Chapter 370. [What If "Time" Didn't Exist In This World]
If I waited near the river, a boat might eventually pass by!
Thinking that, I decided to stay there.
The local man who had guided me here watched me and... Seemingly satisfied, he began heading back alone.
"Wait, wait, wait! Hold on a second~!?"
"? "
"No, don’t just give me that puzzled look!?"
Does he think, "You can just wait here by yourself," or something!?
Th-that would be bad!?
"I don’t even know the way back, and more importantly..."Hearing a sound, I turned around.
A short distance away on the riverbank, a giant creature was basking in the sun.
Our eyes met directly. It was—a crocodile.
"Eek!? No, no, no! Staying here alone would definitely mean death!?"
I’d already learned enough to dread being isolated in nature.
So, together...
"Wait, he's already leaving!? W-wait... don’t leave me behind~!?"
The local man, oblivious to my thoughts, resumed walking away. I hesitated but ultimately followed him.
"...▲○○◆. ×◆○"
It sounded like he was saying, "So, you're heading back after all?"
No, that's not it!? I didn’t have a choice!
But to him, my actions probably seemed completely normal. After all, I’m not a "child", and besides, the fish would spoil if not eaten quickly.
"I guess I have no choice but to give up for now."
Feeling reluctant, I left the area behind.
***
Back at the settlement, the local man immediately started cooking. The method was very simple.
He tossed roughly chopped fish and stingray into the largest pot in the village.
He also threw in bananas and some kind of leaves haphazardly. Finally, he added just a little water and let it boil.
That’s it.
"Wow, it’s done in no time."
It was a popular dish in the tribe.
He scooped the finished meal into a bowl and began eating wherever he pleased. I mimicked him and scooped some for myself.
Thanks to the bananas dissolving, the soup had become thick and mushy.
"Let’s eat."
Honestly, it looked pretty unappetizing, but I tried sipping it.
It lacked salt, but... well, it wasn’t bad.
Carefully picking up a piece of stingray submerged in the soup, I almost burned my fingers. I tossed it into my mouth...
"Hot, hot! ...But it’s tasty. And less smelly than I expected."
I’d associated stingrays with a strong ammonia smell. Maybe it’s because it was freshly caught, or maybe because it was a freshwater stingray.
The local man had also prepared another dish. Apparently, he’d taken the liver from the stingray’s organs.
He was eating it grilled. I got a piece too and bit into it.
"This is good too."
Though not "delicious" in the usual sense. It was edible.
As we kept eating, the pot quickly emptied. Not because just the two of us ate it all.
The villagers, drawn by the smell, silently helped themselves without a word.
"I’ve always been on the receiving end, so this might be the first time I’ve shared food."
Large catches were shared among everyone. It seemed like a natural thing for them.
Probably because they lacked long-term food preservation methods.
I found their culture of avoiding waste very rational. On the flip side, they never hunted more than necessary, so...
Sometimes, there just wasn’t anything to eat.
"Ah~ I miss convenience stores."
I wanted something rich and flavorful. I longed for a world where food was always available.
At the same time, I couldn’t help but picture the massive amount of boxed meals wasted daily.
...It seemed this life was reshaping my values.
"But really, what would they do if they couldn’t find any game for days?"
I worried about it, but I’d never seen them express such concerns.
In fact, when there was no catch, they’d sometimes casually take a nap instead.
"Brave... isn’t quite the word."
As I gradually deciphered their language, I realized something.
It was...
――They didn’t have a concept of "time".
An astounding revelation.
"The more I learn, the more different it is from any language I know."
There were no words for past, present, or future. Only for whether something had been experienced or not.
No words for morning, noon, or night.
Only for whether it was dark or light.
No spring, summer, autumn, or winter.
Only whether it was hot or less hot.
"It’s the complete opposite of Japan."
The days when I lived under the constant pressure of time now felt distant.
Waking up to an alarm, leaving home in time for the train schedule, feeling work drag on, thinking breaks were too short,
waiting eagerly for the end of the day, rushing to a time-limited sale, and finally closing my eyes, knowing I had to sleep. But it wasn’t all bad.
Looking forward to event days for my favorite fandom, or feeling excitement while waiting for a live stream to start.
"Imagining the future isn’t all bad. But..."
When will I finally go home?
I was losing track of how many days had passed since I arrived here.
――Then, one day, something happened.
***
"...Huh? The pot broke?"
It must have been overused for years; the battered pot had developed a hole.
Next to it was a mountain of hand-sized fish, seemingly caught in massive numbers at the worst possible time――.
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