Kays Translations

Chapter 4

It ended anticlimactically.

I'm surprised by a world where even finding a corpse is left unattended.

But without adding unnecessary excitement, I quietly withdrew.

Then, there was a bit of commotion near the gate.

Curious, the captain headed towards it, and I saw several guards surrounding someone.

Ignoring it and intending to go to the guild, I heard a cry for help.

"Help me! Dad, please help!"

Thinking it might be an accident, I turned around, and I was shocked by the sight that became visible through the mercenaries.

What in the world! — A gigantic, two-legged cat came into view!

"Cat!? Huge!"

I involuntarily shouted. 

There was a large cat, standing about as tall as a person's waist.

Walking on two legs, wearing clothes... Is this a world where cats dress up, wear boots, ride the Milky Way Railway, or listen intently with their ears?

I was captivated for a moment.

The cat, despite its size, seemed to be a kitten.

It was crying, tugging at the hem of a guard's uniform, pleading for help because its dad had collapsed on the road.

However, the guards just stood there, looking troubled and not doing anything.

What are they doing... Do they only help humans?

"Aren't you going to help?"

"Hm?"

I inquire of the captain

"That little one is saying its dad collapsed on the road and needs help..."

Everyone then turns towards me in surprise at my words.

"You understand its language!?"

"Huh? Well, I..."

As I start to say that, I quickly realize.

They're not speaking Japanese!

And it seems the language of the cat is different from the human language.

I quickly recalled the Creator's talk — perhaps it's thanks to the 'Ring that Understands the Other's Language.'

"Well, um..."

For now, I tried to play it off.

While listening to the cat, I simultaneously interpreted what had happened.

"The dad, a merchant, said, 'There's a strange smell from the forest,' and decided to take a detour through the woods."

"But he got stung by something."

"Even though he said he was fine and walked out of the forest immediately, he collapsed right away."

"The dad can understand human language, but it seems this little one can't."

"However, wanting to call for help, it ran here as fast as it could."

After finishing the story, the guards look at me with suspicion, questioning the truth. 

However, the captain responds without any doubt.

If there's an incident with an ill person along the highway, it falls under the jurisdiction of the defense force.

He immediately issues clear instructions, directing a rescue team to head out.

The guard placed the large kitten on the back of the horse and turned toward me.

"Thanks, big brother!"

I turned around, raised my right hand, and replied.

"You look just like a police dog handler."

The captain noticed the muttered comment, looked at me with an unusual foreigner gaze, and realized I was different.

"I thought your Marl language skills were impressive, but I'm surprised you also understand Catfolk language. I felt something odd when we were talking earlier, and that must be it."

Something odd... I see, in other words, it's strange for a traveler to be fluent in the language of this country.

"Well, I studied it."

I might be suspected, but that's the best explanation I can give.

And with the exchange just now, it became clear —

"Conversing in Japanese with automatically translated languages."

And I immediately understood that it was undoubtedly the power of the Creator's Ring.

　◆ ◆ ◆

I walked for about 10 minutes along the street from the East Gate and arrived at what seemed to be a plaza.

Looking around, there was a large three-story building in the left rear... probably that one. I sighed and headed towards it.

The entrance had large double doors, and above them was written 'Tiara Adventurer's Guild.'

Checking the time, it was 18:50.

The surroundings were already dim, and I couldn't see inside from the outside, so I couldn't tell if it was open or not.

I pushed the door slowly, and it made a creaking sound as it opened.

Inside was quite spacious, with a counter in the back and a receptionist visible behind it.

She either didn't notice me entering or was engrossed in paperwork, looking down.

Approaching, she lifted her head and greeted me.

"Good evening."

A cute girl with short hair, about the same age as me.

I felt a bit awkward as she looked directly into my eyes with her round eyes.

"Thank you."

Now that I think about it, she's the first woman I've met in this world.

Getting straight to the point, I placed the nametags of the deceased adventurers in front of her.

"These individuals were found dead in the forest."

Upon seeing the nametags, she gasped in surprise and then her expression turned sorrowful.

She gestured for me to wait a moment and left her seat. She spoke with a male staff member visible in the left rear, explaining the situation.

He looked surprised, glanced at me, and then approached, indicating that he wanted to hear the details. 

Since that was my intention as well, I agreed, and he guided me to a discussion room.

"I'm Taran, the head of the Tiara Adventurer's Guild."

"I'm Mizuki Mitarai."

Given that my appearance clearly marked me as not being from this country, they inquired about my background. 

As I shared my story of being stranded in the forest, she brought tea.

"My apologies for the delay. I'm Lily" 

She introduced herself after placing the tea, taking a seat next to the man.

Thinking that showing them the scene photos would expedite the conversation, I promptly presented them.

"I have something I'd like you to see..."

I took out my smartphone from my waist pouch, displayed the images of the deceased on the table

"This is it..."

As the two peered into the smartphone, their faces turned into expressions of horror, and they screamed as if plummeting into the depths of terror.

"Uwaaaah!"

"Kyaaaaaa!"

The woman lost her balance, turning her face away, while the man stared with an expression of astonishment.

Her foot hit the table forcefully, causing the cup to make a clattering sound, and tea spilled.

"What...!?"

The level of surprise was so intense that I, too, flinched.

Certainly, photos of corpses can be disturbing. That's why I avoided capturing graphic details. 

I thought showing the scene and their clothing would be sufficient, images tolerable for viewing.

However, it seemed that wasn't the case.

I had assumed that given their affiliation with the Adventurer's Guild, they would be accustomed to such things, but it appeared they lacked the usual immunity.

This was something I had anticipated in my plans—

"Uwa! What is this? It's the exact image of a corpse!"

"With this, the cause of their demise is clear at a glance."

"Ah... this is surely the work of ○○. We've identified it."

"No, this is an incredible device. What do you call it?"

"A s-smartphone... is it? Wow... this smartphone is amazing!"

This is how it went— but in reality, it was different.

I stood there, not knowing what to do, observing their fear.

Then, soon after, I heard the sound of someone rushing down from the second floor. The room door swung open forcefully, and a man entered.

The moment I saw him, I thought, "Ah, it's over..."

Even if someone told me he used to be a heavyweight boxer, I would believe it, given his well-built physique and deeply carved face.

There's a scar about 10 centimeters above his left eye.

His brown hair seems to stand on end with anger, and the blood drains from my body at the sight of him.

"What the hell is going on here!"

He glared at the frightened staff and spoke to me in a stern tone.

"You! What the hell have you done!"

I felt like I was about to cry, and my body trembled at the impending threat of being killed.

But I realized it wasn't the time to complain, and anger surged through my head.

I tried to argue back, but fear overpowered me, and I couldn't find my voice.

Then the head responded in a trembling voice 

"We requested... adventurers to find bodies in the forest, and you came to report that, but... that..."

He pointed to the smartphone.

The man who had entered looked down at the images on the phone.

At that moment, his eyes widened, and he hesitated for a moment. Then, he pointed at the smartphone and asked,

"What is this!"

I took a deep breath, paused for a moment, and exhaled slowly.

"Even if you ask what it is... I thought you might want to identify what kind of beast did this, so I took pictures at the scene—"

"There are dead bodies in it, right! That!!"

Suddenly, the receptionist screamed hysterically, so I hastily countered.

"No, that's not it."

Upon hearing this, the two were surprised

““Huh?””

I was surprised at their reaction.

““Huh?””

That's when I understood—

It seems they thought, "There are dead bodies in the smartphone."

Confused, I gestured with my hands to signal "wait."

"Wait... please wait a moment! Do you all think there are dead bodies inside this?"

I held up the smartphone, but there was no response.

I hurriedly continued 

"No, no, no... what are you saying? There's no way that could be true... huh? No, that's not it! There are no dead bodies in this!"

No response whatsoever.

The man maintained a stern expression, while the woman, with her face still bowed, seemed oblivious to the conversation.

"Isn't it obvious? How could a corpse fit into something like this? And four of them, no less—"

The mention of "four people" caused her to stiffen even more."

Ah... I see.

At that moment, I finally realized my mistake.

"They can't comprehend photographs."

I recalled the story from the early days of the camera, when there was a fear that "having a photo taken would suck out one's soul."

It took about two minutes to take a photo, and people were told, "No movement allowed" and "No blinking." Some even held their breath.

The photographer explained, "It's necessary to get a good shot." However, those being photographed couldn't understand why it was necessary.

I knew that not understanding something could be frightening, and what I knew might not be known to others.

However, the reason is that they don't realize the standards when the levels are too different.

They aren't scared of "seeing a corpse" — they are scared of "what I'm doing."

An enigmatic traveler is saying incomprehensible things, casually producing a small box containing a corpse.

It would be strange not to be frightened.

In anime, there are often scenes where a samurai, who has time-traveled from the past, watches television and is astonished by "people being inside a box." 

The people around him laugh it off, as it's a common trope that works because there are many people who understand, and only one person who doesn't.

In reverse, how about this

When a modern person who has slipped back in time to the past plays a movie on a portable DVD player, the villagers should be surprised, saying, 'People are inside the box.'

So what happens after this――

"This person has a terrifying tool that can imprison people inside a box."

"This person is a frightening individual who has come to imprison all the villagers inside a box."

"That's right... Let's ambush them while they are off guard, having underestimated us, and attack and kill them when they are bedridden."

Perhaps an ending like this is waiting. It's a common development in folktales. 

Eliminating what is frightening is the quickest solution."

I grasped the situation.

I put my hand on my face, took a deep breath, and thought about a plan to regain composure. Assuming they are like kindergarten kids, I deduce what they might not understand.

First, take a look at the photos.

She seemed quite shocked, with her hands covering her face as she kept her head down.

So, I kneeled on the floor, trying not to get too close, and began to apologize.

"Lily-san, I apologize for frightening you. It's scary to see a corpse, and especially if one were to think that a corpse is inside this tool, it would be horrifying..."

She remained prostrate, not moving at all.

"But there's no corpse inside this. Please believe that."

After a short pause, the conversation continued quietly.

"This is a communication tool we use in my country, and it can do several things... One of them is capturing and displaying exactly what you see with your eyes."

I approached a bit and displayed an image on my smartphone—

"Lily-san, is it okay if you take a look at this?"

She hesitantly moved her hand and looked at the smartphone. 

As she saw the image, her initial surprise turned into a more relaxed expression.

It was a photo of two kittens playing on their backs.

"These are kittens that belong to an acquaintance of mine."

Observing her expression, I continued to show screenshots taken with the smartphone as she started to calm down.

"This is a tree called cherry blossom, and during a certain season, it blooms with beautiful flowers."

"This is a dish called 'donburi'... This one is ramen, and this is... a lot of food, isn't it?" 

I said with a slight chuckle.

"And here, we are playing a game called mahjong with friends... Can you see me here?"

She remained silent, listening while looking at the images appearing one after another.

"Pictures that seem like they captured scenes like this are called 'photographs.'"

"..........Shashin."

Finally, she spoke.

"Yes, photographs. You see, this box is a tool for taking―and creating―photographs."

She gazed at her smartphone photos for a while, then, after calming down, took a slow deep breath, wiped away tears, and sat back down.

I slowly stood up and turned to the man to explain.

"I'll say it again to clear up any misunderstanding; there's no corpse inside this. I just took photographs of scenes with corpses."

I succinctly explained that I had been stranded in the forest, encountered a corpse during the ordeal, didn't know the cause of death, wanted someone knowledgeable to take a look, and after wandering for days, finally arrived in this town.

The large man is the guild leader here, named Loki.

He sighed deeply, understanding the situation, and I apologized in response.

"I apologize for any inconvenience. I thought I was doing the right thing, but it seems to have backfired."

"Hmph... Well, whatever. But still..."

He started to say something but stopped midway.

"Taran, I'll leave the rest to you."

With that, he left the room.

I glanced at my smartphone and saw that it was 7:30 PM. It was certainly not the right atmosphere to continue the conversation today.

I didn't want to see any more images of corpses either; let's just delete them quickly.

As the East Gate squad leader mentioned, adventurers dying in the forest is a common occurrence. In this world, it's just a part of the reality.

I bowed to them and quickly left the guild.

However, it was dark outside, and I had no idea where the inn was.

I returned once again to make a cheeky request.

"Um, I have a favor to ask."

"What is it?"

"Could you recommend an inn or something?"

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