10 nen goshi no HikiNiito o Yamete Gaishutsushitara Jitaku goto Isekai ni Ten'ishiteta Volume 2 – CH 3

Chapter 2: Yuuji a “Loner-NEET” Evolves into “NEET”

Part 3. Yuuji, First Meeting with a Person from Another World

「The leaves turning red are beautiful. It’s the autumn of ripe fruits, the autumn of appetite!  Today will be a great haul, Kotarou!」

It had been 3 months since Yuuji’s physical abilities increased.

The seasons had changed, while summer said its farewell and autumn gave its greeting.

The vast forest had turned into yellow and crimson. Very beautiful scenery could be seen.

Yuuji and Kotarou together were securing food supply for the winter such as acorns, fruits, berries, mushrooms (that Yuuji risked his body to check the safety of), mountain birds that Kotarou hunted, and others.

「However, we had gone for 3 days and 2 night towards the south and west but still haven’t found any human presences. The forest still continues in that direction…..」

“That’s true. The forest keeps going on and on” Kotarou who seemed to agree with him answered with a bark.

Yes, during summer, Yuuji and Kotarou in order to leave the forest conducted an exploration for 3 days and 2 night towards the south and to the west.

However, they returned with dejected spirits without being able to leave the forest or find any traces of human presence.

The only result to show from it was finding a river that flowed to the south one day away in the west.

By the way, they didn’t go towards the north or east. Because that was the flying route of the wyvern that they saw in the first day.

As of now, Yuuji wasn’t particularly bothered about living alone since the house was comfortable and safe. He had a loner mindset, to such extent that he didn’t bother making an earnest effort to leave the forest. To begin with, his exploration was only for 3 days and 2 nights. What is this? School trip?

By the way, since the defensive battle against the goblins in front of his house and engagement against goblins in the forest, he hadn’t seen any other goblins or fantasy creatures.

「Are there any humans in this world in the first place? Ah…. But, I wouldn’t know the language. Maybe I am all on my own……」

As if to respond to Yuuji’s loud monologue, Kotarou rubbed against Yuujis foot with her body.

She looked at Yuuji with her big round eyes, “What are you talking about? Aren’t I here?” as if comforting him.

「Oou. Thank you Kotarou. There’s no use to think about it since I don’t understand anyway. Let’s just gather food supplies for winter! Emergency ration crackers, different kinds of Calorymate and Soyjoy, herb tea and acorn coffee, we have enough!」

It was substantially sufficient.

Because of the refrigerator, the prepared bird could be deep frozen. To be honest there was enough for one guy and one animal to pass through the winter and still have a surplus.

By the way, preserving food by smoking it was a failure. It went well until half-drying it, but with only substitute tools and not dedicated one, it was hard to extract the remaining moisture, so making preserved food with smoking was unexpectedly hard.

Although that was a situation, it’s not like his meals were completely gathered from the forest, so the emergency rations were slowly consumed.

At this pace, there was still surplus for the next winter, but it will probably be difficult for the winter after that.

As for Yuuji he wanted to gather as much food as possible in the autumn to pass the winter. During the next spring and summer, he planned to leave the forest and genuinely search for human habitation.

「The sun is starting to set, so let’s stop here for today. Let’s go back, Kotarou!」

The time according to Yuuji’s watch was 3’clock.

He had frequently explored, so the road that they often walked on had become what you can call 「Animal Trail」. Yuuji called out to Kotarou, but he received no response.

Kotarou stared at one point of the road in front of him, and made one bark before running to the road in the front.

“What’s wrong Kotarou?” “Did you find something?” Yuuji yelled while pursuing Kotarou. They ran for awhile

Under the large tree trunk where Kotarou was lying down and waiting for Yuuji, was a person.

The person was leaning against the large tree trunk, with their head casted down and concealed behind long red hair that reached the chest.

This was a human.

Furthermore, a little girl.