Arafoo Kenja No Isekai Seikatsu Nikki Chapter 18

*The t.i.tle is kind of a minor spoiler. I'll put it at the end of the chapter.

The girl was an ordinary student who attended a nearby junior high-school. However, there wasn't anyone she could call a friend, and so, her days went by.

It took little time for her to start feeling like a bird in a cage in such a monotone and ordinary world, where all her days were exactly the same.

The new state-of-the-art game console she bought with her New Year's money, 【DreamWorks】. It's clear as a bell, how she would get hooked up with the online game 【Sword and Sorcery】, released at the same time.

This virtual world was full of excitement unlike the real one, and thus, the monotone daily life she dreaded became full of vibrant colors, and eventually becoming the only place she belonged to.

She made a lot of friends; trustworthy companions. Though, they're not there anymore the moment she turns off the game. Although loneliness was the main reason she felt suffocated in the real world, that didn't really matter to her anymore.

And then… when she was doing quests along with her companions like usual, suddenly, her vision faded to black…

She was standing in the center of a plain before she realized. There was no one else there, and at the same time, she had a hunch that her everyday life was going to change from that moment onward.

A hunch that was reaffirmed when she read the email that appeared when her status screen expanded.

According to it, the G.o.ddess of this world had sealed the Evil G.o.d in her former world (more specifically in Sword and Sorcery's virtual world), and many people died due to a curse the Evil G.o.d released just before it was defeated.

It seems she had been recreated based on the aspect of her former world's body and her status in the game world. Whatever the process was, she had died and was reincarnated into another world.

To begin with, she didn't care much about her former world. Moreover, she didn't interact much with her family in the first place, so she didn't have any lingering attachments.

In truth, Being in another world less boring than her original one will only arouse her adventurous spirit. 

Taking out a map from her inventory, she finds a town nearby and starts walking towards it.

—–

Her name is Irie Sumika *(T.N: Irie is the surname, Sumika her first name). The name she used to register at the Mercenary Guild was Iris. 

In order to enjoy this world, she became a mercenary using the same name as her character's when it was a game.

The Mercenary Guild is similar to the game's Adventurer Guild in both, organization and structure, so it was quite convenient to her for her goal of enjoying this otherworld…

She is now currently being held captive by a band of bandits.

"What are we going to do now, Iris?"

"Right now… we have to wait for our chance to escape. Don't worry, it'll definitely come."

"Really?"

"Probably…"

Due to her status(*T.N: I guess Status as in her character's overall strength or ability) from the time when it was a game, her ability as a mercenary sits around the intermediate levels. Specifically, she's rank C, but a mere merchant escort request is nothing but easy work to her.

The problem was that there were a lot more bandits than she had antic.i.p.ated, and in addition, the merchants who they were supposed to be protecting were taken as hostages. After all, she is a girl used to living in a modern society, and doesn't see this world from a weird angle like a certain sage from somewhere. (*T.N: talking about the MC)

That lack of awareness is what has put her in this perilous situation.

The bandits abducted not only women but also children. While holding one of these children hostage in front of a woman, who seemed to be related to the kid, a bandit is making her take off her clothes in order to rape her.

Perhaps it was this child's mother, but the woman is frightened and trembling in shame whilst undressing quietly. 

The men who were looking at her with such filthy eyes didn't even count as humans to Iris.

(I'll be sure to kill you all…)

A primeval killing instinct dawned on her for the first time in her life. 

She glares at her surroundings while making sure to keep as close as possibly to the bandits that are about to rape a fellow woman. (*T.N: no clue about that sentence, I practically made it all up)

Suddenly, while using her detection skills, she notices a magical reaction above in the sky.

(Is that a familiar? There's a magician looking here?)

Hawks and falcons were circling around in the sky without even trying to hide themselves. But they weren't actual living beings. 

"Rensan, maybe there's help on the way…"

"Really? But how…?"

"It looks like a magician has found this place. They might come to help."

"But you don't know when they might come to rescue us, right?"

"Un…" 

The familiars have certainly seen their situation. However, it wasn't clear when the help would arrive, if any. 

"This… is the worst, I want it to end soon…"

"I don't care about being saved… but I'll get back at them."

Her first companions in this world were glaring at the bandits as if to kill them with their gaze. There were three other fellow mercenaries accompanying Iris on this escort mission, but they left a bad impression on her after they met for the first time, and thus, they didn't get along with each other.

They really wanted help to come soon.

(If you're coming to help, come quickly!… no more…)

Eyes full of l.u.s.t gathered on the two young women. They could only regret that they might be raped next, before they would get here.

Thirty minutes after they started to follow after the bandits' traces upstream. 

The knight squad, including Zero and his disciples, have finally arrived at their hideout. There's a boat laying by the river, with which, they seemed to have carried their loot.

"So they were river bandits…"

"Are these guys the Mobus bandits?"

"I don't know, but the rumor is that they were some ill-bred lot that separated from the main group of bandits."

"So they were marked as traitors by the leader and escaped here?"

"Well, who cares. Let's destroy everything!"

"Now, let me hear a good scream hehehehe…"

It was hard to tell who were the bandits in this situation.

The waves of the knights' killing intent aura were already at the levels of a violent storm.

"What do we do about the hostages? Women, children and some men are gathered around the center of their lair."

"They're threatening the hostages with those children and are about to rape them."

"Nii-sama… You aren't peeping, right?"

Celestina's freezing gaze was stabbing deep into Zweit. After all, this is an emergency situation. As time pa.s.ses, the hostages lives get progressively endangered.

"How insensitive… Do you think I'm a monster?"

"It's not like that, and well, somehow we need to attract their attention…"

"We'll surround them and beat them to a pulp… we'll make them regret being born kukuku."

"Do we have poison?"

"I think we do, right? You guys have a terrible personality…"

Their plan was quite horrifying, but for them, these bandits were nothing more than trash, so there was no reason to make it easy for them.

Subjugating bandits was also the knights' job, but most of the times they just charge head on into their hideouts, instead of encircling them or using more sly methods, so more often than not, the bosses end up escaping through back doors.

After all, The knights are mobilized in large numbers, so bandits would know when they were going to be raided by them just by keeping a watch for the moment they start making their preparations to sortie.

Ultimately, that's because when knights move, so does gold. Such as by purchasing supplies, as well as when weapons and food are transported into forts and other garrisons. In addition, when knight scouts are frequently spotted, the bandits are, naturally, on high alert.

That's the biggest factor responsible for the failures in the subjugation of large bandit bands, be that is it may, at least small bandit groups were more predictable, to a certain extent.

Countries are not the only ones to have information networks. It's natural for merchants and  even bandits to have them as well.

There were information management organizations by the name of guilds, with each profession having its own information network.

Ironically enough, it's only on wartime where all of these different organizations would  cooperate with each other. 

Mercenaries, merchants, and even bandits are sensitive to the flow of cash, and information is a highly prized commodity.

Mercenaries do all sort of jobs for money, merchants sell goods, and bandits even sell behind-the-scene information from other countries. It's normal in this world, for information networks to be used for their own benefit.

Needless to say, these bandit rebels who attacked the merchants also possess an information network on the defense of the country. They carefully chose their hideout based on that, but the bandits made a mistake.

Collecting and a.n.a.lyzing multiple different pieces of information can give you a more in-depth understanding on a situation. However, they only collected and relied on a single piece of information, failing to notice that their natural enemy was approaching.

There was a certain group of knights that went on a escort mission to the far-reaching woods of Far-flung. And they have become ridiculously strong in the past week, continuously fighting monsters…

They were gleefully observing the bandits, with eyes like those of bloodthirsty beasts, and working out a plan to annihilate them all.

And, in that moment, the plan had already been decided.

"Zeros-dono. Please get their attention until we manage to surround them all."

"Is it okay to be flexible depending on the situation? If it gets dangerous I'll just kill them all."

"What about the hostages? I'd like to help as many as I can."

"It'll depend on the way the opponents come out. I'll try to play the villain as much as I can."

"I'll leave that to you. Now let's go, we don't have much time."

The lead role was to be undertaken by the strongest, Zero.

Well, that was the only reasonable option.

"Alright, let's get going, shall we? If you don't hurry, I will hunt all the prey～♪"

"Please leave our share, I want to clear out my grudge…"

The grudge over their peaceful time being interrupted runs deep.

"…We're talking about humans though."

"They may no longer distinguish between humans and monsters. Both of them seem to have become hunted."

"How pitiful… Don't die… everyone."

"I am destruction, no one can stop me now…"

In just a week, the knights have become absurdly strong. At first, it was supposed to be real combat training for Celestina and Zweit, but it turned into a life and death situation.

Their levels have gone up almost three times, and their skill levels have almost gone halfway through. It's not an exaggeration to say that these knights were at the level of the few elite troops, if not the country's strongest. 

It's a problem that they're starting to abandon their humanity though…

In any case, the bandit annihilation operation was, thus, carried out.

There were several paths to becoming a bandit. First of all, those who were born to farmers but were driven out of their homes due to conflicts of inheritance.

Next off, thugs who were fired because of their problematic personalities and can't get a job in the city.

Lastly, criminals who just switch their line of work to a more ruthless one. 

These people organize themselves by flocking around those with similar situations, and earn their livelihood by committing crimes. Annoyingly enough, they don't want to do honest work, they want to earn money by taking from others.

For them, it seems ridiculous to earn a living off of their own sweat. In order to think that it's okay to have fun and money, they mistake thievery as an efficient and safe business.

There are rules in most criminal organizations, but education is not a thing for the thugs at the bottom of society, and so, they are judged according to how well they can steal, sell, and perpetrate crimes in general. Beasts were still better, they could only feel pleasure besides living. (*T.N: yeah, no clue about that one sentence) Especially when they could have fun playing around with women.

A lover, wife, mother, sibling… Anger and humiliation, despair and lamentation, sorrow and pleading, raping such women in front of their victims, soaking in pleasure, an incredible feeling.

And then, the women are sold to slave traders, who in turn, sell them to unscrupulous merchants they are adquantenced with, for them to finally sell these slaves under the table.

When money goes in, these thugs would go to taverns and brothels to play around until they ran out of cash and then, committing another crime to repeat the cycle.

However, whether it's in the shadows or in broad daylight, the jobs might not go well. They were lucky today, but tomorrow could be the worse day of their lives.

Now, in front of them, there are women who exposed their bare skin in order to save their family members and lovers. f.u.c.king such women… the bandits can't hide the joyous smiles creeping on their faces.

Up until now, that is…

"Excuse me, I'm a bit lost, What is this place?"

"…Eh?"

Turning around, the bandit sees a shabby-looking magician standing in front of him.

"Well, I strayed off the highway and wandered through the forest for about a month, so I'd like you to tell me where the nearest town is."

"Oi, Who do you think we are? Do you understand the situation you're in?"

"Ehh, I'm the man in charge, Do you understand now? We're not helping you out, buddy."

It wasn't a problem in itself that the person in front of the bandit was a magician, but this magician was just too shabby. A middle-aged man with a discoloured, dirty-looking robe. Unshaved, messy stubble, unkempt hair grown too long almost completely covering his eyes.

And yet, he exuded the presence of a respectable and powerful magician.

(A grey robe?… His ability seems the real deal though….)

The leader judged Zeros to be dangerous and sent a signal to his subordinates.

"Oi, can you look at these guys and say that again?"

"Ehhh, well there are some fine women around here. If possible, I'd like to keep one for myself, as an experiment material, of course."

Given that they're bandits, they rape and abuse women until they're broken, but they don't kill them because they can still be sold as slaves. However, the magician in front of them looked at the naked women and said 'experiment material'.

They concluded that he was more dangerous than they thought.

"I see… so you want to take one with you? You see… we're having fun with these beauties right now."

"Is that so, It doesn't matter as long as they're alive. I have a lot of things I want to try, after all."

They knew dark magicians sometimes experimented on human beings, but they never thought they would ever meet the real thing.

These magicians didn't care about anything except for their research and the results of their magic experiments.

Conversely, the bandits thought it was likely that he was going to sell information about them, given that he knew of their location. Magic research is expensive, but even with a small amount of research funds, they can kill many.

It's safer to deal with this here.

"Well, you'd be free while we are having fun, right? Come, have a drink."

"Oh, that would be great. I haven't had anything decent, recently. Do you have some good sake?"

"Ahh, I got one from some old sly merchant, but I don't know if it'll be to your taste."

"Kukuku, great. I'm eager to savor some fine sake."

There was an outburst of suspicion between the bandits. However, there's no change in the way they handle the situation.

One of the bandits approaches the magician.

"Hey, are you busy right now?"

"Ah, I'm terribly sorry, I was just in the middle of the fun par……."

"So you don't mind right? Were you enjoying yourself? To h.e.l.l with that, you b.a.s.t.a.r.d!!"

As previously instructed, the bandit slashes Zeros from behind.

Except, it was the bandit who died. With a knife piercing deeply into the chest of the thug, a cold smile creeps on the face of the magician. The bandit never even realized what happened. 

"Oya oya, going to sleep so early? Oops, I guess this would be eternal sleep, right?"

"Wha…? f.u.c.ker, what did you do!?"

"Hm? I just gave him a present. Anyway… Do you want to die as well?"

The bandits could've sworn that the air suddenly got freezing cold. They had cold sweat running down their spines, not doubting a single bit that they made a terrible mistake.

"We had a deal, right? But you pointed a weapon at me… You can't complain if you are killed now, can you?"

"Wh!? That's wrong! There's no way I'd do that!!"

"I saw you sending this guy a signal, Did you think I wouldn't notice? Good grief, what an amateur…"

A magician looking down at the bandits with an aloof att.i.tude, Zeros.

His inner thoughts at the moment…

(Why are you attacking so suddenly!? Do something more conventional!! My heart can't take it!

I was gonna kill you all from the beginning, but come on man, there's an order to things!!

You know what? f.u.c.k you, just die! I'm gonna exterminate you all, that is my decision.)

After living entirely out of meat for a month, Zeros' way of thinking had become quite strange. His tone changed to a younger person's, and he acted like he had a few screws loose.

Without the knowledge of the person in question, his mind was running wild with a bad feeling to it.

(If the hostages are safe then I only need to push these guys over the edge a bit more. I know it's gonna scare the young women, but I'll apologize later and…Oh! it smells so good! Is that rice?)

The interesting smell blows away his questionable train of thought in fairly drastic manner. Wouldn't it be safer to say that he's not thinking about the consequences? (*T.N: I'm not sure about last couple of sentences.)

" 【Tearing Flower Zephyr】 " (*T.N: 引き裂く風花)

A gale of wind blows through the bandits. 

At that moment, several people's bodies fell apart, torn like pre-a.s.sembled mannequins, dying without even realizing what happened. An enormous amount of blood sprays all over the place, forming large red puddles on the ground, and the rusty smell of iron flows through, stimulating the nasal cavity.

"Wh!? No chanting!? Impossible… for such a magician to exist, that's…"

"I'm right here though? Well, sadly, you guys won't be able to get away now."

"Hiiiiiiii!!"

Turning to the fleeing bandits, with a flick of his fingers, all of them turned into gruesome corpses.

Fear spreads in the blink of an eye.

They were too late to realize that the magician in front of them was someone they should've never pointed their weapons at.

"Wouldn't it be better to reduce their numbers a bit more? It would be nice if there's only a few people alive, it'd be too much of a pain to take a large number of prisoners."

"b.a.s.t.a.r.d… are you a court magician!?"

"Nah, nothing like that, I was just pa.s.sing by to experiment on you guys, What about it?"

"What!? Then… a dark magician…"

"Who knows, what does it matter to you, who's just about to die anyways. I don't have any obligation to answer."

Now that they're already hostile to each other, what's there is either kill or be killed. And the bandits are the ones being killed this time.

"Aren't you guys a bit too stupid? Asking me for an answer… you lot are a bunch of amateurs."

"Don't say that while wearing such a shabby outfit!!"

"What I look like it's not your problem. After all, you've just been fooled by the way I dress."

The leader of the bandits had judged Zeros' ability as a magician by the color of his robe. However, that tradition only applies to the magicians of this country. When they realized that their evaluation of Zeros was completely wrong, they were already being struck down by him.

Now, they have no way to run away from him, given that he uses chantless magic.

The leader directs his gaze to the surroundings, and then a little boy catches his eyes. To survive, the boy tries to get away from him as quickly as he can. However, the bandit's subordinates restrain him before he manages to.

"T-This kid…"

"Shut up. Die."

Before he could finish his sentence, the bandits' heads were blown away with magic.

"A hostage? Did you think that I'd care about something like that?"

"W-Well, he's an innocent kid after all, Do you want to kill him too?"

"Yup, that's exactly right, Do you get what I mean now? I just want to experiment with you all, not only the bandits."

The leader was horrified. The magician in front of him was conducting an on-site attack magic experiment with them as the targets.

There was no meaning in using hostages, and the realization that they were just going to be mercilessly killed spread between them. They turned from being hunters to being hunted.

Aside from the bandit leader's state of mind, Zeros was…

(s.h.i.+t! That was dangerous, I almost killed a kid.【Magic Manipulation】seriously, thank you!)

Quite scared on the inside. His true character was gradually coming to light.

Zeros usual way of speaking is like a subconscious habit, not like how he was speaking to the bandits up until now.

But, at the moment, it didn't go any further

(*T.N: I think it means that he stopped reverting to his original way of speaking.)

Realizing that his worries didn't materialize, Zeros smiles fearlessly and lights up a cigarette. 

The leader couldn't understand the meaning of Zeros' words. However, as he was pondering about that, he realizes that his body is starting to feel strange. Gradually, the numbness of his body increases, and in just a few moments later, he couldn't move properly anymore.

"W-What… Did you do… ?"

"Hm? Nothing… I…"

" 'I'!?(*T.N: Zeros, I a.s.sume is the speaker, uses 'boku' above) No, no way… besides, my companions are…"

"Is your speech getting worse? Well, it doesn't matter anymore."

When the bandit looks around, his subordinates begin to cramp in the same way, and eventually, fall to the ground.

Zeros used a powerful paralysing toxin on the group.

"B-Bashtarhd" (*T.N: they're slurring their words)

"I don't know what you're saying, Can't you speak properly?"

"C-Coh.. wah…"

"Coward? You guys are calling me a coward? Kuhahahaha. What the h.e.l.l, that's so funny!!"

Bandits target the weak; plunder their money and goods, and rape the women.

There's no reason not to use cowardly means against those that are cowards from the beginning. If the opponent is a coward it's also according to the art of war to put into practice a more despicable mean. If you can neutralize your opponent without that, then there's no need to use them.

"This is a war. Between you, criminals, and those who protect the people.

You lost that war. Do you think you guys have the right to say that now? You've done something similar before, Haven't you? It's just that someone else used it on you this time.            

You don't need to fight beautifully or honorably, it's either kill or be killed, That was your way, wasn't it?"

It's karma.

The bandits have only been subjected to more underhanded methods than the ones they've used. It was just a paralysing toxin but, as a result, they were already neutralized.

There was no obligation to fight, those who took other people's lives and belongings, in a fair manner.

There was no reason, as well, to guarantee they'll keep their lives.

And thus, the knights charged. Even those who could barely move lost their lives by resisting uselessly. 

Just like that, the bandits who were in complete control of the situation, got annihilated instead.

"Tch, weak."

"It's fine now that we managed to suppress them, right?"

"They should be completely annihilated now, isn't it? They were completely powerless with the paralysing toxin."

(These guys are insane…)

That was Iris' impression of the knights.

Not only did they send a magician to kill the bandits, but also took advantage of them being paralyzed to execute them on the spot. Her image of how knights should act has been shattered splendidly.

That is, essentially, what the army of a certain country did during the Great World War, using whatever underhanded methods to win. (*T.N: Not sure about this, but at least it's not referring to the Evil G.o.d War. Maybe the narrator is talking about WW2?)

In fact, the hostages were also paralyzed, but the knights have prepared an antidote to counteract its effects. 

It's true that the hostages were saved, but the method they used was terrible.

Iris had to take her clothes off in front of a large group of people. In front of men with nasty smiles, she had to endure the shame and anger, that the fact of becoming naked in front of these people, brought to her.

When she was about to take her last piece of clothing, a suspicious-looking magician appeared there. At first, she thought that he came to help them, but judging from the conversation between him and the bandits, she immediately knew that wasn't the case.

Despite that, when the magician was about to be killed by the bandits, he suddenly turned the tables against them. He attacked many of them with magic in just an instant, and then, paralyzed the rest. That's when the knights rushed in.

From that, Iris and the rest of the hostages, realized that he came to help them since the beginning and was just making time for the knights to finish their encirclement on the bandit hideout.

"Iris… these knights are scary…"

"Well yeah… but they still saved us… "

They mercilessly killed the paralyzed bandits as if they were just pulling out weeds on their gardens. They were smiling while doing so too. Iris thought that for sure people who are happy killing others can't be decent. And thus, she was wary of them.

And above all, a mage with monstrous strength. To defeat the bandit slas.h.i.+ng at him with a knife, he used his martial arts techniques, twisting his opponent's arm immediately, s.n.a.t.c.hing his weapon the moment he stopped moving, and finally piercing his heart with cold, expressionless eyes.

It's been around a month since Iris has been in this world, but even then, she hasn't heard of magicians fighting hand-to-hand.

She couldn't take her eyes off this mysterious magician, for some reason.

"Oh, a Runewood Wand, Whose is it?"

""Eh?""

The eyes of Zeros and Iris match.

"This is a paid item, right? The one you can get in a gacha…"

"I got a gacha ticket in the beginner's bonus, it has an amazing performance, doesn't it?"

They stare at each other again. 

"Beginner Bonus?"

"Paid item? Gacha?"

It was as if time stopped only for them.

The two used the same gaming terms… which means.

"Maybe we're from the same country?"

"Uncle, are you a player too!?"

DreamWorks will automatically access the manufacturer's mother system when connected to the internet, and so, allows you to venture through a large 'field' (*T.N: field written in katakana.)

While its performance as a regular home console is quite high, it's with online games when it demonstrates its true value. Leaving out the detailed explanations, one of the things you could do in the MMO known as【Sword and Sorcery】was 【Gacha】.

When you pay and turn the gacha, you might get powerful equipment, thus, giving you an easier time playing the game. However, the probability was so low that some players even got 60 sardines in a row. On the other hand, Iris seems to have been lucky.

A person who has such equipment and knows terms that don't exist in this world cannot be one of its original inhabitants.

―――Gohu, Buhofugofugo!!

As the two said that, they suddenly hear a monster's cry nearby.

There was an Orc standing there.

"Ze-Zeros-dono… that's"

"An Orc, Why are they here? And this one is twice as big as normal ones."

"I don't want to admit it, but it might be a scout from a group of Orcs coming out from the forest."

The knights' faces paled in an instant. Although they've been dealing with bandits until just a few moments, it was unexpected to be suddenly dealing with a large group of monsters. 

Alev also wanted to hold his head to stop the headache from having to take care of the hostages whilst in the midst of a monster raid.

The bandits also have to be taken in, although it doesn't seem they'll be able to, if they include the hostages as well.

Nonetheless, the Orcs are gradually increasing in numbers. It's dangerous in many ways.

"It can't be helped, let's leave the bandits behind."

The moment Zeros mutters that, the knights smile happily.

"That's right, protecting the victims is the top priority."

"It doesn't matter what happens to these a.s.sholes, we're retreating!"

"I still want to talk about some other things…."

"Leave it for after we leave this place."

The knights, including Zeros, began to withdraw in unison. As they leave, the bandits remain paralyzed.

　　　　　・

"Eh? I've been saved?… No way, an Orc helped me?"

The bandit while still paralyzed, was astonished by the Orc who had reached towards his pants, only to then remove them…

"Why do Orcs attack men!!"

"Wait, this one has four b.r.e.a.s.t.s…"

That Orc was a female.

The bandits, who had their lower halved exposed stared at the pleasure-filled pig's face.

They couldn't understand what was going on. No, it was more likely that they refuse to believe the situation they were in.

As if responding to them the Orc roars with a loud voice. Male Orcs attack females from different races for breeding, however, they're always fighting, often being low in numbers.

Rarely, female Orcs attack males from different races for breeding purposes. For some reason, there was a shortage of l.u.s.tful males, and so, males had to be secured from another location. Females also had high reproductive capability, so they only needed to find some seed.

Whatever might that mean… we don't need to know.

Since then, no one has seen the bandits. The last thing they heard was the desperate cry of Zeros and the knights as they ran away.

The bandits will be at the mercy of the natural providence of the beasts' habits, and they'll become breeding tools in the future.

The dread of the devil's cave was not over yet. Rather, that might have been the beginning. Like the white monkeys, they appear everywhere….