"Gentlemen, forgive me for the interruption. The man you've captured is my friend, not the so-called half-orc you claim he is.
We both came from a remote countryside, hoping to make a living in a big city, but we lost our way in this forest. Since you're planning to return to town, could you perhaps allow us to travel with you?
If you agree, I'll overlook what you just did to my friend."
At this moment, when the adventurers had already tied up the bruised and battered Shimazaki Yosuke—who was still desperately trying to explain himself—and were preparing to take him back to the city, Minami Yojuro finally stepped out from where he had been hiding and observing for quite some time.
From the dropped bills and wallet near Shimazaki Yosuke, as well as what he had been saying earlier, Yojuro already knew this man was another person who had crossed over from another world.
The only reason he hadn't revealed himself sooner was because he wanted to see what kind of abilities other transmigrators possessed besides himself.
But to his disappointment, after crouching in the bushes for so long, he realized that Yosuke—though also a transmigrator—was nothing but a complete weakling in terms of power.
"Hah? Just because you say he's your friend, we should believe he's your friend? What proof do you have?
I think you just saw us catch this rare, talking half-orc and now you're trying to snatch him for yourself."
"That's right. Even if he is someone you know, so what? We were the ones who found him and captured him. That makes him our spoils.
You're just some bumpkin from the sticks. If you don't like it, why don't you try taking him from us by force?"
Unlike Yosuke, Minami Yojuro's looks were striking—even in this world, he was easily in the "handsome beyond compare" category. Naturally, no one mistook him for a half-orc.
Still, despite what he said, the adventurers had no intention of listening. Even if they believed him, they had no plans to compromise.
The reasoning was obvious: they were three, and Yojuro was only one. He was a country nobody with no backing. Meanwhile, a rare talking half-orc could be sold to the guild for a fortune. Why should they give up such a prize just to show courtesy to a stranger?
"It seems that sometimes, fists are more convincing than words. Since that's how you want it, I'll oblige."
Yojuro drew the crude bone blade from his waist and stabbed it into the ground before him. Then, empty-handed, he charged at the three men.
After wandering Soul Society for so many years, he had no trouble gauging an opponent's strength.
Though these three adventurers looked tall, burly, and well-equipped, their spiritual pressure was laughably weak. They weren't even worth the effort of drawing his blade. His bare fists alone would be more than enough to make them weep.
"What an arrogant brat! You've got a weapon and you're not even using it? You think you can show off in front of us?"
"Typical country fool—ignorant of the world, thinking we're on the same level as those third-rate adventurers from your backwater villages!"
A few minutes later…
"My lord, we truly didn't realize… this half-orc—ah, no, this gentleman—was your friend.
We sincerely apologize for our earlier actions. Here, this is all the money we have on us—please accept it as compensation for the harm we caused."
"You must be heading toward town, my lord. We'd be honored to guide you there. We only beg for your mercy—please spare us."
Shimazaki Yosuke stared at the scene before him, his face filled with realization. He came to understand a simple truth: words alone weren't always enough to convince others.
The three adventurers who had been so arrogant and mocking just moments ago were now kneeling in perfect unison before Minami Yojuro, groveling with their foreheads pressed to the ground.
The same men who had called Yojuro a country bumpkin and Yosuke a half-orc were now addressing them respectfully as "my lord" and "sir."
"Yosuke, from what you said earlier, it sounds like when you arrived in this world, you also received a gift of power from the so-called God of Another World.
The ability you were given must be the power to communicate with creatures of this world, right?
Haven't you noticed? At first, those adventurers couldn't understand a word you were saying. But later, they suddenly could. The only reason they mistook you for a half-orc was because of your appearance."
Both Yojuro and Shimada Yosuke were outsiders to this world, so it was natural for them to begin exchanging information quickly.
"You're only seventeen years old?!"
During their conversation, Yojuro was stunned to learn that the plain-looking Shimada Yosuke before him was just a seventeen-year-old boy.
"But you look no different from a man in his thirties…"
"What about you, Yojuro? How old are you? Judging from your appearance, you should be about the same age as me… maybe even younger."
"Heh… yeah, I'm about seventeen too."
Yojuro replied with an awkward smile.
But awkward or not, it was the truth. If you counted the years he had lived in Soul Society, he was easily several decades old. And if you added in the age from his previous life, he might even have broken past three digits.
In other words, their situations were the exact opposite: Yosuke looked old but was actually a pure-hearted teenager, while Yojuro looked youthful but was, in truth, an experienced veteran.
"Yojuro, how long have you been in this world? Earlier, when you defeated those adventurers, it looked so effortless. Was that because you chose some kind of powerful cheat ability from the start?"
As a self-proclaimed gaming nerd, Yosuke couldn't hide his excitement about the whole "isekai" situation. After all, this was the kind of plot he had only ever seen in novels and games.
But comparisons could be cruel. Next to Yojuro's seemingly god-tier start, his own choice of cheat—something called 'Wild Talker'—felt utterly pathetic.
Sure, communication was the foundation of trust, but after everything that had just happened, Yosuke realized one thing: just because people spoke the same language didn't mean they could truly understand each other.
"Well, there's no such thing as a useless ability. It all depends on how you use it.
I didn't get any overwhelming combat power from the God of Another World either. The ability I was given is more in the category of self-preservation.
As for the strength I used to defeat those adventurers—that's just the result of my own training.
And since you're also from the modern world, you should understand this: even in games, you don't start out with cheats and god-tier gear.
If things were that easy, if defeating demon lords was the same as stomping weaklings, then what fun would the game itself be?"