Reasoning with Your Fists

"Gentlemen, I apologize for disturbing you, but the person you caught is my friend, not some half-beastman as you call him.

We came from a distant rural area and had intended to seek our fortunes in the big city, but we got lost in this forest along the way. Since you're heading back to town, could you give us a lift as well?

If you do, I'll let bygones be bygones regarding what you just did to my friend."

Just as the adventurers tied up Shimada Yousuke, whose face was bruised and swollen yet who continued trying to explain himself, and prepared to take him back to the city, Yoru Machi, who had been watching from the sidelines for quite some time, finally stepped out.

From the cash and wallet Yousuke had dropped nearby, along with what he had said while explaining himself, Yoru Machi had already realized that he was another visitor from a different world.

The reason he had stayed hidden was that he wanted to see what abilities other people transported to another world possessed, aside from himself.

Unfortunately, after squatting in the bushes for half the day, he found that although the man named Shimada Yousuke was also a transmigrator, he seemed to be nothing more than a complete weakling in terms of strength...

"Huh? You say he's your friend, and that makes him your friend? What proof do you have?

I think you saw us catch a rare talking half-beastman and are trying to pull something to steal him from us."

"That's right. Even if he really is someone you know, so what? We found him and caught him, which makes him our spoils.

You country bumpkin, if you're unhappy about it, feel free to have a go at us brothers."

With Yoru Machi's looks, he would absolutely be considered exceptionally handsome even in this New World. Naturally, he would not be mistaken for a half-beastman like Shimada Yousuke had been.

However, the adventurers standing before him clearly had no intention of entertaining what Yoru Machi said. Or rather, even if they believed him, they had no intention of compromising.

The reason was obvious. There were three of them and only one Yoru Machi, and he was a backwater nobody from the countryside with no background to speak of.

A rare talking half-beastman would certainly fetch a high price at the merchant guild. They had never met Yoru Machi before, so why should they do him any favors?

"It seems that sometimes force is indeed more convincing than words. Since that's what you want, I'll oblige."

Yoru Machi planted the crude bone blade at his waist into the ground before him, then charged at the three men barehanded.

After wandering the Soul Society for many years, Yoru Machi was still capable of judging an opponent's basic level of strength.

The three adventurers before him looked tall and brawny and wore flashy equipment, but their spiritual pressure was nothing special. They were not even worthy of making him draw his blade. Hakuda alone would be enough to beat them until they cried.

"What an arrogant brat! You've got a weapon but won't use it? Trying to act tough in front of me?"

"Just as expected of a country brat. You don't know your place. Do you think we're on the same level as those third-rate adventurers from your village?"

A few minutes later...

"My lord, we truly had no idea this half-beastman... this gentleman was your friend.

We are willing to apologize for our actions just now. This is all the money we have on us. Please accept it as compensation for the emotional distress we caused you both."

"Are you two heading to town, my lords? We're willing to lead the way. We only ask that you show mercy and spare us."

Watching the rather dramatic scene before him, Shimada Yousuke wore an expression of sudden realization. He had gained a certain insight from it, understanding that reasoning with people through words alone did not always work.

The three adventurers before him had previously acted as though they owned the world, but after Yoru Machi's round of "reasoning" with his fists, they were now lined up neatly on their knees in full dogeza, begging for mercy.

They had just been calling Yoru Machi a country bumpkin and calling him a half-beastman, but now their forms of address had changed to "my lord" and "sir."

"Yousuke, based on what you said, you should have received power from the Otherworld God after arriving in this New World.

And the power you were given is probably the ability to communicate with creatures from other worlds.

Didn't you notice? At first, those adventurers couldn't understand what you were saying. Later, they could understand you. They only mistook you for a half-beastman because of your appearance."

As fellow visitors from another world, Yoru Machi and Shimada Yousuke could not exactly be called countrymen, but they were of the same kind. They naturally began talking with each other soon enough.

"You're only seventeen years old?"

During their conversation, Yoru Machi discovered in astonishment that the unremarkable-looking Shimada Yousuke before him was merely a seventeen-year-old boy!

"You look no different from some thirty-year-old uncle..."

"What about you, Yoru Machi? How old are you? From your looks, you should be about my age... no, maybe even younger than me."

"Heh... I'm about seventeen too."

Hearing Yousuke's question, Yoru Machi could only answer with an awkward expression.

How could he not be awkward? As for Yoru Machi's actual age, judging solely by the time he had spent living in the Soul Society, it had definitely been several decades. If his age from his previous life was added in, he might already have reached three digits.

In other words, their situations were completely opposite. Yousuke looked old but was actually an innocent young man, while Yoru Machi looked youthful but was in truth an old hand with many years behind him.

"Yoru Machi, how long have you been in this New World? You defeated those adventurers so easily earlier. Did you choose some powerful cheat ability at the start?"

Yousuke was actually quite excited about having been transported to another world. As a gaming nerd, this was the sort of scenario that had only existed in novels and games.

But comparisons hurt. Compared to Yoru Machi's perfect start, he had chosen a cheat ability called 'Omni-Sayer,' and his start could not have been worse.

Communication might be the foundation for building trust, but what had just happened made Yousuke understand one thing: even when people spoke the same language, they might not necessarily understand one another.

"Well, there are no useless abilities in this world. It just depends on how you use them.

I didn't receive any powerful combat ability from the Otherworld God, either. The power I received should be the sort that lets me protect myself.

As for the strength I used to defeat those adventurers, I trained it myself.

Since you're also someone who came from the modern world, you should understand. Even in games, you can't start out with cheats and Divine Gear.

If you could stomp the Demon Lord as easily as cannon fodder from the beginning, what fun would there be in the game?"