Q: What is the continent of Lowhand?
A: Lowhand is the continental world that our protagonists have been reincarnated into. It consists of 6 regions on the mainland, and a lone island. Each region is governed by a powerful being referred to as a ‘god’, and together they maintain the balance of this world.
TN: Mouseover the conversations to read the romaji!
After deciding to spend the night at this inn, some time has passed and it is now night time. We are currently taking baths in turns, and Yushiris, Euvis and Ama were currently in the bath. While waiting for our turn, Gakuto, Dan and I were having a good time chatting with Sarah about various trivial things.
「Sarah, how old ar’ya?」 Sara wa toshi wa ikutsu nan?「I’m 15! I’m almost an adult♪」 15 da yo! Mōsukoshi de otonada yo♪「Fifteen? That’s young~」 15? Wakai yo 〜「Young? Kelt-chan, you’re what, 13? Sheesh! You sound like an ojisan~[1]」 Wakai-tte, Keruto-chan wa 13-sai kuraidesho! Mō! Ojisan mitaida na〜
Huh? You mean I look that young?! That makes me a bit happy. It would seem that my physical appearance is more on the juvenile side.
Hmmm… I’m happy I think, but at the same I feel uncertain.
「Ehehe…. Actually Sarah, despite how I look, I’m actually 15 just like you.」 Ehehe…… jitsuwa kō miete sara to issho de 15-saida yo
I tried to pass it off with a lie. Looking over to the side, Dan and Gakuto are looking away while trying hard not to laugh.
Stop it. Even I’m feeling embarrassed just saying it.
「Really?! So we’re the same age -!!! Yaaay♡!」 Sōna no ̄ ! ! Onaidoshidatta nda ̄ ! ! ! Yatta ~a ♡
Sarah hugs me from behind.
「Ahaha….」
I’ve never expected to be hugged so much by any girl. To be hugged by a girl was like an impossible dream in the previous world, so I’m unable to hide my excitement.
「By the way Sarah, on a more serious note, having come from another world, this is our first time here. Just what world is this? 」 Tokorode sara, sukoshi katai hanashi ni narundaga oretachi wa betsu no sekai kara kite ite, kono sekai ni kita no wa hajimete nanda. Kono sekai wa nan nanda?
-Gakuto asks in a serious tone.
「You mean this place? The place we’re in is called the Once Region, which is in the middle of the Lowhand Continent.」 Mama! Tabibito no okyakusamada yo!
It never even occurred to us to ask that question. I know, it makes no sense. We decided to leave the questions to Gakuto and just listen.
「What sort of continent is the Lowhand Continent?」 Rōhando tairiku wa don'na tairikuna nda?
「This continent is divided into six regions- Once, Secon, Thirty, Force, Fiff, and Schick[2]. Also, this Once region is a relatively peaceful place that is rich in nature, and where humans and elves coexist peacefully」 Kono tairiku wa ne, muttsu no chihō ga atte wansu chihō, sekan chihō, sāti chihō, fōsu chihō, fifu chihō, shi~ikku chihō ni wakarete iru no. Sore de, kono wansu chihō wa shizen yutakade ningen to Erufu ga kyōzon shite kurashite ite, hikakuteki heiwana bashode wa aru no
When I heard that reacted almost immediately.
「There are elves too?!」 Erufu mo iru no! ?
「Yup! The girls are all really pretty! Kelt-chan, you’re pretty too, so I think you’d get along with them right away♪」 Un! Tottemo kawaii ko ga ippai iru yo! Keruto-chan mo kawaiikara sugu nakayoku nareru to omou yo ♪
To think that a day would soon come when I’d be able to look upon these elven deities in the flesh, whom until now could only be seen from across the screen of a monitor. I really want to meet an onē-san type elf.
「Oi Kelt, you’re making a weird face.」 Oi Keruto, kao ga okashī zo
Gakuto’s rebuke came as I was engrossed in my crazy delusions. It seems my face had slipped into a creepy smile.
「Sorry.」 Gomen’nasai
「Mo-! Kelt-chan, you already have me!!」 Mo-! Keruto-chan ni wa watashi ga tsuiteru desho! !
「ooof…」 Mofuu……
Sarah’s hugs are soothing once you get used to them….
Also she seems a little too attached to me.
「Well, moving on, does this region have any large town or the like?」 Ma~a tsudzuki o kikukedo, kono chihō ni wa nani ka ōkina machi toka wa nai no ka?
「North of here is Morika, a human[3] nation where the god of this region, Riveamur-sama resides. Morika is the largest nation in the Once region.」 Koko kara kita ni mukau toko no chihō no kamisamadearu ribeamūru-sama no iru hito-zoku kokka morika ga arimasu. Morika wa kono wansu chihō de ichiban ōkī kokkadearimasu
「God?」 Kami-sama?
「Yup! The god of the Once Region, Riveamur-sama! She’s beautiful, kind to her subjects, wise, noble…… This region’s peace and prosperity is all thanks to the Goddess Riveamur-sama!」 Hai! Wansu chihō no kamisama ribeamūru-samadesu! Utsukushikute,-min ni wa yasashiku, kashikoku, kedakaku…… kono chihō ga heiwade yutaka ni haire rareru no wa ribeamūru megami-sama no okagena ndesu yo!
「Hang on, shouldn’t there usually be a king or something?」 Chottomatte, futsū daihyō tte ittara ōsama toka janai no ka?
「Before I was born, there used to be kings n stuff, but at some point, some people with mysterious powers that were beyond the capabilities of ordinary people appeared, and they overthrew the kings. Nowadays, the people refer to those beings with special powers as ‘gods’ and pledged fidelity to them, and that’s how things have continued till this day. 」 Watashi no umareru mae ni wa ōken seidodatta nodesuga, aru toki ōsama yori mo chikara o motta, namitaitei no ningen ga tsukaeru hazu ga nai fushiginachikara o yado shita-mono-tachi ga araware, chikara o tsukete itta tame, ōken seido wa horobi ima dewa sono tokushuna nōryoku o motta mono o hitobito wa “kami” to yobi, tami wa kami ni chūsei o tsukushi, ima ni itaru to iu kotodesu
Special powers… wait, does that mean those ‘gods’ are people who have abilities, just like we do? That could mean these powers we have could impact the entire world. Though if they’re able to rule over an entire region, they must be far stronger than us.
Just what sort of powers do they have….
「So basically, in this world, the highest ranked beings are called gods. You said there are six regions…. so does that mean there are six gods? 」 Yōsuruni, kono sekai no 1-ban-jō no kaikyū wa kami tte kotona nda na, tashika chihō wa muttsu aru to ittaga…… 6-tai no kamisama ga iru tte koto ka?
「Exactly! There is one god for each region, however….」 Sonotōridesu! hitosu no chihō ni hitori no kamisama ga imasu, tada....
Sarah’s expression seemed to become a little downcast.
「You’d mentioned that you’d encountered some too, but lately I’d heard that monsters that are rarely seen have started appearing out of nowhere, and attacking humans and elves. This never used to happen in the past, so why are monsters suddenly moving around….?」 Anatagata mo sōgū shita to kikimashitaga, saikin amari mikakenakatta mamono ga sugatawoarawasu-yō ni natte hito ya Erufu ga osowa rete iru to iu hanashi o kiite imasu. Imamade Konna koto nakattanoni dōshite mamono ga totsuzen katsudō o……
「You mean this is a recent occurence? 」 Mae made wa nakatta no ka?
「By right the monsters in this region aren’t supposed to be ferocious, but powerful monsters have started appearing from who knows where. I’d even heard that various discussions about these incidents were taking place amongst government circles.」 Kono chihō no mamono wa kihon dōmōna mamono wa inakatta hazudesuga, dokokarakitano ka kyōryokuna mamono mo shutsugen shite iru ndesu. Kokka no katade wa iroiro hanashiai ga nasa re terurashī nodesuga……
「Hmm…」
Just as the mood turned heavy from contemplating this problem-
「It is the work of the seventh god.」 Dai 7 no kami no shiwaza yo
Turning around, we saw Elma-san standing there while holding our bathing utensils. So I asked-
「The seventh god?」 Dai 7 no kami?
「Yes.」 Sō yo
Putting down the things in her hand, Elma-san took a seat.
「As Sarah mentioned, each of the six regions of this continent is overseen by by one god, but there are actually seven gods. That seventh god is based on an island to the west of this continent of Lowhand.」 Sara ga itta yō ni kono tairiku ni wa 6-ri no kamigami ga 1tsu no chihō o kanri shite iru no, demo kami wa 7 hito ita.. Sono 7 hitome no kami wa kono rōhando tairiku kara nishi no shima o kyoten to shite katsudō shite iru.
「Why is that?」 Dōshite desu ka?
「There are two kinds of gods. ‘Ryoshin’, who use their powers for the benefit of people, and ‘Jashin’, who use their powers for evil. The seventh god was a ‘Jashin’, and thus banished from the continent, and now it seems that evil god is using monsters to try and impact Lowhand in some way.[4]」 Kami wa kami demo 2 shurui no sonzai ga aru no, hito no tame ni nōryoku o tsukau “Ryō-shin”, yokaranu koto ni nōryoku o tsukau “jashin” ga iru. Sono 7-hitome no kami wa “jashin” to sa rete ita tame kono tairiku kara tsuihō sa reta, soshite ima jashin ga mamono o tsukatte kono rōhando no ji ni nanikashira no eikyō o ataeyou to shite irurashī no
「Don’t those gods of Lowhand have some sort of response to this?」 Sono rōhando no kamisama-tachi wa nanka taisho toka se ehen no ka?
「They seem to be thinking about it, but I think they’re unsure of how to respond as they don’t know why that evil god is doing this.」 Kangaete wa iru mitaina ndakedo, ittai dōshite kono yōna koto o suru no ka riyū ga wakaranaikara amari ugokenai nda to omoimasu
As I listened to Elma-san’s story, something came to mind-
「Elma-san, how come you know about this in such detail?」 Dōshite eruma-san ga son'na koto o kuwashiku shitte iru nodesu ka?
When I asked her that question, she answered with a smile.
「I’m an innkeeper afterall, so I have a lot of opportunities to talk to customers~♪ and with that I get to gather all kinds of information♪ 」 Yadoya-sandesukara, ogyakusan to hanasu kikai ga ōi ndesu ~♪ soko kara shiirete ki tari shimashita ♪
Ah, I see. Indeed, only someone in the service industry would be able to gather information from the cities so brilliantly.
Quite some time had passed listening toElma-san and Sarah, and those three were done with their bath.
「Aaaah~ The water was great…」 Haa~ ī yudatta
With steam rising from his head, Yushiris came out of the bathroom. Behind him were the other two.
「Elma-san, thank you for the bath!」 Eruma-san ofuro arigatōgozaimashita!「Thank you very much.」 arigatōgozaimasu
Euvis and Ama bow their heads.
「It’s okay~♪ I’m glad to see you’re pleased♪. Now, please go on in, you two.」 Yoi no yo ~♪ yorokonde itadaketa mitaide yokattadesu ♪ sā, 2-ri tomo haitte dōzo
「Then I shall take up your kind offer.」 Jā okotobaniamaete
「See ya in’na bit.」 Itte kuru de
Eh? What about me?
Oh right, I can’t get in with the guys, so I’m going last…
「Sorry about that, Kelt-chan」 Gomen'nasai ne, Keruto-chan
「No, it’s fine.」 Īe, daijōbudesuyo
「Once they’re done, the three of us can go bathe together♪」 Min'na-iri owattara 3-ri de o furo hairimasho ♪
「Yes!!……huh?」 Hai!!......n?
Wait a second!! Wait a second!! WAIT JUST A SECOND!!!
What the hell are you saying Elma-san?!!
No matter what, that’s just too much!!!
I may very well look like a girl on the outside, but on the inside I’m very much a wholesome (not true) man!!
Unsurprisingly I’m feeling really guilty.
「Umm… I’ll go in on my own.」 Ano…… watashihitori de hairimasu
「Ara? Why is that? Do you perhaps find the idea of bathing with us unpleasant?」 Ara? Dōshite? Iyadatta kashira?
「No, it’s not like that…..」 Iyade wanaidesukedo……
「Kelt-chan, you’re face is really red ya know?」 Keruto-chan, kao sugoi akai wa yo?
「Ah….. nevermind, it’s nothing…..」 A…… yappari nan demo arimasen……
Unable to say anything, my face turned beet red, and I ended up just looking down.
And so time passed…..
「Kelt-chan!!! I’ll wash your body♡」 Keruto-chan! ! ! Karada aratte ageru ♡
「HYA-! Wait, Sarah!! DON’T!!」 Hya~~! Chotto sara! ! Dame datte! !
「U-fu-fu… Let’s be good friends k ♪?」 Ufufu…… mō nakayoshi ne ♪
Aah, just what is this paradise? I had thought things would turn out to be like a late night anime, where smoke covered the important bits of both the mother and daughter; but if I turned around I was sure I’d go out of my mind, so I entered the bath while desperately thinking of where to look.
But…… Sarah just had to get all fired up…..
「Waaa~♡! Kelt-chan ‘s skin is so nice and smooth~♡」 Wa~a ~♡ Keruto-chan no o hada subesube ~♡
「St-st-sto—!!」 Cho cho cho--- ! !
「U-fu-fu」
After this, Sarah continued to touch me all over.
I never once expected my first bath since arriving in a different world to be both pleasurable and exhausting in equal parts.
「I’ll be heading out now~」 Watashi mō deru ne~
When Sarah stood up, Elma-san got up to leave the bath as well. Seeing the figure of Elma-san, who had a body that would put models to shame, even just from the rear, turned out to be too stimulating for me. As I hurriedly turned away, she came over and whispered in my ear-
「Once everyone has gone to bed, please come to my room, so that I may help you.」 Min'na ga netara, anata no chikara ni naritaikara watashinoheya ni kitekurenai kashira
Saying that, she quietly left the bath.
The circuits in my brain were on the verge of exploding.
「Night time….. bedroom….. just the two of us?」 Yoru…… heya…… futari?
I just lay floating in the bath for the next 10 minutes.
…… I really will end up falling in love with you. Even though I’m a girl.
After the bath, we all enjoyed a lively dinner together with Sarah and Elma-san until late at night.
[1] Ojisan (lit uncle)- means middle aged man
[2] Yes these are not misspellings. The names in katakana are clearly a play on the English words one, second, third, fourth, fifth and six.
[3] The kanji is人族 (hitozoku) – lit. ‘people tribe’. Though humans (as in us homo sapiens) are typically written as人間 (ningen), ningen is used later on in a manner that seems to refer to all the humanoid races including eleves, dwarves at the like in addition to humans. Thus I assume hitozoku is used to refer to humans in this WN.
[4] Jashin (邪神) and Ryoshin (良神) literally mean “evil deity” and “good deity” respectively. They seem to be used as terminology in this WN, hence I’m leaving the term as is.
“beings with special powers as ‘gods’ and pledged fidelity to them”
Do you mean fealty.
Fealty is typically used with loyalty towards those above you like a feudal lord while fidelity is typically used with loyalty towards an equal like a spouse. At least in modern English.
ya know when writing this I was trying to decide between ‘fealty’ and ‘fidelity’. Looking up the difference, all I could find is that ‘fealty’ is used specifically to refer to oaths (eg: oaths of fealty), whereas fidelity was merely loyalty and faith in a person.
Because these beings are seen to be ‘Gods’, I thought the term ‘fealty’ wouldn’t quite mean the right thing as loyalty to any deity involves worship or faith and devotion. Perhaps I’ll edit it as future chapters clarify the exact nature and position of these ‘gods’.
Thanks for the suggestion just the same!
ok
Thanks for the chapter!
Elma sus
Thanks for the chapter