Chapter 2: Giba Hunting Girl

Now then, who the hell are you?”

The shiny barbarian sword is thrust under my nose.

It’s quite well made.

The length of the blade is around 80 centimeters long, and around 10 centimeters wide. It’s a thick blade, one that looks like that of a machete. And yet, the edge is still well sharpened. With this, regardless of the prey, it should be possible to cut through its flesh and bone.

Wait, this isn’t the time to be impressed.

“Wha-what? That’s a scary sudden way to say hello! I apologized for the pitfall, so please forgive me already!”

“Stop messing around. Hurry up and answer the question”

The girl, was perfectly calm.

That calmness, on the contrary, was actually quite scary.

I sigh, and look towards the blade under my nose, and then to the girl.

“Before that. Where in the world is this place? Somehow, this world doesn’t seem like the afterlife……”

“This place, is the foot of Mount Morga, beside the forest”

“……Mount Morga?”

“It’s west to the Kingdom of Selva on a map. And ruled by the provincial lord Jenos……you, where are you from?”

Somehow, I don’t recognize anything at all.

But in this situation, I have no choice but to answer honestly.

“I was born in a country called Japan. In the Chiba prefecture. Do you get it?”

“Japan……Chiba……?”

You don’t know. Well, of course you wouldn’t.

Probably, “Japan” the country doesn’t exist in any sense at all in this world.

The world I was in didn’t have wild boars with horns.

The girls from the world I came from, didn’t carry huge barbarian swords.

Besides一一this girl, had a style that I’ve never seen before.

Her skin colour, was dark. It was a chocolat-like light brown colour.

In spite of that, her hair was a dull gold colour.

Still yet, her eyes were a shade of deep blue.

Her golden-brown hair seemed to be quite long, though it was tied up in a strange shape using a leather strap, her blue eyes, glowed strongly and sharply in the dim light.

As for her face, she has a rather neat (端整) appearance.

Eyes hanging up a bit, like those of a wildcat, a thin and proper nose, and small cherry coloured lips一一the lines around her cheeks are soft (TL note: as in the shape), the facial features themselves look pretty young. Her age is actually probably about the same as mine.

Well, her beauty level is pretty high.

You could even say she’s a bishoujo. (beautiful girl)

Personally, brown skin and pink lips together, feel incredibly sexy.

However, what is that outfit?

A thick, black-brown mantle was wrapped around her shoulders, and underneath一一wrapped only around her chest and waist, were beautifully coloured pieces of fabric.

It was beautiful fabric, containing intricately woven patterns all over, and it didn’t look cheap and easy to make at all, this is a bit too stimulating.

Other than that, she was wearing a necklace on which hung many white horns or tusks, a bracelet that was made of multiple nuts or something similar strung together, and a small knife in a leather sheath which was worn on her slender waist, that’s about all, the rest of her smooth brown skin is generously exposed.

Also, from her ankle up, a leather belt of some sort is wrapped around, but I’m sure it’s some kind of footwear.

However, in front of such an attractive and overexposed girl, the only thing that came out of my heart was “how is it, she seems so strong……”, I thought.

Even though her facial features are very cute, her expression is very fierce.

Her eyes blazed like those of a real wildcat, and her pretty lips were stuck tightly together.

Although she was slim and tall for a girl, her frame still looked rather delicate.

However, there is no impression of weakness at all.

Her bare arms and legs, shoulders and stomach are as tight as a leather whip, there was not a single bit of wasted flesh in sight, and as if to show the harsh life that she has led, white scars were engraved all over her body.

She was a girl with a primordial vitality that was unattainable for modern people, who have become a part of a scientific society.

(But still一一)

This smell, what in the world is it?

From the moment I came face to face with this mysterious girl, my mind had been completely filled with this suspicion.

It’s a very, very complex aroma.

Like an overripe fruit, a sweet smell.

Like the buds of a flower that’s about to bloom, a faint smell.

Like dried herbs, a cool and calming smell.

Like strong spices, a slightly violent smell.

And finally, a smell rich in flavor, the smell of an animal’s flesh and fat.

These intricately intertwined odors, have been stimulating my nostrils for a while now.

I’m not entirely proud of it yet, but since I’ve been working as an apprentice chef since I was a child, I have a better sense of smell than most other people.

Regardless, it’s a very appetizing smell…… As I thought that, as if my body wanted to respond to my thought, my stomach made a “gura” sound.

The blade of the girl’s sword, as if a little upset, wavered a bit.

“What. The hell are you trying to do, you?”

“No, what do you mean……I’m just getting hungry”

Furthermore, my stomach rumbled with a “gyururu”.

It’s kind of hard to look cool like this.

The girl’s sharp eyebrows, hung up in a rather scary manner.

“Oi. Stop messing around. Do you take me for a fool?”

“I’m not messing around though. This is just a physiological phenomenon. My stomach is simply just started reacting to the delicious scent you’re giving off”

“What are you talking about? I don’t have any food on me and, because of you, I don’t have any prey today”

“Ah, that’s why, I sorry for ruining your pit”

After saying that, my stomach made a “gyugowaaa!” sound, overlapping on my apology.

Too much noise, stomach.

Ah, whoops. The girl’s face was getting more and more grim. When she put her hand on my shoulder with a plop, I began to shake.

Could it be, because of this stupid reason, I will end up experiencing my second death?

“Anyway, I’m not trying to mess up your turf, not in the slightest at all. I have no idea what’s going on, I’ve been tossed in the middle of nowhere, and I got chased around by trouble too. If you have a problem with me, then I’ll leave in a minute……”

“gyuguruguruguru”

I don’t think this is a good situation.

No matter how sincerely I apologize and ask for forgiveness, I’m still going to be cut to pieces because of the sound of my stomach.

Then一一the girl suddenly, looked away.

She kept threatening me with the sword in her right hand, while covering her mouth with her left hand.

Her shoulders started shaking more and more intensely.

“What’s wrong?”

“gugyururu?”

The tip of the blade, fell to the ground.

As for the girl’s face, it had turned bright red.

“Oi, is something wrong with your body?”

“gugyuru? gugyurugyuru?”

“Pfft”, a funny voice sounded out.

The girl’s eyes, with tears in her eyes, looked at me.

“Enough……don’t talk……”

What’s this, even her voice is weak.

I’m getting more and more worried.

“No……even though I told you to not talk……”

“gyuru. gugyurugugyurugyurugyuru”

The girl, using her sword as a cane, slumped on the spot.

And then, “Puhahahahaa”, started to laugh hysterically.

Ahh, she looks incredibly cute when she’s laughing, this girl.

I mean, you were only just trying to hold back a laugh?

Then, after laughing loudly for a moment, she stood up, wiping away her tears, and thrust her sword towards me once again.

And then, one word.

“……kill”

“But why!”

I fall to the ground, and inch back in a hurry.

But, behind me was the welcoming jaws of the pit that I had just climbed out of.

The tip of my nose, is getting closer and closer to the tip of the metal blade.

“This is the first time I’ve felt this humiliated before in my life……I will absolutely kill you.”

Her face, even in the darkness, was still a visibly bright red.

Shame? This is the true value of a tsundere? No you’re wrong!

Whatever the case, I don’t want to get killed for something like this.

When my hands finally reached the edge of the pit, I took up a “hold up” (ホールド・アップ) stance.

“If my rude stomach has hurt your self esteem so much, I’m sorry! It’s all because I’m hungry! Come to think of it, I haven’t had anything to eat since lunch today!”

“…………”

“I’m really in trouble! I don’t know where this place is, and why I’m in this place, there’s a lot of stuff that I don’t know about! I don’t know what the common sense and rules of this land are, I don’t even know how I’m going to survive from now on! If you kill me like this, then what the hell have I been doing……”

What the hell have I been doing, risking my life, jumping into those flames, for what?

When I thought that, I choked up, and suddenly couldn’t speak anymore.

Unable to continue on, I look back into the girl’s eyes with all my heart.

In the girl’s, deep blue eyes, something seemed to, for some mysterious reason, light up.

“……what you’re saying, I don’t get it at all”

The tip of the blade of the sword, fell slightly.

“You, aren’t you a resident of the Stone Capital?”

“Stone Capital? Like I said earlier, I’m from a country called Japan”

“……I don’t know of any country with that name. But for now, you’re not a citizen of the Western Kingdom”

After saying that, the girl’s finally lowered her sword.

However, the light of suspicion and distrust in her eyes hadn’t disappeared.

But……behind her steely gaze, felt something like a complicated tangle of wavering emotions.

“……a bit more, I’ll listen to your story for a little longer. “

She said, in a low voice.

“Come to my home. If you don’t like that idea, then I’ll kill and bury you here.”

“……some unknown stranger like me, you’re willing to let me into your own house?”

“Night is coming. I have no more time to question you here. ……if you don’t have a fire while in the middle of this forest at night, then you will die”

She picked up the leather sheath that had fallen at my feet, and put the huge barbarian sword inside it. Looking at her dignified figure, I got up from the ground.

“I understand. I’ll follow your directions. ……Come to think of it, I haven’t introduced myself yet. I’m Tsurumi Asuta”

“Tooru……Myaasuta?”

“No. Tsurumi Asuta.”

“Churumyuasuta……”

Isn’t this girl cute?

She has a very serious looking expression on her face, which makes it even cuter.

“Ok, if it’s too hard, then you can just call me Asuta. What’s your name?”

“Ai Fa”

She said in a low voice, and then turned around so that her back was facing me.

She’s very slender, but as expected she’s isn’t taller than me. At most, she’s 167 or 168 centimeters tall.

With that stature and slender body, how is it possible to handle such a ridiculously big sword with only one hand? The quality of the muscles and density of the bones, maybe they’re different from the race of humans I know.

While I was contemplating such things, I was shot a sideways glare.

“What’s wrong? Your leg probably still hurts. Hold onto my shoulder”

“eh? are you sure?”

“Time is running out. You’ll get left behind.”

I felt a bit awkward, but I wrapped my right arm around Ai Fa’s right shoulder.

In an instant, an elbow flew at my chest.

“Who told you to wrap your arm around my shoulder? I told you to hold onto my shoulder.”

“ugue……ahh, that’s what you meant”

While rubbing where she hit me, I put the fingertips of my right hand onto Ai Fa’s left shoulder.

In this first place, it wasn’t that serious of an injury, and it certainly wasn’t serious enough for me to need help walking.

Either way, this girl is wearing a thick fur mantle, so my fingers can only feel the stiffness of it.

“What you’re hiding in your chest, that knife.”

“huh?”

I was a bit surprised and stood back.

Her arm lightly touched my chest as I put my hands onto my back (not sure how to TL: 俺の胸もとが軽く背中に触れたのだが), through your thick mantle, how could you tell?

The way she asked was a lot scarier than her elbow jab.

“Nah, you would obviously be on guard, wouldn’t you? Of course, I don’t intend to harm you, so you don’t have to worry about it”

“Why should I worry about it? If you want to cut me, then do so whenever you want”

I gulped behind her, as she showed me a very cold profile while completely dismissing what I said, saying.

“When that time comes, my sword will cut your throat before your knife so much as moves. If you think I’m lying, you can always try it out. ……Asuta”