26-Twenty-fifth episode, new determination



'I see. That makes a lot of sense.

What? Lady Lalabelle.

Why doesn't Mister Tullow want us to do anything about it?

That's because it's us. 'You're married? Maybe a sand-sized lizard?' That's what they say about us.

''Mew should have understood, but sometimes you say crazy things. Lord Taro's judgments of beauty and ugliness are contrary to the norm in this world.

'Come to think of it, that's right. So, the person named Kana-san, who died, was a big part of your life, Taro-san.



 In the middle of the night, in the tent pitched over the stopped ship, we were asleep, but Taro-dono was sleeping soundly, while we remained dazed.
 Maybe it was because we had just heard about Taro-dono's younger days.

 He had a fiancée he had lost a long time ago, and he still couldn't forget her, and he was still in law, so he hadn't married and was alone until now.
 In this world, there would be no such thing as a forty-one year old, unmarried man.
 This is because no matter how much he refuses to marry, the people around him will force him to do so.

 Even in the world where Taro-dono was, it was hard to believe that no one had recommended that he should do so.
 In other words, he still felt deeply for the deceased woman, Kana.

'That's an enviable story,'

''That's right. ''For those of us who were told by a male aristocrat, a complete stranger, that if you look at your faces for too long and dream about it, it would be a nightmare.'' 

The same 'past' but completely different.

It makes me sad to think about it, doesn't it?

'But. Now we are at a turning point in our happiness. You understand, Mew, don't you?

'Of course. Mr. Tallow doesn't make fun of us for being dorks, you know.

 On the contrary, he even calls us beautiful.
 I don't expect such men to show up after this.

'If you look again at past sources, it says that most of the 'change-makers' of the great past had bad taste in women. Well, this is from a researcher's off-the-record material, and in the ostensible historical material, it says, 'They're compassionate. They're philanthropists,' and so on.

 That's what you call a difference in perception on both sides.
 To the people of this world, the "reformer" is supposed to be preferable to a beautiful woman because of his great achievements, but he has bad taste in women, choosing an ugly woman on purpose.
 He can't say that he has bad taste in women, so he chooses such a woman as his consort because he is a kind and compassionate man.

 In truth, he is just choosing a beautiful woman who fits his taste.
 In a different world, our values change dramatically.
 That brother won't understand it forever, though.

 That's why he treats Taro-dono as an unwanted 'change agent'.

I'd like to take advantage of this great and unique opportunity. I'm sorry to say, but I don't think I'll be able to keep up appearances.

 I don't know about Mew, but even I want to get married and have children in a normal way.
 When I was in King's Landing, the men made fun of me so much that I started to focus on constantly working with my Dobbs friend Mew and raising my level by slaying sand beasts.

 Sure, it's fun to level up, because there's a kind of sense of accomplishment, but I still want to marry a man, just like any other woman.
 With a male partner in this world, such a wish is hopeless, but fortunately, I've met and acted with Taro-dono, the 'change agent'.
 I don't want to say right now, but is it an unworthy wish to ask Taro-dono to be my wife?

I agree with Mr. Lalabelle.

Miu Miu thinks so too?

Suppose that from now on, you and Mr. Taro stop working together. We can't refuse Mr. Taro's offer to separate us, even if he asks us to do so. We are only strong as hunters.

It's because both the 'Interdimensional Warehouse' and 'Internet Shopping' are great powers. Besides, Taro-dono isn't weak as a hunter. It's easy to level up, so we might be more of a liability in the future.

If that happens, we won't have any more men in our lives forever.

"I have to meet another 'change agent'

'The summoning device in the Kingdom of Bart is the most powerful device known in the Great Desert. Other countries only get summoned once every few hundred years or so, which is normal.

 So we are likely not to meet a new 'change agent' before we die?
 He said this was fortunate to have met Lord Taro.

'If there are 'changers' in other countries, in deserts that are similarly unaccounted for by the central government, we won't be able to catch them. It's exactly like looking for a single diamond in the desert.

That's a tough one.

'That's why. I want to be Taro-san's wife. But it occurs to me that Taro-san might be too young for us, and she's like a daughter in a way, so I'd probably shy away from it.

Is that so?

 I'm twenty-two and Taro-dono is forty-one, so there's a nineteen year age difference.......
 I don't think it's unusual for a couple to have that kind of age difference....
 Mew is sixteen years old, so the age difference is twenty-five years........
 It depends on the situation, but I don't think it's unusual.

 In this world, many people who don't fight sand beasts die from the heat while working, even those who don't fight sand beasts.
 It's not uncommon for widows and daughters of families that have lost their family's breadwinner to marry the men who earn it.
 He is not taking into account the age difference.

Is it common knowledge in Lord Taro's world that he abhors a couple with a large age difference?

'It may be. From what he said and did, it's very likely.

First, we need to figure out how to fix that.

 I mean, as long as you don't feel the age difference?
 Am I supposed to be an 'adult woman'?

'I will be a more mature woman. Then the age gap between me and Lord Taro would appear to have narrowed, and he would not hesitate to make a move on me. What do you think?

 That's a pretty good idea.
 I'll leave it up to my wise-cracking mew to figure out what exactly to do with it.

''Oh no, Larabell-sama is surprisingly childish, isn't that impossible?''

Hmph!

'It hurts! Lady Lalabelle.

 He's always been a good friend to me and a dear friend, but I was so mad at him for what he just said that I unconsciously dropped my knuckles.
 But I don't think I'm unilaterally to blame.
 Six years older than me, you treat me like a child, and even Miu isn't usually an adult woman.



''Kana?''

Hmph!

"Hey, I haven't seen you in a long time, and you just got hit by a blow!



 Is it because they are doing something so unusual, traveling through a desert sea?
 For the first time in a long time, Kana appeared in my dream, and I took a blow to the pigeon tail at the beginning of our encounter.
 Kana rarely gets angry, but when she does sometimes, she's pretty scary.

'Taro-san, I am angry,'

Why?

 I have no recollection of the cause of Kana's scolding me....

'Could it be because I forgot to visit the grave on the anniversary of your death?

 But that was because it was a week after I was sent to this world.
 I had properly submitted a paid application in advance and was approved, but since I was summoned to another world, it was called force majeure that I couldn't go to the cemetery.

''I was thinking of making a grave in this world once I got settled.

I don't want it. I don't want a cemetery.

Don't you want it?

 ''I was considering 'online shopping' because you can also buy tablets and tombstones....

''If you have that kind of money, buy those kids one of those rings.

He's at his age.

 Young women like to get dressed up, I've heard from Kana before.
 It's not surprising that Lalabelle and Miu would think that, rather, it would be even more so because of what's happened so far.

'It's not about that, the ring is an engagement ring.

Out of the blue?

'Taro, you're always going to get screwed up if you have to. I can't help but think about all sorts of unnecessary things.

There's no denying it...

 Now that I think about it, when I first met Kana, I had given up on her from the beginning, thinking that a girl that pretty wouldn't take me for a mate.
 It was Kana who approached me first.

'I understand Taro's situation. You were sent to another world and the king who called you out thought you were useless and almost killed you. That's when I met those kids. Those kids had worked hard for so many people in this world, and yet they had been made fun of because of their appearance. And yet, they aren't good kids without being warped. Are you resistant to responding to those kids' feelings?

I'm an old man.

 They are young. 
 If a forty-one year old man asked a twenty-two year old and a sixteen year old woman for a relationship or got married in Japan, what would they say?
 I explained to Kana that I was at the age where I was concerned about what the world would think of me if I got married or asked for a relationship with a twenty-two and a sixteen year old.

'And then there's the other thing about Kana.

'Oh no, it's not nearly twenty years. I don't know about that.

'What? Kana says that?

 Strange? 
 It's not like I remember her when she died, or that she was different from my image....
 Is it because I haven't seen her in a dream in a long time?

'I haven't changed in appearance, but I'm a bit of an alumnus myself.

 Did the time you spent in the other world turn Kana into an aunt too?

 That hurts.

Taro, you're an uncle now.

There's no denying that.

 Because I'm really an uncle.
 I'm not going to play the young man now.

'You're not old enough to get old, are you? You're going to be a man, so do your best in this new world. Do we really need to worry about common sense in Japan in this world?

That's right.

 I am no longer a shameless Japanese businessman.
 I'm the one who has been summoned to the desert-filled world of the Great Desert, the one with the power to change the world, the 'Changer'.
 Now I'm able to escape the king who tried to kill me, but skinny or withered, he's still a powerhouse.
 He could do something unreasonable at any time.

 He might try to kill you again, and there's no point in worrying about this or that, or anything else that doesn't matter.
 
 We are friends who were treated as unwanted by the Bart Kingdom.

 It's hard to get back at the Burt Kingdom, but to get back at that king........

"As long as we enjoy ourselves, that's all that matters, right?

Good answer. It's all right. When you finish your life in this world, you'll meet me again. This time in another reincarnated world, we can be husband and wife this time.

That would be fun... what?

 How can Kana be so sure of that?
 You may be able to reunite with Kana in the afterlife, but how would the dead know what the afterlife is all about?

Oh, you've got good instincts. The truth is, I was practicing in the other world and I asked God to make me and Taro to be husband and wife, and he told me that he would send Taro to the world that I was managing. He said he would agree to the condition as long as Taro would live his life the way he wanted to.

'So it was Kana's fault that I was summoned to this world?

'I'm sorry! I still have a longing to be with him. I wanted to be married to Taro and be with him.

 It seems that my point was a figurehead, and Kana got down on her knees beautifully.
 I haven't seen such a beautiful kneeling down since the kneeling down that our company's general manager did to the executive director after losing a fat customer due to his own mistake.

'It's fine. Kana must have been worried about you, right? Me.

 That's right.
 After Kana's death, I worked normally, but it was for a living and I was somewhat ungrounded.
 I would continue to work until retirement, get my pension, and then die alone, taking a walk by myself because I had nothing else to do.

 I think it was the end of such a life.
 Compared to that, my life now is hard in some ways, but I feel like it's pretty fulfilling.
 The king sucks, though.

I guess that means I'm truly alive now.

'It's nice to have two pretty girls by your standards and a flower in each hand. I'll wait until next time.

Oh, yeah. You're right. Kana, I'm sorry to bother you. I knew you were a good woman.

Right?

Until we meet again.

Yeah, see you later. Take care.

You're the one.

Dead people are basically fine all the time. Because they don't die anymore.

That's true.

 Kana was a bit of an old lady when I saw her again in a dream after a long time, but I'm glad I was able to talk to her.
 Did you summon me to this world, too, because you were worried about my bonkers life and put it to good use?
 Then I'm going to try to do things in this world at my own pace.

 I don't fit in with the idea of getting fired up, but I'll do it at my own pace.
 That's all right.
 While I was thinking about this, my consciousness gradually drifted away from me.



'Taro-dono?'

Mr. Taro?

Is it morning already?



 I woke up to find Lalabelle and Miu looking into my face.
 I don't think I was having a nightmare or anything like that, but what was going on?

"...Lalabelle, what's wrong?

'What? No, I just thought I was hungry.

'Our culinary abilities are so delicate at the moment. Lady Lalabelle is particularly bad.

'Hey! I just don't have any cooking experience.

Do you want to try it then? I'll teach you. Cooking and other household chores, even commoner women and men, even hunters, can do simple cooking outside. Everyone can learn to cook to some extent. Miu is already handy to begin with, so I'm sure she'll be better than me soon.

I'm in.

It's more convenient for all three of us to be able to do these things.

''Right. I'll learn quickly and pull out my mew, too.

Lady Lalabelle, I can't lose.

'Is bread, soup, salad, eggs and bacon enough for breakfast? Lalabelle is in charge of the fried eggs.

Okay. The yolks are half-boiled.

'Tallow's world eggs are awesome because you can really eat them raw. I make soup.

 After eating the breakfast the three of us had made, the ship started to run towards the oasis.
 God knows what's going to happen next, but I feel like my vision is clearer thanks to Kana.
 I would never be able to passionately woo Lalabelle and Mew, but if these two don't reject me, I will live happily with these too.

 The journey for the three of us was just beginning, or rather the beginning of our journey.