"Excuse me, gentlemen. I'm sorry to interrupt, but the person you've captured is my friend. He's not some so-called demi-beast like you claim.
We came from a distant rural village, heading to the city to seek opportunities, but we got lost in this forest. Since you're returning to town, could you take us along as well?
If you do that, I'll overlook what you just did to my friend."
Just as the adventurers were about to take Shima Yousuke—tied up and with a bruised, swollen face—back to town while he continued trying to explain himself, Yecheng, who had been hiding and watching for a while, finally stepped out.
From the cash and wallet Yousuke had dropped, and based on what he was saying, Yecheng had already realized the guy was also a visitor from another world.
He'd stayed hidden because he wanted to observe—see what kind of powers other transmigrators besides himself might have.
But to his disappointment, after squatting in the bushes for quite a while, he found that this man named Shima Yousuke, though also a world traveler like him, seemed to be a total weakling…
"Huh? You say he's your friend and we're just supposed to believe you? Got any proof?
Sounds to me like you're just trying to pull a fast one and steal this rare talking demi-beast we caught."
"Exactly. Even if he really is someone you know—so what? We caught him fair and square, so he's our loot now.
You backwater hick—if you don't like it, you're welcome to try and fight us."
With Yecheng's looks, even in this fantasy world, he easily qualified as stupidly handsome. So naturally, he wasn't mistaken for a demi-beast like Yousuke had been.
But despite his words, the adventurers clearly didn't care to listen—or maybe they believed him, but just didn't intend to back down.
It was obvious: they had numbers—three of them versus one. And Yecheng was just some country bumpkin with no status or background.
A talking demi-beast could fetch a fortune at the merchant guild. Why should they give that up for a stranger?
"Seems like sometimes force really is a more convincing argument than reason. Since that's what you're asking for… I'll oblige."
Yecheng stabbed his crude bone blade into the ground and charged at the trio with bare hands.
After years of surviving in the Soul Society, he could at least gauge someone's strength accurately.
These three, despite their size and fancy gear, didn't emit any real pressure. They weren't worth drawing his weapon for—hand-to-hand alone would be more than enough to mop the floor with them.
"You cocky little punk! Too good to use your weapon, huh? Trying to act cool in front of me?!"
"Typical ignorant country brat! Think we're the same as those third-rate yokels you're used to?"
A few minutes later…
"S-Sir! We didn't realize this demi—uh, gentleman was your friend!
Please forgive our earlier behavior. Here's everything we have on us—consider it compensation for the trouble…"
"You must be heading to the town, right? We'll guide the way! Please, just spare us…"
Yousuke watched the scene before him unfold like a comedy sketch. His expression was filled with realization—as if he'd learned something valuable:
Sometimes, trying to reason with words just doesn't cut it.
Those same adventurers who moments ago were acting so high and mighty, now knelt in perfect sync, bowing their heads in a row before Yecheng after being thoroughly "convinced" by his fists.
The ones calling Yecheng a "country hick" and Yousuke a "demi-beast" were now respectfully addressing them as "sir" and "master."
"Yousuke, based on what you said, when you arrived in this world, you must've been granted a special ability from the god of this world, right?
Your power must be something like communicating with otherworldly creatures.
Didn't you notice? At first, those adventurers couldn't understand a word you were saying. But later, they could.
They only thought you were a demi-beast because of your appearance."
As fellow world travelers, Yecheng and Shima Yousuke weren't exactly hometown buddies—but they were kindred spirits, and soon fell into conversation.
"You're only 17?!"
In the middle of talking, Yecheng was stunned to discover that the unimpressive-looking Yousuke was only a 17-year-old boy!
"You look like you're pushing thirty…"
"What about you, Yecheng? You look around my age—or maybe even younger?"
"Heh… yeah, I'm about 17 too."
Yecheng could only respond with a slightly awkward smile.
Because the truth was far from that.
Based on how long he'd lived in the Soul Society, it had definitely been decades—and if you added his age from his previous life, he might've already crossed into the triple digits.
So their situations were practically reversed:Yousuke looked old but was actually a pure-hearted teen.Yecheng looked young but was already a seasoned veteran.
"Yecheng, how long have you been in this world? You took down those adventurers so easily… Did you get some overpowered cheat skill at the start?"
To be honest, Yousuke was pretty excited about being transported to another world. As a gamer, it was something he'd only read about in light novels and seen in RPGs.
But now, seeing the difference, it stung a little.
Yecheng's start had clearly been top-tier, while Yousuke had been given a skill called "Universal Persuader" or something equally useless.
Sure, communication is important for building trust… but today had taught him a hard lesson:Even if you can speak the same language, that doesn't mean others will understand—or care.
"Well, there's no such thing as a useless ability. It just depends on how you use it.
I didn't get some god-tier combat power from the god of this world either. My ability is probably something more like self-protection.
As for beating up those adventurers—that's all from my own training.
You're from the modern world too, right? Then you should understand…
Even in games, you don't start out with OP gear and god-mode skills.
If everything's easy from the start, like crushing demon lords the same way you'd stomp a slime… where's the fun in that?"