Stranger's Handbook - WN Chapter 01-76

by Chapter 01-76 (epub)

  Such a man would definitely not look ordinary in Japan.

  He has a dark skin tone and countless small scars on his face.

  He looks more like the boss of a bandit group rather than the Knights Division Commander.

  And I will be that man’s………adopted son, huh?………hahaha, I feel I got salt in my eyes.

  “It’s been a long time. So, you sir, are the Knights Division Commander? I am very sorry for not knowing this earlier.”

  “Ohh! Compared to that time, you’ve become much better at controlling your magical power, it seems. And leave aside the Knights Division Commander! You’re going to be my adopted son, you can call me father.”

  With a brutal smile on his face, he crushed my shoulders.

  Urm, it hurts…….My feet are starting to sink into the ground, father.

  If I wouldn’t have strengthened my body with magical power, I would’ve become minced meat for sure.

  “Yes, father. I will be in your care!”

  “Good. Sorry if it’s sudden, but I will guide you to my mansion now. My wife is really looking forward to meeting you. Come now, let’s go! Ah, Sonia, see you later!”

  So my master’s name is Sonia, huh?

  It’s the first time I’ve heard his name……Or? Did I hear it before? Once again my memory is failing me…….

  “Yes. Excuse me, master.”

  My foster father was in much hurry to leave master Sonia and his sarcastic smile behind.

  You’re wearing a full-plate armor and you can walk this fast!?

  It’s such a terrifying sight to watch a full-plate move with incredible speed…

  Look! The maids are dropping the laundry from shock……

  We got into the carriage that was stationed in front of the Count’s mansion.

  Since it was quite spacious inside, even when I was riding it together with the full-plate guy, it didn’t seem that tight.

  “Again, starting from today, I am your foster father, the Knights Division Commander Galef. We will talk more about it once we get to our house, but from now on you will be called Zest.”

  My father Galef said that and started laughing loudly.

  Zest, huh?………I am already an inhabitant of this world, it seems.

  I was planning to keep pretending I’m living inside a dream, though…

  I’m not even using my Japanese name anymore, and I will have to live on as Zest from now on, right?

  This too can’t be helped……..

  I have no idea whether I can return to my world or not, but either way, it won’t be easy.

  Until then, I have no other choice but to continue living as Zest.

  First, I must acquire wisdom and power, and continue to survive in this world!

  If I can’t do that, going back is nothing more than a dream within a dream.

  “Oh, right! Young lady Beatrice entrusted me with a letter for you………this is it. It would be wise to read it right now.”

  I thanked him and took the letter, and while opening the beautiful white mailer, I was welcomed by the fragrance of flowers.

  Oh! Aren’t we stylish!! The young lady is a girl too, after all.

  I looked over the letter while thinking that.

  The full-plate kept on saying stuff like ‘You’re so popular! You lady-killer! Gahahahaha!’ but I ignored him.

  ‘ – My dear fiancée –

  Since this is my first time writing such a letter, I don’t know what to say to you.

  Should I write this, should I write that too?….my mind is filled with thoughts, but somehow the words don’t come out.

  It’s such a mystery!’

  Hmm? It seems the young lady can actually be honest if it’s a letter…..I feel so relieved.

  I was concerned I might have had to decipher even her characters.

  ‘I have met you only a month ago, but for me it felt much longer than that.

  Every day I kept on worrying about my fiancée not being able to spend his entire life together with me, but every time I would remember those unbelievably enjoyable moments we’ve spent.

  It was the first time someone thought and spoke such things to me.

  I was very,

  Very happy!’

  She’s adorable…….You’ve been through a lot of hardships until now, young lady.

  No….you’ve fallen for me, in fact! Gehehehe

  ‘However……….It’s been a month.

  You haven’t visited me at all during this month……

  Did you forget me? Do you already……..hate me?’

  Wow! …….because of her tears this part has become blurry, it seems.

  This piece of paper here is worn-out too.

  The young lady sure feels lonely…….I must answer this properly.

  Hmm? Is there a second sheet? ………different from the first one, there are actually two more pieces of black paper in this letter.

  I turned the first page over and kept on reading.

  ‘Please, don’t hate me!’

  The paper, that I thought to be black, was in fact white…….

  The surface of the paper was completely filled in with very small characters, crowded closely, translating into ‘Please, don’t hate me!’……………..

  I might actually die.

  * * *

  Translation: Nana

  PR: Carmina

  Jack-of-‘almost’-all-trades: Mockii

  Chapter 13: A Present for the Young Lady

  Oh! Did you know that snails can sleep up to 3 years? Mockii was very excited about that, he even wants to change bodies with one… xD

  I, on the other hand, think that sleeping is a huuuuuge waste of time, even though I completely adore it.

  Weeeell anyway, here you have Chapter 13. Enjoy reading!

  * * *

  Chapter 13: A Present for the Young Lady

  I sure received a terrible letter…….

  “Oh! That black paper contains a fair amount of dark magical power! Gahaha!”

  Right?……I can feel it all around us.

  The letter in my hands started to feel hot.

  “You must be really happy to receive such a letter, full of Young Lady’s magical power! It overflows with the blessings of the dark attribute!”

  Father, this is what you’d call a curse.

  “Y…yes. I must immediately prepare a present and a letter for the young lady.”

  “You should write the letter once we arrive at our house. As for the present…… if you’d like to use gem ores, I have a lot of them. Since you’re a light attribute magic user, you could use that to create something for her. You sure must be happy that the young lady thinks so much about you.”

  The full-plate was nodding in agreement.

  Or, it might be that he’s scared and this is just his counter-plan……

  “Then I will go with that. Thank you, father.”

  While we had this conversation, the carriage came to a halt.

  It seems we arrived.

  I got off the carriage and a splendid western-style house came in sight.

  The mansion doesn’t look that new, but it sure has personality.

  In the entry hall, the maids were lined up in rows. There’s a nicely dressed, handsome middle-aged man at the end of the rows.

  He must be the butler.

  “Welcome back, Master.”

  All the servants lowered their heads simultaneously.

  “Yes, thank you. Everyone, this is my adopted son, Zest. Starting now, you will recognize him as such. He’s an excellent light magic user, Sonia already gave his approval!”

  “Did Sonia-sama…..” “That Sonia-sama?” “A light magic user…….”

  The old man’s raised hand stopped the shocked voices in an instance.

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Zest-sama. I am Camel and I serve as the family’s butler. I am greeting you in the name of all the servants. Please take good care of us!”

  He
said that and lowered his head in a very elegant manner.

  It was such a beautiful bow, it charmed me.

  “Hello Camel, I am Zest. I will strive not to bring shame on my father’s name, on our family honor. I will be relying on you.”

  “Yes, young master.”

  “I would say it’s enough for the greetings. Zest, you are free to do what you please until dinner time. You will meet my wife then too. I will make preparations for the ore to be sent to your room. You should quickly write the letter for the young lady. Gahahaha!”

  The full-plate crushed my shoulders and then left.

  “!? He took Master’s ‘attack’ so calmly!” “There….there’s a crack in the floor……” “He…used recovery magic!”

  I see….So that’s a normal behavior for the full-plate.

  After I assured the maid that I was okay, she showed me to my room.

  “This is young master’s room. All the necessary things for writing the letter have already been prepared. The gem ore will arrive shortly.”

  If I were to compare this room with the ones I’ve used in the Frontier Count’s mansion, it’s not inferior to them. I’d rather say, it’s quite a wonderful room.

  I decided I will write the letter right away, since my life felt in danger.

  Who would have thought the young lady was a yandere …………

  I will write the reason I couldn’t visit her and I’ll apologize.

  ‘It’s all right, I will never hate you.

  I really think you are very cute.

  I actually like you very much.’

  I kept on writing, even though my body felt numb.

  It’s quite harsh…If I were to write something like this in Japan, it would only hurt.

  With very much struggle I managed to finish writing the letter, put it into an envelope and sealed it.

  It seems the gem ore has arrived as well.

  “Excuse me, young master. These are all the ores we managed to gather for now, which one do you prefer?”

  There were some rocks lined up on a huge tray.

  I just chose one of them randomly.

  “!? T…then, I will take my leave now.”

  For some reason, the maid had a red face while she left the room……was she ill? A cold, maybe?

  More importantly, I must cast all my light magical power into this ore.

  I was frantic.

  I don’t wish to die…..I don’t want to die at the hands of the young lady.

  A yandere, huh? Just give me a break! The young lady would be so cute otherwise.

  She has good style, her skin looks so white and smooth, her hair looks so silky….I’d rather say she’s just my type…….

  What? Am I in love……with the young lady?

  I might like her………….I do like her a lot! My feelings, please reach to her!!!

  Somehow, in the meantime I managed to create a gem.

  Is this the result of the young lady’s curse? That it became like this…..

  I inserted the resulted pink colored gem in a charming little bag, and I passed it, together with the letter, to a maid in order to deliver them to the young lady.

  Fuuu…..It should be all right for the time being.

  I looked outside the window only to see that the evening was settling down. It’ll be time for dinner soon……It’s time to meet my foster mother.

  I sure did concentrate a lot, for the time to pass this fast.

  I felt accomplished, and while the fatigue was greater than before, I drank some black tea.

  Black tea, huh?…..Even though in Japan I was the coffee type.

  In this way, I am rapidly growing accustomed to this world, huh?

  While I was getting emotional, the butler Camel came to ask for me.

  It seems that, during my working, some maids were affected by my magical power and collapsed.

  Sorry…..I left Camel in charge to apologize to them on my behalf.

  “There’s no need for the young master to do that. The madam was actually delighted!”

  Is what he replied. Why would she be happy about it? Ah! Because of the ‘excellent magic user’ thing?!

  “The madam said ‘To frantically cast magical power like that in order to make a present for my cute niece, he sure is a charming son, isn’t he!’ She was very happy!”

  Niece?…….The foster mother I’m going to meet soon is the old Frontier Count’s……..blood relative…….

  Will I be able to survive this?………

  * * *

  Translation: Nana

  Proofreading: Carmina

  Jack-of-‘almost’-all-trades: Mockii

  Chapter 14: A New Family

  * * *

  Chapter 14: A New Family

  Once I evaded the young lady’s yandere flag, another, even more dangerous, flag in the shape of my foster mother showed up.

  Fuuu…A normal family would have been so nice……It’s not like I wished for something too extravagant!

  I was guided by the butler, Camel, and soon arrived at the dining room.

  Full-plate…..nope, my foster father and a 40 years old looking woman with black hair and slender body were already waiting there.

  “I am sorry I have made you wait, father. Will you give me the honor of introducing me to the lady?”

  “Don’t worry, we have just arrived too. Let’s do the introductions then. This is Celica, my wife and your foster mother from now on.”

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Zest-sama. I’ve heard a lot of rumors about you from my husband and my niece, Bea. From today, I am your foster mother Celica.”

  My mother Celica was smiling coldly……Yes, she’s definitely from the lineage of that cunning old man.

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you too, mother. I am Zest. I will strive to meet your expectations.”

  After we finished the ‘ritual’ of mutual greetings, the dining started.

  The manners my master slammed into me proved to be perfect.

  While eating, one must not engage in conversation, one must eat slowly and quietly.

  The food was, as expected from the house of the Knights Division Commander, plentifully voluminous and concentrated on a meat diet.

  Father? You’ve already had three times the amount I had, and you still want to eat some more? Oh, is it that because of the full-plate, if you don’t eat a lot, you won’t be able to carry it? Hmm…

  After the eating is done and tea has been served, it’s all right for conversations to start.

  “Oh, by the way, your magical power from a while ago was rather tremendous. Is it that you worked so frantically in order to prepare a gift for Bea?”

  “Gahaha! That’s because this guy has fallen for her. Did you know that he also received a letter packed with a horrific magical power from the young lady?”

  Gahaha! Ohoho!

  Yeah…….those forced smiles.

  I was in the sales business, so I’m quite good with faking smiles, you know?

  Please spare me the stiff attitudes.

  “But, that kind of magical power……. You sure are an excellent magic user, aren’t you! Now, this household can have its peace. Bea must hurry and give birth to children. The first born son will become the successor of your own household, and I will have your second son as the successor of mine. Otherwise I’ll be troubled……”

  My foster father wore such a happy smile……He held my mother’s hand.

  You don’t say…!

  “I apologize for being rude, but don’t you have any children……?”

  All the servants that were offering their assistance until then bowed and left the room quickly.

  After everyone was gone, my foster father opened his mouth and his troubled heart.

  “Unfortunately, we were not blessed with having children……My wife…you know….”

  “I don’t mind it, dear. I can’t, well, give birth to children. When I was very young, I injured myself with dark magic�
�…”

  Now I see. And because of that you can’t bear children anymore…….

  But, I wonder if my foster mother has a lower magical power than the old man and the young lady?

  Her image is that of a frightening snake, but there are no unpleasant feelings once you start talking to her.

  “Normally, a woman like me who can’t bear children could never be able to get married. But, you know? Somehow, my childhood friend, who also happens to be a very stupid man, wished to have me even so!”

  “Gahaha! I’m perfectly fine with the successor being an adopted child. Falling in love was my weakness.”

  Even if they are nobles, something like this shouldn’t be accepted here, right?

  But she’s……well, a princess of the Frontier Count’s household.

  If the Knights Division Commander was the one to want her……

  I see…That old man would have approved it……that cunning old man.

  But I sure have respect for you, father……You really are cool.

  Should I do it then?…….I bet this is still a part of the old man’s plan anyway, so…….

  “Mother, I could probably try something with my healing magic. Please, show me your hand…..Actually, I will come to your side.”

  I left my seat and went to their side.

  I used some observation magic and came to the conclusion it was in order. I can cure her condition.

  “Forgive my rudeness, mother, but will you give me your hand?”

  I grasped my foster mother’s hand, while she had a threatening expression, and activated my healing magic…..Father, don’t glare at me like that!

  Because I’m the light attribute hero……Or rather, precisely because I was Japanese before, I can heal her easily.

  That’s because the world Japanese live in is a world overflowing with information, unlike this one. Even without understanding the smallest details of our bodies’ structure, there is no adult who can’t explain how people are able to give birth to children.