear it. The boy, probably recalling the feeling he had just experienced, turned his completely red face away.
Yep, that must have been poisonous to a still-pure middle-schooler.
I gently put my hand on his shoulder.
“Again… This is strictly a problematic behavior on Iris’ part, so don’t get the wrong idea, okay?”
“…What the hell?! Why are you looking at me so menacingly?!… Stop, it hurts!”
The boy’s shoulder seemed to be creaking, but it must have been my imagination.
“If you dare to lay a hand on her, I think I don’t need to tell you what’s going to happen…”
“ENOUGH!”
“Ack?!”
Suddenly, I felt a light impact on the back of my head. I looked up to see Iris standing nearby with her staff at the ready.
“How could you say such mean things to a young child, Nii-sama you utter fool?!”
Iris, looking clearly outraged, quickly sheltered the boy in her arms to get him away from me…
“Utter fool…”
“Young child…”
Both of us became depressed at what she had just called us.
Iris
“Looks like this is the place.”
Reiji-san murmured.
Spreading before our eyes was a huge tunnel entrance dug out of a cliffside, which must have been quite developed.
Wooden scaffolding was set up in places to allow visitors to descend into the tunnel. This must have been a mining site once. However…
“Weird… I don’t see any enemies.”
The goblins we had expected to see were nowhere to be found. It was eerily quiet around us.
“…It’s daytime, so they may still be wandering around in the tunnels. Everyone, stay sharp. We’re moving in.”
Nii-sama gave a grim reminder. In the worst case, an engagement may become inevitable in a constricted space like a tunnel. Tension lit up everyone’s face.
“By the way, Iris… Can you still ‘sense’ it?”
“…Yes. It’s here, without a doubt.”
My headache had been getting progressively worse since a few minutes ago. The “Wound” was definitely in here somewhere, I’m sure of it.
“I see… Well, hang in there, we’re just here to scout today. Once all the mercenaries are here, we’ll purify it for good, okay?”
“…Yes.”
We had no way of knowing what’s inside. Perhaps there were enemies like the one we encountered in the previous town. In that case, we’d be woefully underprepared for it.
Meanwhile, Hayato-kun, who was crouching down and investigating the footprints that remained from earlier, stood up.
“…Those footsteps apparently lead into that tunnel.”
Hayato-kun, on a hill overlooking the mining camp, tried to track the footprints… which he said was a skill of his class, and pointed to one of the many entrances.
When I checked with my enhanced eyesight using “Eagle Eye,” I found evidence of a blockade with a warning sign that said, “Danger of collapse, no entry”. The chain-and-fence blockade had already been broken, however.
“There’re signs of people coming and going in this place.”
“I see… But how did you do that, was it an exploring-type or stealth-type ability you have?”
“…I’m a stealth-class player. Anyway, we should hurry.”
“Sure. Iris, you ready?”
“Always. Well then, the first rendezvous point is at the bottom of those stairs.”
There was a storage area down those stairs which also served as a shelter from the rain. After specifying its location, I prepared my magic.
Invisibility and noise cancelling magic. The downside was that we couldn’t sense ourselves either. Therefore, if we didn’t decide on a safe area before use, we would lose our way in the worst case.
“I’ll go first. Reiji, take care of Iris for me.”
“Sure thing, I’ve got this… I hope.”
“I’m counting on you, then.”
There’re many places down here whose footing isn’t good, like a suspension bridge. I can only hope this would be a smooth ride.
“Hayato, what about you?”
“I can just follow your footsteps. Worst case, I can manage on my own, don’t worry.”
With that as confirmation, I began to cast magic. We turned invisible with “Sneak”, then our noise was drowned out with “Silent Move”.
My body was lifted up right after, probably because Reiji-san was holding me. I held onto what was probably his sleeve, and the scenery began to flow.
…Our infiltration mission had begun.
APM - Translation 