CHAPTER 5 - PART 3 & 4

Part 3

Its helmet was pure white. It was a simple and dull color, but the elegance of the warring era armor was still prominent.

Its body was covered with scale armor of intrinsic designs.

Its blades emit cold white smog and was obviously sharp.

Jack Frost had a strong presence and took up a stance.

The white blade shone under the sun and slashed towards Darkness who was the nearest to him!

"Ugh!?"

Darkness wanted to block with her great sword, but—

With a crisp crack, the great sword that withstood the blows from Beldia was easily broken.

"Ahh!? My sword is …!?"

Aqua put some distance between her and Jack Frost as she said…

"Jack Frost; one of the special monsters with a high bounty set by the nation. Jack Frost is the fairy of winter… Fairies don't have a material body. It manifests itself according to the unconscious descriptions and images of the people it meets. The fairy of fire would turn into a violent salamander according to 'the desire to engulf everything in flames'. The fairy of water reminds people of the young, beautiful and sensible goddess of water, so they would manifest themselves as a young girl… But the fairy of winter is a bit special alright? In the winter with dangerous monsters all around, even adventurers won't leave their homes, so few people have met the fairy of winter… That's right, except for the bunch of cheaters who were transported here from Japan."

She held onto the bottles containing the snow fairies as she elaborated on Jack Frost.

Jack Frost was breathing cold, white smoke from the mouth of its mask.

I stood beside Darkness who had broken her sword, putting up my guard before Jack Frost.

"… You mean this thing is because those idiots from Japan think that 'When you talk about winter, you have to talk about Jack Frost'? Why are there such troublesome matters, what should we do? Can we fight the fairy of winter!?"

To be frank, I don't think I could beat the monster before me.

It might look like a humanoid warrior in armor at first glance, but if that is the manifestation of a fairy, my sword won't be effective at all.

The lifeline Megumin couldn't use magic anymore today.

After finishing this fight, I will step on that girl who is playing dead.

Aqua opened the bottles to release the snow fairies she worked so hard to catch.

"Kazuma, listen to me! Jack Frost is a merciful being! If you apologize properly, it would let us go!"

Aqua said as she knelt in the snow covered plains in a hurry.

"Prostrate! Prostrate yourself quick! Everyone throw your weapons away! Apologize! Hurry up Kazuma, apologize!"

Pressing her head hard into the snow, the former something threw her pride away and gave a standard kowtow.

I felt a sense of awe from Aqua who prostrated without hesitation and Megumin who was playing dead so perfectly.

And Jack Frost really did ignore the prostrating Aqua.

It turned its gaze towards me and Darkness.

I knelt in a hurry after it looked at me—!

… I realized Darkness besides me was standing right there idly.

"Hey, what are you doing, hurry up and kneel!"

Darkness threw her broken sword aside and stared at Jack Frost defiantly.

"Ugh…! Even I have my pride as a crusader! Even if no one is watching, as a knight, I can't lower my head to a monster because of fear…!"

I grabbed Darkness' head as she was speaking something troublesome and pressed her down forcefully.

"You were always happily chasing monsters around, why are you displaying your boring sense of pride now!"

"Stop! Ugh, I don't want to lower my head but was forced down crudely, my face is touching the ground, what a reward! Haha… Ah, the snow is cold…!"

I pressed the head of the pervert who was offering token resistance down as I lowered mine too.

I peeked at Jack Frost, seeing that he had kept his blade.

I relaxed and continued to bow—

Aqua shouted shrilly at me.

"Kazuma, the weapon! Throw the weapon in your hand away now!!"

I was pressing my head into the icy snow plains, and suddenly realized my right hand was still holding a sword.

I threw the sword in my right hand away in a hurry.

I was panicking, so my head left the snowy ground—

What I saw was Jack Frost holding the sheathed blade with its left hand.

Jack Frost pushed the blade out with the thumb of its left hand, revealing a glimpse of white steel.

This was known as the 'Iai stance'.

Jack Frost's right hand which was empty swung out in an instance.

I heard a clinking sound.

That was the sound of a blade being sheathed.

As I listened to that sound, I was baffled by why my gaze which I accidentally lifted up was falling towards the snowy ground—

Part 4

— I remember completely.

I was killed by Jack Frost.

"Erm… have you calmed down?"

"Ah… sorry, I lost my composure. I showed you something disgraceful."

In the shrine of pure white, I averted my eyes shamefully after crying pitifully before the goddess.

But the goddess who called herself Eris shook her head with a hint of sorrow:

"This is nothing to be ashamed about. You lost your precious life after all…"

She said as she closed her eyes sympathetically.

Seeing Eris' sorrowful expression, I felt sad as well.

"Erm, may I ask? Do you know what happened to that monster that killed me?"

I was worried about those fellows taking on Jack Frost because I was killed.

"It's fine, Jack Frost disappeared after cutting you down."

Hearing that, I sighed without regrets.

Eris looked at me sorrowfully.

"Satou Kazuma-san. You came from peaceful Japan and encountered something like this… Brave soul who came from another world, I will use my power to let you reincarnate in peaceful Japan to a wealthy family and live a free life. I will let you go to a place you can live happily."

After hearing Eris' words, I remembered.

You could either live in heaven after death, or reincarnate as a baby.

Transporting to this ridiculous world was an abnormality.

The time was short, but it was a happy period in the end.

Not able to see those troubling people was a bit…

That's right, just a bit lonely—

Maybe it's because of the expression on my face, Eris looked at me and lowered her gaze sadly.

And she reached her right hand out to me…

"Hurry and come back Kazuma! How can you be killed off so easily in such a place! It's too early for you to die!"

I suddenly heard Aqua's voice.

The doppler effect of the sound reverberated through this place where only Eris and I were in.

"Wait, what's happening!?"

But I was not the only one who was surprised.

"Wha—! This voice, Aqua-sempai!? I was thinking that arch priest looked just like senpai, could it really be her!?"

Eris opened her eyes wide in disbelief, speaking loudly to the void.

"Kazuma can you hear me? I have cast 'Resurrection' on your body, you can come back now. There is a goddess before you right? Ask that child to open the gate back here."

Aqua's voice came again.

Ohh…! So you really were a goddess, you actually did something incredible!

By the way, that girl did resurrect the adventurers killed by the dullahan!

"Okay, wait for me Aqua! I will be right there!"

I wasn't sure if my voice will reach her, but I still shouted into the void and jumped happily.

"Hold, wait a minute! No no, I am sorry, you have already been revived once, by the laws of the heavens, you can't be resurrected again! The other side can't hear us, unless Aqua senpai is connected to your voice. Could you help me pass the message?"

Eris said in a panic.

Hey, are you kidding, I was happy for nothing!

"Hey Aqua, can you hear me!? She said I had already revived once, so I can't revive again because of some rules in heaven!"

I shouted into the void.

Followed by a moment of silence—

"Ah? Which goddess said such foolish things! Tell me your name! A goddess watching over such a far off place should respect an elite like me who is in charge of Japan!!"

Hey, don't do that.

The goddess who was in charge of the far off area looked awkward.

"Eh, it's a goddess -sama by the name of Eris…"

I timidly said to Eris.

Which was followed by the heated voice of Aqua.

"Eris!? Just because she was worshiped as the national religion of this world, she audaciously used her name as the currency unit, flat chested Eris!? Let me tell you Kazuma, if Eris continues to prattle, you just go for the pads in her bra and—"

"I get it I get it! An exception! This time will be an exception! I will open the gate now okay!"

After drowning out Aqua's voice, Eris snapped her fingers while blushing.

At the same time, a plain white door without decoration appeared before me.

"Really, Aqua senpai is still as unreasonable"… After Eris grumbled, she said to me:

"This way, the gate to the mortal world… Really, this normally wouldn't happen okay? By the rules, be it kings or big shots, everyone else only gets one chance… Really. You are Kazuma-san right?"

"Eh, ah, yes!"

I stuttered in reply upon hearing Eris ask for my name.

Compared to the laughable goddess by my side, this one looked more like a goddess-sama.

And she was an exceptionally beautiful girl, so I would naturally get nervous.

The goddess who had a hint of sorrow in her eyes scratched her cheek.

Finally, she closed one eye like a playful kid and said in a soft, cheerful voice:

"Please keep this a secret okay?"

I smiled awkwardly as I pushed the white door open—