Alright, let’s go. To Kirk Village!
「Hey, Alec」
「Yes? What is it?」
「I don’t think I’m an ojisan yet」
「Haa……」
Just as we were about to set off, Kirk-ojisan suddenly said that.
「……Um, may I ask your age?」
「Thirty-one」
「Thirty-one……」
Thirty-one. Isn’t that still an ojisan……?
No, maybe it’s a bit young to be called an ojisan?
「But at the very least, you’re not an 『onii-san』, right?」
「Well, that’s true…… though I can’t help but feel like I could still pass as an 『onii-san』……」
Hmm. I get what he’s saying. Kirk-ojisan does have a fairly sharp, well-defined face. Being called an ojisan probably bothers him.
「But I see, since you’re an elf, your sense of age might be a bit different」
「Ah, that might be true. In my village, everyone looks young」
「Looks young?」
「Everyone looks around their twenties or thirties」
「Hm? You mean in human age terms, right?」
「Ahahahaha」
I ended up speaking with the mindset from my past life…….
Right, as an elf, saying 『twenties or thirties』 makes things a bit confusing.
「Come to think of it, how old are you, Alec?」
「Ah, yes. I’m sixteen」
「Sixteen, huh. You really are as young as you look」
「Yeah」
That’s right. I look young, and I am young.
――It’s not like I’m actually forty-three.
「Then I guess it can’t be helped…… From the perspective of a young elf like you, I’m already an ojisan……」
That’s some real melancholy…… I can feel the melancholy of an ojisan…….
「……Well, setting aside whether I’m an ojisan, there’s something else that’s been bothering me」
「What is it?」
「If you call an ojisan living in Kirk Village 『Kirk-ojisan』――then there are quite a few 『Kirk-ojisan』 in this village, you know?」
「That………… is a blind spot」
I completely overlooked that…… So there are quite a few Kirk-ojisan…….
Quite a few Kirk-ojisan…… somehow, that sounds a bit ominous.
Well, I’m not going to call every single one of them 『Kirk-ojisan』, so it should be fine.
「Come to think of it, it’s not like I was the one who came up with 『Kirk-ojisan』」
「Hm? You didn’t?」
「You didn’t?」
At my comment, not only Kirk-ojisan but also Jisrare-san reacted.
「You suddenly started calling him that, so I was wondering. Wasn’t it you, Alec?」
「Nana-san came up with it」
「Ah, I see」
Well, “came up with it” might be a bit much. It was more like she just called him that for convenience.
「Nana? Um, who is that?」
「A woman Alec is letting live in his house」
「Alec……」
Couldn’t you have phrased that a bit better, Jisrare-san? Kirk-ojisan looks exasperated.
……Well, it’s not wrong.
It’s completely accurate, and technically correct, but still.
「Is she like your mistress……?」
「No, it’s not like that. It’s more like…… a father and daughter kind of relationship」
「Father and daughter……?」
「Something like that」
「That sounds even more unsettling than a mistress……」
「Hmm」
Unfortunately, it seems I failed to explain my relationship with Nana-san properly. Kirk-ojisan looks a bit put off.
「Anyway, when I told Nana-san 『I talked to an ojisan in Kirk Village』, she named you 『Kirk-ojisan』」
「……So I was given a strange name in a foreign place without even knowing it」
I couldn’t learn his real name when we met last time, so we had to come up with a temporary one…….
……Though even if I had learned it back then, I probably wouldn’t have remembered it anyway.
「Speaking of Nana, the mask Alec is wearing now was also made with Nana’s help」
「……Didn’t this Nana person try to stop you?」
「Nana praised it highly」
「……She sounds like quite an eccentric person」
That is absolutely correct.
「Anyway, shall we get going?」
「Yeah, right. Sorry, we got sidetracked quite a bit」
「No worries」
Even though we were just about to leave, the conversation ended up going off on a tangent.
Well, I do have a tendency to derail conversations, so it can’t be helped.
But still, it’s about time we go. Let’s wrap up the chatting and head out.
「Alright then, I’m counting on you, Hezrat-kun」
「Kii」
After calling out to Hezrat-kun, I swiftly jumped onto his back.
Alright, let’s go. To Kirk Village!
「Ah…… Hey, Alec, what was that?」
「Yes? Ah, yes. Thank you」
「Hm? For what?」
「Huh? Wasn’t that about my mounting just now?」
「……Huh?」
Wait, no?
Weren’t you impressed by how I mounted? Weren’t you praising me for looking cool?
「Alec always tries to mount Hezrat in a cool way. Please praise him」
「Is that so……? Um, you looked cool, Alec」
「……Thank you」
Even though I was praised, I don’t really feel happy about it.
If anything, it’s embarrassing. That was a pretty awkward misunderstanding.
「Putting that aside, that big rat…… it is a giant rat, right?」
「Yes, it is. This is Hezrat-kun, a giant rat」
「Kii」
Come to think of it, I hadn’t properly introduced Hezrat-kun to Kirk-ojisan yet.
Even though Hezrat-kun, who is technically a monster, was standing right beside us, Kirk-ojisan continued talking calmly. He’s surprisingly bold.
「It’s wearing clothes for some reason, and it’s been behaving calmly, so I figured it wasn’t an enemy……」
「He’s my summoned creature」
「A summoned creature?」
「I have the 『Summon』 skill」
「Huh? Ah, sorry」
「No, it’s fine」
Kirk-ojisan ended up apologizing. It seems that even among humans, there’s a sense that wanting to know someone else’s status is inappropriate.
Still, this is something I have to explain.
「With my 『Summon』 skill, I can summon a giant rat」
「I see……」
「So during our travels, I ride him to get around」
「Why?」
「Huh?」
「Why go out of your way to ride a giant rat……?」
「Eh? Ah, um……」
Why……? Well, that’s……
「Alec is slow on his feet」
「…………」
As I struggled to answer, Jisrare-san explained it for me. Very directly.
「Ah…… Well, not slow exactly…… just not very fast」
Noticing that I had become a bit dejected after being told so bluntly that I was “slow”, Jisrare-san rephrased it slightly.
「So we thought it would be better if Alec just rode Hezrat」
「That’s right. Jisrare-san gave me that advice」
「Yeah. This was also my idea」
Jisrare-san looks a little proud.
「I see, so that’s why the giant rat……」
「Originally, I was going to carry Alec on my back with a pack frame, but he said he didn’t want that」
「Of course he wouldn’t……」
Ah, that did happen…….
Yeah, I definitely wouldn’t want that. Kirk-ojisan seems to understand how I feel.
「Anyway, that’s how it is. This is Hezrat-kun, the giant rat」
「Hezrat, huh」
「Kii」
Hezrat-kun gives a polite little bow.
「He’s saying something like 『Nice to meet you』」
「Out of everyone I’ve met today, he seems the most normal……」
What kind of impression is that……? Well, it might actually be true.
「He feels different from a normal giant rat. A very clean-looking giant rat」
「Oh, you’ve got a good eye. How about giving him a touch?」
「Huh?」
「Go on, go on」
「Ah, alright, if you insist……」
I’d really like him to pet him.
And for Kirk-ojisan to experience how wonderful Hezrat-kun is.
「Well, what do you think?」
「What do you mean, 『what do you think』…… But yeah, he’s kind of fluffy……」
That’s his proud fur.
「I think I’ll keep riding him until we reach the village. Hezrat-kun has been traveling with us, so even if he can’t enter the village, at least until we get there」
「I see…… Alright, then let’s get going soon」
「Yes. Let’s depart」
Alright, let’s go. To Kirk Village!
……I’ve been shouting that this whole time, but we haven’t actually moved at all. It’s about time we really set off.
To Kirk Village!
next chapter: Entering the Village
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