A Traveler's Legend: Leisurely Living My Life In A Normal World

Looking at the majestic gate, the bamboo forest, and the magic barrier up in the sky that surrounds the whole bamboo forest, you can immediately surmise where the name came from. It is indeed a Village Hidden in the Leaf.

However, there was someone who voiced out her doubt.

"Ummm... Fukushima-san? Why is it called Hidden Leaf Village if it's surrounded by bamboo trees? Shouldn't it be Hidden Bamboo Village?" Akeno asked out of curiosity.

Hinagiku flinched at this unexpected innocent question so she didn't really know what to say. Instead, there was someone who answered Akeno in her stead.

"Akeno-chan. Bamboos are a type of grass and grasses are those leaves that grows on the grounds with lots of leaves in it. So, technically, this can still be called as Hidden Leaf Village," Shin said.

Upon hearing his words, Akeno nodded as she finally understood it. With her curiosity finally being sated, the group proceeded to walk towards the gate where there are two ninjas guiding them.

Upon seeing their group, the two immediately opened the large gate, no questions asked. Heck, who wouldn't know about the leader's daughter and the Seraph Metatron. Also, they were already informed by the leader that this group will come today so there is no need to stop them for questioning.

As they entered, Shuri, Akeno, and Shin marveled at the sight in front of them. The structures are built in a traditional Japanese style of building. There is no semblance of the modernization around. This made Shin, Shuri, and Akeno feel like they came back in time.

People wearing some comfortable variations of a ninja outfit are walking around with some kunai pouches, shurikens, and even katanas. Although Shin doesn't know what these scrolls on their belts are, he knew that it is also some kind of tool.

'Hey, who would've thought that these villages really exist. Let's see if we can find the stupidly naive blonde boy here!' Shin thought enthusiastically.

『Mmm... That's an interesting thought,』 Yuki said.

『Well, I think that the blonde boy isn't here since Hinagiku-san's surname is different and she's the daughter of the leader here,』 Shin replied.

『Mm, that's really a pity. However, what I'm more curious about is their techniques and magic. Would it be any different than the ones Vasco Strada taught you, I wonder?』 Yuki said.

『Yeah, I'm also curious,』 Shin replied.

He had to cut off their conversation as Akeno had approached him. It seems like she's still quite embarrassed by what happened earlier this morning that she made some distance between her and Shin.

Shin didn't really mind it, though. He knows how complicated a girl could be so he just dismissed it as that.

"Umm, S-Shin-kun. I-I'm sorry for shouting at you earlier," Akeno said.

It seems that she came to apologize to Shin.

"You don't have to worry about that, Akeno-chan. What happened earlier was not your fault," Shin said.

"B-But!-"

Before she could say anything more, Shin cut her off by saying,

"I said it's fine so it's fine, okay? No need to apologize again, Akeno-chan."

Akeno could only nod meekly upon hearing Shin's words. While the two of them are talking amongst themselves, they finally arrived in front of a huge Japanese styled building. In the entrance of this building, there are a lot of ninjas who are constantly going in and out.

Hinagiku, who was leading them, stopped just a few meters away from the building and turned towards them.

"At the very top of this building, you will meet my father, the leader of this entire village. However, please do ignore his antics and the pile of papers that are strewn all over his office. It's kind of normal there since he needs to deal with so many paperwork," Hinagiku said.

Metatron, who has been following them silently all this time, also turned to look at Shuri, Akeno, and Shin and said,

"That's right. That old man really has it rough, having to deal with piles of paperwork everyday. It really is the number one enemy of those people who are in a high position. Even I have to hole myself up at my house back in Heaven for a few years to deal with paperworks!"

He was talking quite calmly at first, but his voice gradually turned into an agitated one. Everyone present could feel Metatron's indignation and spite towards these things called paperwork.

No matter how powerful you are, if you're at a high position, you will eventually have to deal with these monsters that are often called as paperwork. This monster called paperwork is what caused multiple people who are dealing with them to be depressed, get severe stress, hair loss, and much more.

Everyone present couldn't help but look at the Seraph with pity in their eyes, now knowing the hardsh.i.p.s that they are often facing. Metatron, who is receiving this kind of gaze, couldn't b.a.r.e it anymore.

He tried to change the subject by saying,

"Alright, why don't I, Fukushima-chan, Shin, Mrs. Himejima, and Himejima-chan go inside this building now and talk to the old man? We still need to get them settled."

Everyone present just shook their heads as those who aren't mentioned dispersed to do their own thing while those who were mentioned followed Hinagiku who is entering the building now.

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"Ahhh! Damn it all! Why is the papers continuously increasing!? Does it ever end?" a worn out voice said.

This was the very first words that everyone heard when they opened the door. The voice was filled with indignance and irritation that everyone couldn't help but smile wryly. The appearance of the room also didn't help as the office looks more like the storeroom of a paper making factory.

Even though everyone already have some prior knowledge before they entered the village head's office, they still got overwhelmed by the mountains of paper that are strewn all over the place. Some were even stepped on by the group, making some of it get stuck on the soles of their shoes.

Shin, who couldn't b.a.r.e it anymore, began to pick up the papers. He's a clean freak and seeing this much chaos inside the office made his scalp tingle.

While he was picking up the papers, he began to read some of it. This was when he found out that the problems and projects that were submitted to the head of this village were mostly small things like asking if this certain someone could build a comfort room at this place, about some minor conflicts of the residents, etc, and etc.

Majority of these doc.u.ments were just some small things that could be fixed by any other third party. This made Shin wonder just why these things got delivered to the village's leader himself. Don't they have some people who could deal with these kinds of minor things?

Thus, Shin couldn't help but mumble,

"I wonder why these small things even needs the attention of the leader himself. Don't they have some people who are trustworthy enough to sort through the doc.u.ments themselves and give the most important ones to the leader? Are the a.d.u.l.ts some kind of... umm... What was it called again? M.a.s.o.c.h.i.s.ts? I guess they like to torture themselves, dealing with these menial things. If that's what it means to become an a.d.u.l.t, then I don't want to become one."

Shin's voice was barely audible but everyone was just too quiet that they managed to hear what Shin said. They were actually watching the kid in a dumbfounded manner as they didn't expect him to suddenly start arranging the piles of paper with an annoyed look on his face.

However, that was not the most important thing to them right now. What's important was the words that the kid just said. Shin's words surprised almost everyone present, with Akeno being the only one who is curiously tilting her head.

The most surprised individual amongst everybody present inside this room was Metatron, Hinagiku, and the grumbling old man who is sitting in what seems to be a chair. Seems to be, because his surroundings were filled with a comical amount of paper. Even his desk is barely recognizable.

"K-Kid! W-What did you just say earlier? Could you kindly repeat it?" the old man said.

"Hmm? You mean the one where I said that you a.d.u.l.ts are m.a.s.o.c.h.i.s.ts?" Shin inquired.

"No no no no! Wait, where did you even learn that word!?" the old man retorted.

"In the library of the Angel School, of course! I've read all the books there, except for the restricted ones!" Shin said rather proudly.

"Eh? Was there a book like that in Heaven?" Metatron asked.

"Yes, there were! If I remember correctly, it was in a book that says something about... ummm... fetishes?" Shin said unsurely.

This time, it was Shuri who was surprised.

"There was a book like that in Heaven?" Shuri asked.

"Yes, but it was in the "Things That Angels Should Avoid Reading" section," Shin replied.

"Then why are you reading it!?" Metatron asked.

"Eh? Because I'm not an Angel, of course?" Shin replied.

This conversation would've continued if not for the old man - who is presumably Hinagiku's father - didn't say anything to redirect the conversation to its previous topic.

"Ku-hum! Kid, I want to ask you about the thing that you said earlier, except for the last bit," the old man said.

"I wonder why these small things even needs the attention of the leader himself. Don't they have some people who are trustworthy enough to sort through the doc.u.ments themselves and give the most important ones to the leader?" Shin said, repeating his previous statement, word for word.

"THAT'S IT!" the old man and Metatron said at exactly the same time.

"How could we overlook that!?" the old man said emotionally.

"Comrade, I understand how you feel! I also feel stupid for overlooking such a thing!" Metatron said.

The two of them continued to talk to each other, sharing their hardsh.i.p.s with each other. Shin, Shuri, Akeno, and Hinagiku just watched then with wry smiles on their faces. It took them a few minutes before they could settle down.

Later that day, they finally managed to talk about the matter of Shin, Shuri, and Akeno's stay inside the village. Their shenanigans actually took much more time than the actual conversation about the three people's reception.

It was decided that they will be staying inside the same house. Akeno wanted to say something about this arrangement, but she was stopped by Shuri. Shuri explained to her that she doesn't have a choice in this as she can't just let Shin live by himself to another house.

Thus, Akeno relented. Although she was quite embarrassed by the thought of staying under the same roof with a boy, she understand that she doesn't have much of a choice in this matter. They're just borrowing a house to stay. As the saying goes, "Beggars can't be choosers,".

After that, the three of them were guided to their supposed shelter for a few months. It was quite near the residential area of the village. They were told that they are free to roam around but they should keep their eyes peeled for some signs that tells them to keep out. They also found out that they actually have neighbors.

When they arrived at the house they're gonna be staying at, they saw a similar building nearby. However, when they did not see the inhabitants of the building, they just decided to greet them some other time.

They're already quite tired so after eating dinner, they immediately went inside their respective rooms to sleep. The mother and daughter pair have their own room while Shin is staying on his own one.

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Year 20xx, the 4th of October.

Before the sun could even peak from the horizon, Shin is already up from his bed. Aside from this being his daily routine, Shin is also excited to learn new things from his - in Metatron's words - 'way of the ninja instructor'. It was quite a long title so Shin conveniently decided to change it to just 'ninja instructor'.

'Fukushima Hiruzen, the Hokage of this village, said something about his daughter being our ninja instructor,' Shin thought.

Getting up from his bed, Shin began to stretch and said,

"Yosh! Let's do some morning exercise outside!"

He ran outside the house and, after doing some warm up exercise, began to run l.a.p.s around their place. Then, he gradually accelerated. A few minutes later, he's already climbing trees and passing by some obstacles like a breeze.

Then, after a few more rounds around the house, Shin relaxed his tense muscles by doing some stretches. Then, he sat down on the patch of grass near a tree to relax.

"Huuu... The sun's already rising. Oh, right, I should take my daily log in bonus and then go to the kitchen to help aunt Shuri on preparing breakfast. She's probably awake now. I can hear some movements inside the house right now so that is most probably her," Shin murmured as he opened up his system.

[You received 40,000 ria]

[You received 4,000 SCs]

[You received 4x Gacha Coupons ]

[You received a Mystery Box]

After closing his system, Shin closed the system windows and entered the house he's going to be staying in for the next few months.

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Around 6 in the morning, Hinagiku finally arrived in front of their temporary shelter. She had the usual stoic look on her face as she greeted the three inhabitants of this temporary shelter.

"Good morning," Hinagiku said.

"Un! Good morning to you, Hinagiku-san!" Shin replied.

Hinagiku didn't even flinch after hearing Shin call her by her first name. She just nodded at him with her usual stoic look.

"Good morning to you too, Fukushima-san," Akeno said after standing up and bowing.

Her mother also did the same while saying,

"Good morning, Fukushima-chan. By the way, aren't you quite early?"

"People inside this village usually wake up at around 4 or 5 in the morning," Hinagiku replied in her monotonous tone.

"Ara, is that so? Oh, right, how silly of me! Why don't you eat breakfast with us, Fukushima-chan?" Shuri said.

"Mm, thank you," Hinagiku replied.

Then, all of then proceeded to eat while talking about some minor subjects, lightening the mood inside the house. When they were finished eating, Hinagiku and Shin headed out while Akeno and Shuri began to clean the dishes.

Hinagiku and Shin didn't really go that far as they stopped just nearby the house. Then, Hinagiku looked at Shin as she said,

"Starting today, I will be your instructor about how we ninja do things. My father and Metatron-dono already agreed on this so you don't have to worry about the formalities."

Shin just nodded upon hearing her words. He's not really worried about these formalities as what he cares about is whether he can train under her or not.

"Now, about your ninja training shedule. We will first be doing some basic stretching exercises, footwork exercise, and etc. After that, we will be training you in shurikenjutsu, kenjutsu, taijutsu, and ninja arts," Hinagiku said.

"However, before we begin in training, I will first brief you about our ninja arts or what we call as ninjutsu and about how we ninjas behave," Hinagiku said with a serious glint in her eyes.

Her latter words confused Shin as he didn't expect her to say something like that.

"Umm... did you just say, 'about how we ninjas behave'?" Shin asked

"Yes," Hinagiku said while nodding sagely.

"This has been a problem in our ninja community. Majority of those who came from outside of our village have many misconceptions about us that we actually find it troublesome. A major example of those people who have a misconception about our culture is Metatron-dono and Sandalphon-dono," Hinagiku said.

Shin just nodded at this, knowing full well just how Metatron views the ninjas.

"First, we don't run with both of our hands behind. Running like that don't make us faster, either. And, please don't begin to say something about aerodynamics and such. We're also humans, not cars," Hinagiku said.

"U-Uh-huh..." Shin just nodded while smiling wryly.

"Second, we don't say 'degozaru' at the very end of our sentences. We don't say nin nin, either," Hinagiku said.

"We're not doing some embarrassing things like shouting the names of our techniques, that's just not something that people in their right minds would do. We don't do hand signs, that just take a much longer time to perform an Art than what's necessary. We don't do embarrassing poses, either," Hinagiku added.

After that, Hinagiku went on and on about what ninjas don't do and what they do. As she continues to say more and more things, Shin couldn't help but shake his head while thinking,

'Just who the heck spread those rumours about them that there are already so many misconceptions about them? Also, who even shouts the name of their technique like a teenager who's suffering from an 8th grader syndrome? How utterly stupid.'

Thinking about those braindead idiots who shouts the name of their technique, all the while thinking that they're absolutely cool, Shin couldn't help but once again sigh in complete exasperation. In the first place, why would they do that? Isn't that completely embarrassing? Are they some kids?

Not only do they giveaway what your next move is, there's also a lot of cons about doing it. It's only pro is probably the fact that you'll look cool in the eyes of some braindead idiots.

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A/N:

• If somebody felt hurt by what I wrote, I humbly apologize.

• kenjutsu is the Japanese counterpart of swordsmanship

• taijutsu is the Japanese counterpart of close quarters combat

• ninjutsu is the 'way of the ninja'

• Ninja Arts is how the ninjas call their Magic Spells.