LDM 560 – The Heroes’ Drinking Party

“Where did you live, Leona? I’m from the Kanto region.”

“Oh, so you’re thinking of meeting up when you go back to Japan?”

“No, no, no. It’s just that talking about our hometowns to the people of this world doesn’t make much sense.”

Wataru and Leona quickly hit it off in the tavern.

By the way, Leona is said to be 17 years old, so she’s drinking juice, not alcohol.

I’m not much of a drinker either, so it’s juice for me. Ah, the fried chicken is delicious.

I sent Nerune home for now.

For Nerune, this is another world. It’s not good for her to try to join a conversation about Japan and end up breaking the flow of the conversation.

You might ask, what about me? Well, both of my parents are Japanese, and I have a good knowledge of Japan. Also, I don’t want to leave Leona alone, so I don’t have a choice.

“Oh? You came to this world when you were in high school, Wataru?”

“How long have you been in this world, Leona? If you’d like, I can help you out with various things. After all, I’m a hero recognized by the Empire!”

Wataru puffs out his chest with pride.

But she’s your senior by far. I’m looking forward to seeing Wataru’s reaction when he learns the truth.

“Hehe, don’t worry. Even though I look like this, I’ve experienced a lot in this world. I also have the power of the Hero Skill and am independent.”

“In fact, she was an assassin sent by Haku to train me. She’s definitely stronger than me. We should spar later.”

“Oh! I remember hearing something about that. How do you fight with massage skills? Like, massaging yourself to boost your abilities?”

“I can see the enemy’s weak points very clearly. Hehehe.”

Leona says this with her eyes glowing red.

Ah, she’s using the [Super Appraisal] skill. And she’s doing it blatantly.

“Hold on. So, you’re Haku’s… an Empire-recognized hero? Does that mean you’re my colleague?”

“Well, I guess you could say that. I just recently joined Haku-chan, so we might see each other more often.”

Leona takes a sip of her fruit juice. I receive a telepathic message.

“<Up until now, his [Super Luck] skill shut out his info to reach me.  What a rude skill, it’s like saying that encountering me is equal to bad luck.>”

“<All things considered, I think so too.>”

…I wish I had the [Super Luck] skill too.

“I want to talk more about Japan. What kind of music did you listen to, Leona?”

“Um… let me think…”

Leona struggles to answer.

“<Hey, Kehma, help me out!>”

“<Just tell him any song you remember.>”

“<It’s been 500 years! I’ve mostly forgotten!>”

Right, Leona has lived in this world much longer than she did in Japan.

So, I gave her a random nostalgic song.

“— I used to listen to that song. Yes. I haven’t heard it since coming here, so I only vaguely remember.”

“Oh, my parents used to sing that. Did you have a similar experience, Leona?”

“Well, I didn’t really choose to listen to music on my own.”

There’s a generation gap.

“<Kehma! Didn’t you have any newer songs!?>”

“<I’m the type who doesn’t really know recent songs.>”

Wait, if Leona has been living in this world for 500 years… Wasn’t she from Japan 500 years ago?

In Japan, 500 years ago would be the Warring States period. There wouldn’t be any “younger” music then.

“<That’s not true! I’m a modern Japanese from the 2000s!>”

“<Right, you did talk about video games and such.>”

“<Yes, that’s right. I might as well teach this world’s hero too.>”

Leona claps her hands after saying that through telepathy.

“By the way, did you know this? The flow of time is different between this world and Japan. So, someone younger in Japan could be older here.”

“Oh, you’re very knowledgeable! I’ve always thought that. When I consider the story of the most famous hero, the God of Food Ishidaka, it makes sense.”

“That’s right. When he was alive, even though he was summoned after Ishidaka in Japanese time, in this world, there were heroes who were summoned a hundred years before him.”

Could it be that the Hero Ishidaka got lost when he was summoned? Maybe for about a century.

Leona sent me a <mental message> saying, “This world’s hero seems to know more.” However, I wasn’t too interested in that. Can’t help it.

“The dishes Ishidaka made… they were familiar, like those you’d find on a Japanese dining table. There were omelets and Mapo Tofu.”

“The food culture advanced by several centuries during Ishidaka’s time. It seems that the dishes that were created without rice got lost in time.”

“Speaking of rice… the dungeons here do drop rice. I feel there’s some connection to Japan. I believe there must be a clue to return to Japan, that’s what I’m thinking.”

Leona glanced at me briefly.

Come to think of it, Leona wasn’t that impressed when rice was served at the inn.

It seems they can create polished rice through <Super Alchemy>. It’s a tedious process as they make it grain by grain.

Wouldn’t it have been better if they made the rice seeds? But for some reason, they couldn’t.

“Do you want to return to Japan, Wataru?”

“No, I’ve made up my mind to lay my bones in this world.”

Wataru is searching for a way back to Japan for the other heroes who wish to return. Such nobility.

<What’s with this guy, is he a good person?>

<He’s ridiculously kind-hearted. By the way, Leona, do you know of a way to return to Japan?>

<I know several methods to “dispatch” the so-called heroes.>

About 500 years ago, there were various methods used to dispose of heroes who had outlived their usefulness.

<Haku-chan should have erased those methods from the records after establishing the empire.>

I guess things were brutal 500 years ago…

…and I’m glad Wataru and I weren’t summoned during that time.