Xihon Country, beautiful land that always shows the beauty of cherry blossoms, is a place where people live and survive. This country is beautiful but very strict and closed to other countries. Even today, it is very rare for outsiders to come or visit this country.
It's about Xihon Country led by a girl who is a "descendant of a god". By having the power she is even able to see every corner of this country, and with her power in leading this country, the girl makes regulations that make this country even more strict and closed to other countries. And what's more, the girl, who was often called the President by the inhabitants of the land, was too cruel to her people—even so far, what was owned by the inhabitants, was often forced to be taken by her by ordering her knights.
Such as having to pay taxes and be subject to interest if the due date is over, living in a very dangerous slum area, or being expelled from the country, those are the rules she sets in the country.
She is the leader of this country. She is the President of this country. No one dared to disturb her, for they were afraid of the divine punishment. The government system that she applies, which is only one-sided; that is for her alone, becomes very difficult for the residents and non-residents living in the country to carry out. The existing rules, which the girl set, were like slowly killing them. If you are unable to follow those rules, you will surely die. And if you can follow and enforce these rules, you will be able to survive and live as a resident there; however, you will suffer and even die if you are unable to endure.
That's what Marco told Apta. Marco explains what is happening in the country, and why the owner of the house is being treated like that by them. The reason was that it was the country that had regulations that were too strict and seemed very cruel to him.
"It's like suffocating them. Slowly but surely, they will die. After all, these rules are too cruel for people who can't live them."
"So people like the owner of that house and the villagers are the ones who can't follow those rules?" Apta asked.
"Yeah. They just want to live with their family. They wake up from their sleep, then have breakfast, work, lunch, drink, dinner, drink, then go back to sleep, that's what they want in their life. If there are regulations that are burdensome to them, they will not be able to endure them. As ordinary humans, who had neither fighting skills nor magic, they could only plead with the strength to protect their families. But, in this country, strong people are at her hand. Do you know what the consequences of that are? Yeah, that's right, if they want to be protected, they have to pay taxes and follow the rules."
"In other words, those people are being paid to her to protect them?"
"Yeah, like that. They have to pay taxes to get protection from the President."
"Even in this world, there are still annoying rules. I think I do have the destiny to be within the existing regulations," Apta said in his mind. After that, he saw Marco and asked. "Then, are you like them too, unable to follow those rules?"
"I… I'm not like this. I'm just an unlucky person, arriving here then trapped here and can't get out of here. I am a traveler who has been trapped in this country for 3 years."
Three years ago, Marco, a traveler from another country, who had tawny hair and wore iron plates on the vital parts of his slightly dark and yellowish clothes, along with his party mates arrived here in the hope of cooperating with the country to defeat one of the Demon Lords residing in his country.
They were originally five, a party, but the four wanderers couldn't stay here and couldn't even properly carry out their quest, which was given to them by their king. Surviving and remaining of the five of them is only Marco.
They got a quest that left only Marco in their party, not knowing that this country was like the "Forbidden Zone" to them. The king, who had given the five of them the quest directly, had also acted rashly. By relying on and sending the five of them, the king now had no news of the five of them. What he knows and believes is that he is only waiting for good news, so that this country will help him in defeating the Demon Lord in his country.
And right now, Marco didn't know what he would do after losing his party mates. He only lived here and helped the people who broke the rules. To him, as long as he was reliable, he would continue to act as he should as a good traveler.
"Oh, I see."
"Yeah… maybe I'm just having bad luck. Being stuck here and not being able to return to my country, that's funny, isn't it?"
Marco laughed after saying that, a small chuckle that seemed to indicate he had to do that.
Apta knew that it wasn't funny at all, not even worth laughing at. What happened to Marco was not what he wanted. What happened to him is not to be laughed at. It wasn't laughable at all—Marco didn't deserve to be laughed at even by himself.
"No, you are not unlucky at all. Even if you're stuck here, you won't have any bad luck at all."
"Well, thank you, Apta. I know that you're trying to cheer me up, but-"
"No, I'm not comforting you at all. I'm just saying something factual. Behold you are fortunate to have met me, the God of…"
"God of?"
"Apta."
"…You're so weird. Thank you for comforting me, Apta."
Marco smiled and could still laugh in front of Apta, but Apta knew that it was just to make him look strong. His heart must be sad, losing his party mates and being trapped here. The sadness inside him will always be there and even if he doesn't think about his condition. Even so, he still tried to be strong against his condition. He will keep trying to smile in front of other people. It was all so that others would not know that he was currently grieving.
"By the way, you said that you are not from this country. Then, where are you from, Apta? Are you stuck here too, like me?" Marco asked.
On their way into the depths of the forest to create a barrier to prevent demons or monsters from entering the village, Marco asked about something that Apta was keeping a secret. Apta can't even answer that, and he doesn't even know the names of the countries in this world. So, he can't say anything to answer that except answer with...
"I'm from the earth. Born of the earth, and will return to the earth. I'm a human."
It's just his weird.
"…Okay, I guess it's privacy. Many people have privacy and don't want others to know. I understand that, so sorry for asking that. Let's go there immediately, Apta!"
"Okay."
And it worked. Marco understood that because Apta answered his question so strangely. Even so, his eyes glanced at Apta several times, confirming that Apta was not a bad person.
When Apta's and Marco's eyes met, Apta asked:
"What's wrong?"
"Your hair is so long, you even have a beard. Can I cut them?"
After Apta realized, that where he had never cut his hair and beard, his hair and beard had covered part of his face. So if there was someone who could cut them off, Apta would gladly allow it.
"Yes, you can."
"Thank you."
Stopping in the middle of the road, then taking a dagger from his trouser pocket and telling Apta to sit down, Marco started cutting Apta's hair and beard. And after that was done, which took at least 30 minutes, Marco could finally see Apta's face.
"Wow… you have quite a handsome face. How handsome your face is, Apta."
"Thank you..."
And Apta was back, like when he first became a human. The face he has can make Marco fascinated.
"Let's go."
"Okay."
After Marco walked ahead and preceded Apta, Apta was silent and held his hair.
"I think this is the first time someone has complimented me. Even as long as I was a god, doing my job well, I never received praise from other gods or my subordinates. Turns out this is what being praised feels like," Apta said in his mind before he finally walked after Marco. "I am quite happy when I am praised. Ah, what a shame, even though I was a former god."