With his sweet tooth deeply damaged by the salty food he had eaten, Ethan recollected his thoughts and observed the village from the window of the church. He hadn't paid much attention to it previously, as his attention was more towards the Huntress.
The village was in a much better state than expected; the roads were paved, there were proper footpaths, and the houses and other buildings weren't littered everywhere, without planning. It was different from the Vakuman villages he had seen. The facilities here were great as well.
It was much different from what he had expected, and he wondered how he hadn't paid much attention to it. Was it because of its location? It was one of the villages that one visited before performing a pilgrimage to the so-called Forest of the Beast God, so it should get a lot of visitors. Besides, Ethan guessed that Ian and Igimo were doing a stellar job at maintaining it.
Most Village chiefs he had met were fat men who worshiped the fact that they were above the common citizen, so it was refreshing to see. Ethan gazed out the window, noticing a peculiar sight.
It was a kid with a fluffy tail and rising ears, a young teen who was carrying a sword around. He didn't have any armor with him, and neither did he have a scabbard. The sword was loosely tied to his waist by a rope.
Ethan wondered how it hadn't hurt him in any way, but dismissed it. He focused on the boy, watching him approach the church and go to the backyard... where he began swinging.
"..."
The form was terrible, there was too much 'HYAGH', and the footwork was awful. His grip was alright, but everything else was too much. Ethan wondered what the young man was hoping to accomplish with this sort of training, much less why the hell he was attempting to do it in the backyard of the Church. While Ethan was certain that he didn't know the priest all too well, he didn't think Igimo was the type to let something like this happen.
He could already imagine the curses that would be unleashed by that priest. Also, why does his God let him do that? Isn't cursing a sin?
'Although I don't know a lot about this God of Beasts.'
Ethan turned to the fireplace, ignoring the exasperated 'HYAGH, HUH!' coming from outside, and focused on the idol within. The one that could not be burned, the idol of a beast with many fangs and two sets of eyes, and a single horn. Supposedly, it was this God that had convinced Igimo that Ethan posed no threat.
However, Ethan's knowledge of the Divine was lacking. It wasn't one of the subjects he paid a lot of attention to back at the Royal University. The Rakaru Family was also one that wasn't devout.
The Empire worships the Sun, the Lands of Liuk worship the Sea and the Moon, and the Southern Lands worship the Spirits. That was the extent of his knowledge. As Ethan was focused on the Idol, the door to the church opened once more, and Igimo stepped in with a look of irritation on his face.
The man let out a large sigh and threw a necklace towards Ethan, who caught it effortlessly. He realized it was the same necklace that was given to him last time, in his last life. The one capable of translation. However, Ethan didn't wear it and acted confused. It wasn't until Igimo signaled for him to put it on that he did so.
He felt the strange sensation of his Ki flowing into the necklace, and once again, he was able to understand the language of the Land of the Gods. Igimo called out to him.
"Can you understand me now? That is an artifact that will translate most of the languages spoken on Alapur, although you won't be able to speak them. It consumes very little mana and is pricey. If you lose it, I will offer your skull to the Beast God."
"..."
Ethan rolled his eyes. He had already heard this dialogue before. He shrugged his shoulders and waited for Igimo to continue.
"So, what do you want to do?"
Ethan responded in Liuk.
"Get back home."
Igimo scratched his chin and motioned for him to come closer. He sat by the fireplace, and before he started to talk, he reached out with his hand, and his energy formed a small sphere in the surrounding area. A sound barrier.
"That's going to be hard, Hmm...."
He rubbed his chin, thinking for a while as Ethan took his seat. The young man patiently waited for him; he was his only source of 'reliable' information here.
After a while, Igimo advised.
"You'll have to stay in the village for some time, at least until you learn the common languages of this world. You can't depend on artifacts; it's too suspicious and impractical. You have low mana, too, so it won't work for extended periods of time.
After that, the issue of travel is serious as well. You should get an adventurer's license and advance through the ranks until you're at least an A-rank adventurer. That will get you access to almost the entire continent. Lower ranks will get you access to the surrounding countries.
You have great skill, so it won't take too long. With Ian's recommendation, it should be easy for you in Miniac as well... although convincing that brute would take effort..."
Ethan silently listened to it all, extremely grateful that he had been lucky enough to encounter someone like Igimo, who was willing to help him so much.