~Side Ryouma~
Preparations complete.
I went ahead of the others and made my preparations in front of the latrine pits. My outfit is too conspicuous, so if I’d gone with the others, we would have definitely garnered some attention. Besides, I’m sure they have their own preparations to make, and they might also want to check if the virus really hasn’t spread yet.
With my preparations all done, all that’s left is to wait for— Oh, speak of the devil.
When the footsteps ceased, the door opened and three people came in. Of the three, one was Miya-san, whom I worked for before, and the other was Jeff-san, who I met after cleaning Miya-san’s place.
“Thanks for coming.” [Ryouma]
“Sure, but we haven’t done anything yet.” [Jeff]
“We met just the other day, but I think we should still introduce ourselves, nyaa. Let me start; I am Miya Cat, nyaa. Call me Miya, nyaa.” [Miya]
Miya-san’s light brown furry tail swayed while she introduced herself. It was almost as if she was trying to appeal her being a member of the catman tribe.
After her introduction Jeff introduced himself.
“Like I said before, the name’s Jeff Grange. I was raised poorly, so I’m not fond of manners and etiquettes. You don’t have to be polite with me. Just talk normally.” [Jeff]
“Thank you, but I’m not forcing myself or anything.” [Ryouma]
“That’s fine then. Next is…” [Jeff]
“This one, de gozaru.” [3rd Adventurer]
The adventurer this time was someone I hadn’t been acquainted with yet. He had shortly cut dark brown hair that was almost black and talked like someone from a historical play. He used a katana too. No, judging from the size, it’s an o-katana (big katana). That’s a first seeing one since coming here. The bandits didn’t have any katana with them. Just who is this guy?
“This one’s name is Asagi. I left the dragonewt village and embarked on a journey in hopes of honing my blade. Currently, I have settled in this town and am working as an adventurer. There is fate between us, let it be a pleasant one.” [Asagi]
“Ryouma Takebayashi. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance. So you’re a dragonewt.” [Ryouma]
Dragonewts are also known as the dragonman tribe. Just at the name implies, they are said to look like dragons, but he didn’t look like one at all, so I thought he was a human.
Asagi-san noticed that.
“Did you just realize that this one is a dragonewt, de gozaru?” [Asagi]
“Sorry, this is my first time meeting one.” [Ryouma]
“It is fine. Dragonewt features are not as obvious as other tribes like Miya from the catman tribe. Most have scales in one part of the body, while a very few grow a horn. The rest are no different from humans. With such minute difference that cannot even be seen openly, it is perfectly understandable that you were not able to recognize one, de gozaru.” [Asagi]
While we were talking, it finally occurred to me that there was in fact a scale – the same color as his hair- extending from his neck to his chest. But I was more interested in way he talked and the weapon he carried.
“Sorry, do you mind if I ask you something?” [Ryouma]
I thought it would be a bit strange to ask about his accent right off the bat, so I asked about his hometown first. As it turns out, a person who was most likely an otherworlder was indeed responsible for creating the dragonewt village in a faraway island.
“Many of the dragonewt possess greater physical prowess and magic than the human race. That has been the case since long ago, and it is said that it was because of that that we once lorded with hubris over other races.
The person who created the dragonewt village was not a dragonewt, however, but a human who possessed a body stronger than even that of the dragonewts. He was also a master of the sword. It is said that that person defeated all the dragonewts that oppressed the humans, but he did not kill them and instead spared their lives. That left a deep impression on the dragonewts then and they came to be his disciples.
After that they followed him with the rest of the dragonewts who didn’t oppress others to an uninhabited island and created a village. To this day we carry his soul and techniques as samurai, de gozaru. This is the legend of our village’s origin, a verse from the ‘exile’.”
Asagi-san is a descendant of those dragonewt disciples. and his accent is something the dragonewts inherited from that otherworlder. Amusingly enough, it turns out even his name was taken from the color of the kimonos when the samurais first made their appearance.
Looks like that otherworlder really liked samurais.
…It feels off, though. I don’t know if the story merely changed after all the years, but that otherworlder really feels like a foreigner sorely mistaken about Japanese culture.
“…Hey, not that there’s anything wrong with your story, but don’t you think we should be getting started soon?” [Jeff]
“Ah, right.” [Asagi]
“Time really passes when talking.” [Ryouma]
Recalling what we were supposed to be doing, we went back to work.
“I’ll open the door now, but before that, please take a towel and dip it into this.” [Ryouma]
I ordered the cleaner slime to spit out some deodorizing liquid into a bowl.
“What’s that?” [Jeff]
“This is the deodorizing liquid of the slime. It should dilute most of the stench. Don’t worry, it’s not poisonous.” [Ryouma]
“I see.” [Jeff]
After seeing me dip a towel in the deodorizing liquid and wrapped it around my face, they followed suit and covered their mouth and nose.
“I’ll open it now.” [Ryouma]
And so, I opened the door…
“I’m off—” [Ryouma]
“UGU! …*COUGH…” [Asagi]
Just when I was about to leave, Asagi-san suddenly choked.
“Are you ok?” [Ryouma]
“Sorry… I’d braced myself for the smell when you opened the door, but I didn’t smell anything, so I thought there wasn’t anything to worry about. Putting my guard down was a mistake. Dragonewts have noses as sensitive as the beastmen tribes, de gozaru. The moment I removed the towel this happened.” [Asagi]
Ahh, so that’s why… I was like that too yesterday.
“It can’t be helped. I was no different yesterday, and I’m human. The smell is so bad it even gets to your eyes. I probably wouldn’t be able to stand it either without the slime. I’ll leave some deodorizing liquid, so feel free to use it as you please. Alright, I’m going now.” [Ryouma]
After that went in with my slimes. As expected, this latrine pit was in a horrible condition just like the one yesterday.
I figured I might as well check if the latrine pit really was diseased before cleaning it, so I used Identify on it.
This is what appeared:
Idake Virus: A virus that grows in filth. Causes the Idake Disease.
Incubation Period: Activates 10 hours after entering the human body.
Symptoms: Dizziness, fever, cold, numbness in the limbs, general paralysis, obnubilation (mental cloudiness), cardiac arrest.
Prognostic Symptoms: Numbness or paralysis may remain.
Infection Method: Oral Infection
Note: Weak to heat and lack of moisture. A special medicine exists for this disease.
Tl Note: Extra chapter for the week. Shoutout to all the donors who made this chapter possible!