When I confirmed that all the beastmen, except for their chief, have already retreated a distance from the turret, I brought along two pipe chairs with my left hand, and opened the side door.
There’s no chance to be careless.
Even though I’ve already placed the rifle inside the gate, I made sure that I could pull my handgun from my waist at any moment.
The man standing before the side door was the man who called himself the tribal chief. Amongst that group, this man bears a face with the least facial hair, making him look the most human compared to the rest.
His height did not differ much from mine, probably around the middle of 170 to 180 cm range. He looked like he was in his fifties. I thought that he was too young to be a tribal chief, but that might just be my bias.
On the top of his head was his long unkempt hair, and something that looked like three pieces of ears united together.
Despite their near-human appearance, such characteristics prove that they are from a different race. Furthermore, the backside of their arms to the back side of their hands were covered with hair.
“Um, this time ――” The chief began.
“Could you wait a moment?” I interrupted and opened the foldable pipe chairs, placing them face to face.
“Y-Yes.” The chief stuttered.
The chief stood and eyed the foldable metal chairs cautiously.
“Please, sit down.” I invited.
“E-Excuse me then.” He replied shakily.
I wondered if he’s nervous since he couldn’t calm down.
[ED: No shit. It’s not like you didn’t shoot out something metallic with a loud noise.]
Still, the chief’s smell was terrible. Even though the face mask I wore covered my nose, the intense smell managed to penetrate through it. It was made very clear to me that they haven’t bathed in a long time.
“I’m Fujiwara.” I introduced myself.
“I’m Jiharu, the Tribal Chief. Umm, once again, I thank you very much for your generous aid.” Having said so, Jiharu lowered his head.
I could sense his sincerity. But at the same time, I could sense his unease in bowing while being in a seated position.
It wasn’t a refined performance of courtesy. When I considered the level of culture in this world, their race might have been at the very bottom.
“With that said, let’s talk…” I said. “It’d be sufficient if you could answer my questions one by one. Again, these questions might be pretty obvious, but please, answer without minding it.” I stated.
Jiharu chief sighed, perplexed.
Now then, what should I ask..?
It would not be necessary to mention the matter concerning their invasion into the town. If one doesn’t have food, and saw that there’s no one inside the town, of course they would enter it.
There is a saying, as long as one has food and clothes, they will know manners. In other words, if they don’t have enough food and clothes, they wouldn’t know courtesy.
“First, tell me the name of this country.” I requested.
“Country..?” The tribal chief had a puzzled expression.
“Yes, a country. There must be a remarkable person governing this land, right?” I asked.
“No, I have not heard of anyone like that.” The chief denied.
Hmm, as expected… This land is uninhabited after all. To be frank, I feel happy.
“Then, let’s change the question. Is there a country in this continent?” I questioned.
“Yes, there is, but…” The chief hesitated.
“Please tell me the name of that country.” I requested.
“I’m sorry. I only know about the Sandra Kingdom that’s to the north of this place.” He replied apologetically.
“By the way you speak, you mean that there are other countries in this continent, and that the Sandra Kingdom is one of them, right?” I tried to confirm his statement.
“Yes, that is right.” He nodded.
“Even though there are a lot of countries out there, in this area, there’s no country yet?” I asked.
“Y-Yes.” The chief nodded.
“Hmm…” I sighed.
Is this the only uninhabited place, or is this corner of the world the only place that has not been explored?
“Is there any reason for the Sandra Kingdom to the north to not invade this piece of land?” I asked.
At first glance, this place seems like a wasteland. However, though this area seemed to be an area with extremely dry climate, this land is fertile, and as long as there is access to water, this place is suitable for farming. Because there is a huge river running down from the north to the south, there isn’t any difficulty in irrigating the land.
In other words, this place is a valuable piece of land.
“From the story I’ve heard about from the previous chief, this is a cursed land.” The chief answered.
Cursed Land. What disturbing words. Considering that magic exists in this world, it wouldn’t be so strange if there’s a curse.
“…This land is a cursed land, huh?” I muttered.
“Yes, because of the frequent shaking of the ground. The Sandra Kingdom has tried to cultivate this land too, but every time they try to, the ground shakes, so it seems like they have given up on building dwellings in this area.” The chief explained.
Ground shaking… Is it an earthquake? Certainly, for those people who weren’t used to earthquakes, it is something fearful.
Buildings of nations with earthquakes and buildings of those without earthquakes…
As an example, the difference of having a fortress within the city is made clear as day. While piling up stone to form a mountain shape is the japanese style, the western way stacks up the stone to form a vertical wall.
[TL: what it means here is that the castle wall of japanese wall has width base and it get steeper as it goes up making it looks like a mountain, while the westerner wall was straight.]
In other words, people feared this land because of the earthquakes. It’s a story which I can agree with.
“I see.” I mumbled.
If this place has frequent earthquakes, it would mean that the location of the tectonic plates must be similar to Japan’s.
“By the way, does this wasteland continue all the way to the Sandra Kingdom?” I asked.
“No, it becomes a grassland on the way. Beyond the grassland is the Sandra Kingdom. There are a lot of forests there as it rains a lot.” The chief answered.
“Do you know how far this place is from the Sandra Kingdom?” I questioned.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t know how far it is. But, it took us nearly twenty days before we passed through the Sandra Kingdom and arrived here.” He replied.
The average walking speed of a normal human is supposedly around 4-6 km/hr. Seeing that they move as a group, their speed should be at the lowest of 4 km/hr. If he said that they walked for about ten hours a day, then the Sandra Kingdom should be around 800 km from here.
No, is it possible for them to walk for 10 hours a day? They were starved. They would have to stop by someplace from time to time to gather food.
Procurement of food and cooking takes a good amount of time. If there were sick people amongst them, their marching speed would decrease as well.
Thus, it’s unlikely that the Sandra Kingdom would be 800 km away. I think it should be around 400-600 km instead.
When I went to investigate, I only travelled around 200 km. No wonder I can’t even find the shadow of people.
However, there is something that I couldn’t understand.
“Then, why did you come to this cursed land?” I asked.
It was a natural question. Simply thinking about it, it was to go on a search for food supplies.
But, judging from the story up till now, there should be plenty of food available from the Sandra Kingdom’s forests where rain was abundant. There was no reason for them to come all the way to this dry land.
“…Because we were being chased by humans. The Knight Order of the Sandra Kingdom invaded the land where we lived…” The chief answered bitterly.
“Sandra Kingdom is a human country?” I was surprised.
The chief was puzzled by this question. However, there was no doubt in his eyes. He seemed to be surprised at my lack of common knowledge.
“The Sandra Kingdom is surely a human country.There are probably no other countries that aren’t ruled by humans out there.” He explained.
“I see.” I nodded.
Looks like humans were the ones that rule this continent.
Since they were chased by humans, they followed the river until they arrived here, seeking for a place to live in peace. However, because there was only desert, they must not have found a place where they can live yet.
“Then, why were you chased by humans?” I questioned.
“The humans… Wanted the land where we live.” The chief sighed.
“If possible, please tell me how you guys became like this.” I requested.
“I understand.” After saying so, the chief started to talk bit by bit
A long time ago, it was the wolfmen tribe which ruled the land that was called the Sandra Kingdom now. Then, humans came invading from the north. War flared, and the wolfmen were defeated. Their population fell sharply, and they were pushed to a corner. Now, they were even driven out from that land.
“The humans’ reproduction ability isn’t something that can be compared to us. That must be why they ran out of fertile land quickly. Because human beings saw us as people from humble origins, that could be why they drove us out without any reason.” The chief finished his story.
[TL: human sure have high reproduction rate ne]
[ED: at least not as high as goblins’…]
“I see.” I frowned.
It was something like the Indian war in America during the pioneering period.
At any rate, they must have a lot of grudges against human beings. Fortunately, I am using goggles and the face mask. For now, the tribe chief didn’t seem to notice that I was a human.
“Then, do you know anything about magic?” I asked.
“I’m sorry, but I only know of natural phenomenons like fire and water.” The chief shook his head.
“Is there anyone that can perform magic in your tribe?” I probed.
“Humans and elves can use magic, but we can’t use it.” He replied.
――Elves. As expected, they exist, an existence that was sought after in fantasy worlds.
“Do you understand the reason why you can’t use magic?” I was curious.
“Because we have bodies that are far superior to Humans and Elves, so we don’t need the existence of magic.” The chief answered proudly.
Was it lost in their process of evolution?
[TL: A pokemon?]
[ED: More like the Darwin one.]
They might have been the one oppressing human beings in the past. That is why humans learned magic. Yes, it might have been possible.
“Then, next――” I continued my questioning.
I asked about various things like human life, weapons, and the power with regards to human life. Like what God said, there was not much of a difference between this world and that of the European middle ages.
A big town that was surrounded by a fortress… Those with political authority live inside the castle, and the rest live while farming and breeding livestock.
First of all, magic was so unexpectedly weak that the humans seemed to rely on weapons as their main choice.
Apparently, besides the wolf tribe, there were a lot of other races called beastmen out there. Then again, aside from the beastmen, there were humans and elves, but, other than that, he doesn’t know much.
As for animals, names from my original world was mentioned. During the selection of powers from the [Cards], it was written that there were a lot of creatures which could be found in a fantasy world. Although they exist, the chief said that they were rare.
When I asked about dragons, he replied [Isn’t that a creature from fairy tales?] with serious face. What was that card then?
[TL: Pokemon ball(card edition)]
[ED: It’s a Ho-oh. A Ho-oh!]
Also, I questioned about the Demon King and the Hero. Regarding the Demon King, it seems like there was a story about him living in a freezing region in the far northeast. As for the Hero, it was title given to people who are strong.
“――I think I understand.” I paused after hearing the story.
I think I’ve already heard what I want to know for the most part. In between, knowing that this land wasn’t part of a country was the most fruitful.
I’m slightly uneasy about the earthquakes, but at least my house will be fine. After all, it’s a building constructed with steel and foundations to top it off. It is because it was built using my ability, so there should be no cutting of corners at all.
Also, the town’s earthen storehouse will be alright too. In the first place, merchants of the Edo era used the storehouse to store valuables. That is why it was named [storehouse], and was reputed to be of a sturdy nature.
However, because it was constructed with old methods, it might not stand up much against big earthquakes.
――and, I moved to the last question.
“We have talked for a long time, and this will be the last question. I was the one who made this town. But, there is something missing. Do you know what that is?” I smiled.
[TL: yes, your brain]
[ED: you mean your common sense?]
[TL: could be.]
The chief widened his eyes when he heard the question. If one looked around the town, they should understand that there were no people here. That is why he should understand the intention of my question.
“I-It’s people…” The chief said with trembling lips.
His eyes were reflecting the color of expectation. It was visible even through the orange lens of my goggle.
“That is right. Even if I can make a town, I can’t make people. However, there are some right in front of me now.” I said vigorously.
My voice wasn’t loud. And with a murmuring tone, I remarked.
“Your pack is poor and distressed. If you live here and plow the land diligently, I will guarantee your life.”
“Yee…. Yeeee….sss!” The chief’s body shook, and his eyes became wetter and wetter.
He might be trembling due to the excitement.
[ED: No shit. What else can he be trembling from? How low is the MC’s EQ even?]
Inside the chief’s heart, it might feel like he finally found a light in the dark.
I gave him another suggestion to increase his trust in me.
“Of course, you can decline. I will still give you one month’s worth of food from the previous questioning if that is the case.”
The tribal chief eagerly plunged down from the chair and prostrated himself.
“Please! Please! Let’s us live in this town! PLEASE!”
“I have heard your wish.” I said as gently as I could.
[ED: Well, someone wants to imitate god now lol. Please don’t have a god-complex. I beg you.]
“Thank you very much! Thank you very much!” Filled with inexpressible feelings, the chief pressed his head to the ground again.”
“Well, please stand up.” I held out my hand.
The chief grasped my hand and stood up. Our linked hand became a handshake that connected our hearts.
Despite of my poor choice of words, it was nevertheless, a good meeting.
But, there is still one thing left.
“Chief, there is one secret which I must tell you.” I mustered up my courage.
“Oh, what is it?” The chief asked.
I couldn’t remain silent about this because it would leave a seed of distrust in the future.
When I broke our handshake, first of all, I took off my helmet, then my goggles, and finally my face mask.
“Aa….h!?” The chief was shocked.
It was natural.
After all, their misfortune was caused by humans.
However, I was a human as well.
“I am a human. However, I wasn’t born on this continent――” I began my own story.