Old Man Isekai - Chapter 4

Even after seven days have passed, I still haven’t had a proper conversation with my companions. Even Yuno, who should be good at communication, only speaks with a strained smile. Things are even worse with the others, as we haven’t even managed to hold a conversation at all. What bothers me most is that even the women are awkward around each other.

"Cattleya, how do you think we can start talking with everyone?"

"Hmm... If only we had some kind of trigger. But it's difficult."

The person I talk to the most is my maid, Cattleya. She’s my personal maid, a sixteen year old girl. However, in this world, adulthood begins at fifteen, so she’s considered a respectable adult woman. Despite being a commoner from a merchant family, she graduated at the top of her class from a noble’s school and now works as a maid in the royal castle. She’s quite intelligent.

Aside from taking care of me, Cattleya teaches me various things. I can converse thanks to a translation spell, but I can’t read the language. So, I point to the text in books and have Cattleya read it to me, helping me learn the written language. This was like learning a foreign girl’s native language to get closer to her—a study technique that kills two birds with one stone, learning and building rapport with women.

After learning the language, I had her prepare documents so I could understand this country's financial situation, including agriculture, fisheries, taxes, and so on. Although they’re troubled by the advancing demon tribe, I thought it was odd they would leave the fate of their country in the hands of a stranger.

As expected, the country’s finances are in ruins. Since they primarily dealt in luxury goods and ornaments, these items became useless during wartime. Plus, they lack weapons and food for the war effort, which is why they bet everything on summoning a select few people from another world. However, a few things still puzzle me. The country feels suspicious, so my top priority is to return home. For now, I’ll cooperate until I meet the conditions for returning. I decided to pass on my reform ideas through Catlea’s father, who could help.

As for my financial advice, I help girls who are genuinely struggling not by giving them money, but by teaching them techniques to grow their wealth or start a business. These are skills I learned through practice and earning certifications.

"If you had explained your skills, things wouldn’t have turned out like this, Dai-sama. Sometimes I wonder if you’re smart or just an idiot," Cattleya said.

"Well, back then, I was just excited to be called a companion."

Cattleya also knows about my skills. When she first found out, she looked at me like I was trash, but she’s softened a bit after spending time studying together.

"A trigger, huh... Should I just fight them?" I joked.

"Wouldn’t that make things worse?"

"Well, if things get worse, it won’t make much difference!"

"But how will you call them out?"

"Good question. Since we can’t talk, I’ll write a letter to express my feelings. They’ll probably read it if I give it to their maids."

---

Later, I waited at the training grounds’ ring, and five enraged demons—I mean, companions—showed up. Did I overdo it in my letter?

"Oh! Here you are."

"Dai. You must want to get cut to pieces," one of them said.

"Old man, I’ll burn you alive. Don’t move!" another added.

Yuno and Maya said things girls really shouldn’t be saying.

"Everyone, don’t worry. I’ll heal him just before he dies, so feel free to kill him as many times as you want."

"That’s a relief. If that’s the case, it won’t be against chivalry to kill him."

"I’ll bite him to death..."

"Let’s all calm down and be rational, okay?"

"AAAAHHHHH!"

This is terrifying. They’ve gone beyond demons—they’re like wrathful gods! But, this is the most conversation I’ve had with them so far.

"For now, I called you here to show the difference between you and me."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Honestly, you probably think I’m the most useless among us, right?"

"......"

"Well, I said that during our introductions, and it’s been true until now. But now I have magic and weapons, so the gap isn’t as wide as it used to be."

"You think you’ve caught up with those of us who fought in battles back in our world in just a few days...?"

"Yeah. I’ll prove it by fighting both Aria and Maya at once."

"What?! Are you underestimating us? That’s a fight you’re obviously going to lose!"

"Dai-dono, I can’t accept this as a knight."

"Just fight me. Or are you afraid of losing?"

"Fine then..."

"Very well."

Aria took a frontline stance, while Maya positioned herself as a backliner.

"Aria, I’ll knock the old man out, so dodge when you see your chance."

"Understood. I’ll engage Dai-dono directly."

"Let’s begin! First, here you go! And another one! Now, wind, obey my will—Air Shot!"

I threw sandbags into the air that I had prepared beforehand and used wind magic to create a sandstorm.

"What?! I can’t see! Ouch, I’ve got sand in my eyes!"

"Damn it! Where is he?!"

I had prepared goggles with Catlea’s help, so the sand didn’t get in my eyes. Aria, on the other hand, couldn’t activate her skills since the sand wasn’t a magic attack.

"Ugh! I’ll just blow the sand away with magic."

"It won’t affect me since I’m immune to magic!"

"Tornado!"

A whirlwind erupted from Maya, clearing the sand. But I wasn’t in the ring anymore.

"Where is he?"

"Right here. That makes Maya the first to lose."

"Wha—?! Argh...!"

I extended my spear from behind her and ended the fight. Since Maya’s wind magic originates from her position, it gave away her location. After the sandstorm, I quickly left the ring and periodically threw sandbags to maintain the storm, then circled around behind her.

"Now, Aria’s next."

"Dai-dono, that was quite underhanded."

"Consider it a handicap."

"But now we’ll have a proper duel. What will you do?"

"The same as before."

Crackle.

"More sand? You think the same trick will work?"

"We’ll see."

"Go ahead. I’ll take it head-on."

"Alright then, take this!"

I threw another sandbag at Aria and cast my spell.

"Wind, obey my will—Air Shot!"

Just like before, the sand swirled.

"Hmph, the same trick again? This has no meaning in a duel of honor—"

Suddenly, a stone hit Aria’s ribs at high speed.

"Ah! Ow!"

I had mixed stones in with the sand. Using wind magic, I accelerated the stones and struck Aria. Since she wasn’t wearing armor, it hurt. I slowly approached, pointing my spear at her, and declared victory.

"That’s my win."

"Sharon, please heal her."

"Ah, yes!"

Sharon quickly healed Aria with magic. I hadn’t thought much about it, but it turns out Sharon can use healing magic too.

After Aria recovered, I addressed them all.

"Now do you get it?"

"What do you mean...?"

"You know what I’m talking about. Stop playing dumb."

"Tch! You’re saying we don’t work well together as a team, right?"

"There’s a more fundamental issue."

"...We don’t know each other’s abilities, nor do we know our opponents."

"Exactly. How can you cooperate when you don’t even know your own companions? I only exploited that weakness. If you trusted and understood each other, you would’ve beaten me in an instant."

"......"

Clap, clap, clap, clap.

"Impressive. So, I’m next. Shall we test my coordination with the others?"

"No, Yuno. I was thinking of a one-on-one duel with you from the start."

I faced Yuno, the final boss. By the way, it’s tough on an old man like me to fight without rest, but I can’t exactly say that out loud right now!

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