Chapter 7: Strengthening Our Forces and a Dangerous Unique Skill
“…This person is one of the Blessed too, right?”
“Yes. She’s another reincarnator, just like you, Kakeru, and she’s been searching for a way back to Japan even longer than I have. We never told each other our reasons, but I’m sure she has deep regrets tying her to Japan, just like I do. We keep in touch regularly, and we’ve promised to let each other know if either of us finds any new information. Of course, if you’re against it, I won’t tell her anything.”
“…Deep regrets…”
Apparently, there were many people who had suddenly been transported or reincarnated into this other world.
Just like Yuuka, many of them had probably been forced to leave Japan with important things left unfinished.
If this woman had been searching for a way home even longer than Yuuka, then she must have something precious waiting for her as well.
“Yeah. If my Unique Skill can help someone the way it helped Haruka, then I’d be happy to do it.”
“Kakeru…”
If there were people suffering like Yuuka had been, and my ability could help them, then I wanted to do whatever I could.
Of course, I couldn’t actually send them back to Japan, so there was a limit to what I could accomplish.
“Besides, it’s not just for her sake. It’s also for my own protection. I’d like to have more allies.”
“…You already have me to protect you.”
Yuuka puffed out her cheeks slightly, looking as though she wanted to say I’m all the protection you need.
Considering her Unique Skill was Sword Saint, and she was an S-Rank adventurer, I had no doubt she was incredibly strong.
“I’m not questioning your abilities. But there are a lot of Blessed people in this world, right? If ten of them teamed up and attacked us while you also had to protect me… wouldn’t that be too much?”
“…If five or more of them had powerful Unique Skills… I think it would be difficult.”
…So four or fewer might actually be manageable?
Sword Saint really did sound like one of the highest-tier abilities imaginable, and Yuuka had spent the last two years fighting desperately for her sister’s sake. She had to be incredibly powerful.
Even so…
No matter how strong an individual was, numbers eventually won out.
“That’s why I want more people on our side. We help this person, and in return, if something ever happens, she helps us. Basically, an alliance.”
“…You’re right. Your safety has to come first, Kakeru. And with her Unique Skill, I’m certain she’d be able to help you.”
Apparently, this other Blessed person also possessed an exceptionally powerful Unique Skill.
…This world really was overflowing with cheat abilities.
“And groups of Blessed people aren’t the only thing we should worry about. There’s another possibility—a Unique Skill like Steal that lets someone take another person’s Unique Skill. Has anyone like that ever existed?”
“Steal… I’ve never heard of anything like that. But if someone did have such an ability, they’d probably pretend the stolen skills were their own and keep the truth secret.”
“Yeah… that’s exactly what they’d do. Though we don’t even know whether a skill that powerful actually exists.”
Maybe there really was someone out there with an ability like that captain from that famous manga.
If so…
There was no question my Unique Skill would become their target.
“That’s another reason why we should gather allies. An alliance where we help each other. Also… you told me your real name, Yuuka, but when you meet someone for the first time, I don’t think you should tell them your surname.”
“Huh? Why not?”
“I’d never do something like this myself, but if someone possessed a Unique Skill that allowed them to return to Japan, they could use your name to track down your family and friends back home… and take them hostage. Even someone with the strongest Unique Skill imaginable could be forced to obey if the people they loved were threatened.”
“…!”
If someone had been transported rather than reincarnated, there was a good chance they’d been reported missing.
Once someone knew their real name, tracing their family wouldn’t necessarily be impossible.
No matter how overwhelming your power was in this world…
If someone threatened to kill your family or friends back in Japan, many people would have no choice but to submit.
That was another reason why it would be so dangerous if my Unique Skill ever fell into the wrong hands.
Well…
Maybe I was just overthinking things.
Still, it was worth keeping the possibility in the back of our minds.
“Oh, and the name I told you is my real one. I’d appreciate it if you kept it secret from everyone else.”
“I understand. It’ll be a secret just between you and me!”
She smiled as she said it.
For a split second, my heart skipped a beat.
The contrast between that warm smile and the emotionless expression she’d worn when we’d first met only made it even more striking.
After discussing it with Yuuka, we decided to send a letter to the other Blessed.
We wouldn’t mention that I possessed a Unique Skill capable of returning people to Japan—only that we’d discovered a major lead.
It would take her some time to reach this city by carriage, so we’d use that time to prepare for negotiations.
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“S-So good… I can actually eat bread that’s this soft and white…”
The fluffy white bread before me was worlds apart from the dry, crumbly, bitter black bread I’d been forced to eat ever since arriving in this world.
On top of that, there was sweet jam made with sugar.
Both of those things were completely ordinary back in Japan.
Here, however, they were expensive luxuries.
There was even a fresh salad and a fried egg.
This was an incredible breakfast!
Yuuka giggled.
“Hehe, you’re exaggerating. But honestly… since I first came to this world, this is the first time I’ve slept so peacefully. It’s all thanks to you, Kakeru.”
“We’re even.”
Now that the burden she’d carried for so many years had finally been lifted, she’d been able to sleep soundly.
As for me, I was simply grateful to enjoy the delicious breakfast Yuuka had prepared.
Today, we planned to visit a flea market in Japan that afternoon.
Before that, we’d head to the marketplace in this city early in the morning to buy goods that might sell well in Japan.
I wondered…
What kinds of items from another world would people actually buy at a Japanese flea market?
…
And now that I thought about it…
This would actually be my first time ever going shopping around town with a woman.
For some reason…
I was starting to feel a little nervous.