The Strongest Farmer in Another World ~I'm a "Farmer", Not a Demon King! ~ - Chapter 105

The Strongest Farmer in Another World ~I’m a “Farmer”, Not a Demon King! ~

Chapter 105   Battle with the young lady

“Is that the young lady from yesterday?”

“Yes, indeed. Why would she be in a place like this?”

“It seems like she’s here without any escorts… ah, I have a bad feeling about this.”

Despite being a young lady, she’s glancing around today without any of her usual escorts. It clearly appears as if she’s looking for something. The issue is what exactly she’s searching for. If it were something like searching for her escorts because she got lost, that would be fine, but somehow, it doesn’t seem that way. Specifically…

“Is she searching for us?”

“You think so? It does feel like that, doesn’t it?”

“Yes, I can’t help but think that she might be looking for us.”

“She’s glancing around, so it’s certain she’s searching for something.”

“If only it were because she lost her escorts; that would make things easier…”

I highly doubt that’s the case.

Given the type of person she is, even if she loses her escorts, she would either continue walking as is or wait at a noticeable spot where she got separated from them.

Yet now, she seems to be actively searching for something. It’s highly unlikely she’s searching for her escorts, and if that’s the case, I can only think of us as the ones she’s looking for.

“What do we do?”

“Let’s run.”

Without hesitation, I immediately responded to Sofia’s question.

I don’t know why she’s looking for us, but she probably doesn’t have murderous intent. At least, that’s what I think—though, who knows? Well, regardless, it’s still troublesome.

If she were to attack us with genuine intent, I would be prepared to kill even if it’s a noble, but that wouldn’t be without its problems. I don’t particularly enjoy killing, and if possible, I’d rather not resort to it.

There’s no need to deliberately walk into trouble, and if it’s a matter of avoiding it, it’s easier to do just that.

However, it seems like that judgment was too late. Ahead, the young lady turned in our direction, noticed us, and after widening her eyes for a moment, she smiled.

“It seems we were a bit slow.”

“You two, I finally found you!”

As Sofia informed me, the young lady pushed through the crowd and came toward us, shouting.

“Let’s run.”

As soon as I said that, I started running, avoiding the crowd, and Sofia followed suit. Fortunately, we had already settled the bill for this place, so that wasn’t an issue.

However, my decision to think that alleys would be better for running than the crowd turned out to be a mistake.

As I tried to turn the first corner into an alley, a ball of flames flew from behind.

I didn’t expect this. I turned around to look, but the young lady’s figure wasn’t there yet. It seemed she had cast the magic from within the crowd based on a rough estimate. Not only was using offensive magic in the middle of the city foolish, but was she an idiot to use magic when she couldn’t see the target’s location and its surroundings? If there were anyone other than us nearby, they might have been killed.

But the young lady didn’t seem to care about such matters, or rather, the thought of considering them didn’t seem to cross her mind. Having caught up with us, she placed her right hand on her hip and smiled with satisfaction.

“Wasn’t she supposed to be in her room serving her suspension?”

To be honest, I don’t want to be involved with this person anymore. There might be a meeting in the future because of our blood relation, but given the current situation, it will only lead to trouble as evidenced by yesterday’s events.

“It’s obvious I’m out of that! Why do I have to endure the suspension? Unbelievable, isn’t it!?”

“Your way of thinking is unbelievable.”

“What? Did you say something?”

“No… It seems like you were purposely looking for us?”

I unintentionally muttered at this person, who clearly didn’t understand what her father had said and the reasons behind it. Nevertheless, I decided to proceed with the conversation.

It’s not like saying anything will make a difference. In fact, it would only create more trouble and noise with this person, so it’s easier to give up from the start and move the conversation forward.

They say being scolded is the highlight of one’s life, but that’s really true. If there’s no one left to abandon you and get angry at you, it’s over. Not that it matters.

“What about it? It’s obvious. To defeat you who was disrespectful to me!”

The young lady said this and extended both hands forward, manipulating magic while exuding an intimidating aura, just as before.

“Flames, gather — Fire… Ouch!”

And then, she began chanting to attack us using magic, but well, there’s no way I’d let that happen without interference.

At the moment the young lady extended her hands, I picked up a small stone and threw it directly at her face, as I had noticed.

Perhaps she didn’t expect something like that to come flying during her chant, because the young lady not only failed to dodge, but she couldn’t even react and took it directly to the face.

Maybe she hadn’t considered an attack was coming, or maybe she simply didn’t see the stone. Some people may not see flying stones unless they’ve been trained to anticipate them.

“What are you doing?”

“That’s my line. Isn’t it forbidden by your father? If you use magic in a place like this, won’t you end up with another suspension?”

“Father just doesn’t understand! If we nobles let commoners disrespect us, it tarnishes our family’s dignity!”

“Dignity… ‘Dignity,’ huh? It’s hard to say who’s tarnishing it.”

“I’m not at fault! It’s all your fault!”

I couldn’t stand the way this person was speaking and ended up speaking out, but in the end, it had no meaning and only resulted in creating a commotion.

However, what should I do? Even if I try to part ways at this point, she won’t listen. I understood that during the incident with those pigs in the central district. A mere beating won’t make them stop. I have to kill them for sure, or they’ll involve everyone around them in unnecessary actions to get what they want.

So, killing is the only option… sigh. If I kill her here, even if this person was at fault, I would be held accountable for the crime. If it comes to that, it will be troublesome, so it’s a no-go in the current situation.

… Wait a minute? What if I kill her here without getting caught? If I turn her entire body into fertilizer, nobody would be able to identify her… no, it’s a bad idea. Oh right, this person was screaming a while ago. She had been seen chasing after me, so I will definitely get caught.

But I don’t want to keep being bothered while I’m in this town… Huh? Ah… I see. Yeah, that’s it.

I thought of a good way to deal with this young lady, so I turned my face towards her and spoke.

“Alright, let’s do this. How about a little wager?”

“A wager?”

In response to my words, the young lady furrowed her brow in puzzlement, but I ignored it and continued.

“There are magical creatures like wolves and goblins around here, so let’s go hunt them. The one with the most kills wins. How about a week for the duration?”

“A week? Why would it take that long?”

“We’ve only just arrived in this town. We don’t know the geography around the town, let alone what’s in the town. It wouldn’t be fair since you live here, right? You surely wouldn’t live here without knowing. That’s why a week. During that time, we’ll investigate the surroundings of the town and hunt. I’ll surpass your achievements during that time, so be prepared.”

“Hmph! Fine. I’ll accept that challenge. But brace yourself. I’ll make you kneel and beg after a week!”

The young lady said this and disappeared into the distance, leaving me behind. She’ll probably go back home… I wonder if someone will attack her on the way. It would be helpful if they abducted her. Then, we wouldn’t have to deal with any interference.

Sigh

“Is that all right? We were planning to depart in less than a week…”

Watching the young lady walk away, I sighed. However, Sofia approached me, looking curious and a little worried.

Indeed, we were supposed to leave this town once we received the carriage, which would be completed in a few more days. But now that we’re engaging in this challenge, our plans are shifting.

It’s not a rushed journey, so it’s not a big deal if our plans change. However, Sofia probably wonders if it was really worth taking so much time for a challenge like this. Well, considering my usual self, it’s understandable for her to have doubts since I don’t usually engage in challenges.

“But… maybe we should just set off?”

“…Are you planning to abandon the challenge?”

Sofia widened her eyes at my words, but fundamentally, she’s mistaken from the beginning.

It’s not about abandoning it; winning this challenge isn’t really necessary.

“I haven’t really bet on anything. There are no consequences for losing, and we won’t meet again in the future anyway. So, do we really need to take this seriously?”

“That’s true.”

“Right? After some casual sightseeing and picking up the carriage, we can leave the town immediately.”

“That’s quite heartless.”

Listening to my words, Sofia laughed in amazement, but she didn’t deny it. Of course not. She probably thinks she doesn’t want to be involved with such matters and if we can leave without being involved, that would be for the best.

“Should we bother with a proper competition?”

“No, it doesn’t matter if we leave.”

In the first place, I don’t think it matters whether we compete seriously or not. Whether we win or lose, it won’t mean anything. If we win, they’ll challenge us to another match, and if we lose, they’ll interfere to make us follow their orders.

See? Either way, it’s meaningless, right? So, competing is just a waste of time. The best option is to buy time and escape as quickly as possible.

“In that case, shall we continue our sightseeing now that the weirdos are gone?”

“Yes.”

Four days later, on the agreed day, we went to the workshop to pick up the carriage body.

The exterior wasn’t a box-type structure but a carriage with a canopy. It wasn’t an ordinary cargo carriage. To make it lightweight yet safe, various types of fabric were used for the canopy.

You might think using different types of fabric doesn’t make much difference, but fabric actually provides good defense. Even a single layer of fabric can sometimes stop a knife thrust, and it can block arrows from behind like a cloak. In some cases, it might be safer than something surrounded by wooden planks. After all, dry wooden planks lack elasticity, making them weak against piercing and impact, unlike slashing attacks. Arrows can easily pierce them, and even if it’s not easy, a spear can penetrate. On the other hand, fabric, with its almost non-existent structure, is perfect in terms of elasticity.

The issue is whether it has enough defense to back its elasticity. Imagine a hanging flag. Can you shoot an arrow into that flag and make it stick? Probably not. Even a novice who has just learned to shoot a bow would likely find it impossible.

Well, in this world, there are skills, so there might not be a significant difference between a wooden wall and a fabric wall. Still, in terms of defending against attacks from the masses who don’t possess skills, it would be effective enough.

However, the problem lies in it getting heavy when wet. That’s the only issue. We’ll need to periodically waterproof it or use Sofia’s purification to evaporate the moisture. Despite this, it’s lighter than pulling a carriage that’s been processed with iron plates all the time.

As for the interior, to ensure our bottoms don’t hurt even after sitting for a long time, we placed highly cushioned benches on both sides inside the carriage. It won’t be as comfortable as it was in Japan, but it should be somewhat better.

“This is your order. We provide some guidance on handling. What will you do?”

“No, I’ve learned the basics, so it should be fine.”

When I was at home, I had learned a bit about handling carriages. Although it was only a small amount, enough to move it in times of need, Sofia seemed to have learned it thoroughly during her time at the orphanage or the mansion as part of her education as a servant. She shook her head in response to the shopkeeper’s words.

“I see. We have some basic maintenance instructions written on this wooden board here, so please take a look if you need any help.”

The wooden board was hanging on the wall of the carriage. Paper wasn’t exactly expensive in this world, but during long travels, paper quickly became impractical. Unless the management was exceptionally thorough, paper wouldn’t last when hung on the wall like that. But unlike paper, wooden boards didn’t deteriorate quickly, making them just right for these kinds of informative notices.

“Understood.”

“Well then, it seems the horse and the carriage are connected now, so please.”

“Thank you.”

Saying this, while I was checking the condition of the carriage, Sofia paid the remaining fee. Finally, the carriage became ours.

After that, both Sofia and I climbed into the driver’s seat, and after a slight bow to the shopkeeper, we set off.

“After this, we’ll buy the reserved items and head off, right?”

“Yes. When I say ‘buy,’ the payment has already been made, so we just need to pick them up.”

As of yesterday, I had already bought food and other essentials. However, since we didn’t have a carriage to take them back, and I wanted fresh food that could last for a day, we had only made reservations yesterday and planned to pick them up today.

Besides food, I had also bought seeds and tools, which we needed to collect as well. Normally, things that didn’t require attention to dates could be brought in the day before, but unfortunately, the carriage transfer was scheduled for today, so there was nothing to be done.

One might suggest delaying the departure, but considering the wager with the young lady, that was also unavoidable.

While we had some leeway before the deadline for the wager with the young lady, it would still be best to depart as soon as possible.

We weren’t looking for trouble, so we wanted to leave this town as soon as possible before anything happened.

“That’s right. Well, in any case, let’s set off.”

And with that, we set the carriage in motion.