14


　Early the next morning, Leonardo woke up.
　Leonardo felt that the physical abilities of the Adventurer are high, and this has an effect on the amount of time they sleep. After six hours of sleep, he can wake up refreshed.
　But there are individual differences, there are adventurers who are drowsy and can't seem to get enough sleep, so it may be an individual characteristic of Leonardo.
　It is very important that you have a good idea of what you are looking for. Elias is still sleeping in a comfortable bunk made of hardened straw. So gently, so as not to make a sound.
　The sun, still freshly dawned, glistens and dazzles.
　I walk through the courtyard of the Yagud's house and turn down the front street to the well.
　There were a few of the ladies of the Daichijin and many children in the well.
　I thought Leonardo was an early riser, but apparently it wasn't that early for the residents of this village. There was a crowd of ladies and energetic children bustling around talking and doing housework.
　I'm sure you'll be happy to know that I'm not the only one. The adventurer's equipment automatically repairs any visible stains and scratches unless their durability is reduced, but he feels differently. He also gave his favorite green hood a quick wipe down. I feel refreshed after a dip in the water.
"Hey, bro,
"Green Brother.
Why is it green?
Hey, hey, why not?
　The children clung to Leonardo like little birds to him.
　Leonardo bent his mouth into a crooked shape. I'll never be able to compete with this, I thought. I'm not good with children. They are childish, unpolite and moody. Any normal adult would ask someone why your face is green?　First of all, I would definitely not say it.
　And there's no way I'd ask a stranger about it.
　These guys are genuine idiots who don't understand how awesome and cool ninjas are.
Huh. That's what makes them heroes.
What's a hero?
Is that food?
Have you had breakfast yet, bro?
　Utterly and utterly awful, Leonardo let out a sigh.
　Children cannot be said to follow a single theme. This tendency is also seen in women, but it is more pronounced in children. They solve problems and questions one at a time. A little bit this way and a little bit that way. You can't write code and catch bugs when you're doing that. A child is the furthest thing from an engineer.
　He rolls up Leonardo's trousers, grabs the kid who is trying to see if his legs are green inside, and pops his forehead.
　It's utterly inexcusable.
This head is a tribute to the courage and strength of the great frog. "This head is a tribute to the bravery and strength of the great frogs, the ninja and the frog is the symbol of the most courageous hero in the world.
Yeah. Do you understand?
I have no idea.
'Green!　Green frog!　Green frog (rougui)!
"The green frog
　They were probably all not even ten years old yet. Some of the children seemed to be five or six years old. It is impossible for Leonardo, who has never babysat a child in his life and has never had a baby at home, to know the age of a child. It was only a haphazard hunch.
　Theoretically speaking, it is certain that there was a time when he was an infant himself, but Leonardo couldn't believe it for the life of him.
　He didn't want to believe that he had been such an illogical creature.

　A slightly larger boy, but still not even reaching Leonardo's waist, bumped into Leonardo head on. I'd say he gained momentum and hugged me. It's not as if he's trying to wrestle, he pushes me red in the face, but that's not even as much of a feeling for the "adventurer" as being pawed at by a cat.　The boy's back collar is lifted with two fingers, as if he were a cat.
　A lady who seems to be the child's mother, dressed in layers of thick, ethnic-colored clothing, apologizes to him for really bothering him, but the boy himself doesn't seem to mind at all.
''Brother Green Frog, you're so strong!
It's an absolute requirement for a hero.
　Leonardo glares at the boy, who is suspended at a height where he can meet his gaze, and threatens to do so. The boy doesn't seem to be the least bit frightened, despite the fact that he is more than a meter high underfoot. He wriggled around with Leonardo's fingertips, looking really happy.
　I noticed that a young girl, even younger than the boy, was trying to climb up Leonardo's legs from behind. It was completely incomprehensible. She seems to have mistaken someone else's body for a park plaything or something.
　I picked that girl up too.
　Now there are two of them. I don't know what she's eating, but it hardly feels heavy. Maybe a little heavier than an old-fashioned laptop?　It was about as good as it gets, and the children were like baggage.
　The boy and the little girl were laughing at what was so funny and dangling, but a third assassin appeared, a good thing Leonardo's hands were full.
　A droopy-eyed, shy-looking child.
　If the child who attacked Leonardo is a child of a hound, this is a child of an indoor dog, and his large eyes look up at Leonardo apologetically.
''Green frog brother,''
It's Leonardo.
'Green frog brother.........'
All right, all right. That's all right. Idiot.
　Leonardo said to the boy, whose expression was clouded, and he retracted his previous statement. Oh, the bother. Annoying. Annoying. I think I'm going to throw all these suspended children together.
　I've perfected a new offensive skill (missile child).

　However, the thought of a giggling child flying at its target instantly dampened my enthusiasm. This is too ridiculous. Battle is a sacred thing that goes between life and death. You can't insult them with the sound of a child's laughter.
''Green frog brother, food........''
　The droopy-eyed boy, oblivious to Leonardo's inner grief, timidly held out a white lump. It was a lump over thirty centimeters long. It was probably baked in flour or something similar.
　Leonardo thought for a moment and took it.
　He took it because he felt sorry for the few ladies who bowed their heads brokenly and because he was getting tired of having to deal with the children who were happily frolicking around Leonardo any longer.
　He had to free his hands to receive them, and the captured right-handed boy and left-handed girl were released. They bounced around gleefully and ran around, singing a sort of local song that Leonardo could not understand.
　The 'capture' by Leonardo seemed to be recognized as a new kind of play for the children. Leonardo dignified the children who bumped into him, or tried to climb up and ask him to hang them.
A hero's job is not to play with children," said Leonardo. Now get out of my way and get out of my way.
　Leonardo is heading to the outskirts of the village, while still avoiding the children who cling to him. The objective is the big rock. It's not that he likes that rock, but it's no match for a child who's trying to cling to it. It would make a good shelter for us.

　As I walked, I popped a piece of half-baked bread into my mouth.
　It wasn't as hard as I expected.
　It tasted pale and unsophisticated.
　In that sense, it reminded me of that dry, saltless oatmeal we had right after the disaster. But as I chewed, a gentle sweetness spread in my mouth, and it was not so bad in its own way. There was a mixture of finely chopped lamb and dried meat, which felt wonderful against my teeth.
　There was a customer on the big rock.
　It was KR.
　He resembled a horse in appearance, but with his knees folded and his flank resting on a large rock, he did not look like one. Thinking that far, Leonardo reconsidered. Maybe real horses also sleep in a disheveled state like this, surprisingly.
　KR, who glanced at Leonardo with his three eyes, closed his eyes again, enraptured as it was.
'Do you still sleep?'
I'm not asleep. I'm in my morning sleep.
You're asleep.
Attempted. I don't want to go to bed by any means. Good morning (good morning).
　Feeling a slight blip in the translation function, Leonardo stared at KR. Although he said he was going to get up now, KR had no intention of stopping this attitude. He would want to have a riddled time this morning.
　Leonardo, who doesn't have any particular desire to interfere with that, silently eats a piece of bread in his right hand.
　Come to think of it, KR said that the mare would use the color on him.
　Maybe, Leonardo thought, he felt like he was being stalked by a child for a night. If so, I can't help but feel a little sorry for him. It's a very good idea to not ask, but it's the etiquette of a grown man.
　The fresh morning air caresses one by one.
　Time passed slowly.
　Leonardo looked out at the narrow road leading far to the southeast, but he saw no travelers or caravans coming from that direction. Jagd said that in a few days the caravan would be coming, but it didn't seem to be so convenient.
'What's that?'
You gave it to me. Breakfast.
　KR's sniffing motion is just like a horse itself. Leonardo says, "Do you want some? He held out a loaf of bread, less puffy, to its mouth.
'I'm grateful for this.'
　KR is not adamant, but is straightforward in his mouth.
'Oh crap. That's good. You know what?　The grass is bitter and tasteless. It's a soul possession's worst weakness. Their taste buds are not altered when they are possessed. Shirasawa's body is totally unsuitable for eating, and it's a disaster.
　At KR's heartily disgusted tone, Leonardo was impressed that he had such a weakness. After hearing the explanation of the 【Phantom Beast Possession】, he thought it was a very useful and broadly applicable ability, but even so, he wouldn't have been able to bear the idea of staying in that form for two months if it were him.
''KR is in Japan, right?''
Yeah.
Well Japan has got adventurers on the 91st level, don't they?
Some of them are at a higher level, as far as I know.
I see...
　In the gap between words, they ate the pale salty bread.
　Leonardo was reminded of the Big Apple in the blinding morning light. In Leonardo's mind, his hometown, where he was holed up in a midtown apartment as an engineer, and his home in the Elder Tail, where he had built a cozy room of his own in the sewers, were a mixture of New York.

It must be bad in Japan, too.
No, not really.
Is that so?
　When he heard something unexpected, Leonardo asked back.
　Leonardo remembered the cold period of doubt and uncertainty that hit the Big Apple after the Catastrophe. Considering the similar situation in the City of West Angel (South Angel), which he had heard about through telepathic communication, he believed that the adventurers were hurting each other in all the major cities of the world, although the details were different.
It depends on where you are in Japan, too. "Well, it depends on where you are in Japan. Since I've been over here, I've seen that some of the cities are ruled by grisly violence. Dahdon, which makes Susukino look like an idiot. There have even been incidents that Leonardo told me about that make the situation in New York look like a child's trick.
　Leonardo stopped at KR's words, shaking his head as he tried to imagine the 'misery' of it. There was no point in thinking about it. I'm not there. Right now, it's better to listen to what they have to say.
Japan is a little different. That's why Japan is so closed off. Most of the players are Japanese, and the sea cuts off traffic to the other server precincts.



15




　That's not surprising when you think about it.
　If you remember the shape of the map, it's clear that Japan is an island nation. Even though it is nestled in the eastern end of the continent, there is an ocean between it and the rest of the world. It is thus isolated from the rest of the world.
　On top of that, Japan was the only region administered by a Japanese server.
　The North American server manages not only the United States of America on the map, but also Canada, and the European server covers more than a dozen countries, so the area of jurisdiction is very small. And if Leonardo is not mistaken, the country of Japan should have very few immigrants, if Leonardo is not mistaken. There may have been relatively few spurts of racism, such as those seen in North America.
　No, is it a more fundamental reason?
　Leonardo raises a question of confirmation.
'Could it be the effect of the new patch?　I heard that the new patch had new elements in it that would maintain public safety.
'No, as far as I know, this has nothing to do with the new patch. Probably, but it's because the Japanese are nerdy, reclusive and scared.
Is that so--?
　KR lay down on the cool rock face and squinted at him. His demeanor seemed to be completely relaxed.
　Leonardo watched him and pondered to himself.
　This must be a peculiarly Japanese thing called Kenson.
　He had always thought it was cool, but this time he showed his greatness once again. They're not just developing Cup Noodle and rotary engines, but they're also maintaining order under these circumstances. It's just like the country of Bushido and Zen.
Japan is a peaceful country. I envy you.
No, not really.
Hmm?
Japan... well, it's called Yamato over here.
　KR snorts like a horse and takes a deep breath.
Japan was in shambles during the transference incident. We were in a mess, and rather than a mess, we were depressed. I was despondent and, well, depressed. I was in a gloomy mood. I think there were about 30,000 players logged in to Japan that day--
　30,000 people. That was a bigger number than I thought.
　Considering the area of that island nation, it could be said to be overcrowded.
Well, those 30,000 people were all depressed at once. There were players who were crouched down and couldn't move very well. Some of them were so desperate that they tried to kill themselves. And there were a certain number of guys who would go on PK (player kill) without regard for others. But there were people (heroes) who didn't mind being disappointed forever. And that's all over Japan, East and West.
How can there be west or east in such a small island nation?
It's not a question of square footage. It's about the number of people.
　-- which, if you ask me, also made sense.
　The "vastness of the world" that Leonardo and other modern people perceive is, to put it simply, a network of human connections.
　The world as perceived by a single person is nothing more than the scenery in front of him or her. No matter how large the world is, the scope of what one person can explore and use is limited.
　If this is the case, the sum of the world's size is proportional to the number of observers. The world as we perceive it depends on the number of informants and friends we have.

It's not just a matter of how many people there are, though. Well, from what I've seen here and there, the more people there are, the bigger the trouble is.
Conflict.
'Yeah, right. It hasn't intensified that much yet, though. --The eastern part of Yamato has united around the city of Akiba. All the guilds that gather in the city of Akiba have joined together to govern themselves. The eleven guilds at the head of the guilds have formed a "Round Table" to help each other out. The head of the guild is an adventurer named Krusty. He's a handsome guy. It's about 10,000 and 4,000 people.
　KR cut off his words once and glanced at Leonardo.
　When Leonardo nodded to urge him on, he continued in a matter-of-fact tone.
'The west, on the other hand, is centered on a city called Minami. This one is more radical. On the other hand, the west is centered around the city of Minami," he says, "and this one is more radical. Plant hwyaden is dedicated to eliminating discrimination and creating a fair and just society for all adventurers. They have a nominal membership of about 12,000.
That's a big one.
It had to be. It's the idealistic way to clear up the mess. You know what I mean?
It's like a presidential election.
That's right.
'So the west had a stronger leader with strong leadership skills who handled the situation well. Is the East a republic?　I get the impression it's a factional struggle, but isn't it?
'No, well, is that what you're saying?　I don't think "republican" is a familiar word in Japan. At any rate, both of them are trying to return to the real world, but they are rivals.
　Leonardo felt uncomfortable at KR's words.
'Really?　Not fighting, but rivalry?
It's an organization of Japanese people. It's not that I have any bad feelings. I'm not sure, but I think so, except for the Intics. I don't know what the future holds.
So why are we rivals in the first place?　If we're all working toward the same goal, why not merge them? Plant hwyaden will participate in the Eastern Conference. Or rather, all the guilds in the East should join Plant hwyaden and act as its administrative staff.
　KR smiles thinly at Leonardo's words.
'Five verses true, but that's not how the wholesalers are going to wholesale. That means there are too many people. Over five hundred thousand....
'Five hundred thousand?　You said there are 30,000 Adventurers in Japan.
The 500,000 is the number of people in the Earth's population. The Daichijin have their own reasons for being here, and they have their own organizations. The Daichijin of Yamato are historically divided between the East and West. The rivalry between Akiba and Minami was influenced by the social structure of the Chichijinshi," he said.
Why do you care about the earthlings?　They're NPCs after all.
....
　Leonardo noticed that KR was staring at him with eyes as inorganic as a glass ball.
　As those eyes stared at him, Leonardo was suddenly overcome with a sense of shame. He didn't know why this happened, but he felt as if KR despised him, as if he was a child who didn't know what to do.

'Leonardo. You'd better deal with it sooner rather than later, wouldn't you?
Oh.
'People today without information support are a crowdsourced bunch. Whether I like it or not, people are just numbers. A group is a creature whose strength comes out only in a group. A group is a society with a certain amount of life and technical support. If you remember how we live on earth, you will understand. Most of us couldn't even beat a wild dog, could we?　What about you?　Leonardo. --Not to brag, but I'm not even a stray cat. These fragile creatures were able to take control of the earth because they came together. That's not knowledge. Early humans couldn't even write well. ...society. Because they got together in a crowd and systematized it.
　KR's voice flowed in torrents like a lecture.
'Knowledge, society and information are a trinity. Information exchange is necessary to build a society, and the surplus heat from that information exchange generates knowledge. Conversely, if humans had not built a society, there would be no need to exchange information, and we would only have a low civilization. That's clear from history, isn't it?　Modern-day adventurers are improvised stone age people who have lost the Web. We're being divided to pieces in this alternate universe. Leonardo, can you get that through your thick skull?　Can you ask someone else for their wisdom now?

　Leonardo's chest felt a sharp pain in his chest.
　KR's words were true.
　There are no computers here, no internet, and for that matter, no telephone or postal system. Of course, we have telekinesis. The game system, telekinesis, has survived. But this wilderness is a Chinese server. None of Leonardo's old friends are here. All the responses on the friend list needed for telepathic communication remain dark and silent. Telepathic communication can only connect if they are on the same server.
　Leonardo recalls.
　The frustration and desperation that almost ended in the capital of Tekeli, and the loneliness. And loneliness.
　If Leonardo was able to access the attack Wiki, he would have searched for a way to escape from Tekeli. No, he might have searched for danger information before that and not even approached it. If we had been unlucky enough to fall into that Tekeli trap, we could have called for help if we had a message board or an email.
　But what about the reality?
　Leonardo was just about to starve to death.
　It is true that the Adventurers have a unique fighting ability.
　In the original world, they would have been like wolves and panthers. Their superiority as living beings is unquestionable. However, even if they had such inherent fighting ability, they would not be able to bite through a single trap in those ruins. Moreover, there are many individuals in this world with single combat abilities that surpass those of the Adventurers. The majority of the party monsters encountered in dungeons and other dungeons are more robust and aggressive than their earthly counterparts. They were originally designed to be fought in a party of six adventurers.
　If Leonardo's level was ten levels higher, he might be able to win, but he would be no match for a party monster of the same level. This is because the game is designed to be won by six players. In much the same way, the raid monsters are designed to be challenged by 24 adventurers of the same level, or a larger group.
　Dragons, giants, behemoths, land worms, and other giant, fearsome monsters abound in this world, and adventurers can only use their abilities in packs, in a world without web support.

But not the Land People. You're right, they're probably NPCs. I mean, they could be NPCs, Leonardo. I don't see how that matters. They live in this world and have more roots in it than we do. They have a society of their own. That may be a bit crude compared to the electronic network of the original Earth, but they've created their own society. They are creating a society in their own way.
Is that so?
That's right. That's right. There is a magical information network that uses crystal spheres, transmission tubes and lightning spirits. They're not adventurers, but they're not stupid or idiots. In addition, there are more than ten times as many of them as there are here.
But that doesn't mean
　Then the Earthmen are still Earthmen.
　This is just nonsense, isn't it?　What is the matter with ten times as many? If he wanted to, Leonardo was confident that he could conquer a village like this by himself. It doesn't matter if there are two hundred or three hundred people in the village. Even this Sekek's most skillful man in the village is only at the level of about thirty. Leonardo couldn't imagine that he would fall behind such a man.
Of course I can understand that.
　KR nodded at the words Leonardo delivered.
'Even I can conquer this village. But what are you going to do with it?　You're going to be a village chief?　What do you do when you're hungry?　Slaying monsters and eating meat?　Are you seriously going to go through all that trouble?　You want some wheat, right?　I want condiments. But to do that, you'll have to deal with the producers after all. You think the Adventurers can provide all that?　A chef, for example, depends on the Daichijin's market for his ingredients. Even if you can get your meat from the market, you still have to buy grain from the earthlings. If we want to live a reasonable life, we can't avoid having a relationship with the Earthlings, you know. And that's the key to success!
"A fork in the road?
I'm telling you that we can't just think about ourselves and ourselves. It's the same with the worsening security situation and conflicts between guilds. In order to solve our problems, we have to solve the problems around us. All of them, including the landowners. We can just throw them out because they don't affect us, but in the end, we'll end up destroying our own lives as well.
　KR's words were painful to Leonardo, as he
　That was the only thing Leonardo saw in the Big Apple on the North American server.
　KR ended the lecture with a gasp.

The bottom line is that we can either accept each other, or we can use each other, or in any case, we have to live with the Daichijin. As long as you treat them as NPCs, no matter what kind of guild or adventurer you are, the only thing you can do in this world is to end up in the Legends of the High King at the end of the century and end up in the end of society.


16

　Two days passed.
　During those two days, I can say that Leonardo and his party were generally welcomed by the villagers.
　Elias listened to the villagers' requests and cut down some bushes to help them clear the land. Kopperia did as she was asked, treating and blessing the injured, Kanami was popular with the villagers for her charm, and KR (Keir), though he would never admit it, was the subject of a lot of attention from half of the horses, who outnumbered the villagers.
　Surprisingly, however, it was Leonardo who was most missed by the children.
　Children, both boys and girls, seemed to be very excited and happy when they saw Leonardo.
　One thing he found abhorrent was that children would always try to climb up on him. The older ones refrained from doing so, but it was their childish pride that made them do so, and he could see that they really wanted to touch Leonardo with their own hands.
　Younger boys and girls, most of whom looked to Leonardo as infants or just beginning to walk, bothered him more unreservedly. They would climb up and hit Leonardo's green mask when he was in a good mood, or whine when he was in a bad mood.
　Leonardo tried to run away from the children, but even so, he could not avoid washing his face in the morning and evening, or eating, in this small village.
　The mothers who live in the village understand that Leonardo is an adventurer and is a much bigger fighter than they are, so they bow to him many times. He repeatedly apologized, as if to say that he was sorry that the child was bothering him.
　But in Leonardo's imagination, it was only a sham, and they too enjoyed the child's attacks on Leonardo. Otherwise, it would be hard to believe that they would let the little tyrants go so far unchecked.
　As such, Leonardo had to spend that time hiding from the children during the day waiting for the caravan.
　A great help was a large rock on the outskirts of the city. Reaching up to two meters high and as high as a hall at its top, it was a perfect shelter.
　After eating, Leonardo crawled away from the children and ran around the city, shaking off his pursuers and then sneaking away to hide on the rock.
　He escaped on the big rock and wielded his sword there for most of the day. This was Leonardo's first real training since the Catastrophe brought him to our world.
　Leonardo was repeating monotonous techniques, confirming each one of them and walking as slow as a frog. His day job was an engineer, and once he made up his mind, Leonardo could be very vindictive. He used his instincts like a hound hunting down a problem, but mostly he achieved his goal through perseverance and perseverance. Right now, Leonardo was using those two weapons to try to get the answer to the mystery.

　On the morning of the fourth day of his stay in the village, the traveling merchant arrived.
　Leonardo was one of the first to spot him from the top of a large rock and went out to meet him fifty meters away from the village.
　The itinerant merchant was much smaller than the caretaker, Jagd, had told him.
　A middle-aged "earthling" pulling a loaded horse and a woman in scarred leather armor, wearing a furry cloak. The woman, clad in a furry cloak, carried more than the horse, even though she was on foot. Her expression was one of fatigue, as if she had been through a long journey.
　When Leonardo saw that she was an Adventurer, he knew that she recognized him at the same time.
'Are you an adventurer?
Yes. His name is Leonardo.
　The woman, obviously wary, bit her lip. She looked young in age, but her voice was calm and, most importantly, her expression was worldly.
　In the world of Elder Tail, both men and women tended to be beautiful, influenced by the game's 3D models. Because of this, people over middle age often have a rejuvenated appearance. This woman also looked to be about twenty years old just from her appearance alone, but from her composure, she could have been in her thirties.
''My name is Chunluo. I'm a patrolman belonging to the 〈Leisure Wolf Cavalry〉. The other members of the caravan were not strong enough to protect them.
　The middle-aged man was a strong-willed-eyed merchant with a black beard. When he introduced himself as Juha, he asked to be interceded for by the village chief Yagud.
　It's not the position to be asked to do such a thing, nor do they have the authority to allow it, but Shunsui seemed to think that Leonardo was an "adventurer" hired to guard the town. In any case, we can't leave these two on the outskirts of the village. Leonardo will guide them back to Yagud's house.

　In the hall of Yagud's house, where the two travelers were warmly welcomed, Shunsui was to explain what had happened so far.
　The fact that the Lelewolf Cavalry had received a request to escort Jiuha's peddlers. The fact that this kind of escort is a daily activity for the Rakuraku Wolf Troopers. The number of people in the caravan, including Juha, was four, and we had six guards. And that the trip had gone smoothly at first.
However, on the eighth night of our journey, in the direction of the southeast from here, we encountered the Ash-Spotted Demon (Noor). Ash-Spotted Demon is a monster that has been spotted more and more often in this part of the world in recent years. We were very cautious, but there were just too many of them.
　Shunsui and Juha, who had been offered white water by the villagers, told it like it was, showing no signs of disgust, although their tone was heavy.
I'm not sure exactly how many there were, but I think there were more than eighty of them. We are an escort unit, so just winning the battle is not enough. We have to help our clients. We fought back, but we couldn't prevent that many Ash-Spotted Demons from attacking us. --They have a habit of attacking adventurers. Sensing this, we left the caravan, but to no avail. We were the only two who survived. Using my reaction-activation recovery spell as a shield, we fled and ran away - we were able to recover our belongings in the village, but the caravan could only mourn.
　The traveling merchant known as Juha seemed to try to comfort the somber face of Chun Cui.
　The chiseled, black-bearded merchant with a masculine appearance called out in a weary but firm voice, "You know, the life of a traveler is fraught with danger.
'Life on the road is fraught with danger. Even they have been prepared for such things. They were wolf horsemen who risked their lives to protect us. I'm sure they don't blame you.
But...
　Chunsui almost bit off her lip, but still swallowed the words. Leonardo and the others could clearly see the rest of the words, as if they could hear them.

--But we will come back to life. Because we are adventurers.

　Of course we are. If the Adventurers died every time they were attacked by a monster, there would be no game. That's why they go to the Temple and come back to life. But the Lords of the Earth need to be reanimated.
　The Dirtbags die.
　Because they are NPCs.
　It's as natural as an adventurer coming back to life. However, Leonardo was there, knowing that it was obvious, but unable to nod his head in agreement with the obvious.
(It's ridiculous..... That can't be helped, can it? Of course.........)
　What KR told me comes to mind.
　A symbiotic relationship between the people of the earth and the adventurers. I know what that means.
　The Earthmen outnumber the Adventurers in this world, and they are the only ones who can do the work. In other words, the Adventurers cannot live on their own. So why not use the Daichijinshi to help them survive? The style of the Minami guild, Plant hwyaden, is natural in this world.
　You're going to be able to find out the best way to get the most out of this project.
　He wasn't good with these damp feelings.
　Leonardo is a genuine New Yorker and a believer in dry, hard urban survival as a city dweller. In New York City, everyone does the best they can to help themselves. Self-help is at the heart of liberalism.
　Those who are less powerful will die. It's just providence.
　But by that same logic, Leonardo also felt a sense of nobility in this middle-aged merchant named Juha.
　In the harsh survival of helping themselves, they staked their most valuable possession, their lives, on trading in the dangerous wilderness. Juha survived, while the others lost their lives. Looking at the caravan as a whole, it would be fair to say that this was a lost bet. Jiuha lost a lot of his fortune and irreplaceable friends. But that doesn't diminish his nobility in the slightest. He took up the challenge.
''So, what are you going to do with Jiuha, and Chunsui--what are you going to do with him?
'I don't have any friends, and I don't think we can go any further west.
　The words of Leonardo and Elias seemed to have already been considered by Juha. There was only one horse left, and most of the guards were lost. It would be difficult to travel any further.
　Shunsui, who was about to say something, looked at Jiuha with his mouth closed. In the meantime, it must mean that his employer's intentions take precedence.
''That's right. In the end, we'll have to start over. The supplies we brought with us will be processed as much as possible in this village before returning. If we can get to the city of milk, even if the capital is far away, I think we can manage to recruit people to come back.
　Chunsui was a treatment priest. That must have helped them to survive. Both Chunsui and Jiuha have already healed their wounds from when they escaped from the Ash-Spotted Dog Demon. If it was just Jiuha, he would have needed to stay in this village and if he was not able to do so, he would have needed to recuperate for about half a year, but fortunately, Jiuha is in a condition that allows him to travel tomorrow.
　The voice was stern, but it still held the energy to move forward.

''My guild, the Rakuwolf Riders, is planning to defeat the Ash Spotted Demon group in a large-scale battle. Therefore, we can't afford to send any additional guards on our return journey home, but--
　Kanami replies to Chunsui's apologetic words.
''Good. We were on our way to the east too. I'll be your companion on the road. And with Chunsui-san joining us, there will be six. Isn't that just right?
　Kanami made the decision with the same lightness of mind that he had used to add Leonardo to his traveling companions, without any hint of sarcasm.
　Leonardo was also relieved to see Elias nodding and Coppellia's somewhat happy expression. I don't know why I was relieved, but Kanami's decision seemed to blow away the slight pain in Leonardo's feelings.