Chapter 13: Volume 3 - Prologue

Prologue: Gorge

Translator: Skythewood

Editor: Deus Ex Machina

A terrifying scene appeared before me.

We were at a deep stony valley, about thirty minutes from the Fa house by foot.

After passing through the water source we always used, I looked up at the Morga mountain to the right and walked towards the steep hills, this majestic and terrifying sights appeared before my eyes.——

It was a gorge.

An unknown river appeared below the steep cliffs, and the sound of the fast flowing river could be heard.

The sound actually came from quite some distance away, at least 20 meters separate the edge of the cliff we were standing at and the river flowing below.

20 meters—— In the world I was from, that was roughly equivalent to a five storey building.

I was a little scared of heights, but it wasn’t the crippling kind. Just looking at the rapids from the cliff wouldn’t make my legs tremble.

The truly terrifying thing wasn’t the cliff.

It was the fragile hand made 「suspension bridge」 that made me panic.

「… Are you kidding?」

When I asked that, my beloved mistress tilted her head and asked: 「What do you mean?」

She’s actually asking what I meant—— I sighed.

This primitive suspension bridge was about ten meters long and one meter wide, built from old logs and brown dried vines.

Even though there wasn’t even so much as a breeze, the bridge was still shaking slowly. Just the thought of stepping onto this bridge filled me with dread.

「… I’m uneasy about the stability of this suspension bridge.」

I tried articulating my opinion.

After coming to this different world, this was probably the first time I showed such a tense face, and my mistress was getting more and more confused.

Ai Fa was a denizen of Forest’s Edge, and also the head of the Fa house.

It goes without saying that she was my benefactor, my housemate and a brave hunter.

Her long blonde hair seldom seen in Forest’s Edge was tied up into a complicated hair style.

Strong light could be seen in her deep blue eyes.

Her brown skin was as smooth as chocolate milk, and her slender body was like an intrinsic sculpture.

Although her height was average, her proportionate body was filled with dazzling life force and energy.

Draped on Ai Fa was the proof of a hunter —— a cape made from kiba hide, and brightly coloured clothes that only cover her chest and waist. On her slim waist was a large sabre and a knife, and her feet that had beautiful curves wore shoes tied with strings.

On her shapely bosom was a necklace filled with large numbers of tusks and horns, on her slender wrist was a bangle of kili fruit that repels poisonous bugs.

Ai Fa was dressed like usual.

Last night—— We completed our job of preparing the pre-wedding celebration for the Lutim house, and Ai Fa was not like herself when we were in the room allocated to us. But after one night, she was back to normal.

A happy ending.

It was great that she had returned to normal—— but did I convey my unease to her properly?

「Asuta, are you worried about this bridge?」

Ai Fa said quietly.

「If my guess is correct, then don’t worry. The vines used to build this suspension bridge are called Flehaba vines, it might look thin, but it doesn’t break easily. Even when it’s dried up like this, it is still as strong as human hair.」

Even if she compared it to hair which was unexpectedly strong, it didn’t ease my worries at all. Compared to the tough vines which looked fragile, I would prefer for the denizens of Forest’s Edge to use something thicker and sturdier to erect this bridge, even if the toughness was a notch lower. This way, my heart would be more at ease.

「… This bridge is here before I was born, and there have never been any problems with it, so it is completely safe.」

「No, even if there isn’t any problem before, it doesn’t mean that it will be safe today! And since this bridge has such a long history, that means it is really old, right!?」

「That’s why you have to carefully inspect the vines to check for damage when you cross it. Anyone who spotted any damage is responsible for repairing it. This suspension bridge only lasted for decades because everyone adheres to this rule.」

「… House head Ai Fa, I can’t wipe away the unease in my heart. Isn’t there a safer and more comfortable way?」

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「… This route is the quickest from my house to the post station town. Going any other way would require twice as much time.」

That’s right, in order to exchange the kiba tusks and horns for food, we were on our way to the post station town.

Our aria, poitan and fruit wine were almost depleted. Ai Fa would usually head to town when there was more food to spare, but we were busy with the match with Donda Wu. That match finally concluded yesterday. We returned home early in the morning, forage for pico leaves and after finishing the minimum chores, we left our home.

It has been twenty days since I arrived in this different world, and I would finally step into the world outside the forest.

My heart was trembling because of the expectation and unease of the unknown world.

But right now, my body was trembling for another reason.

「Enough. If we spend any more time here, the sun will set before we accomplish our goal.」

「Please wait! Erm… Can I please hold your hand?」

Ai Fa frowned and rejected with: 「I absolutely refuse.」

「What’s the use of doing that? If we fall, you will still die even if you held my hand. If you want to grab onto something, grab the vines on the bridge.」

「T-That’s not it, this humble one yearns for a sense of security! House head Ai Fa, to this humble one, you are more reliable than these frail vines!」

「… Stop that annoying manner of speech at once, or I will cut off your tongue.」

「Sorry.」

「Anyway, there’s no use in holding my hand, so I refuse. If you feel that uneasy, then grab the hem of my cape.」

After saying that coldly, she walked towards the suspension bridge with her cape flowing behind her.

I grabbed a corner of her cape that flew up.

「O-Okay, it’s fine! Let’s go then!」

Ai Fa sighed heavily without even looking at me, then strode forth unhesitantly.

I could only move slowly like the auxiliary spacecraft in a 2D shooter game, and followed her slowly.

Ai Fa stepped onto the plank.

The suspension bridge shook a lot.

I made up my mind and followed her onto the plank.

The bridge shook intensely again.

「… Uwah〜」

「Shut up.」

「W-Wait! At least hold on to the hand rails! Both my hands are on your cape!」

「I told you to shut up!」

Ai Fa walked with her usual confident strides, advancing without any hesitation.

The bridge kept shaking and shaking.

I couldn’t even look down, I was afraid of my body becoming crippled if I did.

The suspension bridge was about ten metres in length, and while I was panicking, I had already covered five metres. If I continue staring at the back of Ai Fa’s head, I should be able to make it through.

However…

「… Hmm, this vine is breaking.」

When I heard Ai Fa said that unconsciously, the reason and sensibility in my heart flew off hand in hand into the horizon.

「Uwahh! Wahh!」

I yelled and grabbed Ai Fa’s body with all my might.

The bridge shook wildly, and my feet almost slip off the plank.

「Uwah! Uwah!! Uwah!!!」

「Moron! Unhand me! Do you really want to die!?」

Ai Fa’s angry roar reverberated in the gorge.

Her voice was like a ceremonial cannon that pulled open the curtain to this long day.

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