Yes, that's why I came to the other world.
　I think it's standard for reincarnation stories to use reminiscences of how you came to the other world from your daily life. However, it would be embarrassing to tell this story to others, so I'll skip it.
　I'll tell you that I'm a Japanese man from Earth, but I can't tell you more than that for privacy reasons.

No, this is not the time for a prologue.

　Description of my current situation. In the forest of another world. That's all.
　I found myself in a forest. Or perhaps I'm in a mountain with a low gradient, full of trees. By the way, the reason why I know it's another world is because of the trees in front of me.
　They have transparent trunks that allow you to see the other side. I wonder if there is a forest on earth where you can see such fantastic things as faintly glowing leaves.
　If so, please tell me where it is. I would like to go there in my old age.

By the way, it's been about twenty minutes since I was stunned.

　Five minutes to be impressed by such a beautiful scenery. Five minutes to calm down and start thinking, "Where am I? Five minutes to start thinking, "This isn't Earth, maybe it's another world. Five minutes to review the trees and relax your mind.
　It's time to start acting. First, I need to check my condition.

"No physical injuries. No signs of deformity, sigils, or other fantasy. No sense of rising magic. Nothing in my possession at .......

　I was on my way to take out the trash outside my house, so I didn't have anything with me. No cell phone, no wallet full of earth coins and bills. I only had one bill, though.
　At any rate, I was suddenly thrown into a place like this, and nothing else seems to have been affected. There was no other world reincarnation bonus.
　No, I'm not dead, so I'm not reincarnated, but transferred to another world.
　The time of day is apparently night. It's dark above the trees.
　The stars are several times bigger than the moon in Japan.
　Since we can see it waxing and waning, it must be a satellite like the moon, and since we can see satellites, it is natural to assume that this planet is a solar system like the Earth.
　The probability of the existence of the Earth is astronomical. Just moving to another world that satisfies that probability is more convenient than this.

"Isn't it bad to walk in the forest at night?　

　Looking at celestial objects at night is one way to know the direction, but the stars are arranged differently in different worlds. You can find Orion or the Big Dipper, but of course not.
　Even if you know the direction, you don't know which way to go because you don't know the land.
　Then we might as well go on. Fortunately, the plants and trees around here are luminous, so it's safer than walking in the forest of the earth at night.

I should be commended for wearing sneakers instead of slippers to take out the trash.

　After about an hour of randomly walking, I found out a fact. Apparently, this is not a forest, but a mountain.
　Every step we took, we came across steps, and when we looked back, we could gradually see the shape of a mountain.
　As we had expected, this was a mountain with a low gradient, and our starting point was near the top of the mountain.
　The first guideline is to get down the mountain. The next step is to find the river.
　As we walked, I naturally thought of ways to sustain life. I was going to survive on nuts for food, and dewdrops for water, but as I was not a genuine survivor, there would be a limit.
　To be honest, I'm afraid to drink fresh water, but that's a last resort. The reason for finding the river is more than to rehydrate, it is to determine the purpose of our path.
　If this planet is unexplored, there is nothing we can do about it, but if there is a civilization and humans exist, rivers can be its foundation.
　The famous civilizations of ancient times flourished by cultivating the rivers that brought them nutrient-rich soil. I would like to believe that this law is the same in the rest of the world.

But now we have a problem.

　But here comes the problem." The voice is very quiet. That's right.
　You can see it from a distance, but, yes. It's a bear. A very big bear.
　The bear I saw at the zoo was less than two meters long, but this bear is about four meters.
　Are you nocturnal?　Yeah, it's light in this forest. Shouldn't be a problem.
　I can see about 20 meters in front of me, but it's clear. Well, the brighter it is, the more clearly I can see it... it's looking at me... and it's trapped.
　I'm thinking while experiencing a rare chill down my spine.
　Pretending to be dead?　The bait's just rolling. Running away?　The bear is on the downhill side, and if you try to run in the opposite direction, you're in for an uphill chase. 　
　Fight?　No, not even with a hunting rifle.
　In the meantime, the bear is sledding, growling at you.
　Think. Think and figure it out fast. I've got it!



"What the hell?

　The bear roars. Apparently, I'm not allowed to be a westerner.
　I can't just run off at once. My legs are shaking and I can't move.
　And the bear, recognizing us as easy prey, did not run.
　Suddenly, the bear is engulfed in a greenish-yellow liquid that pours down on him.
　The liquid, which easily engulfed the entire body of the four-meter-long bear, was so viscous that it did not spread to the ground and was about to form a sphere.
　Along with the bear's shrill cry, a frightening sound emanates from inside the liquid, and the inside of the liquid gradually turns black.
　Blood. The bear's blood is mixing with the liquid, making it appear black. It's melting the bear's fur, skin, and flesh at an abnormal rate. The liquid is preying on the bear with its own will. 　

It's a ...... slime.

　If you've ever played a fantasy role-playing game, you've probably heard of it.
　That's what you see in front of you. It doesn't have pretty eyes or a mouth like in some famous games, and it's obviously not a small monster with a single-digit experience level.
　The mournful screams of a bear desperately trying to escape from the slime echo through the forest.
　But the sound was soon silenced as the slime entered his mouth.

"Ugh, ......, gah, gah, gah!

　It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for.
　If it had been after the meal, I would have thrown up, but all I felt was the pain of stomach juices burning my throat.
　But at this point, I finally realized the fatal mistake I had made.
　Perhaps in response to my coughing, the slime began to move toward me.
　I should have run away quickly while the bear was being attacked. I regretted the folly of watching it lazily and even making a sound.
　But it was moving slower than the bear was walking. You back away, hoping to escape.

"What?

　Before you can even think, your body jumps to the side in fear.
　The slime swallowed the place where I had just been.
　The speed of the slime was reminiscent of a burst water balloon or the spray of a water truck.
　The slime does not react to the failure of the predator and begins to move toward you again.
　Its movements are slow again. You feel no emotion, but you feel as if you are being played with.
　My body can't stop shaking. The giant bear that was such a threat just now has not even a bone left.
　I am beginning to admit that this is how I will end up a few minutes from now.

"Ah ...... ah ......

　I was so consumed by fear that I could not speak at all. I throw the stone I grabbed in the dark.
　But the projectile, which lacks composure, flies through the air without hitting the slime and flies deep into the air, hitting a tree trunk at the end of the air and making a pleasant sound.
　Then the slime explodes.

"......?

　The slime jumped onto the tree behind him.
　The tree collapses under the overwhelming force.
　Then I saw a strange sight.

"It's eating the tree. ......?

　Here comes the idea. The slime is reacting to sound.
　Rather than having a sense of hearing, it senses vibrations.
　It attacked the bear that roared, reacted to our coughing, and attacked with a retreating sound.
　And now it is attacking a fallen tree with a loud noise.
　It looks around, gathers up a handful of rocks, and stands up.
　The slime, realizing that there is no prey in its path, reacts to the sound of my getting up again and starts to move.
　Throw the stone you picked up at a tree as quietly as possible and hit it.
　The slime reacts to the sound and jumps at you, causing the tree to fall again.
　At the same time, it runs away.

Ha-ha-ha-ha.

　I looked back many times along the way, checking for my pursuer, and in fear that he might be there, I threw a stone at a nearby tree and ran.
　I don't know how long I ran.
　Exhausted, I leaned against a tree and breathed on my shoulder.
　The sky brightened and I realized that the fantastic forest had turned into a normal forest surrounded by common brown and green trees.
　It's wonderful to be alive.
　It's wonderful, but why am I in this mess?
　Why did I get sent to this world?
　The most popular way to travel to another world that I have read is to be summoned to this world for some reason.
　Of course, I don't have any peculiar constitution, nor do I have any heroic bloodline.
　If there is no reason on our side, it could be an accident on the other side.
　God's whim or ineptitude, failure of the summoning techniques of this world, etc.
　At this point, I don't care if it's a slip-up or a failure, I just wanted to see the summoner's surprised face in front of me. Leaving him on the mountain was not a good idea.

I don't want to be a hero and defeat a demon king, or have a harem of beautiful subhuman girls.
I don't care about those things, just let me live a safe life. ......

　There is no point in complaining about those who are not here. Let's take a breath and move on.
　I didn't realize it until I cooled down, but in the ordinary forest where I am now, I can feel the presence of living things everywhere.
　Birds chirping, spiders nesting in the gaps between the trees, things that weren't there in the transparent trees.
　Perhaps it's because of the slime that there are no decent creatures in the forest. The bear may have wandered in by accident or something like that.
　But why would anyone want to go to a place where slime is so high up the food chain?



"Whatever it is, ......, I'm tired.

　I muttered and decided to leave my consciousness in the dream.



　In the castle in the kingdom of Tarz, a meeting was being held.
　You'll be able to get a lot more than just a pair of shoes. And the heavyweights who serve King Tarz.
　And then there's King Tarz himself, Marito Tarz.
　Marito, at the age of twenty-five, is so outstanding that he inherited the throne from the previous king who was still in office.
　In the two years since he became king, he has solved many of the country's problems and has gained the support of the people.
　However, a troublesome problem has arisen, leading to the current meeting.

"Another unguarded merchant attacked?
"Yes. The carriage we were escorting an hour ago passed unescorted, but those who followed were attacked and only the bodies were left behind.
It's not a good sign when the merchants that make our country prosperous are attacked, even if it's their own fault for cutting back on expenses.

　The neighboring kingdom of Ghanaian changed to a new king a few years ago, and thanks to his skills, the crime rate around Ghanaian land has drastically decreased.
　But as a result, bandits and other miscreants have been pouring into the area.
　Unlike the plains of Garnets, there were no shortage of places to camp in the mountains and forests of this land, so many of the bandits hid in uncharted areas and attacked travelers whenever they saw an opportunity.
　Marito has decided to station knights in the castle town and surrounding villages to avoid causing any damage, but it is difficult to do so on the road.
　It is possible for the government to dispatch knights to escort them, but of course it will cost money and manpower. Even if we were to offer them free of charge, we would not have enough men.
　Merchants and travelers would have to hire adventurers, but the adventurer's guild in the Kingdom of Tarz is small and understaffed due to the strong influence of knights.
　Other countries may have guilds of their own, but they can't be forced to send guards to other countries.
　As a result, some people are trying to cross without guards and are being attacked by bandits.

If bandits attacked us, we would purge them with our swords. ......

　I'm sure you've heard of it.
　It's true that the knights in the Tarz Kingdom are extremely skilled. A few of them could take on over a hundred bandits.
　But the bandits know that. They don't show themselves at all when the knights are guarding them.
　This is a battle that cannot be won in a fair fight. It's only natural.

We need to find out where they are so we can cut down the bandits. Do any of you have any ideas on how to break through?

　But the knights did not speak. I'm sure you'll be able to find something that works for you.
　The bandits are too clever to slip past the proud knights.

Three times the mountain hunt has been fruitless. If we had a better idea of what to do, we could be more effective. ...... In the meantime, today I would like to select a person to be given the task of dealing with the bandits, who are becoming more and more visible. Do you have a candidate, or someone you'd like to recommend?

　If this were any other task, these knights would have taken the initiative to run for it. If this were any other assignment, these knights would have taken the initiative to run for the position. However, since a number of capable knight captains had already failed, they must have understood the troublesome nature of this problem.
　The one who raised his hand was Sir Ragdoll, the oldest of the knight captains. 　

"My king, I have a recommendation for you.
"Sir Raggedy? Who are you recommending here?
"No, not the one here, sir. But we all know you're capable. I would like to recommend our own Ilias.

　The mention of his name makes the knight captains' faces slightly harder.

"You mean the Iliad-Ratzel, is that correct?

　Marito knows the Iliad well.
　Ilias's skill with the sword is as good as any knight captain's, and his loyalty to his country is impeccable.
　But his reputation has not grown. The reason for this is...

She might be able to come up with a better idea from a different perspective.
All right, I'll give you a month. You got it.

　She may not want to admit that she's good at what she does. There were few knights who liked the Iliad as a woman. Sir Ragdor is one of the few who think highly of her, but because he is in the minority, he is unable to solidify her position.
　If Ilias succeeds in defeating the bandits, her reputation may change, but if she fails, she is likely to be seen as a lesser figure.
　Marito also has a high opinion of Ilias, but she is an upright knight. I am somewhat concerned about whether she will be able to handle the bandits with their wiles this time.
　Marito hopes that some light will shine on her, but secretly he worries about her future troubles.