Chapter Thirty-Nine—A Chance Meeting

Three Months Ago

“Agh!” Shiro cried out, as the dagger slipped and cut his finger. He lowered his hand into the murky reed-strew waters and rinsed the blood off, then wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

Blood was still running down his hand, but the cut wasn’t so bad, and so he continued to pry the kami forsaken shell off of the dead crab.

He had the snapper crab turned over, its body halfway sunk under the water as he attempted to get inside of it. That’s where the valuable crystals were. He had already done this to two other snappers.

For the most part, they weren’t dangerous monsters, but if one made it easy for the beasts to attack them, they could snap a limb off easily with one of their eight pinchers.

Unlike everyday crabs, snapper crabs had eight pinchers, each on the ends of its legs. Grabbing them and holding them still would be a mistake, as they could turn their legs up all the way to the back of their shell and snap at whatever took hold of them.

This crab, Shiro had killed by flinging it off the cliff above him with a stick where it landed on an outcropping of rock.

The beast still oozed slime from the hole that had gotten punched through its shell. He couldn’t cut the shell.

It’s too strong for that.

And he didn’t want to reach in where the hole was. An adventurer he was, but Shiro was actually rather squeamish.

He breathed in deeply, thigh deep in the waters. There were other crabs about, but they were easy to spot with their white shells.

Glancing out at the boats and skiffs, some of which had sails, Shiro attempted to break open the shell by inserting his knife again, but this one was just too strong.

“You are doing it wrong,” a man said arrogantly.

Shiro looked up, spotted another adventurer on the cliff. He wore black pantaloons and a white jacket with gold thread and a turban on his head. At his hip was a rusted scimitar.

The man nudged his satchel bag to his back and looked down at Shiro with his thin mustache and two-day facial stubble.

“Then,” Shiro said, “if you are so well acquainted with these creatures, come down and show me.”

The man scoffed and put his hands on his hips. “Fine. But only because I hear a challenge in your voice, foreigner.”

He came down, waded into the water and then took a look at the crab. “Wrong spot.” He turned the creature, wheeling it in the muddy water. Then he pulled out his dagger and pried the shell off, almost easily.

“See?”

Shiro nodded. “That was very fast. I am impressed.”

“You shouldn’t be,” he said, scratching his chin. “These murky dungeons are child’s play.”

Shiro gave him a look.

“My name is Ali,” he said, putting out a hand. “Ali al Bashur.”

Shiro paused, then decided to take his hand. “I am Takeda Shiro.”

“Well, Takeda,” do I take this crystal in this crab’s guts, or do you?”

“It’s mine. I found it and killed it.”

“Ah,” he said with a big white smile, “you did. But it was I who pried the shell open for you.”

“And you had an easy job of it.”

“Haha! Yes! I am a skilled adventurer. Say, where are you from?”

Shiro hesitated in saying anything, but then wondered what the possible hurt was and decided it didn’t matter. “I’m from a land called Mikuma. It is far from here.”

“It must be, because I’ve never heard of it.”

He’s a rather arrogant man, Shiro thought. “Hmm.”

“So… the crystal?”

“Why not split the silver that comes from this crystal when we head back to the guild house.”

“When we head back to the guild house?” he asked, frowning. “Are we partners for a day?”

Shiro shrugged. “Why not?”

Ali scratched his chin again, glanced at Shiro’s sword. “All right. But only because I’m very curious about you, infidel. So, how did you come to speak my language?”

“Long story.”

“We have time.”

Shiro nodded.

Together, the two newly acquainted adventurers had a fine and productive day, and after exchanging many crystals and other monster items for hard coin, decided they had nothing to lose if they continued such a partnership for a short time.

And so this was when the isekai Shiro and the swashbuckling adventurer called Ali began their friendship.