"This is really quite pitiful."
Walking toward the scorched field, Naoki approached a pole that was stuck crookedly in the ground.
This was supposed to be a pillar from one of the houses, but now the house had burned down completely, and the pillar itself was extremely brittle. Naoki gently pushed it, and the pillar immediately broke and collapsed.
"It seems not a single one survived—Musashi, did you manage to find out when this fire happened?"
"I remember it was last night."
Musashi thought for a moment and then said, "It seems like it was before dawn... But who could be cruel enough to do something so vile? Burning an entire village to the ground—that's truly inhuman."
"Who else but the Heroic Spirit Swordsmen?"
Naoki said, "Assuming, of course, that they really are in this Lostbelt."
Heroic Spirit Swordsmen.
This was the thirteenth time or more that Musashi had heard Naoki mention this in the past month.
"Naoki, did you already know from the beginning that something like this would happen in this world?"
"More or less, though I wasn't entirely sure."
Naoki explained: "I've been to a place called the Root. There, all the knowledge of the world, parallel worlds, Proper Human History, Lostbelts, the past, the present, and even the future... All knowledge gathers there."
"I've gone there twice and obtained most of my knowledge from it. I also have memories of the situation in this Lostbelt. But honestly, that was more than twenty years ago. I don't remember everything clearly now."
"I see..."
Musashi lowered her head with a slight sense of loss. She had thought that since Naoki knew this would happen, why hadn't he come earlier to save the people?
But if those were memories from twenty years ago, of course there was nothing that could be done...
Huh?
"Twenty years?"
Musashi realized one crucial point that couldn't be ignored.
Naoki had just said he had gone to the place called the Root twenty years ago. But no matter how you looked at it, he was only about eighteen years old! He was truly a handsome young man with golden hair who hadn't fully matured yet!
"Naoki, you... how old are you right now?"
"Almost forty-nine." Naoki answered. "If you're curious about my youthful appearance, it's because of my physical condition. Something happened twenty years ago that stopped my appearance at a young age."
(Forty-nine years old!?)
(Doesn't that mean he's practically an old uncle?!)
Musashi couldn't hold back her sad expression from feeling deceived by the world. For the past month, she had always thought Naoki was younger than her, like a little brother she needed to look after. Turns out it was the opposite— this man's age could even make him her father!?
"I-I'm... sorry, Naoki. All this time, I might have been a bit rude to you. From now on, I'll use more polite language when speaking..."
"Why are you suddenly acting weird?"
Naoki shrugged: "Even though I'm almost fifty, both my mentality and appearance are still that of a teenager, and they always will be. Besides, from my race's perspective, someone who hasn't even reached fifty is basically no different from a child."
"Fifty is still considered a child? What race are you exactly, Naoki? An Oni (Demon)? Or a Dragon?"
Having wandered through so many worlds, Musashi had also met many long-lived races. She knew a bit about the stories of Oni and Dragon races. If fifty was still considered a child, could Naoki actually not be human?
Seeing Musashi suddenly become very curious about his condition, Naoki thought for a moment and prepared to tell her a part of his story.
However, just as he was about to open his mouth—
*CRASH!*
A sound like something being touched and falling suddenly came from the scorched field, followed by a piercing cold wind.
Naoki frowned: "Something's there? Musashi, be careful."
"A ghost?"
"Maybe, or perhaps—"
Naoki's voice didn't fully reach Musashi's ears, because before that, a gigantic figure three times the height of a person had appeared behind her without warning!
With the help of the moonlight, it was clear that it was a strange creature whose entire body was shrouded in shadows, looking as if it was pieced together from various fragments.
(It feels somewhat similar to the Oni race!)
Musashi immediately placed her hands on both swords at her waist. However, before she could draw her swords, the gigantic figure had already thrown a punch toward Naoki who was nearby!
"Naoki—"
*BAM!*
The loud sound drowned out Musashi's shout.
But it wasn't the sound of the giant's fist hitting the ground—it was the sound of Naoki countering with a punch, sending the giant flying and even shattering it.
"Huh?"
Musashi was frozen in place.
As a swordmaster, she could gauge an enemy's strength to a certain extent. That gigantic figure was clearly an opponent she would have to face seriously, and given its sudden appearance, it might be a strange creature that her swords couldn't cut.
Yet, the creature was destroyed with just one punch from Naoki?
"Hmm, that's an evil spirit formed from the grudges of the villagers who burned to death and lingered in this land."
Seeing the evil spirit left with only half its body after being punched, Naoki immediately understood its essence: "This is a calamity you never asked for. You lived peacefully in this village from generation to generation, yet all died because of a sudden disaster... Go to nirvana in peace, don't keep wandering in the human world."
Like a great monk who had achieved enlightenment, Naoki spoke words of compassion, but his actions showed no compassion at all. He threw another punch at the remaining lower half of the evil spirit's body.
*BAM!*
Just like the upper body, the lower half of the evil spirit was also completely shattered with one punch and disappeared under the moonlight without any resistance.
Naoki turned around: "Alright, that's taken care of—Why did you draw your swords, Musashi?"
"It's nothing."
Awkwardly sheathing her swords again, Musashi let out a slightly helpless sigh: "Being with you, I always feel like there's no place for me to use my strength."
"Why, itching for a fight? Want me to spar with you?"
"No, no, no, no need!"
Musashi hurriedly refused—What nonsense, if she had to fight Naoki, she'd be beaten in seconds. That would be asking for trouble! She didn't have such a bad hobby!
"Rather than that, that monster from earlier..."
"Just the grudges of the burned villagers. I've already sent them to nirvana—Let's head back, there's nothing else here."
"Huh?" Musashi asked, "Not continuing the search? Didn't you say we came here to investigate?"
"I told you there's nothing else. There's no certainty about who did it, and no certainty where they went after burning this place. So why stay here? Let's go back to sleep. I have to work tomorrow."
To support Musashi, the big eater, Naoki had to work hard to earn money during the day. Otherwise, the two of them would immediately go hungry.