The Chronicles of a Lost Man in His Forties Founding a Nation ~Commonsense is Hindering Me From Becoming TUEE~ Chapter 6

Chapter 6: With the Iron Bars in Between

“Dear, oh dear.”

It really, really doesn’t do to treat all this like a game. 

The girl in similar circ.u.mstances to mine that I would normally have saved first thing ended up being left forgotten up to now. I think the sun’s already about to set. 

Throwing on the robe, boots, and sling bag that I had retrieved from Jyagul’s room, I run towards the jail. With ragged breath, I arrive in front of her jail cell and call out to her. 

“Excuse me, are you alright?”

“IYAAAAHHHHH!”

The girl screams at the top of her lungs. 

“Eh? No, it’s fine. I’m not a suspicious person at all!”

“Nooo don’t come near me! You monster!”

“Nn?”

Her words, as well as line of vision, seems to be going through me and aiming towards my back. While turning around, I finally understand. Fearfully, I lay eyes on…… 

“Guruo?”

♥♦♣♠

“...... Ummm, I’m really, really sorry about that. Can you please believe me? I am not an ally of the bandits nor the anki, and I have no intention whatsoever to harm you.”

“......”

I am frantically trying to talk to the girl, who has retreated as far into the jail cell and shrunk her body as much as she can. 

It was a complete mistake on my part, letting her see my bodyguard ogre standing behind me. Of course, I’ve already chased him away, but now she is on maximum wariness against me. 

Now that I’m looking at her properly, I notice that rather than a girl, she’s more of a young girl. It’s really hard to tell the age of Caucasians based on their faces, but I’m guessing mid-teens? She has short chestnut-colored hair and looks like an active person, but currently she is pretty much snarling at me. 

“I’m not lying, that really was a follower that I had created with my spellcraft. There is absolutely zero danger.”

“...... Doesn’t the fact that you create anki mean that you are allies with them?”

As I had suspected, ‘anki’ is a concept unique to this world. The term most likely refers to ogres and the like, but judging from the bandits’ and this girl’s reactions, they are quite feared. Furthermore, based on Jyagul’s words, the [spellcraft] that I use seems to be distinctly different from the [magic] that he was talking about. His Ice Arrow or whatever not being negated by the [Invincible] barrier might very well have been due to this. 

“As I’ve been saying, I’ve only just arrived from a country far, far away….. I am a wizard, and I use magic different from whatever is used around here……”

“...... I don’t believe you.”

“In the first place, if I’m an ally of the bandits, then I wouldn’t be thrown into a cell and be beaten, would I? You saw it too, didn’t you?”

“That’s……”

The situation being as chaotic as it is, I can understand her disbelief upon suddenly being told by a strange guy that she’s being saved. In the first place, it’s not like she’s completely ignoring my words, so it seems like there might be some headway if I persevere patiently. But…… 

There’s a big ‘but.’

Would it have been much easier to gain her trust if I’m not an uncle in his forties, but rather the silver-haired handsome young man that Gio Margils had been on the character sheet? ......Wait no, I have his abilities, do I not? If I use [Charm], this conversation could go much smoother…… 

“DORYAHHH!”

“GYAH! What are you doing?!”

Disgust with myself bubbles up for having entertained a thought worthy of being considered an all-time low. Thus, I am banging my head against the iron bars with all my strength. Naturally, my efforts are rewarded with intense pain, but that’s irrelevant. [Charm] only works on single targets, but it is a spell that makes the target obey whatever I say. In other words, it makes a puppet out of the other person’s very heart. Controlling someone by manipulating their heart…… there is very little that can match this in selfishness and cruelty. The fact that this option even came up in my mind shows how pathetic I am. As I have to keep telling myself, this is not a game, but reality. 

“Just because! She wouldn’t listen! To my words! I’m such a fool!!”

(T/N: Imo this just makes him sound off his rocker rather than convey his remorse lol.)

I understand from the fact that I am displaying such disgraceful behavior in front of a girl that I do not know that I am not in a right state of mind. 

However, the wicked thought that had just crossed my mind is something that must be excised immediately. If not, I will become a despicable person who drowns in his own power and wrecks havoc on the lives of others for the sake of his own desires—the fear of this is what is currently moving me. 

“Wait a-, really please stop doing that! You are bleeding, there’s blood!!”

“Hahh…… hahh…… y-, yes you’re right…… uguh!”

Obviously, on top of my forehead splitting open, the fresh blood spurting out got into my eyes, and I almost faint in agony. 

“Mou! What are you doing, really!”

“No, truly, I’m very sorry…… eh?”

I am about to wipe my blood-covered face with the sleeve of my robe, but my uplifted hand is wrapped in some soft cloth—a handkerchief. 

“Please suppress the wound with this.”

As I reflexively bring the handkerchief to my forehead while raising my face, I see that the young girl has come right next to the iron bars. She must have handed me the handkerchief by reaching through. 

“Th-, thank you…… uu……”

Completely forgetting about the potions in my sling bag, I say my thanks and sink to the floor. 

“............”

“............”

Her face is scrunched up in a scowl as she looks down on me. Her lips are making a perfect へ character. Exasperated though she might be, this actually helped to thin the fear that she had been holding. At the very least, she is not mad at me. This is a chance. 

“I’m sorry for showing you something so unsightly.”

“Y-, yea, well……”

“I won’t tell you to believe me. But in exchange, would you be willing to listen to my story?”

“Unnn……”

The young girl crosses her arms, thinks hard about it, then plops herself down on the other side of the iron bars. 

“Alright. Lemme hear it.”

♥♦♣♠

The young girl’s facial expression is still a bit stiff, but it seems that she’s at least feeling like lending me an ear. She is quietly waiting for me to start. While wiping my forehead with the borrowed handkerchief, I also somehow end up sitting in seiza. Ah, which reminds me.

“Umm, thank you for this handkerchief. I’ll wash it before returning it to you.”

“Oh, um, no need……”

“Before I start talking, please excuse me for a bit.”

I stick my hand into the sling bag left at my side and take out a bra.s.s bottle. It also comes with a cup attached on a chain.

“? Alcohol……?”

“No it is not. This is something called a ‘healing potion,’ and is for treating wounds.”

To be more specific, this is a truly convenient magic item called a Potion Server that can store enough potion for 10 uses.

“Then you should probably drink that quickly, right?”

“?”

Ah, she’s talking about the wound on my forehead. Completely slipped my mind.

“Actually no, I was thinking that you would need it. Are you injured anywhere?”

“I……”

The young girl hesitates. Based on her facial expression though, it seems like she is hurting somewhere…....

“Ahh, of course, this is not poison. Alright, I’ll drink it first to show you.”

I pour a light pink liquid with a sweet fragrance into the cup, then drink it all in one go. It tastes like a really sweet kind of sake, but…… I really do feel my strength being recovered.

“Ohh…… it got healed.”

The cut on my forehead immediately closes up. It’s a bit too late to be saying this, but this is so fiction-y……

“Well then, no need to be reserved.”

Once again, I pour healing potion into the cup, then I offer it to the young girl.

“But something so expensive…… I merely sprained my ankle a little bit……”

“This is my apology for having given you a fright. Please, do not be reserved.”

“......”

She still looks unsure. Rather than out of doubt in me, it appears that she really is being hesitant because of financial considerations.

“Also, when I escort you home after this, it would be troublesome if your foot still hurts on the journey, right? …...And on the off chance that you don’t want my help, then this would be all the more true.”

“Tha-, that’s true…… Alright then…… Umm, I’ll definitely pay you back at a later time.”

While still holding onto an unflagging sense of duty, she finally accepts the cup and drinks the potion.

“......fuu.”

The sharpness in her face gradually drains away.

“Ah, it doesn’t hurt at all!”

It seems that the pain has gone, as she joyfully stretches out the legs that she had been covering up. The hem of her onepiece flutters, revealing glimpses of her healthy-looking thighs……. This might not mean much coming from an adult at my age, but I think that girls that age shouldn't show their thighs so easily. 

“?!...... wawawa?! I’m sorry, I got a bit carried away.”

When I courteously turn my eyes away, the young girl goes red and presses the hem down. What a cute gesture. 

“It appears that it worked. That’s a relief.”

“Eh, ah, thank you very much. Umm, I’m sorry for saying such hurtful things earlier.”

“Will you believe me now?”

“F-, for the moment, I’ll at least believe that you’ve come to help me.”

That’s enough. 

But still, this is a relief. Back in j.a.pan, even complete strangers could quickly build up a certain rapport as long as both held common sense. The reason is because the a.s.sumption that both parties live in the same society and follow the same rules stands. In a parallel world where such an a.s.sumption cannot be guaranteed, having successfully communicated with another human being (may I count Jyagul and his gang as outliers?) gives me relief. 

“So, before anything else, can you let me out of here? Do you have the key?”

“Ah, you’re right. Please give me a second.”

It is still too early to be relieved. Having come this far, my first goal is to safely escort this child home. I stand up, and send the Inner World me down to the 2nd floor. 

“By means of this spell, the lock that I am touching shall lock or unlock by my will. [Wizard Lock].”

As described in the chant, this is a very useful spell that can be used to unlock or lock something. When I finish the chant, the lock easily comes off with a click. 

“Wah, that’s amazing.”

With her eyes opened wide, the young girl pa.s.ses through the bars. After straightening her back, she abruptly lowers her head. 

“Daughter of the commercial merchant Ild from the city of Lelis, my name is Mora. Please pardon me for my various discourtesies. I hope for a mutually beneficial relations.h.i.+p from here on.”

It was such a refres.h.i.+ng greeting that it made me wish the new employees from my company could take a page or two from her. 

“I am the wizard Gio Margils. I share your sentiments exactly.”

♥♦♣♠

Right after stepping out of the jail, I instruct the ogres to watch the fort gates and our surroundings, but Mora got mad at me for that. “Other people would think that we’re allied with the anki, you know!? We might get targeted by the war tribes, you know!?” is what she said. Another word unfamiliar to me came up, but this part is where I should just obediently follow her advice. 

“By means of this spell, may all magical power within a 3m radius be reduced to nothing. [Dispel Magic].”

As it is an absolute necessity in anti-wizardry warfare, I always have three copies of this charged up. When I use one of them to undo the effects of [Create Ogre Platoon], the 6 ogres waver like mirages before vanis.h.i.+ng. 

“So you really did make those anki with your magic……”

“Those were ogres. And not magic, but spellcraft……”

In any event, there are too many things that I really must confirm. 

After making sure that the main gate’s side door is firmly locked, we go into the main tower, which looks like a good place to sit down and have a proper talk. Along the way, Mora notices Jyagul lying about in the courtyard. Well, it’s not exactly an objet d’art meant to instill peace in those who see it. 

“Umm…… this is……?”

“A magician who I think was the boss of the bandits here.”

“But this is a stone statue.”

“I turned him into a statue with a spell.”

“...... Heehh~......”

Mora moves a step away while continuing to walk with me. 

…

Thankfully, she didn’t run away.