Jobless Reincarnation X Tensura: 《THE ANOMALY》

Chapter 4: That Time I Got Arrested as a Slime.

“Well, this is a problem…” I muttered aloud as a new inconvenience stared me directly in the face.

After days of walking, occasional monster extermination and my fight with that spirit, I've come to realize that I have no sustainable source of magicules.

Well, at least for the long term. At the moment, my stomach still had enough in it to last me for a few months, which might sound nice except for one little thing.

I'm stuck in this world. I couldn't even begin to predict the amount of time I would have to remain here, or if I would ever get out.

It was a bit discouraging, but giving up is not an option.

“Why are we just standing around?” A foreign voice interrupted my thoughts, which were already heading down the pessimistic road that they seemed to enjoy these days.

I glanced over at Orsted for an answer to Nanahoshi's reasonable question. He looked back at me, almost confused.

Right, he can't understand her.

“What are we still doing here, Orsted?” I asked on my own.

We had arrived at a shockingly huge city —- Ars, Asura’s capital —- and instead of going on, Orsted had been scanning the place over and over again.

Come to think of it, would it even be wise to enter this city with the curse he has going on?

“I never said we would go into the city.” 

Huh?

“Huh?” My confusion slipped out.

“I only need to observe closely for a while to get the information I need.” He's being awfully cooperative today, seeing as I'm getting an actual explanation.

But something feels off…

“How long is a ‘while’ exactly?”

“A few hours–”

Oh that's not so bad.

“Or a few days.”

“No way we're staying out here for days!” I exclaimed.

Nanahoshi, who couldn't follow both sides of the conversation, looked absolutely dismayed by what I said.

And so she joined me in giving Orsted an unamused look.

“Your opinion is irrelevant to me, I will do as I wish.” He wasn't the least bit bothered as he adjusted his coat and took his seat on the surface of a nearby stone.

I translated this to Nanahoshi, who didn't agree with his words, but lacked both the language skills and backbone to express her disagreement.

“So you don't mind if we go in on our own?” I asked.

Orsted gave me a short glance before speaking.

“You are still under suspicion, but I have no intention of keeping you around me at all times. If you run, I can simply track you down.”

“You're rather arrogant.” Did he really think it'd be that easy?

Orsted narrowed his eyes at me as his battle aura intensified.

“Not arrogance…” He flicked his finger subtly towards me.

I tilted my head and dodged the invisible cutting force he had fired, which went on to saw a huge branch off a nearby tree.

“It's confidence.” He finished, before concealing his killing intent again.

I sighed and beckoned to Nanahoshi, who had learned when to get a safe distance from either of us when the mood shifted.