My Name Is Hakimi

"Pfft."

Enri, who had been hiding behind her father, suddenly snickered. Watching Hades fumble through his explanation, she said to Emmet, "I don't think he's a bad person."

Seeing this, Hades hurriedly said, "Of course I'm not a bad person. I just want to know where I am..."

"Grrrrrrrr..."

As Hades spoke, his stomach suddenly let out an embarrassing growl. At the same time, his brain began protesting, and hunger washed over his body.

Emmet lowered his pitchfork and said to Hades, "This is the border of Re-Estize. The Baharuth Empire lies to the west. Let me guess: did you come here from the Angelicia Mountains?"

"I don't know. I remember having a bit to drink last night and going to sleep. When I woke up, I was already here. I don't have a penny to my name," Hades said. He chose his words carefully, going along with the information in the other man's questions. One wrong answer might make Emmet suspicious.

Perhaps Emmet was testing him with false information.

"Is that so?" Emmet nodded, his expression softening. He teased, "I was a little worried you might be a bandit or something. But I doubt any bandit would try to rob people on an empty stomach. This village may not be wealthy, but we have plenty of men who can fight."

There was both a teasing and a warning edge to Emmet's words.

"Believe me, I'm definitely not a bandit," Hades said firmly.

But then his stomach growled again, and embarrassment crept across his face.

"Hahaha..."

Enri covered her mouth and laughed behind Emmet. He glanced back and glared at his daughter, then a smile appeared on his own face, making Hades even more embarrassed.

"Fine. I can give you some food, but you'll have to leave right away. The village isn't very welcoming to strangers," Emmet said.

Some things in the world were simply strange. Emmet had been wary of Hades, but after hearing his hungry stomach growl twice, he let down his guard.

Emmet wasn't a coldhearted person to begin with. If it had been daytime, he wouldn't have treated Hades this way. Still, Hades had to admit that he'd chosen an unfortunate time to knock. Almost anyone would be wary of a stranger knocking on their door in the middle of the night.

"Thank you. But I don't have anywhere to go right now, so... could you give me somewhere to rest? Don't worry, I'll leave tomorrow," Hades said, rubbing his stomach.

If this was another real world, there were still many things he wanted to ask about. Of course he didn't want to leave just like that. Besides, he had no idea where to go.

He also needed to find somewhere safe to sort through what he knew and calm down. He might have seemed composed, but inside, he was anything but.

"Hmm..." Emmet stroked his beard. Looking at the boy's pitiful state, he finally pointed to a building not far away. "Sorry. I don't think you're a bad person, but I can't let a stranger stay in my home. That's the village's new livestock shed. If you don't mind, you can stay there for one night."

Hades looked where Emmet was pointing. It was enclosed by a few wooden boards and topped with a thatched roof. It wasn't just drafty on all four sides; it was completely exposed to the wind.

Hades swore he'd slept in places thousands of times better than this, but this clearly wasn't the time to be picky. Besides, his stomach wouldn't stop protesting.

"Thank you very much," Hades said.

"Mm." Emmet nodded and said to Enri behind him, "Go to the kitchen and bring back two pieces of black bread."

"All right, Dad." Enri answered cheerfully and turned to run inside. She seemed rather excited.

Soon, Enri came back out, but she wasn't carrying black bread. Instead, she had a basket. Emmet glanced at it and was just about to take it from her when Enri went straight over to Hades.

"Um, my name's Enri. What's yours?" She held the basket out to Hades.

"Uh, I'm... Hakimi..." Hades was about to give his real name, but stopped himself and made up a fake one with a similar sound.

This villager was cautious toward him. The fact that he feared Hades might be a bad person proved that the world wasn't entirely safe. Shouldn't Hades be cautious, too, as he faced this unknown world?

He didn't know what risks revealing his name might bring in this world, but back in his original world, leaking personal information was dangerous.

If your personal information got out, you'd face endless harassment, sales pitches for all kinds of products, scams designed just for you, and even things like kidnapping.

Since he didn't understand the environment he'd found himself in, Hades had to be especially careful.

"Ha...kími?"

Enri tilted her head. The name felt a little awkward to say. This was the first time she'd met a traveler, and his looks and manner of speaking were unlike anyone she'd ever seen.

Especially the greeting where he slapped himself across the face—it was as strange as the boy's name. That only made Enri more curious.

It had to be said that a handsome appearance made a good first impression. At first, Enri had been a little scared because her father had warned her.

But the boy's unusual greeting, along with the embarrassed way his stomach had growled with hunger, had made him seem a little cute to her.

She wasn't in love with him or anything—not at first sight—but Enri had always lived in the countryside and had never seen much of the world. The boy's air, so different from everyone else in the village, made her intensely curious.

That was why she hadn't followed her father's instructions to bring the boy two pieces of black bread. Instead, she'd secretly taken some extra food, which was why she needed the basket.

"Right... Hakimi." Hades nodded and took the basket, then looked at Emmet. "I'll bring the basket back tomorrow."

Emmet nodded, then scolded his daughter. "What are you still doing there? Hurry inside and go to bed."

He'd thought it was too soon for Enri to be interested in such things. But after seeing how foolish she was acting, he was already considering taking her to E-Rantel one of these days to see the world and broaden her horizons.

A scrawny kid like that had won her over so easily. How embarrassing. Come to think of it, she was already sixteen. Time really did fly.

Emmet shook his head, helpless, then went inside and shut the door. But he still didn't feel at ease, so he braced the door with his pitchfork. Even if the boy wasn't a bad person, he feared Enri would run right over to him the moment he crooked a finger.

So he had to take precautions.

If Enri knew what her father was thinking, she would surely have complained. She hadn't expected him to think she was so shallow. But right now, she was wondering how she could strike up a conversation with the boy tomorrow and hear what the outside world was like.