Diary of a Middle-Aged Sage's Carefree Life in Another World: Volume 1 (eBook)

Kotobuki Yasukiyo (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2023
250 Seiten
J-Novel Club (Verlag)
978-1-7183-7384-6 (ISBN)

Infos

Forty-year-old Satoshi Osako is a farmer in the Japanese countryside-and a hardcore player of Swords & Sorceries, an online VRRPG. The day he finally manages to defeat the game's final boss, it curses him with its dying breath and kills him in real life! With a little help from a carefree goddess, Satoshi finds himself reincarnated into a mysterious new world as his in-game character, the incredibly powerful Great Sage known as Zelos Merlin. He accordingly decides to use his newfound powers to...continue living a quiet life on another farm! But first, he'll have to fight his way out of the vast, dangerous forest he woke up in-thanks a lot, goddess-and it won't be long before he's running into bandits, getting roped into teaching a young noble girl magic, and more. Will the almighty Great Sage be able to conquer the toughest quest of all: getting some peace and quiet?

Textauszug

Chapter 2: The Old Guy Has a Run-of-the-Mill Encounter

It had been about a week since Satoshi had reincarnated into this new world.

Finally now he managed to come out onto a man-made highway, putting an end to his long days of surviving in the wilderness.

The Far-Flung Green Depths had been a harsh place, scene after scene of carnage. After the goblins, Satoshi had been beset by orcs, wyverns, trolls, man-eaters, chimeras, and all sorts of other creatures, one after another, forcing him to battle without rest. When he had tried to rest in a cave, it had ended up being a nest of killer ants; when he had tried to catch his breath by the side of a river, he had been attacked by lizardmen; and when he had tried to sleep along a rocky crag, he’d been set upon by a crazy ape with a particular interest in his rear.

It had all worn down his mind rather badly over the course of just a week.

“I’ve done it! I’ve finally done it! I can finally go to a town! With people in it! Oh, that took so long... Ha ha. Ha ha ha ha ha...”

To anyone who saw him, Satoshi would have looked terribly haggard. Yet physically he was still at the peak of health, and he hadn’t used more than the tiniest sliver of mana.

While he was relieved to have escaped the forest’s violent, dog-eat-dog world, looking back on his harsh time there made him feel depressed. Still—that was in the past. He had found a highway.

“All righty. Which way should I go to find a town? I’ve got two options, but I’m not sure which one will get me to a town faster... Hmm. It’s a tough choice.”

Satoshi picked up a nearby stick, deciding to drop it and then set off in whichever direction it pointed toward. After twenty-three attempts, it finally fell pointing to the left—and so he decided to head right.

His harsh week in the wilderness had turned him into a rather petty person.

* * *

The road Satoshi walked along was fairly crude, having been made simply by felling trees to form a path that had then been leveled out. It wasn’t as if any stones had been laid; the path was merely bare earth, with weeds poking through here and there.

Satoshi realized that any rain would turn this place into essentially a river.

In spite of that, though, his footsteps were incredibly light. After all, this road had a good chance of leading him to other humans. And if it did, he should at the very least be able to interact with people—maybe even make some friends.

Having survived a long week out in the wild, Satoshi yearned to be with other people.

“Honestly, I don’t even care if they’re bandits at this point. I just want to find someone...”

Of course, any meeting between Satoshi and a pack of bandits would inevitably turn into a slaughter. The bandits would be massacred without a chance.

Satoshi had, after all, spent the past week putting his life on the line as he fought to survive in the wilderness. He would no longer hesitate to kill; if danger approached, he was perfectly prepared to use lethal force.

It showed just how much the forest’s harsh environment had worn down his psyche.

* * *

As he walked, Satoshi had a realization.

“You know, I haven’t been able to take a bath in a while. I probably stink, don’t I?”

Satoshi hadn’t had a single chance to wash himself during his time in the forest. He was starting to get worried about his body odor.

“I guess I should start by getting myself clean. It’d be nice to find a river... Regardless, I should probably hold off on meeting anyone for now. I bet I look like a bandit myself at the moment.”

But despite his concerns, Satoshi continued to follow the road.

Whether some kind god was listening or he merely had a flash of good luck, it didn’t take long before Satoshi came across a river. And what was more, he noticed a man-made bridge stretching across it. While the river wasn’t all that wide—merely seven meters from bank to bank—he was thankful for the water it provided.

Hoping to get some privacy, Satoshi walked a short distance downstream, finding a spot where he wouldn’t be seen from the bridge. Then he threw off his equipment and plunged, as fast as his legs would take him, into the river. It was his first bath in what seemed like forever—and despite the cold water, it felt surprisingly pleasant.

Satoshi gave his body a thorough wash—especially his top half—to get rid of all the dirt he’d accumulated. He also washed his clothes, and laid them out to dry on a nearby rock while he prepared a meal. If he had one complaint, it was that he still had nothing to eat but meat.

As his clothes continued to dry, Satoshi looked out along the riverbank, admiring the sight. Fish of all sorts of unusual shapes were swimming through the water.

It had been a while since he’d seen such a peaceful scene, and he was grateful for the change of pace.

The faint smile that flashed across his face from time to time was making him look a little creepy, though.

* * *

“I wonder if my clothes are dry yet. I’d hate to put them back on if they’re still damp...”

With the sun shining directly overhead, Satoshi was quick to get back into his now-clean clothes, and he reequipped his gear with the confidence of a man who was well accustomed to it. The past week had given him plenty of practice at putting on his gear back on like this, and it hadn’t taken long to become just another part of his routine.

Ordinarily anyone from the modern world would’ve found it preposterous to wear this sort of equipment. But Satoshi was a good example of the human ability to adapt to a new environment.

As time passed, Satoshi saw the occasional horse-drawn carriage cross the bridge, each one looking as if it belonged to a merchant. That only bolstered his hopes that he was near a human settlement—a thought that made his heart leap for joy. He returned back upstream to cross the bridge, climbed the embankment, and set off walking once again, following the path the carriages had taken.

Another carriage passed by him, this one bright white and awfully luxurious. Satoshi, however, paid it no mind; he had no interest in interacting with the sort of influential people he expected to find inside. He continued to head straight along the path, a spring in his step.

As Satoshi forged ahead, he used enhancement magic on himself, boosting his physical abilities to help him go faster. He ran for some thirty minutes—then stopped, sensing the presence of a large group of people ahead. It was time to stay on guard.

This was one of the benefits of Satoshi’s Scouting skill: even without him doing anything, it would activate by itself to inform him of potential opponents. It had been a truly convenient ability during his time in the forest.

“If I assume this is some kind of run-of-the-mill encounter, then... Hmm. I wonder if they’re bandits? It’s hard to say anything for sure, though, so I shouldn’t just attack them out of nowhere. I guess I’ll hide my presence and see what’s going on. If they are bandits... Well, I can deal with that when the time comes.”

Lives might not have held much value in this world, but no civilized person would run in unannounced swinging a sword about—or decide to shoot magic first, ask questions later. No, Satoshi’s response would depend on what was really going on. So for now, he decided, it would be best to conceal himself among some trees and gather information.

The first thing he noticed was that the majority of the people in front of him were men in dirty clothing. All of these men held weapons, and they were surrounding a number of merchants. Satoshi’s suspicions had been right on the mark.

“Ooooookay. This is definitely a crime scene, right? Well, I’m only going off circumstantial evidence for now, so I guess I’ll wait for something more concrete before I decide whether to barge in or not...”

All Satoshi had seen so far, after all, was the men surrounding the merchants. Maybe a greedy merchant had tricked them, and they’d come for payback. Satoshi decided it’d be safe to wait and see what exactly was happening before he made himself known.

“Are they the good guys? Or the bad guys...?”

Whatever the case, Satoshi decided to bide his time.

* * *

A horse-drawn carriage rolled along the Far-Flung Highway.

It was a carriage of luxurious design, colored a classy bright white and adorned with a modest gold trim.

Two knights sat on standby at the front, with two more well-dressed individuals sitting inside the carriage itself.

The first of those inside was an elderly man who looked like a mage, sitting calmly and quietly as the carriage rolled along. Dressed in a pure white robe, he had the blood of royalty—that of the Magic Kingdom of Solistia—running through his veins, and he had lived a long life as the duke in charge of this territory. He was retired now, though, just another elderly man who loved to dote on his granddaughter.

His name was Creston von Solistia.

After passing on the title of family head to his son, he had watched as the rest of his family had been drawn into an escalating conflict between his two grandsons. These days, his...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 14.12.2023
• Reihe/Serie: The Diary of a Middle-Aged Sage's Carefree Life in Another World
• Reihe/Serie: The Diary of a Middle-Aged Sage's Carefree Life in Another World
• Illustrationen: Kotobuki Yasukiyo
• Übersetzer: Kotobuki Yasukiyo
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Fantasy / Science Fiction ► Fantasy
• Schlagworte: gamer hero • harem gamelit • Isekai • Light Novel • LitRPG • older protagonist • overpowered main character
• ISBN-10: 1-7183-7384-8 / 1718373848
• ISBN-13: 978-1-7183-7384-6 / 9781718373846