Uncle's Humiliating Memories

"This is a rare Half-beastman that can talk! I worked my ass off bringing him here, so the labor alone should be worth more than three Copper Coins!"

Upon hearing the price offered by the slave trading company, the tavern owner immediately flew into a rage. The 27 Copper Coins Shimada Yousuke had carried on him earlier, plus the 3 Copper Coins from selling him now, only added up to 30 Copper Coins. That still wasn't even enough to buy a plate, and it remained far from covering his losses.

"Then if you were the customer, would you buy a Half-beastman with such a strange appearance?"

Hearing the slave trading company manager's words, the tavern owner looked again at the bruised and swollen Shimada Yousuke beside him and fell silent. At that moment, he instantly understood why Shimada Yousuke was worth so little.

The conversation between the two of them also became one of Shimada Yousuke's most painful memories. After he learned to communicate with elves and, through that, gained the ability to use memory magic, this was the first memory Shimada Yousuke erased.

If he weren't telling Yoru Machi about everything that had happened after they were separated, Shimada Yousuke would never have wanted to recall such memories.

With the mindset that even a mosquito leg was still meat, the tavern owner ultimately sold Shimada Yousuke anyway. Taking the Copper Coins he earned from selling him, he left with a thoroughly unlucky expression.

However, things were miserable for Shimada Yousuke after being sold. He was first locked in a cage at the display shop, where the owner completely forgot about him for a week. By the time he was finally discovered, he had been starved down to skin and bones, and even his appearance had changed.

He barely stayed alive by drinking rainwater that leaked in. To keep himself sane, he began talking to the moonlight by himself.

Because of Omni-Sayer's ability, Shimada Yousuke accidentally communicated with a light elf, used light magic, and ultimately managed to escape.

After silently listening to Shimada Yousuke's experience, Yoru Machi was left completely speechless.

If he remembered correctly, hadn't Shimada Yousuke previously described his situation as "a pretty good start"?

This counted as a pretty good start? This was practically a hellish start, okay! If it had been someone with weaker willpower, or someone with worse luck, they probably would have died right at the start!

As an ordinary person, he had been locked up alone and starved for a whole week, yet he had survived on nothing but rainwater.

And after spending a week alone in a dark, enclosed environment without communicating with any living thing, this guy hadn't gone insane. He had even successfully discovered the correct way to use his cheat ability!

Based on that experience alone, Yoru Machi could now basically confirm that Shimada Yousuke was the so-called Child of the World. Even if his experiences had indeed been rather miserable, there was no denying that he was probably the protagonist of this world.

What made Yoru Machi admire him even more was that, after going through all that, Shimada Yousuke had somehow not been left with much psychological trauma. It showed just how strong his heart was.

Compared to a week of inhumane imprisonment, this guy was more hung up on the fact that he had only been worth three Copper Coins...

"Yoru Machi, your earlier guess was right. Omni-Sayer's ability doesn't merely allow me to communicate with humans and other creatures in this world. It even lets me communicate with Micro-spirits that ordinary people can't see.

"And precisely because of that, I can now use all kinds of magic. As long as I talk to the Micro-spirits in the air and reach an agreement with them, I can use various types of magic."

When he spoke of this, Shimada Yousuke was clearly quite excited. After all, he could now be considered to have gotten off to a successful start. In this other world, he was no longer completely incapable of protecting himself.

"Using magic can be explained through the elves' assistance, but what's with the Magic Power in your body?

"When we first met, you were still an ordinary person, weren't you? But the increase in your Magic Power is way too outrageous!"

That was right. The Magic Power in Shimada Yousuke's body was another thing that surprised Yoru Machi. Even if Shimada Yousuke was the Child of the World, wasn't this cheat a little too ridiculous? Only nine days had passed.

The Shimada Yousuke from before had been an ordinary person who couldn't even fight a chicken. Even a slightly stronger ordinary person from this world could have beaten him senseless with one hand.

Yet Yoru Machi was astonished to discover that the Magic Power in Shimada Yousuke's body was exceptionally impressive. Though it still couldn't compare to his own, it had already surpassed Cui, the Elf Maiden, from earlier.

Judging by the ranks of human adventurers, Shimada Yousuke was now at least an A-rank adventurer, perhaps even among the first tier of adventurers.

And Shimada Yousuke had taken less than nine days to complete that transformation from an ordinary person.

"After escaping from the slave trading company, quite a few things happened.

"I was starving, and in order to evade pursuit and find food, I could only run back into the forest from before.

"After that, I accidentally entered a secret realm. After killing the monsters there, I received a clear reward: a cup of rainbow-colored juice that looked pretty good.

"Because I was so hungry at the time, I didn't care whether that thing was safe to drink. I gulped it all down, and afterward, I found that communicating with elves had become much easier. The magic I used also became more powerful."

Hearing Shimada Yousuke's explanation, Yoru Machi felt jealous again. They were both transmigrators, so why was the difference so great?

Other than being sold as a slave at the start because his charm value had been too low, Shimada Yousuke's subsequent experiences had practically been like using cheats. His luck was simply at EX rank.

Yoru Machi had also cleared a dungeon not long ago. Aside from the target he had gone there for, there hadn't been a damn thing inside. Where was his mysterious reward?

But when he looked at Shimada Yousuke's sunken cheekbones and prematurely aged appearance, Yoru Machi instantly felt balanced again. Shimada Yousuke had clearly traded his looks for strength this time.

If Yoru Machi were given that choice, he definitely wouldn't take it. Strength could be gradually gained through training, but being handsome was a lifelong matter.

"What are you planning to do next? Are you coming back to town with me?

"With your current strength, those people who caught you before probably wouldn't dare do anything to you now, right?"

After hearing Yoru Machi's question, Shimada Yousuke hesitated for a while before finally shaking his head and refusing. "Forget it. It wasn't easy for me to get out of that place, and I don't want to cause any more trouble.

"Besides, I'm looking for a way to return to my original world. Rather than staying in that town, I might as well travel the world and search for clues."

Afterward, since they were headed in the same direction, Yoru Machi and Shimada Yousuke traveled together for a while and arrived at a village.

Shimada Yousuke planned to rest and replenish his supplies in the village, while Yoru Machi had brought the Poisonous Demon Dragon's corpse to collect the reward that belonged to him.