Volume 1 Chapter 11 The Road Ahead
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
The day after the battle with the Goblin King, Barua’s body was quickly buried on the outskirts of the village to prevent it from spoiling in the summer heat.
The formal funeral in the village was postponed for a week, as the priority was to deal with the goblin corpses and the damaged fields surrounding the village. It was a difficult situation, but there was no other choice.
After burying Barua next to his wife’s grave, I, Ms. Akari, and the Puruun sisters returned home, exhausted.
Melon seemed to understand the loss of her father, but she was surprisingly resilient and didn’t cry or misbehave all day. Perhaps she was trying hard to suppress her grief.
We had a simple dinner together, and I left Ms. Akari to take care of the children while I went to report to the village leader that the burial had been completed successfully. By the time I returned home, the three of them had already fallen asleep in the barn, so I left them be.
The area around the village still had some goblin corpses that hadn’t been cleared, and the smell of decay lingered, though it wasn’t unbearable. While checking around the house, Puruun came to call me. When I entered the barn, I found Ms. Akari tossing and turning in her sleep, moaning softly.
She seemed to be having a bad dream, but it had been a while since I’d seen her like this, and it was probably a shock to lose Barua.
”It’s just a bad dream, but everything is okay.”
I assured her. Puruun lay down next to Ms. Akari and began stroking her hair, and soon Ms. Akari took a deep breath and seemed to calm down.
The next day, I helped the villagers with the cleanup. Puruun also started helping repair the furrows in the fields, saying that staying idle made her feel worse.
Melon, however, had no energy at all, so I left her with Ms. Akari. In the evening, considering what had happened the night before…
I decided that the children and Ms. Akari would sleep separately, and I would stay with the kids in the main house until they fell asleep. When I explained the reason, Ms. Akari apologized and thanked me.
”Yuuta, please don’t go anywhere.”
Melon pleaded, clinging to my arm as we lay on the bed in the main house.
”I’m not going anywhere.”
I assured her, stroking her head. Soon, Melon fell asleep, reassured by my presence.
Puruun spoke to me in a soft voice.
”Yuuta, you will eventually return to your world with Ms. Akari, won’t you?”
”Well, that’s true, but it won’t be anytime soon. I don’t even know how to get back, to be honest.”
”Then, can you stay with us at least until I and Melon grow up?”
”Don’t worry, we’re family now. Even if we figure out a way to return, I won’t just leave you behind.”
”Really?”
”Yes, really. Barua and you two are our saviors, and you’re an important part of our family! Let’s continue to help each other and live together.”
”Yuuta…”
Puruun clung to me, her eyes filled with tears.
I felt her soft breasts against me… she had grown so much taller and developed over the past year. Just then, I felt as if Barua were standing behind me, and I quickly shook off the fantasy.
Puruun was crying silently in my arms, probably holding back her tears for a long time.
After a while, she calmed down and looked at me.
”Yuuta, thank you… Melon is asleep, and I’m okay now. Please stay with Ms. Akari.”
”Of course, I will.”
When I returned to the barn, the door was slightly ajar. I thought Ms. Akari was being careless, but I didn’t want to wake her up, so I entered quietly.
I heard a voice.
Was she still awake, or was she having another nightmare?
I peeked inside, and there she was, naked, lying on her back on the straw bed. I was surprised, but then I realized…
Ms. Akari was rolling her left index finger over her nipple while slowly moving her right hand towards her groin.
”Unn, Yuuta… ahh, Yuuta… kufu.”
She moaned softly, calling my name as she mast***ated. I quickly left the barn, trying not to be noticed.
Of course, Ms. Akari is a human being too. She has normal sexual desires, and in such a stressful situation, it’s only natural.
I’m sure I could compete with her in terms of mast***ation frequency.
But she was so beautiful…
I stepped away from the barn and relieved myself under the shade of a tree. Then, I lay down in the courtyard of the Barua house, gazing up at the night sky.
The sky was clear, with not a single cloud in sight, and Akari was shining brightly. The bright band of Akari at the zenith reminded me of the Milky Way in my world, but I suddenly realized that I couldn’t even remember what the original Milky Way looked like, and I smiled to myself.
As I looked up at the starry sky, my thoughts wandered.
Earlier that day, when I visited the village leader, we had discussed the future.
The leader had asked me directly to take on the role of parent to the two children, as otherwise, the village would not be able to care for them, and they might have to be sent away as foster children.
I readily agreed to be their parent, but this made returning to my world even more difficult. Even if I searched for a way back, doing so while raising the children would be challenging… but there was no use in worrying about it now. I needed to gather my options and discuss them with everyone.
After confirming that Ms. Akari had finished, I returned to the straw bed. She seemed to be asleep, but the air was filled with a subtle, feminine scent, which excited me, but I took a deep breath and tried to remain calm.
A few days later, soldiers from the Border Defense Force arrived in the village to provide support with the cleanup and investigate the situation. However, Mr. Goetec, whom I had been hoping to see, was not with them.
When the village cleanup was almost complete, a grand funeral ceremony was held for Barua, organized by the village. Alcohol was served, but neither I nor Ms. Akari felt like drinking or eating much, as our hearts were not in it.
After breakfast the following morning, I turned to the three of them and said,
”I’m going to head over to the Border Defense Force headquarters for a bit.”
Puruun was surprised and asked,
”Wait, Yuuta, what’s going on? The round trip to the defense headquarters takes about two months. What’s the purpose of this trip?”
”Well, if Mr. Goetec had come with them this time, it would have been a quick conversation, but since he didn’t, I thought I’d go and meet him in person.”
”Wait, Yuuta! Why are you in such a hurry? Barua’s mourning period hasn’t even ended yet, and you think arranging our return is that important?”
”No, Ms. Akari, I’m not in a hurry. Please listen, Puruun. I went to the village leader and declared that I would become the parent of Puruun and Melon.”
”Then, all the more…”
Ms. Akari began, but I interrupted.
”I have no intention of returning to our world immediately! But I want to gather information as soon as possible about what we need to prepare for when the time comes,” I said.
”I think my language skills are good enough now, and I want to consult with Mr. Goetec about specific plans as soon as possible,” I continued. “With Barua’s passing, I’ve lost someone I could consult with. I have a year left until my promise with Mr. Goetec.”
”But how are you going to get there? We don’t even have a horse…”
Puruun said, concerned.
”I’ve heard that a support team will be dispatched from the defense headquarters to this village soon, based on the damage report,” I said. “And I can return with them.”
”That’s exactly why!” I exclaimed. “The defense force is currently in the village, right? If I stick with them, I’ll automatically end up at the headquarters. And the village leader and Okia said that this plan should work.”
”But, PurPur and MelMel, and even me, you plan to leave us here for such a long time, right after the funeral?”
Ms. Akari persisted.
”Mama Akari, please calm down. I think Yuuta’s plan is good, and having the defense force soldiers with him will be a relief. We still need to rely on the him for a while, but I don’t want our presence to be a burden and delay your return. If it’s not about returning immediately but about gathering information first, I’m all for it.”
Puruun’s opinion seemed to satisfy Ms. Akari, and she didn’t argue further.
* * *
Two days later, I left Tokura village with the soldiers heading back to the border guard headquarters.
Basically, we all walked to the headquarters. Not just me, but all the infantry soldiers walked too.
And by “people”, I mean there were no other humans besides me. The guard team was made up of an elf commander, various beastfolk, and dwarves. Dwarves are small but strong and skilled with their hands, so they’re good at taking care of weapons and crafting things.
Since I wasn’t a guest, I had work to do. I helped with the night watch shifts and also helped prepare meals. I got to know some of the guys while marching, and since humans are rare, they asked me a lot about myself.
I tried to bring up topics like other worlds and gates, but no one knew anything about that. They were more interested in my story about defeating the Goblin King.
”Haha, Yuuta. If you’re away from home for 2 months, your partner might cheat on you! I’ve heard that unlike beastfolk, humans are always in heat!”
While we ate dinner, they always teased me like this. Haha, it seems beastfolk have clear mating seasons.
Compared to them, humans can be ready anytime. I wondered if Ms. Akari might be getting busy without me around.
Someone else chimed in.
”So, Yuuta. Are you not going to have any lovers besides your partner in that village? There aren’t many males there, and it seems like there are plenty of females. You could probably get a few to follow you!”
That was pretty crude. But at least Puruun and Melon weren’t part of that.
”Well, cheating is…”
”Cheating? What are you talking about, like an elf? Beastfolk can have multiple partners. Strong males attract females! Listen, beastfolk go into heat in the spring! If you see a female getting all shy around you then, it means she’s interested, so go for it! Ha ha ha!”
They kept slapping me on the shoulder.
”Okay, I’ll remember that…”
So beastfolk can have harems, huh… But I’m human…
As we walked through the woods, we kept having these crude conversations. About a month later, we finally arrived at the border guard headquarters.
I quickly asked to meet Mr. Goetec, but he was out scouting in the nearby forest with a team and would be back at night. Later that night, Mr. Goetec came to visit me after hearing the message.
”Well, how have you been, Yuuta? Is your partner doing well?”
”Yes, thanks for asking. I couldn’t wait another year, so I came to see you, Mr. Goetec.”
”Looks like your language skills are great now. I heard about Barua. It’s really unfortunate. That guy could have been a village head in the future.”
”So…”
I explained everything that happened over the past 2 years. I told him that even if I could go back, I might not return to my original world right away, but I wanted to keep my options open and discussed the capital city with Mr. Goetec again.
After thinking for a bit, Mr. Goetec started to speak.
”Well,” he said, “it seems you got along well with the soldiers on the way here.”
”It might be a good idea to enlist and go to the capital,” he continued. “You could set up a base there and use it to investigate the other world and gates you mentioned.”
”Ha ha, money, huh…”
”Yes. There are costs for application procedures, guarantees, and finding a job in the capital. Plus, getting to the capital isn’t easy. You’ll probably have to go with a merchant, but honestly, I don’t know much about the situation in that village. You should talk to the village chief about the money too.”
”Um, is there any way besides money? I’ve been relying on Barua for everything, and I don’t have any money!”
”Well, you should get some reward money for defeating the Goblin King. You were the one who took it down, right? You should get a fair share.”
”Yeah, but I couldn’t have done it alone… Even if I get something, I want to use it for the girls in Barua.”
”Well, I’m not great with money matters either. It might be best to consult a merchant who knows about finances.”
”Got it…”
For now, I felt a bit relieved that I got the okay to go to the capital, but then Mr. Goetec added more.
”Hey, Yuuta. I’ll introduce you to one of my old subordinates, so when you get to the capital, you should look him up. He’s a bit quirky, but he’s really smart. He used to work on gathering stats about people who teleported from another world to the capital. He might help you with your research.”
”That’s really helpful!”
Yeah, this is great news. Instead of searching blindly for clues, it’s better to talk to someone who knows about teleportation from another world. Looking back, it seems like Mr. Goetec helping me back then was really lucky.
Mr. Goetec wrote a letter of introduction right there and handed it to me.
”Well, I’m not sure if he still lives in the same place, but you should check out the address I wrote down. His name is Tethyrkan.”
I carefully tucked the letter from Mr. Goetec into my pocket, and 2 days later, I set off on my way back with the supply transport team from Tokura Village.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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