Setting Out

I was living in a cramped house with the women we'd rescued from the bandits' hideout.

Normally, with this many people, complaints would start flying—someone would dislike this person, or think that person was useless—but these women had shared hardship together, so their bond was strong.

One by one, the women disappeared from my house, either finding men to take them in or getting jobs—and in the end, only Alissa remained.

Anemone was still there too, but she was only twelve. They said that was old enough to start working in this world, but I wanted to let her study a little longer.

She was quite intelligent and a quick learner. I thought she was a jewel that would shine if polished.

However, Alissa was proving to be a problem.

I had also heard rumors around the city that nobles were searching for me.

Everyone in the market hated nobles, so they seemed to be keeping their mouths shut, but it was only a matter of time before the truth came out.

After all, I'd driven a truck and heavy machinery through the middle of the city and caused that much trouble. You can't put a door on people's mouths.

This was the limit.

I had to find Alissa a job as soon as possible.

At the same time, I decided to start preparing to leave. I pulled up the marigolds I'd planted around the house and began taking apart the fence.

There was no need to dismantle everything completely. As long as the pieces were separated to some extent, I could store them in my Item Box as they were.

I stored the solar panels too and switched to an engine generator. That way, if we had to make a hasty retreat, we could leave immediately.

I needed to talk with Alissa and find out what was preventing her from getting a job.

"I'm terrible with stage fright, so... When it comes to interviews and things, I just can't talk..."

"You're strong, honest, and hardworking. You just need to show off those good qualities—or rather, you need to be able to make them clear to an employer."

She was strong enough to work as an adventurer, I thought—but this strong woman couldn't stand the sight of blood. She was terribly timid.

I decided to use my last connection.

------◇◇◇------

"Welcome. I'm glad you've come."

Marlow-san greeted us in the backyard of the Marlow residence.

Yes, my last connection was the Marlow Trading Company—or rather, it was the only connection I had.

"I'm sorry to trouble you with this unreasonable request."

"Not at all. As a merchant, I would be disgracing my name if I failed to repay the man who saved my daughter's life. In fact, I should be giving you a substantial reward, yet you even gave us merchandise..."

"The money for preparing for battle was merely an advance, after all. A merchant must keep his promises."

"Hearing you say that is a great relief..."

I introduced Alissa to Marlow-san.

"This girl is extremely honest, strong, and hardworking, but she hasn't been able to find a job, perhaps because she's not good with words..."

"Oh, I see."

I immediately had him observe how she worked. Seeing was believing.

A short walk through the backyard of the Marlow residence brought us to a warehouse and a loading area.

There, we decided to demonstrate Alissa's strength.

She easily lifted loads that would take several grown men to carry and loaded them onto a freight wagon.

"Goodness! What incredible strength!"

"She's as strong as a beastman."

The Marlows were both astonished by her overwhelming power—she was practically a human crane.

Beastfolk couldn't read, write, or do arithmetic, and they couldn't remember complicated procedures, but Alissa was different.

"She can read, write, and do simple arithmetic as well. The only slight drawback, if I may put it that way, is that she eats an enormous amount..."

Since Alissa was bad at speaking, I had ended up explaining everything about her. She was the type who folded under pressure.

"Someone who has the strength of three people naturally eats like three people. Very well, I will employ her."

"Thank you. Come on, Alissa, say thank you too."

"Ah, thank you very much!"

She made her large body as small as possible and bowed deeply.

"Oh, one more thing. She is extraordinarily strong, but she is also extremely timid and unsuited to fighting, so please take that into consideration."

"You are very kind."

Primula-san had visited my house several times while the women were living there, so she knew a little about Alissa as well.

At first, Primula-san had been displeased when she learned that I was living with the women, but she seemed to understand once she realized I was helping people in need.

"Please take care of me, young mistress!"

"You can just call me Primula."

Alissa was being excessively deferential. Would she be all right?

While I was worrying about her, Primula-san spoke to me.

"Kenichi-san, shouldn't you be worrying about yourself instead of other people?"

"Oh, you mean the nobles? I've heard the rumors around town. Well, if I disappear, everything will be resolved."

"Kenichi-san! Are you planning to leave the city?"

"Well, I'm saying that option exists."

"Wouldn't it be better to request an audience with the lord and hear him out first? Count Asclepius, the lord of this territory, isn't such a bad person, you know?"

"Even so, if they discover that I'm a powerful mage and order me to serve, I won't be able to refuse, will I?"

"Th-That is true, but..."

The Marlows had helped me, but by saving Primula-san, I had probably repaid that debt.

It really was time to move on.

When I left the Marlow residence and returned home, I asked Anemone what she wanted to do from then on.

"Anemone, I've decided to leave this city. If I stay here, the nobles will catch me and force me to work for them. What will you do? Will you go to Amana's place?"

"...I want to stay with Kenichi."

"If you have nowhere to live, we might have to sleep outdoors for a while, you know?"

"Yes."

"I see... All right."

I couldn't just throw her out after teaching her a little reading and writing. I thought Amana's place would be best, but if that was what Anemone wanted, there was nothing I could do.

Once that was decided, I immediately began preparing to flee.

The fence was already gone, so all that remained were the bath, toilet, and well.

I dismantled everything and stored it in my Item Box. I pulled out the PVC pipe as far as I could, then filled in the well with the excavator.

It had been hard work digging that well, but it couldn't be helped. I was sure the experience would prove useful next time.

I also smashed up the concrete around the water supply with the excavator and put all of it into the trash bin on the status screen.

The compost... I could leave that as it was. It would nourish the forest.

I removed the septic tank and everything else connected to the sewage system too.

All that remained was the house. Once I stored it in my Item Box, everything would be gone.

But it was growing dark, so I decided to put that off until the next day.

Would the house really fit in my Item Box?

It should be fine based on its size. The truck had fit inside, after all...

After eating dinner with Anemone, I bought a used off-road motorcycle from Shangri-La.

I had a proper motorcycle license. It was called a middleweight license, though apparently the terminology had changed now.

When my father got his driver's license, he apparently received a motorcycle license for free along with it.

It was an enviable license that let him ride large motorcycles without having to take the test to remove the restriction.

What I bought was an old 250cc two-stroke motorcycle for 100,000 yen. I specifically chose an old two-stroke because it could use the premixed fuel sold by Shangri-La.

It also had a simple structure and was hard to break. Of course, it had poor fuel economy and wasn't exactly environmentally friendly.

The two-stroke oil in the oil tank would no longer be necessary, so I disabled the oil pump that came installed by default.

Draisines were popular in the city, so I could probably pass this off as an unusual draisine—probably.

I hoped I could find a good place for a slow life with this thing.

------◇◇◇------

—The next day.

I got up in the morning, ate breakfast, and prepared to leave.

But all my belongings were in my Item Box. I could set out with nothing but the clothes on my back. What a convenient function.

I was a little worried, but I tried storing the house in my Item Box.

"House, store!"

It vanished—completely and beautifully. Inside my Item Box, it was listed as 【Shed】 ×1. Apparently, my worries had been unfounded.

But why was it a shed instead of a house? According to the Item Box, it was apparently a shed.

Well, that had been the product name when I bought it too...

I was glad the foundation had been sucked in along with it. Perhaps it had been considered part of the house.

Now the place was completely cleared out. All that remained was the former field.

I bought Anemone a helmet with goggles made for children.

"Put this on. It could be dangerous if you fall over."

"Yes."

I laid a small board on the ground, took the off-road motorcycle out of my Item Box, and pulled out the choke.

Without the board, the kickstand would sink into the leaf mold and the motorcycle would fall over.

When I kicked the engine to life, the high-pitched sound of the two-stroke engine echoed through the forest, and white smoke poured from the silencer.

I got on first, then retrieved the board I'd laid on the ground and had Anemone climb on behind me.

She climbed onto the motorcycle nervously—but it was probably her first time riding anything like this, so it was only natural that she was frightened.

"Put your feet on the pegs sticking out to the sides, and hold on to my waist with your hands."

I instructed Anemone to hold on around my hips.

"Like this?"

"Good, that's just right. Don't move around on your own while we're riding. It's dangerous."

"Yes."

We were about to set out when a black shadow emerged from the forest and wrapped itself around my leg.

"What is it? Oh, it's you."

"Myaaao."

It was a Forest Cat, her black fur gleaming in the dappled sunlight filtering through the trees.

She rubbed herself against me, but—

"There, there. You take care of yourself too."

"Myaaao."

I stroked the Forest Cat's head and said goodbye.

"See you around."

I revved the throttle, released the clutch, and began riding through the leaf mold in the forest. I was heading west, toward the highway.

There was no need to hurry. I could take it easy at around 10–20 km/h.

The only thing I regretted was that I hadn't been able to say goodbye to everyone who had helped me, especially the Marlows.

But if I told them, it would become a painful farewell. Besides, I didn't want to drag everyone into my troubles.

This was for the best.

I convinced myself with a self-serving interpretation of things.

But when I looked to the side, I saw that the Forest Cat was following us.

"Hey, we're going somewhere else, you know. Are you sure a Forest Cat can leave its native forest?"

I stopped several times, but the Forest Cat continued following us.

"Are you saying you want to come with us? Are you serious?"

I didn't know whether she understood my words, but she kept rubbing her body against my leg.

"All right, all right."

I stopped the motorcycle to take a break. I searched Shangri-La and bought an E○n stay, a long, general-purpose slotted metal bar.

I bought bolts and nuts as well, then attached two of the stays horizontally so they crossed the rear carrier.

I wanted to mount a box on top of them and have her ride in it, but I couldn't find a suitable box.

A wooden box would have been best, but apparently they didn't sell very large ones. Since the Forest Cat had to fit inside, I wanted one about eighty centimeters wide...

After thinking it over, I decided to buy a transparent plastic storage box. I would cover it with a wood-grain sheet to make it look the part.

I bolted the wood-grain storage box to the stays, lined the inside with the blanket she had been using, and finished the job.

"If you're coming with us, you'll have to ride in this. Can you get in?"

I couldn't have her running alongside us the whole way, after all.

Perhaps she understood what I was saying. The Forest Cat sprang into the air using the power of her whole body and landed inside the storage box.

"Yes, that's the idea—but will this really be all right? Don't fall out, okay?"

Well, she was a wild animal. I thought she would probably be fine even if she fell from this height, but...

Anemone and I climbed aboard again, and I set the off-road motorcycle in motion.

I had ridden two-up before, but never three-up. We traveled slowly over the soft leaf mold, and about five minutes later we reached the highway.

I turned the handlebars to the right and headed north. They said there was more forest and greenery beyond this point.

Somewhere with water—a beautiful pond or lake with a good view would be ideal. I wondered whether such a place existed.

I was anxious, but I was looking forward to it too. Would we be able to live a slow life there this time?

I had money now. I wouldn't need to show people my Item Box and do business for a while. If I simply lived an ordinary life quietly, no one would grow suspicious.

If I used this world's money as much as possible and lived on local food, I could avoid feeding money into Shangri-La, that bottomless black hole.

Alternatively, I could mine precious metals somewhere and use the proceeds to charge my Shangri-La account. I had heavy machinery and tools. If I could earn more than the fuel cost, there might be a chance.

Besides, Shangri-La might buy even ores that were useless in this world.

It seemed there was someone else who had come through from another world, but they appeared to be in an enemy country, and I didn't particularly want to meet them...

Fighting another transported person was something I'd rather avoid.

Well, I had time. I could think about it slowly after I'd settled down.

After traveling along the highway at 30 km/h for about half an hour, a familiar face was coming toward me in a freight wagon.

It was a merchant named Fuyou, who had guided me to the city when I first arrived.

"Hey, Fuyou-san. Long time no see."

"Well, if it isn't you."

The merchant stopped his wagon and returned my greeting.

"I became a merchant too."

I showed him my proof of being a merchant—a thin metal rod.

"Where are you headed now? Is that thing you're riding one of the draisines popular in the city? And what an impressive Forest Cat you have behind you!"

The questions came one after another.

"I have no destination yet—I'm just wandering. This is my personal draisine. And the one riding behind me is her, hahaha."

It had only been a light joke, but the merchant looked a little taken aback.

Whether I meant the girl or the Forest Cat riding behind me, it hadn't been a particularly good joke.

But hearing the word draisine reminded me of the Marlows.

I stopped the motorcycle and had Anemone and the Forest Cat get off.

Then I took a sketchbook out of my Item Box and turned to the page where I'd previously drawn a new draisine—a bicycle.

I'd drawn a large-front-wheel bicycle that had once been popular in my original world, along with a pedal-powered bicycle.

On the page, I drew a letter to the Marlows. Marlow-san would be able to turn these bicycles into practical products.

"Fuyou-san, could you deliver this letter to the Marlow Trading Company?"

Along with the letter, I gave him one small square silver coin as a tip (5,000 yen).

"The Marlow Trading Company, is it? Ahh, so that draisine belongs to the Marlow Trading Company... I've received it."

He seemed to have jumped to his own conclusion, but that suited me just fine.

"Please do."

"Then I wish you a safe journey."

"Thank you."

I said goodbye to the merchant named Fuyou and started riding the off-road motorcycle along the highway again.

Blue sky and white clouds peeked through the trees of the forest.

I wondered if things would somehow work out eventually.

Thus began the search for the next destination for a middle-aged man, a girl, and one beast.