Chapter 4 - Volume 1
Volume 1 Chapter 1 part3
TLN: Read this announcement here if you haven’t yet:
It was a month later.
This one small boat is surprisingly well built.
There’s a propeller attached to the engine, and it’s easy to operate.
I was on top of the boat.
I wore a robe that hid my body well from the sun, and put on the hood. Water, food, and some weapons to use were loaded aboard.
This amount is enough for a single person to do fine.
“It seems I asked for the unreasonable from my father as well.”
He didn’t just prepare a ship for me, but a sword and rifle. There a lot of other things too.
It wouldn’t be enough to only thank my parents.
I probably forced something very unreasonable by having them gather this much stuff.
The boat itself is basically like a small propeller engine attached to the stuff I’m carrying. Even so, preparing just this much is a hefty expense for poor nobles.
“All things considered, I wonder what kind of fantasy world has gas and electricity?”
Sitting while grasping the rifle close, I hold binoculars in my hand while looking at the surroundings.
I brought out a map and fetched a compass.
“I suppose it’s things like this that make it a fantasy.”
The compass shows the direction and which way to go. Along with a needle that points towards one’s direction, there’s also a needle that knows where the destination is.
Compasses with two needles are a thing here.
By setting up the location with a dial, it’s a handy tool that points towards the destination.
Since it was ten years ago, my memories of the game and such are fading, but right after recovering those memories I had written down coordinates. Well done, past me!
When I regained my memories, I had only delusions of running around as a cheat at the time, but I wasn’t able to start on anything because of the business of my daily life.
“I would have been better if I had started working hard long ago.”
It’s only human to have such thoughts like that yet not move. One could say that’s the type of person I am. Many times I’ve grumbled about things like this, regretting how I didn’t take action.
I had continued idling around day after day until I was pressed for time.
In the first place, my life here is tougher than my previous one.
I get up early in the morning, study during the night...farmwork is really severe. It’s normal for me to get to bed right after it’s all over and sleep just like that.
I was exhausted every day. I didn’t have the spare energy to do self-training, and I also didn’t have any special knowledge or skills. Being a cheat with reincarnation perks? If I had such things, then I won’t be going through hardships.
Being a cheat through knowledge from home? I don’t have such knowledge, and I wouldn’t know how to apply it to this world.
There was a scenery with occasional floating rocks.
“There’s the blue sea and sky...and also the white clouds, but I’m getting tired of just that.”
I grasp the rifle tightly while controlling myself from going insane.
I, who had been in my previous world, was thinking that perhaps if I commit suicide with this rifle, a better life would await me next──but I vigorously shook my head sideways.
“Even if I die alone, it wouldn’t resolve anything. Instead of me, it would be Colin that becomes victim to the perverts.”
I give up on that thought and raise my head.
The sun was radiant.
I had been thinking many times that perhaps I could try abandoning everything and running away.
However, this world is more dangerous than Japan from my previous life.
With monsters and thieves, one’s life is always at risk.
In my current situation, I’m flying out alone without even a means of economic security. I miss Japan from my previous world.
I’m getting fed up with this situation where I can’t find refuge.
“This world is harsh for mobs.”
I’ve been speaking to myself a lot, but I don’t care.
I’m done for if I come across sky pirates at a time like this.
With such a thought, I once again become cautious of my surroundings, and then a sudden wind blew strongly. The map made a a flapping sound.
The compass had been placed on top of the map to prevent a blowing wind from sweeping it, but the needle pointing to the destination spun around.
“What?”
As I got up, the wind blew even stronger, and I had to resist it or else my body would topple over. I clutched a nearby handrail and scanned my surroundings, but the sea was calm.
The movement of the clouds was also normal.
It doesn’t look like a storm or anything is happening.
As the boat proceeded, the sun was blocked by a shadow.
“──Something above?”
I glanced up, and there was a white cloud.
A large cloud.
I looked at it and clenched my left fist tightly.
There was something under the boat.
Looking at the sea, a part of it was shining green.
I slumped over, and hit myself on the forehead while bearing a smile.
“That’s right, it’s this thing──I’ve come across that! Perhaps it’s because of the micro-transactions? Or perhaps it was here from the beginning? Well, it doesn’t matter either way...I’ve hit it. I’ve struck the jackpot!”
I got up, spread both of my hands out wide, and looked up to the sky while raising a cry.
I really am thankful that this thing exists.
I had been thinking that it would be nice if it existed. I came here without too high expectations to confirm it, but──I hit the jackpot.
“Whoops, I still haven’t gotten my hands on it yet.”
Pulling myself together, I moved to the rear of the boat and operated the propeller mechanism.
I moved the boat close to the sea. Heading to the place that was casting light, the boat began to creak as it shook.
I lowered my body and clung on to the boat.
“Please work.”
Though I wasn’t operating the boat, it began vigorously rising. The force was too much for me to get up. I could only bear with it while I was on my knees.
The soaring boat was thrown entirely into a cloud, and my surroundings were pure white.
My body’s cold.
My clothes are wet.
I protected my rifle by tucking it under my robe, and I moved the boat while not being able to see anything in the cloud.
There was something sweeping from outside the cloud, and I moved the boat in the direction against it.
I moved to oppose the sweeping while not seeing anything, but it felt as if I was moving along the raging stream. Well, I’ve never experienced a raging stream, but anyways, a violent wind was blowing within the cloud.
The engine made a loud sound as it was being pushed to its limits. However, even that sound was being drowned out in the roar of the wind despite that I’m right next to it.
The two needles on the compass were spinning round and round, not serving to be of any use, and I was in state where I didn’t even know where I was.
Yet, I had no choice but to continue moving against the flow, and when I realized it, my body was drenched in water. It was cold to say the least.
My clothes, soaked with water, felt heavy.
The boat was somehow operating against the stream, but I was uneasy about if this would work. I was challenging a storm by myself, alone.
“I beg of you! I’ll ask again and again for my chances──!”
It’s been several tens of minutes, or perhaps several hours?
With my sense of time also being unclear, the overworked engine began to spout a fire.
“Wait! Wait a minute! If I get thrown out like this, it’ll be a disaster for──”
Instantly, the worst case scenario popped up into my head. In the next moment, the engine exploded and the propeller spun away while on fire.
The fire spread onto the wooden boat, and it suddenly began to shake while I was thinking that I needed to extinguish the flames.
The boat violently shook, pierced through the cloud, and was thrown out──then right there, a floating island covered by the cloud appeared.
Being ejected from the cloud, I resigned myself to my fate, but my eyes opened wide upon seeing the floating island. It’s something I’ve viewed many times in the game, but when seeing it in reality, it was grand.
The island was entangled with the roots of large trees, and was green from being wrapped up in nature.
Looking at the surface of the dirt, roots were also sticking out from it, and there was vegetation growing there.
“──How amazing.”
I gradually approached the island. Actually, I suppose it was my boat that was heading towards it.
I tried moving it in a panic, but since the engine was blown away, I couldn’t operate it. While I’m on the topic of the engine, it was also on fire and very dangerous.
“Are you serious!”
While approaching the surface of the floating island, I held onto my luggage and calculated the timing so that I could jump off the boat and escape.
Letting go of the luggage I was holding, I rolled over onto the surface and stopped when my back hit a large tree root.
The boat smashed into pieces when it hit crashed into the surface, and my luggage fell apart as it scattered around.
I got up in pain as I wiped my cold sweat.
“Ah, that was dangerous. It was risky to come here on boat.”
Things would have been easier had it been a larger airship, but we didn’t enough money to buy one. While I’m talking about this, we’ve also run out of money from our loans.
“But, I managed to somehow arrive.”
My vision was still flickering. I hurried to gather my important luggage while holding my aching head.
Some of the luggage had been burned, but I’ll be able to manage somehow with what’s remaining.
I gathered the luggage in one place and collected wood from the burnt boat.
I arrived at my destination, but I lost my boat.
With this, I really can’t escape.
There won’t be a problem if I can retrieve “that” which is laying dormant in the island, but I won’t be able to leave if “that” isn’t there.
Sitting down to take a break, it seemed that quite a bit of time had passed.
The surroundings have begun to darken.
I took out food and water from my luggage to eat.
I ate some cracker-like food and washed it down with water into my stomach.
It was food that only served to fill the stomach rather than satisfy taste.
“If nothing’s here after I’ve come this far, then I can only laugh.”
Things will be busy starting tomorrow.
I start a bonfire using the broken pieces of wood from the boat and warm my cold body.
I checked the condition of my rifle and also looked for any abnormalities in my other equipment.
“It seems fine. All thing considered, it’s quite the relief that this thing is okay.”
Within the light of the bonfire, I count my bullets and load them into magazines.
The bullets I have are specially-prepared ones. A mark of a thunderbolt is inscribed on the surface, indicating that they’re different from normal bullets.
In terms of Japanese yen, a typical bullet goes for around 3,000 to 5,000 yen.
This is a special bullet──a magic bullet that can give rise to magic effects. These are fantasy bullets that can burst open a fire upon a direct hit, have a freezing effect, or other such things.
Due to that, the price for one shot effortlessly exceeds past 10,000 yen.
I have only feelings of gratitude to my parents who were able to gather these bullets in great numbers.
“If I make it back alive, then it seems I’m going to have to pay tribute to my parents...Come to think of it, I didn’t pay tribute to my parents back in my previous world.”
When I think about how I died before my parents did in my previous world, it would definitely make me seem like someone who didn’t respect their parents.
“I wonder what happened to my sister? I’d even be glad if she were here to give me just one insult.”
I still remember the day I woke up in this world, or rather, the day when I regained my memories. I miss having to do an otome game for my sister.
Thanks to that, I’ve been able to make use of the knowledge from this game, so I suppose it’d be better if I show gratitude towards her, maybe?
Then again, if she didn’t force this otome game onto me, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have died.
Is there anything missing?
Once I finished checking the rifle and bullets, I placed them beside me as I rested my back against the large tree root.
Since I’ve been living on a boat for quite some time, this was the first time I’ve laid down on the ground for a long while.
“...Why did I reincarnate into an otome game world? Normally, I would have reincarnated into the typical fantasy world of swords and magic. No wait, I’d prefer if it were my previous world. Right, it would have been better to reincarnate in Japan if possible.”
Thinking about it, it was quite lucky of me to have been in Japan, where monsters didn’t exist and sky pirates weren’t a thing.
While thinking as such, I closed my eyes.
“...I’ll have to...work hard tomorrow...”
The largest gamble in my life awaits me.