An active hunter from Hokkaido was thrown into another world - Chapter 6

An active hunter from Hokkaido was thrown into another world

Chapter 6   Start of work

Alright, today marks the official start.

It’s just me and Saran venturing into the mountains.

Tracking the deer’s traces, predicting its hiding spot. I’ll be on standby while Saran becomes the driver and chases the deer.

Whoosh――――.

Saran releases an arrow from the bow. It’s an arrow with a distinct sound.

Provoked by it, the deer comes running!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Among the four, two of them fall!

Even if they’re running, I can manage to hit them if it’s head-on.

Boom!

The final shot!

A hit!

Perhaps it didn’t hit the right spot. It’s still struggling.

I pull back the forend, directly load a shotgun shell into the ejection port, and push it back into place!

Boom!

Did we let one escape…? But we caught three.

The deer here don’t really fear humans, so they don’t change their course even when they see me.

Unlike the deer in Hokkaido, which would dart sideways and run away.

Thanks to that, I managed to catch them with my skills.

A pump-action gun may not be as automatic as others, but it can still fire much faster than a bolt-action (※1) rifle.

“Wow, what a great hunt!”

Saran seems so happy.

Boo-boo――――――――!

When Saran blows the horn, men from the village gather.

“Wow, that’s impressive!”

Everyone is amazed by the sight of the three deer.

Including Saran, we all carry them back home.

“I’m already tired of eating it…”

Don’t be so indulgent, you little sh*t… children.

“Shall we smoke it?”

“Sausages would be good too.”

“Let’s start with jerky.”

The faces of the villagers are bright and cheerful.

That night, we were called to the village chief’s house.

“Don’t be nervous. I just wanted to express my gratitude.”

Saran and I enter the largest log cabin in the village together.

“You’ve come a long way. Please, make yourself at home.”

The one who welcomed us is Osaru, the elder elf, a middle-aged man.

Despite his appearance, he must be several hundred years old.

He’s incredibly handsome. Truly fitting for an elf. He looks like an actor.

He offered me some alcohol, but I had to decline as I can’t drink. I apologize for that. He seemed a little surprised, but as long as I don’t become rude, it should be fine.

“It’s not rude at all. It’s not uncommon for some elves to be sensitive to alcohol. Instead, enjoy the food! No need to hold back.”

I’m delighted as they offer various dishes.

The seasoning… is rather light for all of them. You could say it’s the elf way of natural cuisine, but some might say it lacks enough saltiness.

“I’ve heard you use unusual magical tools?”

Yes, I expected to be asked about it someday.

“This is it. It’s called a firearm. Actually, it doesn’t use magic.”

I hand over my beloved Remington M870.

Of course, the chamber is empty, so no matter how you handle it, it won’t go off accidentally.

“Hmm… Iron is being used… Truly a remarkable piece of craftsmanship. It lacks unnecessary decorations and doesn’t appear barbaric, yet it’s remarkably refined… The steelwork of this caliber showcases the incredible skills of humans. How do you hunt with this?”

“The mechanism is surprisingly simple. It ignites gunpowder inside, propelling a copper bullet at an incredible speed, almost invisible to the eye. And when you shoot, it makes a loud noise.”

“I see, using gunpowder. Fascinating. Is it difficult to obtain one of these?”

“I brought it with me when I came to this world. Unfortunately, I believe this is the only one in this world.”

“I see… So, only you can use this, and not all humans? It’s not something everyone possesses?”

“That’s correct.”

“You mentioned ‘this world’…?”

“Yes.”

“You wouldn’t happen to be from another world, would you?”

“That might be the case… There were no elves in the world I came from.”

“Hmm…”

“In the world I came from, I believe I’m already dead. I was attacked by a bear, and I have no memories after that. The next thing I knew, I was in the mountains.”

“…Such a thing is hard to believe. But considering this magical tool, something not present in this world, it’s a plausible story. Your attire and the things you use, everything seems mysterious to me.”

Saran and I exchange nods, as if understanding. Is this really a convincing story?

As I speak, I can’t help but feel that it sounds incredibly unbelievable.

“With this, could you easily kill us?”

The village chief looks at me intently.

“…I believe so.”

“Have you ever killed a person or an elf?”

“No, I haven’t.”

“Hmm, it seems you’re not very good at lying.”

He says with a smirk.

“Um, I’m not lying…”

“I know. What I mean is, if you were going to lie, you should come up with a more believable lie. It’s strange how you boldly tell a story that nobody would easily believe. Now, let’s return this.”

He laughs and hands me back the M870.

“I express my gratitude for reducing the damage caused by the deer. The villagers are also pleased. We’ll rely on you from now on.”

“Yes!”

“In addition to deer, we also suffer from crop damage caused by crows and raccoons, as well as livestock losses due to foxes. Currently, we have fences around the fields, but it’s challenging to expand the fields as we would like.”

“…I see. Let me think about it.”

“I appreciate it.”

“Osaru, oh, and that as well!”

What is it, Saran? Are you hiding something?

“Oh, right! Can you provide salt?”

“Salt? I have some that I gave to everyone yesterday, but it’s only a small amount.”

“We need a larger quantity…”

“Hmm…”

I wonder if it’s possible. If it’s coarse salt or something similar, I might be able to buy a large amount.

“To be honest, human merchants have come and purchased fur, horns, agricultural products, and in exchange, they provide us with salt.”

“That seems like quite an… expensive trade.”

“That’s right. They take advantage of our situation and haggle us. Well… that’s how it goes.”

“Please wait a moment.”

Leaving the village chief’s house, I take out my Magic Bag and say, “Salt! Around 20 kilograms!” Suddenly, the bag becomes heavy and drops to the ground.

When I open it, there’s a large craft paper bag that looks like it holds about 25 kilograms. It’s a bulk package of table salt, priced at $25.

It’s incredibly strange that a vertically elongated salt bag fits inside a Magic Bag, which is about the size of a regular sports bag. When I peek inside, the bottom seems deep. How does that work?

I wonder if this large amount of salt is intended for making salted meat or some other purpose. If so, it might be available at outdoor shops. It’s a 100% chemically synthesized industrial product, pure and free from impurities.

I should grab one more bag. It’s not that expensive, so let’s get another bag. Actually, let’s get two more bags.

“Sorry, Saran, can you help me for a moment?”

We carry them out of the village chief’s living room.

“Th-this is… all salt!”

“Incredible… This would last the entire village for a year, even if everyone used it!”

“So… how much are you selling it for? Well, I don’t have any money, but what can I exchange it with?”

“I’m not a merchant. If you allow me to join this village as one of your own, without asking how I obtained it, I’ll give it to you for free. Consider it as if I paid my taxes with salt.”

I’ve heard that the term “salary” originally had the meaning of salt. In lands where salt is difficult to obtain, it might hold the same value as money.

The village chief had a surprised expression on his face and then he smiled.

“Of course. I’ve already made up my mind about that. Stay in this village as long as you like, Lord Shin.”

He shook my hand firmly. I feel so happy.

The next day, salt distribution began in the morning.

Everyone gathered at the village chief’s house, each holding a jar.

They are happily filling their jars to the brim with salt.

It’s a precious commodity indeed…

“Gather around, everyone! I have an announcement to make!”

The village chief raised his voice, capturing everyone’s attention.

“We have decided to accept Lord Shin here as a member of our village, the village of Kopori. From now on, he is one of us. Please treat him well.”

Clap, clap, clap…

Everyone welcomed me with applause.

I’m so happy…

Tears are welling up.

No, I shouldn’t.

I cried.

Tears streamed down my face.

Seeing me like that, everyone had a puzzled expression on their faces.

Only Saran was smiling.

From that day on, the village landscape changed dramatically.

Women are walking around, greeting me.

Come to think of it, there were no women in this village before.

Were they hiding all this time?

Wait, were they hiding from me?

That’s a bit shocking, to be honest.

“Hmm, how should I put it…”

Saran awkwardly begins to explain.

“You know, Elven women are said to look incredibly beautiful to humans.”

Yes, indeed. They are all stunningly beautiful. Every direction you look, there are incredibly beautiful ladies and beautiful young girls. Is this a fashion show venue? Or a beauty pageant?

It’s absolutely amazing.

“Because of that, you see, Elven women have often been kidnapped by humans in the past. They would be turned into servants or slaves. So maybe the men here hid them away to prevent you from seeing them.”

It’s a shocking revelation, quite disheartening.

“But Saran, you’re also a woman, aren’t you?”

“Well, you see, I’m not the type that would please humans.”

“Well, I think there would still be demand for you, you know?”

“From whom?”

“From me.”

I was punched quite forcefully. Ouch, that hurts.

――――Author’s Note――――

※1. Bolt-action shotguns are currently popular and the number of hunters using them is increasing in Hokkaido.

There are Sabot slug dedicated shotguns with Savage Arms’ F212 and F220 rifle barrels.

Due to the restrictions of Japan’s firearms and swords control law, the rifling is reduced to less than half, but the accuracy remains excellent with less than 5cm deviation at 50 meters. Japan is the only country in the world that halves the rifling, but it doesn’t necessarily result in doubled grouping. Based on the grouping of users shooting both full-rifled and half-rifled shotguns in overseas videos, there doesn’t seem to be a significant difference in accuracy. Surprising, isn’t it?

※Additional Information

There have been many cases of troubles with Savage’s F212 and F220, where the spent casings get stuck and don’t come out when pulling the bolt. There are numerous videos showing people manually removing stuck casings.

In fact, this happens because the spent casings bounce back and hit the scope or scope mount during ejection. It could be considered a flaw, but not to the extent of being called a defect.

If you’re experiencing this issue, you can either adjust the position of the scope mount to avoid contact with the ejection port or consider switching to a simpler scope with a different design.