The Halfling Village

"Woohoo! Nothing's changed!"

With a bit of relief, Kukuri let out a cheer.

He jumped down from the driver's seat. There were bumpy hills and a road passing through them.

Along that road, holes had been dug into the ground. They were entrances to dwellings. A single halfling poked their head out from one of them.

"Oh, Kukuri! That's a pretty quick return! Did you already find a wife?"

"Nah, I'm just passing through. I heard there was a monster flood, so I stopped by to check in."

"Kukuri?"

"Did he say Kukuri?"

Halflings came swarming out. They headed toward the carriage as well.

"Oh, humans."

"There's a lizardman too."

"A dwarf? That's rare!"

Halflings. A race also known as the fairies of the grasslands. Classification-wise, they're considered demi-humans.

A curious race that spends half their lives traveling.

They might even lose their lives during their journeys, but that never dampens their curiosity.

Even now, people were gathering around Kukuri who had just returned.

The ones gathering were young ones who hadn't yet set out on their journeys and adults who had completed theirs.

Every single one of them was waiting for poems of new adventures.

"Visitors, there's a cabin for larger races in the center of the settlement. It's cramped, but it should fit four. If you're staying in this village, please use that."

An elderly halfling said this. They later learned he was the village chief.

For the time being, the four of them drove the carriage in that direction. Kukuri had been caught by the other villagers and couldn't move.

The cabin was indeed small, but it was just barely tall enough for the tall Chaos to move around without ducking.

"The beds are small…"

Chaos said somewhat dejected, but it was still much better than camping outdoors.

After putting the horses in the stable, the four of them headed toward Kukuri.

Kukuri had somehow escaped from being surrounded and had apparently headed to his family home.

Then the halflings turned their attention toward Sei and the others.

"Hey, visitors, got any interesting stories?"

"Business opportunities are fine too. If you have metal, we can make crafts."

"You could even buy some of our crafts. Payment? Well, preserved food would be nice."

They came swarming in, and Sei and the others were pushed back toward the cabin again.

They had already learned this from Kukuri, but halflings love to talk and are skilled negotiators.

Young halflings just want to hear stories, while older halflings also try to negotiate on top of that.

"Sorry, but we don't have much preserved food. Since I have infinite storage…"

"Infinite storage! Then buy some crafts. You can sell them for a high price elsewhere."

"Is money acceptable as payment?"

"Food's better. We don't use currency much."

Overwhelmed by their intensity, Sei ended up buying some halfling crafts. The works made from plants and earth did show masterful skill, but on careful consideration, it was an unnecessary purchase.

They had plenty of food, but since Mako could eat any amount, they couldn't share much of it. Therefore, they ended up being pestered to provide stories of their travels, which they could give for free.

"Hey now, if you want travel stories, ask me."

Saying that, Kukuri came to the center of the village. Behind him were halflings who appeared to be his parents, and a young halfling child.

When introduced, they were indeed his parents and younger brother. Apparently, the younger brother had been born while Kukuri was away.

"He's so small. Cute."

Mako lifted the younger brother up, but one shouldn't compare human height with halfling height. The brother's eyes filled with tears from being so high up.

"Mako, Mako, he's scared."

"Don't be scared～ It's okay～"

And while they were making a commotion, a banquet had somehow started in the square.

The halflings began showing off their poems. Heroic tales from legend, and small adventures they had encountered on their travels.

There was some light alcohol going around, but it wasn't rowdy. Everyone listened intently to the poems.

Among them, Kukuri's stories were naturally the most numerous.

The tales from before he came to the dwarf village and from after he had set out with Sei and the others were greatly welcomed.

"A vampire, huh. I've only heard about them in stories."

"Delving into a labyrinth, that's brave."

Perhaps to match that, the halflings shared their most prized poems.

Stories of heroes passed down in the village. Ria's story was mixed in among them, which made them chuckle a bit.

"So, about dealing with the hero."

Having slipped away from the banquet, Sei was communicating with Ria.

"If he killed a horde of monsters, we should assume both his base level and skill levels have risen considerably."

"Which would take priority, my immortality or the Instant Death Eyes?"

"… You also have instant death resistance, don't you."

A resistance against instant death attacks. Since Ria had killed him repeatedly, the level had risen to 10.

"… The acquisition of a Gift through world transfer, versus protection from a divine dragon's Gift. It's borderline, but your immortality doesn't mean you don't die—it means you resurrect even if you die. So you should probably be fine."

But of course, they couldn't be optimistic.

If the Gift could kill the very concept of immortality itself, then it would be possible to kill Sei.

"There are countermeasures, but let's be more cautious than ever."

Ria and Sei's communication went on for a long time.

The banquet that lasted until deep in the night ended on a pleasant note.

Since Kukuri was staying at his family home, the four of them slept in the cabin. It was communal sleeping with men and women together, but since they were different races, there was no problem.

"So, what are you going to do?"

To Mako's question, Sei answered clearly.

"Blind him, beat him half to death, and forcibly send him back."

Sei's conclusion was clear. Based on Mako's account, the other party seemed to be a violent person, and half-hearted restraint would be a mistake.

Given the effect of his Gift, he had probably committed murder. To send such an opponent back without killing them, they would need to maintain the initiative at all times.

They would try to make normal contact first. It wouldn't be too late to become hostile after that. If the other party was the type to try to kill them on sight… they wouldn't be picky about their methods either.

Sei's expectations would be completely betrayed, but he didn't know that yet.

The next day, Sei's group left the halfling village.

They could have stayed a bit longer for Kukuri's sake, but Kukuri himself refused.

"I just stopped by on my journey. I confirmed everyone's safe, and that's enough."

Kukuri seemed to genuinely believe that, and when leaving his hometown, he showed no sign of sentimentality.

"So, where's our destination?"

"The fortress city Olga. It's the largest city in the east of Lemdria."

The map's accuracy was questionable, so they couldn't be sure if that was really where he was, but he was definitely in that area.

Olga had many adventurers who hunted monsters in the demon territory, so the probability was highest there.

The journey continued smoothly.

Along the way, Sei was at a loss about what to do with the goods the halflings had foisted on him, but regardless of that, the horses kept moving.

The rumbling carriage was the biggest problem at hand, but they didn't encounter any bandits.

Probably because in this region where powerful centaur tribes roamed, banditry would be dangerous.

It would be smarter to head west and engage in pillaging there instead.

"Even so, this is a big country."

During the journey with little change in scenery, Mako muttered in boredom.

"The roads are bad, so we can't go very fast. I think that's why it feels even bigger."

Morning and evening, during camp, Sei was learning close combat from Chaos.

Unlike Ria, Chaos fought with an orthodox style using a shield, and Sei tried not to rely on his immortality when sparring with him.

He also sparred with Mako sometimes. Fighting against a spear made it difficult to fight at katana distance.

He could manage with gimmicks, but that wouldn't raise his base combat ability.

"So bored…"

Aside from eating, sleeping, and training, they were mostly just sitting in the carriage.

Occasionally they encountered centaurs or human nomadic tribes, but nothing eventful happened.

"So bored…"

They tried acting as the driver or taking care of the horses—there were things to do, but compared to before, they were overwhelmingly idle.

There was no means of entertainment. Reading books was difficult with the carriage shaking, and there were days when they played word chain games all day.

No need to hunt. No monsters appeared.

They had run simulations of fighting the Instant Death Eyes hero many times. They knew about the opponent while the opponent didn't know about them. With that advantage, they could probably win.

After spending two weeks in truly idle days, the walls of Olga finally came into view on the horizon.

"Finally～"

As Mako happily stretched, Sei searched for Olga on his map.

The hero was there.

"No doubt about it. Wakamiya Keita. His Gift is 'Instant Death Eyes.'"

At those words, even Mako couldn't hide her tension.

According to Mako, Wakamiya Keita had been a violent student even back on Earth—a delinquent, as they're called.

Even after being summoned to this world, he had apparently done whatever he pleased under the guise of being a hero. He had even made advances on noblemen's daughters and caused problems.

And this powerful Gift. His level exceeded 120, and his Gift level had impressively reached 10 as well.

In the criminal record field: murder.

Sensing an enemy unlike any before, Sei steeled himself.