TL Discimer:
I am solely a fan transtor for this work, and this is an unofficial transtion of the original series 行き倒れも出来ないこんな異世界じゃ on Syosetsu. All rights to the original story, characters, images and world belong entirely and exclusively to 夏野 夜子 (Kano Yako), the original author of the series.
The fan transtion is being hosted on this site for the convenience of readers and for linking to NovelUpdates.
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The morning in this other world was simple. The moment the sky began to lighten even slightly, the birds became so noisy it was impossible to stay asleep. Even I, who had never managed to wake without hitting the snooze button on an arm, had gotten used to rising with the dawn.
After getting ready and descending the stairs, I found no one on the first floor. Passing through the dim room and circling around to the back door, I saw the mushrooms I had hung out st night lying limp on a ft basket set atop a barrel.
In this region, these salt mushrooms were the primary source of salt. When dried under the sun, they hardened like rock salt and soaking them in water extracted their salt content. One small pot with a single salt mushroom would produce a brine roughly as salty as seawater. Yet, for some reason, slicing them thin and drying them overnight made their fvor remarkably like dried plums.
I bit into a freshly dried salt mushroom and found it to be the perfect dried plum taste without any unnecessary sweetness.
Pleased with the result, I pced the mushrooms into a basket shaped like a jar.
As I did so, the eastern sky gradually turned orange. The morning birds chirped busily as they flitted about, and a warm breeze blew through.
Just recently, cold, dry winds would sweep through the town, stirring up dust, but after a heavy snowfall followed by a bitterly cold, strong wind, the spring breeze had begun melting the snow rapidly. These days, going outside without a jacket was no longer uncomfortable for even brief errands.
It had been about half a year since I had arrived in this world.
After closing the lid on the basket filled with freshly dried salt mushrooms and setting it back on the basket, I stretched my back deeply.
As I extended my arms, my right hand brushed against something behind me.
“Huh?”
This was a space kept clear for processing harvests, so startled, I turned around.
Standing closer than I had expected was a tall man silently looking down at me.
He was well over six feet tall. Not particurly bulky but clearly muscur, a fact evident even through his worn traveler’s clothes. His silver hair, reflecting the sunlight with iridescent colors, hung long and obscured his already inscrutable navy eyes. His face, as if his facial muscles had given up, looked vague and unreadable.
Despite his size, the man had managed to sneak up here without me noticing. I couldn’t help but shout.
“Fikal!?”
The man I hadn’t seen for about three months nodded slowly. Without even loosening his adventurer’s gear, he suddenly slipped his hand under my armpit and lifted me as if I were a kitten.
I panicked at the sensation of leaving the ground, but he watched me calmly before folding his arms around me like a child clutching a stuffed animal.
Squeeze.
Squeeze, squeeze.
“...It’s tight.”
I pounded his shoulders, signaling my discomfort.
Fikal, who had been nuzzling my cheek, frowned but loosened his grip.
This was an unexpinable treatment toward a teenage girl.
Still lifted like a cat, I smiled and reached out, touching his slightly hollowed cheeks. His navy eyes narrowed just a little. I pressed both cheeks ft, then stretched them with a tug.
“Where the hell have you been, just disappearing like that?!”
When I spoke in a harsh voice, his expressionless face seemed somewhat defted. Scolding Fikal, who somehow reminded me of a dog, made a strange guilt rise inside me—but I had the right to be angry.
I had worried so much when he didn’t come back. I feared he might have fallen back into what had happened when we first met.
