歩いていたら、なんだか知らないおじさんに必死の形相で幼い子供を押し付けられた。
子供は眠っているみたいで、灰色の目立たない服を着ているけれど、その顔は中々将来有望そうな光るモノを感じさせる。
サラサラと梳けば流れるブロンドのセミロングヘアー、もちもちと弾力のある幼子特有の白いもち肌、まだまだ幼いけれど、中々の美少女になるのではないだろうかと思わせる程、均整のとれた顔をしている幼女だった。
けど、それだけだ。容姿は可愛いし、将来は多くの異性にモテるだろうと思うけれど、結局はそれだけ。この子はただの人間で、幼い子供で、脆弱な存在でしかない。
僕がその気になれば、簡単に命を落とすような存在でしかないのだ。今この時、この幼子の生殺与奪の権限が、全て僕の手の中にあった。
「きつね君、何それ? 子供?」
「うん、そうみたいだね......どうやら面倒なことを押し付けられたみたいだ」
レイラちゃんが後ろから覗きこむようにして、僕の腕の中に抱き抱えられた幼女を見てくる。面倒なことこの上ないものを押し付けられた、正直そう思う。
僕は自分が生きることで精一杯だし、子育てをするには圧倒的に父性も経験も足りない。知識はあるけどね、子育ての為のハウツー本も一応読んだし、小学生の頃。おむつの替え方から夜泣きの対処まで知識はある、まぁ使う機会はなさそうだけど。
どちらにせよ、僕には子育ては出来ないし、する余裕もない。
「冷たい様だけど、この子は何処かにたらい回しにしようかなぁ......」
「......食べちゃダメ? 最近きつね君を味わってないから欲求不満で......」
「だから舐めても良いよって言ってるじゃないか」
「だ、だって......なんか恥ずかしいんだもん......きつね君に触れようとするとドキドキして出来ないっていうか......」
「乙女かお前」
なんかレイラちゃんが恋する乙女みたいに見えるんだけど、どうしちゃったんだろう。そういえば称号の部分で『魔族に愛された者』とかなんとか書いてあったっけ。
もしかしたらレイラちゃんの僕に対する印象が、『お気に入りの捕食対象』から『好きな人』に変化しちゃったのかな。使徒ちゃんとの戦いの時に、レイラちゃんは僕が護るとか言ったし、案外その辺で好感度がぐーんと上がっちゃったのかもしれない。
まぁ推測でしかないし、僕は女の子の思わせぶりな行動を勘違いしてしまって、後々恥ずかしい思いしちゃったっていう経験があるから下手に結論は出せないぞコレは。
あの時は相手の女子がわざと思わせぶりな行動を取って、呼び出されて告白かと思ったら、待ち構えていた数人の女子に嘲笑われたからね。もしかして全員僕のこと好きなのかと期待した僕が馬鹿だった。
「えー、むぅ......分かった、我慢する」
妙に物分かり良いな。少し前なら、えー! やだよ、食べたい! とか言いそうなのに。
まぁそれはさておき、この子供をどうするかだけど、まずはリーシェちゃんの意見を伺おうかな。騎士のことを勉強していた彼女なら、こういう迷い子がどういう扱いになるのかもある程度分かる筈だ。
捨てるにしろ、騎士に預けるにしろ、僕にとって損にならない選択をしないとね。子供を捨てたら罰則を取られるとか、騎士に預けたら所謂保健所みたいにこの子は処分されてしまうとか、後味の悪い展開は御免被りたいし。
「レイラちゃん、とりあえずは予定通り必要な物を揃えに行こう。移動する為の足も確保しないといけないし、食料や野営道具とかも必要になって来る......まずはそれからだね」
「うん、分かった......うふふ、なんだか良く見るとちょっと可愛いかも♪」
「お前確かさっき食べようとしてたよな?」
何変な母性に目覚めようとしてるんだ。
◇
「うーん......ちょっと予算が心許無いなぁ......」
それから、その辺の雑貨屋で購入した布を使って子供を背中に括りつけ、旅の為の必需品探しを再開した。今は野営道具を購入出来る店に来ているのだけど、安い物でも結構高価だ。
どうやら僕が冒険者になってからの稼ぎでは、食料は購入出来ても野営道具や足を確保するには少々お金が足りないという事態に陥った。
とりあえず長期保存が可能な食料は一週間分購入出来たのだけど、やっぱり野営道具や足の確保は難しそうだ。もうお金が尽きてしまった。今も見ていた目の前の野営道具には、手が出せそうにない。
「あ、じゃあ私が出そうか?」
「え?」
すると、意外にもレイラちゃんが横からそう言ってきた。
彼女は自分のギルドカードを取り出すと、目の前の簡易調理器具や寝袋を瘴気を器用に操って持ち上げる。そしてそのままカウンターに立っている店主の前まで持っていき、ギルドカードを差し出した。
店主はそれを受け取ると何かしらの処理をして、レイラちゃんにカードを返す。レイラちゃんは何かの用紙にサインをすると、持って行った商品を持って戻ってきた。多分購入出来たんだろう。
「え? ギルドカードで買っただけだよ?」
気になってレイラちゃんに聞いてみると、この世界では、現金引き換えで買い物をする事が一般的だけど、冒険者は稼いだお金をギルドに預けておくことが出来る。所謂銀行の様なシステムがあるらしい。
そのシステムでは、お金の引き出しや預ける時にギルドカードを使う。
実はこのギルドカード、一種の簡易魔導具でもあるらしく、ステータス閲覧が出来る魔導具の術式の一部を使用しているらしい。
人間で魔力を持っていない者はいないからね、多かれ少なかれ、魔力は持っているから、それを感知するみたい。
まぁ魔力登録の場合は一時間の間、奪われたり紛失しないよう気を付けないといけないんだけどね。
そういうわけで、ギルドカードに名前とランクが表示されている場合はカードと所有者が一致している証拠になる。
それを有効活用して、銀行システムを形成している。ギルドに預けたお金は、あたかもクレジットカードのようにギルドカードを提示することで、様々な買い物に使えるらしい。
まぁ購入者本人に領収書の様な書類へサインさせる手続きもあるけれど、現金を一々出さなくても良いことを見れば、スムーズな会計が出来るから便利だね。
ちなみに、この制度を創り出したのは先代の勇者らしい。
なんでも物作りや研究といった方面で優れていたらしく、魔王討伐も圧倒的な質量魔導兵器を作って挑んだとかなんとか。どうやら勇者と言っても固有スキルは『希望の光』限定ではないみたいだ。
「ふーん......そうなんだ。でもお金足りたの?」
「うん、Cランクに上がるまでにこなした依頼で得たお金は一切手を付けてなかったから......多分ちょっとした家位なら数件買えるんじゃないかな♪」
「それはまた......頼もしい限りで」
なんだかレイラちゃんのヒモになってる気がするけど、気のせいだ。今度ちゃんと稼いで返そう。お金いっぱい持ってるとはいえ、レイラちゃんの厚意に甘えるのは僕の米粒並のプライドが許さない。というかヒモはやだ。
「とりあえず、旅の支度のお金は私が出すよ♪」
くそ、なんか生活能力なんてまるでない様なレイラちゃんに経済力で負けた。なんか悔しいぞ、厚意で言ってくれてるんだろうけど、なんかこう―――全く仕方ないなぁもう♪ って感じの顔に見えてくる。
僕がそう感じているだけだけど、凄い敗北感。
「......よろしく頼むよ」
それでも、僕はそう言うしかなかった。お金の力、改めて凄いなと感じた瞬間だった。
◇ ◇ ◇
それから、僕とレイラちゃんはさくさくっと旅に必要な物を購入した。
食料、調理器具、寝袋、ランタンとかだけど、一番驚いたのはレンタルの馬車だね。めちゃくちゃ高かった。レイラちゃんに感謝だよ、軽くぽんとそんな大金出すとか何者だよって思った。流石はCランク冒険者だなぁ。
ちなみにこの馬車は次の街にあるレンタル馬車店に返せばいいらしい。周辺の街に広く展開しているんだろう。
それで、買い物が大体終わったから待ち合わせの武器屋へと戻ってきた。ちなみに馬車は馬屋に置いてきた。まぁ駐車場みたいなものだね、お金は取られるけど馬を預けておける場所だ。
「リーシェちゃん」
「ん、きつねにレイラ......その様子だと買い物は終わった様だな」
「うん、一応ね」
食料や野営道具はレイラちゃんが瘴気を操って持ってくれるから、持ち運びは楽だったね。正直、瘴気を見ても街の人達の反応は薄かった。
風魔法の応用だとか、色々と説明することは可能らしいし、そうでなくとも固有スキルって言えば大体の事象は説明付くらしい。なんか凄い適当なんだねその辺は。
「宿も一応取れたぞ、質はミニエラに居た時に止まっていた宿と同じくらいだな」
「十分だよ」
「......で、お前の背中の子供はなんだ? また厄介事か?」
「うん、まぁとりあえず詳しいことは宿で説明するよ」
「......そうか、じゃあ付いて来てくれ。宿まで案内する」
リーシェちゃんも僕が結構な頻度で厄介事に絡まれることを理解しているようで、背中の幼子を見て呆れた様な表情を浮かべている。
まぁ『赤い夜』や使徒ちゃん、勇者気取り程の面倒事ではないから良いんじゃないかな。可愛いもんだよ、子供一人押し付けられた程度なら。普通ないけど。
「きつね君きつね君♪」
「この子ほっぺぷにぷにしてるぅ♡」
「お前確か魔族だよね?」
なんなんだ、急に母性に目覚めないで欲しいんだけど。もう別の意味でレイラちゃんが分からないよ。
そう思いながら、僕はまた大きく溜め息を吐いた。
While I was walking, somehow there was an unknown uncle who suddenly pushed a little child to me with desperate expression.
Seems like the child is asleep. The child wears an ashen and inconspicuous clothes, but I can see a great and bright future from this child's face.
With silky and neat shoulder-long blonde hair, bouncy and elastic baby-ish white skin, she's still very young, but with such out of ordinary countenance she has, it appears she would grow into quite of a beauty.
But, that's all. Her appearance is cute, I even think perhaps she might grow into quite a popular girl among opposite sex, but in the end that's all. This child is nothing but a frail, very young, human.
She's nothing but an existence I can easily kill, if I want to. Right now, the life-and-death of this child is laying on my hand.
"Kitsune-kun, what's that? A baby?"
"Yeah, seems like so... seems like I just got dragged into trouble again."
Leila-chan peers and looks at the little girl; who's being held by me; from my back. I honestly think I just got pushed into the most troublesome trouble.
I've been struggling just to stay alive, moreover I also have overwhelmingly no paternity and experience to raise a child. But I do have the knowledge, when I was at elementary school, I once read a self-help book about raising a child, after all. I'd read the way to change diapers till the way to deal when the child's crying, well, it's just I didn't have the chance to make use of it, though.
Either way, I can't raise a child, and I also have no time to.
"It may seem cold but, should we take her to an orphanage or something, I wonder...."
"...can't I eat it? I haven't tasted you for quite a while, so I'm a bit...."
"Didn't I just offer you to lick my finger?"
"B, but... that's kind of embarrassing... or rather, when I'm about to touch you, my heart would suddenly beat very fast, so...."
"Are you a girl in puberty or something?"
Somehow Leila-chan kind of looks like a girl in love but, just what's happening here? Come to think of it, my title also has changed into "One who's loved by demon", hasn't it?
Could it be, has her impression about me turned from "the prey she's interested at" to "the person she love", I wonder? In the case with apostle-chan, I somewhat protected Leila-chan after all, did her 'good will' unexpectedly turn into 'love' because of that?
Well, that's just my guess though, I'd experienced misunderstanding a girl's suggestive behaviors and experienced an embarrassing experience, so I'd better not arbitrarily take a conclusion here.
At that time, the girl was arbitrarily showing such suggestive behaviors, and when I thought I got called to get confessed to, the one there was several girls who were sneering at me, after all. I was a fool to expect that perhaps they were all fond of me.
"Eh~, muu... got it, I'll endure it."
She unexpectedly obeys me. If it were the usual her, I'm sure she'd say "Eh~! No way, I want to eat it!", or something like that. Perhaps Leila-chan is gradually changing. Up until now she acted simply depending on her instinct and desire, but perhaps because she's now able to make a choice of her actions after turning into S rank, perhaps she's learned self-control and reason to endure her desire back.
Well, leaving that aside, what should I do with this child, I wonder? Perhaps, I should meet Rishe-chan first before deciding, huh. For her who had learning a way of knight, perhaps she'd know what to do to lost child like this.
Either it leaving her somewhere or taking her to the guards, none of the options would profit me, after all. I might get punished if I abandon her, and I if take her to the guards, this girl might be put into the so called health care center, either of it will leave bad aftertaste on me, after all.
"Leila-chan, for now let's gather the necessity for our journey as we've planned first. We have to secure a mean of transportation, as well as food, camping gears, and tools that we may need later... we have to finish it first."
"Okay... ufufu, now that I look at it, I think it looks kinda cute."
"Didn't you just say you want to eat her?"
Why do you suddenly awaken up such strange maternity like that?
*
"Umm... seems like our budget won't be enough to cover everything, huh...."
After that, using a cloth; that we bought at the general store around there; to fasten the child on my back, we continue searching for the necessary preparations for our next journey. Currently we're in the shop that sells camping goods, however even the cheapest one is pretty expensive.
Here, I'm shoved the fact that the money I've been accumulating; ever since I became an adventurer; it's enough to cover the food expense, but it's not nearly enough to cover the camping gears and transportation expenses.
Currently, we've somewhat acquired preserved food enough for a week time, but as expected, securing camping goods and transportation would be quite hard. We've almost run out of money. I don't even have the courage to touch the camping good before me.
"Ah, should I pay for it?"
"Eh?"
Then, Leila-chan unexpectedly says so from my back.
Taking out her guild card, she skillfully takes the portable cookwares and sleeping bags before us with her miasma. And then, taking all of it to the counter; where the shopkeeper is; she presents her guild card.
The shopkeeper receives it, somewhat processes the purchase, and then returns the card back to Leila-chan. After Leila-chan puts a signature on a kind of white paper, she returns to me along with the taken goods. Perhaps she's purchased them all.
"Eh? I just purchased them with my guild card, though?"
When I curiously ask Leila-chan about it, she says that in this world, purchasing goods with cash is typical, but it's possible for adventurers to store the reward money at the guild. Seems like there's a similar system like bank here.
In that system, they use guild card to store and withdraw money.
Seems like guild card is a kind of simple magic tool, and reading one's status is just a part of its ability. Because of that, as long as the registered name and the holder's name aren't the same, the guild card won't show any information about the registered person.
There was no human who possessed no magic power, so more or less, as long as one carried the card, it'd sense the magic power.
Well, within the one hour time of registering the magic power, one had to be very careful so that the card didn't get stolen, though.
And so, the card would only show the name and level with the consent of the owner.
Using that as the validation, the bank system was formed. By storing money at the guild, seems like we'd be able to purchase things using the guild card as a kind of credit card.
Well, the purchaser still had to sign on a receipt-like paper, but since we didn't have to take cash every time we purchase something and we'd be able to smoothly pay with it, this system's pretty convenient.
By the way, seems like the one who invented this system was the previous hero.
Seemingly excel at manufacturing and research, he mass produced powerful magic weapons to subjugate the demon lord. Even if they were similarly heroes, seems like it's not a given that they'd posses "Ray of Hope" as innate skill.
"Hmm... I see. But, will it be enough?"
"Well, I haven't used even a coin of my reward money up until now, so... perhaps, as long as it isn't a very expensive one, I think I should be able to buy several houses with it."
"That... sounds quite promising."
I feel like a pimp who is taking advantage of Leila-chan but, perhaps that's just my imagination. I'll definitely pay her back later. Even if she posses a lot of money, my trifling pride won't let me to become someone who's only getting spoiled by her, after all.
"For now, I'll pay for the preparations for our next journey."
Dammit, to think I'd lose in economical strength against Leila-chan; who's seemingly only a bum. Somehow it's very mortifying, she refers it as her favor but, it's just... her gaze is just as if saying 'geez, it really can't be helped then~'.
Perhaps that's only what I imagine it to be but, this feeling of defeat is just too overwhelming.
"...please."
However, I couldn't shout it out loud. The power of money, this is the moment I remember just how amazing it is.
* * *
After that, we purchased anything we deemed need one after another.
Food, cookwares, sleeping bags, lantern, but the most surprising one was the rental carriage. It was terrifyingly costly. I really am grateful to Leila-chan, to think that she wouldn't even bat an eye when spending such amount of money, I spontaneously thought just who the hell she was. As expected of C rank adventurer, huh.
Seems like we can return the carriage at the carriage rental in the next town. Perhaps there's one in every town around.
Thereupon, having somewhat finished purchasing what we need, we return to the weapon shop. By the way, we left the carriage in the stable. Well, it cost money but we can ask them to take care of the horse there. In front of the weapon shop, Rishe-chan is already there. Upon looking her with only her sword and no luggage, perhaps she'd reserved some lodgings.
"Rishe-chan."
"Kitsune, Leila... looks like you've finished purchasing goods."
"Yup, pretty much."
The food and the camping gears are carried by Leila-chan using her miasma, so carrying it around is pretty easy. Honestly speaking, upon seeing the miasma, the reaction of people here is very light.
There are many possible explanations, like using wind magic to do it, or else, by telling them it's a kind of innate skill, they'd easily accept this kind of phenomenon. Somehow, they're very irresponsible around that part.
"I also have pretty much secured our lodgings, it's around the same level with the one we reserved at Miniera."
"That's more than enough."
"...then, who's that child on your back? Playing with trouble yet again?"
"Well, yeah, I'll tell you the detail later in our room."
"...I see, then follow me. I'll take you to there."
Seemingly has understood how skillful I am at getting entangled in such troubles, Rishe-chan floats an astonished face when she sees the child on my back.
Well, the good part is the fact that it doesn't look to be as troublesome as the case with "Red Night", apostle-chan, or the fake hero. Getting pushed to take care of a child, it's very cute in contrast. Well, it's still not usual, though.
"Kitsune-kun, Kitsune-kun."
"This kid's cheek is very squishy~."
"You sure you're a demon?"
What is it? I really hope her not to just awaken her maternity like that. In a way, I don't understand her at all.
While thinking so, I let out a big sigh again.
I Kinda Came to Another World, but Where’s the Way Home?
【書籍化】異世界来ちゃったけど帰り道何処？
https://www.novelupdates.com/series/i-kinda-came-to-another-world-but-wheres-the-way-home/
Action Adventure Comedy Drama Fantasy Harem Shounen Slice of Life
Apathetic Protagonist Bullying Calm Protagonist Demi-Humans Demon Lord Demons Dense Protagonist Fairies Game Elements Ghosts Heterochromia Knights Level System Male Protagonist Murders Naive Protagonist R-15 Royalty R*pe S*aves Sword And Magic Transported to Another World Weak Protagonist Yandere
https://ncode.syosetu.com/n2650bx/
こいし