Kays Translations

Chapter 52: The Old Man and His Girls

Day 121 of Living in Another World

The next day, after breakfast, the villagers headed off to their own work. And here we are, just me, Tsubaki, Sakura, Haruka, and Roa remain.

We have now moved to the living room of my home. The five of us are sitting around the table, facing each other.

“Ah, as I'm sure you've already guessed,......, the reason I asked you to gather here today is about your relationship with me. Now that the village environment is in place, I wanted to make things clear."

Everyone looked at me with a mysterious look on their faces as if waiting for my next words.

“Starting with the village barrier, the safe life here is due to my power. I am aware that I am in a position close to a ruler. I would like to discuss this with that in mind.”

The four of them nodded silently. I was also quite nervous, though i had invited them himself.

"- Now! It's important, so I'll speak frankly."

After declaring so, he began to speak in his original tone.

“I'm old enough, and I'm not a slow ...... guy, so I feel that people like me, too. In a different sense from loyalty."

I preface this with a statement of my feelings.

“I like the four of you, but I'm not sure if it's romantic feelings. It's more like a desire to protect.”

“Is it a paternalistic desire to protect us? Is it paternalistic or possessive?”

It was here that Sakura spoke up for the first time.

“It's probably a bit of both.”

“Don't you want to surround yourself with us all?”

“Harem, huh. ....... I don't mean to imply anything, but at the moment I don't. I don't have any feelings of wanting to date or marry.”

“What about your sexual desires?”

"That's right. I think the ethics in Japan still remain, but even with that in mind, I still have desires, and I think I've been pretty self-restrained up until now."

After saying this, the women began to talk about their feelings.

“I don't think I have romantic feelings for Keisuke. But I want him to protect me, and as a member of the opposite sex, I am somewhat conscious of him.”

It was Haruka who said that. There isn't much of an age difference, so it's only natural to have a relationship like that, right? she added.

"I'm ...... or rather, as a member of the rabbit tribe, I'm trying to leave behind an excellent seed. And of course, I have no small fondness for the individual village chief who protected us."

Roa, a member of the Rabbit People, tells us that it is a tribal conception or that it is natural. She said that she had choses her candidate of her own volition, not because he was recommended by Rado or the tribe.

“I kind of weighed Keisuke's personality against his abilities. It's rare to find someone with this much ability who doesn't come across as arrogant. Well, if he asks me out, I won't refuse, will I?"

Sakura has been like that since the first time we met. It seems to be a plus factor that their hobbies match.

"I ...... like Keisuke. Not only because of his protection, but because I find him attractive as a member of the opposite sex."

(Yes, I was aware of Tsubaki's feelings. It's embarrassing to hear it said to my face, but it makes me happy.)

Everyone's thoughts have mostly come out, and I feel that the atmosphere in the place has loosened a little.

“It was good to know how everyone was feeling. But ......, whether i end up with someone or a harem, the trouble is that it creates cracks and hierarchies.”

“You don't want that to affect the village, do you?"

“Yes, everyone here is a valuable asset to the village. We cannot afford to have any discord among us.”

Speaking frankly, Sakura said,

“I’m sure you’ve noticed, but until Keisuke-san talks about this, it’s forbidden to rush around, and depending on the situation, we can share it, right?”

I thought that would be the case, but ....... Hearing it directly like this was too convenient for me. Well, there was no use in dodging the issue now.

"Well, I understand. If we get along well with the flow - is that okay?"

“We had discussions with that in mind from the beginning.

"It's fine if the discord disappears."

After that, we continued various discussions for some time.

I decided that if I had exposed my feelings to this extent, I would have to go to some pretty nasty lengths. I will not divulge the details, but let me just say that it was amazing.

Regarding Tsubaki, who was the only one who clearly declared romantic feelings for me, she said that she didn't want to do anything right now. However, she seems to be saying, "I'm going to be active in the future."

In the end, we talked from morning until just before noon, and finally broke up when we were hungry.

No matter how I try to make up for it, in the end I'm also a harem-like old man full of desires. But doing it is another story. It's a pretty cowardly way of saying it, but... I want to keep moderation and let nature take its course

◇◇◇

The other main members of the group remained in the village because of the secret meeting. The dungeon search was cancelled today, and Touya and Rado are also in the village after completing their morning work.

Recently, we have been focusing on dungeon-related issues and have not had a village meeting. I decided to take this opportunity to gather the members and have a discussion.

After gathering at the village meeting place, everyone took their seats in an orderly fashion, and everyone started talking about whatever was on their mind. Life in the village had become stable, so there were no pressing matters to discuss. The conversation was lively from start to finish.

"By the way, you haven't heard from Merinard-san yet, have you?"

Sakura asked when the topic turned to the city.

“Nothing. Initially, he said it would be about three weeks, but since we're talking about something with the other party, maybe it's taking longer.”

“Well, that's true, but it seems like there should at least be a message ......”

“As I said the other day, we could go and check on our city, you know?"

Rad is very considerate to make such a suggestion, but I think we should not do that.

“I don't want to do that. I'm afraid of secondary damage if something goes wrong.”

“I see. Well, I suppose we could wait a while.”

"Yeah, I'd appreciate that."

“By the way, the day after tomorrow, the tenement we are building outside the boundary will be erected.”

Rudrug told me that the building was already completed and all that remained was the interior.

“Speaking of tenements, should we put a fence around the house? I think we need to take countermeasures against monsters if it is outside the boundaries.”

“Natsuki is right. We'll help you, too, and we'll finish it all up tomorrow.”

Since everyone was here, I decided to ask them about their return to Japan.

“I had never really asked before, but do you all want to go back to Japan? Oh, by the way, I'm fine with either.”

The first to respond was Touya.

"Chief, what do you mean you don't mind either way?"

“I mean, it's like, I can stay here forever, but I don't care if I go back home.”

“I understand that feeling. I feel the same way.”

“Well, personally, I don't mind if I can't go home.”

The other members seemed to feel the same way, and none of them wanted to go home.

“I was wondering if I could go home in the first place, but it's useless to think about it now.”

“It's not a waste of time, but it's better not to get our hopes up.”

“I guess so.”

“But that's the thing, isn't it? If all of us can say, 'It's no use if we can't go home,' that's a little scary, isn't it?”

"Chief, what are you afraid of?"

"I'm afraid that I'm being controlled by the will of the world, ...... brainwashed or something.”

"Eh, that's scary. Stop it, chief..."

“But have you guys ever thought about leaving after you got here? I mean, maybe right after the transition, but...”

“I don't think so. ......”

"Well, the members here have a deep knowledge of different worlds. I'm sure they are highly adaptable."

"Right, isn't it?"

"The mystery of this conversation was revealed... after a long time."

"Eh ...... Tsubaki ......-san?"

I don't know what she was thinking, but Tsubaki suddenly jumped in. Everyone else hears it and freezes. She speaks in a thick voice that doesn't sound like hers, so it's even scarier.

“I'm just kidding.”

“It sounds like a joke when Tsubaki says it. I'm getting a little scared too,.......”

With that, the village meeting for the first time in a long time ended, even though we moved on to talking about blacksmithing and agriculture.

Hoping that Tsubaki's line was not foreshadowing, another peaceful day passed.

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