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I Got a New Skill Every Time I Was Exiled, and After 100 Different Worlds, I Was Unmatched (Web Novel) - Chapter 405: Even if You’re Doing the Same Thing, Reactions Differ When Appearances Are Different
Chapter 405: Even if You’re Doing the Same Thing, Reactions Differ When Appearances Are Different
This chapter is updated by JustRead.pl
“Yo…ugh!”“Ed!?”
As I set foot in the new world, pain surged through my body once again. Grimacing and groaning, I was quickly approached by Tia, but I gestured for her to stop while I took deep, slow breaths to steady myself.
“Phew… I’m okay.”
“Are you really alright? You absolutely mustn’t overdo it.”
“Haha, really, I am. It was a bit tough, but not as bad as the first time.”
Could this pain I felt again be the world’s way of rejecting foreign elements? Perhaps traveling between worlds without a divine pass, a sort of ‘God’s will,’ leads to such consequences…!?
“That was close…”
“What’s wrong, Ed?”
“Ah, it’s nothing.”
As Tia tilted her head in confusion, I inadvertently covered my mouth. If my suspicion was correct, then relocating the fairies and the Sweet Demon King two worlds ago was a dangerously risky move.
(Was it okay because it was originally the same world? Or… anyway, I need to be more careful from now on.)
If that had been a migration to a completely different world, I can’t even imagine what effects it might have had. It’s possible that others might not have issues, but I’m not even slightly inclined to test that theory.
“Haah… Alright, I’m really fine. Let’s go meet the hero of this world.”
“Understood.”
After taking one last deep breath, I started walking with Tia out of the forest and onto the main road.
“We’re just going to look at him from a distance this time, right?”
“That’s right. The actual meeting will happen tomorrow. To avoid any complications, let’s not approach him today.”
“Got it. It feels a bit sad though…”
“It can’t be helped. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be able to act together.”
This time, our encounter involved me rescuing the hero from a monster attack in the forest. It’s a classic scenario made possible because this was the latter half of the 79th world, which also ensured its stability.
Of course, knowing he’ll be attacked, I could preemptively eliminate the monster to prevent the attack, but doing so would remove the reason for our meeting. As much as I hate to scare him, I can’t erase the fact that he will be attacked. After all, this hero is…
“There he is. That’s him.”
As we casually entered the town and walked down the main street, the hero appeared before us. A seemingly fragile twelve-year-old boy with soft brown hair cut short around his neck… that’s Yuto, the hero of this world.
“He’s really just a kid. And he’s already an adventurer?”
“Yes, that’s how it is in this world.”
In many worlds, adulthood is reached at fifteen, and that’s when people start working. Being an adventurer, or whatever equivalent term there might be, was naturally a profession, and one becomes an adventurer at fifteen.
However, in this world, although adulthood was still at fifteen, registration as an adventurer was possible from the age of twelve. Though until fifteen, they were mostly given safe chores like gathering herbs, and they didn’t advance in rank or take on subjugation quests.
“Officially, it’s to gauge a child’s aptitude as an adventurer from a young age and to secure promising young talent for the future…I think?”
“Hmm. And the unofficial reason?”
“It’s to provide children who might otherwise end up in the slums with a minimum livelihood without getting involved in crime. Frankly, it’s part of community mutual aid.”
Just being alive makes you hungry, and that’s true for children too. If they can’t bear the hunger, they might steal from someone’s purse or even harm others to get food, which is natural for any living being.
But if there’s a legitimate way to earn, most people will choose it. It’s easier in every sense to work a bit hard and buy food with the earnings than to live in fear of getting caught at any moment.
“The age limit is set at twelve because allowing younger children would enable unscrupulous adults to exploit them easily. To a rotten adult, deceiving and using an undeveloped child is a piece of cake.”
That’s the background, so we can’t just approach the hero. Without any connection or him seeking help, if we approached him, we’d likely be seen as suspicious characters with ill intentions.
“Wow… that’s pretty harsh.”
“It can’t be helped. No matter what system you devise, there will always be someone who abuses it. More importantly…”
I shrugged and shifted my gaze from the hero to someone else nearby, apparently another observer following the same target but from a different angle.
The person appeared to be about twelve or thirteen years old, the same as the hero. She was dressed like a young lady from somewhere, in a black pleated skirt and a white shirt with frills, but her slightly dull red hair was somewhat unkempt, ruining the noble vibe.
This girl peeked out from behind a building, intently watching the hero. She seemed to be trying to be discreet, but her anxious demeanor was clearly visible to anyone around… yet, despite this, no one around seemed to notice her, adding to the incongruity.
“What’s that about?”
“She seems to be watching that boy hero too. Ed, you don’t know her?”
“Hmm…? No, I don’t recall seeing her before.”
If such a child had been lurking around, I would have noticed, and she would have left an impression. But no matter how hard I rack my brain, I can’t recall that girl.
“Should we try talking to her?”
“Eh? Maybe we should just leave her alone?”
“No, but something about this is bothering me… Sorry, I’ll be right back.”
“Ed!”
Ignoring Tia’s slightly reproachful tone, I quietly approached the girl and gently tapped her on the shoulder.
“Hey, miss. Can I talk to you for a moment?”
“What is it? I am busy right now! Leave it for later.”
“Don’t be like that. Just a moment, please!”
“I said to come back later!”
“Please, just a little bit! Just a little!”
“Ah, enough, you’re persistent! What do you want…!?”
Despite my unusual persistence, the girl turned around with irritation in her voice. There was something vaguely familiar about her face… No, could it be?
“Wait, you’re not…?”
“Gyaaaah!? Why is my lord here!?”
“The Demon King!?”
What had been just a slight feeling of unease until now suddenly became clear—the girl in front of me was unmistakably a fragment of my power, the Demon King. But as I struggled to grasp the situation, the Demon King suddenly bowed deeply. This was bad, I couldn’t react in time—
“Please! I beg you to overlook me! For mercy’s sake! Like this!”
“What!?”
Without a moment’s hesitation, the Demon King girl began a perfect bow right there on the street. Suddenly, people who had just passed by started to take notice, and their blatant stares and whispers quickly filled the air around us.
“Wow, what’s that? Making a girl bow down like that…”
“What kind of life must one lead to become such scum?”
“Hey, come on! Get up!”
In what could be one of the most awkward situations in my over a hundred years of life in different worlds, I desperately called out to the Demon King in front of me. I really wanted to just grab her by the shoulders and pull her up, but touching her in this situation might make it impossible for me to ever enter this town again.
“Please! I’ll do anything, just don’t erase me!”
“Stop crying! And stop pulling at me! I get it, okay!”
“Waaaah! I don’t want to die! I’m not ready to die yet!”
“Hey, should someone call the guards?”
“He’s the ultimate scum. That’s the end of him as a person.”
“Damn it! If it’s come to this…!”
“Yaaaaaaa!”
“Shut up, be quiet!”
I scooped up the screaming girl under my arm, smacked her on the butt, and dashed into an alley. Choosing paths with fewer people, I turned several corners until the noise from behind finally faded.
“Phew, looks like we managed to escape… there.”
“Yikes!?”
I dropped the girl I had been carrying under my arm onto the ground. She scrambled to the wall in fear, hugging her shoulders and looking up at me.
“Uh, what are you planning to do by bringing me to such a deserted place? You’re not planning to… to do something to my body, are you?”
“Of course not! But let’s have a proper talk—”
“Yes, let’s hear it.”
“Eek!?”
The chilling voice from behind made my heart feel as if it had been pierced. I shivered and turned around as stiff as a rusted door, only to find Tia there with a very pleasant smile on her face.
