Clearing an Isekai with the Zero-Believers Goddess

Author: Annoyance warning.

*Important note*: Nameless (pretty much everyone set on calling MC that, haha) has a certain habit of calling himself with different types of “I” like “watashi” and “ore” and maybe even “boku”. Watashi is normally a more formal way of addressing oneself, Boku is more neutral, and Ore is more informal and even rude at times.

It would lower the dramatic factor in some scenes if I were to point out which it is at every instance, so whenever he uses “watashi” I will use “I” in italic, when he uses “ore” it will be “I” in bold, and in the off-chance it is “boku” I will use “I” underlined. Hope it shows clearly enough to make it noticeable.

I might post reminders every now and then though.

——-

I have been constantly waking up to muscle pain lately, but this time around, I woke up from the pain in my head.

“Did you call Grandma?”

“Yeah, she will be coming shortly.”

My vision is hazy. My surroundings are noisy.

It reeks of beast. “Oi, he woke up. Can you hear me?”

Someone has approached me. Who is it?

I trace back my memories. After I discovered a rare forest with Ban-san…

“I am asking if you can hear me!”

“Uh…please keep silent. My head hur—dah?!”

Wait, who are these people?!

I was surprised by this sight and woke up in one go.

I am surrounded by several people.

But the people in front of me seem to be human, but have appearances unlike that of humans.

The first time in this world that I saw black hair, red eyes, with ears and tail covered in fur like that of an animal.

Tail…?

Speaking of which, I think Ilias said before that there’s demi-humans in this world like elves.

In that case, are they demi-humans mixed with dogs or wolves?

Putting that aside, I should be taking more of an issue in the fact that both of my hands are tied up behind me and am on the floor.

Hmm, this is that.

Kidnapping, right?

“Sorry, but can you please explain to me what’s currently going on?”

“What’s with this guy? What is he saying?”

“Who knows. He seems to be saying something though…”

Oh?

What a weird reaction. Could this possibly be…

“Do you not understand what I am saying? I mean no harm. Can you please undo the restraints?”

“He seems to be appealing to something…”

“No idea at all.”

Doesn’t seem like my words are getting through. Could it be that the possession spell ran out?

It has been 6 days since the possession spell was used on me the day I got caught, so the chances are high if I have been out for a day.

No, wait, they don’t get what I am saying, but I get what they are saying.

It is not like they are talking in Japanese. In that case, my words should be getting through.

Uhm, what did Maya-san say about the possession spell…?

—“It is a method that doesn’t have a name though. We have the target be possessed by a Spirit temporarily, insert the common language in the consciousness of the target, and have their speech translated into common language. It does the same when on the receiving end, matching the words with the consciousness of the target.”

Something like that.

I see.

My words are being translated to the common language, but their words are being translated in a way that I can understand, huh.

Basically, this possession spell isn’t the kind that allows you to speak English, but it is not like it allows you to understand English; you can speak English and are capable of understanding many languages, huh.

This is a lot more convenient than I thought, but not being able to use it in such a half-assed manner is a really vexing feeling!

“He has black hair just like us, but he is not from ours. Could it possibly be a demon?!”

I shake my head to the sides.

One man noticed this.

“This guy shook his head just now. You understand us?”

I nod and the people around notice too.

“Who are you? Answer.”

“I can’t speak.”

“What is he saying? If you understand our words, speak them.”

I shake my head to the sides.

“Could it be that he can’t speak?”

“As if that’s possible. If he understands, he should be able to speak it too.”

I shake my head.

“It seems he is trying to say he can hear but not talk.”

Nod.

“Hmm, what’s the meaning of this…? It doesn’t look like he is lying though… Can’t be helped. Let’s leave it to Grandma.”

I heard that before, but is Grandma like the chief of the village?

Fortunately, they don’t seem to be cannibals that don’t hear reason.

If we can communicate properly here, there’s the possibility we could bring this to a negotiation.

An old woman showed up with accessories decorating her all over.

The color of her hair has been lost to a certain degree, but rather than calling it white hair, it is more like gray.

“Is it that boy there? Isn’t he still just a child?”

“The ones who were out hunting found them and captured them. There was apparently one more nearby, but he disappeared by the time they noticed.”

Thank you for explaining the situation.

In that case, there’s the chance that Ban-san managed to hide properly when these guys attacked.

The chances of him coming to save me are…half. The other half would be him returning to request assistance for the rescue.

Considering the personality of Ban-san, there’s a high chance he will ask for the help of Cara-jii or people in that line.

“Also, it seems like he can understand our words, but he only talks in words we don’t understand.”

“Fumu, that’s strange. Well then, let me get a look.”

This so-called Grandma placed a hand on my forehead.

I feel like this has happened before. From the time with Maya-san, huh.

“Hohoh, this child has been possessed by a Spirit… I see, in that case, if I do this…”

The hand of Grandma shone, and something hot began to flow in me.

“How is it, boy?”

“…Did you modify the possession spell somehow?”

“He talked. He freakin’ talked!”

Looks like we can communicate now.

“It seems like there’s someone who has created an interesting spell out there. But the method of output was different from ours, so I have soaked the Spirit with my mana.”

“…Has that also done something to the side-effects?”

“Now that ye mention it, there was a place that was strangely distorted. Sorry, but that’s as much as I could tinker. The person that casted that spell is extremely outstanding.”

Maya-san, if you are that incredible, please do something about the muscle pain quickly.

If she has poured mana, that means I will be able to communicate for a while more. It helps out in that point.

“Being able to communicate makes this easier. I intend no harm. I plan on answering whatever you want to ask within my power.”

And so, my communication with them began.

They are a race called Black Wolfkin, and they are apparently a bit different from humans.

They moved to this hidden forest and closed the path to it in order to escape from the fear and destruction filling the world by the Demon Lords a long time past, and they have been living quietly until now.

That’s the roots of these guys.

I myself also received a good amount of questions.

How did I get here from outside?

Where did my other comrade go?

Has the outside world fallen?

I answered as much as I knew.

“There’s no Demon Lords anymore…? That’s impossible.”

“It is not like I am certain of it. But there has been no new Demon Lord seen since they disappeared a long time ago, and the humans have now created nations in this continent and are living their lives.”

“Are you telling me that Black Demon Lord…has fallen?”

That Black Demon Lord was apparently killed by a slime -but let’s not say that.

I pretty much answered honestly to whatever they asked.

That goes the same for Ban-san. I don’t know if he is hiding nearby or has returned, so there’s no issue with me telling them.

“He is not the type of person who would abandon an ally. He doesn’t excel in combat, so there’s a high chance he will gather people and come back.”

“What… Does that mean it will end up in a fight?!”

The young ones began to make a ruckus.

“No, we can stop that. Fortunately, I am still alive, so I should be able to convince my allies that have come to rescue me in a peaceful manner. We did enter the forest unannounced after all.”

“Aren’t ye gonna tell us to free ya at once?”

“That would leave unease. I plan on doing the persuasion in front of you all so that you can rest easy. As such, I will have to stay in your village for a while. Is that okay?”

“—Alright. But can ya listen to my request while at it?”

“Depends on what it is. Please tell me.”

“We have been living for a long time in this forest and have cut off our connections with the harmful world. However, our tribe is slowly treading the path of decline… I feel like living in this cramped forest forever really would be difficult.”

“So you want to ask for interactions with the people outside.”

“Indeed. Ye can understand our words and the words of the outside, boy. Can I ask ya to serve as the bridge?”

“I don’t mind that. There’s a lot of valuable plants in this forest to begin with. There will most likely be a lot of people who would want to support you if there’s anyone who can move in the locale.”

I feel like there will be a qualitative difference in the trade with indigenous people.

However, from what I see of Ban-san who is a merchant of Taizu, I don’t think they will be treated that badly.

“It would be troubling to throw everything onto me. I will serve as a bridge, but I will have your representative be the one doing the negotiations.”

“Umu, we have a deal then.”

“Grandma, is that really okay?”

“This person didn’t tell a single lie. It is okay to trust him.”

Is she the type that can see through lies too? Is there some sort of technique to it?

Even though I am here doing my best to act in a fashion where I can still manage even if I get deceived. How enviable.

“By the way, how long have I been out for?”

“For a brief period of time. The sun has not gone down yet. Uhm, sorry about that.”

Looks like this man is the one who attacked me.

“No, even if you were to talk to us, it would have been hard to reach an understanding. Considering my one other companion, the chances are that we would have run away and come back with more people in the future. Negotiations would have been more problematic at that time. In that sense, you could say it wasn’t all bad.”

“I-Is that so?”

“It is not really as an exchange, but can you please show me the lifestyle of this village? It is necessary to deepen the relationship on our side.”

And so, I was guided inside the village.

There’s somewhat archaic houses lined up.

There seems to be cultivation fields a little further away too.

There’s people gathered at the center that seems to be a plaza, and they are giving each other the fruits and game they have obtained in the day.

“You can hunt animals despite being an isolated forest, huh.”

“Animals can go over mountains. They would at times come down and attack the livestock, so we don’t neglect our daily explorations.”

I see.

That’s when I hear a sound resembling the clashing of wooden tools.

The men at the side of the plaza were training with wooden sticks in hand.

Their movements are far faster than that of the bandits.

Compared to the knights…they do have flexibility, but I feel like they fall behind in terms of technique.

“I don’t think you need to train that much against animals though.”

“There’s no knowing when the army of the Demon Lord will come. That’s why we never forget our daily training as warriors.”

Speaking of which, it was that kind of village, right.

It is an isolated village, but their population seems higher than 100.

There’s people who are looking at us with interest every now and then, but most of them are filled with curiosity rather than fear and unease.

“Despite that, they seem to be receptive towards people who come from the outside.”

“The details of it have already reached the village.”

So everyone in this village is a neighbor…

The more the population increases, the less proactive people are in getting involved with others.

Obviously, it is not like all the people will be involved in your life.

But with a village of this size, the amount of people you meet are limited, to a point where you can count them.

That’s why communication with each other becomes essential, and they can live as a tribe where it is one for all.

This is most likely valid in its own way.

It is a bit scathing as someone who is bad with human relationships though.

After that, I was brought around the village by the guide, and I managed to obtain a rough picture.

And then, I was guided to the entrance of the village at the end.

The sky is already bright red. He probably won’t guide me outside, and making him worry about me escaping would be harsh.

I look around in a broad manner to show as if I have no interest.

“…Hm?”

I suddenly saw children at the side of the entrance.

The mischievous children were picking up rocks and tree branches noisily and were playing around by throwing them to something outside the entrance.

A trashcan or something like that? But it has a shape someone could be put into.

It is way too crooked to be called a hut, and it feels more like piled up litter made from randomly gathered straws and branches.

“What’s that?”

“Aah, it would be better for you to not approach that place. You might get cursed.”

“Cursed, you say. Is there something dangerous?”

“Yeah, that’s the dwelling of the Blight Child.”

Blight Child?

The moment I thought that, someone showed up from inside.

I was on the verge of feeling disgust at that appearance that reminded me of vagabonds and the poor who suffer overseas.

But the moment I saw the whole picture, I felt beauty in that figure, and ended up gulping unconsciously.

Pure white snow hair that was unkempt and had grown endlessly, and yet, it felt cristalline.

She was wearing ragged clothes that I find hard to even call clothes, and even though her whole body is dirty in mud, white skin could be peeked at from there.

The shape in itself may not be different from that of the black wolfkin, but a girl so white it wouldn’t even be dyed by black was standing there.

“That’s…”

The girl called the Blight Child hesitantly looked at the children.

When she did, the children screamed loudly, and threw rocks and sticks.

The girl hurriedly hid inside the rubble.

The children laughed.

Not only that. The adults around were watching over the children with a smile.

What’s…this?

My vision shook.

The smiles of the villagers were nauseating.

It is not like I don’t know this feeling.

Ah, this is something that I have tasted in Japan too…

“Now, let’s go back. It is getting late.”

“—Why is that girl at that kind of place?”

“Why, you ask. Because she is a Blight Child. You saw that figure of hers, right?”

The guide man tilted his head in wonder.

I closed my eyes and sigh.

It is just that this guy doesn’t understand it at all.

In that case, this man isn’t the one I should be asking for an explanation.

I once again directed my gaze at the rubble and headed to Grandma.

“Have you seen the state of the village?”

“Yeah, and so there’s one thing I want to ask. It is about a girl called the Blight Child. That’s a cursed child. White mixes into the hair of the aged ones. But even an old one like me only gets this much of a mix. The hair of that thing holds an eeriness that resembles death.”

I endured my desire to object and urge her on.

“That thing was suddenly born despite having a black wolfkin mother. Her mother lost her life when it was born. That thing’s father, who tried to raise it, was caught off-guard by a beast and never returned just a few days of its birth. Thinking it eerie, we left it in the forest, but the grass around that thing had withered the next day, so we couldn’t throw it away. If a warrior was to take that thing’s life, that person might get caught in the curse and die, so we couldn’t take its life either. As such, we have let that thing live outside the village, and have given it the duty to take in the calamities that enter this village.”

“So you are using her to ward off evil because she is ominous?”