Narugoa, the “crybaby,” that’s how they call me.
Well, the only ones who actually call me that way are the village bully, Rigat, and his friends.
And to add one more thing, I’m not a crybaby.
It’s just that Rigat is always poking at me and won’t let me go until I cry.
I was trapped in a dark and smelly barn.
Even though I do not have a vanguard profession, I was forced to join with sword training and was always hit.
He has been hurting the village chief’s dog and blaming it on me.
I was bullied by him since I was young. So I wondered why Rigat was always bullying me, but now that I’m ten years old, I’ve figured it out.
Perhaps he doesn’t like me getting along with Timora.
Timora Rayart.
My beautiful redhead childhood friend.
I’ve been with her since I was little, partly because our houses are next to each other.
I can’t take a bath with her anymore, but she was always with me.
Recently my mom even said,
“If you’re going to find a wife, you could just marry Timora-chan.” (Mother)
This is why I get bullied.
I guess that’s why Riegat doesn’t like me.
To tell the truth, Riegat likes Timora.
No, he may think he’s hiding it, but it’s obvious from the outside.
But if you point it out, it’s obvious that you’ll get beaten up a lot, so no one says anything about it.
That’s why Rigat bullies me.
――But this time he went too far.
“U… gu… Puha!”
I desperately kept twisting and spitting. So I managed to remove the gag
Then, I tried to untie the hemp rope that tightly bound my wrists, but it doesn’t work as I expected.
The hemp cords on both ankles were loosely tied, so I was able to shake them off easily…
Soon I can hear a beast’s roar.
Looking around, dense foliage cover my view.
I am in quite the ridiculous situation.
“No way to tie both hands and feet and me into the Bewildering Forest…”
Bewildering Forest.
It’s a dungeon, a little far from the village of Gatel.
It is said that many beast-type monsters such as wolves and kobolds live here.
I was left the same way thugs do with their victims.
I felt so alone I was about to cry.
However, I managed to endure it.
“… I have to go home as soon as I can.”
I started walking in a straight line.
If I come across a monster, even just Forest Goblins, it’s the end of this life.
I am a summoner.
It is a job that writes magic squares to summon and control monsters.
But with my hands in this state, I can’t even draw a magic square.
…… Well, only slimes can be summoned at level 3, so it’s not a good enough fighting force in the first place.
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“I’m hungry…”
I mumble sadly.
No one answers.
Move, observe, move on, observe, the same kind of scenery keeps on repeating.
The sun was also slowly beginning to set.
The corner of my eyes gradually get hot.
“Father… Mother…”
No one can help me even if I whine.
Suddenly, the ground rumbled every few seconds, and so I hid under the shade of a tree.
Glittering red eyes appear from the dark.
A giant white-haired boar like a small mountain… an [Elder Boar]. [T/N: So should I keep Elder or use Old, the correct translation.]
It is level 15 and not a monster that a child can take on even if he has all the advantage.
I desperately held my breath.
The Elder Boar snorted several times, but apparently it didn’t notice me and moved on.
All the strength controlling my body left immediately.
“I’m so sick of this……”
I was feeling quite lonely.
There is no one who can help me.
I want to just scream out all my frustrations…
Immediately after such a dark idea passed through my mind.
“Ah, ah, ah, ahhh!!” (Girl)
From the other side of the forest, I heard a girl’s scream.
This voice is—Timora-chan!??
I ran even before I was conscious of my actions.
I ran regardless, even though my whole body was cut by the tall grass.
Then, the field of view opens at once–
“Timora-chan!”
“Well, Narugoa-kun…” (Timora)
There, on the ground, was Timora-chan, crying her eyes out.
I’m sure she had seen me when I was taken to the forest.
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She had come after me all by herself—until we met.
“Hoot-hooot, there are so many guests today.” (Creature)
The creature turns its face 90 degrees and stared at us.
It has the body of a bear and the head of an owl.
No doubt, he is the lord of the Bewildering Forest—Owlbear.
“What did you do to Timora-chan!?”
“Hoot-hoot, I’ll kill you too.” (Owlbear)
“Do-don’t…!” (Timora)
Timora-chan screamed immediately.
I quickly stood in front of the Owlbear.
“No, stop, don’t touch Timora-chan!”
“Narugoa-kun…! Don’t, you’ll die too!” (Timora)
“Hoot-hoot, quite the brave child, but I’m not going to keep either of you alive don’t worry, no one can come out alive from my dungeon, The Bewildering Forest.” (Owlbear)
Owlbear spreads both hands and threatens us.
My legs were shaking, ready to buckle any time. I was terrified.
But I can’t leave Timora-chan…!
“Oh, I’m not scared of you! I am a summoner! I protect…!”
“Hoow-hoow, can you draw a magic circle with both hands of your hands like that?” (Owlbear)
“…!”
“Hoot-hoot, Oh well, I’ll give you a chance to prove your bravery—[Wind Cutter]!” (Owlbear)
Owlbear chanted.
As a result, an invisible wind blade came flying from him and cut off the hemp string that restrained my arm.
“eh……”
Up to my wrists.
“Hoot? Apparently I got a bit clumsy.” (Owlbear)
The Owlbear grinned.
—Crippling pain came in an instant.
“Ahhhhhhh!!!”
Fresh blood flowed like a fountain from my chopped of wrists.
My legs buckled and I fell on the ground, staining it dark red.
“Narugoa-kun!!?” (Timora)
“Uh, gu, ah… !!”
I collapsed due to the unbearable and intense pain.
Blood, so much blood, I’ll die, I don’t want to die…
“Hoot-hoot, You drew quite the pretty summoning circle, what kind of monster will you summon, how scary.” (Owlbear)
“Narugoa-kun !! Narugoa-kun don’t die… !!” (Timora)
Timora-chan came rushing to me, screaming my name, her face scrunched up and teary.
My death is pretty much unavoidable.
But at least I can give Timora-chan a chance to excape…
“Su… [Summon]……”
With all my strength, I chanted.
I had already managed to imagine the pool of blood as a magic circle.
Then
“eh……?” (Timora)
“What is this…” (Owlbear)
Timora-chan and Owlbear both voiced confusion.
I slowly raise my face and looked.
A huge “hand” crawled out of the pool of blood, shackled by chains.
“This is……?”
Soon the white chains rattled and loosened.
And the next moment, the links shattered and flew everywhere.
“Kyaa-!?” (Timora)
Timora-chan screamed and covered her face.
Owlbear is frozen from where he stood.
“You are not just any child, who are you…!?” (Owlbear)
In response to his question, I-no, “I” said my name for the first time in a long time. [T/N: Narugoa’s speech from before is the childish I, “boku” and changed it to a more adult and informal I, “ore”. That’s pretty much it.]
“I’m The Thousand Hands Narugoa.”
Oh, why did I forget such an important thing?
Narugoa, the “crybaby,” that’s how they call me.
Well, the only ones who actually call me that way are the village bully, Rigat, and his friends.
And to add one more thing, I’m not a crybaby.
It’s just that Rigat is always poking at me and won’t let me go until I cry.
I was trapped in a dark and smelly barn.
Even though I do not have a vanguard profession, I was forced to join with sword training and was always hit.
He has been hurting the village chief’s dog and blaming it on me.
I was bullied by him since I was young. So I wondered why Rigat was always bullying me, but now that I’m ten years old, I’ve figured it out.
Perhaps he doesn’t like me getting along with Timora.
Timora Rayart.
My beautiful redhead childhood friend.
I’ve been with her since I was little, partly because our houses are next to each other.
I can’t take a bath with her anymore, but she was always with me.
Recently my mom even said,
“If you’re going to find a wife, you could just marry Timora-chan.” (Mother)
This is why I get bullied.
I guess that’s why Riegat doesn’t like me.
To tell the truth, Riegat likes Timora.
No, he may think he’s hiding it, but it’s obvious from the outside.
But if you point it out, it’s obvious that you’ll get beaten up a lot, so no one says anything about it.
That’s why Rigat bullies me.
――But this time he went too far.
“U… gu… Puha!”
I desperately kept twisting and spitting. So I managed to remove the gag
Then, I tried to untie the hemp rope that tightly bound my wrists, but it doesn’t work as I expected.
The hemp cords on both ankles were loosely tied, so I was able to shake them off easily…
Soon I can hear a beast’s roar.
Looking around, dense foliage cover my view.
I am in quite the ridiculous situation.
“No way to tie both hands and feet and me into the Bewildering Forest…”
Bewildering Forest.
It’s a dungeon, a little far from the village of Gatel.
It is said that many beast-type monsters such as wolves and kobolds live here.
I was left the same way thugs do with their victims.
I felt so alone I was about to cry.
However, I managed to endure it.
“… I have to go home as soon as I can.”
I started walking in a straight line.
If I come across a monster, even just Forest Goblins, it’s the end of this life.
I am a summoner.
It is a job that writes magic squares to summon and control monsters.
But with my hands in this state, I can’t even draw a magic square.
…… Well, only slimes can be summoned at level 3, so it’s not a good enough fighting force in the first place.
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“I’m hungry…”
I mumble sadly.
No one answers.
Move, observe, move on, observe, the same kind of scenery keeps on repeating.
The sun was also slowly beginning to set.
The corner of my eyes gradually get hot.
“Father… Mother…”
No one can help me even if I whine.
Suddenly, the ground rumbled every few seconds, and so I hid under the shade of a tree.
Glittering red eyes appear from the dark.
A giant white-haired boar like a small mountain… an [Elder Boar]. [T/N: So should I keep Elder or use Old, the correct translation.]
It is level 15 and not a monster that a child can take on even if he has all the advantage.
I desperately held my breath.
The Elder Boar snorted several times, but apparently it didn’t notice me and moved on.
All the strength controlling my body left immediately.
“I’m so sick of this……”
I was feeling quite lonely.
There is no one who can help me.
I want to just scream out all my frustrations…
Immediately after such a dark idea passed through my mind.
“Ah, ah, ah, ahhh!!” (Girl)
From the other side of the forest, I heard a girl’s scream.
This voice is—Timora-chan!??
I ran even before I was conscious of my actions.
I ran regardless, even though my whole body was cut by the tall grass.
Then, the field of view opens at once–
“Timora-chan!”
“Well, Narugoa-kun…” (Timora)
There, on the ground, was Timora-chan, crying her eyes out.
I’m sure she had seen me when I was taken to the forest.
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She had come after me all by herself—until we met.
“Hoot-hooot, there are so many guests today.” (Creature)
The creature turns its face 90 degrees and stared at us.
It has the body of a bear and the head of an owl.
No doubt, he is the lord of the Bewildering Forest—Owlbear.
“What did you do to Timora-chan!?”
“Hoot-hoot, I’ll kill you too.” (Owlbear)
“Do-don’t…!” (Timora)
Timora-chan screamed immediately.
I quickly stood in front of the Owlbear.
“No, stop, don’t touch Timora-chan!”
“Narugoa-kun…! Don’t, you’ll die too!” (Timora)
“Hoot-hoot, quite the brave child, but I’m not going to keep either of you alive don’t worry, no one can come out alive from my dungeon, The Bewildering Forest.” (Owlbear)
Owlbear spreads both hands and threatens us.
My legs were shaking, ready to buckle any time. I was terrified.
But I can’t leave Timora-chan…!
“Oh, I’m not scared of you! I am a summoner! I protect…!”
“Hoow-hoow, can you draw a magic circle with both hands of your hands like that?” (Owlbear)
“…!”
“Hoot-hoot, Oh well, I’ll give you a chance to prove your bravery—[Wind Cutter]!” (Owlbear)
Owlbear chanted.
As a result, an invisible wind blade came flying from him and cut off the hemp string that restrained my arm.
“eh……”
Up to my wrists.
“Hoot? Apparently I got a bit clumsy.” (Owlbear)
The Owlbear grinned.
—Crippling pain came in an instant.
“Ahhhhhhh!!!”
Fresh blood flowed like a fountain from my chopped of wrists.
My legs buckled and I fell on the ground, staining it dark red.
“Narugoa-kun!!?” (Timora)
“Uh, gu, ah… !!”
I collapsed due to the unbearable and intense pain.
Blood, so much blood, I’ll die, I don’t want to die…
“Hoot-hoot, You drew quite the pretty summoning circle, what kind of monster will you summon, how scary.” (Owlbear)
“Narugoa-kun !! Narugoa-kun don’t die… !!” (Timora)
Timora-chan came rushing to me, screaming my name, her face scrunched up and teary.
My death is pretty much unavoidable.
But at least I can give Timora-chan a chance to excape…
“Su… [Summon]……”
With all my strength, I chanted.
I had already managed to imagine the pool of blood as a magic circle.
Then
“eh……?” (Timora)
“What is this…” (Owlbear)
Timora-chan and Owlbear both voiced confusion.
I slowly raise my face and looked.
A huge “hand” crawled out of the pool of blood, shackled by chains.
“This is……?”
Soon the white chains rattled and loosened.
And the next moment, the links shattered and flew everywhere.
“Kyaa-!?” (Timora)
Timora-chan screamed and covered her face.
Owlbear is frozen from where he stood.
“You are not just any child, who are you…!?” (Owlbear)
In response to his question, I-no, “I” said my name for the first time in a long time. [T/N: Narugoa’s speech from before is the childish I, “boku” and changed it to a more adult and informal I, “ore”. That’s pretty much it.]
“I’m The Thousand Hands Narugoa.”
Oh, why did I forget such an important thing?
