I Was Reincarnated as a Nameless Combatant in a Japanese-style Fantasy Depressive Erotic Game, but the Women Around Me Are All Dangerous, and I Have a Bad Feeling about It

in the hot spring used by the village headman and others.
The result was the encounter before I fainted.
It was indeed reckless and careless of her.

 

　Apparently, she did not seem to be very conscious of her female identity.
It wasn't a case of gender identity disorder.
It is just that she is too straightforward and lacks of self-consciousness.
She often rolled up her sleeves in the summer or show her legs and back in front of her neighbors while working in the fields, and was scolded by them for being so unrefined.

 

　It seemed that this case was also seen as an extension of past precedent, and because of that, there seems to be a side to her that made her sympathize with me.

 

　”The reason I'm nursing you like this is partly because of that.
Well, I'm also interested in visitors from outside the village, you know?”

 

　Then, with a face that still had some redness but was trying to play it off, Tamaki winked and acted playful.
In this world where status is strictly regulated and a friendly attitude toward a servant, she was indeed a light shining in the dark night.
Her personality, friendliness, and brightness seemed too beautiful in this gloomy world.

 

　Ah, she really is the main character, after all…
I accepted this fact very naturally.
That's how much the girl in front of me was the very main character I knew.

 

　”I see…
Well then, better late than never, I'd like to introduce myself as well.
I'm Tomobe, a servant of the Kizuki family.”

 

　I bow my head respectfully and introduce myself.
Well, it is not my real name.
…Now, I've been thinking about it a lot, and I realize that I'm using a fake name and the other person is using his or her real name.
In a world where someone can curse a person by his/her name, it is extremely rude to a superior person.
No, in the first place, it's strange that this main character introduces herself to people like me.

 

　”Oh…
A servant, huh? Ah, no, I'm sorry.
I've heard rumors about you, but I didn't think they were true.
I was surprised to see you in your black clothes and mask…
when I entered the room.”

 

　Tamaki chuckles with a small, and there was no sense of discomfort.
It was clear that there was no malice behind her laughter.

 

　Come to think of it, it's not often that exorcists and their associates come to this village.
In a way, it was understandable that she looked at the servant as if he was a rarity.

 

　”So, as I said, I'm really sorry.
As an apology, I will take full responsibility for taking care of you, will you forgive me?”

 

　Her words, which were probably sincere and had good intentions, made my heart pound where there is only basic malice in this world…
but I would not accept it.
Unfortunately, I couldn't just lie in bed forever.

 

　”Thank you for your offer…
but I am planning to return to duty as soon as possible.
So, I'm afraid I won't be able to take you up on that offer.”

 

　When I tell her this after finishing my porridge, she looks at me wide-eyed and astonished.

 

　”Ehh!? Y-you're leaving!? Can't you stay a little longer!?”

　”I'm here for work, not on vacation.
Besides, I have subordinates to supervise as well.”

 

　Although there's Mikage, a second in command among the servant accompanying, who serves as a squad leader.
However, since experienced members were gathered in the Northern and Southern Strike Forces, the level of training of the members of the Eastern Strike Force was relatively low, and the same was true for Mikage, who was inexperienced as a squad leader.
To be honest, I felt uneasy about letting them make decisions on their own.
It was also partly due to a lack of manpower.

 

　”But…
we don't want to push our guests too hard…”

 

　I can't help but giggle at the girl's expression of genuine concern and distress.
The fact that she treated me as her “guests” was just hilarious to me.
For Uemon and the others, I'm just a living “tool”, but she's really soft on me…
as she is on the peasants.
This village is truly a greenhouse, sheltered from the harsh realities outside, where servants and peasants were often ignored, including their personalities.

 

　”Oh!!! That's it! I've got an idea!”

 

　Tamaki, who had been looking worried for a while, suddenly broke into a smile, as if she had just had an idea.
Then she looked me in the eye and asked

 

　”Hey! What exactly do you do for a job?”

　”Eh!? W-well…
it will involve office work like calculating expenses, monitoring the city roads, and also, your father has requested that we inspect the boundary and check the key points throughout the area.”

 

　The large-scale boundary that protects an entire village or city is fueled by the power that overflows from the spiritual veins and is bound together by using the key points at each location to specify the extent of the boundary.
Boundary inspection work often involves purifying the impurities in the spiritual veins, adjusting the formula for fuel extraction, checking for damage to key points, and replacing them…
This is what I learned from Gorilla-sama's teachings.

 

　And as you can see from the fact that I was taught by Gorilla-sama, the knowledge of these boundary techniques is not the common knowledge of a servant.
After all, it's just a litmus test (a tool that is only useful for a limited purpose) for dealing with youkai, and it's useless to give such knowledge to servants who cannot create such large and powerful boundaries alone.
Many exorcist families believe that it's better to train in martial arts rather than teach such knowledge.
And, that is not necessarily wrong.

 

　As for me, when I changed the contents of teaching my subordinates, I added to the subjects such as the method of binding a boundary for small youkai, or group boundaries for combating medium youkai by units.
But these are not even on a tactical scale, and I did not teach the structure of boundaries on a strategic scale.
As a result, I was the only one of the servants who had the ability to see the situation of large-scale boundaries, even a little, among the servants who were in charge of dangerous chores…

 

　”Well then, I'll guide you around the village…”

　”Huh?”

 

　Her sudden suggestion made me unintentionally open my mouth rudely.

 

　”Is there a problem? I think it's a good idea…
I know this village pretty well, and I can at least give you directions.
Besides, if you collapse, I can call for help immediately…
Is it a no-go?”

 

　Finally, the main character looked up at me with a slightly worried expression and asked.
To be honest, it was a wish that could be interpreted as that of a boy or a girl emanating from that face.
The psychological effect was tremendous.

 

　However, I can't just answer such a request with a simple “yes”…

 

　”Well….”

 

　I tried to come up with some excuse to decline her proposal and was about to open my mouth, but just then, someone interrupted us.

 

　”Oh, that's a wonderful proposal, isn't it? How about it? Would you allow me to be a part of it?”

 

　I turned to the source of the melodic voice and frowned beneath the mask.
No wonder, she was the last person I wanted to meet in this place.

 

　”Tomobe-san, how are you doing? As part of our agreement from the other day, could you please consider Hotaruya's young lady's proposal?”

 

　Through the open sliding door, a blonde-haired beauty with emerald eyes smiled sweetly, tilting her head and placing her hands on her cheeks.
Her smile was too forced, too cloying…

 

　At this point, I realize that any resistance or objection is pointless.
There is no way that I, a servant, am qualified to ignore the request of the two ladies present here.

 

　”…I cannot make a decision on my own.
Please seek approval from Uemon-sama.”

 

　That was the only thing I could do, and the only resistance I could make that would not even buy me time.

 

　Naturally, not a moment later, news of the approval arrived from Uemon's subordinate, the Hidden Group.
It was accompanied by a sarcastic warning message…

 

* * *

 

　Of course, it wasn't possible to do that on the same day.
So, the next day in the morning, I packed my baggage and headed out to investigate the key points of the boundary.

 

　Our party consisted of two young ladies as guests, and as escorts, Inoue Kehiko and Tamaki's maid, who also helped with the luggage.
We also brought along an apprentice child whom Kayo brought as a porter and one of the servants as an escort.

 

　(And there is probably a group of people following us somewhere…)

 

　I am more sensitive than before, perhaps because I am turning into a monster, and I can faintly sense the presence of the figure lurking about a hundred steps away from me.
It is quite cleverly hidden, but…
it makes me realize that I am definitely deviating from human beings.
I can't be happy about it at all.

 

　”Well, Yun-shoku.
Let's get going, shall we? This village is certainly not that big.
Still, if we linger on foot, it'll be tough to cover it all in one day.”

 

　Kehiko, carrying a pack on his back, urges me on.
He has a tachi (long sword) and a wakizashi (short sword) at his waist, and his appearance was that of a warrior.
Though he is a guard in the countryside, he is still a warrior, which he can't hide by the way he is acting.

 

　”Understood.
…If it's possible, I would like both of these miss to ride on some kind of vehicle.”

 

　I blurted out as I glanced at the two ladies in their street clothes.
Kayo was wearing a red kimono that looked beautiful against the autumn leaves, much like when I accompanied her to the capital.